Three-Way Flight

Bai Kewei walked over as well. She looked at what Cheng Xingzhou was holding, then suddenly realizing something, she turned to Fu Liangxia in disbelief. "Is what he said true?"

Bai Kewei couldn't tell the value of the golden pixiu, but she could guess it must be priceless. Still, she was a bit shocked by what Cheng Xingzhou's words implied.

If it had been any other special admit, Bai Kewei wouldn't have been surprised. But Fu Liangxia was the one doing this, and Bai Kewei just couldn't understand it.

Had she run into some kind of trouble?

But soon, she recalled some earlier events and frowned deeply. It seemed that ever since they had known each other, Xiao Xia had always been like this.

Had she suffered so much that she became like this?

Bai Kewei remembered the gossip on the forums about the Fu family being mere nouveau riche, and her heart clenched. She wondered what kind of life Xiao Xia had led before...

"No, it was just an accident."

In truth, Fu Liangxia hadn't expected her body to betray her like that—suddenly having an episode with no warning at all. She had thought that by this stage of the quest, her body would have mostly recovered.

Still, she had ruined everyone's diving fun. She lowered her gaze and apologized sincerely. "I'm sorry for causing everyone trouble because of me."

Cheng Xingzhou's originally dark expression stiffened. He saw the girl standing there coldly, her figure frail—she was about to fall over with a gust of wind, yet she was still thinking about whether she had caused others trouble.

The worry, frustration, anxiety, and anger that had been stuck in his chest seemed to burst like an over-inflated balloon, pricked by her words, leaving only a sigh.

Who among them was lacking this diving opportunity? Compared to the so-called "wasted time," whether she was okay was what they truly cared about.

Did she not understand that?

Yet, with a hundred thoughts flashing through his mind, all Cheng Xingzhou said in the end was, "If you know you're causing trouble, don't do it again next time."

His voice was stiff, but the others didn't react much, as if they were used to it.

Only Cheng Xingzhou himself realized he had again said something entirely different from what he wanted to express. He pressed his lips together and turned to walk to the other side of the deck, facing the sea in silence.

Bai Kewei saw him walk away and muttered, "What's with the attitude?"

Then she turned to Fu Liangxia, took her hand, and said, "Xiao Xia, don't overthink it. I don't know about others, but I definitely don't blame you!"

"Thank you," Fu Liangxia said, squeezing Bai Kewei's hand slightly and giving her a warm smile.

"But Xiao Xia, how did you find this? It looks so exquisite. It must be expensive, right?" Bai Kewei examined the golden pixiu that Cheng Xingzhou had tossed back into Fu Liangxia's hand, marveling more and more at its craftsmanship.

Bai Kewei felt that if such an object had been placed before her, she would have made the same choice as Fu Liangxia.

Even someone like Bai Kewei, who wasn't particularly knowledgeable about collectibles, could tell that the value of such a crafted piece far exceeded the materials used.

Su Xingshu, however, glanced at it a few times, feeling a vague sense of familiarity, but he couldn't recall where he had seen it before.

Hearing Bai Kewei's words, Fu Liangxia curled her lips slightly and brushed it off vaguely.

Because the golden pixiu wasn't just expensive—what mattered was its true value: it was the task reward from the System, the bargaining chip she could use to acquire more shares.

As for why so many people had dived there without finding it, and only she could pick it up, of course, it was because the System had just placed it there.

Since it was a quest item, she could have the System place it elsewhere. But Fu Liangxia thought that having it found at the bottom of the sea would give the object a more legendary backstory.

The only thing she hadn't accounted for was her physical condition, but it wasn't a big problem.

"You like pixiu?" Fu Haoyao suddenly said out of the blue.

Fu Liangxia was stunned for a moment, not understanding his train of thought, and casually replied, "I guess?"

Fu Haoyao immediately smiled brightly, revealing a row of neat white teeth. "I see."

Only he knew what he meant.

Fu Liangxia couldn't understand a dog's logic, so she stopped trying to guess. Fu Haoyao, unaware of her confusion, was scrolling through his phone, occasionally smiling at the screen, completely absorbed in his own imagination.

She caught a glimpse and saw it was a link to some well-known foreign auction website.

"Once we return to shore, everyone can clean up. In the afternoon, we'll split into groups for activities," the coach said, clapping his hands in his slightly accented English.

Since this was a relaxing trip, the school naturally wouldn't pack their schedule too tightly. The morning was only arranged for diving. After finishing, they could go back to the hotel to rest, grab lunch, and then have group activities in the afternoon.

Fu Liangxia flipped through the afternoon schedule and was surprised to find it was paragliding.

