Conflict (Revised)

Su Xingshu's deep, peach-blossom eyes stayed fixed on her, like little hooks, with a hint of expectation hidden in their depths. He said softly, "I noticed you haven't been in great health. This is from my grandfather's estate—excellent quality, very beneficial for your body."

Fu Liangxia replied, "...Thank you."

"If you like it, I can bring some for you every day." Su Xingshu's gaze was tender, his voice low.

Some students nearby had already noticed the scene and were stealing glances their way.

"But the annual yield is only a little over a hundred plants, and sixty percent of that goes to the councilors. If you wanted it daily, there might not be enough. I'll go check the stock later."

Fu Liangxia said, "...No need. I don't think I'm frail enough for that."

Her condition was just the System's random affliction. The weakness she'd had since birth had mostly been cured at the sanatorium—ginseng soup probably wouldn't do much.

Still, even such precious old ginseng wasn't something the councilors drank daily.

Fu Liangxia looked at him with an unreadable expression. She'd expected clothes or jewelry, not him actually thinking about what she needed.

She'd thought he was the type to just throw money around without ever considering anyone else.

"Did you give this to your previous girlfriends too?" Fu Liangxia asked casually.

The girl's clear, cool eyes looked at him; the only thing in them was his reflection. The pink tint on her cheeks hadn't faded yet, making her look strikingly beautiful.

Su Xingshu stared at her deeply for two seconds. "No. Before, they'd always chased me."

Meaning he was the one pursuing her now, and also saying, rather ingratiatingly, that she was different from those past flings.

Fu Liangxia understood the implication, but she didn't want to respond.

Did he think she'd fall for a hook that easily? Like she'd never been in a relationship before.

"Besides, you're so popular, with such good relationships with Xiao Yao and Xingzhou. If I didn't do something special, you'd never look my way." He suddenly went for a direct question. "You're not with either of them, are you?"

Fu Liangxia said, "You're overthinking it. We just know each other."

They both fell silent, staring at each other without a word, as if exchanging eight hundred messages in a single second.

Su Xingshu was thoughtful; Fu Liangxia was bored. But neither looked away first. Finally, Fu Liedong came over with Wang Ziwei in tow, saw them staring at each other in silence, found it odd, and broke up the strange standoff.

"Sis, what are you and Brother Su doing?" Fu Liedong looked from one to the other, not seeing anything special, but his attention was caught by the box in Fu Liangxia's hand.

"Whoa! Is that one of Qingshui Manor's ginseng roots? The quality looks..." Fu Liedong chattered on, and even Wang Ziwei cast a curious glance.

"It really is." Wang Ziwei looked at it in surprise, then said in a half-complaining tone, "Brother Su, that's not fair. We've known each other a year, and you never gave me one."

"They're 260,000 a piece. Call and queue up for an appointment yourself." Su Xingshu cast him a sidelong glance, knowing it was just a joke.

Wang Ziwei's family was in the pharmaceutical business and had plenty of good ginseng channels themselves. Qingshui Manor's roots were famous, sure, but he didn't need to beg for one from Su Xingshu.

But Su Xingshu knew the Fu family's situation. They were barely more than a hollow shell, so he doubted Fu Liangxia would spend over two hundred thousand on a ginseng root.

With the others arriving, their previous conversation naturally couldn't continue. But Su Xingshu had already gotten the answer he wanted.

As for Fu Liangxia...

She had already turned her attention to her studies.

The first class of the morning was math, and as expected, the teacher announced the competition news in class. The classroom erupted in chatter.

Saintland Academy wasn't a place where idle rich kids could just coast by. The teaching was strict, and it upheld elitism. While it neglected the cultivation of character, few who studied at Saintland were empty-headed or illiterate.

On the contrary, they revered strength and were fiercely competitive.

A top-performing special admit could earn their respect. Unfortunately, most special admits, upon arriving at Saintland and witnessing the luxury and extravagance, suffered a psychological gap and no longer wished to bury their heads in their studies.

Why work hard when they could just curry favor? In five or ten years, they'd all reach the same finish line.

All of them were just lackeys of the conglomerates.

And this way, they could skip two years of effort.

Under such circumstances, too few held onto their original intentions. Compared to physical bullying, mental pressure was far more grinding.

So this competition had a big response from every class, but most who signed up were the children of the rich. Few of the special admits who actually got in on their grades signed up.

Because how could they be better and more brilliant than their 'masters'?

After class, Fu Liangxia went straight to the office to submit her registration form.

Seeing her come to sign up, math teacher Piao Yan was delighted and patted her shoulder with a smile: "Study hard. If there's anything you don't understand, you can come ask me."

She had a good impression of this student who'd performed excellently on the entrance exam and participated well in class, and was willing to spare some energy to mentor her.

"This competition is very important to the Education Institute. It's bigger than previous years, and first prize and grand prize winners have a chance at Sride University's early admission quota."

Piao Yan said cheerfully, "I've set up a class for this competition. If you pass the preliminary round, you can come to me for tutoring."

