I Just Want to Freeload on Your Luck - Chapter 26

Only on Wednesday did Zhao Yuning receive the news that Zhao Mingxi came in 17th place in the October monthly exam, and that she had a higher ranking than Zhao Yuan.

He felt both suspicious and surprised.

He waited anxiously until it was lunch time. Then, he immediately ran over to the Year 3 side of the cafeteria.

It has been a whole month since Zhao Yuning has had the chance to eat a meal cooked by Zhao Mingxi. He hadn’t been dragged back to school by Zhao Mingxi whenever he skipped school to go to the cyber cafe as well.

He still did not believe the words that Zhao Mingxi said to him. He refused to think that she was truly able to sever all ties with their family.

He placed all his hope on his eldest brother. However, his eldest brother hasn’t been coming home recently, and he always appeared as if he didn’t know how to explain the reason for this occurrence to him.

Zhao Yuning knew then that his eldest brother did not manage to coax Mingxi home.

Zhao Yuning originally thought that without Zhao Mingxi, him and his family will only return to how they were two years ago.

But what he didn’t expect was to be even more disappointed and fearful than he thought when he was about to truly lose Zhao Mingxi.

Zhao Mingxi hasn’t appeared in his life for a month.

Only then did he realize that he didn’t hate this elder sister as much, nor was Zhao Mingxi as unimportant as he thought she was.

“I saw on the forum that the host for this year’s Annual School Celebration is Zhao Mingxi, is that true?”

The first thing Zhao Yuning did when he came over was to ask about Zhao Mingxi.

The fingers that Zhao Yuan had wrapped around the chopsticks clenched tighter unconsciously.

Pu Shuang said, “Those are only rumors on the forum. The teacher from the Literature Department did look for her, but ultimately the host has yet to be decided. Besides, it has always been Zhao Yuan for the past few years, so it’s impossible for them to change the host this year!”

“Oh.” Zhao Yuning was a little disappointed. That spot always belonged to Zhao Yuan. If they were to change to Zhao Mingxi this year, it would be quite good.

Pu Shuang couldn’t help but to say, “Zhao Yuning, they are both your elder sisters, so why don’t you ask about Yuanyuan? She didn’t do well this time so imagine how she feels—”

“She didn’t do well?” Zhao Yuning took a spoonful of rice and looked at her with wide eyes. He asked Zhao Yuan, “Didn’t you get in 22nd place this time? You’ve always had such results, so why didn’t you do well?”

Zhao Yuan, “…”

Zhao Yuning was still thinking about Zhao Mingxi. He said in contemplation, “By the way, how did Zhao Mingxi’s results improve so quickly? If I tell our family about this, Mom will be so happy…”

Zhao Yuan knew that with the existence of this loudspeaker in the form of Zhao Yuning, there was no way that she could hide the fact that she lost to Zhao Mingxi in this monthly exam.

Since she lost in the monthly exam, she will have to win against her in the Hundred School Tournament and the Annual School Celebration.

She remained silent for a while. Then, she said through gritted teeth, “If you want to see Mingxi be the host so badly, I will go to the Literature Department this afternoon and recommend Mingxi to the teacher.”

If it was Zhao Zhanhuai or any other guy, they would have noticed the sorrow in Zhao Yuan’s voice. However, Zhao Yuning had a one-track mind. He immediately stood up and exclaimed, “Really?!”

Zhao Yuan, “…”

Zhao Yuan clenched her chopsticks tightly. Nowadays, she has been hoping for Zhao Mingxi to hurry home.

The more days that Zhao Mingxi wasn’t home, the more attention their family would place on her.

*

As the weather turned cold, during the afternoon Music class in the lecture room, some girls had put on their scarves. The fuzzy material looped on top of their sweaters made them look even prettier and warm.

Because Zhao Mingxi had grown up in the North, she was less susceptible to the cold. Her pale neck was exposed. She did not wear anything around it, but she did not feel chilly at all.

However, when Fu Yangxi observed her while lying down on his table with his noise-cancelling headphones on, he immediately furrowed his brows.

Is Little Mask’s family okay? Do they not even have the money to buy her a scarf?

But why then did he see Zhao Yuan* who was from the class downstairs dressed so warmly?
*translator’s note: fu yangxi used the wrong word for her name, as usual lol.

She was even wearing black Dr. Martens. But Little Mask only wore sports shoes everyday.

The more Fu Yangxi thought about it, the more agitated he became. He gestured with one finger for the follower at his right to come over. Then, he took out a credit card and gave it to the follower.

That follower took the credit card and sneaked out of the back door of the lecture hall.

Fu Yangxi turned back and stretched his long legs. He accidentally kicked the chair of the girl in front of him.

When that girl turned back and saw Fu Yangxi’s face, her cheeks flushed red. She put her hand up to cover her mouth and whispered to the person beside her, “It’s that guy from the International Class. The super wealthy one.”

The two girls in front took turns to look back at Fu Yangxi.

