Chen Yang looked up and saw two young men in their early twenties standing in the aisle beside him. One was wearing a well-fitting Versace suit, his hair meticulously styled with hair gel, gleaming with shine. An elegant smile played on his lips, his bright eyes passing directly over Chen Yang, staring intently at Su He beside him.
The other man lagged slightly behind the Versace-clad man, also adorned with designer brands. He had a thin face, high cheekbones, and thin lips, giving him a naturally mean appearance. The expensive designer clothes he wore seemed mismatched, like precious gold and jewels used to create a toilet, instantly conjuring up the word: nouveau riche.
The one who had just sneered was this nouveau riche-looking young man. Seeing Chen Yang and Su He both looking at him with astonishment, the nouveau riche secretly rejoiced: he had finally made a good impression on Young Master Yan.
Both were students at Southeast Normal University. The young man in Versace was named Yan Huiming, the president of the student union of the Art College of Southeast Normal University, the president of the calligraphy and painting society, and a strong contender for the gold medal in this competition. Yan Huiming's father owned an auction house and was well-known in the Rongcheng art collecting world. His uncle, Yan Songshan, was the deputy district head of Cangshui District and the director of the Public Security Bureau—a proper deputy-department-level leader. Therefore, with his good family background and fairly handsome appearance, Yan Huiming had many followers at Southeast Normal University.
The nouveau riche-looking young man behind Yan Huiming was one of these followers. His name was Ma Zhiwen, a third-year history student at Southeast Normal University. His family owned a small antique shop in the flower and bird market of Cangshui District. Ma Zhiwen's father relied on Yan Huiming's family's auction house for business. More importantly, Yan Huiming's uncle, Yan Songshan, was a leader in Cangshui District, and they had to curry favor with him to do business there. Therefore, he had always been one of Yan Huiming's most loyal followers.
Seeing that Yan Huiming's expression remained unchanged, Ma Zhiwen spoke up:
"The Education Department is nothing! The annual calligraphy and painting competition is always organized by the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department. Minister Hao of the Propaganda Department personally attends the finals! Do you know the Minister of Propaganda? He's a member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee!"
Ma Zhiwen's face was beaming with pride, even the pimples on his nose were glowing red, as if the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department were his own property, and he felt honored to say such things.
Chen Yang glanced at Ma Zhiwen, bewildered. He thought to himself, "I was just chatting with Su He, where did this oddball come from?" Seeing Ma Zhiwen's smug expression, he couldn't help but chuckle. Feigning ignorance, he spoke in heavily accented Mandarin:
"What kind of official is a provincial standing committee member? Is he higher than a county magistrate? In my hometown, the county magistrate is the highest-ranking official!"
Ma Zhiwen paused, then burst into laughter. His gaze towards Chen Yang was filled with superiority. He had initially thought Chen Yang, though dressed simply, was at least presentable, but his first words revealed his ignorance—a complete country bumpkin!
Ma Zhiwen's booming laughter drew stares from the other students. Yan Huiming gave Ma Zhiwen a disapproving look, and he immediately shut his mouth, offering a fawning smile to Yan Huiming.
Yan Huiming glanced at Ma Zhiwen, inwardly sighing: "A nouveau riche is a nouveau riche; they'll never amount to anything!"
Of course, this thought only flashed through Yan Huiming's mind for a moment before he quickly focused his attention on Su He.
Yan Huiming first spoke to Chen Yang with great "enthusiasm":
"Young man, a member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee is a very prestigious vice-ministerial level position, much higher than a county magistrate… uh, also, the top leader in a county is the County Party Secretary, and the County Magistrate is only the second-in-command!"
Seeing Chen Yang's feigned blank expression, Yan Huiming smiled faintly, an elegant smile, but the underlying sense of superiority was unmistakable. He ignored Chen Yang and turned to Su He, smiling as he said,
"Hello, Su He! We meet again!"
A few months ago, the Southeast Normal University Calligraphy and Painting Society and the Rongcheng University Calligraphy and Painting Society held an exchange event. Yan Huiming was captivated by the pure and beautiful Su He, and showered her with attention during the event. Afterwards, he repeatedly visited Rongcheng University under various pretexts, trying to get closer to Su He, but Su He was naturally indifferent and showed no interest in him, remaining lukewarm towards him.
Basically, playboys like Yan Huiming have two characteristics: an inflated sense of self-importance and extreme shamelessness. Therefore, Yan Huiming has repeatedly failed in his attempts. Today, unexpectedly encountering Su He at this event, Yan Huiming was naturally overjoyed and hurriedly approached her.
Just now, seeing Su He and Chen Yang's intimate interactions, Yan Huiming felt a surge of displeasure and a vague sense of threat. However, the moment Chen Yang spoke, Yan Huiming immediately realized he was overthinking things. Su He had such high standards; how could she possibly be interested in such a rustic country bumpkin? Therefore, after casually explaining the rank of the provincial propaganda minister to Chen Yang, he completely ignored Chen Yang and focused his attention on Su He.
