First Watch

After speaking, Bai Yan suddenly remembered something and pulled a finely crafted silk hair tie from his bag, handing it to Fu Liangxia. "For you."

The two-finger-wide hair tie was embroidered with simple yet stylish lines, finished with Bai Yan's signature cursive English mark—Y.

This simple mark could instantly add another zero to the price of a hair tie that, on its own, was worth only around four figures.

Su Xingshu frowned at his gesture, while Ju Jinghuan, who had been quietly watching Fu Liangxia from his seat behind her, fixed his gaze on her expression.

The girl behind Bai Yan immediately grinned and teased, "So Brother Bai even sends design pieces to his models? That's quite the treatment."

Bai Yan smiled and lifted his eyes to look at Fu Liangxia. "Right? If I don't treat her better, someone might steal our model away."

He still remembered how Fu Er had proposed giving up their painting time for tutoring sessions.

And Fu Liangxia had seemed tempted.

That wouldn't do. Until they lost interest and called it off, she had to remain their model.

Fu Liangxia reached out to take it, about to say something.

A scorching gaze landed on her hand. Seeing she intended to accept it, Su Xingshu's eyes darkened instantly.

But he knew he had no right to interfere, so he could only watch as Fu Liangxia took it and thanked Bai Yan.

The smile on Su Xingshu's lips stiffened. Suddenly, he turned on his heel and strode off.

As he passed Fu Liangxia, whether intentionally or not, his raised arm bumped her hand.

The hair tie drifted to the floor with his movement.

"What's wrong with you?" Fu Liangxia bent down to pick up the hair tie, asking Su Xingshu casually.

But he only gave her a heavy, silent look from above before continuing his long strides toward the back.

He seemed very much unwilling to acknowledge her.

Bai Yan lifted his gaze, taking in the figure of someone who looked even more furious than before, and fell into thought.

It was Ju Jinghuan in the seat behind who bent down, beat Fu Liangxia to the hair tie, picked it up, gave it a light dusting, and handed it to her with a gentle voice. "Did that hurt?"

Fu Liangxia shook her head at the question. Strictly speaking, she felt Su Xingshu's bump had been quite skillful. She hadn't felt any pain, but she had indeed lost her grip on the hair tie for a split second and let it drop.

But Su Xingshu shouldn't be that bored, carefully engineering a move just to knock the hair tie out of her hand, right?

What would be the point…

"It's fine, thank you." She reached out to take the hair tie from Ju Jinghuan's hand. Because the hair tie was so narrow, her fingertips accidentally brushed against the boy's warm, dry palm.

The moment her cool, delicate fingertips touched his skin, Ju Jinghuan couldn't help but tremble slightly, as if a feather had brushed against him, sending a faint tickle spreading from his palm.

He curled his fingers involuntarily.

Then Fu Liangxia took the hair tie back, her expression showing no awareness of the accidental contact just now.

Only Ju Jinghuan was still savoring the moment.

Fu Liangxia's hands had the same fragile beauty as the rest of her—slender knuckles, long fingers, and pale skin flushed with a hint of pink, like a work of art displayed in a gallery.

As he watched Fu Liangxia put away the hair tie and turn to sit up straight, he found himself unwilling to let the conversation end so quickly. He said softly, "Your fingers are so cold. Are you feeling chilly? Want me to ask for a blanket?"

Actually, the temperature in the cabin was comfortable. Fu Liangxia just had poor blood circulation, leaving her hands and feet perpetually cold.

She looked at Ju Jinghuan, whose expression was gentle, his eyes seeming to hold a spring breeze, bringing comfort and perfectly measured concern.

"No need to trouble yourself. It's an old habit." Fu Liangxia smiled, her lips red and teeth white. Ju Jinghuan was momentarily stunned.

He recovered after two seconds, his voice softer than before. "Alright, just let me know if you need anything."

But before Fu Liangxia could respond, a voice dripped with sarcasm sounded above them. "If she needs anything, she can just call the flight attendant. No need to trouble you."

Fu Liangxia looked up at the sound and found it was Su Xingshu, who had come back.

She looked at him, her voice indifferent. "Why are you back? I thought you didn't want to talk to me."

Su Xingshu: "Is it me who doesn't want to talk to you, or is it you who won't give me the time of day?"

Fu Liangxia was taken aback, not understanding what he was suddenly being aggrieved about. "Me ignoring you?"

Su Xingshu: "From the moment I walked in until now, you haven't looked at me once."

"I did look, didn't I? Once?" Fu Liangxia recalled seriously.

Su Xingshu choked at her words, almost laughing in frustration.

His heart was unsettled.

He had dressed up specially today, even his driver had said he looked more dazzling than usual. Yet all he got from her was a "looked once"?

Never had Su Xingshu doubted his charm as much as he did in that moment.

Fu Liangxia felt the pressure around Su Xingshu drop even lower. His long lashes trembled, his thin lips pressed tightly together, clearly seething.

She widened her eyes, incredulous. "No way. You're not actually angry because of this, are you?"

Su Xingshu said coldly, "I'm not."

He was angry that she had accepted Bai Yan's gift and then turned around to have a "heartfelt gazes" with Ju Jinghuan, all lovey-dovey.

That Ju guy even cared about her cold fingers. Ha, laughable. Who cares about someone with just words?

Su Xingshu had immediately ordered a hundred aged ginseng roots from the estate and had them sent to the Fu residence before coming back.

But now, seeing Fu Liangxia so carefree and heartless, he felt the anger flare up again.

"Didn't you drink the ginseng I sent?"

She accepted Bai Yan's gift readily enough.

What ginseng?

Fu Liangxia thought hard, finally digging out from her memory that ginseng with the flashy packaging. She'd heard it was expensive, and since her body couldn't handle such strong supplements, she had listed it on a trading platform and sold it on the spot…

Just as Fu Liedong had said, it sold for a good price.

She just hadn't expected Su Xingshu to ask about something he'd casually given away, so her expression froze, showing a moment of unnaturalness. But she quickly covered it up with her flawless acting. "I drank it. It truly lives up to its name as a premium ginseng. The effect…"

Su Xingshu stared at her for two seconds, then suddenly curved his lips and cut her off. "You sold it."

Fu Liangxia obediently nodded, her eyes shimmering and clear as spring water, looking both pitiful and utterly innocent.

Caught by such a gaze, Su Xingshu felt the suppressed flames in his heart extinguish in an instant, leaving only a deep sense of helplessness.

He said, "You sold it, didn't you? Truly lives up to its name as a premium ginseng—must've fetched a good price?"

Fu Liangxia fell silent, her gaze slowly dropping.

Su Xingshu stared at her for two seconds, laughed in frustration, and suddenly grabbed her arm, pulling her up. "Come out with me."

She was yanked out by him, his strides wide, and she couldn't break free. In a few steps, he dragged her to the restroom door.

Amid the gasps of those around, Su Xingshu shoved her inside with force, then stepped in after her and quickly locked the door from inside.

A click sounded, and in the enclosed space, almost no gap remained between them. He leaned down, pressing her against the wall with slight force.

Fu Liangxia's back was against the cold wall, while the burning warmth of the high school boy in front of her seeped through the air.

She glanced at the locked door, then frowned at Su Xingshu, who had her hands pinned. "What the hell has gotten into you? I just sold one of your ginseng roots. You don't need to lock me up over it. If it's that serious, I'll pay you back—"

"Ow—"

"Su Xingshu, are you a dog?!"