Fu Yangxi thought that they were looking for a fight. He pulled a long face and glared at them, “What? You wanna fight?”

Those two girls got so scared that they hurriedly turned their heads to face the front again.

After a while, one of the girls folded a paper crane and with a flushed appearance, passed it to him through the tips of her fingers. She placed the paper crane on Fu Yangxi’s table.

A love letter?

Fu Yangxi instinctively frowned. He reached out a hand and was about to crumple it and throw it away when he thought of something. He immediately looked towards Zhao Mingxi from the corner of his eyes.

Oh no, Little Mask has got to be jealous. Will he have to coax her for a long time after this?

He was experiencing a headache.

However, what he saw was a Zhao Mingxi who had not noticed this at all. She was still focused on doing her Maths questions, the tip of her pencil brushing against the paper continuously.

Fu Yangxi, “…”

Fu Yangxi’s mood instantly dropped. He stared at Zhao Mingxi for quite some time. Then, while trying his best to act as if it was an accident, he bumped his elbow against Zhao Mingxi.

Zhao Mingxi thought that Fu Yangxi was complaining that she had taken too much of his space. She gave him an odd look, using her eyes to ask him ‘You already have so much space, why are you still pushing against me?’. Nonetheless, she still pushed her books to the left and continued to do her questions.

Fu Yangxi, “…”

Sometimes, Fu Yangxi was truly angered by Zhao Mingxi’s slow reactions. It even made him question if she really liked him.

Why is she never jealous?!

Why was she not envious when she saw those two girls purposely trying to get with him this morning? Instead, she was waiting behind him quietly?!

Was she too magnanimous or was she so certain that he would only like her?!

Mingxi was still doing her questions. She could feel Fu Yangxi’s burning stare. What had she done to him this time? She raised her head and gave Fu Yangxi a look. Then, she subconsciously looked at the thermos on her table.

“…”

Mingxi hesitated for a moment before passing the thermos to him. “There’s soy milk in there. Do you want some?”

Is he still hungry or something?

But she had used this thermos already. This Young Master will most likely be bothered by it.

When Fu Yangxi saw the thermos she had passed to him, the coolness in his expression disappeared. The words that he had prepared for her in his mind, ‘I’m not an easy pursuit. You should be cautious at all times, don’t let others try to get to me.’, were instantly tossed to the back of his mind.

The tips of Fu Yangxi’s ears instantly flushed red. She was passing the cup that her lips had touched to him.

This has to be some sort of hidden message, right?

This definitely has to be some sort of hidden message.

Fu Yangxi’s frown deepened. His fingers were uncontrollably drawing circles on the table. He said with an unwilling facade, “If you insist so strongly, I guess I have no choice but to try it out—”

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Zhao Mingxi ruffle through her bag and suddenly pull out a couple of paper cups. She picked out a clean one from among them, opened the thermos and carefully poured out a cup of soy milk.

Fu Yangxi, “…”

What the hell? Is she giving me the cold-shoulder?

Fu Yangxi was suddenly no longer as excited to drink it anymore. He looked at Zhao Mingxi and chugged the whole drink while biting the edge of the paper cup.

Mingxi originally thought that the action of giving him some soy milk will not cause any tiny buds to grow. After all, she was no longer gaining any luck from giving him desserts. But unexpectedly, after Fu Yangxi had finished drinking, the flower pot actually moved a little?!

50 tiny buds could combine into a small tree. Now she already had one small tree and 29 tiny buds.

She still had more to do.

Mingxi immediately poured another cup for Fu Yangxi. Her eyes were practically gleaming. “Another cup?”

“?” Fu Yangxi downed another cup in confusion.

“Another cup.”

“…” He finished another cup.

“Another cup?”

“…” He finished yet another cup.

One small tree and 31 tiny buds.

Mingxi asked, “One last cup?”

Fu Yangxi was about to get sick from it. He shut his mouth tightly. Did she think she was feeding a pig? Who in their right mind would drink 80ml of soy milk in one go? Unless she was doing this on purpose? Punishing him for talking to other girls just now?

Fu Yangxi muttered, “I only said one sentence.”

Mingxi: “?”

Fortunately, there was none left in the thermos. Mingxi whispered to Fu Yangxi, “If you like this, I’ll bring you a bottle each day from now on. We’ll change from desserts to this, okay?”

F*ck. Little Mask’s jealousy can only be described as ‘it never rains but it pours’. Although Fu Yangxi thought that this was a sweet thing, he immediately said, “Rejected. I want desserts. What kind of man drinks soy milk everyday?”

My chest will grow bigger if I drink any more.

Fu Yangxi subconsciously looked down at his own chest.

Mingxi looked at the two newly grown tiny buds. Although she had yet to reap the benefits to the fullest, she could only say, “Alright.”

*

The Music class was taught through the combination of several classes at the lecture hall. Prior to this, Fu Yangxi would always skip such classes. He had never attended even a single one of them. However, he actually attended class today.

