Jiang Hexing’s attitude was polite.
Her tone was calm.
But the expression on Li Yuanzhen’s face instantly turned somewhat unpleasant.
She bit her lower lip, furrowed her brows slightly, and shook her head. “No… it’s nothing.”
“Hey, Jiang Hexing, what kind of attitude is that?”
Seeing this, Song Qiaoxia immediately exploded: “Do you know who Yuanzhen is? How dare you talk to her like that?!”
Jiang Hexing asked curiously, “How exactly did I talk to her?”
“It’s not like I insulted your friend, is it?”
“You…”
Song Qiaoxia’s face flushed red with anger.
Indeed,
Jiang Hexing hadn’t insulted Li Yuanzhen, but so what? She was nothing more than a special admit. The fact that Li Yuanzhen even bothered to speak with her was already a blessing. Yet here she was, acting as if she couldn’t care less.
It was precisely her indifferent, carefree attitude that was the real problem!
A fierce glint flashed in Song Qiaoxia’s eyes. She was about to say something when Li Yuanzhen grabbed her hand. “Alright, Qiaoqiao, I’m fine. Don’t make things difficult for her.”
With that, Li Yuanzhen turned to Jiang Hexing. “Classmate Jiang, you may go. Qiaoqiao just has a rather impulsive personality—please don’t take anything she says to heart.”
“I’m truly sorry for bothering you.”
There was a hint of apology in her watery eyes, as if she genuinely felt sorry about it.
And by acting this way, she made Song Qiaoxia seem utterly unreasonable and petty.
It had been the same in her previous life. Song Qiaoxia had earned countless infamy at Laiga Academy, yet Li Yuanzhen, her closest friend, was the very embodiment of all that was good and beautiful.
“Alright, no worries.”
Faint murmurs of praise for Li Yuanzhen drifted from the surroundings. Jiang Hexing simply smiled at Li Yuanzhen, then turned and walked away.
She happened to brush past Song Qiaoxia, whose face was twisted with malice.
Seeing this,
Tian Wenjing and the other two quickly caught up with Jiang Hexing.
Only after they had walked a good distance away did they speak up, sighing with admiration. “Li Yuanzhen really is such a kind girl.”
“I wonder how she ended up friends with someone like Song Qiaoxia.”
“Exactly. Song Qiaoxia is basically a—” Tian Wenjing started, then suddenly thought of something and widened her eyes. She grabbed Jiang Hexing’s arm. “Hexing, do you have any idea? You nearly scared me to death just now.”
“What’s wrong?”
Jiang Hexing asked.
“Song Qiaoxia! Do you know who Song Qiaoxia is? She’s the daughter of the CEO of Songyue Group. You know Songyue Group, right? That super popular tech company, Songyue Group.”
“Mm.”
Of course Jiang Hexing knew. After all, she could recite the files on her enemies backward and forward.
“It’s just that her family is insanely rich and powerful—on par with the Li family. So Song Qiaoxia is super arrogant at school. And she’s especially obsessed with Li Yuanci… And now, Li Yuanci clearly seems to have taken an interest in you. I think she’s definitely not going to let you off easy.”
Tian Wenjing and the other two exchanged glances, all looking at Jiang Hexing with worry.
They happened to arrive at the classroom door.
Jiang Hexing pressed her lips into a small smile. “It’s fine. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Let’s worry about the future when it gets here.”
Seeing how unconcerned Jiang Hexing seemed, Tian Wenjing wanted to say more, but Zhou Yi grabbed her arm and shook her head at her.
After all, they had only known Jiang Hexing for a day. There was no need to say too much.
What’s more, Li Yuanci was still interested in Jiang Hexing right now, so no matter how angry Song Qiaoxia was, she didn’t dare go too far. Of course, if Li Yuanci had a change of heart, then this matter would be a different story.
But that was all for the future.
Right now, Li Yuanci was still in the honeymoon phase, which was enough to keep Jiang Hexing safe for quite a while.
…
Jiang Hexing had already completed the boarding procedures yesterday.
Laiga Academy was the largest and best aristocratic academy in City A, and because of that, the dormitory environment was quite excellent—basically two-person rooms, and there were even single rooms and standalone villas.
