Chapter 11
Aside from Fu Yangxi and Jiang Xiuqiu, there were quite a few people on the list who were in the International Class.
This included Ke Chengwen whose parents were high ranking officials. His return rate was 0.3%.
Mingxi threw out a net to the core of a school of fish. Although she was focused on Fu Yangxi, so long as she could get some luck from these people, she would do it.
For the past two days, she used the excuse of handing them their homework to conveniently gift them with some small biscuits that she had made at He Yang's family's shop. After inconspicuously interacting with these people, the tiny buds grew and had now accumulated to form one tree.
After seeing that there were 13 buds, Mingxi secretly took her mirror, walked to a corner and pulled down her mask to take a glance.
As expected, the mark was so faint that it could barely be seen.
Also, she didn't know if it was her misperception, but she felt that ever since she started to freeload on other people's luck, her hair became shinier while her skin became fairer and smoother.
The system said happily: "This is natural. Have you ever seen how authors would usually describe a novel's villainess whenever they make their first appearance? It would always be very general and casual, such as the word 'beautiful'. But when it comes to the good people, they would always be described in more detail. Positive luck is the same as nutrition. You will only become increasingly good-looking."
The system couldn't help but to compliment her: "You are the most dazzling villainess I have ever got. When your injury is healed, people might even believe it if they are shown a photo of you and are told that you are a celebrity."
"Really?" Mingxi was ecstatic.
However, Mingxi did not ask for much. She wasn't concerned with whether or not she would become prettier.
As long as the scar on her face disappeared as soon as possible and she would be able to live a long life, she was content.
According to the speed of how she was doing, she estimated that by the time she obtained 20 buds she would be able to take off her mask without having to ever wear it again.
Ke Chengwen was helping out with the changing of the water dispenser. When he walked over, he noticed that Fu Yangxi was supporting his head with his hand casually, his vision focused beyond the window.
He followed Fu Yangxi's gaze and smacked his lips before saying, "The poor transfer student. I heard that her appearance was quite average and that last year her face got injured before she transferred to our school. Also, her younger sister Zhao Yuan is currently leading in the School Beauty Contest, so she should be feeling rather inferior—"
Halfway through his sentence, Ke Chengwen took a glimpse at the cold expression on Fu Yangxi's face and quickly changed his words. "But the transfer student definitely has a better personality! For the past two days, she has been giving us sweets and biscuits. Everyone has taken a liking to her!"
"Us?" Fu Yangxi successfully latched on to the main point.
Zhao Mingxi bought some chocolate biscuits and placed it on her table this morning. She asked him if he wanted some with a soft voice, but he scoffed and complained that it was a mess of a biscuit instead. He was waiting for Zhao Mingxi to ask him again. However, just when he was about to reach out to take it, Zhao Mingxi kept them back in her bag. He got so angry that he almost screeched like a dolphin.
He thought that it was Zhao Mingxi's breakfast. He was afraid that if he ate it she might not have enough for herself. So he didn't even touch it.
Who would've thought that she went ahead and gave it to their classmates instead?
Fu Yangxi glared coldly at Ke Chengwen. It was obvious that he was unhappy. "Who?"
Ke Chengwen wanted nothing but to slap himself for having such a loose tongue. He might not be able to eat Zhao Mingxi's handmade desserts anymore. "No one. J-Just the few group leaders who hand us our homework. Since the transfer student just got here, it would help her to blend in faster. "
Fu Yangxi seemed to contemplate it. "True."
This sweet little cook knows how to conduct herself around strangers. This coincidentally filled up his weak point. He won't have to worry about his family's social meetings anymore.
What surprised Ke Chengwen was that Fu Yangxi didn't resume his interrogation.
Instead, he supported his head with a smile and continued to look outside the window.
Only then did Ke Chengwen let out a sigh of relief.
The School Beauty Contest and Hundred School Tournament were the hottest topics as of late.
When Mingxi kept her small mirror and came in, she heard a few students talking about it.
"Have you guys voted? Why is Zhao Yuan the one with the most votes again this year? Shouldn't everyone vote for the Gold Medal Class' Ceng Jiaojiao? I prefer the mature older sister type!"
"It's only normal. Boys make up about 70% of A High and they all like Zhao Yuan's simple, pure and pitiful appearance."
"But Ceng Jiaojiao is way smarter!"
"I don't think so." A boy couldn't help but to butt in, "The Evergreen Class which Zhao Yuan is in is a really good class. She also joined the Hundred School Tournament last year. As for the Gold Medal Class, all their students are trained to compete and win competitions. In terms of overall results, we don't know who would be the better one."
Someone agreed, "Furthermore, Zhao Yuan is more elegant and she has a better family background. The young guy who came to pick him up had such a graceful aura. Did you guys see? I think that was her eldest brother."
Mingxi had heard these words many times. After all, the halo surrounding the heroine was not something she could avoid.
However, the good part was that every time Zhao Zhanhuai came, he would only pick up his little princess. Mingxi had never been in Zhao Zhanhuai's car, so not a lot of people knew that she and Zhao Yuan were sisters.
Nonetheless, maybe because she had just changed classes and voluntarily approached Fu Yangxi…
Someone began to express interest in her and heard about this.
When a guy saw her sit down and begin to fill in the application form for the Hundred School Tournament, he exclaimed in shock, "Are you joining as well?"
Zhao Mingxi raised her head and gave him a look. "Yes."
Considering how her results in the Normal Class were always either average or below and there was only once when she managed to get into the Top 5, the fact that she wanted to join this province level competition was rather ironic in the eyes of an outsider.
But there was still some time until the Hundred School Tournament. Mingxi felt that as long as she did her best to increase her luck, when it's time for exams, she might not be held back by her luck as the villainess and instead show off her true potential.
—Based on this idea, there is a possibility that she might get in the tournament.
That guy felt that she had overestimated herself, but he was worried about Fu Yangxi who was sleeping beside her, hence he decided to tease her instead of speaking bluntly. "By the way, what happened to your face? Can you take down the mask for us? Since your younger sister is so pretty and her results are really good, you should be the same, right?"
The mockery in his words were clear. He obviously knew that before Mingxi came, her results belonged to that of the Normal Class which was three classes behind them.
The same goes for her appearance. He knew that Mingxi looked average.
Another girl joined in, "Yeah, I don't even know what you look like."
The pity in that girl's eyes was more apparent than her curiosity.
Mingxi saw the guy's ill intentions. She didn't want to acknowledge him. So without even looking up, she said, "What can I look like? It'll just be two eyes and one mouth."
They were stunned.
Mingxi didn't really care about what they were thinking.
However, since the scar on her face was almost gone to the point that it could not be seen unless someone used a magnifying glass to look at it, should she just take off her mask now?
But before she could do anything, a pencil case flew across her eyes and landed with a 'thud'. The guy who was teasing her jumped and quickly avoided it. The pencil case landed heavily on his table.
Fu Yangxi gave him a look that said 'did you think I was dead'. "So annoying. All I hear are your voices talking non-stop. It's really noisy."
That guy's complexion went pale and he instantly lost his courage to speak. He picked up the pencil case and returned it to Ke Chengwen's table. Then, he quickly hid to the back of the class.
That girl was shocked as well. She immediately looked down and continued to do her work.
Mingxi's hand which was about to take off her mask paused in mid-air. She looked at her desk mate with a questioning gaze.
"What are you looking at?" Fu Yangxi scoffed. His red hair was arrogant as he raised his eyebrows. He looked at her from the side with an expression full of distaste.
Seeing as how Mingxi was still staring at him in silence, Fu Yangxi felt a little uncomfortable. He put on his noise-cancelling headphones and mumbled, "Don't let it get to your head. I wasn't helping you. They were just too noisy."
Mingxi couldn't help but to smile. "Thank you."
Her impression of Fu Yangxi finally became a little higher than -1000. She realized that although this guy had a sharp tongue, he wasn't as hard to get along with as she had expected.
Fu Yangxi said in exasperation, "I already said that I wasn't helping you."
Mingxi shrugged and didn't say anything in reply. Instead, she lowered her head and continued to fill in the application form.
Fu Yangxi looked at her from the corner of his eyes. She was quiet and her sclera was white, he didn't know what she was thinking about. Considering how she went to a corner to look at herself just now, it meant that she still cared about her appearance. When she heard those words, she must've been holding in her tears—
Of course, there were no tears in the transfer student's eyes, but for some reason Fu Yangxi felt that she must be biting her lips underneath her mask.
Fu Yangxi scratched his head. He didn't know why but he felt slightly agitated.
A while later, Mingxi who was almost done with the application form heard Fu Yangxi ask out of the blue, "Do you think I'm handsome?"
Mingxi: ?
Is this idiot having another bout of narcissism?
Honestly speaking, there was nothing to criticize about the appearance of this young master. He had handsome eyes and a tall figure. He also had his own school hunk background music playing wherever he went. He was so good-looking that anyone who saw him would take another look.
