Using Marriage as Bait : Extra 15
Extra 15
The Third High School of Ancheng was located in the city's old district, which lacked the towering skyscrapers of the new district. Instead, it featured low buildings and a maze of narrow alleys. Near the school was a popular alley among students, a stretch of less than 500 meters that houses dozens of snack shops, internet cafes, and game arcades.
This place felt like a refuge for students—a break from the rules and structure of school. Here, they could indulge in short-lived freedom. Some hide here to play games, others to smoke, and occasionally, some troublemakers gather here to settle scores with their fists.
At the moment, a few students are blocking the alley. A boy surrounded in the center trembles as he looks at the people encircling him. Someone entering the alley intending to buy food spots the scene and hurriedly lowers their head, walking away quickly.
The boy in the center took a kick, his knee giving out as he fell to the ground with a thud. He was a teenager, no older than 17 or 18, still half a child. Whether it was from pain or fear, he burst into tears, his face quickly streaked with tears and snot. Looking toward the person lazily seated on a chair, he pleads, “Brother Zhou, I know I was wrong. Please forgive me this time.”
The boy on the chair seemingly carelessly flicked the cigarette in his hand, yet it landed precisely in the trash can nearby.
He straightened slightly, a faint cloud of smoke escaping his lips. His finely chiseled face, framed by a pair of clear, bright eyes, seems pure and harmless at first glance. Yet a violent air emanated from him, lending him a sinister and cruel edge. The purity in his eyes didn’t soften his image but rather hints at hidden danger.
Resting his elbow on his knee, still exuding a lazy demeanor, he reached out and lightly patted the crying boy’s face. His voice carried the clarity of youth, but the underlying menace in his tone added a stifling heaviness.
“You didn’t feel sorry for me when you decided to be a traitor.”
“Brother Zhou, I was wrong. I really was. Please forgive me this time.”
The boy didn’t spare him another glance, delivering a light kick that appeared effortless, yet the boy collapsed to the ground.
Standing up slowly, the boy stretched and said indifferently, “Have fun, but don’t take it too far.”
With his hands in his pockets, the boy strolled out of the alley. At the entrance, he encountered a girl waiting for him. She stiffened slightly at the sight of him, but a faint blush quickly spread across her cheeks.
“Brother Zhou…”
“What is it?”
“Well… Brother Zhou…” The girl hesitates, lowering her head shyly.
“If it’s nothing important, don’t waste my time.”
Hurriedly, the girl replies, “Brother Zhou, are you free tonight? I heard there’s a new movie that’s really good. Would you like to watch it with me?”
Jiang Zhouming narrowed his eyes slightly, sizing up the girl. Another one invited him to a movie. Sometimes, Jiang Zhouming found it baffling—his notorious reputation at the school should send shy girls running in the opposite direction. Yet they kept coming, one after another, offering their affection.
Did they truly understand who they were dealing with when they approached him?
He didn’t reply immediately, and the girl grew increasingly nervous, beads of sweat forming on her forehead as she waited for his response.
At that moment, a small stone suddenly rolled over, bouncing a few times before coming to a stop by the roadside.
The two instinctively turned their heads toward the source of the stone and saw a girl leaning against a utility pole not far away. She was dressed in the uniform of Seventh High School, with her hair tied in a high ponytail. Her face was an oval shape, her features not particularly stunning but pleasing to look at.
The girl has her arms crossed, chewing gum, and gazes at them with a defiant look.
“Can I help you?” asks the girl confessing to Jiang Zhouming.
Spitting her gum into a nearby trash can, Lu Wantang strolled over and looped her arm through Jiang Zhouming’s, saying to the other girl, “I’m his childhood fiancée.”
“Childhood fiancée?”
The girl was stunned, and even Jiang Zhouming looked at Lu Wantang with a puzzled expression.
Lu Wantang continued, “Yes, we’ve been betrothed since childhood. We’re just waiting to grow up and get married. So he’s taken and can’t watch a movie with you.”
The girl looked awkward and turned to Jiang Zhouming for confirmation, but he merely tilted his head, staring at Lu Wantang with amusement. The menace in his eyes softened slightly, revealing a hint of gentleness. His reaction surprised the other girl.
Turning back, Jiang Zhouming said with a smirk, “She’s not wrong.”
As the girl ran off in embarrassment, Lu Wantang watched her retreating figure and saunters over, poking Jiang Zhouming on the shoulder. “Brother Zhou, you sure are popular, huh? Girls confessing to you every day?”
Jiang Zhouming chuckled. “Not every day.”
“Maybe not every day, but pretty often.” She tugged on his shirt like a child playing coy and said, “With Brother Zhou being so sought after, I feel a lot of pressure.”
“What kind of pressure?”
“Too many competitors. I’m afraid someone might steal you away.”
The summer heat lingered, but the greenery outside the alley provided shade. Vines climbed the nearby walls, and the cool seclusion of the alley offered a welcome respite from the scorching sun.
The girl’s youthful face radiated innocence, though her eyes betrayed a mischievous glint. Jiang Zhouming’s expression turned serious as he took a step forward.
The boy was much taller than her. Although they had known each other since childhood and were very familiar, his sudden approach, coupled with their height difference, gave her a sense of pressure, causing her to instinctively step back.
