Rage

"Is something the matter?"

Ignoring their varied expressions, Fu Liangxia said flatly.

It was only a momentary lapse; Su Xingshu quickly resumed his usual dashing demeanor. He smiled as he spoke: "You seem to have some issue with me. Did I do something to offend you? If it's about what happened at noon, I apologize. I hope you'll give me a chance to make it up to you."

The lofty Young Master Su actually condescended to say such words?

Before Fu Liangxia could fully process it, her phone was snatched from her hand. The other party even cleverly held it up to her face, and the facial recognition unlocked it.

He tapped the screen, then pulled out his own phone and scanned it: "This is my account. If you need anything later, you can contact me."

After speaking, Su Xingshu lowered his head slightly to look at the calm-faced girl before him.

It was strange. Other than the initial surprise at seeing him there, she never once revealed any excess emotion, as if everything he did couldn't affect her at all.

Either she had formidable self-control, or she simply... didn't care.

Just thinking about the latter possibility made Su Xingshu feel a vague discomfort.

But unexpectedly, Fu Liangxia suddenly spoke: "Do you hate girls?"

It was a strange and sharp question that caught Su Xingshu off guard. He barely suppressed the answer rising in his throat, raising an eyebrow in feigned surprise: "Why do you ask? No, quite the opposite. If you've heard anything about my reputation, you should know I not only don't hate them, but rather..."

He dragged the last words into something ambiguous. Fu Liedong, hearing this, let out a foolish giggle.

It was a laugh that made Fu Liangxia want to slap him.

She held back, her gaze clear as she stared at Su Xingshu, and replied in the same slow drawl: "Whether you like or dislike them doesn't concern me. But if you let prejudice against certain people cloud your judgment of the whole, or make baseless assumptions about others, that only proves your immaturity."

Because he hated one person, he hated the whole group, even deliberately acting cynical as if he didn't care. Fu Liangxia felt this was just Su Xingshu's way of escaping reality. It might work, but it wouldn't solve the problem.

Su Xingshu's eyes flickered with shock for a moment, then his expression suddenly darkened. Who did she think she was? She hadn't experienced his pain, so what right did she have to lecture him about his life?

His cold gaze swept over the girl's striking features, and Su Xingshu's mood turned foul. He could barely keep up his usual smile. He tossed Fu Liangxia's phone carelessly into Fu Liedong's arms and turned to leave.

He took two steps down the stairs, then stopped as if remembering something. He looked back, his heavy gaze fixed on her for a long moment.

He didn't say a word, but the atmosphere dropped to freezing in an instant.

Fu Liedong, watching from the side, trembled.

As if memorizing Fu Liangxia's silhouette with his eyes, Su Xingshu stood there expressionless for a long while before finally flicking his sleeves and leaving. His strides were long and quick; in moments he was down the stairs and out of the Fu residence.

Not a single word was spoken throughout.

[Su Xingshu Affinity -1.]

[Su Xingshu Affinity -1.]

...

Fu Liangxia didn't feel anxious about the sudden drop in Affinity Points. She raised her hand and shut the door on Fu Liedong, who looked like he wanted to speak but hesitated. In a good mood, she opened up a set of math papers and dove back into the ocean of knowledge.

Perhaps what she'd said was hard for Su Xingshu to accept—someone who had always had smooth sailing and been coddled by the crowd. He might even think she didn't know what was good for her.

But sometimes, the truth is hard to swallow. Still, it was gentler than being taught by the bloody reality later on.

Thinking of the accident that would later befall Su Xingshu in the original book, Fu Liangxia's writing hand paused briefly. A moment later, she resumed writing smoothly.

Besides, the words no one else had dared to say—she'd said them. That alone made her stand out, didn't it?

*

So much had happened on the very first day of school. Fu Liangxia could already foresee the "thrilling" life ahead.

She'd been half-coerced into adding Su Xingshu as a friend, but he was still sulking and hadn't sent a single message. The chat screen remained empty, with only the system prompt: "You are now friends. Say hello!"

Fu Liangxia meant to exit, but her thumb slipped and she tapped into his Moments.

Contrary to what she'd imagined, Su Xingshu's Moments wasn't full of random junk. There were only a few niche foreign-language songs he'd shared occasionally, and one short performance video, just a few seconds long.

The video had been posted this evening. The background was dark, and the boy sat casually in the center, a beam of light falling on him, carving out a handsome silhouette.

His fingers plucked at strings, his voice alluring.

A few short seconds, and the video was overflowing with Su Xingshu's charm.

No wonder he could be an idol, Fu Liangxia sighed inwardly.

The person filming was probably Fu Liedong, since she hadn't seen him at dinner, and Fu Fu hadn't come home either. Only she and her mother had sat through a quiet meal together.

"School just started—don't be so tense. You need to rest properly too." After the usual words of concern, Fu Liangxia returned to her room.

Her mother wasn't unconcerned about her, it was just that she cared about her husband more than her children.

Through the window, in the glow of the courtyard lights, Fu Liangxia watched her mother get into the car, carrying a carefully packed meal container.

She looked away, knowing her mother was off to deliver dinner to her father.

It had little to do with her. She studied methodically, then followed an online video to do some exercise, and finally lay down on the bed, sinking into a deep sleep.

...

The next morning, Fu Liangxia woke up cold.

Early autumn mornings still carried a chill. The air conditioning had run all night, and the cold air hit her skin, instantly raising goosebumps.

Fu Liangxia's nose tip was red from the cold. She sat up in bed, sneezing.

This body was so fragile.

She tossed the used tissue, resignedly picked out a light, thin knit cardigan from the walk-in closet, and put it on.