Of course, no one in A High dared to stare at him because the moment they took another look he would go into a frenzy of rage.
"Yes," Mingxi answered agreeably and honestly. She raised her head and looked at the tiny mole at the end of his eyes.
Fu Yangxi scoffed as he continued to look at her. "Alright then."
Mingxi: ?
Fu Yangxi explained, "Because I'm handsome, I don't care about the appearance of the girl—the friends I make and the followers I accept. After all, no matter how good-looking they are they can't beat me."
Fu Yangxi was complacent. "So rest assured. I don't care if you're pretty or ugly."
Mingxi: "…"
Why thank you so much.
I suddenly feel comforted.
As everyone was talking about the School Beauty Contest all day, Mingxi who had planned to simply wash up and sleep that night casually opened up the forum. To her surprise, she was shortlisted for the contest.
Of course, she held the last position.
Nonetheless, what was astonishing was that she actually had 45 votes.
Mingxi: ?
A photo of her with a mask could be shortlisted as well?
Was the person who submitted her name blind or simply making fun of her?
As expected, a lot of students from other schools started to question who this person was as she was shortlisted despite using a photo with a mask.
Mingxi guessed that it was someone who hated her who did this, someone like E Xiaoxia. She didn't have the energy to care about these things, and she was too lazy to do so as well.
On the other hand.
Ke Chengwen and a group of followers had to fight the urge to sleep as Fu Yangxi rushed them to change a few more accounts in order to vote.
They all complained that he was like Zhou the exploiter*.
ray's note: refers to a short story about a man who refused to pay his workers after they were done working.
They initially thought that getting a 'sister-in-law' was a good thing, but what they didn't expect was such torture.
Mingxi didn't dwell on this matter. She was very busy as she not only had to prepare for the Hundred School Tournament, she also had to make sweets for Fu Yangxi everyday after school so that she could bring it for him the next day. Furthermore, she had to figure out various ways to get closer to Fu Yangxi.
Therefore, she didn't know that by the time it was Friday, she actually had around 350 votes and had successfully entered the Top 20.
It was Friday. Shen Liyao had just finished playing basketball and returned to class when he heard his classmates discussing this. He furrowed his brows and took out his phone to take a look. As expected, he saw that Zhao Mingxi's name had gone up to the Top 20.
Shen Liyao knew that Zhao Mingxi was beautiful. The moment he saw her two years ago, he couldn't avert his eyes. However, her results were terrible and she was too thick-skinned. At the beginning, when Shen Liyao saw the results from her entrance exam, he felt that even speaking to her was a waste of time, hence he would always avoid her whenever he could.
But for the past two years, she must have worked so hard and put in so much effort that she managed to get her results all the way to the Top 5.
Actually, she isn't that bad. When she works hard no one can beat her.
Shen Liyao lowered his gaze nonchalantly. He smoothly voted for the person in the 20th place.
Suddenly, he heard someone shout out his name. It sounded like Zhao Mingxi's voice.
He stood still in the corridor and smiled. He quickly reverted to his cold gaze before turning back, but all he saw was a junior.
That girl quickly ran over to him to give him a bottle of water.
Shen Liyao's expression changed instantly to one of annoyance.
Before that girl could reach him, he wordlessly walked upstairs.
For the whole of this week, aside from Tuesday when she got He Yang to return his notes, Zhao Mingxi did not appear in front of him at all.
Only
Previously on every Wednesday, Zhao Mingxi would make up some excuse to escape class so that she could secretly come find him at the sports field during the Gold Medal Class' physical education period. Even on Thursday when he would be at the broadcast room, Zhao Mingxi would definitely be there to wait for him.
There were also his basketball competitions every Friday. For the past two years Zhao Mingxi had never missed a single one of his basketball competitions—
This was the first time in two years that she did not appear in the crowd from the beginning till the end of the competition.
Additionally, despite the fact that the International Class and the Gold Medal Class was on the same floor, Shen Liyao had not once bumped into Zhao Mingxi.
For the past few days, Zhao Mingxi did not walk past the windows of the Gold Medal Class as well— It looked like she had purposely chosen the longer path this week. She would use the flight of stairs near the office to get down every time.
Shen Liyao finally noticed that she was avoiding him on purpose.
Why?
Shen Liyao appeared expressionless, but when he coldly walked into his class, he subconsciously looked toward the direction of the International Class and felt a strong sense of frustration.
Chapter 12
As Madam Zhao and Zhao Yuan's birthdays were close to each other, the Zhao family would always celebrate them together.
It was the same this year too.
Even the students of the Evergreen Class began to give Zhao Yuan gifts a week before her birthday.
"I voted for you. You're probably going to win the School Beauty Contest again this year. I wish you a happy early birthday."
Zhao Yuan was surrounded by her adoring fans. She smiled politely. "Thank you."
E Xiaoxia who was watching by the side also sheepishly gave her her gift. Zhao Yuan looked at her but did not take it.
The two of them were still in an awkward phase due to the allergy incident.
Someone was voting for Zhao Yuan. When they scrolled down, they saw Zhao Mingxi who was at the bottom of the list.
Someone exclaimed, "How did someone with a mask get shortlisted? Who's the moderator in charge of checking the submissions? Did they take this year's School Beauty Contest as a joke?"
Zhao Yuan's expression changed slightly. She took out her phone to look at it as well.
Surprisingly, Zhao Mingxi was at the 20th place.
Someone standing beside them said, "It's Zhao Mingxi? I've never seen her, but I've heard of her. She's the girl who kept on pursuing Shen Liyao. I heard that her looks are only average. Maybe people are just voting for her out of curiosity."
E Xiaoxia watched as Zhao Yuan turned and kept on looking at her phone with furrowed brows. She couldn't understand what was going on in Zhao Yuan's head.
Nonetheless, she still approached her and tried to curry favor with a whisper, "Yuanyuan, don't worry. Those people must have voted for Zhao Mingxi because they were curious about how she looked underneath the mask. She only has around 500 votes now. You have well-surpassed her with your 3,000 votes. She won't be able to catch up."
"Furthermore, only embarrassment would await her if she did manage to get into the first few spots. Think about it, when the voting period is complete, those who don't know her will think that she's pretty— Then when she takes off her mask, whoa, the disappointment."
E Xiaoxia initially thought that after saying these she would be able to salvage her relationship with Zhao Yuan. But unexpectedly, the moment Zhao Yuan heard her words, she kept quiet and the expression on her face turned darker. She didn't look as if she was relieved at all.
Before E Xiaoxia could speak any further, Zhao Yuan's other friend, Pu Shuang's phone vibrated.
"Oh, it's from Zhao Yuning." Pu Shuang said in surprise.
[Pu Shuang jie, what should I give a girl so that she will stop being mad at me? P.S. don't tell Yuan jie.]
As Zhao Yuan was coincidentally beside her, she gave her a look, "Your brother treats you so well. Is he planning to secretly buy you a birthday gift? He told me not to tell you too!"
The corner of Zhao Yuan's lips curled slightly upwards. Only then did the expression on her face soften.
Zhao Yuning probably wanted to apologize to her as well for when he accidentally yelled at her that day at the sports field.
However, Zhao Yuan was a little shocked. Zhao Yuning was always very direct, yet today he knew how to speak in a roundabout way.
Pu Shuang asked, "Quick. What do you want for your birthday? How should I reply?"
Zhao Yuan gave it some thought before saying, "I don't really need anything. Just tell him to give whatever he wants."
Thus, Pu Shuang replied: "Anything, but Shuang jie would recommend you to get a life size teddy bear."
There was no reply after that. E Xiaoxia, Pu Shuang and the girls around them started to get jealous. "If only I had such a younger brother as well."
Zhao Yuan smiled as she was in a better mood now. She stood up and packed her bags before saying, "My eldest brother is coming to pick me up. See you all next week."
As for Zhao Yuning, he was currently dragging two of his male friends as they walked around the mall.
He excused himself for the last period after lunch just so he could come out to buy a gift. He wanted to give it to Zhao Mingxi.
He didn't know if Zhao Mingxi was purposely avoiding him this week or that the academic building for those in Year 3 was too far from that of Year 1, but he never saw Zhao Mingxi at all while he was in school.
Of course, he didn't relay to the family what Zhao Mingxi said about severing all ties with them as she had said it out of anger.
He was thinking that since their eldest brother was going to personally pick up Zhao Mingxi from school this weekend, she would most probably stop holding a grudge and agree to go home.
Therefore, if he said anything it would only make things worse.
Nonetheless, even without relaying her message, the atmosphere at home was distinctly bad.
The house became quieter ever since Zhao Mingxi left home. Aside from the fact that he could no longer eat Zhao Mingxi's delicious dishes, he couldn't find anyone to bicker with him anymore.
Zhao Yuan and Zhao Mingxi had varying personalities.
