Seeing this, Zhuang Mo’s eyes lit up. A fun idea suddenly struck him, and he clapped his hands: “How about we make a bet!”
Xie Qiushi tilted his head, one brow raised slightly. “What kind of bet?”
Zhuang Mo stroked his chin, looking rather excited, a lively glint burning in his deep eyes. “Let’s bet on whether Yuanci can win her over within a month.”
“Oh, this sounds fun!”
Ji Yan’s peach-blossom eyes also brightened, but he quickly thought of something. “But wouldn’t a month be too long? How about within fifteen days? All of Yuanci’s previous girlfriends were basically won over in two or three days.”
“No, no, no. This Jiang Hexing is different.”
Zhuang Mo wagged his slender index finger back and forth. “Anyway, I think it’ll take at least a month.”
With that, he turned to Zhou Jinran, who had been quiet. “Jinran, what do you think?”
Zhou Jinran curled his lips slightly, his narrow, elongated eyes carrying a hint of amusement at the spectacle. “A month sounds about right.”
Since both Zhou Jinran and Zhuang Mo had said so, Ji Yan had nothing more to add.
Xie Qiushi then nodded. “Then a month it is.”
“I’ll bet that within a month, she’ll be won over by Yuanci and become his girlfriend.”
Zhuang Mo grinned. “Then I’ll bet that Yuanci can’t win her over within a month.”
Ji Yan glanced at Xie Qiushi. “Then I’m with Qiushi—I’ll bet on within a month. After all, special-admission students like her who have real backbone are pretty rare. Usually, throwing money at them is enough.”
Zhou Jinran: “Then I’ll go with Zhuang Mo.”
“For the stake, I’ll put up the race car my dad just bought me.”
Zhuang Mo: “Alright, then mine’s a race car too.”
Ji Yan thought for a moment. “I’ll put up that villa at Xihu Bay.”
“Then I’ll also put up a villa—the one at Nanhu Resort that you all really like.” Xie Qiushi had originally planned to give that villa to Li Yuanzhen as an eighteenth birthday gift, but this bet was more interesting now.
Of course, the more important reason was that he didn’t think he would lose.
“Then it’s settled!!”
Zhuang Mo, the one who started it all, was absolutely delighted. He genuinely believed Jiang Hexing was different, and that this time, Li Yuanci might really fail to win her over.
If he actually won…
The stake was one thing, but the best part was getting to see Li Yuanci eat crow. That would be absolutely hilarious.
…
Jiang Hexing had no idea that in the few short moments she’d spent talking to Li Yuanci, the four of them—Zhuang Mo and the others—had already initiated a bet. Even if she had known, she wouldn’t have cared.
Right now, she was still earnestly going through the motions of humoring Li Yuanci.
Li Yuanci was a bit of a glutton for punishment—the more perfunctory her responses, the more energized he became. He chatted about everything from fate to what she liked to eat, and her Favorability Rating finally climbed back up to eighty-nine.
Still just one point shy of ninety.
According to the System, crossing from eighty-nine to ninety was an extremely difficult feat, because when Favorability was below ninety, the target could fall for someone else at any moment. But once it went above ninety, it became unwavering devotion.
So Jiang Hexing wasn’t the least bit anxious.
Soon, they arrived at the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was large and luxurious, spanning seven floors in total. Inside were chefs from all over the country, covering every style of cuisine imaginable. The higher the floor, the more expensive the prices.
In her previous life, when Jiang Hexing came to eat at this cafeteria, she’d never gotten past the first floor. She hadn’t even been to the second.
And in this life—
“Let’s go to the seventh floor. I heard they have air-freighted French foie gras today—it’s delicious.”
As soon as they entered the cafeteria, Zhuang Mo made the suggestion.
Li Yuanci then looked at Jiang Hexing: “Hexing, do you want to try the foie gras?”
“She’s probably never had foie gras before, has she?”
Before Jiang Hexing could even speak, Xie Qiushi cut in first. A hint of mockery curled at the corners of his lips as he crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at Jiang Hexing from his height.
