Wang Hansheng

The preliminary exam wasn't particularly difficult, and Fu Liangxia stepped out of the examination hall with a feeling that she had done well. Aside from the very first question, which she wasn't entirely confident about, she'd encountered similar question types for almost everything else.

With the preliminary round finally over and one weight lifted from her mind, all that was left was to wait for the results. Fu Liangxia let out a soft sigh of relief.

The academic burden pressing down on her could be set aside for now, allowing her to fully enjoy a few days of school life. Come the weekend, she'd find time to check on the project's progress.

With that thought, Fu Liangxia bid Bai Kewei farewell and headed toward the school gate.

She had arranged to meet Fu Haoyao at the entrance—he was driving her back to his place for tutoring.

But as she walked, a gaze lingered on her back, faint yet persistent, giving her the sensation of being watched.

It had been there since she left the examination hall.

Clearly, there was only one person who would do something like this: Cheng Xingzhou.

He was probably still trapped in his own emotions, unable to move past them.

Cheng Xingzhou was truly a contradiction—he'd made the rational choice, yet couldn't muster the grace to let go. Seeing her get even slightly close with other boys bothered him unbearably, and he'd always approach her with a cold face to say something or other.

Fu Liangxia thought it was pathetic.

But his patheticness had nothing to do with her, nor could it affect her.

"How'd it go?" Fu Haoyao asked when he saw her, the aggrieved look on his face already gone, as if he'd processed his feelings well on his own.

"Decent. I should make it to the second round," Fu Liangxia said without an ounce of false modesty.

Fu Haoyao chuckled, arching an eyebrow. "Full of yourself, aren't you?"

Fu Liangxia turned to look at him, her eyes carrying an unmistakable hint of confusion. "That doesn't seem like something someone who failed math should be saying, does it?"

Fu Haoyao had only meant it as a casual joke. As luck would have it, they hit a red light, and he braked, catching the cold, clear gleam of her eyes unexpectedly. His heart skipped a beat, and he hastily averted his gaze. "Why are you suddenly staring at me? Don't you know that's distracting while driving?"

Fu Liangxia blinked, taking a moment to process the non-sequitur. "Is my gaze hot enough to burn through eighty degrees?" she asked, puzzled.

Fu Haoyao didn't know how to explain himself, and his heart was a mess. His tone turned stiff. "Don't look at me like that. It's bad for my heart."

Fu Liangxia deduced that he was probably the type to get easily distracted, so she obediently turned her gaze away, looking out the right window. "Got it."

She said no more after that, which only made Fu Haoyao's heart even more unsettled. Feeling the silence inside the car, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd been too harsh just now.

Maybe he should try driving with his head tilted, that way he wouldn't get distracted by Fu Liangxia's gaze.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was his own fault—she'd only looked at him for a couple of seconds, so why was his heart racing like this?

Pathetic!

He had no idea whether Fu Liangxia was angry at him or not.

With that on his mind, Fu Haoyao forced himself to speak again, his tone awkward. "Are your camping supplies all packed? Want to stop by the mall on the way?"

Fu Liangxia was reminded by his words and suddenly realized she hadn't prepared a thing, and they'd be leaving the day after tomorrow. Since he'd brought it up, it would be convenient to get everything ready.

So she agreed. "Sure."

Seeing that Fu Liangxia's expression was normal, as if she was completely unaffected by his tone, Fu Haoyao relaxed. He turned the steering wheel and drove to a large mall nearby.

This mall was positioned for high-income clientele—the Fu Corporation was one of its developers, and the Bai family also had a stake. The architectural style was uniquely ornate, the brands housed within were all high-end luxury, and combined with its reputation in wealthy circles, the mall was highly regarded throughout Saintland.

Even on a weekday, there were plenty of students in school uniforms to be seen.

Fu Haoyao had called the manager ahead of time, asking him to prepare the shopping catalogues in advance. All they had to do was tick off items, and a sales associate would bring the goods to them.

After shopping, they could even grab a meal together.

Fu Haoyao mentally planned it all out, the more he thought about it, the more he felt this could only be a date.

Even the platinum-blond hair of his seemed to shine brighter, making him positively glow.

When Fu Haoyao and Fu Liangxia arrived, the VIP lounge already had quite a few people seated.

At their appearance, even those who didn't know them couldn't help but cast glances their way.

With enough money, packaging, grooming, and styling, it was rare to find truly ugly people—at least they'd be presentable.

So the men and women seated here, while not exceptionally beautiful, at least reached the level of being easy on the eyes.

But Fu Haoyao and Fu Liangxia still stood out.

Fu Haoyao needed no introduction—his mixed-race advantages were displayed to their fullest, paired with a tall, straight figure and that striking hair color, he drew the eye wherever he went.

As for Fu Liangxia, she was well aware that in Saintland, appearance was a social calling card, and she never slacked off in dressing well.

She wore a wine-red knit top with a flowing drape, opting not to wear her school uniform due to the cold, paired with a matching pencil skirt that curved into a fishtail silhouette, perfectly outlining her figure. Her collarbones were delicate, her calves straight, and the slender wrists peeking from her sleeves were as white as jade.

Her jet-black, silky hair cascaded behind her, swaying in a lovely arc as she tilted her head up to speak with Fu Haoyao.

Fu Liangxia always wore light makeup to school.

Her already superior features didn't need embellishment; only the corners of her eyes were traced with a subtle, upward flick, giving her eyes a sly, elusive quality like a little fox. On her exquisitely structured face, her brows and eyes were as dark as ink, her lips a tempting red.

