Lu Ran easily caught the pillow she threw at him and, taking advantage of the moment, buried his face in it and inhaled deeply.
It was filled with the sweet scent of her hair.
His muffled laughter came through the fabric. “Baby, you’re adorable even when you’re angry.”
Xu Jingran glared at him. Lu Ran leaned closer, bracing one hand at her side. A triumphant glint shimmered in his violet eyes while his other hand had already finished ordering the milk tea.
“Done. Taro milk tea with boba—extra two servings of boba.”
He lowered his head and brushed his nose against hers, his voice low and teasing. “But the best boba is right here…”
“Lu Ran!” She turned her head to dodge him, but he cupped her face and gently turned her back.
His kiss landed lightly, carrying a careful hint of apology, yet the way his lips and tongue intertwined with hers was intense and impossible to escape.
“I’m sorry…”
Yes, he was sorry—but he had no intention of stopping.
Apologizing while kissing her.
Gradually, the strength in Xu Jingran’s hands as she tried to push him away faded.
He was simply too good at this.
Every time she frowned or let out a soft whimper, he would soften, gently licking and kissing the corners of her lips, soothing her like comfort—and temptation at the same time.
The moment she relaxed even slightly, he would deepen the kiss again, more lingering and harder to resist.
She grew dizzy from his kisses and finally could only clutch at the fabric over his chest, trembling faintly.
When the doorbell rang, Xu Jingran’s lips were already flushed red and glistening.
She pushed him away. “That’s enough!”
Lu Ran rested his forehead against hers, steadying his breathing. His thumb lingered against her heated cheek before he reluctantly went to get the delivery.
Tiny droplets of condensation clung to the milk tea bag.
Lu Ran inserted the straw and held it up to her lips first.
Xu Jingran took small sips of her Freshly Pounded Orange. The cool citrus flavor finally dispelled some of the lingering heat in the air.
Lu Ran stared at the straw she had just bitten. Following the faint lipstick mark she left behind, he wrapped his lips around it and took a big gulp.
Too sweet.
He didn’t like sweet drinks.
But at that moment, it tasted like the most delicious thing in the world.
He lifted his phone and snapped several photos of the milk tea.
He deliberately chose one where the faint pink lipstick mark on the straw was clearly visible.
Lowering his head, his fingers moved quickly over the screen.
[(Image) Thanks for the treat. Very sweet.]
Location: S District, Villa No. 1.
Almost instantly, his phone buzzed nonstop.
Jiang Si: ?! Milk tea? Who are you fooling? You never drink that stuff!
Jiang Lijin: Throw that cheap thing away. Don’t let it appear in our villa. It’s disgusting.
Xiao Si Ming: You brought someone back to our villa? Don’t let me see her.
Jing Yuan: Haven’t you had enough fun yet?
Jiang Si zoomed in on the photo, gripping his phone tighter.
The lipstick mark on the straw was so obvious.
Pink.
Just like the faint gloss he had once seen on Xu Jingran’s soft pink lips, which carried a sweet fragrance.
Lu Ran had even brought her to the villa.
Jiang Si clicked his tongue. “He said he was just playing around. Now it looks like he’s getting serious.”
Xiao Si Ming’s soft black hair partially covered his brows and eyes. Pale and slender, with strikingly delicate features, he looked almost androgynous—like a vampire who had never seen sunlight.
His eyes were an unfathomable dark black. His long, nimble fingers held a jade chess piece as he commented casually, “First love is always like this. After a few more relationships, it’ll pass.”
For families like theirs, the background of a partner mattered greatly.
If it was just a brief fling during school, it didn’t matter.
Before this, none of them had any interest in such things.
Until now.
Lu Ran had broken the balance.
Holding the king chess piece, Xiao Si Ming rested his chin on his hand. “Poor little scholarship student.”
When Lu Ran eventually left her—
Would she still be able to return to an ordinary life?
At that moment, there was a knock at the door. A student council officer carried in a bag of milk tea, smiling obsequiously.
“President, Vice President, these are the milk teas Vice President Lu Ran sent for you.”
He carefully placed the drinks on the table.
Jiang Lijin frowned. “Throw them away.”
Lu Ran had truly lost his mind—
Sending them something so cheap to drink.