Not only that, this month was also the month that he had appeared the most. He came to school almost every day.

Due to the fact that his mop of red hair was far too eye-catching, the music teacher on stage couldn’t help but to call him up to play a song on a piano.

Before this, Fu Yangxi would have been lazy to even stand up. But today, as he looked at Zhao Mingxi who was sitting beside him, he had the intention to showcase his talent. The corner of his lips curled up before he walked on stage in a sluggish manner.

After getting on stage, Fu Yangxi played a tune with a smooth flow.

Zhao Mingxi couldn’t help but to put down her pencil. She was beginning to look at Fu Yangxi in a different light.

However, the more she thought about this, the more it felt obvious to her. Although he appeared lazy and relaxed most of the time and was far too indolent to do anything, he was still the Young Master of the Fu family. The influence from his childhood could not be denied, hence the talents he possessed were most likely far more than an average person’s.

As for Mingxi, she didn’t know how to play any instruments before she was 17.

However, after graduating from high school in her past life, she spent a few years learning the cello.

She hasn’t played it for some time now, so she was a little unfamiliar with it. Nonetheless, it should be no problem for her to play a tune.

Thus, when it was her turn, she played a small part of a familiar song.

The low and graceful sound of music flowed through slowly. Mingxi had beautiful features, and the afternoon sun was shining on her warmly.

The eyes of everyone in the hall were on her at that instant. After all, they had all seen others perform, but this was their first time seeing Zhao Mingxi play any sort of instrument.

Shen Liyao who was sitting in the last row pursed his lips, his eyes fixed on Zhao Mingxi.

It wasn’t common for him to attend these kinds of huge classes as well. However, when he saw the students from the International Class coming to attend the class and spotted the familiar figure in the crowd, he didn’t know why but he took a turn this way.

By the time he returned to his senses, he had already entered the lecture hall.

Ye Bai who was beside him was discussing with another guy from the School Representative Team, “Zhao Mingxi actually knows how to play musical instruments? I’ve never heard about this before!”

Shen Liyao didn’t know about this either. He knew Zhao Mingxi for two years, yet it was as if he had only truly begun to know her recently.

He could only watch as she transformed from a pearl covered with dust, gradually blowing off the dust layer by layer.

As for the girls around Zhao Yuan, they were even more shocked.

Pu Shuang opened her mouth wide. “Since when did Zhao Mingxi know how to play the cello?! And her playing is rather, rather—”

Rather good.

If her playing of the cello was given 8 marks, then her figure and facial features would completely fill in the remaining 2 marks.

The simple stage in the lecture hall was as if it was turned into a performance stage.

“But you’re still better.” Pu Shuang came back to her senses. She hurriedly said to Zhao Yuan, “Your piano is already at Grade 10.”

Zhao Yuan’s lips were ash white. The hands that she had placed in her pockets were cold and stiff. She slowly clenched her fist to the point that her nails were digging into her palm.

She suddenly stood up and left from the back door of the lecture hall.

Fu Yangxi had his hands supporting the back of his head. While he was watching Zhao Mingxi play the cello, he noticed Zhao Yuan from the corner of his eye. He furrowed his brows. “Where is she headed off to?”

Ke Chengwen took a glance. “She seems to be going in the direction of the office of the Literature Department.”

He suddenly thought of something. Fu Yangxi revealed a mischievous smile. “You have someone you know in Year 1, right?”

Ke Chengwen had a bad feeling about this. “Xi ge, what do you want to do?”

*

Back in the classroom…

Ke Chengwen was still talking about Zhao Mingxi’s cello performance a while ago.

“F*ck, Mingxi. You’re way too modest. Why have you never made any mention about such a skill?!”

“It wasn’t as if it was an important skill.” Mingxi kept her test papers in her desk drawer.

Besides, it was a skill that she had learned in her past life, so she wasn’t sure if she still knew how to do it.

Who would’ve known that the moment she touched the cello, the familiar tune which was carved in her mind started to appear.

Looks like everything is unreal save for the knowledge embedded in your mind.

“Stop ogling at her.” Fu Yangxi pushed Ke Chengwen’s head to the side roughly.

After the few of them sat down, Mingxi saw Fu Yangxi pour himself a cup of hot water. Then, he poured out a few vitamin-like white tablets from several bottles and gulped it all down with the hot water.

Just as Mingxi was about to ask him what he was drinking, she saw Fu Yangxi suddenly wave lazily towards the entrance to their class. “Come here.”

A follower immediately ran over and placed a huge box on Mingxi’s table. He was allowing her to make the first choice.

“What is this?” Mingxi’s attention was drawn to it.

What she saw was a whole box of fluffy scarves. They all looked soft and relaxing. She couldn’t put a finger on the brand linked to it, but seeing as how exquisite it was, it must be an expensive brand.

However, because they had bought too much, it could only be kept in a box.

