I Just Want to Freeload on Your Luck - Chapter 21

Mingxi had both her hands in her pockets when she entered the class. Suddenly, someone called out to her.

“Mingxi.”

Zhao Yuan was walking over to Mingxi with a pile of freshly photocopied information in her arms, her red-rimmed eyes filled with worry.

Mingxi turned. When she saw that it was her, she didn’t even bother to greet her. Instead, she turned and walked straight into class.

She didn’t want the luck that she worked so hard for to disperse due to Zhao Yuan’s protective halo of being a main character!

“Wait. I want to talk to you.” Zhao Yuan jogged up to her and blocked her path.

Mingxi took a glimpse at her flower pot. When Zhao Yuan got close to her, the tiny buds in her flower pot shivered and swayed. Some even stopped growing completely.

So how could Mingxi be in a good mood? She immediately furrowed her brows. “I have nothing to say to you.”

A few people in the corridor looked over.

They watched as Zhao Yuan bit her lips in apparent fear of Mingxi. She mustered up her courage and said, “I just- just wanted to apologize on behalf of E Xiaoxia…”

A beauty with a kind heart.

Such a term appeared in the minds of all the boys in the corridor.

This incident clearly had nothing to do with Zhao Yuan. E Xiaoxia had even wanted to drag her through the mire. Nonetheless, she cared more about Zhao Mingxi’s feelings and came to apologize first.

However, Mingxi was not listening to whatever Zhao Yuan was saying.

Zhao Yuan wasn’t wearing her school uniform. Her bottom half was covered by a trendy dark blue colored sailor skirt, short white socks and a pair of coffee brown leather shoes.

Her long hair was tied up into a neat ponytail, and at the left side of the top of her head rested a blue checkered bow.

She appeared tidy, generous, frail and fragile.

All in all, she could be summed up in numerous glorifying terms.

On the other hand, Mingxi had a lean figure and she was almost half a head taller than Zhao Yuan. She lowered her gaze slightly. The blue checkered bow caught her attention.

Mingxi stared at that bow firmly. It was hard not to recall what happened previously.

When she first arrived at the Zhao family home two years ago, she brought a luggage bag with her. That luggage bag which was made out of rattan was personally woven by her grandmother. When she was brought in by Zhao Zhanhuai, aside from Zhao Mo, everyone else was rather friendly. Thus, it ignited a spark of hope in her heart as she looked forward to her new life.

Her mother pulled her by her hand and told her to take a shower and get changed first.

However, by the time she came out, she realized that the old clothes that she brought over and the luggage made by her grandmother had all been thrown out of the villa into the trash— Her mother said that she had suffered a lot and that she was going to buy her new ones.

Mingxi retorted softly that these were the items her grandmother had left for her.

Her mother wasn’t too happy with this reply. She said, “You have to get used to your new surroundings.”

The 15-year-old Mingxi back then felt conflicted. She really wanted to take back what her grandmother gave her, but she was afraid that it would make her appear unreasonable and troublesome, causing a bad atmosphere in the family.

Thus, she could only eat half-heartedly. She barely ate anything that day. Her plan was to wait until her mother had gone upstairs before she would head outside to take back her things.

However, what she didn’t expect was for when the sky had turned dark and she went out to find it, the garbage truck had already taken the items away.

Mingxi felt extremely sad for a few days after that. It was only then that she realized that her surroundings were not somewhere she could easily blend in just because she wore the same set of clothes and small leather shoes as Zhao Yuan.

At the small Northern town which she lived in for the past 15 years, the norm was for the trash to be taken out the next morning among the noise and reminders of her neighbours. They would always help each other out when it came to taking out the trash. But here, the nanny will take out the trash whenever she likes.

She would have to put in more effort in order to blend in.

Upon realizing this point, Mingxi worked even harder, just as she did for the past 15 years when it came to her studies.

She started by observing the mannerisms of the Zhao family. She would even take note of small details like how many times they would wash their mouths after dinner. Then, she would do the same. All this was done just so she won’t stand out from them. She wanted to compromise to their liking.

