Chapter Six: You Don’t Believe It? I Do

"Jiang Changyuan!"

Gu Qing glared fiercely at Jiang Changyuan, grinding his teeth as if he wanted nothing more than to give him a sound thrashing. Seeing this, Jiang Changyuan’s brow twitched.

"President..."

"I won't let you get away with this!"

Without giving Jiang Changyuan a chance to speak, Gu Qing snorted coldly and marched out.

*Bang!*

The door slammed shut with a thunderous crash. Jiang Changyuan’s face darkened, and a surge of irritation rose within him. He had racked his brain trying to secure a happy ending for the male and female leads, and this was the thanks he got? Jumping to conclusions and acting on hearsay—is this what a student council president is? Where was his brain? He decided to stop explaining; let it all go to ruin!

Only after watching Jiang Changyuan depart did the student council members dare to catch their breath.

"What a battlefield... my god, I forgot how to breathe for a second."

"The student council president and the student club leader tearing each other apart over love—what a spectacle!"

"Hey guys, don't forget we're with the student council. We have to stand by the president, but man, this gossip is hard to swallow..."

This unpleasant encounter caused the rumors to spread like wildfire. The next morning, as soon as Jiang Changyuan arrived at the school gate, he was met with unprecedented attention; every look cast his way was anything but normal.

As soon as he reached the classroom, the chubby boy trotted over, beaming with excitement. "Young Master Jiang, we’ve discussed it privately, and we fully support you."

Jiang Changyuan was bewildered. Support him in what?

Just then, a soft, delicate voice rang out from behind him. "J-Jiang Changyuan..."

Hearing this, Jiang Changyuan turned his head to see Su Yingying standing there, her small face slightly flushed.

"Brother has your back, Young Master Jiang. Go for it! I won't get in your way." With that, the chubby boy, thinking he was being incredibly tactful, chuckled and retreated to his seat.

Su Yingying gasped for air, her face reddening even more, whether from running or shyness. "I... I support you too."

"Support what?" Jiang Changyuan retreated a step in confusion. Was insanity contagious? Everyone had been acting bizarrely today, and with Su Yingying’s arrival, the surrounding stares became even more erratic.

The rising sun cast a warm, golden glow through the bright windows, bathing the two of them in a scene of youthful beauty. When Gu Qing entered the classroom and saw them standing together in the sunlight, his expression soured as if he had swallowed a fly.

Sure enough, Jiang Changyuan had bad intentions. So, everything he had done was just to get to Su Yingying!

"Yingying!" Gu Qing walked over with a dark expression and pulled Su Yingying away from Jiang Changyuan. "He has ulterior motives for getting close to you. Don't be fooled."

"Ah, right, right. Whatever you say is right," Jiang Changyuan replied perfunctorily before turning back to his desk. After yesterday’s scene, he had decided to just give up. I’m just a salted fish with no competitive edge; surely Gu Qing won’t keep hounding me, right?

Little did he know that in Su Yingying’s eyes, Jiang Changyuan’s attitude looked like he was suffering in silence without explaining himself. After all, the rumors following Gu Qing’s door-slamming yesterday had become completely distorted.

As for why Jiang Changyuan didn't explain? Well, Gu Qing was the president; if he wanted to bully Jiang Changyuan, wouldn't he have a thousand ways to make his life miserable? Thinking of this, Su Yingying angrily shook off Gu Qing’s hand.

"He’s already like this, what more do you want?"

"Jiang Changyuan has ill intentions! Yingying, listen to me..."

"You don't need to explain. I already know. I didn't expect you to be this kind of person. I misjudged you."

The soft, fragile voice delivered words that felt like a sharp blade piercing Gu Qing’s heart. This was the first time Yingying had ever spoken to him so harshly.

Gu Qing stood frozen in place, his eyes darkening with malice the next second. Jiang Changyuan had calculated this well, intentionally making Yingying misunderstand him. Did he think this would make him give up? Absolutely not!

The gossiping students, seeing Gu Qing’s gaze, pretended to be busy checking their textbooks while keeping their ears pricked. Meanwhile, the members of the student club were secretly gloating—as expected of Young Master Jiang, able to stir up trouble between Gu Qing and Su Yingying with just one sentence. Who else could do that?

Ten minutes before the morning study session, Gu Qing strode into the classroom and walked up to Jiang Changyuan’s seat with a grim face.

"Jiang Changyuan, do you think you can defeat me with these petty tricks?"

"No! You're wrong! I, Gu Qing, will never be defeated by anyone!"

Jiang Changyuan looked up, expressionless, wondering what brand of insanity had afflicted Gu Qing today. From start to finish, he had only said one sentence, and he had even agreed with the guy, yet the other party’s fighting spirit had only grown... as he sought to cause him trouble.

"You don't believe it? Then do you dare..."

"I believe you!" Jiang Changyuan shot back quickly, looking at Gu Qing with a pointed expression that clearly meant, *I believe you, now go find somewhere cool to stay.*

Gu Qing, who had been ready for a long-winded speech, was instantly cut off. He had already planned exactly how to deal with Jiang Changyuan. If Jiang Changyuan had said even half a word of disbelief, he would have made him pay. But instead, Jiang Changyuan said he believed him!

For a moment, Gu Qing looked like a clown on stage, not knowing how to step down.

"Tch, what are you posturing for? Our Young Master Jiang just doesn't want to lower himself to your level."

"Don't flatter yourself; our Young Master Jiang could pin you down with a single finger."

Jiang Changyuan wanted to be a low-profile salted fish, but he couldn't stop his group of "pig teammates." When it came to head-on confrontation, his teammates never failed to disappoint! The chubby boy was shouting the loudest, his spit practically flying onto Gu Qing’s face.

The surrounding students watched with glowing eyes, their minds caught in a dilemma: if a fight broke out, which side should they stand on?

"Shut up, all of you!" Jiang Changyuan roared, and the classroom fell silent. He scanned the room with a dark face. His "salted fish" plan was going well, and he absolutely could not let his teammates ruin his new agenda.

However, in Gu Qing’s eyes, this behavior was a declaration of war.

"Fine, Jiang Changyuan. You truly are a wolf in sheep's clothing."

"Today, in front of the whole class, the student council officially challenges the student club. Do you dare to accept?"

Jiang Changyuan’s expression cracked. *Damn it, I'm supposed to be an ally!* At this rate, was he destined to gallop headlong toward a life-or-death battle with the male lead? That absolutely could not happen!

He cleared his throat and spoke. "We accept! Whoever backs down is a coward!"

"Don't be afraid of anything! You set the terms, and our student club will take them all!"

Jiang Changyuan, who had just opened his mouth, wished he could steal a needle from a palace matron to sew his teammate's mouth shut. *Do you guys have the only mouths here? Do you have to show off?*

"That’s not what I meant, I meant..."

"Young Master Jiang means that accepting your challenge is doing you a favor. Otherwise, do you even deserve it?" The chubby boy was the king of lip-service. After speaking, he looked at Jiang Changyuan with a fawning expression, while Jiang Changyuan just wanted to slap him twice.

"Fine! You guys have guts!" Gu Qing’s expression was so gloomy it looked like it could drip water. Jiang Changyuan had humiliated him so much that he would never let this slide.

"We’ll compare our scores on next month’s exams. If your student club’s scores exceed our student council’s, I will go to the broadcast room myself and admit that the student council is inferior to the student club."

Jiang Changyuan’s face turned green. When it came to eating, drinking, and having fun, the student club was proficient in everything, but comparing test scores... wasn't that like a group of kindergarteners trying to arm-wrestle college students?