Girlfriend

Saintland's coursework wasn't as demanding as a typical high school's. After all, the students were either aristocrats groomed from childhood or top-tier talents who'd passed rigorous selection to earn their place. Since they'd already mastered standard high school material, repeating it would be a waste of time. Instead, Saintland offered only a few mandatory courses in language, math, and English, leaving most choices to the students themselves.

If they wanted, they could take any subject—even ones ordinary people only encountered in university, like business management or international relations.

It was the start of the semester, before course selection, so after the morning's mandatory classes, the rest of the day was free.

"Let's go eat." Just as she was thinking, a hand clapped onto Fu Liangxia's shoulder.

She looked up to see Fu Liedong waving his meal card. Beside him, Su Xingshu was chatting with his followers, seemingly indifferent to her joining.

Of course, whether he cared or not, Fu Liangxia had to stick with them—she hadn't topped up her meal card yet.

Saintland's cafeteria was massive, three stories tall, lavishly decorated, and fully equipped with smart-home tech, so modern it was almost unrecognizable, full of things Fu Liangxia had never seen.

It was crowded but mostly with finely dressed people, few speaking loudly.

It was like stepping into a soundproof bubble. The moment she crossed the threshold, the noise faded to low chatter, broken only by the clink of utensils and quiet chewing.

Delicious food filled the plates. Students hunched over, taking small bites, occasionally raising their phones to chat with friends, then laughing.

Deeper inside, there was a circular ordering counter where waitstaff in matching uniforms smiled at students, took their orders, and relayed instructions to the kitchen via intercom.

Surprisingly, the waitstaff were all young—Fu Liangxia guessed none were over twenty.

Child labor? The thought flickered through her mind, but was quickly pushed aside by something else.

Namely, Su Xingshu was far too conspicuous.

She noticed that as they entered, everyone near the door stopped what they were doing. They looked at Su Xingshu, then at his followers, and finally at her.

Fu Liangxia couldn't quite describe that look—not hostile, but not friendly either, more like a cold, appraising once-over.

"Did Young Master Su change girlfriends again?" she overheard someone whisper nearby.

"No one said anything on the forum, right? Cheng Xiaoran's already been dropped that fast? She was the dance team's queen, after all."

"But it makes sense, given it's Su Xingshu."

"True. They say his girlfriends have a three-month shelf life, but this one's even quicker—weren't they only together last week?"

One of them eyed Fu Liangxia as she sat down with the others: "But don't you think she's prettier than Cheng Xiaoran..."

"..."

The whispers were deliberately hushed, but at that distance, Fu Liangxia could still catch fragments.

As the guesses started getting wilder, she couldn't help but glance at Su Xingshu across from her.

Unless he was deaf, he had to have heard those words.

Would he fly into a rage right there, or gently brush it off? The former suited his lofty status—a single look from him would silence anyone. The latter... was more in line with his public persona.

But to Fu Liangxia's surprise, Su Xingshu did neither.

He just tilted his head, those dazzling peach-blossom eyes fixed on her, and said casually, "What do you want to eat?"

The boy stood up, as if he'd asked around and was about to go order.

But Wang Ziwei and Fu Liedong had already jumped to their feet, moving faster than him toward the counter.

Fu Liedong even shouted as he walked, "I know what my sister likes. Su-ge, you sit tight—Ziwei and I will order."

Probably thinking it would look bad to fuss over the bill in the cafeteria, Su Xingshu gave up competing to pay and sat back down.

So the table now had just her and him.

The air went quiet.

Feeling more and more eyes on her, Fu Liangxia instinctively wanted to pull out her phone to ease the discomfort of being stared at.

But with a classmate across from her—worse, Su Xingshu, a classmate she couldn't afford to offend—she shelved that idea out of politeness, her gaze dropping to the table's small ad.

It was a promo for the day's special: a glistening teriyaki chicken cutlet that looked almost good enough to smell.

"It might take a while," Su Xingshu suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.

Fu Liangxia blinked, then realized her stare must have been so intense he mistook it for hunger.

Which made sense. Given how popular Su Xingshu was, he probably wasn't used to a girl sitting across from him who never once looked at him, just buried her nose in a food ad.

She reluctantly tore her gaze from the chicken, straightened up, and looked at him. "It's fine, I'm not in a hurry."

Watching the girl whose upright posture highlighted her smooth shoulders and slim waist, Su Xingshu let out a low laugh. "Class ran late today. Normally, we don't hit the lunch rush."

"Teachers schedule our meal times?" Fu Liangxia's eyes widened slightly in shock.

Their class assignments were based on a composite ranking of academic performance and family background, and there was no doubt Class 2 sat at the top of the food chain. So when Su Xingshu said that, her first instinct was that the school prioritized their dining.

But no sooner had she asked than she regretted it.

Watching the smile tug at the corner of his lips, Fu Liangxia realized she'd been tricked.

"Sorry, you're funny," Su Xingshu said, picking up his uniform jacket and pulling out a small box of candies. "Want one?"

"Thanks." Fu Liangxia had barely managed a few bites of breakfast before Fu Liedong rushed her, and she'd been starving since mid-class.

The tangy lemon candies were appetizing and addictive. She popped a few before remembering the person across from her. "Are you hungry..."

At that, he laughed even harder, his eyes full of teasing. "Go ahead, I'm full."

Fu Liangxia: "..."

Say what you will, Su Xingshu really knew how to put on a show.

The moment he was in front of a crowd, he slipped back into his public persona, showing no trace of the cool indifference he'd given her earlier.

