The Sky Garden on the top floor of the Heslington School cafeteria.
Bai Tao ditched her plan A for a romantic, teen-comic-style encounter and just obediently gave them her personal information.
‘Since I’m already here, I might as well make the best of it.’
‘Lowering their expectations first to impress them later is a pretty good strategy, too.’
She was flanked by two pretty boys, with an array of gourmet delicacies spread out before her.
‘Right now, filling my stomach is more important.’
“Ohh—so your name is Bai Tao.”
“What a coincidence.
The two of us are also in the freshman Finance Class 3.”
“How come we didn’t see you during our first class this morning?”
Bai Tao gave the brothers short, distracted replies as she speared a piece of beef bourguignon with her fork and popped it into her mouth.
The meat was so tender it practically melted, releasing a subtly sweet juice with every chew.
‘It’s so good my cheeks are melting.’
In her old world, she’d spent her days in hiding, eating stale bread that even a dog would turn its nose up at.
When had she ever had the chance to sit down and peacefully savor a gourmet meal?
She squinted blissfully and chuckled.
“Something came up this morning, so I was excused from class.”
“Perfect timing, then.”
Zuo Mubai and Zuo Senye pulled out their phones in unison and tapped them against hers, which was lying on the table.
Two notifications popped up on her screen.
[Mubai has shared a KK contact card with you.]
[Senye has shared a KK contact card with you.]
Bai Tao hadn’t expected to score the twin brothers’ KK contacts so easily.
She quickly accepted.
The two then, once again in sync, sent her the QR code for the “Finance Class 3” group chat.
“If you have any questions, you can ask us.”
“After all, we’re classmates.
And besides…” The two of them stared at Jing Wang, who was sullenly cutting his steak across the table, and gave a sly grin.
“You like us, too.”
The blade of Jing Wang’s knife sliced sharply through his beef, scraping against the plate with a piercing, unpleasant sound.
Qi Heting glanced over, tracing the rim of his Meissen teacup before taking a sip of black tea, smiling but saying nothing.
Bai Tao knew that Zuo Senye and Zuo Mubai had misunderstood her reasons for joining their fan club.
But it didn’t matter.
She couldn’t be bothered to explain, nor was there any need to.
Besides, she did genuinely like them.
And, of course, the other three right in front of her.
‘She had a thing for good-looking people.’
“Slow down, Little Taotao.
There’s plenty more,” Zuo Mubai said, watching her stuff her cheeks.
He gently pushed his own plate toward her with the back of his finger.
Bai Tao froze, pointing at herself with her fork in a rather unladylike manner.
“Little Taotao?”
Zuo Senye propped his chin on his hand.
“Yeah.
We’ll call you Little Taotao from now on.
You don’t like it?”
“It’s not that I don’t like it, but it feels like a name for a little kid.
We’re the same age, you know.”
“Well, you can give us nicknames, too,” Zuo Senye said with a wide grin.
Zuo Mubai chimed in, “That’s what good friends do, Little Taotao.
They give each other nicknames.”
Bai Tao’s hand, holding her silverware, paused.
She stroked her chin and began to think seriously.
‘This is a good chance to get closer to these two brothers.’
“You have a point.
Let me think…”
SLAM!
Jing Wang slammed his silverware down on the table.
“We’re here to eat, so just eat.
The two of you are being ridiculously loud.”
The brothers’ eyes drooped with an aggrieved look, and they tried to hide behind Bai Tao.
“Little Taotao, protect us!
Jing Wang is being so mean.”
Qi Heting looked up, intrigued.
He scooted his chair further away, making sure, of course, to also move his collector-grade Western Porcelain out of the way.
Jing Wang stood up, irritably brushing his bangs out of his eyes.
His brow furrowed deeply.
His large frame cast a darkening shadow over the table, a silent promise of the turmoil brewing within him.
The pupils in his green eyes narrowed into beast-like vertical slits.
“If you two are looking for a fight…”
“Then, let us begin,” Si Hansu said.
“Regarding the Welcome Ball.”
“Once we’ve taken care of business, you can fight and roughhouse all you want.”
The man dabbed the corner of his mouth with a napkin, his movements clean and precise, his face completely unreadable.
Every move he made was as devoid of warmth as his name—Han Su—suggested.
Yet he commanded authority without ever showing anger.
Sensing it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to stay for what was next, Bai Tao quickly stuffed a few more mouthfuls of meat into her mouth and prepared to excuse herself.
“Well, I’ll be going then.
You guys take your time,” she mumbled, her mouth full of meat.
But Zuo Senye grabbed the back of her collar.
“You’re already here.
Why not listen in?”
“What if you end up joining the Heslington Student Council?”
The Student Council: few members, immense power.
Many major events, like the Welcome Ball and the Arts Festival, were all organized by the Student Council.
The other members were personally selected by F5 from the 500 incoming freshmen at the start of each school year.
The requirements were stringent; only two were chosen.
Zuo Mubai reached out and hooked a finger on the arm of her glasses, lifting them as he spoke.
“The Student Council does have certain standards for appearance.
We are the face of the school, after all.”
“But clothes make the man, as they say.
You just need to change your hairstyle, switch to contacts…”
Zuo Mubai’s words trailed off, dying on his lips.
Zuo Senye’s reaction was no better.
As her glasses were pushed all the way up, her thick bangs were swept up with them, revealing her face completely.
The girl blinked demurely, her dense eyelashes fanning gently.
Her skin was fair, with a pretty, natural blush coloring the soft swell beneath her eyes.
‘And here we thought it was just her personality that was interesting.’
‘No wonder Jing Wang was so pissed off.’
‘Now we want to snatch her away even more.’
Si Hansu cleared his throat and tapped his index finger twice on the table.
“Zuo Mubai.”
“Yeees—” Zuo Mubai’s response was airy, the sound drawn out.
He let go of her glasses, and her thick bangs immediately fell back into place.
Next, the core meeting began, led by Si Hansu and centered on the “Welcome Ball.”
Now that she was full, Bai Tao fell silent, pricking up her ears to gather intelligence.
The Welcome Ball was Heslington Beast School’s largest icebreaker event of the year, as well as the biggest networking platform for the various prominent families.
And F5 had gathered here today precisely to finalize the ball’s theme, schedule, and security measures.
“As for the dress code, the board of directors has requested uniform attire, so…”
Si Hansu’s voice as he went over the details was completely monotone, like a lullaby.
As Bai Tao listened, her eyelids began to feel heavy.
Her head started to nod, and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep on her arm.
Before coming to this world, Bai Tao had gone nearly a full day without sleep in order to carry out a mission.
The result was that while listening to F5 discuss one thing after another, her nerves finally relaxed, and she drifted off.
She dreamed she was on a small boat, nestled in a cool harbor, swaying gently back and forth.
She didn’t know how much time had passed before she slowly opened her eyes.
A faint, ocean-like scent enveloped her.
The first thing she saw was a prominent Adam’s apple.
She lifted her gaze, only to see a pair of silver-gray eyes resting on her with an air of boredom.
Only when he noticed she was awake did a flicker of light appear in their depths.
And there she was, nestled comfortably in the man’s arms, seated on his left thigh.
His once-pristine uniform was now creased from where she had slept.
“You’re awake, Little Taotao?”
“Did you sleep well in my arms?”