Reality

The afternoon wasn't the best time for studying. Fu Liangxia had barely gotten through a page of her English reading when drowsiness crept over her. Still, she'd already rested after lunch, and another nap would just be wasting time, so she got up and opened the window beside her desk.

It was early autumn, and the weather was cool. The natural breeze flowing in through the window blew away her drowsiness.

The view from the second floor was pleasant—she could see the greenery of the courtyard, hear the sound of water pouring from a bamboo pipe and striking the rocks, and catch the faint scent of leaves drifting in the air.

Fu Liangxia leaned on the windowsill and suddenly noticed a black sedan driving along the path, eventually pulling up in front of the door.

She didn't know much about cars, but she could tell from the sleek lines of the body and the luxurious emblem that it was expensive.

The next second, three people got out of the car.

Her unlucky little brother, Su Xingshu, and a girl she'd never seen before.

She wasn't the same style as Cheng Xiaoran, whom she'd met at the cafeteria at noon, but she was plenty pretty.

Maybe she was the real reason he and Cheng Xiaoran broke up? Fu Liangxia speculated idly.

For now, though, the two of them didn't seem to be dating. She could tell the girl was still distant from Su Xingshu, along with the timid joy that surfaced when she looked up at him.

The pure white flower type, huh... Fu Liangxia mused. Wasn't that the type Su Xingshu hated the most in the original novel? Apparently he'd never dated a girl like that, and had even avoided them like snakes and scorpions. So why now?

Just as her mind was wandering, Fu Liedong pushed open the courtyard gate. His voice, shrill as a duck's scream, rang out and landed clearly in her ears: "Brother Su, want to come in and hang out for a bit?"

Su Xingshu said something in response, but his voice was somewhat lower than the average guy's—not like Fu Liedong's loudmouth—so Fu Liangxia didn't catch his reply.

But it was probably a refusal. After all, with a beauty at his side, who'd have any interest in fooling around with her silly brother?

Fu Liangxia sneered inwardly.

Whether it was because the door had been opened or for some other reason, Su Xingshu, who was talking to Fu Liedong, suddenly looked up slightly and caught sight of Fu Liangxia by the window. He raised an eyebrow in surprise.

The look on his face nearly made her feel like she was some kind of peeping tom.

Peeping tom?

Fu Liangxia couldn't believe the emotion she'd read off him. She immediately reached out and shut the window, pulling her head back inside so Su Xingshu wouldn't misunderstand and think she had any interest in him.

Seeing the girl dart her head back in like a startled little rabbit, Su Xingshu felt a faint itch in his teeth and suddenly changed his mind: "Then I'll come in and sit for a while."

...

Just then, Fu Keren also finished seeing off his guests. He walked up the stairs, stopped at Fu Liangxia's door, and gave a gentle smile: "Xiaoxia, well done. How did it feel going to Saintland for the first time today?"

Fu Liangxia casually turned on the air conditioning in her room and turned to see her father leaning against the doorframe, wearing a pair of silver-rimmed glasses. His demeanor was refined, and his gaze at her was filled with approval.

But she found it hard to feel close to him. After all, if he truly cared about his daughter, how could he have left her in a sanatorium all those years without a word? Over the years, the only memories Fu Liangxia could find in the original body were of Fu Liedong coming to play with her.

Every time, he'd complain she was frail and troublesome, but he still took her for a walk in the small garden every week and told her about his school life. That was Fu Liedong—not Fu Keren, who couldn't even show up once in six months.

As for the so-called Fu family heirship, it had never been given to her by Fu Keren in the first place. She'd fought for it herself.

Fu Liangxia smiled too, her smile as gentle as Fu Keren's: "It felt pretty good, Father."

In her view, Fu Keren had been warped by Grandmother into something morbid. He strived for perfection in everything, demanding that both himself and his heir follow the path he'd laid out, achieve the best grades, and do everything to the highest standard.

So he couldn't stand Fu Liedong, who was sloppy, only cared about having fun, and had mediocre grades. He was too far from the image of the successor Fu Keren had in mind.

But the obedient and outstanding Fu Liangxia was different. Fu Keren had once seen a younger version of himself in her—especially the ambition in her eyes when she'd privately approached him to ask to be made the heir.

"Good. Once you're at Saintland, try to build good relations with the children of the four great families." Fu Keren paused in thought for a moment. "That kid Fu Liedong is doing well on that front—after half a year at school, he's already chummy with Su Xingshu."

Fu Liangxia said nothing to that. If that kind of unequal, sycophantic following could be called "chummy," then sure.

"But Xiaoxia, your health has always been poor, and you enrolled late. It won't be easy for you to get close to them through the usual channels. However, this is a good opportunity. I went through a lot of trouble to get you this chance to tutor Fu Haoyao—you need to seize it firmly."

Since Fu Keren pursued perfection, he naturally also pursued maximum benefit. Tutoring Fu Haoyao killed two birds with one stone: it would curry favor with Feng Qian and the real Fu family head behind him, bringing tangible gains, while also helping his daughter build a closer relationship with Fu Haoyao. Fu Liangxia had to do it perfectly.

Fu Liangxia smiled and agreed. These benefits weren't what she cared about, but building a good relationship with Fu Haoyao truly was a matter of life and death—

She still needed to raise his Affinity Points to 60 and complete the System task just to survive.

After giving his instructions, Fu Keren left for the company again. Fu Liangxia flopped onto her bed and started thinking about her next move.

Just then, her door was knocked on.

The voice outside was deep and pleasant, carrying a hint of nonchalance: "What were you hiding from just now?"

It was familiar, but the owner of that voice shouldn't be here right now.

Fu Liangxia got up and pulled open the door, only to find Su Xingshu—who was supposed to be spending the evening with his beauty—leaning against the doorframe, shooting her an ambiguous smile.

Standing outside Fu Liangxia's door, beside Su Xingshu, was an utterly baffled Fu Liedong.

Su Xingshu had one hand in his pocket, his gaze landing on the girl's round eyes, which had widened in surprise. He couldn't help but laugh: "You saw me just now, so why are you so shocked?"

Fu Liangxia was dressed very casually at home. Unlike the neat and polished image she presented at school, she was wearing a dark green spaghetti-strap slip dress, her long hair falling loosely over her shoulders, revealing her slender collarbone line.

Because of her chronic illness and years spent in hospital rooms without seeing the sun, her complexion was paler than most people's.

Su Xingshu stood at the door and saw the cool air from the air conditioner lift her hem and her hair. Soft, warm light fell around her, making her breathtakingly beautiful.

Su Xingshu narrowed his eyes.

He'd thought he would never like this type, but...

It was different.

Su Xingshu had previously thought his racing heartbeat around Fu Liangxia was because he hadn't seen a pretty enough girl of the pure white flower type in too long.

So he'd deliberately picked one from among his pursuers.

But no. It felt wrong.

When he looked at that girl, his heart only felt annoyance.

So it wasn't the type—it was solely this person before him.

[Su Xingshu Affinity Points +3, current Affinity Points: 26.]

Just as he stood there lost in thought, the girl he'd brought along, having waited for him for ages, followed him upstairs.

When she saw Fu Liangxia at the doorway of the room, her expression froze for a moment. Then, as if suddenly realizing something, her face turned stark white.

So that was it...

So that was why Su Xingshu, who never touched girls of her pure white flower type, had suddenly asked her out today.

She'd been overjoyed at first, thinking her devotion had finally been noticed. But the moment she saw Fu Liangxia, she suddenly felt like a clown.