School ended on Friday, marking the start of the long weekend.
As soon as Su Yunluo, Yuan Weining, and Chu Han reached the school gate, they ran straight into a group of boys from Class Five.
“Hey, the Yue opera little diva from Class Six!” Li Zhe grinned the moment he saw her, his smile bright like a sunflower. “That performance last time was amazing. We were all completely stunned!”
“Exactly! We still want to hear it again. Next time, why don’t you have another round with Xie Chen?”
The way he said it made it obvious—you lost, so just go sing again.
Su Yunluo shot them a cold glare. “So what if it’s Xie Chen? You think I’m scared of him?”
Just seeing this group of boys annoyed her. She had already lost, and now they were still teasing her like this.
They didn’t expect her to still be this stubborn after losing so badly. Of course, that only made it more entertaining for them.
“Not scared? So, top student Su, you still want another match with Xie Chen?”
Being a “top student” really did change things. Before, when people talked about Xie Chen, they casually called him Little Xie. Now, everyone respectfully called him Xie Chen.
Su Yunluo bit her lip.
She really was still holding onto that frustration. She didn’t want to bow her head to that boy—but the gap between them was obvious.
So she shot back vaguely, “Who knows? Maybe he just got lucky that one time!”
The moment she said it, she froze.
Sure enough, when people are jealous, even their words start to sound the same. That was practically a copy of Shi Ranran.
Li Zhe laughed. “Top student Su, now this is the kind of courage we truly admire!”
“Shut up,” Su Yunluo cut him off coldly. “You’re not the one who beat me. Since when does your opinion matter?”
Li Zhe didn’t get angry. He just kept smiling. “Alright then, next time we’ll let the real deal come and convince you personally.”
Seeing Su Yunluo standing there like she could fight three hundred more rounds, Yuan Weining and the others immediately backed her up.
“So what if it’s the ‘real deal’? Win once and he’s a god now?”
“Next time, he’s the one who’ll lose!”
“Yeah, we’ll make him regret it!”
The argument was getting heated when Su Yunluo suddenly noticed Yuan Weining had gone quiet. Following her gaze, she saw him—the “real deal” from Class Five.
And beside him was someone else—the school’s recognized heartthrob, Zhou Xubai.
The two boys walked out of the school gate at the same time. One stood tall like a slender bamboo, the other clear and refined like polished jade. It was like two human spotlights stepping into view—instantly pulling all attention toward them.
The boys from Class Five immediately crowded around Xie Chen to report the situation.
“Xie Chen! That girl from Class Six still isn’t convinced. She said she wants another match with you!”
“She even said you just got lucky, and next time she’ll make you lose properly!”
Zhou Xubai listened from the side, amused. “So they’re underestimating our Xie Chen’s strength like this?”
He glanced at Xie Chen. “What, you want to go over there and argue it out yourself? Defend the dignity of a top student?”
Xie Chen looked across.
The moment Su Yunluo met his gaze, something inside her wavered for no reason.
This opponent of hers still looked gentle, refined, a little distant. But now, backed by results like that, his calmness carried a quiet confidence—like everything was already under control. It made her stubbornness feel almost ridiculous.
Still, she stiffened her face and met his eyes head-on.
Xie Chen looked at her and smiled slightly. “I won’t go. I’m not good with words. I’d probably lose the argument.”
On the girls’ side, Chu Han suddenly felt embarrassed and said softly, “Don’t misunderstand… we weren’t trying to argue with you…”
Yuan Weining, noticing Zhou Xubai, started stumbling over her words too. “Y-yeah… we were just joking…”
The other girls instantly changed their tone as well.
“Right, it’s just because Xie Chen scored so high—it’s kind of discouraging!”
“Next time, can you score a little lower? Leave the rest of us a way to survive, okay?”
Li Zhe and the others, already familiar with Zhou Xubai because of Xie Chen, watched the sudden shift in atmosphere and were honestly impressed.
“Wow. Nothing beats the power of School Heartthrob Zhou’s face.”
Su Yunluo looked anxiously at the girls beside her.
Just moments ago, they were united against the “enemy.” What were they doing now?
Some pressed their lips together shyly; some lowered their heads—but their eyes kept drifting back like magnets toward the school heartthrob. The tension from before had completely disappeared, replaced with soft, pink atmosphere. Especially Yuan Weining, whose eyes were practically shining as she stared at her “idol.”
And the truth was, she had never even spoken a single word to him.
Now it was Xie Chen’s turn to enjoy the show. He glanced at Zhou Xubai and teased, “Looks like you’re in danger again.”
Zhou Xubai shot him a look that clearly said cut it out, then walked toward a black car parked by the roadside. Xie Chen waved at the boys and followed.
Su Yunluo watched as the person who had turned the entire situation around with nothing, but his face got into the car. From start to finish, Zhou Xubai hadn’t even looked at the girls once—yet he had effortlessly dissolved all hostility.
She had to admit… he really was good-looking.
But just a face—was that enough to make people switch sides like that? Was he Helen of Troy or Bao Si or something?
The door on the other side of the black car opened. Xie Chen bent down and got in. Just before closing it, he looked up again. His gaze crossed the afternoon light and landed on his opponent—the one still staring at Zhou Xubai like all the other girls.
Su Yunluo was still lost in thought. The moment she noticed his gaze, her back straightened instinctively.
There wasn’t much expression on Xie Chen’s face, but in those slightly upturned phoenix eyes, there was a faint trace of understanding—like he had already seen through everything.