Chapter 677 — The Vest Guy

"Oh? You have an idea? Out with it, then -- if it really works, a little hardship won't kill me!" Kang Jingming did not care for hardship; to his mind, chasing women was pure pleasure, and the smoother the better. What was the point of suffering for it? That was just asking for trouble. He would rather give up on a woman altogether -- there were plenty of targets out there, it wasn't as if women had run out.

But Guan Xin was different. Winning Guan Xin over and extracting the secret formula of the Guan Medical Group was Kang Jingming's present mission; whether he could secure a favorable position within the family later on rose and fell on this single move. Kang Jinglong might not be showing much hostility toward him at the moment, but Kang Jingming knew perfectly well that if he remained a good-for-nothing, then once the old man was gone, Kang Jinglong would never show him a decent face again.

"Young Master Ming, think about it -- Guan Xin is a nurse at the First Hospital, isn't she?" Wang Shubin began to lay out his analysis.

"Isn't that just stating the obvious? Asking what you already know?" Kang Jingming was a little put out. "Of course she's a nurse at the First Hospital! Didn't I already tell you that?"

"Young Master Ming, hear me out before you talk!" Wang Shubin said. "Guan Xin is a nurse at the First Hospital -- so tell me, who are the people she comes into contact with most in her daily work?"

"Doctors?" Kang Jingming thought it over. "My God, you're not suggesting I become a doctor, are you? I've got no interest in that!"

"Young Master Ming, how could becoming a doctor be something done overnight?" Wang Shubin smiled bitterly. "Even I, Wang Shubin, your humble military adviser, wouldn't come up with a plan that lousy!"

"Oh? Then what do you mean?" Hearing that he was not being asked to become a doctor, Kang Jingming relaxed.

"Patients! A nurse's greatest contact each day is of course with patients, so what I mean is for you to become a patient, Young Master Ming!" Wang Shubin said.

"You want me to fake an illness and get close to Guan Xin that way?" Kang Jingming's eyes lit up at once. What a fine idea -- why hadn't he thought of it before? If he became a patient, wouldn't he then have a legitimate reason to be near Guan Xin every day?

"Faking it definitely won't do -- like you said, Guan Xin's no fool. If you faked an illness, she'd see through it in a glance!" Wang Shubin waved his hand. "If you're going to be sick, then you have to be truly sick. That's why I said this would involve some suffering!"

"Truly sick... mm, now that is an idea!" Kang Jingming nodded. "So how do you propose I get sick?"

"That... generally speaking, an ordinary fever or cold is enough to get you admitted -- so long as you're willing to spend the money, the hospital has no reason to refuse, does it?" Wang Shubin said after a moment's thought.

"Fine, then let it be a fever or a cold -- that's easier too. As for other illnesses, even wanting one wouldn't make catching it easy!" Kang Jingming also thought that only after being admitted could he legitimately come into contact with Guan Xin. "But the weather... catching a cold isn't going to be easy in this, is it?"

Kang Jingming looked out the car window at the brilliant sunshine. April already, the weather was quite warm; catching a cold seemed no simple matter.

"Which is why I said this would involve some suffering!" Wang Shubin said. "I know of an ice rink nearby -- Young Master Ming, shall we go sit for a while?"

"Let's do it!" Kang Jingming gritted his teeth. For the sake of chasing a woman, for the sake of his standing in the family, he would endure it! This time it had to succeed -- a little hardship was nothing.

And so Kang Jingming and his party swept grandly into the ice rink, and beneath the utterly astonished gazes of the crowd, walked onto the ice.

Zhu Xiaozhang and Wang Shubin were both bundled up in thick, warm ice-hockey gear, while Kang Jingming, in short-sleeved vest and shorts, sat in the stands with his teeth clenched tight.

"Damn, what a tough guy!" The people in the rink gaped at Kang Jingming's attire and could not help but exclaim.

"That's just incredible, isn't it? He's practically the Vest Guy!" A young girl pulled out her phone, preparing to snap a photo of Kang Jingming and post it online -- a new generation of "Guy" was born!

Kang Jingming had been shivering so hard his teeth chattered, but hearing everyone in the rink marveling and praising him, his vanity was instantly satisfied, and he even struck a pose for the girl taking pictures.

"Look at that guy -- what a constitution, wearing a vest and shorts in here!" A man in glasses spoke with real envy. "We couldn't do it. Too many women, and the body wears out -- can't take the cold anymore!"

Kang Jingming was bursting with pride. He thought to himself: I've had my share of women too, but look at me -- I'm a legend!

Just as Kang Jingming was preening, a sudden chill swept over him, and he could not help but sneeze: "Ah-ah-ah-ah-choo--"

The snot came blasting out with it, splattering everywhere, sticky and thoroughly disgusting.

"Well, hell -- turns out he's no tough guy, just a poser trying to look cool! And here I thought he wasn't even cold!" The same fellow who had marveled earlier could not help but sneer when he heard Kang Jingming sneeze.

The young woman holding up her phone to snap pictures wore an expression that turned spectacular in an instant; it seemed "Tank Top Bro" was about to become "Poser Bro" -- or maybe "Snot Bro"!

As for the bespectacled man, he cast Kang Jingming a look of pity and said, "Pal, you're worse off than me! I'm this frail and I haven't sneezed once -- you're really bottom of the barrel, aren't you?"

Kang Jingming was instantly ashamed and furious, his face flushing red, yet he had no way to retort. Zhu Xiaozhang, however, could not stand it any longer. He rose to his feet, jabbed a finger at the gossips, and barked arrogantly, "What the hell are you staring at? Never seen anyone cultivate before? Young Master Ming came here to train his arts -- what would you lot know about it?"

Cultivate? Coming here to cultivate by bubbling snot out his nose? Was his brain defective? The onlookers shook their heads in speechless exasperation and paid Kang Jingming no further mind.

Kang Jingming had lost face, but when he thought of his plan to win the girl, he knew he had to see it through -- he could not give up halfway! He simply had to catch a cold through his training, no matter what!

"Ah--ah--ah--choo!" Kang Jingming sneezed again.

……………………

Under Can Lang's lead, the media of Songshan City had swung almost entirely to one side, all of them railing against First High School and painting it as a demonic school, a den of terror!

In fact, apart from that one interview with Can Lang, Gu Pengzhan and Ding Binggong had not faced any media since, and as for the hospital's emergency room -- even if the press wanted in, the hospital would never approve it. So the news outlets had no idea of the latest developments.

Unwilling to fall behind, they could only rehash Can Lang's leftovers, tweaking his articles and republishing them, while the television stations ran special reports on the affair as well. As a result, parents of students at Songshan City First High School all began looking into transferring their children to other schools.