The Bai Twins

Qin Wan whipped her head around, staring at the person who had grabbed her wrist. The man had striking platinum-blond hair that fluttered in the breeze. Though he was speaking to her, his gaze wasn't on her at all—it was fixed somewhere behind her.

"Qin Wan is in for it now."

"Oh my god, did she not check BoBo? Doesn't she know that girl is close with Young Master Fu?" A student who had long harbored resentment toward Qin Wan whispered gleefully nearby.

"And what did she just say? Something about making Fu Liangxia not want to live? That's the funniest thing I've heard all year. Forget her connections with the F4—just based on her grades alone, she's a teacher's pet. How dare she think she can touch her?"

The chatter buzzed in her ears. Fu Liangxia watched Qin Wan's face, already swollen and pale, her eyes now tinged with fear.

Qin Wan looked at Fu Haoyao pleadingly. "Young Master Fu, I'm sorry. I didn't know she was your friend. Please..."

But Fu Haoyao didn't spare her a glance. Seeing that Qin Wan had no intention of making a move, he casually dropped her wrist and strode over to Fu Liangxia.

The swimming pool was semi-enclosed. Fu Haoyao had come from a direction that featured an open-air pool lined with palm trees on both sides. Despite being tropical plants, they thrived here, likely due to excellent temperature control.

Clear water flowed in the spacious pool, and at the far end of the polished floor, near the palm trees, lay a patch of golden sand.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting a glow on the person before him. He looked like a picture.

Fu Liangxia had to admit that when Fu Haoyao kept his mouth shut, his face was quite deceptive. But the moment he opened it—

He stared down at her, annoyed. "Why didn't you acknowledge me? You only had eyes for her." He pointed at Qin Wan, who looked disheveled behind him.

Fu Liangxia hesitated for a moment. That was because she had been furious, and her eyes had been fixed on Qin Wan.

But Fu Haoyao was good at rationalizing things. He looked at the girl's slender neck, her face even more delicate with her hair pinned up, and snorted. "I'll let it slide this time."

"Oh," Fu Liangxia said.

"Class is starting! What are you all gathered here for?" Several gym teachers with whistles around their necks entered through the door. At the sound of the leading woman's voice, all the students flinched almost simultaneously, shrinking into obedient little quails, heads bowed.

The air went silent.

Three people approached. At the front was a tall woman in her thirties.

She had short, neat hair, a tall and upright posture, muscles clearly defined, and walked with a commanding stride.

"What happened?" The woman frowned, scanning the students. Her gaze paused briefly on the disheveled Qin Wan, then landed between Fu Liangxia and Bai Kewei. "Why aren't you two in swimsuits?"

Bai Kewei shot an angry glare at Qin Wan, but Qin Wan, having been slapped by Fu Liangxia and humiliated in front of everyone, had long lost her earlier arrogance and bowed her head in silence.

The teacher, sharp as a tack from years of experience, instantly saw through the situation. She waved her hand. "You two go change in the prep room. If you don't have suitable swimsuits, you can grab one from 201 upstairs—they have spare new ones there."

"Everyone else, line up. Stop gawking."

Fu Liangxia hummed in acknowledgment and turned to leave with Bai Kewei.

As she passed Fu Haoyao, she saw him mouth something at her, but it was too vague for her to decipher, so she gave him a perfunctory smile.

That smile didn't go unnoticed by someone watching closely.

Su Xingshu had arrived at the pool a bit later than Fu Liangxia. By the time he walked in, he had witnessed the entire altercation. When Qin Wan had tried to hit back, he instinctively stepped forward, ready to stop her.

But this time, he was a step too slow again.

Fu Haoyao had appeared out of nowhere, like a lithe little leopard, deftly seizing Qin Wan's wrist. After putting an end to the commotion, he leaned down to say something to Fu Liangxia, earning a helpless yet slightly indulgent expression from her.

The boy was tall and handsome, the girl delicate and lovely. Her brows arched slightly as she smiled, the corners of her lips curving into a breathtaking expression.

Su Xingshu's hand clenched into a fist.

[Affinity Points +3. Su Xingshu: Current 38.]

As Fu Liangxia and another girl disappeared through the doorway, Su Xingshu's gaze darkened. A dull, inexplicable discomfort settled in his chest.

He couldn't figure out where this feeling came from or why it had arisen. Then, footsteps sounded behind him.