That day, after they went and bought a bunch of shoes and clothes, when Zhao Zhanhuai took Mingxi to deal with her transfer application to the first school, Mingxi noticed that a lot of girls were looking at her.

Mingxi realized that she was very different from them— Although they were wearing the same clothes bought from the same shop, these girls knew how to dress themselves up.

They would tie knots with their t-shirts and spend time to cut out patterns on their pleated skirts.

Their hairstyles were not like hers either as she left her long black hair flowing beyond her shoulders without any accessories. In contrast, most of them had bright colored accessories on their hair, making them vibrant and lively. With one glance, it was easy to tell that they were the pinnacle of fashion trends.

The way they stared at Mingxi made her feel so inferior that her face burned pink. She wanted nothing but to hide away from them.

Once again, she realized that this had nothing to do with the differences between their clothes or hairstyles. Instead, it was the difference between people who have been reading fashion magazines since a young age and someone who had to study in the summer without an air-conditioner and in the winter without any warmth.

If she wanted to blend in, she would have to try even harder and put in more effort.

After their return, Mingxi used her new phone and computer to learn about these things and also observed how Zhao Yuan did all these— Zhao Yuan was the best and prettiest example around her.

Mingxi took out some of her money and planned to start from buying some hair accessories.

As this was the first for her to buy such things, she was confused. She didn’t know which types to buy. Then, she recalled the butterfly knot on top of Zhao Yuan’s head and figured that she couldn’t go wrong by buying those, so she bought two.

When she got home that day, she was overjoyed. She wanted to show the items she got to her mother so that she could know if her way of perceiving beauty had improved.

However, when she passed by Zhao Mo’s room, she heard him speaking to someone.

Zhao Mo mocked her by saying, “That new kid is such a copier. She wants everything Yuanyuan has. You, go and console Yuanyuan.”

Mingxi did not know who was on the other side of the conversation, but it had to be either Zhao Zhanhuai, her mother, or Zhao Yuning.

That day, Mingxi hurriedly retreated into her room and threw the accessories into the lowest drawer.

Her tears started to roll down uncontrollably.

For the past two years, Mingxi had undergone a quick growth, but it was mainly because she was forced to change at the fastest speed.

She could finally puff out her chest and blend in to her surroundings. She looked exactly like someone who had grown up in such circumstances.

She was calm and able to handle any situation with ease.

She also knew how to display her beauty.

Whenever someone looked at her, she would show herself off generously.

The 17-year-old Mingxi now was filled with confidence. She did not care about how others perceived her. Even when it came to her school uniform or how she always carried an old bag, she was unbothered.

When she recalled her 15-year-old self, she naturally felt that the person she was at that time was far too self-abased and cared too much about what others thought of her to the point that she was honed for it.

However, Mingxi did not want to doubt herself.

After all, that careful and sensitive girl who had just arrived from a small Northern town was also her.

From a certain perspective, Mingxi felt as if her role of a villainess in the original novel was justified.

Looking from Zhao Yuan’s perspective, her arrival attracted the attention of the whole family. She copied her taste in accessories and even made dishes carefully in order to suck up to her family. She wanted to take away all the love and care of the family away from Zhao Yuan.

However, that was the past 15-year-old Zhao Mingxi who craved love and attention.

The current Zhao Mingxi cared not for love. She only wanted to get into college and live a good life.

When her attention finally returned to Zhao Yuan, she heard Zhao Yuan say, “…I think I am partly to blame for this as well. I didn’t notice in time that the misunderstanding between the both of you had gotten so bad already.”

Mingxi took a glance at the people in the corridor. She estimated that there were around 10 to 20 people there. They were all listening to Zhao Yuan’s apology to her, as if she was the unreasonable one.

“What has this got to do with you? Since this incident was her fault, why are you apologizing to me in front of so many people? Is it to show how kind of a beauty you are?”

Mingxi couldn’t help but to continue, “If it is so, do you have to apologize if China and America go to war with each other? Just because you didn’t notice that their misunderstandings had gotten so bad?”

Zhao Yuan as well as the people around them were dumbfounded.

Mingxi said, “I’ve only heard of the injurer apologizing to the injured. Never have I heard of an unrelated third party apologizing to the injured. Isn’t this just an act of involving oneself in unnecessary drama? Unless you admit that you were the one who encouraged her to do it.”