Paragliding—the kind of activity that usually appears in romance variety shows, meant to quickly heighten feelings between male and female guests.

Two people seemed just right, but three? Wouldn't that be a bit odd?

Fu Liangxia imagined the scene and was at a loss for words.

Especially since her group partners were a pair of close-knit twins—Fu Liangxia felt even more like the third wheel.

She began to feel reluctant about the afternoon activity.

But just as she was about to lie that she wasn't feeling well from the near-drowning, she noticed a line of large print at the bottom of the camping itinerary: all students who completed the required activities would receive an exquisite souvenir provided by the Student Council.

It was probably meant to motivate them to participate seriously. For most Saintland students, they might not necessarily love the teachers, but they definitely respected the Student Council enough.

Just thinking that the gift might be from Cheng Xingzhou, the president, was enough to make them want to stick it out.

Besides, these activities weren't too demanding. The afternoon paragliding was within an acceptable level of thrill, and the evening bonfire party fulfilled most people's expectations of a beach camping trip.

As for Fu Liangxia, she didn't care about the Student Council—she just wanted the gift.

She figured Cheng Xingzhou wouldn't be stingy. Just thinking about the possible value, she felt that being squeezed between the twins wasn't so bad after all.

Worst case, she'd just pretend to be invisible.

With that resolved, Fu Liangxia returned to the hotel in a good mood.

Absurdly, because the school claimed they wanted to cultivate self-reliance, the hotel didn't provide meals; students had to cook for themselves.

Most people who attended Saintland were pampered and couldn't tell wheat from chaff. If they relied on them to cook, the camping trip would be over, and they'd all end up in the hospital.

So when assigning rooms, they made sure each hotel had at least one special admit. Since those from average families, when their parents were at work, couldn't cook, they'd have to eat out.

But eating out constantly wasn't nutritious and was also costly, so almost all special admits knew how to cook.

Coincidentally, in Fu Liangxia's building, Bai Kewei wasn't the only one who could cook.

Cheng Xingzhou and Su Xingshu, having lived alone since childhood, though they had nannies, had picked up some basic cooking skills—at least they could steam rice and fry eggs.

As for Bai Xin and Bai Yan, they had traveled abroad often, and since most foreign cuisines, especially in Scotland, weren't that tasty, they had honed excellent skills in Chinese cooking.

After talking, they realized that Fu Haoyao, who had spent ages learning to grill meat, was the "most useless" one.

Realizing this, the puppy went into a sulk.

But no one cared.

It was hot at noon, so Fu Liangxia changed out of her swimsuit into a pale yellow sundress, with thin straps tied into a bow on her shoulders, making her look even more delicate and slender.

When she arrived at the open kitchen, Su Xingshu, Cheng Xingzhou, and Bai Xin were already washing vegetables. Three guys over 186 cm stood behind the counter, making the originally spacious area feel a bit cramped.

Fu Liangxia didn't join them. She took the ingredients she needed from the fridge and stood at the outer side of the counter to wash the vegetables.

Fu Liedong, who was beside Su Xingshu, saw her and fanned himself as he approached. Just as Fu Liangxia was about to pull out a cutting board to place the vegetables, she turned and met his gaze.

Seeing Fu Liedong's sly grin again, she instinctively felt trouble brewing, so she raised her hand to call over Bai Kewei, who had just come down.

Bai Kewei originally didn't want to cook with the F4—just thinking about all of them crammed in the kitchen made her shudder.

But then she thought of Fu Liangxia. If she didn't go over, Xiao Xia would be alone among those stinky boys. That was too dangerous.

With that thought, Bai Kewei decided the distaste could be overlooked.

She walked over and said to Fu Liangxia with a smile, "What are you making? Let me help."

Fu Liedong, completely ignored by his own sister, was displeased, and seeing a special admit didn't improve his mood. He lowered his voice and threatened Fu Liangxia, "Don't get involved with her."

Fu Liangxia ignored him completely. Fu Liedong wasn't malicious at heart, but he was deeply influenced by Fu Father's philosophy of looking down on the poor, and he always looked down on those poorer than them.

It was ridiculous that the Fu family, which had risen from the bottom, would disdain the lower class, as if eager to draw a line between themselves and them.

Fu Liangxia had no doubt that if Su Xingshu gave the order, Fu Liedong would package her up and hand her over.

Just like before she had transmigrated, Fu Father had only seen the original owner as a tool to climb higher.

Fu Liangxia had never understood why the original family, before they became wealthy, had sent her to a sanatorium on par with Cheng Xingzhou's level.

Later, she thought that perhaps Fu Father had a hand in it.