Su Xingshu turned to see Fu Haoyao approaching. He casually draped an arm over Su Xingshu's shoulder, seemingly oblivious to his expression. "Xiao Shu, finally getting to have class with you. Not easy."

Su Xingshu composed himself. "Yeah, what a coincidence. It's rare to pick the same classes, given our different interests."

He lingered on the last four words, drawing them out slowly and softly.

Fu Haoyao tilted his head to glance at him, his platinum-blond hair slightly tousled, a flash of excitement in his handsome face. "How about a little race later?"

Su Xingshu stared at him. "Against you, a professional athlete?" he asked. Was he insane?

Fu Haoyao shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm a tennis player, not a swimmer. And you're always at the gym. You were the best swimmer among us before."

"What's wrong? Suddenly all timid? It's not like there's a bet on the line."

Maybe it was just a casual remark, but Su Xingshu found it oddly pointed. What did he mean, no bet? Their past competitions rarely had stakes anyway.

But that wasn't why he didn't want to race Fu Haoyao. More than the risk of losing and having to hand over some car or game console as a so-called bet, he didn't want to lose in front of... her.

Su Xingshu fell uncharacteristically silent.

"It's settled then. I'll come find you later." Fu Haoyao clapped him cheerfully and jogged back to his class line.

Meanwhile, Fu Liangxia was leading Bai Kewei out.

It was their first time in the pool area, and they weren't familiar with the complex layout. Figuring the stairs would be at one end or the middle, they walked along the corridor.

Midway, Bai Kewei spoke up. "Thank you, Xiao Xia. I never thought you'd stand up for me."

"So I'm that cold in your eyes?" Fu Liangxia smiled.

Bai Kewei quickly shook her head. "No, it's just... no one's ever done that before. At this school, everyone assumes special admissions are the lowest of the low, fair game for anyone."

"Most people at Saintland know each other. They all think it's not worth ruining a friendship over some special admit." Bai Kewei's voice dropped, heavy with dejection.

She wasn't naive; she understood the logic all too well.

"After all, in today's rigid class system, no special admit will ever become their business partner. No matter how talented, they'll just be high-level workers. And since they're bound to work for them eventually, why bother showing respect?"

Fu Liangxia stopped abruptly. She turned her head, her beautiful eyes fixed on Bai Kewei with sincerity. "Why not?"

Bai Kewei was taken aback. "But... that's just how it is."

"Is it? I think that's just a tactic by the rich to suppress the working class. They preach that people can't rise through their own effort, but that's just their fear of the underclass." Fu Liangxia looked at her, eyes bright. "They're afraid we might actually surpass them and devour the wealth they've hoarded for generations."

Bai Kewei's expression showed surprise. It was the first time she'd heard such a subversive idea.

In her fixed worldview, everyone was born into their class; anything you didn't have at birth would never be yours, no matter how hard you tried.

But Fu Liangxia was saying the rich weren't invincible.

"A fascinating speech." A male voice from ahead startled both of them.

Fu Liangxia looked up and saw a boy with a pink wolf-tail haircut stepping out from around the corner.

The moment their eyes met, she found herself momentarily dazed.

Objectively speaking, Fu Liangxia had seen plenty of good-looking faces in her past life, and even in this one, Su Xingshu, Fu Haoyao, and Cheng Xingzhou were all top-tier.

But this face was simply too beautiful. Flawless, androgynous, with a pair of eyes that were elegant yet faintly world-weary, holding a contradictory fragility.

He noticed both of them looking at him and curved his lips slightly. His voice was clear, a pleasant tenor. "Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

Fu Liangxia immediately recognized who he was from his striking wolf-tail—it had to be one of the Bai twins.

"It's fine. It's not like it was meant to be secret," she said nonchalantly.

"What's this about?" Another boy, nearly identical to the first, stepped out from the side. His slightly rounder eyes regarded them, his gaze lingering on Fu Liangxia. "I know you."

Fu Liangxia guessed she probably didn't want to know how he knew her—likely the usual forum talk, calling her overambitious or cunning.

Sure enough, he said only that much, not elaborating, confirming it wasn't a compliment.

But this time, Fu Liangxia was wrong. Bai Yan knew her not from the forum.

He had just come across her BoBo post. It had been trending that day, widely shared. By now, anyone on BoBo at Saintland had probably seen it.