Cool and striking at once—the contradictory qualities played vividly across her face.

The manager's face was all smiles when he saw Fu Haoyao, welcoming them in with enthusiasm. When his gaze fell on Fu Liangxia beside him, a flicker of surprise and admiration slipped through his eyes.

Fu Haoyao actually brought a girl with him.

That was practically headline news.

The manager had the shopping catalogue brought over and served a table of refreshments with great attentiveness. After receiving Fu Haoyao's signal that he was no longer needed, the manager paused in thought for a moment before sending a report to Secretary Feng through the work messaging app.

Feng Qian seemed to be busy and didn't reply immediately.

The VIP area wasn't clearly partitioned. Though each table was spaced apart with half-glass partitions, that did nothing to stop the gazes from the surrounding tables.

Some admiring glances naturally withdrew—after all, these were people of a certain class, and who among them hadn't seen a beauty or two.

But others lingered, unable to pull away.

Not far away, on a sofa facing this direction, a young man lounging aimlessly froze his gaze on Fu Liangxia, his brows rising sharply. "Hey! Wang Hansheng, look! Isn't that Fu Langshu's little brother? The girl next to him is a real stunner!"

Wang Hansheng had been dragged out by his sister, who refused to take no for an answer, skipping school to accompany her shopping. But then Wang Xixi heard that Bai Xin would be coming by later and immediately abandoned him without an ounce of conscience, dashing off to pick out clothes with her girlfriends.

Wang Hansheng had simply slumped on the sofa to wait for her, idly flipping through the ordering catalogue, and when his friend started exclaiming in surprise, he didn't think much of it.

He cast a casual glance in that direction, and then his gaze locked.

The girl was indeed beautiful, but that wasn't what made Wang Hansheng freeze.

This girl—he knew her.

Well, saying "knew" might be a stretch; he'd only crossed paths with her twice.

The first time was when he accompanied his father to visit Cheng Xingzhou, who was undergoing psychological counseling at a sanatorium.

At the time, the Fu family hadn't yet risen to prominence, and Fu Liangxia was completely outside the social circle. In his eyes back then, she was just an adorable, well-behaved little girl.

She was always silently trailing behind Cheng Xingzhou, her smile radiant as she showed the boy whatever was in her hands. Even if he gave no response, she could keep talking on and on.

It wasn't the annoying kind of chatter, but rather a sharing of her own joy.

Wang Hansheng had unknowingly watched for a long time. He paused by the window, quietly observing the two children in the garden—one still, one in motion.

Infected by her smile, he found himself smiling too without realizing it.

Just then, Cheng Xingzhou lifted his eyes without warning, looking over at him. The boy's normally unreadable gaze flashed with a clear flicker of hostility the moment it caught his expression.

Then he suddenly spoke to the girl, "That kitten you said you adopted earlier—I want to go see it."

At his words, the girl instantly broke into a dazzling smile, nodded vigorously, and cheerfully got up to lead the way, completely unaware.

But before leaving, Cheng Xingzhou cast him one more glance.

That glance made Wang Hansheng realize he wasn't as cold and indifferent toward the girl as he appeared.

He was using his actions to tell him to stay away.

The second time they met was at some banquet.

The once innocent, lively girl had grown more and more elegant, standing gracefully beside her father. She didn't compete or grab for attention, yet she would always offer her own insights at precisely the right moments, drawing surprised looks from those old foxes.

It was then that Wang Hansheng learned her name: Fu Liangxia.

She had lost the vitality and brightness of a few years past, sinking into something as deep and still as a pool, yet that only made people want to draw closer, to probe further.

She was even more captivating than before.

Wang Hansheng overheard a few second-generation rich kids nearby expressing a desire to get to know her. But since the Fu family was barely bottom-tier, that interest was far from pure, carrying instead a casual air of trifling amusement.

A beautiful girl without enough family backing to protect herself always met a similar fate.

Wang Hansheng found it a shame, but he had no right to choose for her.

At the time, he simply thought that if Fu Liangxia needed help, he wouldn't mind smoothing things over for her. But if she chose to sink, he wouldn't stand in the way of her fortunes.

What happened next came through idle chat among friends. The speaker didn't name names, but the description matched perfectly, and Wang Hansheng was certain it was Fu Liangxia.

She hadn't refused the advances of those rich heirs. When they invited her out, she'd go if she had time.

But unlike others from outside their circle who were brought along, she was neither fawning nor bashful—she greeted everyone with a three-part smile, giving the false impression that she was easy to get along with.

It went on until one of the heirs hinted that if she'd spend a few nights with him, he'd give the Fu family a chance at a partnership.

She neither agreed nor refused at the time, only saying she'd get back to him in a few days.

The heir thought she'd accepted, waited around in high spirits, and even bragged to anyone who'd listen that she wasn't all that special—just faking purity.

A few days later, however, what awaited him was a court summons.

That heir was implicated in large-scale money laundering and the smuggling of human organs in the southeast region. Just as the authorities were cracking down on high-profile cases, he was reported and locked up.

The amount involved was staggering, and he ended up with his assets seized and a life sentence.

When this news broke, the whole circle was shocked, and everyone speculated about who he might have offended.

Only Wang Hansheng had a vague premonition that this was, in all likelihood, orchestrated by Fu Liangxia herself.

A normal person, upon realizing this, would've been scared into retreating. When someone's heart and methods are both this ruthless, staying far away would be the only sensible move—lest you be next.

But Wang Hansheng wasn't like that.

Quite the opposite. He was even more intrigued.