Chen Tang and Bai Mengling began a covert rivalry.
Just like a goal without a goalkeeper is meaningless.
Bai Mengling is a woman with an extremely strong competitive spirit. If you ask for the reason—
For the Eldest Miss Bai, she was born with everything that others, even if they spent their whole lives, could never attain.
People usually don’t think that’s because of her ability, but rather her good luck.
Of course, some people would say, “Being born well is also a kind of strength.”
But according to the theory of psychological needs, material needs are actually not the highest needs. Among the higher-level needs of humans are the needs for “being recognized”, “being understood”, “being needed”, and “being loved.”
For Bai Mengling, who lacks nothing in material conditions—for Bai Mengling, who is doted on by thousands—objectively speaking, she needs “to be understood”, “to be recognized”, “to be needed.”
As Student Council President, participating in the debate competition. Without using her family connections, securing sponsorships as the Student Council President is her need for “recognition” and “being needed.”
Simply put—small wins have no meaning.
She must be the pinnacle of the school… Even if for many students the Student Council is just a decoration, and the school doesn’t really recognize it that much, it is still the “highest status” position among students. Becoming Student Council President without relying on her family’s power is Bai Mengling’s own pride.
Of course, giving salaries to Student Council members was a choice she made after taking office when she found that members lacked motivation. The root cause was that they worked, wasted time on studying and playing, but received no actual benefit, so she chose to pay them following a company model.
It’s not that she became Student Council President because she wanted to give everyone money.
Therefore, this person—at least from Chen Tang’s perspective in the original novel—is extremely proud. She would lose her composure in the debate because… she always considered herself noble, pure, and kind. She didn’t think there was anything wrong with leading the Student Council members to win the debate.
Moreover, the prize money for the debate was sponsored by herself… She longed for a thrilling debate. If there really was an expert, even if she lost to them, she would be willing. She would give that portion of funds to Student Council members under another pretense. As for the person who defeated her, she would have the Bai Clan evaluate them, also as a way to recruit talent for the group.
However, the most difficult thing in this world is not having good people and bad people. The most frustrating thing is never a bad person bullying a good person.
But both sides being good people.
But a collision of right and right.
Of course, what she did was not wrong. If she hadn’t sponsored this debate, it wouldn’t have attracted anyone at all. It would just be an ordinary extracurricular activity.
However, the other side also has a reason they must win.
From a universal values perspective… if this were written as a story, then the other side would be more like the protagonist.
Because she just wanted to win, to take the opportunity to give her employees some benefits.
While the other side is truly trying to save a life.
This makes it seem as if Bai Mengling is treating human life like grass—for someone with lower moral standards, what’s the big deal?
“I, Bai Mengling, have no obligation to save you. Do I even know you?”
Even someone more malicious, like the classic sharp-tongued but kind-hearted young lady in many anime, would say, “Kneel before me and kowtow, and I’ll sponsor that child’s treatment.”
This would also be a test for those people. If they truly wanted to save someone, it’s just one kowtow—if it could save a life, they would definitely be willing.
And in this way, Bai Mengling could both save face and save a life, avoiding guilt.
However, unfortunately, Bai Mengling is not that kind of person, or rather, she doesn’t have the “tsundere” attribute.
She is someone who takes everything seriously.
—Forget about the debate for now. At this moment, Bai Mengling saw Chen Tang wearing a skirt and white stockings, which was rare, and instinctively came to a conclusion.
This woman, according to her investigation, never did such things during the period when Liu Yan was dating Xia You, but after Liu Yan started dating her, she changed her style.
Why?
Bai Mengling quickly arrived at her own answer.
She felt she could put herself in Chen Tang’s shoes and think.
Imagine if she were Chen Tang, childhood friends with Liu Yan, innocent and close—she would definitely like Liu Yan, but because their relationship was too good… they never started dating.
For Chen Tang, it was probably when Liu Yan started dating Xia You that she finally noticed her own romantic feelings.
She did nothing, probably because she didn’t dare to admit it, afraid that admitting it would collapse her relationship with Liu Yan—so she kept waiting.
