The next day, Zhu Ling finally decided that this year's birthday gift to herself would be a day trip to Disneyland. Before she could even contact her boyfriend, she received a call from the bar owner saying that her boyfriend was in trouble—he'd been arrested and was now in detention. When she asked why, the owner hemmed and hawed, saying it was probably something like a brawl, and that he'd be released in a few days.
The bar wasn't high-end, and drunk troublemakers frequently caused scenes there. Her boyfriend, as a nightclub singer with an impulsive temperament, often got dragged into conflicts and involved in fights. Getting picked up by the police wasn't exactly a first-time occurrence. Zhu Ling was used to it, but she still felt worried and troubled. After being provoked by Shang Xianzi for the third time, she'd been bottling up her anger. Finally, on Saturday, she overcame all obstacles and successfully arrived at the entrance of Caoxi Park.
Each leading their own crew of underlings, Zhu Ling and Shang Xianzi met at the park entrance. Before they could even go inside, Shang Xianzi struck first, mocking Zhu Ling for being a tall, big girl like a giraffe—saying that when she walked over from a distance, all you could see were her two long legs.
Zhu Ling's height and weight were rare among the skinny, stomach-stuck-to-back Huang Mao underlings—she stood out as an anomaly, as if all the nutrition from her crew had been absorbed by her. Zhu Ling hated it most when people brought up her height and weight, so she shot back: "Go look in the mirror at that mouth of yours—calling other people kids when you look like one yourself!"
Big-mouth Shang Xianzi was furious and shouted: "You're a giraffe! A giraffe! Giraffe, giraffe!"
"How ridiculous—I've yet to discover any downside to being tall!"
"Giraffe! Giraffe! You giraffe!"
"What's wrong with being a giraffe? I love it. Thanks to my long legs and long neck, I walk fast and see far. It's so convenient, so delightful." Zhu Ling pulled out a menthol cigarette, lit it, took a puff, and thanked her long legs: "Thank you, my legs."
"And what about your weight? How many pounds are you, anyway? Don't you have any idea? Do you dare say your weight out loud!"
Zhu Ling was getting angry now, and said: "Sorry, but I'm rich and used to a life of luxury. I'll never be thin as a wafer. As for my weight—not much, not little—108."
"At that weight, you're as heavy as both of us combined! How dare you say that out loud!"
Zhu Ling lifted her chin to look down at her, using her height advantage to openly show contempt: "My being slightly plump is temporary. Your being short and ugly is permanent."
Milia had long found Shang Xianzi insufferable. She stepped forward to scold her on Zhu Ling's behalf: "You're the one who's malnourished and underdeveloped, so short you look like a bean sprout! You're just jealous of our Lord of All Spirits! You sour grape, you bean sprout—go ahead and stew in your own jealousy! Our Lord of All Spirits has a model's figure. Look at those long legs—straight and slender, fair and beautiful. Calling them a work of art wouldn't be an exaggeration!"
Shang Xianzi then cursed Milia: "Look at you with your red twin-tails and your face like a whitewashed wall—you look exactly like a female ghost!"
Milia shot back: "At least it's better than your barcode bangs!"
The personal attacks came to an end, and the next phase was hand-to-hand combat. Both crews of non-mainstream punks were itching for a fight, unable to wait to get inside the park. Just as they were about to pair off and break into a full-on brawl, a delivery guy on an electric scooter came speeding over. He brought a bouquet of flowers and called out loudly: "Which one of you is Miss Zhu Ling?"
Zhu Ling raised her hand and asked who it was from. The delivery guy said: "I'm from the flower shop—I'm the one who just called you!" He stepped forward and handed her the bouquet.
Zhu Ling recalled that twenty minutes ago she had indeed told a delivery guy she was on her way to Caoxi Park. She didn't see a sender's name on the card, so she asked: "Who sent this to me?"
The delivery guy said: "Your dearest friend. He told me that when I hand you the flowers, I should also tell you something special: this is a blessing from the detention center!"
