Rebirth: He Decides to Lie Flat
Chapter 298 - 298 295 Had My Eye on It for a While

Chapter 298: Chapter 295: Had My Eye on It for a While Chapter 298: Chapter 295: Had My Eye on It for a While Jiang Yan and Mu Jiawen walked in, and all the high school classmates sitting at the two round tables turned to look at them.

The atmosphere was somewhat delicate.

Jian Dong raised his hand to greet Mu Jiawen, having participated in the physics competition together last year, they were quite familiar with each other.

There were six of them sitting at one table, and including Deng Tao, there were another six at the neighboring table—mostly from classes five and six of Yunzhou First Middle School, all studying in Beijing, with one attending the University of Technology just like Jian Dong.

Aside from Jian Dong, the faces of the other five were a bit unnatural.

This was because, before Zhu Zhen and the others arrived, apart from Jian Dong, the other four were asking Deng Tao what exactly was going on with Jiang Yan and Mu Jiawen?

Did the two of them go to the hotel to find her?

Deng Tao naturally denied it outright, insisting she had really mistaken someone else for them. But her response was weak and lacked energy, making her seem very listless.

It would be strange if she had energy, for in the morning’s competition she came last among all students at Beicheng University, ending up in the very last place!

After the scores were released, the team leader specifically went to look at her painting, and upon seeing that it was much worse than usual, assumed it was due to nerves. Instead of criticizing her, the teacher actually comforted her a bit.

Because of this, the farewell banquet everyone had planned for her at noon tomorrow was advanced to tonight, as she wanted to leave Beijing for North CityBeicheng early the next morning.

Knowing she hadn’t performed well in the exam, a few tried to shift the focus away. One of the girls brought up Mu Jiawen and Jiang Yan as soon as she started speaking.

There was no help for it—the two were just too popular at their school now, one as the top scorer of the college entrance exam and the provincial top scholar; the other was rumoured to have started a business as soon as he entered university, fixing and innovating computers, making a booming success of it.

The crucial point was, since the two entered Yunzhou First Middle School, they were always together, and later even tested into Beijing University together. No one would believe it if someone said they weren’t in some kind of relationship.

So, when Deng Tao claimed she saw the two of them at the hotel that day, the first thing that came to people’s minds was… that.

“Even if they did get into Beijing University, isn’t this behavior a bit too arrogant? Daring to do it but not letting people talk about it?”

“Exactly, Deng Tao, don’t be scared. After all, you’re leaving tomorrow—what does it matter what they say when they find you?”

Deng Tao was feeling down, knowing that her lackluster performance in the competition was indeed related to Mu Jiawen, so she didn’t say a word.

It was at this moment, someone turned around with a sudden exclamation, which made everyone turn their heads to look behind.

Aside from Jian Dong, the faces of the other five were extremely ugly. One of them said displeasedly, “Zhu Zhen, Zhu Jin, Yu Hang, what do you mean by this? Eavesdropping on other people’s conversations is fun?”

“Eavesdropping?” Zhu Jin scoffed, “This is about talking behind someone’s back and getting caught, feeling guilty?”

Zhu Zhen walked straight over and stood beside their round table, patting it, “We booked this table a long time ago, sorry, we didn’t know you were here. If we had known, we would definitely have changed venues. After all, one needs an appetite to eat.”

The girl sitting next to Deng Tao said angrily, “What do you mean, Zhu Zhen? Seeing us ruins your appetite? Then why are you still here? Get lost!”

“Is the restaurant owned by your family?”

The girl was speechless and fell silent.

After Zhu Jin sat down, he looked at Deng Tao seriously and asked, “Deng Tao, I really want to know what Mu Jiawen did to provoke you? Why is it that ever since she joined Yunzhou First Middle School, you’ve always found some issue with her?”

Deng Tao’s face looked very unpleasant as she whispered, “I haven’t.”

“Why couldn’t you just tell the truth plainly instead of beating around the bush? Mu Jiawen and Jiang Yan went to the hotel to book a room for her teacher, couldn’t you have said that directly? Meeting by chance, seeing it wrong, are you trying to clarify or mislead everyone?”

After Zhu Jin said this, everyone at their table looked at Deng Tao in astonishment and confusion.

Yu Hang glanced at Zhu Jin and sat down without making a sound.

It was a while before someone whispered, “Wait, are Mu Jiawen and Song Jiawen the same person?”

Zhu Jin turned toward the speaking boy with a smile, “Yes, the same person, her mother changed her surname to match hers. Do you know who her mother is? Deng Tao, you know, right?”

Deng Tao’s face turned an ugly shade of pale green.

“The famous Chinese painting master Mu Chenyan is her mother. Song Qingping, the president of the Yunzhou Calligraphy and Painting Association, is her teacher. That day, she and Jiang Yan went to the hotel to book a room for President Song. Deng Tao, you were also staying at that hotel, you must have met President Song already, haven’t you?”

“I heard from Xu Yan before that your paintings are often guided by President Song as well, so you should be quite familiar with him. How come you don’t know the real story?”

Deng Tao looked grim, and as she lifted her head to look at Zhu Jin, she said word by word, “I didn’t know!”

Someone tried to smooth things over, “Alright, alright, it’s all in the past now, no need to bring it up again.”

Yu Hang said to Zhu Zhen, “What the hell is wrong with you? It’s bad enough that you rarely treat us, and you bring this up here, it’s such bad luck!”

The people at the next table stiffened.

It was at this moment that Jiang Yan and Mu Jiawen walked in.

Almost a year since they’d seen her last, someone noticed that Mu Jiawen had become even more beautiful.

Her long black hair was draped over her back, making her skin seem even whiter and radiant. Her eyes, as dark as ink, were like deep pools with no bottom in sight. Her eyebrows were like a painting, her eyelashes curled, her nose high, her lips pink and full…

A few boys from Class Six discreetly checked Jiang Yan out. Damn, this guy really hit the jackpot. Did he see it coming and get in there first?

The more they thought about what Zhu Jin had revealed about Mu Jiawen’s birth mother, the more jealous they felt!

But after all, they were still students, not even twenty. Sometimes their thoughts were so simple. During the meal, some boys from Class Six came over with beers to apologize to Jiang Yan and Mu Jiawen.

Jiang Yan also gave them face, lifting his cup to clink with theirs, saying, “I’m a guy so it doesn’t really matter to me, but for girls, this kind of rumor can be deadly. I hope from now on everyone can think before they speak and act more carefully, not to follow the crowd blindly or be easily used by others.”

Everybody knew exactly who “the others” referred to!

Jiang Yan certainly wasn’t a saint who easily forgave others.

The meal was eaten with diverse thoughts; Deng Tao hardly touched a bite.

In the days that followed, almost every student from Yunzhou First Middle School came to know that Song Jiawen was now Mu Jiawen, and her paintings were selling for twenty thousand a piece in her mother’s gallery…

On Saturday morning, after breakfast, Song Qingping and Huang Kai went down to check out of their hotel, and they just so happened to run into Deng Tao and her father, who were also checking out.

Neither party greeted each other, but once outside, Mu Chenyan’s car just arrived at the hotel entrance.

The mother and daughter got out of the car to greet Song Qingping and Huang Kai to join them.

After they left and their car merged into the traffic and disappeared from view, Deng Tao’s father let out a heavy sigh. He and Song Qingping, the president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association, had truly burned their bridges…