“He should have asked for more money, not just had me cover the cost of the ingredients.”
Even as she stepped out of the taxi, Wen Ying was still frowning.
【Actually, Your Highness need not take Qu Huo’s attitude too much to heart.】
“The Gentleman” consoled him.
【He doesn’t seem to expect any repayment from you anyway.】
The vegetables bought in bulk were cheap, and Qu Huo, who had volunteered to help, never once mentioned money. It was Wen Ying who insisted on paying him, and the two had gone back and forth over it.
In the end, Qu Huo would only accept payment for the vegetables themselves.
“But the compensation is what he deserves.”
Lunch was taken care of this should have been a happy thing, yet Wen Ying remained stuck in his own tunnel vision.
【So, you’ve already paid what you ought to pay in money, and that’s enough.】
The Gentleman chuckled softly
. 【If you still feel it’s insufficient, then in the future, when Qu Huo needs help, you can reciprocate and lend him a hand.】
Not every good deed actually requires something in exchange.
Though it sounded unbelievable, based on his analysis, Qu Huo genuinely wanted to help Wen Ying out of sincerity.
But he couldn’t use that reasoning to convince Wen Ying, because most of the favors others had shown the young prince before had been laced with ulterior motives and self-interest.
“The Gentleman” believed that the young prince deserved plenty of pure, unadulterated kindness. But as a member of the royal family, the first thing Wen Ying had learned was to remain skeptical of any goodwill that came out of thin air.
“Alright.”
That reasoning barely managed to convince Wen Ying, so after returning home, he looked noticeably more relaxed.
After having been spared a few times, the bathtub finally stopped inexplicably filling with rose petals.
Wen Ying took a shower first, then dried his hair which had curled up from getting wet placed the princess dresses from his wardrobe into a newly purchased storage bin, and tossed the men’s clothing into the closet.
He wouldn’t throw away those dresses, but he would never wear them again.
As he closed the singing wardrobe, Wen Ying silently thought.
Definitely never!
After finishing all that, Wen Ying climbed into bed clutching the now-dried cat pillow.
The rice-ball cat pillow was round, fluffy, and cartoonish the kind a six or seven-year-old would like.
But Wen Ying didn’t care.
He needed to hold something soft to fall asleep, and the little bear that had accompanied him for over a decade had been left behind in the cold, sterile Star Royal Palace.
At the thought of that fact, Wen Ying buried half his face in the cat pillow, his heterochromatic eyes losing their luster, and he lay awake for another two hours.
He missed his little bear a bit.
Early morning.
【Good morning, Your Highness!】
“Good morning.”
Wen Ying pulled a bagged slice of bread spread with condensed milk out of the fridge, slung his schoolbag over his shoulder, and headed out.
After Qu Huo had called out his picky eating yesterday, Wen Ying deeply embarrassed decided he would never again pick out disliked vegetables or seasonings in front of others.
The bread slice only had condensed milk on it, saving him the trouble of picking things off.
Wen Ying ate in small bites as he walked, looking refined and composed, occasionally pausing to quicken his pace.
Eating bread on the way to school was a perfectly common sight, yet it drew frequent glances from students heading the same direction.
Thanks to the gossip on the forum, Wen Ying had gained some notoriety by now.
For one reason only the new transfer student was too good-looking.
Even in a school full of handsome men, Wen Ying stood out as exceptionally attractive.
He was aloof and cold by nature, but his gaze when looking at people was always bright, and his manner toward others was gentle and courteous.
Like fiery red trumpet creeper flowers blooming at the highest point of the school rooftop.
A thread asking about his background had amassed over a hundred replies, yet still, few dared to strike up a conversation with him.
Wen Ying, who didn’t pay much attention to the forum, knew all this but didn’t care.
Sensing a camera lens aimed at him, Wen Ying swallowed his bread and glanced sideways.
Long accustomed to being watched, he neither grew angry nor shied away instead, he curved his lips slightly toward the lens.
If he fled in panic, he’d not only lose face but also end up with unflattering photos circulating.
Thud.
The boy who’d been secretly taking photos was already feeling guilty, and the look sent his heart racing his phone slipped straight out of his hand and hit the ground.