Jiang Hexing turned her gaze toward him.
But only for a single glance before she looked away again.
As if she hadn’t even registered what he’d just said.
“Then let’s go have the foie gras.”
Although Jiang Hexing had entered the academy as a special admit, she had no intention of shortchanging herself. Yes, she was a special admit, but that didn’t mean she was poor.
“Alright.”
Li Yuanci hadn’t expected Jiang Hexing to ignore Xie Qiushi either. His slightly furrowed brow relaxed, and he raised an eyebrow at Xie Qiushi before his gaze quickly settled back on Jiang Hexing, the smile at the corners of his lips deepening.
Zhuang Mo’s eyes lit up.
Ji Yan and Zhou Jinran exchanged a glance.
All three of them wore expressions of someone settling in to watch a good show.
Xie Qiushi, who had never been ignored like this before, felt his smile freeze at the corners of his mouth.
The fist at his side clenched in frustration.
He stared at Jiang Hexing, but she simply wouldn’t acknowledge him—one moment chatting with Tian Wenjing and the others, the next answering Li Yuanci’s questions, not even sparing him a glance.
It made Tian Wenjing and the other two feel a bit nervous.
Xie Qiushi’s clenched hand loosened and tightened, tightened and loosened, dark fury brewing like a storm in his pitch-black eyes.
It wasn’t until they stepped into the elevator heading to the seventh floor that he once again pretended to ask casually: “I heard you want to take first place on the Top 100 Ranking in this month’s exam?”
The mocking smile curled at his lips once more.
This time, Jiang Hexing finally looked at him.
“Is there a problem?”
She asked.
“With you?”
Xie Qiushi swept his gaze over her from head to toe, disdain practically dripping from his eyes: “Let me put it this way—impossible.”
He absolutely loathed how Jiang Hexing maintained that calm, unruffled demeanor from start to finish. She was just a special admit, yet she carried herself as if she were above everyone else, as if no one was worth her notice.
Where did she get that confidence?!
“Oh.”
All she gave him in return was a single, simple word. Then she turned back around.
Xie Qiushi: !!
Xie Qiushi’s face flushed red with anger. He took a deep breath: “What? Do you admit you can’t do it?”
“No, I don’t.”
Only then did Jiang Hexing turn to look at him again. Her eyes curved, and her lips pressed together into a smile: “I think I can take first place on the Top 100 Ranking.”
Xie Qiushi clenched his fist: “Then why didn’t you argue back?”
“Why would I argue with you?” Jiang Hexing said very seriously: “Your perception is your own business. What does that have to do with me? Why would I waste my effort trying to convince you?”
“Convincing you means absolutely nothing to me.”
She even spread her hands at the end.
Just then, the elevator arrived at the seventh floor.
Jiang Hexing stepped out first.
In her ear,
came the System’s voice: [Congratulations, Host. Xie Qiushi’s Favorability Rating +10. Current Favorability Rating: 15. Current Life Span: 1053 days.]
[Congratulations, Host. Ji Yan’s Favorability Rating +5. Current Favorability Rating: 10. Current Life Span: 1153 days.]
[Congratulations, Host. Zhuang Mo’s Favorability Rating +5. Current Favorability Rating: 12. Current Life Span: 1273 days.]
[Congratulations, Host. Zhou Jinran’s Favorability Rating +3. Current Favorability Rating: 13. Current Life Span: 1403 days.]
A faint smile flickered in her eyes, gone in an instant.
This was the strategy she had specially tailored for Xie Qiushi.
Xie Qiushi was an extremely arrogant man by nature. He despised women approaching him proactively, yet he also hated being ignored by anyone.
Therefore, the best approach for him was to ignore him, play hard to get, and act indifferent. While he fumed with rage, he would gradually become more and more intrigued—just as he was now.
As for the others’ Favorability Ratings—
She had other strategies for them. This was merely a bonus for now.
A pleasant little surprise, indeed.