Ke Chengwen explained, “Gang scarves.”

Fu Yangxi tossed the white bottles into the desk drawer and sat on his desk. He cuffed his hands behind his head and swung his legs. He was looking at Zhao Mingxi happily.

The small mole beneath his eye seemed even more apparent from this angle.

“You are currently the No.1 follower, so you can choose first.”

Mingxi said, “…The things in your gang sure are unique. First it’s a phone case, and now it’s a scarf.”

Has she finally infiltrated the gang and became the No.1 follower after a month of effort?

Although Mingxi wasn’t cold at all, considering how it was a group activity, she felt obliged to join.

She looked around before finally pulling out a white one. Then, she lowered her head and wrapped it around her neck.

The scarf was very comfortable. She felt much warmer after putting it on.

When Fu Yangxi saw this, he feigned a look of nonchalance and coughed before reaching out a hand to grab blindly. “I guess I’ll choose at random as well.”

Due to his blind grabbing, he pulled out a pink one. When he saw that, he pulled a long face and tossed it back in.

He took a glance at Mingxi’s choice before reaching in to pull out a black one.

Ke Chengwen: “…”

You call this random? You’re obviously choosing a specific one.

The scarves were happily given to everyone in class.

In the midst of this joyful atmosphere, Mingxi sat down and continued to do her test papers.

Fu Yangxi placed one leg above the other as he sat on the table. He was happily taking off the one he was originally wearing and putting on the new one.

Then, Mingxi looked up and suddenly noticed that at the right side nearing the back of his neck, there were two deep and long gashes.

Similar to the injury on his hand previously, it seemed as if he had been injured by shattered glass. It had now scabbed over, but she could imagine how horrifying the cut was when it was first inflicted.

Mingxi instantly stood up and pushed Fu Yangxi’s face to one side.

The two of them were suddenly very close. He could feel Mingxi’s breath on him.

…

Her eyelashes were like a crow’s feathers. They were long and black, clear as day.

“What, what are you doing?” Fu Yangxi was shocked. He thought she suddenly wanted to kiss him so his face immediately went red while his body became as stiff as a rock— But after waiting for two seconds, Mingxi still had yet to do anything.

Fu Yangxi’s eyelids twitched. Only then did he realize that she was looking at the wound on his neck.

Fu Yangxi changed his expression and instantly pushed Mingxi away. He stood straight, took two steps back and quickly put on the scarf.

“What happened to your neck?” Mingxi stared at his neck in shock.

She did not see such a wound on Fu Yangxi’s neck a week ago. So if her guess was right, he must’ve been injured this week.

However, as the days were getting colder recently, Fu Yangxi had always had a scarf on. Furthermore, he was seated on her right, so she would never have been able to notice the right side of his neck.

Thus, she only found out today.

Fu Yangxi’s expression was more relaxed now. He touched his neck which was covered by the scarf and said nonchalantly, “When I was cooking instant noodles, the temperature of the water was too high so the glass bowl shattered.”

Mingxi asked, “This happened previously as well?”

Fu Yangxi looked at her. “Yeah.”

“You’re too forgetful. It’s already the second time. If you were a little more unlucky, the glass shards could’ve cut through your veins.”

Mingxi didn’t know why but she felt a surge of anger within her. “Have you always been like this?”

When Fu Yangxi saw her expression, for some reason, his heart felt a little weak.

He tried to cover up the gentleness he felt in his heart. He curled his feet around a chair and pulled it over. Then, he sat down, and with his arms crossed, he looked at Zhao Mingxi, raised his eyebrows in joy and said proudly, “Little Mask, have you never heard of this saying that a scar is a man’s medal of honour?”

Mingxi: …

To hell with your medals.

*

Mingxi felt unsettled for the whole afternoon. She was wondering if it was because of her sucking away Fu Yangxi’s luck that he was constantly so unlucky.

He had been cut by glass shards twice already.

Aside from the fact that Fu Yangxi was treating her very well right now and was protecting her as he would a follower, she should still know how to repay his kindness.

Even if she wasn’t friends with Fu Yangxi, in fact, they were merely strangers, she could not allow herself to do such a thing whereby she would transfer her unluckiness to Fu Yangxi.

The system said to her: “Such an occurrence will never happen. You are merely freeloading on his luck, not absorbing it. Do you get it? Fu Yangxi getting cut by glass is definitely not something caused by your actions.”

When Mingxi heard the system’s words, she let out a sigh of relief. Nonetheless, she still felt a little uneasy.

She decided to stop freeloading on his luck for a few days and observe the situation.

*

As for the other side, while Zhao Yuning had some free time after the end of the second period after lunch, he was suddenly pulled to the Literature Department’s office by a friend. “A senior from Year 3 is looking for you.”

“What the hell?” Zhao Yuning didn’t know anyone from Year 3. However, his friend kept on pulling him to the point where he couldn’t even escape. Thus, with a feeling of annoyance, he got dragged to the Literature Department.