After all, could a small child really have such intense feelings that she could face the same cold face every day and still remain passionate?

Fu Liangxia thought maybe not.

It was just that the original owner was young then, and many memories had faded, so Fu Liangxia couldn't confirm.

But she was a good judge of character. She knew what Fu Father was like, and she also knew what awaited her if she hadn't shown her value after transmigrating and hadn't been groomed as his heir.

At best, it would be called a political marriage; at worst, if some powerful old man asked Fu Father for her, he would probably wash her clean and deliver her without a second thought.

Like father, like son.

Fu Liangxia had always understood this principle.

So when Fu Liedong whispered to her what dishes Su Xingshu liked, she wasn't surprised—she just slapped him in response.

The slap was so loud that it stunned everyone present.

Fu Liedong froze in place, not understanding why she hit him.

He was just giving well-meaning advice.

The grievance in Fu Liedong's eyes was almost tangible.

Although the slap didn't hurt, in front of the F4 and Wang Ziwei, it was a blow to his pride.

Fu Haoyao ran over and asked Fu Liangxia if her hand hurt.

Su Xingshu also looked at him with an expression that said, "What stupid thing did you do now?" Fu Liedong felt even more wronged.

"Sis, why did you hit me?" Fu Liedong's eyes turned red, and Fu Liangxia guessed it was out of anger.

She didn't want to make a scene in public, so she put down her things and said to Fu Liedong, "Come outside," and left the living room.

Fu Liangxia waited in the yard for about a minute before Fu Liedong finally came out slowly. The sun was strong now, so no one wanted to be outside, and their conversation wouldn't be overheard.

"I'm so wronged. I gave you good advice, and you treat me like this," Fu Liedong complained as soon as he saw her.

"You think I don't know what you meant?" Fu Liangxia said.

"Of course I know you know," Fu Liedong said, as if talking in a tongue twister, with a confused look. "Shouldn't you be happy? I'm your wingman. Once you learn Su Ge's preferences, he'll like you more, and you can..."

Fu Liangxia interrupted him impatiently, "Why would I want him to like me more?"

"Isn't that what you want? At the start of the term, I even warned you not to mess with them," Fu Liedong choked, then said loudly, "Now you've gone this far, Su Ge is interested in you too. I've decided to help you, and you're not even grateful!"

Fu Liangxia was speechless. "You should go get your head checked."

"I also got into Class Two on my own merits. I might not be as smart as you, but I'm not that stupid!" Fu Liedong was furious. "Fine, it's your business. Why am I even worrying about it?"

Fu Liangxia couldn't figure out if he wanted her to be with Su Xingshu or not, going back and forth like that.

He was probably conflicted himself.

Expecting this blockhead to reach a conclusion was hopeless. Fu Liangxia said bluntly, "Stop worrying. I don't plan on climbing the social ladder by marrying someone, so you can put away those complicated thoughts. They look stupid."

"Remember what you said." Fu Liedong glanced at her, as if making some resolution, and tossed out, "Anyway, men are unreliable."

With that, he turned and hurried away.

Fu Liangxia stayed where she was for a long time, feeling that something was off.

Fu Liedong had always advised her to stay away from the F4 and not pursue romantic relationships with them. But now, he was suddenly giving her ideas to make Su Xingshu like her more. His attitude had done a complete 180-degree flip. It couldn't be that he had actually hit his head.

So, someone must have said something to him...

Who could it be?

Fu Father's image suddenly flashed through her mind, and she froze. A chill ran down her spine. Everything seemed to fall into place.

If it were him, it would be entirely possible for him to change Fu Liedong's mind and make him so conflicted.

As for what Fu Father was after, being an ambitious person herself, Fu Liangxia could guess—

He wanted more shares.

Fu Father wasn't stupid. He had no other cards to play, so he wanted to bring in a fourth party to stir the pot. And coincidentally, through some chance, he had learned of Su Xingshu's interest in her. So the plan was born.

This wasn't baseless speculation. Their living room had an intelligent robot with 24-hour surveillance. It must have been Su Xingshu's behavior during his last visit to her home that revealed something, alerting Fu Father.

Realizing this, Fu Liangxia's expression turned serious.

But fortunately, she had been on guard and wasn't completely unprepared.

...

Dinner was generally pleasant. After eating and drinking their fill, Bai Kewei returned to her room first. Fu Liangxia wanted to stay and wash the dishes, but Fu Haoyao and Bai Yan shooed her out, saying since they didn't cook, they'd clean up.

Hearing that, Fu Liangxia didn't argue. But on her way back to her room, she saw Su Xingshu waiting halfway.