Xu Jingran tapped on her phone and opened the page showing the new dorm Jiang Si had arranged for her.
It was actually in S District.
Right next to their Villa No. 1—Villa No. 2.
Villa No. 1 was where the F5 lived.
Villa No. 2 was where the noble young ladies stayed.
Xu Jingran returned to her original dormitory and pushed the door open. The room was very quiet—empty.
In this aristocratic academy, dorms housed three students. Her two roommates were also scholarship students.
Ever since she had been labeled “the disgrace of scholarship students,”
those two roommates had never spoken to her again.
Xu Jingran began packing quickly and efficiently.
The other two girls walked in laughing.
“Is it true? Did Lu Ran dump Xu Jingran?”
“Everyone’s saying it’s true. She didn’t get the scholarship this time. It went to Liu Ruan instead. I heard the young masters are planning to pursue Liu Ruan now.”
“Really? Will Liu Ruan end up like Xu Jingran?”
“Probably not. Liu Ruan isn’t like Xu Jingran. She has dignity and pride. And her family situation is really pitiful…”
When they saw Xu Jingran, both of them fell instantly silent.
The girl on the left bunk, Hu Yunyun, noticed Xu Jingran packing and couldn’t help asking,
“You weren’t expelled from school, were you? Because you broke up with Young Master Lu?”
The other girl, Zhou Lin, looked eager to know the truth. “Yeah, were you expelled? Otherwise why are you packing now?”
Xu Jingran looked genuinely surprised and confused. “Who told you that? We didn’t break up. I’m just changing dorms.”
Holding her folded quilt, she sighed softly and turned to face them. “Were you hoping I’d be expelled?”
Her beautiful eyes held a faint trace of confusion.
Hu Yunyun and Zhou Lin froze instantly. Their cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.
They opened their mouths but couldn’t produce a sound.
“I…” Hu Yunyun lowered her head, twisting the hem of her shirt unconsciously. “That’s not what I meant…”
Zhou Lin avoided her gaze and stared at the dusty floor. “We just… heard it from others.”
Seeing their guilty expressions, Xu Jingran shrugged helplessly and continued packing.
It was one thing to lie to others—just don’t end up lying to yourselves.
The two girls sat there in silence.
They had indeed wondered: they were all scholarship students—so why was Xu Jingran the one who caught someone like Lu Ran’s attention?
Why was she the one allowed to step into a world they could only dream of from afar?
Every time they saw the candid photos of Xu Jingran and Lu Ran posted on the forum, or heard others talk about them with envy and jealousy, that resentment inside them would resurface.
They were all equally poor, equally pitiful, equally struggling—admitted to this academy solely through academic excellence.
So why was Xu Jingran treated differently?
They worked hard to maintain the so-called dignity and aloofness of scholarship students.
They joined others in condemning Xu Jingran as shameless and disgraceful.
But as her roommates, they had clearly seen the benefits she gained.
A handsome, charming boy like Lu Ran behaved like an obedient puppy in front of her.
He reported his whereabouts daily, spoke in sugary, affectionate tones, and was deeply devoted.
He frequently transferred her money.
And those lofty young masters would even issue statements to protect her, warning others not to bully her.
Late at night, in quiet moments, they would sometimes imagine themselves as the one specially favored by the academy’s F5.
When they heard that Xu Jingran might have broken up—or even been expelled—they had indeed felt a flicker of secret delight.
Xu Jingran noticed their evasive eyes and flushed faces but simply continued packing.
Ever since she was little, her foster parents had told her: if you gain something, you will lose something too.
She had gained a handsome, attractive man. She had gained more and more money.
And she had paid a price for it.
She was an outlier among scholarship students.
And also an outlier among the nobility.
For others, being an outlier might be difficult.
But for Xu Jingran—
Dancing on the edge of a blade was far more thrilling.
Hu Yunyun asked awkwardly, “Where are you moving to?”
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Unhurried, yet carrying an unmistakable presence.
All three of them turned toward the door at the same time.
“Come in,” Xu Jingran said.
The door opened slightly. The first thing they saw was a pair of long, pale fingers—distinctly defined and exceptionally fair.
On one hand, there was an obsidian pinky ring.