Before he could get close, he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

Zhao Yuning subconsciously stopped walking.

“Teacher,” It was Zhao Yuan’s soft voice. “Have you decided on the host for next month’s Annual School Celebration?”

“Why do you ask?” A woman’s gentle voice could be heard from the other side.

Zhao Yuning thought that Zhao Yuan was going to do what she said during lunch time which was to recommend Zhao Mingxi. Therefore, he didn’t dare to disturb them. He merely waited outside for her to come out.

He thought to himself, Yuanyuan jie is truly magnanimous.

“I’ve been the host for the past two years. My experience and capabilities far exceeds anyone’s qualifications to be the host this year.”

“I know Mingxi is very popular right now, including the fact that she scored higher than I did this time. However, Miss, have you seen the forum? A lot of people are wondering if Mingxi cheated— She- because she’s my elder sister and I know her very well, she would never have been able to score such marks in normal exams. She did look for Shen Liyao before the exams.”

“The Annual School Celebration’s pictures will eventually be posted on the school’s website, I think it might not be a very good impression on the public, right? So I hope you can still give me this chance.”

“If you agree, I can invite a pianist from Berklee for this year’s piano recital.”

“The CCTV can prove if a student has cheated, not by the words of students in a forum.” that teacher said. “But I still want to thank you for telling me about such a topic in the forum. If there are such rumors, then indeed, choosing Zhao Mingxi may not be good for the school’s reputation.”

“…”

He heard a few things after that. The teacher seemed to be saying something to Zhao Yuan. However, Zhao Yuning could care less.

The blood in his system was boiling while his head was buzzing like an old broken TV.

If the person standing there was someone like E Xiaoxia, Zhao Yuning would not react this way.

But why was it Zhao Yuan?

How could it be Zhao Yuan?

Zhao Yuan was never one to fight against others for something.

But soon after, Zhao Yuning noticed something. Although Zhao Yuan had never forcefully taken anything from anyone, everyone in their family including her friends would take the initiative to help her pick on Zhao Mingxi— Just like the previous E Xiaoxia incident.

…

He recalled all the previous incidents.

The blood in Zhao Yuning’s veins rushed to his head. He was so shocked that he forgot to leave.

His expression changed again and again. He didn’t even notice that the guy who brought him there had left.

He didn’t know how long had passed when the door was opened.

Zhao Yuan walked out and closed the door politely. There was a smile on her face.

She looked back and met Zhao Yuning’s unbelieving eyes.

The air became deadly quiet.

Zhao Yuan was shocked. She exclaimed, “What are you doing here?”

*

The atmosphere in the Zhao family was rather awkward after school had ended today.

Zhao Zhanhuai had yet to come home. Madam Zhao didn’t know why, but for some reason Zhao Yuning and Zhao Yuan got into a fight. After returning home, with an angry look, Zhao Yuning locked himself in his room to play games. He didn’t come out until it was time for dinner.

As for Zhao Yuan, her eyes were red-rimmed. When she was asked what happened, she refused to say anything and went to her room as well.

Madam Zhao was certain that it was Zhao Yuning who bullied Zhao Yuan. She walked upstairs with a frown and knocked on the door before dragging Zhao Yuning out. “Apologize to your sister. What did you do this time?”

Zhao Yuning was about to throw a fit. “What the f*ck does this have to do with me? Why don’t you ask her what she did? She told the teacher that Zhao Mingxi cheated—”

“Are you insane?” Madam Zhao was in disbelief. “Why would Yuanyuan say such a thing?”

Zhao Yuning gritted his teeth. He regretted not recording the whole conversation.

When Zhao Yuan heard the commotion outside, she immediately opened the door and ran out. She said to Madam Zhao, “No, Mom, it has nothing to do with Yuning. I bumped into some other matters. Really!”

When Madam Zhao saw how fearful Zhao Yuan was, she was even more certain that it was Zhao Yuning who had bullied her. She got even angrier. “Yuning, you’re already 15. Why can’t you man up and take responsibility for what you’ve done?!”

Zhao Yuning was so angered that his head was spinning. He glared angrily at Zhao Yuan.

Now he understood how helpless Zhao Mingxi felt when she couldn’t even explain herself. He felt so f*cking wronged! His fist was clenched tightly.

“Come down and have dinner.” Madam Zhao ordered before turning to go downstairs.

“Amazing.” The way Zhao Yuning looked at Zhao Yuan was as if he didn’t know her at all. “Is it fun to have all of us wrapped around your fingers?”

Zhao Yuan said, “Yuning, let me explain. I was forced to do it! I simply didn’t want to lose this opportunity—”

“You are very different from what I imagined.”

Zhao Yuning glared at her and cut her off in disappointment, “Since you have done something wrong, the least you could do is apologize. Not to me, but to the teacher because you spewed nonsense to her face. You should apologize to Zhao Mingxi, because you slandered her name. But you’re still trying to find excuses for yourself. You don’t feel regretful at all.”