Just like he did in class, in front of the other students.

I guess that's what being an idol means?

She wordlessly handed the candy box back. Just then, a faint floral scent drifted by, and a girl took the seat next to Su Xingshu.

A stranger—hair in a neat bun, features sweet and innocent. Fu Liangxia had no memory of her, only knowing she wasn't in their class.

But she didn't have to wait long to learn who she was.

"Cheng Xiaoran."

Su Xingshu spoke, his voice as low and pleasant as ever. Her mind wandered, thinking of his band—that kind of voice was perfect for rock, like a bass thrumming against the ear.

But his words were the opposite of his voice, cutting straight in: "I believe I made it clear we're over."

The boy smiled innocently and handsomely.

The girl beside him stiffened, her face contorting as she fought back tears. She glared at Su Xingshu, then, as if remembering something, turned to shoot a glare at Fu Liangxia, who was just innocently watching the drama.

Fu Liangxia: "?"

Maybe it was the drama magnet in them, but everyone around stopped eating and turned to stare. Su Xingshu, at the center of it all, sat unfazed, as if he were used to being the center of attention.

He said, coolly, "You know that trick won't work on me. If novelty never wore off, divorce lawyers wouldn't exist."

"It's just a metaphor, of course." Catching Fu Liangxia's suddenly complicated look, Su Xingshu explained.

His expression carried a hint of helplessness.

He was the one who used a weird metaphor; her overthinking was perfectly natural, Fu Liangxia thought with a slight pout.

The stark difference in how Su Xingshu treated Fu Liangxia versus her clearly stung Cheng Xiaoran. She bit down hard on her lip, turning the bright red almost white, her whole body trembling beyond control—clearly fuming.

Without thinking, she shot up, snatched the tray from Fu Liedong's hands as he approached, spun around, and slammed it—

onto Fu Liangxia, who was across from Su Xingshu, and onto the half of Su Xingshu's uniform he'd swung in front of her.

Fu Liangxia: "...??" So even in a blind rage, she knew she couldn't mess with the F4, meaning Fu Liangxia was fair game?

Cheng Xiaoran moved so fast, so unexpectedly, that Fu Liangxia barely had time to dodge before the scorching teriyaki sauce splattered all over her.

The picture on the menu really did match the real thing—still not a "buyer's beware" situation.

That was Fu Liangxia's only thought in that instant.

Then: thank goodness she'd had a few of Su Xingshu's candies, or she'd be in the infirmary by now waiting for the next round of food.

Speaking of which, the infirmary at Saintland must be pretty fancy too, I wonder if the doctor there is han—

The whole cafeteria erupted.

Everyone stared in shock and sympathy at the girl who'd just thrown that epic tray, already imagining her grim fate.

Although Su Xingshu was the most approachable of the F4, that didn't mean he had no temper. Quite the opposite—

"I'm sorry, Young Master Su, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to splash you..." Cheng Xiaoran's face went pale, frantically pulling out tissues to wipe the stain from his uniform, but he sidestepped easily.

"Didn't mean to splash me?" A cold glint flickered in his flirtatious eyes, his words loaded. "So you meant to splash someone else?"

"What, she's the one who dumped you, and you're this mad?" Su Xingshu grabbed the spare jacket from the chair, handed it to Fu Liangxia, and said airily.

"Pfft." Fu Liedong snorted, earning a glare from Fu Liangxia the next second.

Little punk, his own sister gets drenched in soup, and he's standing there watching the show? Look, Wang Ziwei had already had the sense to go buy another serving.

Fu Liangxia shook her head internally. At this rate, he'd be the follower who spins the lazy Susan when the boss reaches for a dish, or draws the winning tile when the boss is trying to go out.

No future in it.

Just wait, Wang Ziwei would soon replace him as Su Xingshu's right-hand man.

Too busy analyzing her brother's career prospects, Fu Liangxia never noticed when Cheng Xiaoran left, nor did she hear what price Su Xingshu would make her pay.

By the time she snapped back to reality, Su Xingshu was already sitting back down, looking like nothing had happened. His quick sidestep had caught most of the soup on his own uniform, leaving him a mess.

But Su Xingshu didn't seem to care. That face of his could make street-vendor clothes look designer, and he wore the stains like a limited-edition print, still devilishly handsome.

He slid his own meal in front of her and said with a smile, "Eat first. Aren't you hungry?"

"I'm not thanking you," Fu Liangxia said flatly, sitting down and accepting without any pretense. "This is all your fault. I'm just an innocent bystander."

So whether it was him blocking the splash or giving her his meal, she wasn't going to be grateful.

Fu Liedong's mouth fell open in shock: "Sis, what are you saying!"

This was Young Master Su personally offering her food and taking a hit for her—what more could she want!

To Fu Liedong's surprise, Su Xingshu didn't get mad at her words. Instead, he blinked, then a smile tugged at his lips. He nodded. "Mm, I know. Eat up."

Fu Liangxia didn't stand on ceremony. She was genuinely hungry, and Saintland's food smelled amazing, making it hard to stop.

Watching the girl across from him—looking even thinner in his jacket, cheeks puffed out with food like a hamster hoarding sunflower seeds—Su Xingshu's eyes sparkled with interest.

Different.

She was so different from the others.

[Su Xingshu Affinity Points +5, Current Affinity Points: 21.]

The notification chimed out of nowhere. Fu Liangxia looked up, puzzled, wondering if he was impressed by her eating prowess—and that's when she spotted Cheng Xingzhou, two tables away.