Zhao Yuan burst into tears immediately. She hurriedly replied, “Mingxi, don’t misunderstand me. She triggered my allergy, so how could I team up with her to do such a thing? You are my family while she is my friend…”

“Oh.” Mingxi expressionlessly replied, “She hurt you and bullied me, yet you still apologized to me while knowing all this. You sure are magnanimous— Then next time if you someone is murdered, will you take up a loudspeaker and apologize on behalf of the murderer as well?”

“…”

The people in the corridor were also gradually figuring out the odd part of her apology.

She’s right. The fact that Zhao Yuan told everyone about how E Xiaoxia triggered her allergy would mean that their friendship is over. So why was she apologizing on behalf of E Xiaoxia? She even made herself look pitiful in front of so many people.

At first glance, they would feel that she was very kind to the point that she could be called Mother Theresa. However, after a nearer observation, for some reason they felt like she was a fake b*tch.

Zhao Yuan did not think that things would end up like this. Zhao Mingxi didn’t seem like the past Zhao Mingxi anymore. The current Zhao Mingxi would no longer puff up in anger and remain speechless. Instead, she could easily use a few words to make people lean in favor of her.

The way she spoke was interesting and charming.

Previously, as Zhao Mingxi always had a mask on, there weren’t many around who would help her. But now that she had taken off her mask, her beauty was enough to make even those who were strict about justice to slack off for her— Just like how they were with Zhao Yuan previously.

“How could you compare such a small matter to murders and wars between two countries?” Zhao Yuan hastily replied. She could feel the changes in the gazes of the people around them.

But before she could finish, she was cut off by Mingxi once more, “Oh, so now it’s a small matter? When you came to me with red-rimmed eyes in front of so many people, I thought something huge had happened, like maybe the sky had fallen or something.”

The people around them snorted in laughter.

Zhao Yuan: “…”

E Xiaoxia: “…”

She was listening from afar, but she didn’t know why she was feeling a little satisfied with this outcome.

Didn’t she hate Zhao Mingxi?!

However, after the incident this morning, E Xiaoxia felt that as compared to Zhao Mingxi, she seemed to dislike Zhao Yuan more. She didn’t like how everyone would automatically offer to protect her even without her doing or saying anything.

Zhao Yuan did not dare to continue the topic of their conversation. She was afraid that if she did, the people around them would look at her differently.

She hastily offered the information in her arms to Zhao Mingxi. “Aren’t you preparing for the Hundred School Tournament? I drew out the important areas for it. I hope it’ll be of some help to you.”

She thought that Zhao Mingxi would not refuse this. The moment she accepted it, she would still be a gracious and magnanimous person because she had helped her.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Mingxi didn’t even take her hands out of her pockets. “No thank you. I already have them.”

Yesterday when she left the library, the librarian gave her a sheet of paper with the important areas marked. She only needed to verify it for a short moment to know that it was from Shen Liyao. Mingxi couldn’t think of any reason for her not to accept it. After all, she did not bear some deep grudge against Shen Liyao, and vice versa. As Shen Liyao was from the school representative team and had always been in the Gold Medal Class, the important areas that he had pointed out were guaranteed to be far more accurate than Zhao Yuan’s.

Zhao Yuan was certain that Mingxi did not plan to take the Hundred School Tournament seriously. She probably said it casually to their eldest brother just so she could show how hardworking she was in her studies.

As Zhao Yuan did not want to stay here any longer, she asked a final question in a concerned tone, “When are you coming back home?”

“I’m not going back.”

Zhao Yuan did not want to admit that she had let out a mental sigh of relief. “Everyone at home is worried about you.”

When Mingxi heard this, she looked at her with a gaze full of mockery.

Zhao Yuan felt as if her thoughts had been exposed. She subconsciously looked away.

Then, she heard Zhao Mingxi say, “Don’t worry. Whatever you want is whatever I think of as trash. If you want them, I’ll just give them to you.”

