Chapter 79
Chapter 79: Counterattack! A Prophecy, Identity Reveal Warning
In Xue Yi Wei’s eyes, there was nothing money couldn’t solve.
Five million was a number Ye Wan Lan could never have seen in her life.
And surely Ye Wan Lan understood what the Yun Jing circle meant to someone from River City.
She wouldn’t refuse.
Su Xue Qing was stunned by the sheer shamelessness. “You weren’t this arrogant in Yun Jing. How did you become like this after coming to River City?”
She sneered. “Oh, I get it. You bully the weak. How pathetic.”
“Su Xue Qing,” Xue Yi Wei said coldly, “I’m talking to Ye Wan Lan. What does it have to do with you?”
Her gaze sharpened. “You can’t even protect yourself. Stop running your mouth!”
She’d heard about Su Xue Qing from Su Xu Bai. The Su Family had been merciful; they hadn’t destroyed her hands. They’d only expelled her.
A discarded Su Family child, forbidden to return—what right did she have to point fingers?
Ye Wan Lan placed a hand on Su Xue Qing’s shoulder. Her voice stayed steady, her posture unmoving. “Do you know how much the Qin Family offered me to make things go away?”
Xue Yi Wei froze, not understanding at first.
River City’s Qin Family?
The Qin Family causing trouble for Ye Wan Lan—wasn’t that supposed to be Ye Wan Lan’s honor?
“Fifty million,” Ye Wan Lan said calmly.
The number struck like a slap.
Xue Yi Wei’s pupils tightened, her face flushing with humiliation.
“They offered me fifty million to wipe the matter clean,” Ye Wan Lan continued, a faint smile on her lips. “If you can’t put that number on the table, you don’t have the right to ask me for anything.”
Xue Yi Wei burned.
No matter how much allowance she received, fifty million was still an astronomical sum for someone who’d only just come of age.
Even after graduation, her parents had promised her only eight million as startup funds.
Fifty million?
Her parents likely couldn’t pull that kind of liquid cash out on short notice. And the Xue Family was a large clan with countless branches; the money wasn’t controlled by her household alone.
Xue Yi Wei had wanted to use money to smooth over the conflict without bowing her head. Her pride would never allow her to fully lower herself—she would never say I’m sorry.
“Xue Yi Wei,” Su Xue Qing said with open disgust, “I really don’t know where you get the nerve. People should have self-awareness. You don’t.
“Don’t show up in front of our A Lan again. Is your face thick enough to keep taking hits?”
Right then, the class bell rang.
Ye Wan Lan and Su Xue Qing took their cups from the water dispenser and returned to class.
Xue Yi Wei stood frozen for a long time before she hurried back, flustered and embarrassed.
Su Xu Bai noticed at once. “What happened?”
Xue Yi Wei pressed her lips together and chose to hide part of the truth. “I went to apologize to Ye Wan Lan and asked her to let us meet Professor Yuwen. She refused and told me to get lost because I don’t have money.”
She was betting Su Xu Bai wouldn’t go confirm it.
Sure enough, Su Xu Bai’s brows tightened, his dislike deepening. “Why did you apologize to her? It’s not your fault.”
“I thought we both needed to talk to Professor Yuwen,” Xue Yi Wei said, shaking her head. “But he’s always busy. We never run into him.”
She paused, sighing as if disappointed. “I didn’t expect…”
Su Xu Bai pondered. “I’ll find a way to have the Su Family set something up. We’ll go back to Yun Jing during summer break and see.”
“Thank you,” Xue Yi Wei said, finally managing a smile.
Then she hesitated, and her voice dropped. “Xu Bai… we came to River City because of the Rong Family…”
Though the Tai Su Sect had fallen, the Tai Su Lineage lived on.
Among Yun Jing’s powers, the Rong Family stood on par with the Su Family.
Three hundred years ago, there had even been a saying in Jiang Hu: if Tai Yi Divine Needle and the Tai Su Lineage were combined, a person could reach an unprecedented height.
Because of that, the Su Family and the Rong Family were close. And Su Xu Bai’s parents had once overheard a prophecy from the Rong Family.
The prophecy said that in the next few years, River City would undergo an unprecedented upheaval. Many unknown people would rise, and countless talents would gather.
That group would even influence all of Shen Zhou.
So Su Xu Bai’s parents sent him to River City. When the Xue Family learned about it, they sent Xue Yi Wei as well.
To them, it didn’t matter which school in River City they attended. With their family conditions, they could hire entire tutor teams.
Su Xu Bai’s reason for choosing No. 7 High School was simple: he was tired of the people around him—lazy, opportunistic, obsessed with climbing the social ladder.
But they’d been here two years already, and they still hadn’t seen any sign of that so-called upheaval.
“Wait a little longer,” Su Xu Bai said. Even he sounded uncertain now. “We only have one year left before graduation. The Rong Family’s prophecy won’t be wrong.”
Xue Yi Wei nodded and forced herself to focus on class.
—
At six thirty that evening, Ye Wan Lan met Zhou Yi Xiang as planned.
Because it involved Wan Tian Qing Company’s development, she brought Cheng Qing Li and Jiang Xu Lin as well.
“Sister Wan Lan!”
Zhou Yi Xiang waved and hurried over, beaming. “Sister Qing Li is here too—and Sir Jiang.”
Jiang Xu Lin immediately looked offended. “You call them Sister. Why don’t you call me Brother Xu Lin?”
Out of the three of them, he was the only one actually older than her.
