Chapter 384 - 295: Deceiving Since Childhood?

「The next morning.」

Xue Rui brought the boys to the north gate to assemble, just as he’d arranged with Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan was far more diligent than he was. She had been up since six in the morning, already nagging him to get a move on.

Of course, Xue Rui paid her no mind. He simply asked what the arrangements from the supervising teacher were.

The result? After learning the approximate departure time from Jiang Yuan, Xue Rui let a few of the boys’ dorms sleep in for another half hour...

"What took you so long? Stop dawdling!" Jiang Yuan complained. She was starting to realize that the more she pushed him, the less hurried he seemed to become.

"As long as we’re not late, it’s fine," Xue Rui said, stretching lazily.

’The hospital doesn’t even open until eight at the earliest,’ he thought. ’There’s no point in getting up so early.’

Just as he was thinking that, Lin Ruoxi came to stand quietly beside him, flashing him a sweet smile.

Xue Rui smiled and patted the lass’s head. ’For my past self, it really was meaningless. But now, this little lass is waiting for me to wake up.’

Before long, the school-chartered bus pulled up to the north gate. Students began to file on, and Xue Rui led Lin Ruoxi to a corner seat.

But the lass saved the window seat for him, refusing to slide in herself.

"Rui, you get motion sickness. You take the window seat," Lin Ruoxi said, pushing Xue Rui in.

Xue Rui murmured, "I get motion sickness? Since when?"

"Mmm, you get sick on buses. You said if I hugged you, you wouldn’t feel sick anymore..."

The lass was recounting the first time they took the city loop bus back to her village.

The more Xue Rui listened, however, the more something felt off. ’To any outsider, this would sound like a classic trick to fool an idiot!’

"Lin Ruoxi, Xue Rui tricked you," Qian Huabiao couldn’t resist exposing Xue Rui’s true colors.

’Damn, that bastard tricked a hug out of her right after they met?’

’And with a body like that... He must have enjoyed it!’

Lin Ruoxi’s lovely brow furrowed as she argued, "Rui wouldn’t lie to me. After I hugged him, he really did feel better..."

"Sigh..."

Qian Huabiao was finally starting to understand why Xue Rui was always surrounded by so many beautiful women.

’So Xue Rui started his scams when he was just a kid?’

’Younger girls are easier to fool. He got a head start on everyone!’

’What an animal! A total beast!’

He sighed. "I get motion sickness too. A hug would cure me right up."

"Me too," Zhao Chaojie added, putting on a pained expression.

Xue Rui snorted. "Then you two should hug each other."

His words caused the students in the front rows to turn around, stifling their laughter as they waited for the two to share a passionate embrace.

Qian Huabiao and Zhao Chaojie glanced at each other and broke out in goosebumps. They could see the profound disgust in each other’s eyes.

"Lin Ruoxi, how did Old Xue manage to win you over?" Qian Huabiao wanted to learn from Xue Rui’s experience. That last story was pretty good; some of the kid’s moves were actually quite effective.

’Even though the last time I tried to learn his money-borrowing trick, my ex-girlfriend humiliated me...’

’But this time I’m just asking. What’s there to lose? Who’s going to humiliate me here?’

"Mmm, I was the one who pursued Xue Rui," Lin Ruoxi said in a soft, sweet voice.

"I..." Qian Huabiao felt a stabbing pain in his chest, as if he’d been run through with a knife. He never imagined he’d hear an answer like that!

’I don’t want to hear this!’

"What?!" A collective gasp echoed through the bus.

Xue Rui’s eyebrow twitched. He pulled a pair of earbuds from the lass’s bag and put them on. ’If this little lass keeps talking,’ he thought, ’I’m really going to lose all my friends.’ He decided to check out of the conversation.

After all, as the one who’d lucked out, anything he said would just sound like bragging. It was better to just put on a moody act for now.

"And now he’s acting all broody?" Cai Huazhou couldn’t help but quip.

"What an actor," Zhao Chaojie sneered.

Every time someone spoke up, they were met with Lin Ruoxi’s indignant glare.

"Ahem, I didn’t say anything," Qian Huabiao said. For some reason, he always felt a pang of guilt under Lin Ruoxi’s gaze.

"You... you said it in your head," Lin Ruoxi pouted and mumbled, subconsciously leaning a little closer to Xue Rui.

"Huh? You heard that too?"

...

While the lass was busy bickering with the others, Xue Rui leaned his head against the window and messaged the other girl. She had sent him the contact info for a breakfast shop near the hospital, saying she had already arranged for their breakfast and it could be delivered whenever they were ready.

Xue Rui: Thank you for your guidance, Teacher Gu.

Creditor: Hmph, you’re welcome.

Xue Rui: Teacher Gu is truly the one with the foresight.

Xue Rui was actually quite touched. Last night, he had just been spouting nonsense about running for class president, but Gu Muxue had immediately taken action.

Gu Muxue had a sharp, meticulous mind. She could spot an opportunity in the smallest detail and had the drive to act on it immediately.

If Gu Muxue had decided to run for class president herself, you could only imagine the pressure her rivals would be under.

’But as things stand now, is Jiang Yuan really a strong opponent?’

’Not for the current me,’ he thought. He had plenty of ways to secure the class president position; he just felt it was a waste of energy, especially since he planned on handing the duties back to Jiang Yuan eventually anyway.

Being class president was no cushy gig. It was exhausting, thankless work. The teachers always came looking for the class president first for everything. How was he supposed to skip class then?

For now, his startup projects were the priority.

Factory Director He was handling things at the Shencheng Electronics Factory. Apparently, he had recently secured a ton of new orders. Sales weren’t an issue in the slightest, and they were even preparing to expand production—a pleasant surprise.

As for the shared power bank venture, Xue Rui planned to use a ground-level marketing strategy, slowly rolling them out in the commercial districts of first and second-tier cities.

There were no competitors in this space yet, so the "entry fees" were almost negligible. The biggest expense would be commissions. He figured he would be happy just to break even after the first year.