“You—” Zhao Yuan wanted to scold her for speaking of their family like this. However, before she could say anything, she hesitated. She felt as if she was punching cotton. It was pointless no matter how much effort she put in.

Zhao Mingxi used to care a lot about their family, but now she is able to say such words. Does she really not care anymore?

When Zhao Yuan left, she was extremely close to losing control over her facial expression.

The majority of people in the corridor who heard the conversation were looking at Zhao Yuan with an odd expression. When a girl from the neighbouring Gold Medal Class passed Mingxi by, she gave her a thumbs up. “Sister, I like how direct you were with such a fake b*tch.”

Mingxi’s eyes were clear as she replied to her with a flying kiss.

Nonetheless, there were a few boys who felt as if Zhao Mingxi was being unreasonable.

The guys who came with Li Haiyang just now were all from the Evergreen Class, so they were definitely closer to Zhao Yuan. When they saw what happened before they left, they were all in favor of Zhao Yuan.

One of the boys couldn’t help but to speak out, “I’ve seen something new. Despite her beauty, she sure has a sharp tongue.”

Li Haiyang who was beside him wanted to pull him away, but he continued to speak, “Zhao Mingxi, Zhao Yuan is merely showing her concern for you. Can you not retort her so harshly? Those who don’t know will think that you might be jealous of her! It’s almost her birthday soon, but you have yet to even wish her happy birthday.”

The love of the young was indeed shallow. They all cared only for appearances.

Mingxi didn’t care about these boys, but she didn’t want those who were ignorant of the truth to criticize her like this.

Just as she was about to say something, the windows slammed open with a loud bang. Fu Yangxi appeared with a somber expression. “Jealous of her? Is she jealous that she’s not as pretty as Zhao Mingxi or as sweet-smelling as Zhao Mingxi? Let me get this clear. How could Zhao Mingxi be jealous of others when she has me as her desk mate? That guy called Li Jingyu or whatever, what are you looking at—”

Before Fu Yangxi finished, he was about to jump out from the windows. When everyone in the corridor saw this, they ran away. Even those from the Evergreen Class fled downstairs.

Mingxi: “…”

Sweet-smelling?

Mingxi wondered if Fu Yangxi didn’t learn his vocabulary properly. He couldn’t even differentiate between humans and desserts.

Mingxi returned to class. When she sat down in her seat, she couldn’t help but to say to Fu Yangxi, “His name is Li Haiyang.”

Ke Chengwen snorted in laughter.

However, Fu Yangxi had yet to pull back the scary expression on his face. He didn’t have the mood to care about how Zhao Mingxi actually remembered that guy’s name nor did he care about Ke Chengwen.

He stood there and watched as Zhao Mingxi sat down. He swallowed the lump in his throat, as if he was close to losing it yet he managed to control himself again. There was a fire in his stomach that he had nowhere to vent to.

When he saw how Zhao Mingxi had taken out a draft paper and continued to revise, Fu Yangxi dragged his chair and sat down as well. He observed her for a while.

He pulled a long face, but his voice was soft when he asked, “Is everyone in your family like this?”

Mingxi didn’t want to talk about it. Although Fu Yangxi had helped her once more, and there seemed to be a sort of friendship between a follower and a boss between them, Mingxi still found it hard to talk about what happened for the past two years. She didn’t know where to begin.

She quietly flipped over a page of the Tournament’s questions.

Fu Yangxi scratched his head in slight annoyance.

He couldn’t help but to turn and glare at Ke Chengwen.

Ke Chengwen: “…”

As Fu Yangxi had no experience whatsoever in consoling people, he could only look at Zhao Mingxi’s face, open his mouth, and close it again without saying anything.

Then, he turned to glare at Ke Chengwen once more.

Ke Chengwen: “…”

Ke Chengwen finally understood what he meant. He immediately said to Zhao Mingxi in an impassioned manner, “Transfer student, don’t let it get to you! If you are really unhappy about this, we’ll all go and give them a beating! Our Xi ge has never made any rule that we cannot hit women, so just hit them however you like! Borrow however many of us you want! If that doesn’t work, you can also use money to hit that woman and your family members to death!”

“There is nothing that can’t be solved by a fight. If you feel that it isn’t enough, you can even go for it twice! Use money and piapiapia!”