Zhao Yuan was afraid that Madam Zhao would hear him so she lowered her voice. “We grew up together. Why must you always favour Zhao Mingxi over me?”

“Because you’re claiming what doesn’t belong to you! Don’t you get it?!” Zhao Yuning was so angered that his words were no longer filtered. The frustration and anxiety he felt ever since Zhao Mingxi left home had accumulated to the maximum at this point.

He yelled out, “You’re claiming what doesn’t belong to you. Who do you think you are to have everyone lean in favour of you?”

“You won’t even let me have a pet cat. This is my house so why can’t I have a cat? I just want a f*cking cat! I want 100 f*cking cats!”

Madam Zhao rushed over and gave Zhao Yuning a slap on the face.

That night, with a handprint on his face, Zhao Yuning left the Zhao family home and checked into a hotel.

*

It was only after Zhao Zhanhuai had returned when Madam Zhao discovered that Zhao Mingxi had come in 17th place for this month’s monthly exam, and that she had ranked even higher than Zhao Yuan.

She was naturally overjoyed. With mixed feelings, she said, “Mingxi’s results have never been good. Now that she has obtained such a rank, it shows that she has put in a lot of effort.”

“With such good results, if she was home, we would have prepared a huge meal for her so that we could celebrate.”

“It’s a shame that she’s not home.”

“Should I go to school and visit her tomorrow?” Madam Zhao couldn’t help but to straighten her back and ask.

Zhao Zhanhuai felt his scalp tighten. He hurriedly said, “There’s only three days left until the birthday banquet. She will come, so don’t go to school. If you say something insensitive she might get mad again.”

Zhao Zhanhuai thought, ‘No matter what, even if Mingxi never returns, I must bring her back for the birthday banquet.’

Or else this birthday banquet will truly cause the Zhao family to fall apart.

Madam Zhao could only sit back down.

When she saw how the house was so quiet and cold, Madam Zhao’s mood soured.

How did it become like this? Couldn’t they just get along with each other? Mingxi and Yuning just had to leave home and they both even blocked me on their phones.

Where did it go wrong?

Although Madam Zhao did not want to blame Zhao Yuan and thought that it was Zhao Yuning who had bullied Zhao Yuan— After all since they were young, Zhao Yuning had been an impatient one while Zhao Yuan was more obedient. However, now that she saw Zhao Mingxi and Zhao Yuning leaving this home because of Zhao Yuan, she couldn’t help but to blame Zhao Yuan a little.

Zhao Yuan cried as she sat on the sofa. “I’m sorry, Mom. I’ll try to get Yuning to come home tomorrow.”

Madam Zhao pushed her hand away and went upstairs in frustration. “Forget it. Don’t agitate him further. Send his eldest brother over after a few days.”

Zhao Yuan never could have imagined that things would turn out this way. She opened her mouth, but when she saw Madam Zhao’s figure, she closed it.

She looked towards Zhao Zhanhuai with watery eyes.

Zhao Zhanhuai gave her a glass of water. “Get some rest.”

Zhao Yuan wanted to get some comfort from Zhao Zhanhuai, just like how she did all this while.

However, when Zhao Zhanhuai saw her, he couldn’t help but to feel as if the person who was looking at him was ‘Zhao Mingxi’ who had no one by her side when she sprained her ankle during Sports Day.

Furthermore, he was continuously reminded that he had no blood relations with Zhao Yuan.

He felt uncomfortable. So he avoided Zhao Yuan’s gaze and hurriedly ran upstairs as if he was escaping.

“…”

Zhao Yuan watched his retreating figure in disbelief. She immediately stood up.

She felt increasingly nervous. The fear of an imminent loss was carving itself into her mind.

What’s going on with everyone at home? Is it merely because Zhao Mingxi had left home?

…If she left home as well, who would they pay more attention to?

*

Zhao Yuan couldn’t figure out why Zhao Yuning would suddenly appear at the Literature Department yesterday. She wondered if it was Zhao Mingxi who was behind all this. However, when she asked Pu Shuang and the others from her class, they all said that when she left the lecture hall, Zhao Mingxi was still performing on stage.

“…” Then who could it be?

As Zhao Yuning and her were still not talking, it was impossible for her to ask him this question.

She suddenly locked eyes with someone who was looking at her from the 5th floor of the academic building.

As they were too far apart, she couldn’t see who it was. Nonetheless, the arrogant short red hair which was shining gold due to him being under the sun had exposed his identity.

That person’s skin may be extremely pale, but his eyes were dark and cold.

Zhao Yuan felt a chilly wind blowing in her direction, causing her hairs to stand.

When she looked up again, Fu Yangxi had already left with his arms around two other guys’ shoulders.

—Could it be Fu Yangxi? Or is it just a coincidence?

Zhao Yuan was doubtful that the Young Master of the Fu family would do such a thing to her just for Zhao Mingxi.