Su He frowned slightly. With her keen perception, she immediately sensed the sarcasm in Yan Huiming and Ma Zhiwen's tone towards Chen Yang, and felt a little displeased. But Su He was always gentle and disliked conflict, so when Yan Huiming greeted her, she forced a stiff smile and replied curtly:
"Hello, President Yan."
Su He didn't continue after that, clearly just going through the motions, with no intention of engaging in a deeper conversation with Yan Huiming. However, Yan Huiming seemed oblivious, still smiling broadly as he continued, "Su He, why didn't you tell me you were coming to this event? My father's company has reserved seats in the front VIP section. Why don't you come with me and sit in the front?"
"No need, I'm perfectly fine sitting here!" Su He replied. At this moment, Ma Zhiwen leaned in and said in an exaggerated tone:
"These seats are so small and hard, how could they possibly suit Su He's temperament? President Yan's Gaoshan Auction House is the sponsor of this competition, and they've reserved all the VIP seats! You should go sit with Young Master Yan in the front! The view is better there, and most importantly, you'll have a chance to get up close and personal with the art masters on the judging panel!"
Yan Huiming was quite satisfied with Ma Zhiwen's performance. He gave Ma Zhiwen an approving look, then continued smiling at Su He:
"Su He, Ma is right. The seats in the front are more comfortable than here, and the environment is much better. Unlike here, it's smoky and chaotic, with all sorts of random people out there!"
After saying this, Yan Huiming glanced sideways at Chen Yang, the sarcasm in his words unmistakable.
"Gentlemen, Su He has already made herself very clear. Aren't you two still babbling on and on?" Chen Yang had initially been watching their back-and-forth performance with amusement, but Yan Huiming's burning gaze towards Su He made him uncomfortable, and he couldn't help but speak up.
"Who are you? This is between Young Master Yan and Su He. What business is it of yours?" Ma Zhiwen raised an eyebrow and spoke up, his tone quite unfriendly.
Yan Huiming waved his hand at Ma Zhiwen, then looked at Chen Yang. His face still wore a warm smile, but the ruthlessness in his eyes revealed his true intentions. Yan Huiming said:
"Excuse me, would you mind switching seats with me? My seat is in the third row of the VIP seating..."
"I mind very much!" Before Yan Huiming could finish speaking, Chen Yang interrupted him calmly.
Chen Yang's eyes were fixed straight ahead, his gaze still calm, but his inner anger was slowly rising. Who on earth was this guy? He had such an inflated ego! It was as if the whole world revolved around him!
Chen Yang heard Ma Zhiwen address him as "Young Master Yan," a title usually reserved for "second-generation rich," especially those from official families. But Chen Yang racked his brains and couldn't recall any high-ranking officials in Rongcheng with the surname Yan. In his previous life, Chen Yang had worked in Rongcheng for several years and made a name for himself among the playboys, but even with his extensive network, he wouldn't have any connection with the nephew of a mere deputy section chief.
It wasn't surprising that Chen Yang misunderstood. In Ma Zhiwen's eyes, Yan Huiming's uncle, Yan Songshan, was a formidable high-ranking official, but in Chen Yang's view, a deputy section chief was nothing. His playboy friends in Beijing, doing nothing, would all be at least deputy section chiefs in ministries by the time they were twenty-five or twenty-six.
"Hey! Kid! Don't push your luck! Young Master Yan is doing you a favor by switching seats with you! Do you know what Young Master Yan's uncle does? He's from Cangshui District..."
"Xiao Ma!" Yan Huiming stopped Ma Zhiwen, slightly annoyed. Although he didn't mind showing off his family background, the way Ma Zhiwen said it sounded vulgar and smug, even Yan Huiming himself found it uncomfortable.
After Ma Zhiwen wisely shut his mouth, Yan Huiming continued to Chen Yang:
"Young man, don't be so quick to refuse. I won't let you help for nothing. How about this, if you agree to give me this seat, this thousand yuan is yours!"
With that, he took out his wallet from his suit jacket's inner pocket, counted out ten hundred-yuan bills, and handed them to Chen Yang.
Although Yan Huiming remained outwardly polite, he secretly harbored a desire to show off. He felt that a thousand yuan was an irresistible price for a country bumpkin like Chen Yang, a perfect opportunity to show Su He the difference between him and Chen Yang, and also to let Su He know how much he cared for her, willing to spend a fortune just to change seats.
Chen Yang narrowed his eyes, about to speak, when he suddenly saw someone climbing the steps from the aisle in the middle of the stands. A look of surprise crossed Chen Yang's eyes; he truly hadn't expected to encounter her in such a setting.
Yan Huiming also immediately noticed the newcomer. His previously reserved face instantly blossomed into a fawning smile. He abandoned Chen Yang and strode forward to greet her enthusiastically:
"Miss Guo! Hello, hello!"