Zhao Yuan was gracious. As she had learned piano and etiquette, no one could find any fault in her. While Zhao Yuning liked and spoiled this elder sister of his, he felt that he missed the smart mouthed Zhao Mingxi— Only Zhao Mingxi would pull him by the ears to his bed whenever he would stay up to play games.
Although Zhao Yuning didn't want to admit it, he had to confess that his heart felt empty for the whole of this week.
While he was still a little upset about how Zhao Mingxi had caused such a ruckus because of a small matter, the main point was that she didn't even care about him anymore.
However, after Zhao Mingxi had spoken to him that day at the lowest floor of the academic building, he also reflected on not only his own actions, but also his family's.
She was right. They had wronged Zhao Mingxi.
Thus, he hatched a plan. First, he would buy a gift. Then when their eldest brother manages to convince Mingxi to come home, he would secretly enter Mingxi's room and give her the gift.
But just when he was about to buy a gift for her, Zhao Yuning realized that he knew nothing about what Zhao Mingxi liked.
It was only then that he noticed that for the past two years, he had only given Zhao Mingxi a memory card of a game he had played before on her birthday last year.
For some reason, Zhao Yuning felt bad. There was also a sense of fear, as if everything was too late. He tried his best to push away these odd feelings.
No way. There's nothing a family can't get through together.
After an hour of shopping at the local mall, Zhao Yuning still went according to Pu Shuang's recommendation and got Zhao Mingxi a life size teddy bear which was about 170cm tall.
Once he bought it, he let out a mental sigh of relief. He felt that it was enough; that Zhao Mingxi would be surprised when she received this.
As it was too big, he couldn't bring it back himself, so he got the salesperson to send it back.
When it was time to fill in the address, he gave it some thought and wrote his house address while stating that it was for Zhao Mingxi.
Since his eldest brother will be showing himself today, he would definitely be able to bring Zhao Mingxi home.
The moment Zhao Yuning arrived at school from the mall, he received a call from Zhao Zhanhuai. He quickly pulled his bag tighter and ran to the school gates. "Da ge."
Zhao Zhanhuai got out from the car with his car keys in his hands. He pulled up his white sleeves and furrowed his brows as he walked to school. "Where is Mingxi's class? Show me the way."
"Da ge, you're finally here." Zhao Yuning was a little excited. Since it was their eldest brother who came, Zhao Mingxi wouldn't retaliate like how she did to him, right?
He hurriedly followed behind Zhao Zhanhuai. "There. She's in the same building as Zhao Yuan, but they're not on the same floor."
Zhao Zhanhuai went up to the fifth floor and walked toward the direction of the International Class.
He didn't know where Zhao Mingxi's class was, be it before or after she transferred. He only knew which class Zhao Yuan was in.
Previously whenever it was a holiday weekend, Zhao Zhanhuai would personally drive to school and bring Zhao Yuan home.
His feelings toward Zhao Yuan had not changed yet. But ever since two years ago when Zhao Yuan turned from his biological younger sister to someone with no blood relations to him whatsoever, Zhao Zhanhuai felt a stronger sense of pity for her.
He was afraid that she would feel uncomfortable in this house. He was also fearful that she would be bullied by Mingxi who had a stronger personality. Thus, Zhao Zhanhuai treated Zhao Yuan even better as compared to the past 15 years.
His actions of personally coming to pick up Zhao Yuan was a habit formed from a small promise between him and Zhao Yuan. He wanted Zhao Yuan to know that he favored her by using his actions to tell her that she was still very important to this family.
As for Zhao Yuning and Zhao Mingxi, for the past two years they were driven home by the Zhao family's driver.
Zhao Zhanhuai didn't think that anything was amiss. Since Yuning would be together with Mingxi and their ages were close to each other, this might even help Mingxi to blend in with the family quicker.
But this week, maybe it was because Zhao Zhanhuai felt guilty about what happened, his attention had obviously been more focused on Mingxi.
Mingxi had actually refused to come home for a week and a half.
Not only did she not reply to his apology text, after the incident, when everyone in the family including him called her, they realized that she had actually blocked them.
Even the lady who always cooked for them at home had her number blocked.
It seemed as if Mingxi wanted to sever all ties with them.
At home, Madam Zhao was so angry that a migraine appeared. She clamoured that if Zhao Mingxi did not come back, she would no longer be welcomed home. However, Madam Zhao had a sharp tongue but a soft heart, she did not truly mean that she would forbid Mingxi from coming home.
Therefore, Zhao Zhanhuai could only step in personally.
As the eldest brother, he planned to first bring Mingxi out for hotpot in order to appease her. Then, he would find a suitable opportunity to bring her home.
Because the classes of the International Class ended quite early, everyone was pretty much gone by the time they arrived.
Zhao Zhanhuai and Zhao Yuning were rather handsome young men, hence quite a few girls were observing them on their way there.
Someone took the initiative to ask, "Who are you looking for?"
Zhao Zhanhuai said, "I am the guardian of Zhao Mingxi from the International Class. Is she here?"
"She went to the office to submit the application form for the Hundred School Tournament."
Zhao Zhanhuai and Zhao Yuning looked at each other. They were astonished. They knew about the Hundred School Tournament. Why would Mingxi register with her results? Aside from the fact that the requirement for entry was very strict, there was a limited number of students who could join, so they had no idea if she would be able to get through that preliminary stage— Even if she did get through it, she would probably be eliminated at the first round, rendering her unqualified to join the finals.
Zhao Zhanhuai said to Zhao Yuning, "But it's good that she is motivated. It isn't easy for Mingxi to adapt from her studies in the countryside."
Zhao Yuning nodded.
Then the two of them walked toward the office.
Mingxi had just submitted the application form. The moment she looked up, she saw Zhao Zhanhuai and Zhao Yuning who were going to bring her home.
"Mingxi." Zhao Zhanhuai walked over while examining Zhao Mingxi. Despite it having been a week and a half since they last saw each other, Mingxi unexpectedly did not show any emotion of anger or frustration toward their family— Her eyes were not bloodshot and she didn't lose any weight. In fact, it seemed like her hair had become even shinier and the look in her eyes had become clearer.
Zhao Zhanhuai felt like something was off. He opened his mouth and was about to say something.
But before he could speak, Mingxi furrowed her brows.
"Why are you here again?"
Mingxi's emotionless words almost made Zhao Zhanhuai choke.
Zhao Zhanhuai thought that the moment Mingxi saw him, she would express an emotion of 'why did you just come?', but what he absolutely did not expect was this kind of distasteful expression on her face.
He stabilized his emotions and decided not to be so nitpicky with a child. He continued, "Are you still going back to class? If not, let's talk while we walk. I'll bring you out for hotpot."
Mingxi said, "That's what Zhao Yuan likes to eat. I don't like to eat hotpot."
"Then we'll eat something else." Zhao Zhanhuai was still very patient as he tried to please her. "Also, it's going to be Mom and Zhao Yuan's birthdays next week. You must be home by then. Stop being difficult, Mingxi."
Mingxi looked at Zhao Yuning. "Looks like you didn't tell them what I said."
Zhao Zhanhuai looked at Zhao Yuning who was behind him. "What did she say?"
Zhao Yuning's face instantly fell. He thought that since their eldest brother was here Mingxi would change her attitude, but why was she still acting this way? Why was she still so cold and stiff toward them?
Suddenly, Mingxi unzipped her bag and pulled out a photo.
Zhao Zhanhuai remembered it. This was a family photo that they gave Mingxi when she first came back to them. She printed two of it so that she could frame one and keep it on her bedside while the other would be kept in her school bag.
This morning, he saw that she didn't take the photo on her bedside with her.
As for this one—
"You should keep the photo well. Why did you take it out?" Zhao Zhanhuai stared at Zhao Mingxi. It was only at this moment that he noticed that Mingxi was acting out of the ordinary.
Mingxi walked over and gave the photo to Zhao Zhanhuai.
Zhao Zhanhuai furrowed his brows and refused to take it.
Thus, Mingxi could only crumple it into a ball and throw it into the nearby trash can.
When she did this, she didn't even raise her eyelids, it was as if she was merely throwing trash.
Zhao Zhanhuai and Zhao Yuning were stunned. They looked at Zhao Mingxi in shock.
Mingxi continued to rummage through her bag. After confirming with her own eyes, she said, "Aside from this photo, I don't think I have anything else from your family. The school bag and clothes that I took were all the ones I brought when I first came two years ago."
Zhao Yuning furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"
"This means that I don't have anything from the Zhao family on me, so please stop approaching me. Whatever I want to say I've already said to Zhao Yuning."
No matter how gentle Zhao Zhanhuai was, he couldn't just stand there and take this. He looked at the trash can which was full of fruit peels and lowered the tone of his voice, "How could you just crumple up our family photo and toss it in the trash? What do you take our family for?"
Mingxi looked at him as if she was a curious child. "Isn't it just a copy of a photo? Do you have to get so mad over it?"