Piao Yan's office was the math department's, full of math teachers. As the only specially hired teacher in the sophomore math group, everyone knew how prestigious and hard to get into her tutoring class was. At her words, they looked over in surprise.

"Aren't you not taking students anymore?" one teacher said. "Isn't this inappropriate? Your tutoring class is already full of Sride University Affiliated High School students. If you add one of ours..."

Piao Yan glanced at the speaking teacher but said nothing, only gesturing for Fu Liangxia to leave.

After Fu Liangxia left, the closing door carried her voice: "She's not the only one. Bai Xin said he's coming back early. With his level, he'll definitely be gunning for the grand prize. And Cheng Xingzhou..."

Bai Xin?

Fu Liangxia caught that familiar name and suddenly realized he was one of the F4—the younger of the twin brothers.

He was coming back?

She remembered a post she'd seen on BoBo last night; it did seem to be about that.

But until the System popped up a task related to him, it had nothing to do with Fu Liangxia.

The second period was swimming class. Fu Liangxia had spent some time turning in her registration form, so she didn't go back to the classroom but headed straight to the natatorium.

Along the way, she saw many students walking in groups toward the same place, including plenty who weren't in her class.

Because swimming was a large joint class—with several teachers but all sharing one venue—it was livelier than other classes.

"Xia, does your class have swimming too?" Bai Kewei's voice came from behind.

She turned at the sound and saw Bai Kewei jog up, flashing her a bright smile: "I was worried about your health, but you look much better now."

"Thanks to the uniform you sent." Fu Liangxia nodded at her.

Because it was swimming class, Fu Liangxia had pinned her hair up into a high bun on top of her head, revealing a slender neck. Her posture was elegant, like a beautiful swan.

Bai Kewei was almost stunned.

She couldn't help but lose focus for a moment, thinking Fu Liangxia was exactly what she'd initially imagined a rich kid would be like—clean, beautiful, and with a kind heart that would defend strangers.

Bai Kewei blushed slightly: "No, it wasn't me who brought that outfit. It was your brother..."

Fu Liangxia interrupted her and gently took her arm: "But you're the one who handed it to me, so that's enough. I must have recovered so quickly because of you, Kewei."

At that, Bai Kewei turned red all over, inside and out.

She was dazedly led along by Fu Liangxia. The girl's pleasant scent of cedar blended with spring water—a cold, neutral fragrance.

It seemed a bit cooler than Fu Liangxia's initial impression, but not discordant. Instead, it had a unique charm.

Bai Kewei immersed herself in her own world, completely unaware that when a few girls passed them, the one holding her arm suddenly darkened her expression.

Fu Liangxia naturally had sharper hearing than most, and given her experiences in her previous life, she was highly sensitive to others' emotions.

As those girls passed them, she clearly heard their whispers and saw the malicious looks they cast at Bai Kewei beside her.

She sensed something was wrong and pulled Bai Kewei into an extra step, entering the girls' changing room.

When they'd enrolled, the school had given them a preparation checklist, and swimsuits had been collected at enrollment, stored by the Student Council in each student's private locker.

Right. Because these rich kids had severe OCD and refused to share with others, every student from enrollment to graduation had their own dedicated locker in the natatorium. After graduation, they were sanitized and cleaned all at once, then assigned to the next batch.

Fu Liangxia and Bai Kewei, having transferred in midway, had their lockers at the outermost edge—very conspicuous.

What was even more conspicuous was that one of the lockers was already open, just barely ajar.

Unused lockers all had default passwords—the last six digits of the student ID. Anyone who knew their ID could easily open it.

Fu Liangxia approached and saw the open locker had Bai Kewei's name on it.

Bai Kewei froze in place, her hand trembling slightly as she gripped the locker door. She could already foresee what was inside. Those people always resorted to such intimidation and bribery to recruit special admits, but she especially didn't want Fu Liangxia to see this side of her... it was humiliating.

She couldn't bear it more than if anyone else saw it, because Fu Liangxia was, different.

Inside the locker, a plain navy blue swimsuit hung on a hanger. The fabric wasn't expensive, but it was cleanly washed, simple and elegant. And yet, it had been slashed into countless gashes, with three large words written on it in marker:

Mudblood.

Bai Kewei's face drained of all color in an instant. She stood there, afraid to turn and look at Fu Liangxia's expression.

Even knowing she wouldn't, she still feared seeing disgust on that beautiful face.

But Fu Liangxia merely felt a surge of absurdity.

The instant she saw the words "Mudblood," she nearly thought she hadn't transmigrated into some noble academy story, but into Harry Potter.

Regardless of where it was, it wasn't a polite word.

But what struck her more was that she'd already stopped Bai Kewei from provoking Fu Haoyao, done away with the Joker card thing—yet Bai Kewei still hadn't escaped the fate of being bullied.

Was the world's will so unyielding that Bai Kewei had to experience all the hardships the original story had mapped out for her?

Fu Liangxia let out a cold laugh. She, of all people, never believed in fate.