Bai Yan was simply curious what kind of girl could win over Fu Haoyao. The comments said she was even a transfer student. That meant she'd done it in less than three days.

How interesting.

With that thought, Bai Yan had clicked on Fu Liangxia's profile and seen her photo.

Even Bai Yan, who was used to models and celebrities, had to admit she was beautiful.

But it wasn't just beauty—there was something more alluring.

Like the hunger for success in that photo.

Like the faint, unmistakable... ambition in her eyes now.

[Bai Yan's Affinity Points +3. Current: 25.]

As the notification sounded, Fu Liangxia felt a jolt of surprise. It wasn't the sudden increase that shocked her, but that his initial affinity was as high as 22.

That was the highest starting point besides Cheng Xingzhou.

Though Cheng Xingzhou's high affinity was mainly due to the original owner, not her.

Fu Liangxia was more curious why Bai Yan had such a high opinion of her from the start.

In the original novel, the Bai twins were described as cynical geniuses.

She pondered for a moment, sensing his gaze appraising her somewhat boldly.

His brother's gaze, however, was gentler and more reserved.

But she could faintly sense both of their interest.

Not much—just a little. Perhaps an artist's appreciation of her decent looks, or curiosity about those rumors surrounding her.

"Would you be interested in modeling for me?" The owner of the gentler gaze suddenly spoke.

The unexpected question startled not only Fu Liangxia but also Bai Yan and Bai Kewei beside them.

Bai Kewei instinctively frowned, wary of the two. Their leisurely demeanor—wandering the campus during class hours—made it clear they were also part of the privileged class.

Wasn't there already enough privileged people hovering around Xia Xia? Could she handle it?

Bai Kewei felt a worry she couldn't voice.

Unlike Bai Kewei's concern, Bai Yan was initially surprised by Bai Xin's words but quickly looked Fu Liangxia over again, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Bai Xin was different from him. He had never painted portraits or had models.

Only Bai Yan, in his design work, needed models. Though...

Bai Yan looked at Fu Liangxia like a cold, measuring ruler.

A moment later.

"Our model," he corrected.

Bai Yan also wanted to see if this type of model could spark something new in his work.

Unlike his previous models, she was ambitious, full of spirit.

[Task Four (Activated): Establish a friendly relationship with the Bai twins. Completion: Both Affinity Points reach 60 or above.]

[Side Quest Triggered: Become Bai Yan and Bai Xin's model, provide them creative inspiration, and prevent them from losing their will to live.

Nature: Mandatory.

Reward: Unknown.]

"What's in it for me?" Even though it was mandatory, Fu Liangxia decided to haggle for some benefits.

After all, even working outside got you paid, especially a job as taxing as modeling.

System rewards and Affinity Points weren't enough.

She preferred something tangible.

"800 euros an hour." Bai Yan seemed more intrigued by her question. "That's not a bad rate. Some well-known models only get 200-300 euros."

"Deal." Despite Bai Kewei's hesitant look, Fu Liangxia nodded readily.

It was higher than what she got for tutoring Fu Haoyao, though the Fu family had ties to investments, making that overall more lucrative.

But today's rate doesn't dictate tomorrow's.

Fu Liangxia had confidence. She couldn't access the Bai Corporation's larger resources now, and even if she could, she wouldn't know what to do with them. But that might change later.

...

After exchanging contact information with Bai Yan and Bai Xin, Fu Liangxia and Bai Kewei headed upstairs. Ironically, the two had just come out of the stairwell.

They found room 201. Bai Kewei went inside to get spare swimsuits while Fu Liangxia waited at the door, browsing through Bai Yan's designs.

Suddenly, a force yanked her from the side. Fu Liangxia saw a blur, and she was pulled into a room on the right.

"!"

She recoiled in shock, completely unaware of when the person behind her had appeared. But instinct took over—she bent her elbow, crouched slightly, and drove it hard into the person's chest!

"It's me." The elbow was blocked, and a familiar deep voice sounded.

Accompanied by a faint scent of juniper.

Cheng Xingzhou. What was he up to now?

Fu Liangxia turned her head to look. It was a dim storage room, lined with shelves holding unused sports equipment.

He stood in the middle, holding something in one hand, the other loosely supporting her elbow. In the shadows, his features seemed sharper, his dark eyes deeper.

His usual glasses weren't on his face. When he saw her look, his gaze met hers directly.