Both crews of Huang Mao were stunned, and they all exclaimed together: "A blessing from the detention center? Oh my god, that's badass!"
"Bad and ass!"
"Pain and pleasure!"
"Romantic as hell!"
"Jealous as hell!"
Shang Xianzi knew it was most likely her boyfriend—the singer she secretly had a crush on—who had sent them, and another crack split open in her heart.
Her boyfriend had been unreachable, but now he could order flowers, which meant nothing too serious had happened—he was probably fine. Zhu Ling's mood improved somewhat. She no longer wanted to fight Shang Xianzi, and only warned her: "You'd better behave yourself. If you cause any more trouble, I'll have my boyfriend in detention come deal with you!"
Zhu Ling's crew chimed in: "That's right, that's right! If you dare cause trouble again, we'll take you out! Wipe you out!"
Many years ago, Zhou Libo's Shanghai-style stand-up comedy had taken the world by storm, and many of his famous quotes spread far and wide. Among them, "Nai yi zu te—take him out" had become a catchphrase constantly on the lips of street-level underlings everywhere.
Zhu Ling's squad won without a fight and returned home in high spirits.
The following Monday, on the day of the new school gate's inauguration ceremony, Huo Shize arrived at the school with the hotel's HR and MA department heads. At exactly ten in the morning, the ribbon-cutting ceremony began. After the opening remarks, speeches by leaders, and messages from guests, the sound of gongs and drums rose, and a lion dance troupe leaped onto the scene. The host announced that the ribbon-cutting ceremony was about to begin. As the words fell, a line of girls dressed in festive cheongsams walked gracefully toward the specially invited ribbon-cutting guests, holding ribbon-cutting flower balls in their hands.
These cheongsam-clad girls had been carefully selected—beautiful in appearance, outstanding in temperament, youthful and radiant in every way. Among them, one girl was especially tall and slender. Her dark brown hair was braided into a ponytail, and she wore a leaf-shaped headband, like a little elf stepping out of a fairy tale, carrying endless gentleness and romance. Though the cheongsam was tacky and the makeup outdated, she remained beautiful to the point of near divinity—that ethereal, otherworldly aura placing her on an entirely different plane from the other girls.
So far, he seemed to have seen her two or three times, but had never had the chance to clearly see her eyes, only remembering her breathtakingly stunning face, her various unconventional actions, and that unique aura about her that was unforgettable at first sight. And this time, he finally saw her face clearly, and her eyes. The moment their gazes met, time stood still, his breath stopped, and even his soul trembled for a few seconds. The words of those around him slipped away from his ears, and the sound of the lion dance drums faded into silence.
Zhu Ling hadn't expected to keep running into this man either. Besides surprise, there was shyness and embarrassment. She deliberately looked straight ahead as she walked over, delivering the flower ball to him. When she inadvertently looked up, she found him staring at her, and the two locked eyes.
They gazed at each other for a long time. His eyes felt like the universe, like a starry sky—deep at the bottom, hiding something she couldn't understand, seemingly warm, scorching her face. She instinctively wanted to look away; reason told her to leave quickly, but her brain short-circuited, and she couldn't tear her eyes away. It wasn't until she saw a hint of a smile spread from the depths of his eyes that she realized her face had already turned completely red.
She felt like two personalities lived inside her body, and depending on the environment she was in, the corresponding personality would be triggered. Today, being at school, the one that came out was Zhu Ling the student, beloved by teachers and classmates—the cute student representative who represented the school's image—which was why she blushed and got nervous so easily.
He watched until her entire face was flushed red, then took the flower ball from her hand and said softly to her, "Thanks."
Hearing a classmate quietly call her name, it was time for the guests to cut the ribbon. According to procedure, after delivering the flower ball and scissors, she was to step down immediately.
After the school's ribbon-cutting ceremony and appreciation luncheon concluded, Huo Shize needed to return to the western suburb mansion, so the HR and MA department heads went back on their own. Du Song happened to have no classes that afternoon and came running over to pester Huo Shize, asking for a ride to the dojo to practice martial arts. After getting in the car, Huo Shize asked him a few questions about his studies, then warned him not to skip school or play truant again, relaying Mrs. Huo's instructions word for word before ignoring him completely.
