Chapter 28: The Perfect Team
At 1:30 p.m., Lu Li went to the activity classroom to clean up, as usual. Wen Hupo was different today. Her expression was more serious than usual – she would usually frown in concentration while painting, but today was different. A strand of her long hair had fallen onto the palette, and she didn’t even seem to notice. Lu Li walked over to the blonde girl and saw that her painting today was particularly bold and free, bright colors splashed onto the canvas like ink. Wen Hupo specialized in portraits and rarely painted landscapes or abstract art, unless she encountered a problem she couldn’t solve. In her own words, it was “experiencing the world from a different perspective.”
“Thank you,” she said, her eyes still focused on the canvas, seemingly impolite.
“You’re welcome.”
“Were those words for Chu Jingyi or An Baili?”
“Which words?”
“The last ones.”
“What do you think?”
Wen Hupo smiled. “I think you were trying to please both of them.”
Lu Li smiled too. As expected, Wen Hupo could always see through his little tricks.
Wen Hupo nodded. “Lu Li, you’re much smarter than I thought. The best way to divert attention is to create a bigger distraction. But this way, all their gossip will be focused on you. Are you willing to do this for me?”
“It’s just a few harmless rumors.” Lu Li shook his head. The “secret” he dropped at the end was enough to keep those high schoolers guessing for a whole year. He was simply using this opportunity to appease Silly Goose. Those people from the broadcasting club didn’t actually bother him. If it weren’t for Wen Hupo, he wouldn’t even pay attention to them.
“How did you do it?”
Lu Li pulled up a chair and sat next to Wen Hupo. “Most problems in the world are caused by people, so we just need to get rid of the people who are causing the problems. Everyone has weaknesses, especially those idle second-generations in the broadcasting club. They’re foolish, arrogant, and full of flaws.”
Wen Hupo finally turned to look at him. “That’s not something a kind person would say.”
“There’s a difference between reasonable kindness and unreasonable kindness. I consider myself a reasonably kind person.” Lu Li revealed his white teeth.
“You’re a consequentialist, aren’t you? As long as the end result is good, any means are justified?” Her gaze was deep and penetrating, as if trying to see through the boy in front of her.
“I used to be. Not anymore.”
“What happened to that host, Du?”
“He’s doing well. At least for the next six months, his lifestyle will improve significantly. I consider this a good deed.”
Wen Hupo shook her head. She still couldn’t figure out what kind of person Lu Li was. Was he a good person? Not really. But calling him a bad person seemed too harsh. If she had to use an image to describe him, she would choose a businessman, not an ordinary businessman, but an arms dealer. Just like Mr. Victor, who had visited the Amber family castle before. He was profit-driven and ruthless, yet also loyal and sentimental, leaving a deep impression on Wen Hupo.
It’s best if Lu Li doesn’t become like that. She thought.
“How should I thank you?” Wen Hupo put down her paintbrush, her hand still stained with paint. “Do you like this painting? Every brushstroke contains my overwhelming emotions. I’ll never be able to paint another one like it. You can have it.”
“Join my team.” Lu Li said. “We need a real artist.”
“How many times have you asked me this?” Wen Hupo’s irises were light in color, like a lonely galaxy floating in the universe.
“Third or fourth time? I can’t remember.”
“Don’t you like painting?”
“I do.” After all, it was worth a fortune. In four or five years, her paintings would be auctioned for millions. Abstract paintings like this one would be priceless.
“I don’t like feeling restricted.” Wen Hupo didn’t immediately refuse like before.
“Neither do I.”
“Do you listen to classical music?”
“I do, but I don’t understand it.”
“I don’t really understand it either. The etiquette teacher is a snobbish old woman. I didn’t listen to a single word of her lectures on music theory.”
“Didn’t she call you a country bumpkin?”
“She did. She always gossips about how Shirley Amber is a girl from the countryside.” Wen Hupo chuckled.
“Jesus was also born in a stable in the countryside.”
“He was carried out.”
“A savior should be able to walk and talk from birth.”
“That’s not a savior, that’s an alien.”
“What kind of alien?”
“A Baltan.” They both said it at the same time. Wen Hupo looked at Lu Li’s sincere eyes, a little dazed. Only Lu Li could keep up with her random train of thought, only he could understand her heart without her having to carefully choose her words or think about her expressions. It was just natural.
Perhaps, it wouldn’t be so bad to agree to his request. She was curious about his game anyway.
“Okay.” She just hummed in agreement, and Lu Li understood. Their conversation, after jumping between various topics, had returned to the starting point, as if it were all just a normal chat.
“Welcome aboard, Hupo! Can I call you Hupo?” Lu Li asked excitedly. He had finally managed to recruit Wen Hupo to his game development team. Now his team was complete: Silly Goose, An Baili, Chen Jianing, Wen Hupo, and himself. It was the most luxurious lineup.
“No, you can only call me by my full name.” Wen Hupo said seriously. “Only close friends can call me Hupo. What do I need to do?”
“Do you have WeChat?”
“No.”
“I’ll help you register an account. I’ll send you the character designs tonight, and you can just use your creativity.”
“How long will it take?”
“As soon as possible.” After the game was completed, there was still a profit cycle. It wasn’t like they would earn a fortune immediately after release. His and An Baili’s college tuition fees combined would be at least 300,000 yuan. He wasn’t sure how long it would take to achieve the expected revenue. Lu Li had thought more than once, wouldn’t it be better if universities were all managed by the government, admissions were based on a national exam, and tuition fees were reduced to a few thousand yuan per semester?
Wait… did he forget something…? Lu Li rubbed his temples. He felt like he had forgotten something, something that wasn’t particularly important, but also quite important. What was it…?
Mulan City.
Chen Jianing angrily crossed out another day on the calendar. He promised he wouldn’t forget me, he promised to stay in touch, but that bastard isn’t replying to my messages. Busy, busy, busy, how busy can a high school student be? I’m so angry… If he doesn’t reply, I won’t bother chasing after him! Who’s afraid of who…
She pouted and opened her phone. The message “What are you doing?” was still unsent in the chat box.
Is it that hard to just reply to a message?
She overheard her roommates chatting. They were talking about how so-and-so’s boyfriend had disappeared after they started dating, always ignoring their messages and calls. It’s true, men forget their friends once they have a girlfriend. Hearing this, Chen Jianing felt even more uncomfortable. She kept refreshing Lu Li’s Moments, searched his name online, and even created a burner account to argue with her main account. But she still couldn’t bring herself to click the green “send” button.
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