Keeping the Appointment

Fu Liangxia was probably the calmest person in the entire venue. She kept her head down, quietly working through the problems on her screen, quickly extracting conditions, filtering formulas, and doing mental calculations.

Bai Kewei, sitting beside her, first watched Fu Haoyao and Su Xingshu's race absentmindedly, but after finding the crowd blocked the view completely, she gave up on that way of passing the time.

She turned her head to look at Fu Liangxia, who had flipped a page in less than two minutes, seemingly done with the previous problem. Bai Kewei let out a soft gasp and asked, "Did you sign up for the math competition?"

She hadn't seen those problems before, though some of the knowledge points looked familiar—clearly beyond the scope of high school math.

"Yes," Fu Liangxia replied, her expression focused, yet she could still spare the attention to answer her.

She wasn't unfamiliar with this material; she just needed some practice to jog her memory.

But Fu Liangxia didn't notice that her speed far exceeded that of a normal high school student, and in Bai Kewei's eyes, it bordered on genius.

Too fast.

"If it's you, you're sure to get a great ranking."

Bai Kewei praised sincerely. Then, as if a thought struck her, she added, "Have you looked into the competition rules? Because it's fairly large-scale this time, the preliminary round isn't just a simple in-school selection. Instead, candidates from two schools are combined, and the top ten total scores advance."

Two schools...

The original novel had only glossed over the competition, never detailing its specifics.

Fu Liangxia's finger paused mid-scroll. "So if we get paired with Sride University Affiliated High School, wouldn't that be rough?"

Sride University, like Saintland, was one of the country's top aristocratic schools, but while Saintland prized academic excellence, Sride worshiped bloodline.

It didn't accept special admits, not even new money or nouveau riche; only children of rigorously vetted old money and military-political families could study there.

Just like the nicknames these two schools had among the public—

Saintland was the cradle of business magnates, while Sride University Affiliated High School was the breeding ground of political leaders.

It was hard to say which was more powerful, as the two schools had been locked in a quiet rivalry for years.

But if she had to face such a formidable opponent in the preliminaries, even Fu Liangxia couldn't guarantee she'd stand out.

Yes, stand out—not just make the top ten.

If she wanted to win Piao Yan's favor and gain more leverage, she couldn't just be average; she had to be exceptional.

Then, through the competition, she could secure a recommendation to Sride.

That way, in her senior year, she could request to leave campus and devote herself fully to the company.

"Shouldn't be a problem. I recall the rules mention Sride has its own separate track; they don't compete with other schools," Bai Kewei said, recalling.

"Privileged class."

Fu Liangxia curled her lip but didn't continue, though she was certain Bai Kewei understood her unspoken meaning.

Even Saintland, with its abundance of powerful figures, didn't have the clout to make the education board grant such convenience.

Of course, part of it was that Sride students were indeed more outstanding than those at other schools, perhaps as a way to avoid squeezing out others' spots?

Fu Liangxia didn't dwell on it. She couldn't change the world or shake the rules, so she could only do her best.

"Whoo!"

A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the crowd. Fu Liangxia looked up and saw Fu Haoyao prop himself up on the pool edge and step onto the deck.

His platinum hair was tucked under a swim cap, with a few strands sticking to the nape of his neck, making it look even more elongated.

His shoulders were broad, his waist lean and powerful, with droplets of water tracing down his muscle lines and disappearing into the edge of his swim trunks, inviting all sorts of speculation.

Whether intentional or not, he surfaced right at the pool edge nearest to Fu Liangxia, and their gazes met unexpectedly.

He suddenly flashed a grin, a hint of triumph in his expression. "I won."

He was dazzling.

Not because he was the winner, but because of the vitality he exuded—raw, primal, and brimming with competitive spirit.

Fu Liangxia suddenly wondered what it would be like for someone like him to be abandoned in the rain, his pride shattered, yet still lose this game of love.

She admitted the thought was a bit dark, and dangerous.

"What are you doing?"

"As you can see." Fu Liangxia held up her phone, the words "Past Competition Problems" emblazoned on the screen, so glaring that it immediately gave Fu Haoyao a headache.

"Really..." The boy averted his eyes from the text that looked like Greek to him, muttering under his breath.

"What did you say?" Fu Liangxia genuinely hadn't caught it this time.

"Nothing." Fu Haoyao suddenly remembered something. "What did you talk about with my brother yesterday? He suddenly asked me to give him your contact info."

"Huh?" Fu Liangxia was taken aback.

Fu Langshu could have gotten her contact info through Secretary Feng, or asked her directly—why go through the trouble of asking Fu Haoyao?

She didn't think Fu Langshu had simply forgotten yesterday. A man in his position would plan everything in advance.

So, this so-called request for contact info might not be about the info itself but about "asking Fu Haoyao"?

Fu Liangxia fell into thought—what was Fu Langshu trying to test?

"So, did you give it?" she asked.

Fu Haoyao said matter-of-factly, "I told him to ask you himself."

He wasn't lacking in tact or emotional intelligence. Giving out her contact info to others without her permission would be rude, even to his own brother.

"Good job." Fu Liangxia seemed to have figured something out and smiled slightly.

If her guess was right, Fu Langshu was testing Fu Haoyao's attitude toward her.

Just like the embarrassing script the system had given her for the initial teacher-student mission, since this was a subplot with an old-fashioned romance vibe, there should naturally be a villain in it.