"Can I have two minutes of your time?" Su Xingshu looked up, a slight smile curling at his lips.

"Go ahead." Fu Liangxia followed him into his room but didn't sit; she stood by the door, as if ready to leave as soon as he finished.

Su Xingshu didn't mind. He frowned slightly, pondering for a moment, then explained, "Whatever Fu Liedong said, it wasn't my intention."

He sometimes really feared Fu Liedong's stupidity. When he saw Fu Liedong look at him and then whisper something to Fu Liangxia, causing her to turn cold, he silently cursed.

Fu Liangxia didn't say whether she believed him; she only asked, "What do you think he said?"

Su Xingshu stared at her. "I can guess. Probably something presumptuous."

"So are there others like him lately?" Fu Liangxia asked suddenly.

She wanted to know if Fu Father had probed him.

Seeing the slight pause in Su Xingshu's expression, she understood.

"Ignore him," she said.

Su Xingshu: "I know. I'm not that despicable."

Fu Liangxia nodded, satisfied with what she needed to know, and turned to leave.

But as she twisted the doorknob, the male voice sounded from behind: "Don't hate me."

His voice was low, but Fu Liangxia heard it.

She paused, then opened the door and left.

Fu Liangxia wouldn't feel any hatred toward Su Xingshu. Apart from his sharp tongue, he wasn't bad to her; she just didn't like him yet.

So no one, not even the so-called father of this body, could make decisions for her.

*

As for paragliding itself, Fu Liangxia loved it. The wind whistled in her ears, the vast sea lay below, and that feeling of freedom, soaring through the sky, made her feel like an eagle that could go anywhere.

If she weren't sandwiched between two extremely high-presence boys on either side, Fu Liangxia thought she might enjoy it even more.

Technically, paragliding wasn't a very safe activity; there should be an instructor with them.

But Bai Yan said he knew a bit about it, then flew a solo lap gracefully over the blue sea, earning screams from countless fans on the shore. After that, the instructor confidently handed the paraglider to the three of them.

Fu Liangxia: "..."

She wasn't reassured.

Even though Bai Yan looked cool and impressive, the meaningful smile on his face gave Fu Liangxia the ominous feeling of being on a shady ride.

"This is my first time flying three people," Bai Yan casually remarked while the staff strapped them in.

In the deathly silence, Fu Liangxia was speechless for a few seconds, her thoughts wandering.

What was wrong with him?

If it's three people flying, just say three people flying, but he had to say "three-way"...

Fu Liangxia felt the gazes around them turn suspicious. She covered her face, feeling helpless.

Bai Xin: "Ge, watch your wording."

"Hm?" Bai Yan paused for two seconds, then squinted, looking at them and saying, "Why are your ears so red? Thinking about something dirty?"

Fu Liangxia covered her ears. "Be glad the staff can't understand us, or I can't imagine how embarrassing it would be."

"Scaredy-cat. You can't even think it," Bai Yan said with a smile. "I can."

Fu Liangxia turned away, not wanting to talk to him, feeling exhausted.

But as she turned her head, she accidentally met Bai Xin's indifferent eyes. Their gazes locked, and both were momentarily stunned.

Bai Xin had just scoffed softly at Bai Yan's improper words, shaking his head and ignoring him.

Instead, he focused on gripping the handle in front of him.

Suddenly feeling a gaze on his side, he thought it was his brother teasing him again and wanted to ignore it. But the scent that suddenly grew stronger by his nose revealed the owner's identity.

He turned his head and met Fu Liangxia's gaze.

Because of the sport, the girl had her hair tied up, revealing a slender, elegant neck. It seemed the fragrance came from there.

"No, no," the instructor said in English. "Press in closer."

His voice came abruptly, and his action was even more startling.

As soon as the words fell, Fu Liangxia felt herself pressed against two young, strong bodies. The heat from them radiated onto her, and each outer arm was against a long, powerful arm, sandwiching her between them.

Fu Liangxia vaguely felt something change, but she couldn't describe it.

The boys' skin, rougher than hers, pressed against her, feeling a bit strange.

"Ready?" Bai Yan asked from her right. When he turned his head, being so close, his lips almost brushed her ear.

His warm breath spilled onto her earlobe, and Fu Liangxia shivered slightly.

Fu Liangxia said, "Don't do anything too crazy. Respect life."

Bai Yan had originally wanted to tease her; he always found it amusing to make her react.

But when he got close, he was captivated for a moment by the cool fragrance on her.

It was a scent with refined taste, a sense of appropriate distance, tempting one to explore further. He averted his gaze without a trace, turning forward to steady his racing heart.