Fu Yangxi scoffed and said, “That was Ke Chengwen’s suggestion, not mine. But since you call me Xi ge, I guess I have to protect you no matter how unwilling I am. Just tell me, what do you wanna do?”

Mingxi actually didn’t care about what Zhao Yuan said, but when she saw how Fu Yangxi and Ke Chengwen tried to console her in such a silly manner, she smiled.

The pen in her hand did not stop moving. While she was copying the formula for the important areas, she said jokingly, “You might as well save the money you’re planning to use to hit her and buy me an airplane instead.”

When she finished, she didn’t hear a reply from Fu Yangxi. She instantly looked over and saw how Fu Yangxi seemed to be seriously contemplating this joke of a suggestion.

Mingxi: ???

Do all the young wealthy children of this generation treat their unimportant underlings so magnanimously?

Previously, he would shoo her away and ban her from being his desk mate, but now he was treating her so well. Mingxi was absolutely baffled.

Mingxi was afraid that he would really carry out her wish. She hastily said, “No, stop thinking about it. What am I going to do with an airplane? I don’t even know how to maneuver it nor am I of age yet!”

“Not of age yet?” The topic reminded Fu Yangxi of something, “They were talking about Zhao Yuan’s* birthday just now. So when is your birthday?”
*translator’s note: once again, he used 圆 (yuan) which means ‘circle’ instead of Zhao Yuan’s 媛 (yuan).

“…” This was another question that Mingxi did not want to answer.

Her date of birth was around 10 days after Zhao Yuan’s. There was an accident at the hospital’s incubation room back then. But after the Zhao family found her two years ago, aside from changing her address, they changed her date of birth as well so that it was on the same day as Zhao Yuan’s.

They had to do this to avoid the awkward situation of being unable to explain why she and Zhao Yuan were sisters yet their birthdays were on different dates of the same year.

The birthday on her Identity Card did not belong to her. She did not want to celebrate her birthday either.

Mingxi mumbled, “October 24th. Why do you ask?”

Fu Yangxi tried his best to pretend that he was nonchalant about it. “If you don’t want to celebrate your birthday at home, you can come out—”

But before he could finish, Mingxi said, “I already have plans on that day. I have to go back to my old home.”

Fu Yangxi did not know where Zhao Mingxi’s old home was. He widened his eyes and asked subconsciously, “Where is your old home?”

“A small town in the North.”

Fu Yangxi stared at her for two seconds. He was unhappy with how casual she was with her answer. However, he figured that maybe she was in a bad mood, hence he didn’t say anything and thought to ask her about it later.

Ke Chengwen cut in from aside, “Transfer student, although we can’t celebrate your birthday, you can still come and celebrate Xi ge’s birthday. Xi ge, isn’t your birthday coming soon? Just about half a month left—”

“Shut up! Why are you revealing my birthday so casually?!” Fu Yangxi was instantly angered. He stood up and covered Ke Chengwen’s mouth. “What if I end up with a huge mountain of gifts? That’s so annoying!”

However, he subconsciously looked over to see Zhao Mingxi’s reaction.

“November 5th!” Ke Chengwen still managed to yell out.

“November 5th.” As Mingxi was busy thinking about how she had to go back to pay her respects to her grandmother on October 24th, she repeated absent-mindedly, “I’ll remember it.”

She’ll remember it!

The tips of Fu Yangxi’s ears went red. He released Ke Chengwen’s neck and mumbled, “Annoying. Don’t you send me any gifts!”

*

Meanwhile, Shen Liyao was in the middle of training. After today’s class, a few of them went to the nearby bubble tea shop to get some bubble tea.

Kong Jiaze had just finished attending her ballet class nearby. When she caught wind of A High’s representative team current location, she brought her clothes with her and ran there excitedly.

The moment she entered, even the server in the bubble tea shop widened his eyes. The ballet outfit underneath the khaki windbreaker perfectly accentuated Kong Jiaze’s body.

“How was your training?” When Kong Jiaze saw how Shen Liyao was looking at his phone with furrowed brows, she felt a little awkward, hence she could only greet Ye Bai who was beside him.