And Fu Liangxia suspected Fu Langshu was likely the "villain" who would "break up the couple."

Speaking of which, in the original novel, when the heroine was tutoring Fu Haoyao, there had been a similar plot. But it was later in the story, and she couldn't remember who played the spoilsport.

After all, she had been transmigrated for over half a year now, and even with her best efforts to recall, some minor details inevitably faded with time.

Hearing Fu Liangxia's praise, as if she were truly his teacher rather than a fellow student, Fu Haoyao felt a strange sensation. This tone of praising a puppy—what was that about? And more importantly... he didn't seem to dislike it.

His gaze fell on Fu Liangxia, and Fu Haoyao frowned slightly.

The girl was wearing a one-piece pale green swimsuit that hugged her curves perfectly—she was thin, but surprisingly well-proportioned.

Especially from his elevated angle, he could see her crimson lips, her pointed chin, and below that...

Fu Haoyao dared not look further.

He turned his head away, a bit flustered, and said, "No tutoring today. My brother's taking us out."

Fu Liangxia was stunned. "Me too?"

"Mm."

Fu Haoyao didn't really understand his brother's motives either, but Fu Langshu was meticulous and surely had his reasons.

He was too lazy to speculate, just playing the messenger.

"Wait for me at your classroom after school."

Fu Liangxia stared at him, inwardly wondering what Fu Langshu was up to, but her lips answered readily, "Okay."

She was thinking about what the purpose of this "feast" was—was it just to celebrate that she'd caught Fu Haoyao's eye and could ascend to the position of his tutor?

The head of Fu Corporation couldn't be that idle.

...

On the other side of the pool, Su Xingshu took the towel Fu Liedong handed him and casually draped it over his shoulders, letting it absorb the water from his upper body.

He heard the other two consoling him in tandem, saying it was just a small match and losing was normal since the opponent was a professional.

Su Xingshu didn't really care; he wasn't someone who couldn't take a loss.

Besides, before he entered the water, he'd noticed Fu Liangxia wasn't in the crowd on either side, seemingly indifferent to the outcome of the race.

In that moment, he couldn't quite name the feeling that stirred in him, but he suddenly felt a bit deflated, and thought, "As expected."

He lazily thought to himself, using the towel to dry his hair, and turned his head only to see Fu Haoyao talking with Fu Liangxia.

In the short time he hadn't been watching, how had he already sidled up to her again?

Su Xingshu pulled the towel from his head, draped it over his shoulders, and walked toward the pair. Then he heard Fu Haoyao telling her to wait for him after school.

And Fu Liangxia had agreed.

"What kind of activity is this interesting that Fu-er doesn't invite me?" Su Xingshu said with a smile, but there was no warmth in it. He looked at the two of them and asked offhandedly, "What's the occasion?"

Fu Liangxia sighed inwardly, realizing she wouldn't be solving any more problems today. She turned off her phone, stood up, and said airily, "Nothing much. Surely it can't compare to the excitement of Young Master Su's extracurricular life."

Su Xingshu lowered his gaze to her, a flicker of irritation stirring in his chest because she wouldn't even say what it was. This feeling of being the odd one out—when all three of them were acquainted—was unpleasant.

And novel.

At least, Su Xingshu had never experienced it.

Novel as it was, it wasn't an interesting sensation for him.

After all, as a high-end player who had never suffered in matters of the heart, it was rare for a prey and a good brother to get tangled up like this.

His gaze fell on Fu Haoyao. "Fu-er?"

Seeing the atmosphere heading toward trouble again, Fu Liedong worried that Su would have another public falling out with his sister, this time in front of everyone.

He steeled himself and tried to mediate, "Brother Su, it's not what you think. My sister—"

"It's just dinner in the evening," Fu Haoyao cut in abruptly, interrupting him. "You're overthinking it."

"Oh?" Su Xingshu sized him up, still puzzled why someone so indifferent to the opposite sex would act so out of character this time.

But there was truly no hesitation or guilt in Fu Haoyao's eyes, which gradually quelled the thoughts in his mind.

Just then, the bell rang, saving everyone from the awkward atmosphere.

Luckily, the incidents from swim class didn't make it to the school forum's hot posts. Even the popularity of the old threads about Fu Liangxia had died down, replaced by one topic—

The Bai twins were back.

When Fu Liangxia and Bai Kewei were having lunch in the cafeteria, they heard students around them buzzing mainly about Bai Yan, Bai Xin, and their works.

Fu Haoyao didn't like eating on the first floor; he hated feeling like a spectacle, so he and his followers went upstairs to the private booth on the second floor. Although it was called a booth, it was really just a half-height glass enclosure. You could see down from above, and people below could see him if they looked up. But who would eat while craning their neck to look at him?

Except for some rabid fans, most students just wanted to get close to the F4; they didn't treat them like rare pandas, since they'd see them around campus almost every few days—except Bai Yan and Bai Xin.

Those two were practically living legends. In over a year at school, they'd shown up only a handful of times, their names appearing only in art publications or fashion magazines.

So when someone claimed they'd spotted Bai Yan, who should have been in Europe, on campus, everyone was abuzz.

Bai Kewei heard the chatter around her and finally connected the two people she'd met at the swimming pool earlier with the most mysterious members of the F4. But she didn't follow fashion news, nor did she delve into collecting. Curious, she asked Fu Liangxia, "Are they famous?"