Getting Out (Second Update)

Fu Liangxia looked up at Su Xingshu. The sharp lines of his jaw were tense, and when he dropped his gaze to her, there was a trace of aggression in his eyes.

At her words, irritation flickered across Su Xingshu's face. He suddenly yanked her wrist up and, in a burst of anger, bit down on her pale skin.

He lowered his voice, stepping toward her. "Yeah, I'm a dog."

Fu Liangxia frowned, sensing that Su Xingshu wasn't in his right mind.

It was as if his emotions had built up to a breaking point and finally erupted. His eyes, fixed on her, seemed to hide a storm.

He said, "I'm a dog that wags its tail and begs, yet I can't win a single bit of your affection. Why are you so good to Fu Haoyao and Bai Yan, but so bad to me? You sold the ginseng I gave you, but you can't even let Bai Yan's hair tie fall to the ground? How am I worse than them?"

Fu Liangxia froze, startled by his outburst. Selling the ginseng he gave her was indeed wrong, but leaving it at home would have been wasteful. Better to trade it for something more practical—thinking of it as Su Xingshu's angel investment.

She just hadn't expected him to be this angry. She thought it was a casual gift, like tossing ten yuan to a beggar on the street—a negligible amount for someone of his wealth.

Wasn't that the case? Why was he so upset?

Actually, Su Xingshu regretted it the moment he yelled, especially after seeing Fu Liangxia stand there motionless, her clear eyes glistening with a hint of moisture as if she were frightened.

He felt a pang of guilt and hated that he always lost control of his mouth.

Seeing her like this, he suddenly softened his voice. "Sorry, I wasn't blaming you..."

Fu Liangxia glanced at him in surprise. Of course she knew that Su Xingshu's sudden outburst was nothing more than the futile anger of having his feelings trampled, and his dissatisfaction with her perceived "unfair" treatment.

Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the closed door, worrying that his words might slip through the crack and cause misunderstandings about their relationship.

Fu Liangxia said, "I know, but there's something you've misunderstood. I don't favor anyone."

If Bai Yan, Fu Haoyao, or anyone else gave her ginseng, she'd sell it too.

That was just who she was.

In her past life, Fu Liangxia had been used to hardship. To save up for school fees, she'd braved the rain to fetch packages for her wealthy roommate, stayed up late ghostwriting commercial copy, and even fought over scraps with a nearby old junk collector in her toughest days, getting her hand smacked with a bamboo pole. She knew all too well what it felt like to be broke.

She was afraid of poverty.

She could go without anything, but not money.

Everything might betray her, but money wouldn't.

The poor man's mindset is that nothing flashy is as useful as cold, hard cash.

The two stared at each other in silence. Finally, Su Xingshu looked away first, closing his eyes gently without a word.

He thought, he was hopeless. The moment he looked into Fu Liangxia's eyes, he suddenly felt that selling the ginseng was fine—no big deal, as long as she was happy.

It didn't matter that she didn't like his gift; at least she'd accepted it, and it stayed with her in another way.

"Come out." Just then, a voice rang out from outside, accompanied by a knock on the door.

Fu Liangxia was startled by the sudden sound, thinking it was a classmate in a hurry to use the restroom, but the voice sounded familiar—it seemed to be Bai Xin.

However, the tone was different from Bai Xin's usual. It wasn't the indifferent flatness of someone who cared about nothing, but something more cocky and forceful.

Su Xingshu's attention was drawn by the knock. As a close friend of nearly twenty years, he immediately recognized the voice. "Bai Xin?"

Since when did Bai Xin bother with such trivial matters?

Seizing the moment of his distraction, Fu Liangxia pulled her hand free and quickly unlocked the door.

Su Xingshu didn't react.

Outside, Bai Xin, who had been knocking with one hand, withdrew it and stuck it in his pocket. He slowly lowered his head, his gaze sweeping over her face, and said lazily, "Finally opened. I was about to get a crew member to force it open."

Just as he finished speaking, Ju Jinghuan arrived with a crew member.

Ju Jinghuan approached and found the restroom door already open, with the situation more chaotic than he'd imagined.

He glanced at Bai Xin with slight surprise, since he never meddled in others' affairs, then looked at the crew member behind him. "Thanks, but we don't seem to need this anymore. Feel free to go about your business."

The crew member gave the attractive young man and woman standing at the restroom door a peculiar look, then glanced at the classmates in front who were casting subtle glances their way. Her expression couldn't help but show a hint of shock that said, "The upper class sure plays wild," but she said, "Alright, sir. If you need anything, just let me know."

With that, she left with the keys.

Fu Liangxia: "..."

She felt she understood the crew member's expression.

But she'd rather not have.

Bai Xin casually glanced at Ju Jinghuan, who had brought the crew member, and it dawned on him that even if he hadn't come, Fu Liangxia would have had help.

He curled his lips and said with a hint of meaning, "You're quite popular, huh. Looks like I was just meddling."

After saying that, Bai Xin turned and left.

Ju Jinghuan frowned slightly. "What's wrong with him?"

He didn't seem like his usual self.

Fu Liangxia caught a familiar whiff from his tone. Bai Xin himself wouldn't talk like that. The only one who would be so flippant was his other personality.

But since no one at school was talking about it, it seemed everyone was unaware of Bai Xin's dual personality. Maybe his usual aloofness was partly for that reason.

Without close friends, no one would naturally notice his personality switch. Even Fu Liangxia only knew because of the system's hint. Otherwise, she wouldn't have noticed either.

So, considering that Bai Xin might not want others to know about his dual personality, she casually said, "He's probably just in a hurry to use the restroom."

Ju Jinghuan's mouth twitched. He pointed at the restroom door beside them, then gestured toward the direction Bai Xin had gone. "He wanted to use the restroom?"

Fu Liangxia just made it up. "Maybe he forgot again."

Ju Jinghuan: "..."

He didn't know what to say for a moment, so he turned to Su Xingshu and said gently, "Talk things out. Don't get physical. Fu Liangxia doesn't look too well. What if she gets hurt?"

Su Xingshu smirked at his words, his eyes fixed on him, a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Oh, so you're an expert now?"

Ju Jinghuan sighed lightly. "I know I don't have the right to lecture you..."

"Good you know," Su Xingshu cut him off directly. His already striking features grew sharper with his expression. He said, "This is between her and me. No need to trouble yourself."

Fu Liangxia turned to glance at Su Xingshu beside her, but he ignored her gaze, leaving her with nothing but a jawline more defined than her life plan.

Ju Jinghuan's expression slightly changed at Su Xingshu's words. He stared at him for a long moment, then his eyes darkened.

"You're right, but if she asks me for help, then I'd have every right to get involved, wouldn't I?" Ju Jinghuan narrowed his eyes and smiled.

His gentle, jade-like features, with that smile, made him look even more like the warm senior from a manga, but the aura he exuded was cold.

Su Xingshu looked as if he'd heard a joke. "If she were to 'ask you for help,' that is."

He dragged out those four words, enunciating each one deliberately.

Not to mention that he would never actually do anything too harsh to Fu Liangxia, but even if she were in trouble, why would she ask this Ju guy for help? Who was he? Was he really close to Fu Liangxia?

He was just an ordinary classmate.

Not even as close as him, let alone compared to the likes of Fu Haoyao and Cheng Xingzhou.

However much Su Xingshu hated Fu Liangxia's favoritism toward others, that's how much satisfaction he felt now, mentally putting Ju Jinghuan down.