Zhou Yi Xiang froze, then tucked herself behind Ye Wan Lan, peeking out with wide eyes.
Ye Wan Lan looked at Jiang Xu Lin evenly. “Jiang Xu Lin, bullying Yi Xiang in front of me—do you want to become one-sixty again?”
Jiang Xu Lin choked. “What did I do? I’m speaking up for fairness.”
“You’re a grown man,” Cheng Qing Li said, shooting him a look. “How can your treatment here compare to ours as girls?”
She narrowed her eyes. “And you want Yi Xiang to call you brother? What kind of bad intentions do you have?”
“Stop.” Jiang Xu Lin raised both hands. “Brother Xu Lin is fine. But not just ‘brother.’ Absolutely not.”
He was genuinely terrified of the word brother.
Because whenever he heard it, it meant his little sister was about to pull something on him.
He had learned to fear it.
“Enough,” Ye Wan Lan said. “Sit.”
She patted Cheng Qing Li’s shoulder. “I already ordered. Check if there’s anything you don’t like or can’t eat.”
“No,” Cheng Qing Li said brightly. “Sister Lan, it’s all my favorites!”
Zhou Yi Xiang scanned the menu and looked up in surprise.
Her favorite dishes since childhood were squirrel fish and sweet-and-sour ribs.
Ye Wan Lan had ordered both.
Jiang Xu Lin shrugged. “I swear you dug up everything about me. What’s next—stripping me naked?”
“I don’t have that hobby,” Ye Wan Lan said flatly, then ordered three drinks.
“You don’t drink soda?” Jiang Xu Lin asked.
Ye Wan Lan lifted the thermos in her hand. “I drink tea.”
“Old-person lifestyle,” Jiang Xu Lin muttered, then frowned at the thermos. It looked oddly familiar…
His phone vibrated, snapping his thoughts apart.
He glanced down and immediately shuddered.
[Need Cash]: Brother brother brother, are you there? Brother? Good brother.
[Six-Foot-One Handsome Guy]: Spit it out.
[Need Cash]: Where’s that sister you talked about? Why haven’t you introduced her? Are you so pathetic you don’t dare let me see? If someone besides Aunt can finally handle you, I’m popping champagne to celebrate!
[Six-Foot-One Handsome Guy]: Jiang Zheng Xue, don’t force me to curse.
[Need Cash]: Wuwuwu, brother, you’re so mean. I just want to meet this good sister.
Jiang Xu Lin ground his teeth.
He genuinely suspected Jiang Zheng Xue had been picked up off the street. How else could he be upright and reliable while his sister was such a feral creature?
[Six-Foot-One Handsome Guy]: Don’t even think about it. Study for finals.
[Need Cash]: Sigh. If you won’t tell me, I’ll find her myself.
Jiang Xu Lin froze, fingers hovering over the keyboard.
Before he could reply, another message popped up.
[Need Cash]: Then just wait to die, you old thing!
Jiang Xu Lin: “….”
Expecting decency from his sister was his own fault.
He looked up at Ye Wan Lan and cleared his throat. “Miss Ye.”
“Yes?” Ye Wan Lan asked, unhurried.
Jiang Xu Lin hesitated, choosing his words with caution. “You have a good temper, right?”
Ye Wan Lan’s brows lifted slightly. “It’s fine. Depends on what you’re asking.”
He hesitated again.
His temper was bad. His sister’s temper was worse. And somehow, he suspected Ye Wan Lan’s temper wasn’t exactly gentle either.
If he brought his sister to meet Ye Wan Lan, all three of them might turn into rocket launchers.
“You did something wrong and you want Sister Lan to forgive you, brat?” Cheng Qing Li demanded, eyes sharp. “Talk. Confess and you’ll get leniency.”
“What could I have done wrong?” Jiang Xu Lin snorted. “I didn’t do anything.”
He huffed, then leaned back. “Actually, I have good news. Among the people we hired recently, there’s a group of twenty heritage artisans from South City.”
Ye Wan Lan looked at him.
“They also know part of Su Embroidery,” Jiang Xu Lin continued. “They understand it well. I taught them a few newer methods too. By the end of this year, we should be able to produce a few sets of haute couture.”
“That’s good news,” Ye Wan Lan said, nodding. “Perfect timing. You and Yi Xiang can discuss the style. The jewelry side also needs matching sets.”
—
The next day was the last day of Senior 2 classes this term. Finals would begin next week.
The atmosphere on campus felt dense and tense. After class, far fewer students lingered outside.
At noon, Ye Wan Lan and Su Xue Qing went downstairs for lunch as usual.
But something was different.
More than a dozen people were gathered below, and at the front stood a girl.
She wasn’t wearing a school uniform. She wore a black-and-purple racing suit, sharp and intimidating.
Xue Yi Wei was lost in thought and didn’t notice at first.
“Yi Wei,” one of the girls beside her whispered, voice shaking, “look. Is that Jiang Zheng Xue? When did she come back?”
Xue Yi Wei lifted her head.
Jiang Zheng Xue had led people to surround Ye Wan Lan.
Jiang Zheng Xue was the tyrant of No. 7 High School. Once she targeted someone, that person was finished.
“Classmate Ye probably doesn’t know her,” the girl whispered anxiously. “Should we go warn her? She—”
“No need,” Xue Yi Wei said, watching coldly.
A mocking curve tugged at her lips. A strange, unfamiliar satisfaction rose in her chest.
Wasn’t Ye Wan Lan so capable?
Then let her handle it.
Xue Yi Wei wanted to see exactly how badly Ye Wan Lan would suffer next.