Pretending To Have A Certain Persona Can Be Tiring - Chapter 17

“No, you were howling your head off on the phone for this?”

Song Yang suppressed the urge to kick him into orbit and dragged Tao Ziyi back from the bridge railing.

Tao Ziyi was weeping and snotting, struggling to break free from his grip. “Let me jump! Let me jump! I do not want to live anymore!”

Song Yang rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Fine, jump. Hurry up, I am in a rush to get home.”

As soon as Song Yang actually let go, Tao Ziyi gazed at the surging river below and felt a sudden wave of cowardice. He froze in place, unable to move.

“Jump then.”

“…” Tao Ziyi choked on his sobs, his speech slurred. “Yangyang, why did he treat me like this? He slept with me the day before yesterday, and yesterday I caught him in bed with someone else. Turns out his love was all a lie. I should have known; a man who cannot keep his hands to himself certainly cannot keep his pants on! Every sweet word was just a sugar-coated trap. Sob, I will never believe in love again!”

“Heh.” Song Yang let out a cold snort.

Seeing the sarcasm on his face, Tao Ziyi cried even harder. “That scum did not just play with my feelings; he scammed my money too. That iPhone 15 Pro Max, Natural Titanium, 512GB, was bought with a loan I took out for him. He also borrowed two thousand from me and never paid it back. I told him to pay me back before breaking up, and he just blocked me. What do I do?”

Song Yang’s fury flared up. He wanted to slap the scum and the lovestruck fool two hundred times each. He clicked his tongue, but seeing the pathetic mess Tao Ziyi was, he suppressed his rage and said, “In any relationship, you must put yourself first. You use a two-thousand-yuan phone, but buy him one worth ten thousand? Is your bank balance negative, and is your IQ negative too? You do not even love yourself, yet you expect that scum to love you?”

“Sob, Yangyang baby…”

Seeing the large glob of snot hanging from Tao Ziyi’s mouth, Song Yang felt a surge of disgust. He pulled a pack of tissues from his pocket and tossed it at him. “Enough. Wipe your nose and follow me.”

Tao Ziyi sniffed his snot back, stunned. “Sob, where are we going?”

Song Yang had already started walking. He looked back and said, “I am helping you beat the scum.”

He took Tao Ziyi to the school printing shop.

“Boss, can you rush a poster? Print this image.”

Song Yang sent the edited image to the boss. Tao Ziyi tugged at his sleeve, worried. “Will our instructor yell at us for disturbing the peace? Maybe we should forget it.”

Song Yang replied, “Paying debts is only right and proper. We are just collecting debts, not disturbing the peace.”

The poster was printed quickly. Song Yang also snatched a megaphone from the shop, then had someone help him get keys to the Student Union office. They took a vacant display board and pasted the poster onto it smoothly.

Tao Ziyi handed him the glue from the side. “Yangyang, I am still a little scared…”

Song Yang shot him a sidelong glance. “If anyone dares to stop me today, I will strap on some dynamite and blow up the school with everyone else.”

“You are being a bit extreme…”

Song Yang was not worried about being punished for causing a scene; he was worried it would not look good to use Student Union property, so after pasting the poster, he took out his phone to notify Ji Ting.

song: Senior, I am borrowing a display board from the office for an emergency. I will return it immediately.

“Yangyang, why did you suddenly seem a bit cooler today?”

Song Yang looked up. “What, is it the handsomeness radiating from a chivalrous act of helping a brother?”

Tao Ziyi was amused and sniffled. “Even though you are being a bit extreme, you are really a good person. Honestly, if you were not straight, I would totally chase you.”

“Give it a rest.” Song Yang spat back. “Even if I were not straight, two bottoms have no future, okay!”

Song Yang froze for a second, suddenly realizing, Why did I automatically categorize myself as a bottom? No, no! Even if I were to become gay, I must be a dominant top.

His Majesty the Emperor of the Student Union: What kind of emergency?

