I conducted a focused investigation into this matter, and it turns out there really is someone in Foreign Trade Class Three, Jiang He. He's not some made-up character; he's real.
Foreign Trade, officially International Trade Management, is the most popular major in the School of Management these past couple of years, as graduates take pride in joining foreign companies. The School of Management enrolled two classes, and later expanded to a third. Jiang He was admitted in that expansion.
Jiang He is a sophomore this year. Upon enrollment, he was diagnosed with Hepatitis B e-antigen positive, so he didn't live in the dorms and moved out to rent a place. It's rumored that Jiang He has absolutely no interest in this major, and he rarely shows up for classes.
During his freshman year, someone saw him sketching on the sports field. He showed up once in the first semester of his sophomore year after paying tuition. He hasn't been seen this semester. I heard teachers contacted him regarding the make-up exam incident, but couldn't reach him.
…
Surprisingly, this Jiang He has piqued my interest. It's not just because he looks so much like me, but his ability to appear and disappear without a trace suggests he's no ordinary person. After the make-up exams, I didn't go looking for the gossipy ghost, but instead became very focused on finding Jiang He. However, my detective skills are purely self-proclaimed; they're really quite mediocre. I inquired everywhere, but couldn't find any trace of Jiang He. I asked many classmates from the Foreign Trade major if Jiang He looked strikingly like me, and they said our eyebrows and eyes were very similar, but they couldn't recall the specifics. Back then, Jiang He mostly wore a mask when he came around, and people kept their distance after hearing he had a contagious illness.
Indeed, this Jiang He is truly like a dragon, only showing its head but not its tail.
After mulling it over for a few days, I devised a plan to find Jiang He. I believe that just as geese leave their tracks, a person cannot leave absolutely no trace. Therefore, my plan was to transform myself into Jiang He and attract people who knew him to approach me.
A sketching easel, a canvas backpack, "Warrior" brand canvas shoes, trousers with a perfectly pressed crease, a Dacron shirt, a black mask, and a middle-parted hairstyle. I combined these elements. Frowning slightly, aside from the easel, I looked exactly like a younger version of my father in his old photographs. Honestly, I would be an oddball, easily recognizable in a crowd. Could it be that the entire school had no impression of such a person?
Regardless, I walked onto the sports field under the curious glances of others. I sat on the tiered bleachers, opened my easel, and then, peeking from behind the easel, I leered at the well-built beauties in sportswear on the field.
At that moment, someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind. Their voice was filled with surprise: "Jiang He!"
I turned around and saw a familiar face, somewhat exasperated: "Teacher Zhang Ying."
Hearing my address, Teacher Zhang Ying blinked. Her expression, which had been slightly surprised a moment ago, gradually turned cold: "I've mistaken someone again, haven't I? Tang Nan, why are you dressed up as Jiang He?"
My eyes darted around. "I believe my father is incapable of having an affair, so I'm very interested in this person who looks exactly like me and resorted to this tactic to find him."
Hearing my words, Teacher Zhang Ying, who was about to leave, sat down beside me. "I'm also quite worried about Jiang He. I don't know where he's gone. I can't reach him by phone, nor can his family. It's as if the school system malfunctioned, making it seem like Jiang He never existed."
I felt that Teacher Zhang Ying was genuinely concerned about Jiang He, so I decided to help her search for him. We chatted extensively, and I noticed Teacher Zhang Ying had changed. Her gentle tone no longer carried that coldness; it was as if she exuded true warmth. Her voice was like a spring breeze, and occasionally, a fleeting smile would appear on her otherwise cold countenance.
…
I had class in the afternoon, so I changed back into my normal clothes and returned to school. It happened to be my homeroom teacher's class. When it ended, he called me into his office and looked at me sternly. I thought to myself, this teacher who seemed to have a problem with me since we first met was probably going to lecture me again. What reason could he possibly use? I also had make-up exams, and I'm attending class on time.
"Tang Nan, I heard you were scammed out of several million last year."
"Seven million."
"And you still have money to be scammed again?"
What kind of question is that? I'm the mastermind, you think I was scammed, but I actually made a hundred million. However, I can't argue with the teacher over a matter of pride. I chuckled, "I have some investments left at home, but I can't afford to be scammed again."