As the car drove away from the school and reached the next intersection, they saw a few yellow-haired young thugs and oddly dressed girls leading a blind man across the road. The sight of these unconventional youngsters escorting a blind man across the street struck passersby as novel and amusing, and many stopped to watch.
Those unconventional kids were exactly Zhu Ling's little followers. She had told them to escort the blind man while she stood by the roadside waiting for them. At this moment, her bright red cheongsam had been swapped for a micro-miniskirt that would freeze anyone to death, the leaf-shaped headband that made her look like a little elf was gone, and her brown hair was messily draped over her shoulders again—still that decadent, dazzling style from the previous times he'd seen her outside.
Du Song recognized Zhu Ling, rolled down the window, and shouted "Senior!" Zhu Ling was listening to music and didn't hear him. Du Song pulled back inside and said to Huo Shize, "See that tall girl by the roadside? If I hadn't told you, you definitely wouldn't recognize her as the student representative who brought you the ribbon-cutting flower ball this morning."
Huo Shize asked, "You're close with her?"
Du Song looked rather proud: "I met her on my very first day of transfer. Lately, we often go out to eat and play billiards together. She's a sophomore senior, studying art, and she's also our school's campus beauty. But she also likes to hang out with the street crowd outside—to be precise, she should be called the delinquent campus beauty. Anyway, she has a strange personality—a really unique girl."
Huo Shize tilted his head slightly and glanced at him: "Campus beauty?"
"Didn't you see her during the ribbon-cutting? Such a beautiful, such a striking face—anyone who's laid eyes on her once would never forget it. Don't be fooled by her weird clothes and colorful makeup now—she's not like this at school. Lots of people chase her at school, and admirers often run to her classroom just to look at her. The teachers all like her too. Not just the male teachers—even the female teachers like her."
Huo Shize glanced out the window again. She seemed to have heard music she liked, both hands tucked into her skirt pockets, her body naturally swaying to the rhythm. A gust of wind blew past, sending strands of hair flying wildly and covering her brows and eyes—from here, only her delicate chin was visible.
When it came to critiquing beautiful women, Du Song had plenty to say. He commented with great expertise: "Beautiful women come in three tiers—minor beauty, major beauty, and top-tier beauty. Once she wipes off all that colorful heavy makeup, her looks fall somewhere between major and top-tier beauty, and she might even reach the top-tier level. The key thing is her temperament is also quite unique. I can't quite describe it, but you'd have to meet her to understand."
"…"
The drive back took half an hour. Du Song pulled out his phone, ready to play a mobile game, but when he saw the mage rankings on the screen, he suddenly blurted out: "I used to think Diao Chan was already unbeatable in looks, but I never expected someone could be even prettier than Diao Chan."
Huo Shize let out a snort and laughed: "You like her?"
Du Song quickly said: "I have a girlfriend—actually, I have one on campus and one off campus. Though they're not as pretty as her, I have no improper thoughts about her either."
Huo Shize turned her head and looked at his face. He quickly called out again: "Why are you looking at me? I'm not ugly, just not handsome!"
Huo Shize smiled faintly again. Du Song continued: "Besides, she already has a boyfriend. I've met her boyfriend too—he sings at a bar. Tall, skinny, and trendy. He looks handsome on his own, but standing next to her, he's just… a person, I guess." After saying this, he seemed to find his own words amusing and chuckled again.
The red light turned green, and the blind man successfully crossed the street. The non-mainstream young guys and girls waved goodbye to the blind man and headed off in another direction. Du Song seemed to remember something and suddenly laughed, saying: "Remember last time when we all went drinking at her boyfriend's bar? She doesn't touch a drop of alcohol, so her Huang Mao underlings had to drink cucumber juice with her instead. It was hilarious, I can't even describe it."
At this point, Du Song quickly asked: "Bro, can I bring her to your place to hang out next time?"