Chapter 132: Her Fiancé?
But to everyone’s surprise, Su Zhaozhao readily agreed. "Alright, I accept your bet. So, what are you staking?"
’Elementary school English?’
’That’s way too easy for me.’
"You name the stakes," Zhou Chengguo said. Hearing Su Zhaozhao’s words, he finally couldn’t help but feel happy.
’He hadn’t known how to deal with Su Zhaozhao before, but he never expected her to be this stupid.’
’To just accept his bet like that.’
Zhou Chengguo couldn’t help but think that he could just sit back and watch Su Zhaozhao make a fool of herself.
"If you lose, you’ll help me pay off the rest of my debt to Wen Xiaoqi," Zhou Chengguo said.
Su Zhaozhao knew he would bring this up. ’This must be his most pressing problem right now, right?’
"Fine," Su Zhaozhao said. "And what if you lose?"
"Impossible..." Zhou Chengguo denied instinctively. He had never even considered that he might lose.
"If you lose, you’ll resign immediately and get the hell out of the military district elementary school." ’She felt a person like Zhou Chengguo was completely unfit to be a teacher.’
Conveniently, his wish was for her to pay his debt, so her wish was for him to get the hell out of the military district elementary school.
’He was a blight on the school environment.’
"Can we pick something else...?" Even though Zhou Chengguo was sure he wouldn’t lose, Su Zhaozhao’s proposal still made him hesitate.
’But what if?’
’There’s a ninety-nine percent chance it’s impossible, but what if that remaining one percent is possible?’
’His whole life would be ruined.’
Su Zhaozhao gave Zhou Chengguo a sarcastic smile. "You call yourself a man? What a coward. You’re the one who proposed the bet. I’m willing to pay off dozens of yuan for you, and that’s a whole year’s salary! It would take you two or three years to pay that off. All I’m asking is for you to stop being an elementary school teacher, and you’re actually scared?"
Su Zhaozhao stared at Zhou Chengguo, her face filled with contempt.
Zhou Chengguo’s face immediately flushed beet red.
"Shut up! Shut up!" Zhou Chengguo shouted in a panic. "Who’s afraid of you? A bet’s a bet!"
’There’s no way Su Zhaozhao can win, anyway.’
’The requirements for teachers at the military district elementary school are very strict. You need academic qualifications and actual ability.’
’Among all their teachers, not a single one of them could teach English.’
’Let alone someone like Su Zhaozhao, who only graduated from junior high. Who knows if she even studied English back then?’
’Even if she did, she would have only learned the basics. Does she really think she can become an English teacher just by knowing the 26 letters of the alphabet?’
’What a joke!’
’As if he had any reason to be afraid of her.’
A thought occurred to Su Zhaozhao, and she said to Zhou Chengguo, "Well then, I need to be guaranteed an interview. Only then can I be sure I’ll pass. Otherwise, the bet’s off."
"Don’t worry, I can recommend you. I’m not that devious. If you didn’t even get a chance to interview, wouldn’t that just be me bullying you?" Zhou Chengguo said, putting on a magnanimous air.
Su Zhaozhao smiled. "Then it’s a deal."
Then, she turned to the handsome but ill-tempered man. "Comrade, you may be Zhou Chengguo’s friend, but you’re also a soldier. Can I ask you to be a witness? You can bear witness to our bet."
Xie Huaizhen snapped back to reality, his brow furrowing. "But you’re the one who’s more likely to lose out."
’Is this Su Zhaozhao out of her mind?’
’Making a bet with Zhou Chengguo that she could become a teacher at the military district elementary school?’
’An English teacher, no less.’
Even though he disliked Su Zhaozhao, Xie Huaizhen’s innate kindness made him feel compelled to give her a word of warning.
Su Zhaozhao thought, ’This soldier isn’t so bad after all. Looks like asking him to be a witness was the right move.’
"It’s fine. You just have to bear witness for us. Remember the terms of our bet. Otherwise, if he loses, I’m genuinely worried he won’t be willing to leave the military district elementary school."
"Hah, big talk!" Zhou Chengguo rolled his eyes. "I’m more worried you’ll go back on your word and refuse to pay up. If you do, I’ll go tell Camp Commander Xie and let him see his fiancée’s true colors."
Hearing this, Xie Huaizhen’s temples began to throb.
’Camp Commander Xie’s fiancée?’
’Su Zhaozhao?’
’Since when?’
’Is Camp Commander Xie... Xie Huaizheng?’
Xie Huaizhen vaguely sensed that something was off, but before he could figure it out, Su Zhaozhao interrupted his thoughts.
"When’s the interview?"
"I’ll help you arrange it as soon as possible," Zhou Chengguo sneered. "Let’s set it for three days from now."
’He didn’t want to give Su Zhaozhao any more time, lest she pull some kind of trick or use her connection to Xie Huaizheng to actually pass the interview.’
"Fine." Su Zhaozhao gave a dismissive wave.
She turned and left without a backward glance.
’Hmph, she’d long since found Zhou Chengguo unbearable. Before, she had thought he at least had enough of a conscience to be willing to pay Wen Xiaoqi back. If he didn’t love her, so be it.’
’But who would’ve thought? It hasn’t even been that long, and he’s already cracking?’
’He wanted to humiliate her?’
’In that case, she would just have to turn around and teach him a lesson of her own.’
Watching Su Zhaozhao’s retreating back, Xie Huaizhen couldn’t help but frown.
’Why did the Su Zhaozhao in front of him feel so different from the one he remembered?’
’Had he mistaken her for someone else?’
’No, that’s impossible, right?’
’But it seemed the woman before him was more vibrant and beautiful than the one in his memory. Her facial features were the same, but her skin was fairer, and there was a spirited light in her eyes.’
’And that relaxed, confident air about her.’
’It was as if she were a completely different person.’
Meanwhile, Zhou Chengguo was still viciously cursing Su Zhaozhao.
"She looks like a vixen, seducing Camp Commander Xie. Does she really think she’s all that?!"
"And what’s with Camp Commander Xie? How could he fall for a woman like that?"
Xie Huaizhen didn’t know how Su Zhaozhao had gotten together with that Camp Commander Xie. ’Did she come to the Northwest to find him, and I just misunderstood everything?’
’Hah. To think she was like this... No sooner had she broken off their engagement than she was with another man.’
’And she even specifically found two men with such similar names. Was she doing it just to spite him?’
Zhou Chengguo was still ranting, spewing all sorts of vile insults.
Although Xie Huaizhen also disliked Su Zhaozhao, he couldn’t stand hearing Zhou Chengguo’s foul language. "Chengguo, that’s enough. Don’t talk about a young woman like that."
’Even after all the terrible things Su Zhaozhao had done to him, Xie Huaizhen would never stoop to insulting her like Zhou Chengguo was.’
’He’d just chalk it up to his own bad luck and poor judgment of character, and he would work even harder to throw it back in their faces.’
Zhou Chengguo looked at Xie Huaizhen. "Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for her, too."
"Zhou Chengguo, what kind of person do you take me for?" Xie Huaizhen’s expression darkened. ’Zhou Chengguo must be crazy to say something like that.’
"You’re a teacher, a role model. We’re standing right at the school gate. You should lead by example and be mindful of the impression you’re making."
Xie Huaizhen had met Zhou Chengguo a year ago. Their friendship had always been one of gentlemanly distance, cordial but not close.
But now, he found that Zhou Chengguo had become like a stranger to him.