Chapter 195: Knowing One’s Place
“I don’t need an assistant,” Gu Qinghuan said bluntly. “At this point, there’s no need for me to hide it—I only managed to join the student council because I got lucky and latched onto President Xia.”
“Even though my position is the president’s secretary, in reality I don’t handle any actual student council work. Most of the time, I just stay in the office assigned to me and do my own things.”
“I don’t think there’s anything about me worth learning from. If you want to join the student council, you’d be better off finding someone else.”
The class group chat had already exploded because of Wei Xiao’s earlier words. It was chaotic, but the overall sentiment boiled down to one thing:
Can Wei Xiao just get lost already?
Even after being rejected so directly, Wei Xiao’s expression didn’t change at all.
Of course he knew Gu Qinghuan only held a nominal position in the student council—just as his father Wei Yan had said, she had simply caught Xia He’s eye.
But he wasn’t actually trying to join the student council anymore. What he wanted was to get close to Gu Qinghuan.
Wei Xiao deliberately paused for a moment before giving a bitter smile. “Am I imagining things, or do you seem to dislike me?”
Correct—she didn’t just dislike him, she sincerely wished he had never existed in this world.
Gu Qinghuan grumbled inwardly, but on the surface she appeared distant and restrained. “No, it’s just… I don’t think we’re very familiar with each other, so…”
This time, Wei Xiao interrupted her. “When I said I was your fan before, I meant it.”
Gu Qinghuan looked at him in surprise. She had to admit—his expression did look quite sincere.
But would she believe it?
As if.
She lowered her head and took a sip of tea to hide her expression, thinking quickly.
Wei Xiao’s attitude right now clearly showed he wanted to deepen their relationship. As for why… student council? That was the only thing she could think of that might interest him.
No matter what his goal was, it was obvious he wouldn’t give up easily. If she rejected him today, he might come again tomorrow—or next week once school resumed.
Just imagining him pestering her at school gave her a headache.
She set down her teacup and looked at him again, wearing a helpless expression.
“But one-sided goodwill—especially when there’s such a big gap between us—feels a bit strange no matter how you think about it.”
Xu Xinghe: [Isn’t this going to make Wei Xiao feel pleased instead?]
Yao Shali: [“Such a big gap”—he’s definitely going to agree with that shamelessly.]
Ai Ning: [This psycho isn’t even worthy of a single strand of our class monitor’s hair!]
Yu Xin: [Even if Qinghuan wants this effect, saying it out loud is really not easy.]
Song Yi: [Ji Tianxiao—bring my sis a lemon water to rinse her mouth—]
Ji Tianxiao: [Busy serving dishes.]
Sure enough, Wei Xiao felt quite satisfied hearing that.
In his view, it was exactly like that—given Gu Qinghuan’s family background, she had only gotten into Mingde through sheer luck.
Even though she had gained some popularity through her little cleverness, that was all superficial.
Jiang Chuchu might bring her to Yunjin Tower—but had she given her a membership card?
Xia He might have let her into the student council—but had he introduced her to its core members?
None of that had happened.
Strip away Jiang Chuchu and Xia He, and Gu Qinghuan was nothing.
(If Qin Yue and Bai Hanshan knew what Wei Xiao was thinking, their expressions would definitely be complicated.)
Qin Yue: Didn’t you hear the server call her “Miss Gu” immediately? She may not have a membership card, but she’s already on the VIP list.
Bai Hanshan: Does Gu Qinghuan need Xia He to introduce people? Her connections in the student council might already surpass his.
But in Wei Xiao’s eyes, Gu Qinghuan at least had some self-awareness.
He shifted into a more comfortable position and continued, patiently guiding her:
“It’s not strange. The gap between us before is normal. That doesn’t stop me from appreciating your strengths.”
Class Three: I’m going to throw up.
Gu Qinghuan blinked. “Then what strengths do you think I have?”
Wei Xiao paused slightly.
At a moment like this, shouldn’t she be grateful for his appreciation? Why was she asking him to list her strengths? Not subtle at all.
Still, since he needed to maintain the relationship, he could only think of an answer.
“You’re very approachable… you can easily build good relationships with others…”
Ai Ning: [Why is he stumbling like that? Fail.]
Xie Xiangxue: [How could he miss “strong sense of justice”!]
Song Yi: [My sis has so many strengths—does he lack eyes or a mouth?]
Shi Guanghui: [Great leadership—otherwise how would she be our class monitor?]
Qin Yue: [He doesn’t understand the power of a troublemaker leader.]
Ming Xiaolan: [You guys are making it sound like she’s some mastermind villain…]
Yu Xin: [Qinghuan is the best!]
Gu Qinghuan listened to his so-called “praise” without any emotional reaction.
Honestly, any one of her classmates could have described her better than Wei Xiao.
She was excellent. Even if she had flaws, her strengths definitely outweighed them.
She didn’t need Wei Xiao to point them out, nor would she get lost in someone else’s “appreciation.” She already knew her own worth.
What Wei Xiao kept emphasizing was her ability to get along well with others.
That meant—that was what he valued.
He wanted to approach her because of her social connections.
So… he wanted to use her to get close to someone else?
Combined with previous guesses—student council?
Although he said he wanted to be her assistant, maybe that was just a method.
But she wasn’t at the center of power in the student council—logically, Bai Hanshan would be a better target.
Then suddenly—
A thought flashed through her mind like lightning.
Wei Xiao wanted to use her, someone on the periphery of the student council, to do something—
Something she could do, but that wouldn’t attract attention.
Connections. Network. Relationships.
She immediately recalled what Bai Hanshan had said before: what attracted Wei Xiao to the student council was its network and identity.
Identity was out of reach now.
So—he wanted the network?
She did have contact information for all current members.
But what he wanted definitely wasn’t just the current batch.
If it was past member records…
After thinking about it, she realized—it wasn’t impossible for her to obtain them.
Even if this was just her own speculation, she decided to proceed with this line of thinking.
She made up her mind and gave Wei Xiao a “friendly” smile.
“Thank you for the compliment. So that’s how you see me.”
Wei Xiao inwardly relaxed.
Though it had been a bit abrupt, it seemed he had successfully misled her.
He straightened up and said, “In that case, can you trust me now? I truly want to learn from you—”
Before he could finish, there was a knock on the door.
Ji Tianxiao entered, polite and professional. “May we serve the dishes now?”
Gu Qinghuan immediately stood up. “Yes, please! I’m starving!”
Since she had spoken, Wei Xiao could only pause his attempt. He also stood and moved to the dining table.
“Go ahead.”
Ji Tianxiao responded and pushed in the food cart.
While Wei Xiao wasn’t paying attention, Ji Tianxiao secretly gave Gu Qinghuan a thumbs-up:
That counterattack was beautiful.
Gu Qinghuan lifted her chin proudly in response:
Of course. As expected of me.