"If you don't want to be scammed, stay away from Zhang Ying."
With that, he kicked me out of the office, grumbling, without waiting for me to ask. I don't know how he became a teacher. He uses foul language and behaves like a thug.
I heard the class president is good at gathering information, so I invited him for a meal nearby. Ten dishes for the two of us. The class president was overwhelmed and naturally revealed the homeroom teacher's background. The homeroom teacher's name is Gao Qiang, and he was a classmate of Zhang Ying. I truly never expected these two to be classmates. Zhang Ying is graceful and elegant, while Gao Qiang is mediocre and unremarkable. When it comes to appearances, heaven truly is unfair.
It's rumored that Gao Qiang and Zhang Ying were lovers in college, but their relationship didn't bear fruit. Zhang Ying married an old professor at the school to stay on, who was reportedly also her graduation thesis advisor. This might have spurred Gao Qiang on. To everyone's surprise, he also managed to secure a teaching position at the school through his academic achievements.
Things weren't as dramatic as imagined. Gao Qiang is also married and has a son. Zhang Ying, however, caused quite a stir at the school. The School of Management building is the best on campus, and these buildings were all constructed in recent years.
Initially, Zhang Ying didn't teach; she managed administrative affairs. She started interacting more with construction contractors and negotiating business deals. The saying "beauty is a disaster" probably applies here. Zhang Ying's naturally serene demeanor and cold beauty always exuded a sense of sophistication. Wealthy men had a desire to conquer this sophistication. For a long time, her office desk was always adorned with expensive flowers.
Many people at the school gossiped about this. They were probably jealous of Zhang Ying's looks, perhaps hoping to see the white-haired old professor yell at this woman, inherently cheap, in the office corridor.
However, this didn't happen. The old professor reached an age where he suffered a stroke and became paralyzed. The ice-cold beauty he had won through prestige and power chose to divorce him without hesitation.
The old professor lost both his wife and his money. Zhang Ying, on her own, bought a house a few years ago for two hundred thousand and lived a life of pleasure.
Hearing this, I couldn't help but interrupt the class president: "A life of pleasure?"
"Yes. I won't describe those things. In short, Zhang Ying often brought wealthy construction businessmen home for the night."
I looked at the class president's flushed cheeks and understood what he meant by a life of pleasure. Honestly, I've only been at the school for a short time, and this class president is quite a character.
"In your impression, Teacher Zhang Ying is just a slutty woman, right?"
"No, I actually admire Teacher Zhang Ying. She lives authentically and has seen through the world's power dynamics. Beauty is a tool God gave her, but her greatest strength isn't her beauty; it's her mind."
"Did she do anything significant?"
"For a while, she established an investment company with a VIP membership system. Besides the construction contractors she was involved with, the company also included teachers from the school and classmates who admired her. During that time, she privately raised tens of millions."
The class president was probably describing the extraordinary life of a beautiful woman, but I heard something else. This woman was a schemer, laying out her plans step by step. She attached herself to the old professor, and people might have thought she wanted to stay at the school in that capacity. But that wasn't it. She was so intelligent; learning wouldn't have been difficult for her. Even someone as mediocre as the homeroom teacher could secure a teaching position through academic effort when motivated. Zhang Ying didn't necessarily have to marry a professor to stay at the school. Therefore, from the beginning, she was after the power the old professor could grant her.
These powers would allow her to connect with wealthy real estate developers. Once she reached this point, even if the old professor hadn't had a stroke, he wouldn't have been able to keep Zhang Ying. After the divorce, Zhang Ying appeared to be involved with multiple men, but did these men truly possess her? When you, through thousands of years of societal norms, treat a woman as the weaker sex in relationships, you are wrong. These seemingly wealthy developers were just Zhang Ying's tools. The VIP membership of the investment company was Zhang Ying's true objective.
At this point, I poured the class president a beer and said with a smile, "Let me guess the ending."
"Go ahead!"
When I stated the ending, the class president's eyes widened. He looked at me differently. Seeing his reaction, I felt a sense of triumph. Unexpectedly, he threw out, "Tang Nan, you guessed wrong."