Perhaps it was this woman who fanned the flames for Liu Yan and Xia You’s breakup. Then she waited for Liu Yan and Xia You to break up.
However, before she could make a move on Liu Yan, Liu Yan confessed to her—this must have stimulated Chen Tang.
She probably realized that even if Liu Yan wasn’t with Xia You, he still didn’t look at her, so she couldn’t bear it.
So, she changed her style, wanting Liu Yan to become more aware of her “girly” side.
I see!
Standing beside Liu Yan.
In just a few minutes, Bai Mengling felt she had figured out all of Chen Tang’s intentions. This woman was undoubtedly a rival. She was the so-called “female-brother” type of green tea bitch.
Bai Mengling had seen memes like this online.
Low-tier green tea: “Giegie~ that sister is so mean, not like me, I only know how to care for giegie~”
High-tier green tea: “Bro, go online together” “Bro, come out for a drink” “Bro, let’s have a child to maintain our friendship.”
Without a doubt, Chen Tang was this type of person. Plus her childhood friend attribute…
She could be called a formidable hunter.
An ordinary woman might say very directly, “I don’t like you getting too close to your childhood friend, I’ll get jealous.”
But someone with as strong a sense of pride as the Eldest Miss Bai cannot do such a thing.
If you ask for the reason—if she made such a request to Liu Yan, regardless of whether he agrees, even if he does… wouldn’t that be equivalent to admitting defeat?
That would be equivalent to Bai Mengling admitting defeat to Chen Tang, acknowledging that her charm is inferior to Chen Tang’s, that she cannot capture Liu Yan’s heart as well as Chen Tang can, that she cannot handle the Chen Tang problem, and can only show weakness to Liu Yan, letting him deal with Chen Tang.
What a joke?
She, Bai Mengling, will never admit that!
She must, in a “duel”, openly and fairly defeat “Chen Tang.”
Even if she and Liu Yan probably won’t end up together, she, Bai Mengling, will be upright and never stoop to dirty tricks! She will capture Liu Yan with her own charm! And then… crush Chen Tang! To prove that she is the “pinnacle.”
A young man who looked somewhat sunny but couldn’t be called handsome, at least not in the same style as popular male stars, with a slightly tough appearance, was accompanied by two beautiful girls with completely different styles. They arrived together at an electric scooter shop to buy an electric scooter—the store clerk’s eyes widened.
“Oh~ They have a wide variety here!”
Chen Tang felt they needed an electric scooter. She quickly spotted a larger one: “Boss, what’s the speed limit on this scooter?”
“Forty.”
Chen Tang immediately frowned: “No, you said the small one for one person, forty is fine. But this big one, why is it also only forty?”
“Hey! Miss, there are regulations now, can’t exceed 40.”
Hearing this, Liu Yan and Chen Tang exchanged glances, then Liu Yan pulled the clerk aside and whispered something.
Bai Mengling looked around curiously. To be honest, she hadn’t expected so many types of electric scooters.
“What are they talking about?”
“They’re asking if they can remove the speed limiter. We can pay extra.”
Chen Tang casually explained.
Bai Mengling was taken aback: “This, this isn’t against the rules?”
“Right, so he won’t do it for us. He’ll refer us to some repair shop, and we mention his name, and the mechanic will do it. If any problem arises, we’ll say something went wrong during the repair and it had to be done that way. The mechanic won’t admit it anyway, and if asked, we’ll say we modified it ourselves.”
Bai Mengling’s eyes widened: “Huh?”
“What’s so strange about this? President Bai, isn’t this sort of thing very common?” Chen Tang looked puzzled.
“Are all of the Bai Clan’s businesses completely legal and compliant?”
“Of course!”
Well, it’s unlikely the Eldest Miss Bai would admit in front of outsiders that her family’s group has some non-compliant aspects. But come to think of it—after all, it’s just the author’s setting.
What if the author really set it that way?
That would be a bit too perverted.
“But, since they set a limit of 40, it means going faster is dangerous. Why must you do this?”
“Sigh, I can drive at forty, but you can’t limit me to only being able to drive forty, Eldest Miss Bai.” Chen Tang said very frankly.