Zhao Zhanhuai instantly felt that this line was familiar. He abruptly recalled when Mingxi first came to the Zhao family home, she had a few photos of when she was living in the small town with her grandmother.
Mingxi was only willing to let them see one photo. After they were done, they didn't know if it ended up in the hands of Zhao Yuan or Zhao Yuning, but in the end they forgot to return it to Mingxi and it was lost ever since.
That was the first time Mingxi cried as she fought with them.
They said the same thing, "Isn't it just a copy of a photo? You still have a lot. Do you have to get so mad over it?"
Zhao Zhanhuai paled. He felt a sharp stab in his heart, yet he said nothing.
Only
He looked toward Zhao Mingxi, but she had already turned and went downstairs.
It was only at this moment that Zhao Zhanhuai and Zhao Yuning found out why they felt that something was off the instant they saw Mingxi at the hallway.
Mingxi had changed her school bag.
What she took with her was her own bag that her grandmother had gifted her.
Mingxi had also changed her hair tie.
She had tied her ponytail up with a simple black hair tie.
She did not bring a single thing Madam Zhao got her when she was in a good mood and brought her out shopping.
Furthermore, the teddy bear ornament that Zhao Zhanhuai got her which she used to treasure so much was no longer there.
Chapter 13
Zhao Yuning was stricken with panic. "What- What should we do?"
Da ge's appearance was pointless. Mingxi jie threw away the photo.
"What did Mingxi want you to tell us?" Zhao Zhanhuai asked.
Zhao Yuning didn't dare to keep quiet any longer when he saw how angry Zhao Zhanhuai was. He could only repeat what she had said. Once he was done, he felt even more fearful, "Da ge, do you think she said that she wanted to sever all ties with us out of anger or… why do I feel like she's taking it seriously this time?"
"Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?!"
Zhao Yuning didn't dare to even let out a whimper.
Zhao Zhanhuai's thoughts were in turmoil. He took a glimpse at Zhao Yuning and said, "Forget it. Get the driver to bring you home. I'll talk it out with Mingxi."
Zhao Yuning was out of his wits. He could only say, "Okay."
Fu Yangxi had just picked up his bag and left the class from the back door. The moment he turned, he saw Zhao Mingxi leaving the two men and the atmosphere was quite bad.
"Who are the two idiots standing there?" He subconsciously walked over.
Ke Chengwen quickly pulled him back behind the door. He whispered, "Xi ge, don't butt into other people's family affairs."
Fu Yangxi quickly realized what was going on. Those two must be Zhao Mingxi's eldest brother and her younger brother who was studying in Year 1 at their school.
According to what Ke Chengwen heard, Zhao Mingxi was not on good terms with her family.
Furthermore, due to some unknown reason, they had a fight and she ended up staying in school.
Fu Yangxi didn't know what was going on in her family, but when he recalled what the person whom he tossed a pen at earlier today said, he quickly concluded, it can't be that Little Mask's family members are biased, right?
Or else why would it be that everyone in the Evergreen Class knew that Zhao Yuan had a tall, rich and handsome elder brother who would always fetch her home but when it came to Zhao Mingxi, no one had ever heard of someone purposely coming here to pick her up?
Three flames were ignited in Fu Yangxi's heart. "Are her family members blind? Did they all think that just because that school beauty was prettier and smarter than Little Mask that they could favor her more?"
Ke Chengwen thought, maybe there's other reasons. However, even he himself was not familiar with the affairs of the Zhao family.
Fu Yangxi snarled, "Isn't Little Mask 100 times better than that Zhao Yuan*?"
ray's note: he used 圆 (= circle) instead of 媛 (= zhao yuan's 'yuan') here
Ke Chengwen agreed like the bootlicker he was, "I think so too."
Fu Yangxi took off his bag and contemplated it for a while. Ultimately, he felt that the weight was not suitable, so he took up his bag again and walked toward the back of the classroom to pick up a basketball.
Ke Chengwen instantly stopped him. "This is the transfer student's family after all. I don't think it's right for you to hurt them."
"You're right. It's not right for me to hurt them. How else will I get along with them in the future?" Fu Yangxi mumbled.
Ke Chengwen was just about to let out a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, Fu Yangxi pushed the basketball into his arms. "You're more suited for the job."
Ke Chengwen: "…"
Zhao Zhanhuai and Zhao Yuning were walking down the stairs to the fourth floor.
Out of nowhere, a basketball came flying down on them from the sky and hit directly on Zhao Yuning's head.
It landed with a 'thud'.
Zhao Yuning's head was almost sent flying.
A bump began to form on his head as stars appeared in his vision. He turned around in anger. "Who was that?"
After a short moment, a tall young man with short black hair stepped out from the International Class. He strutted before knocking Zhao Zhanhuai on the shoulder.
Then, he walked over to pick up the basketball and speedily ran downstairs.
Zhao Yuning felt disturbed. He yelled at Ke Chengwen's retreating figure, "Do you guys in Year 3 have any manners?"
Zhao Zhanhuai furrowed his brows as he placed a hand on Zhao Yuning's shoulder. "Forget it. I don't think that student did it on purpose. Don't cause trouble."
As Zhao Yuning noticed that everything was not going as expected, he felt even more depressed.
The two of them went downstairs. Zhao Yuning went to the school gates, got in the driver's car and went home.
As for Zhao Zhanhuai, he received the directions from a student who was passing by and walked with vigorous strides toward A High's dorms.
When he arrived at the dorms, he was stopped by the lady who was on duty that day. "Male guardians are prohibited from going up. Only the student can come downstairs."
Zhao Zhanhuai subconsciously took out his phone before belatedly realizing that he had been blocked by Zhao Mingxi.
He felt helpless as he spoke, "She didn't bring her phone."
"A child without a phone? In this decade?" The lady's expression turned skeptical.
Zhao Zhanhuai went visibly pale. He could only reply, "I'm looking for my younger sister. Her name is Zhao Mingxi, she's in the Year 3 International Class."
The lady furrowed her brows. Nonetheless, seeing as how he was a handsome young man with a graceful appearance, she explained patiently, "I can't just let you up with a name and class, or else wouldn't any Tom, Dick and Harry be able to go up by simply stating a name? You must have registered and signed when you sent your child here, right? Do you remember which page you signed on? If you remember, I can cross-check it and allow you to go up."
Zhao Zhanhuai said, "…When she came to stay in school, she brought her own luggage here. No one sent her."
"Leave!" The lady's gaze turned sharp. "I can't believe that a well-dressed and handsome man like you would want to try and get into the girls' dorms! The people who live here are all petite female high schoolers whose family members would always worry and fret as they send them over. Who would believe you if you said you let her come alone?"
Seeing as how he refused to leave, the lady took up her broomstick.
The veins on Zhao Zhanhuai's forehead seemed ready to pop.
But at the same time, he felt unsettled. "Other people's children…were all accompanied here?"
"Of course. There aren't a lot of them who stay in school, so it would usually be one person per room. There aren't any lifts in the dorms as well. The guys would be okay with it, but how could a girl carry her luggage all the way up to the sixth floor alone? She would have to clean up her own dorm room as well. I don't think she could've done it on her own in one night!" the lady said. "Your family is absolutely ridiculous. How could you have let a child come here alone?!"
Zhao Zhanhuai felt a lump in his throat.
He never actually thought about this problem.
When Mingxi left home out of anger, they let her leave just like that. But what if it was Zhao Yuan? They probably would've gone after her immediately. Even if Zhao Yuan was adamant on staying in school, he would've definitely sent her here.
Yet why was it that when it came to Mingxi, he—
He never thought of how Mingxi must've cleaned up her room for the whole night and cleared the drains before falling asleep out of exhaustion.
It was the same as how he never thought of a few small matters that had happened before. For example, whenever the whole family went out to eat, they would always subconsciously order the dishes that Zhao Yuan liked to eat. What could've gone through Mingxi's mind then?
He always felt that these were small matters.
However at this moment, two images appeared in this mind. The yearning and anticipation in Mingxi's eyes when she first entered their home and the emotionless way she threw away that photo just now at the academic building.
It was only then that he had an abrupt awakening.
These disappointing small matters, how many times has it been repeated for the past few years? A few hundred times? No, a few thousand times? To the point that the Mingxi who had come to their home happily two years ago had turned into one who was extremely disappointed in their family?
"Are you going to leave?"
Zhao Zhanhuai took a glimpse at the lady. His emotions were in a wreck as he pleaded, "Can I borrow the landline phone? I want to give her a call."
Though the suspicion in the lady's eyes did not go away, she still gave him the phone.
Zhao Zhanhuai turned on his phone, dialed Zhao Mingxi's number according to what was shown on the screen and called.
However, three minutes later.
She still didn't pick up.
Zhao Mingxi was swift and firm with her severance. She had changed her number.
The lady said, "Stop acting."