In the end, Ye Bai was looking at his phone with a shocked expression as well.

It was as if they didn’t come back to their senses at all. They completely took no notice of her.

The same went for the other boys from A High’s representative team.

“What are you guys looking at?” Kong Jiaze said with a slight tone of dissatisfaction before she tugged on her windbreaker and walked toward them.

“She’s so pretty—” Ye Bai turned to look at Shen Liyao in shock. “God Yao, have you known this since the beginning?”

Shen Liyao merely furrowed his brows. There was no shock in his face. It was clear that he knew from the start.

Ye Bai regretted calling Zhao Mingxi a little follower back then. If he knew that she was this pretty, he would have pursued her. After all, she had a pretty good personality too.

“What pretty?” Kong Jiaze thought that he was talking about her. So, she subconsciously lowered her head, pulled on her dress and smiled.

However, it was only then that Ye Bai noticed her. He raised his head and saw how she was in her ballet outfit. “What? Were you having class nearby?”

But before Kong Jiaze could reply, Ye Bai focused his attention on his phone again.

Kong Jiaze: “…”

What in the world are these people looking at?!

Kong Jiaze took out her phone and opened the page they were looking at – A High’s forum. In the end, she saw how Zhao Mingxi whom both she and E Xiaoxia had voted to second place was now already in first place with more than 3,500 votes.

“…”

Kong Jiaze was confused as she looked at the girl in the new picture. It was obviously taken this morning.

If someone were to say that this was a fantaken picture of a celebrity, she would have believed them.

Kong Jiaze was quick on her feet. She instantly understood the situation— No wonder Zhao Mingxi had the courage to go after Shen Liyao. It was because she was this pretty.

Looks like she just shot herself in the foot.

Kong Jiaze pulled a long face. She stared at this group of boys for a while. She tried her best to speak in a soft, casual and teasing tone, “I have some information about the incoming Hundred School Tournament, are you guys interested? If you only care about pretty girls, I’ll be leaving then.”

Only then did she manage to attract the attention of the guys. Some of them raised their heads and asked, “What information?”

“Inside information. I’ll tell you guys for the sake of God Yao.” Kong Jiaze purposely kept them guessing. She took a glimpse at Shen Liyao, but Shen Liyao still wasn’t looking at her.

“Just tell us.” Ye Bai also looked up from his phone. “What insider information? It can’t be that the Tournament has been cancelled, right?”

Everyone knew that Kong Jiaze had a relative working in the Department of Education. Thus, there was a high chance that her insider information was true.

Kong Jiaze stared at Shen Liyao. Still he hadn’t made any response. She could only bite her bottom lip and say, “It is something related to your school. I heard that Professor Gao from your school— aka the ex-homeroom teacher of the Gold Medal Class went to register another student for the Tournament. Could it be that he had his eyes on someone from your school and decided to give them another chance? By the way, remember that this is insider information. It’s not very reliable so don’t tell anyone else.”

“How is that possible?” Ye Bai exclaimed. “How can it be that we have not heard even a peep of such a huge matter?”

One guy said, “What exactly is the background of this Professor Gao? I only know that he is really good at teaching and setting questions, and that his name always appears in the National Journal. Aside from the fact that our dean and headmaster would always bow to him in respect, why do various competition organizers recognize him as well?”

Kong Jiaze rolled her eyes at that guy as she despised that guy’s ignorance. She said, “The famous national trainer of the country retires after decades of service. What do you think?”

As Ye Bai was quite familiar with Professor Gao, he added, “But that is impossible. Professor Gao never accepts gifts nor does he have any relatives in our school. So what’s the point in him registering for another student from our school?”

“Beats me.” Kong Jiaze pulled a chair over to her and sat down beside Shen Liyao. She said, “Just remember not to tell anyone about this.”

After Kong Jiaze shared this information, a bunch of guys from the school representative team shifted their attention to her.

A guy who had a crush on her saw how she kept on glancing at Shen Liyao. Seeing as how Shen Liyao was still looking at the picture on his phone, her mood turned sour and it was reflected in her expression. That guy could easily read her thoughts.