He didn't dare take a deep breath, afraid that he'd catch her scent again and affect his performance.

"3, 2, 1—go!" As the instructor's command fell, the three of them ran and jumped off the platform, flying straight into the distant sky meeting the sea.

The sense of weightlessness hit, wind filled their collars, and their ears rang. Fu Liangxia couldn't open her eyes against the wind, then felt her body shift direction as the paraglider turned.

Golden sunlight pierced through the clouds. Fu Liangxia opened her eyes and saw herself diving straight toward the sea's surface. The green waves undulated slightly, but her heart was in her throat.

Just as they were about to crash, Bai Yan and Bai Xin simultaneously controlled the paraglider to change direction.

After completing the turn in perfect sync, they exchanged a smile and said, "It's been a while since we've done this. Surprised we haven't gotten rusty."

"Such coordination, just as expected of us."

Fu Liangxia, sandwiched in the middle: "..."

Why did she even come?

The two did remember to care about her feelings, after all, she was the sole spectator and participant of this "thrilling performance."

Bai Yan: "So, did you have fun? Were you thrilled?"

Fu Liangxia, who had almost thought she'd dive headfirst into the sea: "...Honestly, I'd rather beat you up."

Bai Yan laughed heartily, and even Bai Xin's always calm expression cracked into a smile.

"Are you relaxed now?" he asked in a low voice.

It made Fu Liangxia freeze for a moment. She thought she had hidden it well. Did they notice anyway?

So they had done this on purpose to cheer her up?

A soft spot in her heart melted, and Fu Liangxia suddenly felt a bit moved.

But just then, Bai Yan cut in from the side, "Stunned by our excellent observational skills? Don't worry, that's just how geniuses are. No need to feel inferior."

That instantly wiped away all her emotions.

While they were having a peaceful time, the onlookers outside were buzzing.

The earlier sight of the three diving vertically and then soaring back up had shocked everyone.

"Holy crap, awesome!" Wang Ziwei couldn't help but pat Fu Liedong beside him and whisper, "Do you think they're experiencing the suspension bridge effect? I was nervous just watching. The ones up there must be even more stirred up..."

"Don't talk nonsense."

"How could that be?!"

"No way."

Three voices sounded simultaneously, each denying his words.

Fu Liedong was in deep conflict, unsure what Fu Liangxia was thinking. But he had always believed that if someone among the F4 had to be his brother-in-law, it could only be Su Shao. So he subconsciously said, "Don't talk nonsense."

As for Fu Haoyao... Fu Haoyao was so jealous his eyes turned red.

Watching the three fall together, even with bitterness in his heart, he had to admit how beautiful and impactful that scene was.

Fu Liangxia's clothes fluttered in the wind, revealing a small section of her slender, pale waist, soft and curved. Just looking made one's heart race.

And the other two were also people.

Fu Haoyao gritted his teeth, regretting for the ten-thousandth time why he hadn't acted first to be in Fu Liangxia's group.

His athletic nerves were even better than the Bai twins. He could have done more thrilling moves.

Cheng Xingzhou had no extra thoughts, just purely thinking that Wang Ziwei's "suspension bridge effect" guess was absurd and a bit grating.

If two people doing a thrilling activity together made them fall in love, then the world would be chaos.

Cheng Xingzhou scoffed inwardly, but his gaze uncontrollably followed the three in the air.

What was Fu Liangxia feeling at that moment? In one word—

Awesome!

The fresh scent of the sea was invigorating, and the high-speed gliding paraglider seemed ready to elope with her to the ends of the earth. Fu Liangxia's mind was blank, all thoughts of Fu Father and shares thrown away.

She was just living in the moment, enjoying this freedom.

The consequence of having too much fun was that when Fu Liangxia reached the shore, her arms ached and her legs were weak.

She flopped down onto the sand and lay there, completely sprawled out.

Seeing this, Bai Yan also copied her and lay down on the beach. The warm sunlight bathed them, so comfortable it made one drowsy.

Especially after such an exciting activity.

Bai Xin didn't want to join them in being uncouth, so he found a spot nearby and sat down with his knees bent.

The three had different postures, but when framed together, it looked oddly harmonious and pleasing to the eye.

Someone, appreciating the sight, took a picture and, with the trio's permission, posted it on their social media.

She was a somewhat known independent photographer, originally on vacation, but never expected to capture such a brilliant shot.

Once posted, the photo quickly gained traction. With a flood of likes and comments asking for the social media accounts of the people in the photo and speculating if they were celebrities, an ordinary photo climbed to the top of the trending list within hours.

And this caught the attention of certain people.

But that was a story for later.