Zhao Zhanhuai hung up the phone with mixed emotions.
As Zhao Zhanhuai had spent quite some time at Zhao Mingxi's dorm, he missed the timing to fetch Zhao Yuan.
Zhao Yuan called him, but no one picked up. She didn't know what her eldest brother was busy with. She had waited for a long time at the school gates to the point that the girls from her class who wanted to see her handsome eldest brother had all left.
Zhao Yuan was unhappy, but she didn't show it. She called for their family driver to come pick her up.
When Zhao Yuan got home, she saw Zhao Yuning going upstairs. As she recalled how Zhao Yuning had brought her a gift, she took the initiative to ease the tension between the both of them. "Yuning, when did you get home?"
Zhao Yuning who was at the stairs turned his head with a heavy heart. He didn't catch what Zhao Yuan asked, so he just replied with a "Oh" and went into his room.
He didn't have any appetite for dinner because Zhao Mingxi wasn't home.
Zhao Yuan: "…"
Zhao Yuan furrowed her brows. She didn't like the feeling of being ignored.
She changed her shoes and entered the house. At the same time, the nanny came in from the front yard, struggling as she carried a parcel which was as tall as she was. She said, "Miss, this was sent from the mall. Did you purchase this?"
Zhao Yuan turned and gave it a glance. When she saw the parcel, her expression turned bright and happy again.
She put on her slippers and walked over with a smile. "This must be my birthday present from Yuning."
"He sent you a gift this early?" the nanny said in shock. She carefully placed the parcel on the ground in fear that it was something fragile.
Zhao Yuan smiled. Zhao Yuning must have purposely feigned a look of dejection and ignorance toward her just now so he could give her a surprise. "Help me open it."
"Alright." The nanny went off to take a pair of scissors.
The parcel was very quickly opened.
When Zhao Yuan saw a corner which revealed a ball of fluff, she couldn't help but to touch it. It was very soft. She liked it very much.
However, before the nanny could finish opening it, she paused abruptly and said, "Miss, I don't think you are the recipient."
Zhao Yuan furrowed her brows and quickly snatched the courier receipt to take a look.
When her vision focused on the three words 'Zhao Mingxi', she went stiff.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yuning who was on the second floor heard the commotion downstairs. He hurriedly ran down with his slippers. When he saw that the present which was nicely wrapped at the mall had been opened by the nanny, he was enraged, "Who allowed you to open my things?"
The nanny stepped aside fearfully.
It was only then that Zhao Yuan realized that she had made a huge mistake. She stood up with a sour expression. She didn't know if she wanted to appear awkward or angry.
She held herself together and asked, "Since it's for Mingxi, why did you send it home? Shouldn't you have sent it to school?"
As Zhao Yuning had always been bad at observing, he didn't notice the expression on Zhao Yuan's face. He said, "Isn't Mingxi jie still mad at us? So I got this as a gift for her."
Before Zhao Yuan could come back to her senses, Zhao Yuning had dragged the gift upstairs in a huff.
Both Zhao Yuan and the nanny were in disbelief. Zhao Yuning got a gift for Mingxi?
The nanny hesitated, but did not say anything. She took a glimpse at Zhao Yuan. She did not dare to say that it was Zhao Yuan who got her to open it, so she could only take the blame for it. Rubbing her hands together, she lowered her head before quickly heading toward the kitchen.
The sound of someone parking their car could be heard from outside the door.
Zhao Yuan calmed herself down. She looked toward the gates of their villa and saw Zhao Zhanhuai coming out from his car.
Zhao Yuan sat heavily on the sofa instead of greeting him at the door.
Her eyes were becoming bloodshot.
Zhao Zhanhuai entered the house and changed his shoes at the entry foyer. When he looked up, he saw Zhao Yuan's back facing him as she sat at the sofa, hugging a pillow quietly.
If it was any day before today, he would have definitely noticed that Zhao Yuan was angry or feeling wronged, so he would quickly go up to her to ask if she was okay.
But today Zhao Zhanhuai's mind was in a wreck. He didn't know how to deal with Mingxi.
Also, he had spent the time coming home thinking about many details in the past— They were all small matters, like when Yuanyuan and Mingxi both tripped, he would always go up to help Zhao Yuan first.
Everyone saw how protective he was of Zhao Yuan. He didn't think much of it himself either.
…But for Mingxi, this could've been the last straw for her before she completely lost her faith in the Zhao family.
Everything would've been fine if he didn't notice how biased he was, but since he noticed, he felt that everything was wrong.
It was as if Mingxi who had severed all ties with their family was sitting across him on the sofa, watching him.
Only
Furthermore, Zhao Zhanhuai guessed that nothing much happened to Yuanyuan, just that she might've been upset over the fact that he forgot to pick her up.
However, Zhao Zhanhuai who was currently in a very bad mood did not have the energy to coax her.
He hesitated, pulled his tie loose and directly went upstairs.
Zhao Yuan, who was seated at the sofa, waited for a long time until she heard the sound of footsteps behind her.
The corner of her eyes became even redder.
But what she didn't expect was for those set of footsteps to turn and head upstairs.
She turned around in shock, but could only see Zhao Zhanhuai's figure which was already halfway up the stairs.
Zhao Yuan immediately stood up. She couldn't understand what she was seeing.
Chapter 14
Despite Mingxi's absence, they couldn't help but to make her the main topic of tonight's dinner.
When Madam Zhao took a glance at Mingxi's chair which had been empty for the past week and a half, she slammed her bowl and chopsticks on the table before frowning at Zhao Zhanhuai. "Didn't you go to her school today?"
Zhao Yuning did not dare to step in. His eyes travelled carefully to his eldest brother.
Zhao Zhanhuai felt an oncoming headache. It was obvious that he couldn't just tell his mother about Mingxi wanting to sever all ties with them right now, or else his house would immediately be turned upside down.
He paused. Then, as if nothing had happened, he picked up a dish and said, "I did."
"Then where is she? Did you fail to coax her back?"
Zhao Zhanhuai said, "Mingxi said that she's been preparing for the Hundred School Tournament recently. As the journey between school and home is rather time consuming, she decided to continue staying in school. She'll be back on the day of your birthday party."
"She wants to join the tournament as well?" Madam Zhao questioned.
Even Zhao Yuan was surprised. She didn't know what was up with Zhao Mingxi recently. Not only did she stop chasing after Shen Liyao, she also placed her focus on her studies. Furthermore, she joined both the School Beauty Contest and the Hundred School Tournament.
Zhao Yuan did not dare to compete with Zhao Mingxi in terms of the former, but with regards to the latter, when it came to their results, Zhao Yuan was extremely confident.
She felt more assured now, hence she spoke with the tone of an experienced person, "If she manages to get into the finals, she can get a scholarship, and after the competition, those who got into the Top 10 can obtain extra marks for their college entrance examination. So it is only normal for Mingxi to want to try. However, the spaces are limited. It isn't easy to be eligible for the competition to begin with… It might be a little hard with Mingxi's results."
"Mingxi is probably unhappy about the fact that I managed to get into the finals last year while she couldn't even qualify for the competition itself. Do you think we should send Professor Gao a gift to help Mingxi out?"
Zhao Zhanhuai furrowed his brows and said, "I am familiar with Professor Gao. He won't accept such gifts. The important part is her participation."
Madam Zhao had nothing to add to this, but she couldn't help but to nag, "What tournament, they are all excuses. It looks like she's still angry. What is wrong with this child? And what happened to her phone? Why can't any of us reach her?"
Zhao Yuning's head was bent so low that it could be buried in his bowl.
Zhao Zhanhuai thought for a moment before replying, "Her phone was damaged because she dropped it in water."
"Then give her money to buy another one!"
"I bought one for her already," Zhao Zhanhuai said while holding his forehead. "But since she's preparing for her upcoming exams, she's closing herself off from the world as well. Let's just allow her to focus on her studies. She will definitely be back on the day of the birthday party."
Only then did Madam Zhao stop. She then changed the topic, "Oh right, I heard that the upstart Dong family are about to return to this country. Be careful, don't let them do anything behind our backs."
"Why did they decide to come back now?" Zhao Zhanhuai frowned. "Does Mingxi know?"
Madam Zhao said, "I don't think so. They have yet to make a move. I heard this news from my friends when I went shopping the other day."
The Dong family was Mingxi's small town neighbor. They were originally poor, but right before the Zhao family found Mingxi, a miracle happened to that family that year and they became upstarts. There was also a boy from that family who was about the same age as Mingxi and they were good friends.
Back when they were still searching for Mingxi, this family was the biggest obstacle they had encountered.
They didn't know what this family was thinking, but they refused to let Mingxi go. They even went to the extent of secretly bringing Mingxi with them when they moved.
Furthermore, the moment they met this family, there was a strong sense of hostility between them. Their family's Dong Shen was also this close to making Zhao Yuan stagger.
At that moment, they almost wanted to sue them.
