OBS Chapter 38 1 Comparing the Winners
Chapter 38 1 Comparing the Winners
Because she was in a bad mood and had no time for anything else, Xu Lingjing heard the noise and turned to look.
In fact, Jiang Yiqing had already reminded her that Ye Yixian and Lu Yuan were chatting in the corridor, which looked like a young couple having a secret rendezvous.
Xu Lingjing became increasingly annoyed as she listened, and the more annoyed she became, the less she wanted to listen or watch.
Now that Li Xian can't stand it anymore and is openly causing trouble for Lu Yuan, Xu Lingjing thinks it might not be such a bad thing.
So she also glanced sideways, wanting to see whether Li Xian held a higher position or Lu Yuan was more superior in Class 5.
Lu Yuan's grades have consistently been at the bottom, but he is generous, easygoing, and has a wide circle of friends, making him very popular among his classmates.
In contrast, class monitor Li Xian consistently ranks among the top students in the grade. He is rigid, meticulous, and rules-abiding, and has gathered the top ten students in the class to form a stable clique, giving him a significant voice in the class.
Xu Lingjing's grades consistently ranked among the top three in the class, and she should logically be included in Li Xian's group of top students.
However, Lu Yuan had been actively pursuing her for a long time, while she had always maintained an ambiguous attitude and never explicitly rejected him. Over time, she became a centrist who walked between the two factions.
This neutrality meant she was never caught in the middle; on the contrary, it allowed her to balance both sides, making her exceptionally well-treated in both Lu Yuan's circle and Li Xian's group.
This was true, at least until she completely severed ties with Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan and Li Xian have always kept to themselves.
Lu Yuan can play whatever he wants without disturbing Li Xian's studies.
Li Xian, of course, wouldn't care about Lu Yuan.
Logically speaking, during the break between evening self-study, Lu Yuan and Ye Yixian were chatting in the corridor. There was no noise or disturbance, and it did not affect anyone's review in the classroom. It was a harmless little thing.
But Li Xian kept pressing the issue and publicly challenged him, inevitably leading everyone to speculate about his motives.
Most people only saw the surface reason, which was that the honor of being the class representative for the 100-day countdown rally ultimately fell to Lu Yuan.
Li Xian, who had been desperately campaigning for votes and determined to win, was disappointed to lose and became jealous. He then used discipline as a pretext to settle personal scores and take the opportunity to suppress Lu Yuan.
"I... I think I'll go back first."
Ye Yixian felt it was his own fault and decided to leave first.
However, Lu Yuan grabbed her and said with a smile, "It's okay, you can wait a bit before you leave."
Ye Yixian was puzzled.
Lu Yuan wasn't preventing Ye Yixian from leaving; after all, chatting during evening self-study wasn't something to be encouraged.
He simply didn't want the sensitive and insecure Ye Yixian to bear the guilt alone, and he wanted her to understand that this deliberately provoked conflict was never her fault, and that she didn't need to waste her energy on it.
Lu Yuan walked in through the back door of the classroom, his gaze fixed on Li Xian, creating an oppressive atmosphere.
Everyone knew perfectly well that he hadn't come back to evening self-study because of Li Xian's reprimand, but rather because he wanted to compete with Li Xian.
Li Xian was not afraid; in fact, he stood tall and faced Lu Yuan directly.
"Squad leader, what brings you here?" Lu Yuan asked calmly.
Li Xian's face turned cold. "Do I have to repeat myself? It's evening self-study time. What kind of behavior is it for you to stand outside chatting?"
"Discretion?"
Lu Yuan thought to himself that Li Xian was quite refined, which really suited his persona, but he didn't pay it any mind. Instead, he asked, "Everyone was studying quietly when you suddenly yelled at us, making it impossible for everyone to concentrate. What were you up to?"
"I……"
Li Xian was speechless for a moment, his throat tightened, and he froze.
He hadn't expected that Lu Yuan would not back down or show any remorse, but instead would seize upon the loophole and question him in return. He immediately felt guilty.
Lu Yuan was merely chatting quietly outside and did not overstep any boundaries to disturb others; however, his impulsive act and public outburst actually disrupted the order of the entire class, making his mistake far greater.
If you think about it that way, his actions are far worse than Lu Yuan's.
However, Li Xian was not easily defeated. He straightened his posture slightly, adopted a righteous and awe-inspiring demeanor, and began to argue his point:
"As the class monitor, it's my duty to maintain class order. If you followed the rules, would I have acted this way? Ultimately, wasn't it you who made the mistake first?"
