Qiao Sheng snatched the umbrella back without another word.
Both the aloof guy and the bespectacled guy were taken aback.
The aloof guy eyed her suspiciously, sizing her up discreetly.
The bespectacled guy stepped forward, blocking Qiao Sheng as she turned to head into the school gate. “What the hell are you doing?”
Qiao Sheng’s face tightened. “I was about to ask you the same thing. Why did you take my umbrella?”
“When did I take your umbrella? You’re just…” The bespectacled guy seemed to realize something, casting a suggestive glance at the aloof guy before saying meaningfully, “Oh, I get it. You want to share an umbrella with Young Master Zhou? You don’t actually think that giving him an umbrella in the rain will make him look at you differently, feel grateful, and immediately fall madly in love with you, all sweet and inseparable…”
Qiao Sheng had no patience to listen to him finish. She sidestepped him and tried to leave.
The rain was getting heavier. She didn’t care if others got wet, but she couldn’t let Gu Huo get soaked while she had an umbrella in hand.
The bespectacled guy was stunned. He blocked her again, pointing at the aloof guy in confusion. “Are you blind? Can’t you see Young Master Zhou is right here?”
Qiao Sheng was not blind.
She saw him, and so what? Was she supposed to abandon her self-respect like the original owner and rush over to fawn over him?
Ha, no way!
Speaking of the original owner, Qiao Sheng could hardly find any redeeming qualities in her.
Being lazy, greedy, and troublesome was one thing, but she was also a simp!
There was a popular figure at No. 7 High School—a rich second-generation heir named Zhou Zixiao, who was in the same class as the original owner.
The original owner was infatuated with him, shamelessly orbiting around him every day, willingly serving him hand and foot, and simping so hard she lost all sense of self. Whether she didn’t know or simply didn’t care that she was a laughingstock in others’ eyes was unclear.
The aloof guy standing nearby, who was decent-looking and had a certain air about him, was Zhou Zixiao.
The original owner firmly believed Zhou Zixiao treated her differently because he occasionally smiled at her and sometimes asked her for favors.
So many girls wanted to get close to him, but she was the only one who received such “honor”!
Qiao Sheng had no words for the original owner.
The truth was, to Zhou Zixiao, the original owner was nothing more than a convenient maid—someone he could summon and dismiss at will, without worrying she’d cling to him, mainly because she lacked the ability to do so.
Besides, there was another reason that had to be mentioned.
Zhou Zixiao treated the original owner differently because of Gu Huo.
Two tigers cannot share one mountain. Despite being equally outstanding, Zhou Zixiao felt no camaraderie with Gu Huo. Instead, he was petty and believed Gu Huo stole too much of the attention that should have been his.
Zhou Zixiao was the antagonist in this story, constantly at odds with the male lead. At first, he simply disliked Gu Huo, using his control over the original owner to reinforce his psychological sense of superiority over him.
After the female lead appeared, he would shed his arrogant demeanor and become her devoted admirer, competing for her affection and acting recklessly for her sake.
This would fuel his jealousy and hatred toward Gu Huo, leading to frequent confrontations and a desire to eliminate him.
It was the original owner who was infatuated with the antagonist. Forgive Qiao Sheng for being blunt, but Zhou Zixiao wasn’t even fit to compare to a single strand of Gu Huo’s hair. In the later stages, he wouldn’t even be worthy of polishing Gu Huo’s shoes.
She swept a glance at Zhou Zixiao, her gaze even colder than the one he was giving her, and tried to leave again.
Zhou Zixiao frowned.
The bespectacled guy grabbed her hand, incredulous. “Did you get your brain squished by a door?”
Otherwise, how could she possibly ignore Young Master Zhou like this?
Qiao Sheng recoiled as if bitten by a mad dog, violently shaking off his hand: “Get away from me!”
When the original host fawned over Zhou Zixiao, she had also ingratiated herself with his friends by extension.
The bespectacled man, having been publicly humiliated, immediately darkened his expression: “You bitch, are you looking for trou—ugh!”
Before the word “death” could leave his mouth, the bespectacled man stumbled backward. If not for Zhou Zixiao’s quick reflexes, he would have already been sprawled out like an ugly turtle!
Everything happened too fast, in the blink of an eye. When Qiao Sheng snapped back to her senses, heart still racing, she found a tall, straight-backed figure standing in front of her.
She stared up in a daze, hearing Gu Huo’s icy warning: “Stay away from her!”
A strange warmth surged in Qiao Sheng’s heart.
His back wasn’t particularly broad, yet it gave her an immense sense of security.
It made her inexplicably certain that as long as he was there, no one could harm her in the slightest.
“Damn it!”
The bespectacled man wiped his numb chin in a fury, lunging forward to confront Gu Huo, but Zhou Zixiao held him back.
School administrators were approaching.
In the eyes of these administrators, academically outstanding students were their treasures, and Gu Huo, who consistently ranked first in his grade, was their absolute favorite. If the administrators learned of this conflict, the one to suffer would undoubtedly be the bespectacled man.
Besides, the bespectacled man wasn’t entirely innocent.
If he hadn’t grabbed and pulled at Qiao Sheng first, none of this would have happened.
Gu Huo swept a cold glance over the bespectacled man, who hated him but couldn’t do anything about it, and Zhou Zixiao, who seemed detached from the situation. He naturally took the umbrella from Qiao Sheng’s hand with one hand and, with the other, smoothly grasped hers. Without another look at the two, he said, “Let’s go.”
Qiao Sheng obediently replied, “Mm.”
Zhou Zixiao was taken aback.
From the moment he first laid eyes on Qiao Sheng earlier, he had keenly sensed that she seemed different from before.
Qiao Sheng wasn’t ugly; in fact, she could even be considered quite pretty.
Otherwise, who would tolerate an eyesore constantly hovering around?
He noticed that today, Qiao Sheng’s demeanor was vastly different from before. Gone was the previous fawning and affectation, replaced by a faint, elusive coolness.
This coolness held an indescribable magic, transforming her from a lackluster, cheap plastic flower into a delicate blossom swaying in the wind, emitting a subtle fragrance.
…It was just bizarre.
Even more bizarre was the discomfort he felt watching Qiao Sheng obediently let Gu Huo lead her away.
He subtly shifted his gaze from Qiao Sheng’s face—she didn’t even glance at him—and the discomfort within him grew.
Yet, he smiled warmly at Gu Huo: “Sorry, Gu, this was all a misunderstanding. I apologize on behalf of my friend.”
Gu Huo stared at him expressionlessly, unable to ignore the hidden malice in his eyes.
Gu Huo grew wary.
But as Zhou Zixiao faced him with a smile, his peripheral gaze flickered toward Qiao Sheng, and his smile deepened.
When Qiao Sheng met his viper-like stare, her heart skipped a beat, and a sense of foreboding suddenly washed over her.
“Qiao, look how protective Gu is of you. In the future, don’t go around saying behind his back that he’s a dog you can summon and dismiss at will—”
Qiao Sheng’s mind exploded with a buzz.
She knew this bastard wouldn’t have anything good to say, but she hadn’t expected him to ambush her like this!
So sinister! So despicable!
Qiao Sheng noticed the person beside her stiffen slightly. Though he did not let go of her hand, his grip unconsciously loosened a little…
As the wind, carrying icy rain, swept over her, Qiao Sheng felt a chill pierce straight through her heart.