Fortunately, this family moved overseas.
The moment they mentioned this family, Madam Zhao's gaze was full of distaste. "Even if they are rich now and have loads of money, they don't have any manners. Thank goodness we didn't allow them to keep Mingxi by their side."
It was obvious that the atmosphere around the table was quite bad.
Zhao Yuan placed a vegetable in Madam Zhao's bowl. She smiled and said, "Mom, don't worry. I'm still here. Why don't I massage your shoulders after dinner?"
"How could that be the same?" Madam Zhao rubbed her temples and said casually.
Although she favored Zhao Yuan more as Zhao Yuan looked obedient from every angle, she could not ignore the blood relations embedded in their genes. This was also the reason why they insisted on searching for Zhao Mingxi even though many years had passed.
Zhao Yuan's facial expression went stiff.
She subconsciously looked at the other two around the table. However, today's Zhao Zhanhuai and Zhao Yuning were acting out of the ordinary. They only bothered to lower their heads with heavy hearts instead of trying to reassure her.
Zhao Yuan felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, as if something bad was about to happen soon.
There weren't a lot of people who stayed in school. In order to avoid fires during the weekend, the academic building was closed. Only one classroom at the fourth floor of the library would be open for students to self study.
For the whole of Fu Yangxi's three years here, he had no idea what the library looked like. But after school today, his thoughts kept on floating to the library.
Ke Chengwen also took a glimpse at the library. Coincidentally, he saw a familiar figure carrying a bag as he walked toward that direction.
Shen Liyao?
He doesn't stay in school, so what is he doing at the library after class? It can't be that he's there to look for the transfer student, right?
"What are you looking at?" Fu Yangxi was about to follow the direction of his gaze when Ke Chengwen immediately blocked him and said, "Your ride is here."
At the school gates, an extra long limousine drove slowly toward them. It had successfully averted Fu Yangxi's attention.
Fu Yangxi furrowed his brows and appeared to be slightly annoyed. He pulled Ke Chengwen by the neck and started to walk in the opposite direction.
When Ke Chengwen saw the number plate, his eyelids twitched instantly. "Your mother is home?!"
This was not the usual car that came to fetch Fu Yangxi.
Fu Yangxi pushed him away and put on his jacket. The annoyance in his expression deepened. "Don't mention such things when I'm in a good mood."
Ke Chengwen could only shut up. But after a while, he couldn't help but to ask, "Then what about that fellow Fu Zhiyi? Has he returned as well?"
"No way." Fu Yangxi scoffed. The wind made a slight mess of his short red hair. The corner of his eyes were cold. "A substitute can't just follow her around."
Ke Chengwen also felt slightly annoyed on Fu Yangxi's behalf.
In the end, he didn't pay attention to where they were going. By the time he raised his head up, he realized that he had been dragged to the mall by Fu Yangxi.
"Xi ge, what do you want to buy?"
Fu Yangxi ignored him. He crossed his arms and looked at the female outfit in the display. Subconsciously, he placed his thumb on his lips. He muttered, "Say, why does she only wear those two school uniforms for the past few days? Could it be that she had such a huge fight with her family that she couldn't even take her own clothes?"
Fu Yangxi's train of thought was so fast that Ke Chengwen almost couldn't catch up.
He was confused. "Who?"
"T-That person." Fu Yangxi feigned a look that said 'I'm so annoyed from being pursued like this. Looks like I have no choice but to entertain her a little'. He let out a long sigh before pointing to himself with a raised eyebrow, "The crazy Fu Yangxi pursuer."
"She helped me complete my homework this morning. When she was done, her eyes were still shining brightly."
Fu Yangxi was overjoyed. "She even gave me desserts for almost two weeks straight, and they were all handmade. Wouldn't it be rude of me to not return something to her?"
Ke Chengwen was speechless for a short while. There are so many moments when you were rude! Why would you suddenly talk about being polite now?
Ke Chengwen asked, "Then how are you going to give it to her?" He couldn't just do so in front of the whole class.
Fu Yangxi answered nonchalantly, "She will probably be self studying in the library at night. I'll go home for a short while after this. Help me bring the stuff there. We'll meet at the library."
"No way—" Ke Chengwen immediately refused.
Fu Yangxi gave him an odd look. "Do you have somewhere to be?"
Ke Chengwen nodded. "Yes."
Fu Yangxi made a noise of acknowledgement before stuffing his hands in his pockets, continuing to walk in the direction of the mall. "Then I'll just go by myself."
Ke Chengwen said, "Why don't you just give it to her in class next Monday? Why do you want to go to the library? You don't even have an access card!"
"That's easy." Fu Yangxi looked at him with a gaze that said 'Are you kidding me, I'm the school hunk'. "I'll just take one from whoever I see on the way there."
Ke Chengwen: "…"
Fu Yangxi was very sharp. He asked suspiciously, "Are you hiding something from me?"
Ke Chengwen immediately changed the topic. "Nothing. Let's just get something."
Oh no. What do I do if they break into a fight later at the library?
He still hasn't figured out a way to tell Fu Yangxi about the fact that Zhao Mingxi had been pursuing Shen Liyao for the past two years.
"Of course we'll just get something. Did you think I would carefully prepare something for her?"
Only
Fu Yangxi scoffed coldly.
After saying this, he walked into a luggage store. He scanned the shop for a while before pulling down the largest black luggage they had.
As the whole mall belonged to the Fu family, the salespeople recognized him— or actually, they recognized his red hair. No one went up to him. They merely watched as he did his own thing.
Fu Yangxi pulled the luggage into the store.
Then, Ke Chengwen watched as he shopped with vigorous strides. He pulled out the female versions of winter clothes, shoes, school bags and socks and threw them into the luggage. For every item he took, he took a whole row of them.
Wherever he went, it was as if it was the day of destruction. Every single shelf became empty.
Ke Chengwen: "…"
You f*cking call this just getting something?
Chapter 15
Before Ke Chengwen could even form a sentence, Fu Yangxi had already walked to another row displaying a selection of masks.
A top promoter managed to guess what he wanted to buy. He immediately pushed a rack of items to him and asked, "Young Master Fu, do you need this?"
Fu Yangxi turned.
A row of various kinds of female underwear made out of silk and satin entered his vision abruptly.
His handsome face flushed red immediately. He yelled, "What is this?! Do I look like someone who would want to buy something like this?! You've misunderstood me!"
The top promoter was about to shakily pull the rack away.
"Wait." Fu Yangxi called out to her.
Actually, Fu Yangxi had a suspicion that the transfer student was low on money recently because he saw how she would always be on the forum in search of tutoring jobs. He didn't know if she could afford such things.
"I'll take two." Fu Yangxi pulled a long face. He refused to look at it again, so he just used two fingers to pull up some items and threw it in the luggage.
By the time he was done, his whole face was practically red.
He took another two packets of masks and threw it in. Then, he hurriedly used his leg to close the luggage. After pulling the zipper, he turned and quickly ran away with the luggage in tow.
The group of salespeople who came to observe Young Master Fu from behind a shelf watched this whole bizarre transaction with their expressions unusually brilliant.
An unexplainable expression also appeared on Ke Chengwen's face.
The top promoter smiled.
Looks like I didn't misunderstand him.
Ke Chengwen chased after him with small jogs. He felt resentful toward Fu Yangxi for failing to meet expectations, and he was impatient to see improvement. "Xi ge, she's the one going after you, not the other way around. Why are you buying so many things?!"
"I know!" Fu Yangxi retorted unhappily. "I don't like her! I'm just returning the favor for her insistence to give me desserts every day!"
Ke Chengwen wanted to continue.
Fu Yangxi's face was emotionless. "Shut up. I said I don't like her."
"Okay." Ke Chengwen had mixed feelings about this.
Fu Yangxi bought a lot of things in a muddle. Towards the end, he took two duvets.
The weather in October was unpredictable. It could turn cold whenever. When the two of them were faced with a gust of cold wind upon leaving the mall, they both sneezed.
A honk came from a vehicle not far away from them. As if it was following them, a limousine drove nearer.
The moment Fu Yangxi saw it, his expression turned cold. He placed the duvets on the luggage and pushed it to Ke Chengwen. "I'll meet you at the library at eight."
"Oh my god, how am I supposed to explain this amount of things?" Ke Chengwen was clearly unwilling.
Fu Yangxi said, "Idiot. Just say that you got it as a prize."
Ke Chengwen was beginning to question his life. Who would believe that he had won so many items only for female use?
The car had already arrived. The back door opened.
A respectful middle-aged man who was wearing a suit came out. He smiled at Fu Yangxi. "Young Master."
Mingxi was extremely focused on her revision in the library.
There were a few people who had yet to go home for the weekend, just about 20 of them. Some were listening to songs on their earphones, some had their legs crossed as they played games, there were also a few couples. Thus, it wasn't all that quiet.