“In fact, Old Liu is a very law-abiding person. He never speeds. Even when riding a bike or walking, he strictly follows traffic lights. But you can’t make me only drive at forty when I’m in a hurry. Do you understand what I mean?”
“Is following traffic lights unreasonable?”
“…”
Chen Tang is not very rule-abiding; otherwise, she wouldn’t be the Demon Pill.
After a while, Liu Yan came back.
“He wants two thousand.”
“That’s about right.”
Chen Tang took out her phone and transferred one thousand to Liu Yan.
They split it evenly.
Liu Yan didn’t hesitate and accepted the money.
Then they saw that Bai Mengling had already scanned the code to pay.
“Hey! Wait!”
Liu Yan quickly stopped her: “Mengling! What are you doing? Stop. Chen Tang and I are buying the scooter together. Don’t pay for it. That’s not appropriate.”
His grip was a bit strong, showing his determination. He stopped Bai Mengling’s action and then scanned the code to pay himself.
Bai Mengling was about to say something, but Liu Yan directly said: “If you want to give me a gift, I would happily accept it. But this is something I was planning to buy. Having you buy it is inappropriate. Besides, I’m splitting it half with Chen Tang. So it’s right for us two to pay. Do I really want to be a kept man?”
Liu Yan was unexpectedly particular about these things.
Bai Mengling couldn’t help but raise her evaluation of Liu Yan.
He was always neither humble nor arrogant in front of her—he didn’t treat her differently because she was the Eldest Miss Bai.
This made Bai Mengling feel pleased.
Moreover, Liu Yan was always very polite.
She glanced at her wrist that Liu Yan had been holding and couldn’t help blushing.
Liu Yan also realized his inappropriate behavior and immediately let go.
“Well… anyway, we got the scooter, but let’s send it to the shop for modification first. That repair shop is not far. Then we’ll have lunch and I’ll come back to ride it.”
Liu Yan arranged the rest of the time and looked at Bai Mengling: “What are your plans for lunch?”
“Today is Sunday anyway, and I have nothing to do. I’ll just follow my boyfriend today!”
Liu Yan thought for a moment: “Chen Tang and I originally planned to eat at home and then play games in the afternoon. If you want to join, we can eat out…”
“Eh? Can’t I eat with you? Eat at home… Don’t you welcome me?”
Hearing Bai Mengling’s words, Liu Yan looked at Chen Tang.
Chen Tang nodded: “If President Bai doesn’t mind our humble place, we would be honored.”
‘This woman keeps emphasizing her status!’
“How could I mind? I’ve always looked forward to eating at home with my boyfriend…”
She emphasized that Liu Yan was her boyfriend, thinking that should step on Chen Tang’s sore spot.
‘Chen Tang only thought this woman was extremely stupid.’
‘She has completely fallen into the “female rivalry trap” she herself set up.’
“But, there are only two computers at home, and no place to set up… President Bai probably isn’t very good at games either. What about the afternoon? Go out and play?”
‘See, I say this.’
‘It makes me look magnanimous, not minding sacrificing my play time for President Bai, and also wanting to accompany her well. But it also points out that you, President Bai, are not the same kind of person as us, with different ways of entertainment. Don’t force your way in, otherwise we’ll have to sacrifice our own entertainment time to keep you company.’
Bai Mengling naturally understood Chen Tang’s words.
She smiled and said: “I can play games too. Although it is indeed inconvenient, my family owns several decent internet cafes. I can arrange a three-person room over there, and we can go to the internet cafe to play. Don’t judge me by appearances. Have you forgotten that three months into freshman year, the school organized a campus e-sports competition? That was organized by me, and I brought in sponsors. Didn’t you two participate?”
‘Ah…’
‘That event required teams of five, and Liu Yan and Chen Tang knew their own skill level—they’d just get beaten.’
‘Was this organized by the Eldest Miss Bai?’
‘This kind of event wasn’t mentioned in the original novel…’
“As the organizer, I also played games for a while. I’m not an expert, but since we’re all playing together, are you two the overly competitive type?”