If they broke someone down by humiliating them mentally, destroying them, then what if the same methods were turned back on them?

Hearing the cold laugh, Bai Kewei instinctively turned, only to see Fu Liangxia's expression unchanged, calmly asking her: "Do you have any idea who did it?"

No disgust, no disdain. Bai Kewei didn't know what she felt at that moment. She hesitated, then slowly nodded: "It's probably Qin Wan..."

"Take me to her."

Bai Kewei didn't know what she intended to do, but she inexplicably felt that Fu Liangxia was a little frightening right now. Nothing like her usual gentle, warm self—instead, a dangerous aura radiated from her.

She instinctively followed Fu Liangxia into the venue.

"How many times has this happened?"

"...Not many."

Not many—not never.

Fu Liangxia's eyes dimmed slightly. If something like this happened once and you didn't fight back fiercely enough to make them think twice, they'd cling to you like a rat in a sewer, getting worse and worse.

Bai Kewei might not know, but having been through it herself, Fu Liangxia understood all too well.

"Tell me what you know. What does Qin Wan's family do?" She needed to see if there was any leverage to use.

...

The students in the venue were all in swimwear, warming up. The most eye-catching among them was Fu Haoyao in his swimming trunks.

His muscular build was beautiful without being exaggerated, his body long and lean, radiating explosive power, showcasing the aesthetics of the human form to its extreme—and even... pink.

Many girls were sneaking glances at him, shy smiles on their faces, and even the boys were secretly checking out his muscles.

Fu Haoyao happened to be facing the entrance. The moment he saw Fu Liangxia walk in, he waved at her, flashing a big grin.

It looked a lot like a golden retriever waiting for its owner, showing its instinctive expression.

But Fu Liangxia didn't spare him a glance. She walked straight toward a certain spot without looking around.

When Fu Haoyao waved, the crowd that had been sneaking looks at him turned in the direction he was looking, and saw the two of them in regular clothes, standing out oddly among the swimsuit-clad crowd.

Whispers rose.

Fu Liangxia ignored them, heading straight for the girl who had passed by them earlier and was now watching with a knowing smirk.

She wore a light pink swimsuit, her face plain but her skin smooth, clearly well-maintained, and her hair was intricately styled.

"Why aren't you in your swimsuit, Bai Kewei?" The girl cast a glance at Fu Liangxia, a flicker of envy passing through her eyes before she turned to Bai Kewei, sneering. "Couldn't afford one? Or... you didn't like my gift?"

Those words made Bai Kewei's eyes redden with anger, and they also confirmed the girl's identity to Fu Liangxia. "You're Qin Wan?"

The girl hesitated, then nodded. She was probably intimidated by Fu Liangxia's presence, and answered honestly: "I am. What do you want?"

"Was it you who messed with Bai Kewei's swimsuit?" Fu Liangxia confirmed again, not wanting to harm the wrong person.

Qin Wan was startled at first, then a malicious glint appeared in her eyes: "And who's this? Standing up for Bai Kewei? Yes, it was me. What are you going to do about it?"

"Bai Kewei's friend—she's just as much of a bi—"

"SMACK—!"

Fu Liangxia raised her hand and slapped her hard across that smug face. Because she was angry, the strike was vicious, sending Qin Wan stumbling sideways.

The natatorium floor tiles were slippery. She lost her footing from the blow and crashed to the ground with a thud, her pink skirt soaking up dirt-stained water mixed with footprints.

"You piece of trash! Do you know who I am?! How dare you do this to me?! Don't you want to live anymore?!" She looked up in disbelief, glaring at Fu Liangxia, grinding her teeth.

Her face was twisted with rage, and with the vivid handprint on her cheek, she looked utterly ugly—more like the villain who'd been slapping others, standing before Fu Liangxia.

"Of course I know. That's exactly why I hit you." Fu Liangxia slowly leaned in, smiling, but the coldness in her eyes inexplicably frightened her. "Qin Wan, your family's in the oil business, aren't they? Know your supplier's surname?"

Qin Wan's pupils trembled. Of course she didn't know her family's supplier's surname. She was only seventeen; all she ever did was eat, drink, shop, and spend money. When would she ever have a chance to touch the business world?

"What do you mean?" she said, putting up a bluff.

Fu Liangxia's smile widened at this: "Roughly... I want you to taste what it's like to be crushed by power."

The implication sent a jolt of fear through Qin Wan. If Fu Liangxia's family just happened to be the supplier, and they maliciously broke the contract mid-project...

But Qin Wan didn't believe she had the nerve to do such a thing, hurting herself to spite others.

Qin Wan scrambled up from the ground, unsure whether fear or humiliation dominated her heart. Noticing that Fu Liangxia stood very close to the pool edge, she acted on pure malice and suddenly shoved her.

But halfway through the push, her arm was seized firmly, impossible to move an inch.

"I'd like to hear how you'd make her 'not want to live.'" The grip on her wrist was as strong as iron, but the moment the male voice sounded, Qin Wan forgot the pain, her entire body sinking into an ice pit.