However, single rooms and standalone villas were not available to special admission students.
But Jiang Hexing was an exception.
As Principal Wang Ande’s ‘friend’s daughter,’ Jiang Hexing had successfully moved into a single room—a luxurious suite with one bedroom, one living room, and one bathroom. Jiang Hexing had decorated the room beautifully, and everything in it was to her liking.
So as soon as school ended that afternoon, Jiang Hexing planned to grab a meal and then head back to her room to rest. But just then, Li Yuanci showed up again.
He was still wearing the same clothes from the morning.
Standing at the classroom door, he said he wanted to have dinner with Jiang Hexing.
As it happened, Tian Wenjing and the other two hadn’t invited Jiang Hexing yet, so Jiang Hexing nodded in agreement: “Sure.”
After packing up her things, Jiang Hexing left together with Li Yuanci. This time, Xie Qiushi and the other three weren’t by his side, which made Jiang Hexing feel slightly disappointed—but only slightly.
After all, Li Yuanci was still here. If she could raise his Favorability Rating to ninety percent tonight…
As Jiang Hexing was thinking this, Li Yuanci suddenly asked: “Hexing, is there anywhere in City A you’d like to go?”
Jiang Hexing snapped back to attention and asked: “Why do you ask?”
“Because I’d like to go out and walk around with you.”
Li Yuanci’s advance was passionate and bold, his phoenix eyes gazing at Jiang Hexing with deep affection: “I wonder if you could give me that chance?”
Jiang Hexing: …
Meeting his gaze, she pressed her lips together and thought for a moment: “You’re a day student, right?”
“…Hm?” Li Yuanci furrowed his brow, not knowing why Jiang Hexing had suddenly brought this up.
Soon, Jiang Hexing gave him the answer: “I board at school.”
Li Yuanci: …
He never would have expected her to say that. After being stunned for a moment, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
His eyes were full of amusement: “No, Hexing, how are you this cute?!”
“Is that so?” Jiang Hexing tilted her head to look at him: “Thank you for the compliment. You’re cute too.”
The sky gradually darkened.
The school’s streetlights came on, illuminating the girl’s porcelain-white face.
Under the light, her features were like a painting, her eyes curved, the dimples at her cheeks shallow—she looked so well-behaved it was almost excessive.
Li Yuanci’s heartbeat skipped two beats. He felt as if his heart had been struck.
Instinctively turning his head away, this man who had long been a connoisseur of romance found himself tongue-tied in this moment: “…Wh-why do you say that about me? Ca-can boys even be described as cute?”
[Congratulations, Host. Li Yuanci’s Favorability Rating +2. Current Favorability Rating: 91. Current Life Span: 1423 days.]
The Favorability Rating had actually gone up by two points directly.
Jiang Hexing was somewhat surprised, but her expression showed nothing. She curiously retorted: “Why can’t it?”
“Boys and girls are both human. Is there any difference?”
“You’re right.”
After a moment, Li Yuanci let out a deep breath. He suppressed the stirring in his heart and turned to look at Jiang Hexing again. “…Then, let’s take a walk around the school.”
This moment was truly too wonderful.
He didn’t really want to part with Jiang Hexing.
“Huh?”
Jiang Hexing’s brows furrowed.
Li Yuanci’s heart tightened, and the next second—
“Don’t you want to eat first?”
Jiang Hexing pressed her lips together, saying with some distress, “But I’m a bit hungry. If you’re not hungry, then I’ll just go eat by myself first…”
“I’m hungry, I’m hungry!!! Let’s go together. Sorry, I just forgot!”
Li Yuanci was about to laugh at himself for being so stupid.
At the same time, he was also charmed by Jiang Hexing.
After all, other girls, just to be with him, wouldn’t even mention skipping meals—they’d gladly go hungry three times a day.
But Jiang Hexing…
Sure enough, she was different from other girls.
In this moment, Li Yuanci hadn’t even found those thugs yet, but he had already completely dispelled his suspicions about Jiang Hexing.
He felt as if he was falling for Jiang Hexing more and more.