The system helped her to calculate the time: "You used 75 minutes to complete this paper. You're getting faster."
"This test wasn't hard. It wasn't even 80% of the difficulty of the college entrance examinations. But I am definitely getting faster than before."
Mingxi raised her head and rubbed her eyes. She took a glimpse at the pot which was still stuck at 15 small buds.
In accordance with the increase of the small buds— which also meant that her negative luck was decreasing, she could clearly perceive the changes in her.
The most obvious one would be when she answered the test, the answers that she got wrong due to a random glitch in her brain decreased by a lot.
The system's explanation for this was that her collected luck was currently diminishing the female protagonist's intelligence reducing buff.
Mingxi was filled with determination.
However, she was currently worried about one thing. She had already submitted the application form for the Hundred School Tournament, but she was afraid that there would be too many outstanding people to the point that there would be a pile of application forms. Then the teacher in charge of the competing team would not even see her application form at all.
If this was true, then she would've immediately died in square one.
The teacher in charge of choosing students had the surname Gao. He was over 60 years old and was well-respected by everyone. He was the renowned top tournament trainer for many years. In school, no one would dare to rebut him, even the teachers would have to bow in respect to him.
Mingxi wondered if there was a way for her to directly give her application form to Trainer Gao.
Even if he didn't choose her, she could at least say that she tried.
—If that doesn't work, at least she would be on speaking terms with this mysterious teacher and she could try to get some guidance from him.
She must enter a good college in this lifetime.
Mingxi's possession of her past life's memories allowed her to broaden her web of thoughts quickly.
"Help me see if this is a request from Professor Gao's grandchild to find a playmate."
During her past life, when Mingxi was in college, this top trainer had already retired. Everyone felt that it was such a pity, but it was also then that they found out that he had an autistic grandson at home. As his grandson's illness got gradually worse, he could only retire to focus on taking care of him.
The system: "Yes. It's for 200 yuan a day so the price is not bad. If you manage to get it, it could also ease your financial burden."
Mingxi said, "It shouldn't be a problem. See? Practically no one replied to this request."
This user had used a rather stiff tone in his post. The request itself was also very demanding as it required someone to play with an autistic child.
The students who needed to earn money would never take up this kind of request. Everyone was more willing to take simple jobs which could get them more money easily, like being a tutor or helping others to do their homework.
This was the reason why despite this post having been left up there for the past six years, only a few comments like "?" and "Are you for real or is this just a trick?" were there.
If it wasn't because Mingxi had been given a second chance at life, she would never have connected this post to the ever strict Professor Gao.
As Mingxi wanted to attempt this, she sent a private message to this user, stating that she wanted to take up this job.
However, after she sent it, there was no reply for a whole 10 minutes. There wasn't even a sign that it had been read.
The system: "Is this idea useful? I think you should just try to find out Professor Gao's address and head there yourself."
"That's too purposeful. Judging by Professor Gao's personality, he would definitely hate it." Mingxi contemplated before continuing, "Let's just give it some more time. It's getting late, and considering Professor Gao's age, he must be asleep by now. We'll check on it again tomorrow morning."
Mingxi flipped through her calendar and was reminded of something. The time was fast approaching when the Dong family would come back after the end of the Hundred School Tournament in her past life.
The Dong family was her grandmother's neighbor back when she lived in the small town. Although they were poor, they would always lend a helping hand to Mingxi and her grandmother.
About three years ago, Uncle Dong struck gold with his business. Then, they all left overseas.
In her past life, after the Dong family came back, they would constantly invite Mingxi over to their house.
Their whole family thought that Zhao Yuan was a dog in a manger, hence they all treated Zhao Yuan badly— It wasn't hard to conclude that they were quite the formidable villains in the original novel as well. They kept on making appearances but were always met with retaliation from the people around Zhao Yuan.
Additionally, although the Dong family was rich, they were painfully straightforward— In the original novel, they were cursed with little IQ and repeatedly made a fool out of themselves.
Although Dong Shen who transferred here was extremely good-looking, due to his poor mannerisms, he was taken as a joke in A High all the time.
Ultimately, the end of the Dong family was no different than the resolution of Mingxi and He Yang's family.
As Mingxi couldn't remember phone numbers, she couldn't make the first contact with the Dong family. However, she circled the date on her calendar and decided that in this life, she would use her luck as the female protagonist to protect this family.
At the very least she would want them to distance themselves from Zhao Yuan.
Also, the first thing she would do the moment she meets Dong Shen would be to bring him to buy new clothes.
There were many things she had to do. Mingxi planned them out neatly in her mind.
Nonetheless, the foundation of doing all these, the core itself, was to quickly stimulate the growth of the small buds in her pot.
Mingxi had just finished rubbing her eyes and was about to continue doing her next test paper.
Suddenly, the chair opposite her was pulled back.
A familiar black bag was placed on the table. Then, a similarly familiar hand opened the school bag and took out a thick Tournament Question Set, a pen and a paper.
"…" Mingxi raised her head. As if on accident, she made eye contact with Shen Liyao.
Shen Liyao glanced at her. He placed his bag on the seat beside him and sat on the seat across her.
"Why are you here?" Mingxi looked around. She did not see the neighboring school's Kong Jiaze nor did she see anyone else there. Shen Liyao actually came alone— most importantly, he actually sat opposite her voluntarily.
Shen Liyao looked at her with emotionless eyes. As he was trying to put out the rage in his heart, his tone was unkind, "Why can't I be here? Does your family own this library?"
What the heck? Why is he so angry?
Mingxi was baffled. So much anger. Did you eat a bomb? Did I trigger you?
Shen Liyao's gaze landed on the pile of neatly stacked test papers beside her. Three words were written gracefully on the upper left side of the papers: Fu Yangxi.
Mingxi followed his gaze. "What's up?"
Shen Liyao's felt a headache coming. "Why are you doing his homework?"
"I'm willing." For the past two days, Mingxi had been helping Fu Yangxi do his homework. On the one hand, she could gain more luck. On the other, she could use it as practice. The more she wrote, the stronger it would be imprinted in her head. But she didn't want to explain this to Shen Liyao.
"…" Shen Liyao almost choked. The flame in his heart immediately burned even stronger.
Suddenly, he felt as if he noticed something. He knew why for the past two days he would feel annoyed whenever he heard the name Zhao Mingxi and Fu Yangxi appear together in one sentence.
Shen Liyao's tone deepened, "Are you done with this nonsense—"
Mingxi looked up.
The words 'Why must you approach someone like Fu Yangxi? Why did you stop appearing in my life?' were at the tip of his tongue, but due to a young man's pride, Shen Liyao couldn't say them out loud.
Instead, what left his mouth was, "You can't stay in school forever."
Mingxi originally wanted to greet him, but for some reason she received a scolding from him. She was merely doing her work.
Furthermore, he was speaking on behalf of the Zhao family.
Even with Mingxi's good temperament, she could no longer stand it.
"God Yao, we've only known each other for two years. You were the one who said that we're not even friends, so you don't have any right to advise me."
Shen Liyao held the core areas of the Hundred School Tournament in his hands, but he seemed to have forgotten the reason why he came. He gritted his teeth and glared at Mingxi before rebutting, "Only known each other for two years?"
—Then what did she mean when she said she liked him for the past two years?
"Yes." Mingxi looked around her. When she saw that no one was paying attention to them, she immediately stood up and started to pack her things.
"I was ignorant for bothering you back then. I'm sorry. But I won't do it anymore, so please stop meddling in my affairs."
Shen Liyao was in disbelief. His knuckles were tightening underneath the table.
His complexion was pale as he watched her leave.
Mingxi packed her bags and found a spot in the library's self-study room which was furthest away from Shen Liyao.
She was aware that Shen Liyao was acting rather odd just now. After all, this was the first time in the past two years that he voluntarily came to find her.
From Mingxi's perspective, with Shen Liyao's pride, he was probably just unused to the fact that someone who was always chasing after him had suddenly stopped doing so.
Maybe he was unaccustomed, or maybe a young man's pride had been struck.
Nonetheless, things will just return to its cold and quiet state in a few days' time.
After all, he didn't like her, so a while later he would be overjoyed by the fact that he got rid of this annoying pest.
Ke Chengwen was famished, so he went ahead and had dinner outside before coming back with the luggage.
The moment he reached outside of the glass panel, he saw the transfer student and the Gold Medal Class' Shen Liyao sitting across each other.
Judging by Shen Liyao's cold gaze, they seem to be quarreling— Nonetheless, it was obvious that they were quite familiar with each other. They acted the same as how he heard, as if they had a lavish dating history.
F*ck.
What am I supposed to do? Should I get the transfer student to come out so that I can prevent Xi ge from meeting Shen Liyao?
Ke Chengwen could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears. Just as he was about to enter and figure something out, someone suddenly tapped on his shoulder.
"Why are you still here?"
Ke Chengwen was going to stop breathing altogether.