“Eep, ah!”
The boy let out a soft yelp, then, rather than hurrying to pick up his phone, scrambled to hide behind his companion.
Wen Ying turned his head back, his lashes trembling.
The smile that had lingered on the surface faded, and his face returned to its usual expressionless state.
At the school gate, he ran into Richard.
“Good morning, Wen Ying.”
“Si Haoxing used his dark arts to calculate it today’s a bad day, can’t go out.”
Richard earnestly explained to him why Si Haoxing wasn’t there, even though Wen Ying didn’t really care.
Wen Ying tilted his head up to look at the sky.
It was indeed somewhat overcast, but definitely not to the point of being unfit for school.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t come to school he clearly just wanted to skip class.
No wonder Si Haoxing was always appearing and disappearing out of nowhere in the original story.
Wen Ying grumbled inwardly, but his face betrayed nothing.
“Then why did you come?”
“I don’t believe it. Dark arts.” Richard grinned. “I believe in science. Materialism!”
Wen Ying nodded approvingly.
Indeed, even Richard understood this logic.
“Here.” Richard’s thinking was scattered, and he didn’t bother digging into the purpose behind Wen Ying’s question.
He handed Wen Ying a wrapped piece of chocolate, smiling brightly. “It’s really good.”
It was a piece of white chocolate shaped like a seashell, with a soft center.
“Thanks.”
Returning the favor, Wen Ying took a handful of glass candies from his bag and gave them to Richard.
“Wow, these candies are so shiny, like diamonds!”
The young master had never seen this kind of treat that commoners loved, and after taking the candies, he was utterly fascinated.
“Thank you, you’re a good friend.”
He said it sincerely.
[Actually, aside from Qu Huo, he might also be someone worth befriending.]
Watching Richard walk off cheerfully with his arms and legs swinging in sync, the gentleman remarked with a hint of appreciation.
“Maybe.” Wen Ying’s pace didn’t stop.
But Richard was too close with Huo Jueyue, and Wen Ying didn’t want to get too entangled with Huo Jueyue’s friends.
As he walked through the back door of the classroom, Wen Ying glanced down.
Qu Huo was still at home taking care of his grandmother, so his seat was naturally empty.
“Here.”
He handed the form Qu Huo had filled out to Gu Xiche, who had already arrived in class.
Looking at the flamboyant signature on the form, Gu Xiche let out a sigh of relief: “Thank you so much.”
Gu Xiche’s spirits were even better than yesterday, and his desk no longer had a mountain of courseware and test papers piled up.
But at his feet, there was a stack of notebooks.
“Oh, right, these are my notes from home.” He struggled to lift the notebooks from his feet, his face turning bright red.
“If you have any questions that need answering, you can come ask me anytime!”
Meeting his sincere gaze, Wen Ying was caught between laughter and tears.
He had already read Gu Xiche’s notest hey were detailed in every knowledge point and truly useful to him. But he wasn’t a machine; he couldn’t absorb that much knowledge in a short time.
Declining the class monitor’s overflowing kindness, Wen Ying returned to his seat.
[Gu Xiche is pretty decent too.]
The gentleman said with appreciation in his voice.
“Yeah.”
Unfortunately, the Gu family and the Huo family were on good terms, and Gu Xiche also had ties to Huo Jueyue.
In the end, it was all Huo Jueyue’s fault.
Wen Ying had already made his judgment.
Speak of the devil within ten minutes, a box of chocolates was placed in front of Wen Ying’s desk.
The box still had cold air on it, as if it had just been taken out of a cold storage.
Wen Ying set down his pen in exasperation and looked coldly at Huo Jueyue.
What was he going crazy about now?
Huo Jueyue’s ears were red, and he looked away awkwardly.
He touched his nose: “For you.”
“I don’t like chocolate.”
Huo Jueyue panicked, lifting his sharply defined jawline: “I saw you accept Richard’s chocolate!”
At that moment, Wen Ying had smiled at Richard so happily.
He never smiled at him like that.
“I had the butler pick this up from the boutique just now it’s one of only ten limited editions worldwide.”