When she came downstairs, she ran into Fu Liedong. He looked at her with a conflicted expression, as if torn between his friend and his sister.

Fu Liangxia didn't give him more time to agonize. She was the first to speak, smiling: "Good morning."

"Morning." Fu Liedong instinctively raised his hand to return the greeting, looking at her smile.

After saying it, he suddenly realized what he'd done and showed a look of chagrin.

Brother Su had quarreled with his sister, and he hadn't decided whose side to take yet. How had he been coaxed into saying hello already?

Fortunately, Fu Liedong wasn't the type to dwell on things. Since the greeting had already been exchanged, he figured there was no harm in a little more. He trotted after Fu Liangxia into the car, his face full of curiosity: "Sis, why did you talk to Brother Su like that yesterday?"

In his memory, his sister had always been gentle and had never gotten into arguments with anyone. Words like that were practically the harshest "insults" she could muster.

"You think I was wrong?"

"That's not it." Fu Liedong frowned, trying to find the right words.

Fu Liedong wasn't stupid. He could certainly see the nonchalance Su Xingshu hid beneath his playboy facade—the way he didn't really care about his partners. It was only when faced with music that his eyes sparkled.

He wasn't secretly despising all of humanity, was he? Fu Liedong had wondered that more than once.

But knowing something in his heart was one thing; who would actually say it out loud like his sister did? Didn't she want an easy life?

"I still think you were too impulsive, Sis. There's no need to offend F4. Their methods... Why don't you just apologize to Brother Su? He's sharp-tongued, but he's not a bad person. He'd definitely forgive you..."

"Why should I apologize?" Fu Liangxia flipped a page of the foreign magazine, her tone flat.

"You still don't get how serious this is." Fu Liedong furrowed his brows. "I wasn't the only one who heard Su Xingshu say he dislikes you yesterday. There were others."

If that girl went out and spread rumors that she was hated by F4, then her situation at Saintland would be dire.

His sister was too naive. She had no idea how these chaebol heirs operated—stepping on those below them and flattering those above—nor could she even imagine how far they would go to curry favor with Su Xingshu.

"Mm, and then?"

Fu Liedong looked at Fu Liangxia, who was impossible to reason with, and said with bitter disappointment: "I can't control you. You're my sister, and you've always had your own mind. Even Dad favors you more..."

His voice dipped low for a moment at that last part, then he quickly covered it up with a fierce front: "Anyway, don't come crying to me if they gang up on you!"

"Got it."

Fu Liangxia was completely absorbed in the article.

It was about an art exhibition held in Great Britain not long ago, which had invited quite a few renowned artists. One painting in particular had sold at an astronomical price—the string of zeros at the end was too many for her to count at a glance.

So envious.

Fu Liangxia stared at that staggering figure and couldn't help but wipe the drool from the corner of her mouth.

She also took note of the painter's name—Wen Xin.

It looked somewhat familiar, but she couldn't place it in her memory.

Fu Liangxia thought for a moment, then simply asked Fu Liedong beside her: "Have you heard of this person?"

As soon as she asked, she felt stupid. Fu Liedong had never been able to sit still since childhood. Getting him to calmly paint or write was harder than climbing to the sky. How could he possibly pay attention to an artist like this?

But unexpectedly, he actually knew.

"You underestimate me!"

Feeling his knowledge had been challenged, Fu Liedong immediately tossed aside the vow he'd made a second earlier to never speak to his sister again. He said indignantly: "That's Wen Xin—the world-renowned genius artist! Walk down the street and grab any random person; they'll all know that name. How could I not?"

Seeming pleased to finally have something Fu Liangxia didn't know, he glanced at the magazine in her hand. The dense foreign text made his head spin, but he could still pick out the striking Chinese name from amid the complicated words.

Fu Liedong's mouth ran nonstop: "His greatest skill isn't painting, it's design. You know, any piece of jewelry he designs will be fought over by the wealthy. Each one costs far more than this painting."

Fu Liangxia repeated in shock: "Far more than this painting?"

Damn it, she had envy disease. She couldn't bear hearing things like this.

"Right, because they're all one-of-a-kind pieces." Fu Liedong nodded, then remembering something, added: "In the last couple years, Wen Xin has stopped designing altogether. The rumors online say he developed depression, or that he fell out with his former muse... People say all sorts of things, but Wen Xin himself has never come out to respond. What's certain is that he hasn't produced any new designs in these two years. He only occasionally puts out a painting or two, mostly in a gloomy style... Which kind of makes the rumors more believable."

As he spoke, he even tapped the foreign magazine in her hand: "He's attending this exhibition, so it's probably part of his trip through Europe. These past two years, whether for treatment or searching for new inspiration, Wen Xin has been staying in Europe."

"Do you have a photo of him?" Fu Liangxia felt these descriptions matched the F4 twins from the original book too well.

The same loss of inspiration, the same two years in Europe, the same brilliant artistic genius... Though she couldn't remember what stage names they'd used.

But Wen Xin was one person, while the twins were two, and both were gifted.

Could it just be a coincidence?

Fu Liangxia wanted to see a photo to verify her guess.

But Fu Liedong shook his head: "There are no photos of Wen Xin. He doesn't like being photographed. He never allows pictures of himself to circulate at events, and he doesn't do interviews. Only those lucky enough to see his work in person ever get the chance to meet him."

"I see."

Fu Liangxia nodded, but inwardly her suspicion that Wen Xin was the twins grew a little stronger.

Just then, the screen lit up. A friend request appeared in the center.

Only three words—

Fu Haoyao.