Chapter 140: Unilateral Declaration of War
Lin Luyou had been volunteering to stay late these past few days in order to finish her thesis proposal.
“Tianqi, stop working and go home already! I can take care of everything that’s left!”
After dinner, Lin Luyou returned to her workstation and saw Yang Tianqi still hunched over her work, with Tan Fang sitting beside her for company. Unable to resist, she took over the task and urged the couple, whose work had delayed them, to go somewhere else and spread their sweetness.
“Hey, Luyou, are you on duty again tonight? I thought Tianqi and I were scheduled for today.”
Cheng Li arrived a step later than Lin Luyou. The moment she came in, she saw Yang Tianqi and Lin Luyou handing over their work and could not help asking.
“I was originally planning to stay and work on my thesis proposal... But it seems too hard on Fang to keep sitting here with me. Besides, I just finished eating—I don’t want another bowl of couple sweetness.”
Lin Luyou explained with a half-joking smile.
Cheng Li, however, was displeased. She felt Lin Luyou had deliberately set herself against her.
During the night shift, each group was generally assigned only two or three people. The workload was lighter than during the day, and everyone had more free time, making it the perfect opportunity to build closer relationships. Cheng Li had been planning to demonstrate her excellent professional abilities in front of Yang Tianqi and Tan Fang, but Lin Luyou’s unintentional move had ruined everything.
As far as Cheng Li was concerned, there was no way Lin Luyou had done it unintentionally.
Once Yang Tianqi and Tan Fang had checked out together, hand in hand, Cheng Li no longer bothered pretending to be diligently working. She leaned back in her chair and turned to ask,
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
“What?”
Lin Luyou did not quite understand.
“Don’t play dumb with me. I never realized you were this good at it... I really underestimated you before.” Cheng Li’s tone grew increasingly sarcastic. “Of course. A top student from A University—how could you not have a few tricks up your sleeve?”
This was the first time Lin Luyou had encountered a situation like this, and she was momentarily stunned.
It was plainly Cheng Li who had been secretly tripping her up, yet now she had turned around and accused Lin Luyou of being skilled at underhanded tactics and putting on an act.
What kind of world was this?
A voice inside Lin Luyou kept shouting at her to fight back, to stop Cheng Li from looking down on her and treating her like an easy target.
But although Lin Luyou was usually articulate when she was with Jiang Xiaohan, Lin Luming, or even Zhen Hao—so articulate that she could leave them utterly speechless—all of that depended on the fact that they were friends, and that her friends did not hold her words against her.
Facing an outsider, Lin Luyou had no ability to defend herself at all. The group interview at Max a month and a half earlier, and her clash with Chen Man, were proof enough.
As Jiang Xiaohan put it, Lin Luyou was only fierce within her own circle. Without someone beside her, she might well be bullied into tears.
Lin Luyou was not quite so pathetic as to cry over Cheng Li’s baseless accusations, but she had no idea how to argue her way out of them either. Not wanting to quarrel, she lowered her head and continued working, giving Cheng Li the cold shoulder.
Cheng Li, however, did not think Lin Luyou was avoiding an argument—or admitting that she was in the wrong.
In Cheng Li’s eyes, Lin Luyou’s behavior was clearly nothing more than false superiority: she was looking down on her.
The more she thought about it, the angrier Cheng Li became, and the nameless fire in her heart burned hotter and hotter.
Fine. You look down on me, do you? Then I’ll show you how the person you despise can crush you until not even dust remains.
Lin Luyou kept her head lowered over the computer, completely unaware of Cheng Li’s thoughts. She only felt that the air-conditioning seemed to have grown a little colder.