By accident, Wen Chu looked up.
Her round eyes immediately collided with Xi Liye’s deep gaze.
Her entire body stiffened.
Her fingers trembled.
The black bead held by the tweezers slipped free with a soft click and landed on Xi Liye’s side of the table.
She was about to reach over and pick it up.
But Xi Liye was faster.
He stretched out his hand and intercepted the escaping black bead, catching it neatly with his tweezers.
“Here?”
His fingers crossed the invisible boundary between them and lightly pointed at the empty spot in the kitten design.
“…Mm.”
After receiving confirmation, Xi Liye held the tiny black bead with his tweezers, reached across the gap between them, and placed it onto the empty peg on her bead board.
“Let’s do it together. It’ll be faster.”
That was true.
To make the date pass more quickly, Wen Chu had specifically chosen an animal-themed design that looked cute but was actually quite complicated.
“Fine.”
She placed the pattern guide between them.
But gradually…
She regretted it.
The distance between them was too close.
She could even feel the male lead’s breath brushing against her face.
Wen Chu, who was used to being alone, had never been this physically close to another person before.
Xi Liye, however, seemed completely unaffected.
His movements were smooth and precise.
Occasionally, he even guided her.
“Here. Use light gray.”
Wen Chu nodded absentmindedly and followed his instructions.
After much effort, they finally completed the kitten design.
The next second, Xi Liye pushed his fox design to the center.
Wen Chu: “…”
Time seemed to stretch endlessly.
Every second felt like torture.
Finally, after what felt like forever, Xi Liye picked up a small iron and ironing paper, completing the final fixing process.
After cooling down, the two bead artworks were finished.
The kitten and the fox had their poses permanently preserved.
Wen Chu let out a breath of relief.
Finally, it was over.
However, before she could fully relax, she watched Xi Liye naturally pick up the kitten design.
Without even looking at it twice, he directly slipped it into the inner pocket of his coat.
The motion was so smooth it felt as though it was a trophy that rightfully belonged to him.
Wen Chu, who had actually wanted the kitten herself: “…”
Wasn’t that kitten supposed to be mine?
But after thinking about it, she let it go.
The fox was cute too.
Besides, she had helped make both designs.
With that thought, she reached out and picked up the fox bead artwork.
Later, Xi Liye stepped outside to answer a phone call.
When he returned, he looked slightly apologetic.
“Sorry. I just received a call from my academic advisor. I probably can’t continue spending time with you today.”
The opportunity had arrived.
Wen Chu was just about to express her dissatisfaction.
Unexpectedly, the man suddenly took out a small box.
Inside was an extremely delicate bracelet shining with a soft silver glow.
The design was simple.
At the center of the chain hung a polished moonstone.
Beside it was a tiny cat-shaped charm.
The cat was curled up lazily, its outline simple and adorable.
The complaints Wen Chu had prepared instantly disappeared.
“I bought this while I was outside.”
Xi Liye’s voice was sincere.
“I didn’t have much time to choose carefully, but consider it a gift for our first date. Don’t be angry anymore.”
What could Wen Chu even do now?
He had already bought her a gift.
It would be difficult to continue acting unreasonable.
Xi Liye glanced at the time on his phone.
“Then I’ll take you back.”
Xi Liye drove Wen Chu to the school entrance.
The two parted ways there.
“I-I’m here.”
She got out of the car and said goodbye before heading back onto campus.
“Goodbye.”
Xi Liye remained in the car, watching the girl’s figure gradually disappear into the distance.
Until she was completely out of sight.
His fingertips twitched slightly.
Recalling the feeling of touching her fingers.
Soft.
His thoughts drifted back to the first time they met.
Back then, the private room had been noisy and dazzling with lights.
He had been half-heartedly dealing with the boring games and cheering crowd.
He had never wanted to attend that university gathering in the first place.
In fact, he had originally decided not to go.
But his family had called again.
Their words implied one thing:
He had to go home.
The call annoyed him so much that he couldn’t even continue the chemistry experiment he had been working on.
So he left the laboratory and came out.
When the dare card that read—
“Date someone of the opposite sex who has the same phone battery percentage as you”
—was drawn, his only thought was how ridiculous it was.
Then, by chance, he glanced up.
His gaze swept across the crowd.
And he saw her.
Curled up in the darkest corner of the sofa.
Trying desperately to make herself as small as possible.
Like a tiny herbivore that had wandered into a predator’s den.
Nervous.
Alert.
Lost.
She reminded him of a laboratory mouse tied down for experiments.
At that moment, a strange feeling quietly emerged.
An almost malicious curiosity.
A little pitiful.
Even now, Xi Liye could still remember that first impression of Wen Chu.
So after everyone failed to find a matching battery percentage, his gaze returned to that corner.
Almost as if possessed, he raised a hand and pointed toward her.
“Has anyone checked that person?”
He never truly cared about matching battery percentages.
That had merely been an excuse.
But when Wen Chu was dragged from the shadows into everyone’s attention and he watched her flustered expression—
He had to admit it.
At that moment, he had felt extremely pleased.
And when she actually revealed the same number—
47%.
A strange sense of destiny surfaced within him.
Look.
The prey I chose was personally delivered into my hands by fate.
Xi Liye withdrew his gaze from the dormitory building and thought back to today’s date.
The girl loved acting spoiled.
She also liked getting angry and throwing little tantrums.
But that was fine.
It was rare for him to encounter something that genuinely interested him.
He could be very patient.
Completely unaware that she had already been targeted, Wen Chu returned to her dormitory.
After changing into comfortable pajamas, she immediately climbed onto her bed.
Behind the bed curtains was her soft mattress and blanket.
And also the fluffy teddy bear she had ordered a few days ago.
She threw herself onto the bed and hugged the bear tightly.
Burying her face deep into its soft fur that carried the faint scent of laundry detergent, she took several deep breaths.
Then she remembered the bracelet Xi Liye had given her.
The original owner of this body had known quite a bit about luxury brands.
Perhaps some of that instinct still remained.
After hesitating, Wen Chu couldn’t suppress her curiosity.
She picked up her phone and took a photo of the bracelet.
Then she opened a luxury authentication and pricing app and used the image search function.
A few seconds later, the results appeared.
The moment she saw the brand, collection name, and the long string of zeros in the price…
Wen Chu sucked in a sharp breath.
Her hand trembled.
She almost dropped her phone.
How could such a tiny bracelet cost tens of thousands?
Had the original owner ever received a gift like this in the story?
Wen Chu searched her memory.
But the novel barely described the male lead’s ex-girlfriend at all.
Details like this had never been mentioned.
She sighed.
In the end, she carefully stored the bracelet away.
If the male lead ever took revenge on her in the future and she ran out of money, she planned to sell it.
She definitely wasn’t going to act like those naïve heroines in romance novels who returned expensive gifts after a breakup to preserve their pride.
Still, seeing the bracelet’s price made her heart tremble.
As expected of Xi Liye, the novel’s male lead.
Not only was he academically brilliant and exceptionally handsome, but his family background was also incredibly powerful.
The Xi family was a top-tier wealthy family whose influence stretched across finance, technology, real estate, and many other industries.
Their roots ran deep, and their power was immense.
Xi Liye was a genuine second-generation heir.
So this was the power of money.
How enviable.
But if Wen Chu remembered correctly…
The male lead’s relationship with his family wasn’t very good in the original story.