What a clever example of turning cause into effect.
Lu Yuan inwardly praised Li Xian for being truly shameless.
Having lived two lives, Lu Yuan knew Li Xian quite well; the shamelessness of this man was truly astonishing.
For example, when Lu Yuan married Xu Lingjing in his previous life, he went to the wedding and cried and laughed at the same time, even reciting a poem to express his regret. As a result, all the guests were embarrassed and scratched their feet.
Gao Zhe disliked Li Xian's abuse of power even more than Lu Yuan, and stood up to sarcastically say, "Li Xian, why do you keep throwing dirty water on my brother Yuan? You can't stand that brother Yuan and Ye Yixian are chatting outside the classroom, but it's just to vent someone's anger and embarrass brother Yuan."
If you didn't use your position for personal gain and openly stood up for someone, I'd respect you more. But you insist on being hypocritical; who are you trying to fool?
Gao Zhe attacked without restraint.
Regardless of whose face to give, she launched into a tirade against Li Xian.
No, he still gave Xu Lingjing face, referring to her as "someone" throughout the conversation instead of calling her by her name.
However, everyone could tell that the room was in an uproar.
Lu Yuan secretly gave Gao Zhe a thumbs up, and Gao Zhe understood immediately, feeling overjoyed.
Li Xian was publicly exposed for having ulterior motives, which made him very embarrassed. His face turned from red to blue, a truly fascinating sight.
Lu Yuan then seized the opportunity to back down, laughing, "Class monitor, I haven't attended evening self-study sessions in a long time, so I don't know many of the rules. If you think I've done something wrong, just come over and talk to me privately. Why make a fuss and disturb everyone's studying?"
Lu Yuan did not deny it outright, but frankly admitted that he had made a slight mistake. However, he cleverly reversed the logic and placed the greater blame and public pressure on Li Xian.
The implied meaning is clear and straightforward:
I only made a trivial mistake, which could have been resolved with a private reminder; but you made a mountain out of a molehill, raised the issue in public, and disrupted the group, which is the truly unreasonable mistake.
Language has always been the sharpest weapon.
Having experienced the ups and downs of two lifetimes, Lu Yuan has a deep understanding of human nature and knows how to use words and logic to manage situations.
When dealing with a bookworm like Li Xian who clings to his books and considers himself the righteous one, arguing and sophistry will only give others ammunition to criticize him. Only by refuting him with reason and crushing him with logic can you completely shatter his confidence.
After he finished speaking clearly and logically, Li Xian's face grew increasingly gloomy and unpleasant.
He glanced at Xu Lingjing subconsciously.
He noticed that Xu Lingjing was staring intently at Lu Yuan, which clearly indicated that she agreed with Lu Yuan's statement.
Not only him, but many people in the class also approve of Lu Yuan.
Li Xian had difficulty breathing and almost lost his strength.
"Lu Yuan, stop trying to argue your way out of this mess!"
Just as the stalemate was reaching its conclusion, a clear, cold female voice suddenly rang out. Zheng Jiarui, the class monitor, stepped forward and stood firmly beside Li Xian, saying, "No matter how many excuses you make, it's useless. If we really have to let the homeroom teacher come and judge, you'll still be the one in the wrong."
Zheng Jiarui is the girl in the class who is closest to Li Xian. They often discuss difficult problems together and are consistently among the top students. Her stepping forward to help Li Xian out of this predicament seems unexpected, but it is actually quite reasonable.
Lu Yuan quickly searched his memories of his past life and vaguely recalled that at that wedding banquet, Li Xian, who was drunk and emotionally broken, was eventually helped away by Zheng Jiarui.
Zheng Jiarui's words may seem forceful, unreasonable, and irrational, but they actually conceal a hidden scheme.
In this prestigious high school, academic performance is the strongest asset, and top students are practically immune to punishment.
Even if Li Xian's actions are excessive and wrong, as long as he doesn't cross the line of principles, the homeroom teacher will most likely favor him as the class monitor and top student.
If things escalate tonight and the homeroom teacher has to intervene, Lu Yuan definitely won't benefit from it.
Even if Lu Yuan goes unpunished in the end, Li Xian can still declare victory.
Having figured out the pros and cons, Ye Yixian, who was outside the classroom, was very worried about Lu Yuan.
She felt extremely ashamed, believing that her arrival had brought trouble to Lu Yuan. She made up her mind to step forward and take responsibility for Lu Yuan, hoping to settle the matter peacefully.