He turned his head and saw Fu Yangxi standing behind him, wearing a sports jacket with his hair tousled by the wind.
His body was as if it was doused in chilly air which came from the night winds. He was also carrying a huge box of takeout with him.
Clearly, he had just arrived here from home. There was a hint of cold and indifferent obscurity in his expression. It was a stark contrast from his usual look of arrogance and aggression.
But it didn't take long for that remaining expression to disappear from his face.
"Xi ge, what happened to your hand?" Ke Chengwen noticed that there were cuts on the back of Fu Yangxi's hand which was holding the takeout. It wasn't serious, but there were still some trails of blood oozing out from it.
Fu Yangxi was unbothered. He raised his hand and rubbed it. "I got cut by shards of glass."
Ke Chengwen hesitated. He didn't know if he should ask further.
"You're too slow." Fu Yangxi changed the topic. He furrowed his brows and took a step to enter the room.
Ke Chengwen hurriedly pulled him back. "Xi ge, don't eat your takeout inside. Finish it first before you enter!"
"Are you crazy? It's freezing cold out here."
Fu Yangxi had a growing suspicion that he was hiding something from him. After giving him a glare, he entered the self-study room without any hesitation.
Ke Chengwen's heart was about to stop beating. Nonetheless, he could only bite the bullet and follow him in while pulling the luggage.
In the end, Fu Yangxi made many turns and ended up at a completely different spot from where he saw Shen Liyao and Zhao Mingxi were sitting earlier.
Ke Chengwen's mind went blank. He immediately looked toward the earlier spot. Surprisingly, there was only Shen Liyao sitting there with a gloomy expression. There were no hints of Mingxi ever being there.
It seemed like while he was stalling Fu Yangxi, the transfer student changed a spot.
It was only at this moment that Ke Chengwen let out a sigh of relief.
He picked up the pace. As he was trying to make up for his earlier impudence, he rushed ahead of Fu Yangxi to where the transfer student was. Then, with cold sweat dripping down his head, he placed the luggage and two duvets on the chair beside her.
"Transfer student, Xi ge and I won these as a prize today when we went to play games at the cybercafé! They look like things that only girls can use. So since it's worthless to us, we decided to give them to you."
Actually, Mingxi had already spotted them while they were standing at the entrance, though it was mainly because of Fu Yangxi's red hair which was far too haughty and dazzling. His height was another factor as it made him look like a crane in a flock of chicken.
She looked at Fu Yangxi. "Is this for me?"
"Uh-huh." Fu Yangxi tried his best to not reveal his delight.
He walked over and pulled out a chair which was one seat away from Mingxi. Then, he leaned on it lazily and crossed his legs.
He started to play with a pen's lid which was on Mingxi's table. He continuously opened and closed it while carrying a sense of coolness which basically expressed 'although I gave you something it doesn't mean that you can covet me'.
Seeing as how Mingxi was still looking at him, he gave her a glance. "Transfer student, don't dwell on it. I'm just helping you as a fellow classmate."
Am I coveting your awful results or your lack of intelligence?
Mingxi took a glimpse at the duvets and everything else beside her. As if I would believe you.
Who would win such things as prizes?
She was 80% certain that these were all specially bought by Fu Yangxi— As for the reason, she wasn't sure. However, she thought it might be because of the sweets she had been giving him for the past few days. As Fu Yangxi felt that it was disrespectful to just take from her, he decided to give something in return.
Regardless, Mingxi felt a surge of warmth spreading in her heart, especially after her unpleasant encounters with Zhao Zhanhuai and Shen Liyao.
"Thank you." Her eyes curled into crescent moons.
Fu Yangxi looked into Mingxi's eyes. She wore a thin layer of clothing and she had long eyelashes. When she smiled, the light which reflected in her eyes scattered into small flakes.
Fu Yangxi hastily averted his gaze. He grumbled, "I already told you that I got them as a prize. You don't have to thank me."
"But I didn't say that you didn't win them." Mingxi said helplessly.
Seeing as how Fu Yangxi had turned away, she took the opportunity to sniff him. Once again, the smell of dried pine wafted through the air. Mingxi couldn't help herself. The moment she inhaled, the fatigue she had from spending so much time on her homework disappeared almost immediately.
Mingxi's actions were subtle, but Fu Yangxi was using a gaze which he thought was cool and handsome to take a glimpse at her from the corner of his eyes.
Before Fu Yangxi came, he warned himself to not lose his self-control. However, he still failed as his ears flushed red in an instant.
F*ck. He had already sat one seat away from her on purpose, yet she was still sniffing him!
Fu Yangxi was about to say something when Mingxi cut him off. She was afraid that he was going to say something shocking again. She raised her head to speak to Ke Chengwen, "What did you guys get?"
"Oh." Ke Chengwen was completely distracted by Shen Liyao who was looking at them from afar. When he came back to his senses, he didn't think much and immediately pulled open the zipper of the luggage.
"Wait, only open it when you get back—!" Fu Yangxi couldn't finish his sentence.
Two pairs of silk underwear fell out.
Ke Chengwen completely forgot that the promoter had stuffed these in there too.
The few people who were sitting around them all turned to look at them.
Mingxi's mind went blank. For a moment there, she wasn't sure what it was. "You got this as a prize too?"
Fu Yangxi was the first to react. He hesitated for one second before changing his expression and rushed over like an arrow. He quickly picked up the underwear and threw them to Ke Chengwen. "What is this? Why are they in the luggage? Did you put them in there?"
Ke Chengwen appeared helpless. "Xi ge, you—"
Fu Yangxi moved his eyeballs to the right, signaling him to quickly remove these underwear from his sight.
Although Ke Chengwen felt hurt by this, he still hurriedly shoved the underwear into his bag and closed the luggage with a loud thud. "Those were won by me. The rest are all Xi ge's winnings."
There was an indescribable expression on Mingxi's face. She felt like she had a deeper understanding of Fu Yangxi once more. "You bought all these?"
Fu Yangxi mentally cursed. His face flushed red due to anger. "Did you think that I wanted to buy— No, win. I couldn't have chosen what I wanted to win."
Mingxi changed the topic. "Have you eaten dinner? In order to buy— No, win. In order to win these, you guys can't have skipped dinner, right?"
Ke Chengwen and Fu Yangxi both said conflicting answers at the same time:
"I've had my dinner, but Xi ge hasn't yet."
"I already ate."
The moment they finished speaking, Fu Yangxi's stomach growled.
Fu Yangxi's face turned impassive. He stood up, stuffed his hands into his pockets and turned to the people around them with a cool look. "Whose stomach was growling?"
Ke Chengwen: "…"
Mingxi: "…"
Mingxi felt that his actions were awkward and funny, but most of all it made her feel a sense of warmth; something she hadn't felt in a long time— She had a feeling that Fu Yangxi knew that she had left home and stayed in school, or else he wouldn't have given her duvets. It was true that she needed these as the days were getting colder. However, it might be because he's never bought these before, hence he got this whole bunch of things for her.
Perhaps Fu Yangxi wasn't as distasteful as she thought he was.
Mingxi tried her best not to laugh. She turned and continued to do her work. "Forget it. Stop what you're doing and eat."
Only then did Fu Yangxi sit down once more. He opened the takeaway in an uncomfortable manner. Then, he took a glance at Zhao Mingxi. Seeing as how she was focused on her work and no longer looking as depressed as she was before, he smiled and opened the lid.
When Ke Chengwen was done arranging the items in the luggage, he pulled out a chair and sat down. "What did you get?"
Fu Yangxi answered, "Shiitake bullfrog."
The moment he said that, he frowned. "There's coriander in it."
Fu Yangxi immediately lost his appetite. However, he gave in to his immense hunger. He peeled apart the wooden chopsticks and started to pick out the coriander leaves to be put aside on the lid.
Suddenly, Mingxi's eyes gleamed.
Like a small kitten, Mingxi leaned over. "Young Master Fu, I'll help you pick them!"
Just imagine the amount of tiny buds that will grow from doing such detailed work!
"Whatever." Fu Yangxi scoffed.
The moment he agreed, Mingxi immediately sat closer to him and took away the box.
Only
Fu Yangxi lowered his head and secretly peeked at Mingxi's shining eyes. He tried his best to pretend that he wasn't the least affected by it, but the imaginary tail behind him still twisted up to the skies. Even his complexion was turning a little red.
She wanted to do such detailed work for him! How much does she actually like him?!
Fu Yangxi threw an ecstatic look at the lone dog Ke Chengwen who was seated right beside him.
But all he saw was a distracted Ke Chengwen looking in another direction.
Fu Yangxi followed his gaze— Then, he made eye contact with the cold eyes of Shen Liyao who was seated around eight to nine rows away from them.
It's that guy again.
Fu Yangxi furrowed his brows. He subconsciously took a glimpse at Zhao Mingxi.
He noticed… that the person whom that guy was staring at was his Little Mask.