He said, seeking credit: “It’s definitely better than what Richard gave.”
Their conversation had already drawn the attention of classmates, and Wen Ying’s tone carried impatience: “If you have something to say, say it directly. Stop wasting time.”
He had taken Richard’s chocolate because Richard was like an elementary schooler handing out candy to everyone, not just to him.
Wen Ying was clear that Richard had no other intentions, but whether Huo Jueyue did, he wasn’t sure.
Something out of the ordinary must mean trouble.
On the light screen, Huo Jueyue’s favorability bar began to fluctuate wildly before finally settling into a helpless stability.
“Tsk, I want to ask you for a favor.”
Huo Jueyue touched his nose, took a deep breath, and finally learned to speak softly: “There’s a masquerade party in Ying Lane this weekend, but you have to bring a companion to get in.”
“Can you come with me?”
“Huh?”
Wen Ying was baffled: “If you just need to bring someone, why does it have to be me?”
He looked at the two lackeys behind Huo Jueyue. The usually arrogant pair were like two quails, not daring to look him in the eye.
“We can’t go.”
The redhead said meekly.
“We’re not worthy.”
The blond sniffled.
Wen Ying unscrewed his water bottle, took a sip, and forced himself to stay calm: “Then there’s still Richard.”
Si Haoxing was reclusive, Gu Xiche had social anxiety, but Richard loved that kind of lively event the most.
“How could he work?”
Mentioning his good brother, Huo Jueyue’s face turned pale and red by turns.
“I don’t want him to go.” He muttered.
“Forget it, just look at your GooseGoose.”
Seeing more and more people looking over, Huo Jueyue finally backed down.
“I’ll tell you later.”
To get rid of him, Wen Ying nodded in agreement perfunctorily and stuffed the chocolate into the hands of the blond, who had been about to flee.
He couldn’t accept the young master’s favor.
Ding-dong.
Not long after Huo Jueyue sat down, Wen Ying’s GooseGoose popped up with a message.
Huo·Jue: [Wow, a friend has gifted you a GooseGoose Diamond VIP experience card·30 days!!]
Psycho.
What kind of etiquette was this gifting Diamond VIP whenever in doubt?
Wen Ying was speechless and quickly typed a line.
Ying: [Get to the point.]
Attached below was a death smiley.
Huo·Jue: [The party at Ying Lane requires bringing a male or female companion to enter.]
Huo·Jue: [But this young master keeps himself pure and doesn’t know any women.]
Huo·Jue: [Of course, to be clear, I’m not interested in men either.]
That’s not how “keeping oneself pure” is used.
Wen Ying silently took another gulp of water.
But that wasn’t the point.
The point was that Huo Jueyue needed a female companion.
So what was he doing coming to him!
Huo Jueyue: (Are you there? Why aren’t you saying anything.)
Huo Jueyue: (Ahem, you don’t have to dress up as a girl a male companion works too. Just help me sneak in.)
Besides, as long as Wen Ying kept his mouth shut, let his hair down, and put on a bit of makeup, who could tell if he was male or female?
Huo Jueyue didn’t actually want to seek out Wen Ying, but lately, Wen Ying had been occupying his mind day and night.
It was all Wen Ying’s fault he was just too alluring!
Staring at Wen Ying’s pale neck and the slender fingers that came from playing the violin, he felt this wasn’t something an ordinary man should possess.
But this was an all-boys school; there were no girls.
What kind of person was Wen Ying, really?
The chaotic thoughts were driving him to the brink of madness.
Huo Jueyue didn’t really care about the party he just wanted to strike up a conversation with Wen Ying.
He was Huo Jueyue, after all. No one ever turned him down, and Wen Ying would be no exception.
After listening to his request, which sounded sincere but was actually pure nonsense, Wen Ying felt his blood rush to his head.
Were they even close?
Did Huo Jueyue have a kiwi stuck between his ears instead of a brain?
The “gentleman” had advised him not to curse too harshly, as it might only excite Huo Jueyue and boost his favorability.
So, he stiffly tugged at the corner of his mouth and slowly typed out a single word.
Ying: (Scram.)