Chapter-19
Yu Zhi â I Can Kneel
Beijing North University.
In the campus cafeteria, steam was still rising from the bowl of soy milk as Yu Zhi took big bites of her bun. Suddenly, her phone buzzed.
It was Pei Nianâan calling. Yu Zhi quickly picked up.
âHello, Sister Pei!â
âWhere are you?â Pei Nianâanâs voice came through the phone.
Mouth full of bun, Yu Zhi mumbled,
âAt the cafeteria, having breakfast! Sister Pei, have you eaten? Want me to bring you something?â
âNo need. When youâre done, head to the infirmary.â
Yu Zhi froze mid-bite.
Only then did she remember Gu Chengnianâs warning from yesterday: Pei Nianâan was supposed to apologize to Wen Ying today.
Yu Zhi hesitated.
âSister Pei, are you really going to apologize to Wen Ying?â
Pei Nianâan let out a cold laugh.
âMe? Apologize to her? Not a chance.â
Then she added,
âBut I canât completely ignore Chengnian. So, Iâve decided â youâll go apologize for me.â
Yu Zhiâs eyes widened.
âMe? Apologize for you?â
What kind of logic was that?!
In the car, Pei Nianâan fiddled impatiently with her freshly done nails.
âYeah. Just say Iâm busy, and youâre representing me. Simple.â
Then she blinked slyly and dangled the bait:
âTen thousand yuan. Deal?â
Yu Zhi:
âDeal!â
Then she added,
âBut I want cash!â
Pei Nianâan sighed.
âFirst you want cash, then WeChat⌠Youâre so annoying.â
Yu Zhi grinned.
âSister Pei, youâre the best!!!â
Pei Nianâan sighed again.
âFine, Iâll give it to you tomorrow.â
Yu Zhi:
âMmm okay~ Love you, Sister Pei!â
ăDing! Congratulations, Host â youâve earned +5 villain favor points!ă
Yu Zhiâs eyes sparkled. She asked the system:
âSo thatâs sixteen points total now, right?â
The system replied cheerfully:
ăThatâs right! Keep it up!ă
After breakfast, Yu Zhi strolled leisurely toward the infirmary.
Outside the infirmary, Gu Chengnian stood in a crisp white shirt, beside Wen Ying, who was in a white gauze dress with a bandage wrapped around her head. From a distance, they actually looked like quite the couple.
At that moment, Gu Chengnian was speaking gently:
âDonât worry. Iâve already talked to Pei Nianâan. Sheâll definitely come to apologize today.â
Wen Ying lowered her head, fingers twisting the hem of her hospital gown.
âItâs okay⌠She doesnât have to. I donât care that muchâŚâ
âOf course it matters!â Gu Chengnian said righteously.
âShe hurt you. She must apologize.â
Wen Ying nodded softly and said,
âThank you, Chengnian-senior.â
Just then, Yu Zhi approached. Wen Ying looked up, surprised.
âYu Zhi? What are you doing here? Are you feeling unwell?â
Gu Chengnian turned around at the sound of her voice â and his expression immediately hardened.
âWhat are you doing here? Whereâs Pei Nianâan?â
Yu Zhi smiled.
âNo idea.â
Then, looking straight at Wen Ying, she suddenly raised her voice:
âIâM SORRY, WEN YING!!!â
The moment the words fell, Yu Zhi bent forward in a deep 90-degree bow â her black ponytail swung forward and smacked Wen Yingâs shoulder.
Students passing by all stopped in their tracks.
Wen Ying and Gu Chengnian both froze.
Yu Zhi straightened slightly and continued brightly,
âOn behalf of Pei Nianâan, I offer you our most sincere apologies!â
âShe shouldnât have hit you with that book yesterday! Does your forehead still hurt? Any concussion? Should we go get a CT scan?â
Wen Ying flushed bright red, stepping back in embarrassment.
âD-donât do thisâŚâ
Yu Zhi shook her head.
âNo, no, I must! Please, just forgive her! If you donât forgive herâŚâ
She started to bend her knees dramatically.
âIâll kneel down right now!â
âDonât!â Wen Ying cried out, panicking as she tried to stop her, almost in tears.
âI forgive! I forgive, okay?!â
Instantly, Yu Zhi straightened up, smiling like nothing had happened.
âGreat! Then itâs settled!â
Turning to a thunderstruck Gu Chengnian, she said,
âYou heard her, right? Wen Ying said she forgave Sister Pei.â
Gu Chengnianâs face darkened with fury.
âYu Zhi, you really are Pei Nianâanâs loyal lapdog.â
Yu Zhi beamed proudly.
âThatâs right! Birds choose good trees to nest in, and the wise choose good masters! Sister Pei is beautiful, kind, and generous â who else would I follow?â
The surrounding students burst out laughing.
Gu Chengnianâs chest heaved with anger. Wen Ying tugged on his sleeve, not wanting to stay there being gawked at.
She glared at Yu Zhi, suppressing her anger.
âYu Zhi, how did you become like this? Just⌠take care of yourself.â
âDonât waste your breath,â Gu Chengnian snapped. âLetâs go.â
He led Wen Ying away.
Yu Zhi stuck her tongue out at their retreating backs, then pulled out her phone to message Pei Nianâan:
ăMission complete, Sister Pei! Wen Ying said she forgives you â I heard it myself!ă
That evening, a post blew up on the Beijing North University forum.
Thread title:
[Breaking!] Spotted School Heartthrob Gu Chengnian Outside the Infirmary! Whoâs That Girl Beside Him? Also â whatâs this âapologizing on someone elseâs behalfâ thing? (Video attached)
1st comment:
Watched the video. Whatâs going on here? Since when is âsubstitute apologizingâ a thing? Anyone got tea?
2nd:
OMG, the girl with the bandage is Wen Ying from the Early Childhood Education department! Sheâs so pure! My goddess!
3rd:
Gu Chengnianâs so handsome đ But whoâs that girl bowing like that? Sheâs hilarious!
4th:
Thatâs Yu Zhi â also from Early Childhood Ed. Sheâs Pei Nianâanâs number one lackey. Yesterday Pei Nianâan threw a book at Wen Ying and made her bleed. This videoâs the apology scene!
5th:
Poor girl. Mustâve been forced to apologize for her boss. No dignity at all.
6th:
Nah, youâve got it wrong. Yu Zhiâs notorious in our department. Everyone knows her!
7th:
For context: Pei Nianâan = heiress of Pei Group, Gu Chengnianâs childhood sweetheart, that girl who played piano at last yearâs opening ceremony. But sheâs super arrogant, and no one likes her â except her loyal cronies, of course~
8th:
Wen Yingâs the real victim here. First she gets hit, then publicly humiliated by that lackey. That bow was totally mocking!
9th:
+1! Didnât Yu Zhi say sheâd kneel? Why didnât she? Such fake dramatics! Wen Ying was literally crying! đĄ
10th:
Latest update! Apparently all this started because Gu Chengnian promised to attend class with Pei Nianâan, but ended up sitting with Wen Ying instead. Pei Nianâan flipped out~
11th:
So itâs a love triangle? Gu Chengnian Ă Wen Ying Ă Pei Nianâan? And Yu Zhiâs just the cannon-fodder sidekick?
12th:
Correction: Yu Zhi isnât just a sidekick â sheâs a super sidekick!
13th:
LOL this is pure drama! So the current cast lineup:
đ Evil heiress Pei Nianâan: âIâm rich.â
đŽ Pure beauty Wen Ying: âIâm gentle.â
đś Loyal sidekick Yu Zhi: âI can kneel~â