Ji Ting replied after a few minutes. Song Yang did not see the new message, stuffed his phone in his pocket, and helped Tao Ziyi carry the display board out.

They arrived under Cheng Ran’s dormitory building and placed the board at an intersection. It was ten o’clock at night, and the library was closing, so there were many people passing by.

Song Yang turned on the megaphone and shouted, “Gossip here! Do not miss out if you are passing by!”

A few people were attracted to the scene. Tao Ziyi tugged at his sleeve in a panic. “My god, it has started. I am not ready.”

“You useless coward!” Song Yang whispered. “If you are embarrassed, go hide behind that tree. I will do it alone.”

Tao Ziyi slinked away.

“What is going on?” “Holy crap, another scum from the Art Academy!” “Huh? Is that Cheng Ran I know?”

The poster displayed a list of the scum’s crimes. To protect the privacy of those involved, Song Yang had kindly written “Mosaic” over his head.

Seeing the crowd growing, Song Yang raised the megaphone and said, “Cheng Ran, junior in the Painting Department of the Art Academy, Class 2, cheats on his partners, scams people out of money and affection, and even blocked someone after owing them fourteen thousand yuan. Pay up now, or I am calling the police.”

Passersby surrounded them, discussing it animatedly. Song Yang decided he would not stop until Cheng Ran’s reputation was ruined.

“Come and eat the gossip, come and eat the gossip!”

Song Yang was about to shout again when someone in the crowd suddenly snatched the megaphone from him.

Song Yang widened his eyes and saw that the newcomer was Ji Ting. He was carrying his schoolbag, looking as if he had just returned from the library.

“What kind of scene are you making?” In the noisy environment, Ji Ting’s deep voice was remarkably clear.

“King of Pretension… Senior? Perfect timing! Look at what your roommate has done.”

Song Yang reached for the megaphone, but Ji Ting gripped his wrist tightly. Ji Ting’s brows lowered. “Did he scam you? Did he play with your feelings?”

“No, no, it is…” His eyes darted around. He realized that the lovestruck fool was prideful; if word got out, it would be a secondary injury.

“Yes, it is me!” Song Yang lifted his chin, speaking righteously, and pulled his hand free from Ji Ting’s grip.

The lovestruck fool is prideful, but I am different. My pride is tougher than shoe leather and thicker than a city wall.

Ji Ting’s expression grew visibly gloomier. He watched Song Yang turn to the crowd and begin to wail: “That scum Cheng Ran used sweet talk to trick me, then threw me away when he was done. He cheated multiple times while we were dating. His greasy, squinty eyes made me sick, and that thing in his pants is as small as a needle mushroom, yet he bragged about it being eighteen centimeters!”

He crouched down, covering his face with both hands, pretending to weep: “The iPhone 15 Pro Max, Natural Titanium, 512G was bought with a loan I took out for him. He borrowed thousands from me and never paid it back. I just turned eighteen and have zero savings. I left home to attend college in a different city, my parents only give me fifteen hundred a month, and I take part-time jobs everywhere, scrimping and saving just so he could live better. Sob.”

“My god, that is so miserable…” “That dog of a man is truly trash.” “I am in the same major, I know him. Cheng Ran from Class 2 has always been messy. He has ruined so many people; this is the first time I have seen someone stand up to him.” “Scum men deserve to die, and I am not joking.”

Ji Ting: “…”

He crossed his arms and watched Song Yang’s performance silently. The corners of his lips curled up involuntarily, as if he were relieved.

If he did not know the temper of the dynamite in front of him, he almost would have believed it.

Song Yang, still crouching, wept bitterly and pounded the ground with his fists: “Maybe it is a realization that allows me to see clearly; if love is truly a shackle, why could you love so freely?”

“Enough.” Ji Ting stepped forward and hauled him up. “Go contact the instructor if you have an issue. If you cause a bigger scene here, you will be disciplined, understand?”