Thus, he tried to ingratiate himself with her, “I think outer appearances are less important than wits. No matter how beautiful she is, she will never be able to qualify for the Hundred School Tournament.”

Kong Jiaze felt better upon hearing this. She gave that guy a smile.

It was rather surprising to her that her appearance was truly inferior to that of Zhao Mingxi’s.

But what was the point in just being pretty? In terms of results, intelligence and being an all-rounder, it was obvious that she was the better option.

For example, she was able to participate in this year’s Tournament, yet Zhao Mingxi would not be able to do so no matter how hard she tries.

“Are you guys done with your drinks? If you’re done, then stop talking and head back to school.”

Shen Liyao tucked his phone away before standing up with a stony expression.

He walked to the counter and raised his head to look at the menu. Then, he ordered a cup of Supreme Strawberry Cheese.

“I almost forgot to order something.” Kong Jiaze looked around. When she saw how everyone save for herself had ordered a drink, she thought that he was ordering the drink for her. She walked over and said in surprise, “Thanks.”

Shen Liyao gave her a glance. “It’s not for you. Order your own drink.”

Kong Jiaze: “…”

Kong Jiaze looked back awkwardly. Thank goodness, the guys were all discussing the information she had shared just now and paid no attention to her.

On the other hand, Ye Bai was able to guess the reason behind Shen Liyao’s actions. He stood beside Shen Liyao and whispered, “Has it been almost half a month since Zhao Mingxi last came to find us?”

Not only did she stop meeting them, she didn’t even text or call them.

Ye Bai didn’t know if Shen Liyao had initiated a call with Zhao Mingxi before, but seeing as how Shen Liyao had no choice but to go to the library in order to look for Zhao Mingxi that day, he knew that he had probably called her. However, Zhao Mingxi had changed her number— and she didn’t even tell him.

Someone who used to appear in his life frequently had suddenly disappeared.

Setting aside how Shen Liyao felt about this, even Ye Bai himself was unused to it.

Furthermore, was A High that big? They were in the same school, studying in the same building, eating in the same cafeteria, and their classes were right next to each other, yet they had not seen her at all.

They didn’t know if Zhao Mingxi was purposely ignoring Shen Liyao or… Then again, how could there be so many coincidences? Back then, it was always Zhao Mingxi who treated Shen Liyao well.

Shen Liyao had a cold expression on his face. He remained silent.

Ye Bai watched as the server handed him the Supreme Strawberry Cheese drink. He spoke to him softly with the intention of consoling him, “God Yao, don’t overthink it. I think she’s just playing hard to get. She might be trying to get your attention this way.”

“See, hasn’t she attracted your attention already? I remember that the drink, Supreme Strawberry Cheese, was Zhao Mingxi’s favorite. If you buy this for her, then it means you’re admitting defeat first.”

Shen Liyao glared at him. Then, he turned to stare at the drink in his hands.

He hesitated for five seconds before tossing it in the trash.

He never lost.

And this time was no exception.

*

Meanwhile, Zhao Zhanhuai was developing a headache as the date for the birthday banquet was approaching. If he is still unable to coax Mingxi home before their mother’s birthday, the truth will out.

Zhao Yuning had failed to meet Zhao Mingxi in school for two consecutive days already. Thus, he could only get two of his friends to help him send the gift that he had specially brought to the ground floor of Zhao Mingxi’s dorm.

Before he sent the gift, Zhao Yuning initially planned to write an apology note. But with his terrible vocabulary skills, he was definitely unable to write something good, and if he asked his friends to write it for him, it would be too corny. He had never apologized like this before. Therefore, Zhao Yuning scrunched up the paper and threw it away in annoyance.

He felt as if he had lost two kilos ever since Zhao Mingxi left home.

Although Zhao Yuning felt unsettled, as if he was about to lose something, he was still certain that Zhao Mingxi would return before the birthday banquet— This year was their mother’s 50th birthday, it was impossible for her to not return, right?

However on the next day, when he went to wait for Zhao Mingxi at the ground floor of her dorm again, he realized that the gift that he had given the lady in charge of the dorms was in the trash that was filled with dirt, its packaging unopened.