*

As Fu Yangxi didn’t like to do exercises between classes, and the homeroom teacher couldn’t possibly force him to do it, so he let him be. Thus, for every period of exercise between classes, he would hug his Pikachu pillow to sleep.

Mingxi had just returned from exercising. When she passed by the Evergreen Class, she suddenly heard someone call out to her. “Mingxi!”

Mr. Lu ran up to her. He was out of breath when he said, “Why do you walk so fast? We’ll talk while we’re walking.”

“What happened, sir?”

Mr. Lu said, “I’ve received news that our school has received another spot for the Hundred School Tournament.”

Mingxi was shocked. “Really?”

Mingxi’s heart rate began to speed up. She couldn’t hide the excitement on her face.

If A High could obtain another spot, does it mean that the chances of her joining the Hundred School Tournament is a little higher?!

“Yes. The news is correct. I’ll notify the Gold Medal Class’ Mr. Jiang. Who knows, he might allow you to join.”

After he was done speaking and before Mingxi could react, Lu Wangwei hurriedly ran upstairs. He went to the office in search of Mr. Jiang while sweating bullets.

Mingxi stood on the spot for a while, stunned. Only after she had calmed down did she continue upstairs.

She shouldn’t raise her hopes, or else if she is not chosen to enter the Tournament, she will definitely be disappointed.

This was what her grandmother had taught her. Calm down and don’t put your hopes too high.

Mr. Lu wasn’t the person with the most information in school. If the news could reach him, it means that the other teachers had known about it for a while already.

There were even a lot of students from the Gold Medal Class and Evergreen Class who had found out about this.

“Oh my God, Kong Jiaze was right, our school did obtain another spot! She is truly ahead of everyone when it comes to such news!”

Ye Bai put down the experiment in his hands and exclaimed.

Shen Liyao had his sleeves pulled up as he assembled a few grey colored machines by the side quietly. There were stacks of parts which had been assembled placed on his table.

There was a high chance that Shen Liyao didn’t go home last night and slept in the experiment room.

Ye Bai couldn’t help but to say, “God Yao, actually with your current standard, you won’t face a lot of pressure when it comes to obtaining National Champion. So it shouldn’t take a lot out of you to date someone. I think Kong Jiaze is not bad. She can dance ballet and her results are good. The both of you are practically a match made in heaven…”

“Shut up.” Shen Liyao’s expression was so cold that it was terrifying, his hands not stopping at all.

“—” Ye Bai shut his mouth in fear.

He placed his attention on the parts which Shen Liyao had completed.

Then, he took a glance at Shen Liyao’s handwritten timing board. He didn’t know if it was his own misperception, but for the past few days the rate of Shen Liyao making a mistake seemed to be higher than before.

It was as if it all began on that day when Zhao Mingxi said she no longer liked him in the corridor.

Ye Bai instantly sensed where it went wrong.

“Or else—” Ye Bai suddenly said, “Why don’t you get Zhao Mingxi back? Actually, the both of you are quite a matching couple. Aside from her average results, she’s quite good. Besides, her results are slowly getting better…”

Ye Bai raised his head to look at Shen Liyao’s expression.

“I told you to shut up. If you say another word, get out.” Shen Liyao’s expression was still the same.

Ye Bai looked at Shen Liyao’s hands again.

Shen Liyao never stopped what he was doing.

…

However.

It was very obvious that he had wrongly connected three lines, and the reds and blues were connected the other way round. Despite Shen Liyao’s frown, it didn’t seem as if he had noticed this.

“…”

We’re done for.

Ye Bai thought. We’re absolutely f*cked.

The matter of an extra spot also reached the ears of the Evergreen Class.

The average marks of Mu Jiao from the Evergreen Class placed her at the sweet spot of 19— Every time she would only miss the spot to enter the Tournament by one place. But this time there was suddenly news of another spot. So isn’t it sure to be hers?

She was so excited that she immediately went to look for her homeroom teacher, Miss Ye Bing.

Ye Bing was her aunt. Furthermore, Ye Bing was currently being pursued by the Gold Medal Class’ Mr. Jiang.

With this connection, Mu Jiao simply could not think of another person aside from herself who was more worthy of this spot.

Before the name list could be announced, the Evergreen Class was beginning to celebrate on behalf of Mu Jiao.

She was always in 19th place and would brush against the final spot for entering the Tournament. Now she finally had the chance to enter.

“I saw the International Class’ Zhao Mingxi talking to her homeroom teacher by the stairs today. They were talking about the extra spot.”

Someone from the Evergreen Class said, “The International Class’ homeroom teacher— Lu Wangwei, what is he thinking? Could it be that he thinks that the extra spot could be Zhao Mingxi’s?”

“Even if Zhao Mingxi came in 17th place this time, her results are still worse than all of us in this class.”

The more that person spoke, the bigger the area of their criticism. “The International Class are no good. Everyone ranging from the teachers to the students all like to dream.”