Behind Lu Wantang was a wall, and as she retreated, she nearly backed into it. Worried she might dirty her clothes, Jiang Zhouming grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward. He had already stepped closer, and now their distance narrowed further, to where their bodies were nearly touching.
Lu Wantang could distinctly catch the scent of Jiang Zhouming, a mix of youthful hormones and a faint hint of smoke. Her heartbeat involuntarily quickened, and she even felt like her breath hitched for a few seconds.
Jiang Zhouming leaned slightly toward her face and spoke in a low voice, “Lu Wantang, don’t joke about things like this.”
The breath he exhaled was warm, and that warmth made Lu Wantang's heartbeat race even faster. Since childhood, she had thought Jiang Zhouming was good-looking, but as they grew older, she felt he looked even better now.
Because of that, she often wanted to claim him as her own, hoping he belonged to her. This boy, despite being reserved, could never resist her teasing. Whenever she tried to flirt with him, he'd adopt this stern demeanor.
Now, with him leaning so close and speaking to her, her heart was completely in turmoil. The thought of claiming him grew stronger, and she instinctively wanted to get closer to him.
Taking a deep breath, Lu Wantang reached out and hooked her arms around his neck. Jiang Zhouming froze, his body stiffening. He glanced down at her delicate arm looped around his neck and frowned, silently asking what she was doing.
“Jiang Zhouming, I’m not joking with you. I told you before, you’re mine. I’ve never been joking about this.”
She smiled brightly, but her mischievous eyes carried a hint of wickedness. Jiang Zhouming wasn’t much for talking to girls—or anyone, for that matter. His reputation for being good in fights had earned him the admiration of other boys his age who followed him around.
Many girls liked to approach him, but he rarely interacted with them. In his world, the only girl he could comfortably talk to was Lu Wantang.
Other girls didn’t feel distinctly different from boys to him. But Lu Wantang was different. Around her, he felt a clear distinction between boys and girls. To put it simply, he never thought of the others as girls—but to him, Lu Wantang was undeniably a girl.
In his world, she was the only girl.
All his youthful, unorthodox thoughts about the opposite sex revolved around her.
So when she suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, her breath brushing against him, the stirring emotions of adolescence surged. His ears felt hot, and he didn’t dare look directly at her.
Still, he didn’t push her away. Instead, he averted his gaze and asked, “What are you doing?”
“You’re the one who got close to me first, Jiang Zhouming. Are you allowed to approach me, but I can’t approach you?”
A blush crept onto his face. Despite his reputation as a tough fighter, Jiang Zhouming was still a young man who got embarrassed easily. Flustered and anxious, he said, “Lu Wantang, stop fooling around.”
He pried her arm off his neck and stepped back a few paces, clearly uneasy. Fishing a cigarette from his pocket, he hesitated, recalling that she disliked him smoking, and shoved it back into his pocket.
With his back slightly hunched, hands stuffed into his pockets, he avoided looking at her.
Lu Wantang walked over to him. Jiang Zhouming kept his hands in his pockets and arched his back slightly, deliberately finding something to say to distract himself. “What are you doing here at our school?”
“What else? I came to find you.”
“What for?”
“Your basketball photo went viral, so I came to see this ‘legendary’ friend of mine who’s driving all the girls on the forum crazy.”
Jiang Zhouming was confused. “What do you mean, ‘went viral’?”
“Someone took a picture of you during the last basketball game and posted it online. You’ve got a bunch of girls talking about you now.”
Lu Wantang had seen the photo too. It was taken during halftime. Jiang Zhouming had walked off the court while removing his T-shirt, revealing a tank top underneath. The tank top had ridden up slightly, exposing his toned waist and a glimpse of his abs.
The photo had first appeared on the school forum but quickly made its way onto social media, sparking excitement among many girls. The comments were full of admiration.
Jiang Zhouming said, “What does that have to do with me? I don’t care.”
Lu Wantang knew her childhood friend preferred to live in his own little world, ignoring most external things. It was better this way—she had already asked a friend to take down the photos.
“Jiang Zhouming, you’ve got visible abs in that photo. After all these years, I never knew you had abs. With our friendship, shouldn’t I get a look before anyone else?”
“Stop messing around, Lu Wantang.”
“I’m not messing around! I really want to see,” she teased, tugging at his shirt. “Don’t be stingy. After all these years of friendship, can’t you show me just once?”
Jiang Zhouming was quiet for a moment. Then, grabbing her wrist, he said, “Come with me.”
He led her into a secluded corner of the alley, navigating its twists and turns until they reached a spot where no one else was around. Stopping, he turned to her and said, “If you want to see, then look quickly.”
With that, he casually leaned against the wall, hands still in his pockets, maintaining his nonchalant demeanor.
Lu Wantang was surprised. Was he really this bold?
Though he appeared confident, he was actually a little embarrassed. He simply masked it by acting indifferent.
Lu Wantang didn’t hold back, openly admiring his physique without any hint of shame. She even gasped in admiration. “Wow… I didn’t know you had such a good figure.”
But just looking wasn’t enough—she reached out to touch.
The moment her fingers grazed his abs, Jiang Zhouming flinched. It wasn’t because her touch was heavy, but because of the sudden physical contact, which elicited an instinctive reaction.
Her soft fingertips brushed against his abs, leaving Jiang Zhouming completely flustered.
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