“Yangyang?” Cheng Ran, unaware of the situation, squeezed into the crowd. “What are you doing here?”

Seeing the protagonist finally arrive, the crowd erupted, pointing fingers at Cheng Ran.

Cheng Ran looked around in confusion, failing to grasp the situation. He saw Song Yang take a step toward him: “I am waiting for you.”

Cheng Ran grinned, arched a brow, and leaned in playfully, lifting his chin to examine him: “Yo, you are wearing makeup. Looking so pretty today, did you come here just to show me?”

Cheng Ran saw his lashes flutter like butterfly wings and bent his fingers to gently scrape his nose: “Trying to get Big Brother’s attention, little green tea?”

Song Yang felt an urge to vomit—like he had just eaten feces. He was about to summon all his strength for a kick to the groin, but Ji Ting swatted Cheng Ran’s hand away first.

“Take your dirty hand away.” Ji Ting’s gaze filled with rage, his tone cold enough to freeze.

“Why are you everywhere? None of your business.” Cheng Ran rolled his eyes at him dismissively and looked back at Song Yang. “Yangyang, what is up with waiting for Big Brother here?”

Song Yang smiled: “Waiting for you to pay me back.”

“Huh?”

At this moment, the people around began to denounce him: “Scum, have no shame, pay the money back!” “Pay the money! Pay the money!”

The smile on Cheng Ran’s face froze. He finally noticed the display board next to them and understood what was happening after a quick glance at the content. His eyes turned vicious, and he shouted angrily: “Song Yang, did you do this? What the hell is your problem? Are you crazy?”

Song Yang raised his volume: “You know what you did. Can’t you own up to it, you coward?”

Cheng Ran, in a frantic rage, went over, tore the poster off the board, balled it up, and threw it at Song Yang: “Do not worry, even if I am a player, I would never look twice at you. You are short, ugly, hot-tempered, and rustic. Do you really think you are something special?”

“Yo!” Song Yang was immediately triggered. “I am ugly? Attacking my looks, huh? You should look at yourself. I thought your pitted face was sampled from the moon’s surface by your mother. I thought your shifty eyes meant your ancestors married into a family of rats. From the side, your features are flatter than the North China Plain; from the front, you are more jagged than the Hengduan Mountains. You are so greasy that breading you would make the neighbor’s kid cry. And that Mac in your pants is like a teapot spout—you brag about eighteen centimeters? Is that the length of your brain grooves?”

“You!”

The crowd of onlookers erupted in laughter. Cheng Ran’s face flushed red with rage, his forehead veins bulging. He cursed: “You are dressed so gaudily today; what straight guy looks like you? Are you trying to seduce men, playing the saint?”

Song Yang gave a sarcastic laugh at the weak, pale retort.

Ji Ting reached out from the side to stop Song Yang: “Stop arguing with him. Do you really want to be disciplined?”

Cheng Ran said: “Why, President, are you so concerned about him? Do you want to…”

“French Fry! You can scold me, but the King of Pretension is innocent.” Song Yang pushed Ji Ting back and turned his head. “King of Pretension… no, Senior, go further away. I am about to go on a rampage.”

Ji Ting saw he could not stop him and noticed Tao Ziyi cowering behind a tree trunk in the distance. He turned and walked toward him.

“S-Senior…” Tao Ziyi shuffled out from behind the tree, shivering.

Ji Ting took out his phone, anxiety in his brows: “What is your instructor’s number?”

“Um, Senior, will Yangyang get in trouble if the instructor is called?”

“If things get worse, it will not be as simple as just being scolded.”

Tao Ziyi panicked and hurriedly took out his phone to check his contacts: “Okay, okay, I will call. It is all my fault. If Yangyang had not stood up for me…”

He had not finished his sentence when a gasp of shock rose from the crowd behind them.

Tao Ziyi asked in surprise: “Wh-what happened?”

Ji Ting hurriedly turned his head, his pupils constricting. Without time to think, he turned and ran toward the crowd.