Zhao Yuan who was originally doing her own work with her head lowered suddenly turned to look at that person.

That person thought that she was warning them not to talk bad about Zhao Mingxi, so they immediately stopped talking.

The host of the School Celebration, the Hundred School Tournament.

Zhao Yuan clenched her pen while thinking, I will at least win in these two things.

…

However, on this Thursday afternoon, a heavy bomb which was out of everyone’s expectations exploded in this building.

After the name list was announced, the last person to join was surprisingly Zhao Mingxi.

*

The moment this news was released, it spread across the whole building like a disease. Everyone’s jaws dropped when they heard the news. Even Lu Wangwei himself was stunned— Although he did ask the Gold Medal Class’ Mr. Jiang, he never actually had any hopes of it coming true!

The students in the Evergreen Class repeatedly confirmed, “Is it really Zhao Mingxi?”

“Go downstairs and see it for yourself. Her name is printed in black and white on that name list.”

???

The Evergreen Class was about to have PTSD against these three words, or rather this name.

“This is unfair!”

“Why is it Zhao Mingxi? If we choose according to the rankings, the person in 19th place is Mu Jiao, so why was Mu Jiao ignored?”

“Another case of doing things under the table? I’m infuriated!”

Someone said, “Also, I heard that this chance was specially requested by Professor Gao for our school. Yet they gave it so nonchalantly to Zhao Mingxi. For such an honorable person like Professor Gao, when he catches wind of this he’ll probably be angered to death— How much did Zhao Mingxi spend, oh, no, how much did Fu Yangxi spend for her?”

As Mu Jiao’s hopes were shattered, her tears were falling like buckets. She dropped herself on her table and cried. Everyone in the Evergreen Class felt uncomfortable seeing her like this.

The Evergreen Class was about to riot to their dean.

Aside from the Evergreen Class, Ye Bing herself found it unfair as well. She interrogated Mr. Jiang in the office, “Why was this chance given to the International Class? You know how difficult it is to obtain a spot, so why not do this fairly? This spot should have clearly been Mu Jiao’s!”

“If you ask me, then who am I to ask? It was the dean who gave the order.”

Ye Bing also started to suspect Fu Yangxi. “Did the Fu family use the building donation as a threat again? That’s inhumane!”

“No, I have to find the dean! Since it belongs to my class’ student, I’ll definitely get it back for her!”

The International Class was in an uproar as well. However, it was the joyful kind of noise, celebrating the fact that ‘LOL no matter how angry you are, the spot was still given to our class’ Zhao Mingxi’.

During the period between classes, a few students from the Evergreen Class came to the International Class to scold them.

One of Fu Yangxi’s followers in the International Class put the scarf around his neck and rolled up his sleeves while standing at the entrance to the class. “Come on then. Who’s being the scaredy cat? Let’s fight it out.”

That scene was as if it was out of a comedy movie.

“You’re so noisy.” The innocent Fu Yangxi took a glimpse at what was going on outside. Although he was tired, he couldn’t sleep.

He raised an eyebrow in confusion, then said to Zhao Mingxi in a light tone, “I have never looked for the dean in order to ask him to give you the spot. I won’t claim credit for something I’ve never done.”

“Yeah…” Mingxi was still in shock. It was as if a huge chunk of a biscuit had fallen from the sky and hit her, causing her to be in a daze.

She felt like this had something to do with Professor Gao— A fortnight ago, his grandson was down with a fever. Mingxi then carried the child to the hospital even though it was raining. But is it possible that Professor Gao helped her merely because of this?

It’s impossible, right?!

She had never received such good luck in her past life!

Mingxi tried her best to retain her composure. “I think we should wait. Who knows, it might end up like the marks of the monthly exam and they could’ve made a mistake.”

Meanwhile, the Evergreen Class who was standing outside their class started to increase the volume of their riot. Most of them were directed to Fu Yangxi.

“Fu Yangxi, the Evergreen Class isn’t a class you can bully! Are you aware of the importance of this spot? How could you steal it so casually?!”

“Fu Yangxi, what kind of man are you to buy a spot with your money? If you have the ability to buy a spot for your horse, then you should man up and come out here!”

Fu Yangxi, “…”

My horse??? Fu Yangxi wondered if he had heard the wrong thing.

He quickly searched the term up on Baidu as he was not sure if it was a curse word.*
*translator’s note: in the Mandarin original, the words used were 马子 (ma zi) which directly translates to ‘horse’. However, in recent days, it has been used like a slang word meaning ‘your girl’. But it has been explained that this generation has been using it wrong as it was originally used to describe how a woman, like a horse, belongs to a man.

When he saw the description, the anger in his expression greatly decreased.

Zhao Mingxi and Ke Chengwen watched as the tip of Fu Yangxi’s ears suddenly flush red. “Are you not angry?”

In a pretense, Fu Yangxi slammed his palm on the table. “I’m so angry, hmph.”