I Have 10 Trillion Dollars only Usable For Simping
Chapter 89 - 089 Development Policy

Chapter 89: 089 Development Policy

"This is the situation, Junior Sister Li, you mustn’t blame Jiang Chen, I forced him to ghostwrite that love letter."

Although he had behaved rather dishonorably at the time, Luo Peng was nonetheless full of sincerity in mending his ways. The next day at noon, he invited Li Shuru out, hosted a formal dinner at the campus restaurant, ordered a table full of impressive dishes, and helped explain the situation to Jiang Chen.

This world bustles with activity, but few polish the soul.

Thus all beings, in their myriad forms, are fundamentally the same.

Lacking clear and catchy rhymes,

And without many ornamental radicals to their credit.

It’s as if others are but mediocre lines, while you are a line of poetry.

After fermenting overnight, the love letter had spread like wildfire, setting countless girls’ hearts aflutter, and some even advocated using it as an entry in the campus poetry contest.

It should have been an embarrassment, yet it seemed that Jiang Chen didn’t endure much of a blow to his reputation; on the contrary, his status as a talented scholar became even more illustrious.

Of course.

There were those who were jealous, accusing him of being fickle-hearted, having ambiguous relations with Li Shuru, while reaching out to other girls.

As a whipped Jiang Chen, his image was vaguely shifting towards that of a scoundrel.

Thanks to the deliberate protection of that female teacher, Luo Li’er was not exposed. Sure, some people had seen Jiang Chen speaking with Luo Li’er at the time, but they didn’t come forward to gossip.

After all, Luo Li’er was different from Li Shuru.

In the eyes of ordinary students, Li Shuru was seen as a "player," not exactly pure and chaste, but Luo Li’er was different.

If Li Shuru was a rose, lush and in full bloom, then Luo Li’er would be pure and clean moonlight. No one had the heart to sling mud at her, nor did they wish to attract trouble.

"Junior Sister Li, this is entirely my fault, I’ll punish myself with a drink."

Saying this, Luo Peng downed a beer, taking all the blame onto himself.

After getting back to the dorm last night and hearing about this, Li Shao and Bai Zheli were both amused and exasperated. However, because the matter was somewhat private, they did not join the meal today.

"All beings, in their myriad forms, are fundamentally the same. While others are but mediocre lines, you are a line of poetry."

Li Shuru murmured softly, with a calm expression that gave nothing away regarding her emotions.

Luo Peng set down his glass, a bit embarrassed, glanced at Jiang Chen, and then added, "Junior Sister Li, Jiang Chen just wrote it without much thought; don’t take it to heart. If that doesn’t work, you can make him write you another one, no, ten!"

Jiang Chen could hardly wait to shut this guy up. Was he here to resolve the conflict or to make it worse?

"I heard that Junior Sister Luo is very beautiful and is called the campus belle by many. Is that true?"

Li Shuru asked.

"Of course not, she’s still lacking compared to you," Luo Peng replied without hesitation, spouting what came to mind in order to remedy the mistake he had caused. In his heart, he silently apologized to Luo Li’er.

Li Shuru didn’t seem to care much about his answer, her gaze fixed on Jiang Chen.

Luo Peng hastily signaled with his eyes.

"You two are of different types; there’s no comparing."

Jiang Chen spoke honestly.

At these words, Luo Peng panicked. While the statement was true, at times like this, soothing Li Shuru’s feelings was what mattered. Was there really a need to be so blunt?

However, to his surprise, Li Shuru didn’t seem displeased with such a response, and said softly, "Ghostwriting is fine, just don’t let others get the wrong idea."

"Of course," Luo Peng quickly added, "We’ve already explained to Junior Sister Luo at the earliest opportunity that the love letter was just Jiang Chen helping me out."

Li Shuru nodded and didn’t dwell on the matter further.

Luo Peng breathed a sigh of relief.

If because of this incident Li Shuru and Jiang Chen’s relationship soured, it would’ve been a grave sin on his part. Luckily, although Li Shuru seemed proud and aloof, she was actually quite understanding and reasonable.

"I have some things to attend to, so I’ll be going first. Please enjoy your meal."

After picking at his food for a little while, Luo Peng, having accomplished his mission, didn’t want to linger as the third wheel, and was the first to leave, settling the bill on his way out.

"Can you boys really help each other with anything?"

Not long after Luo Peng left, Li Shuru began to speak in an indifferent tone.

"He asked me for help, what else could I have done?"

Jiang Chen gave a wry smile.

He was unsure of what exactly his current relationship with Li Shuru was.

Lovers?

Of course not.

Friends?

That didn’t seem quite right either.

Perhaps ’ambiguous’ was the only word that could reluctantly describe it.

"You helped him, but the love letter was written by you, and the contents should represent your own thoughts."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen raised his eyebrows but didn’t rush to explain. Instead, he looked meaningfully at Li Shuru and said with a smile, "Shu Rui, could it be that you’re jealous?"

A diversionary tactic, seizing the initiative by turning the tables.

But Li Shuru was no ordinary girl; she didn’t avoid the question, instead directly confronting it and kicking the ball back into his court.

"What do you think?"

Jiang Chen’s brow furrowed slightly.

Indeed, it was a meeting of equals, a clash of worthy opponents.

In fact, it was now the perfect time to tear down the paper screen separating them. If he wanted to, he could use this opportunity to take their relationship a step further and confirm the rumors about him and Li Shuru.

He didn’t have absolute certainty, but Jiang Chen was at least seventy percent sure that Li Shuru wouldn’t refuse.

But the problem was, if he really started a romantic relationship with Li Shuru, would that genuinely be a good thing for him?

At the beginning, his declaration of pursuit for Li Shuru stemmed from an incomplete understanding of the Gold Loyalty Card; only later did he gradually realize its true demands.

The card didn’t require him to date any particular girl; it only required a certain level of fondness.

In other words, as long as the fondness was at the right level, the specific nature of the relationship with the target didn’t matter at all.

Jiang Chen understood that, by its nature, the Gold Loyalty Card marked him as someone who could never be considered a "good person."

But being unable to be a good person didn’t mean he was destined to be a scoundrel.

There was still room for maneuver.

To draw an inexact comparison:

Getting married and then fooling around with others would be illegal, even criminal.

But if you don’t register the marriage, no matter how unruly your behavior outside, it’s not a really big issue.

At least psychologically, you won’t feel a great sense of guilt.

So, bringing the conversation back:

If he were to propose dating Li Shuru now, and she agreed, what would he do when the target for the conquest changed later on?

Break up with Li Shuru and pursue the next one?

Let’s not even talk about the hurt that would cause Li Shuru; such behavior, once or twice could be overlooked, but over time, it would inevitably tarnish his reputation irrevocably.

Just having a reputation as a loyal dog had already made the initial phase of winning over Li Shuru challenging—if he were to also carry the label of a scoundrel...

Jiang Chen silently shook his head, refusing to allow himself to walk down such a path.

So, faced with the ball that Li Shuru had kicked over, he didn’t catch it. Instead, he chose to quietly sidestep it.

Seeing this, Li Shuru didn’t continue the topic either and quietly shifted her gaze away.