Shu Er tilted her head. “What happened to him?”
Xu Chen scratched his head. “He’s probably having some issues with his family.”
Huo Chao only ignored calls and messages when he had conflicts with his family. It wasn’t intentional; he just wasn’t in the mood.
When Xu Chen said this, Shu Er had a general idea of what was going on.
According to the book, the early death of Huo Chao’s mother caused the strained relationship between the Huo family’s father and sons.
Huo Chao’s eldest brother was in his third year of college, steady and calm, and being groomed by their father as his successor.
But Huo Chao, the second son, was rebellious and disobedient, which made his relationship with their father particularly tense.
“Will he come to school today?”
Xu Chen thought for a moment, recalling past experiences, and decided to be honest with Shu Er. “He probably won’t.”
Shu Er quickly asked, “Then where would he go?”
Xu Chen wanted to say that, during times like this, Huo Chao preferred to be alone. But seeing Shu Er, whom Huo Chao took special care of, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse her and ended up giving her a location.
—
When Shu Er arrived at Wanghe Park, Huo Chao was lying on a swing with his eyes closed, basking in the sun.
In the sunlight, his face appeared pale, making the bruise on the left side of his face more prominent, as if someone had punched him.
Based on what Xu Chen had said earlier, Huo Chao had probably gotten into a fight with his father.
Shu Er approached him carefully, intending to surprise him, but even though she made almost no sound, Huo Chao immediately opened his eyes, his sharp gaze sweeping toward her.
He looked like he hadn’t rested well. His eyes were bloodshot, and his handsome, deep-set face carried a trace of weariness. When he saw Shu Er, a brief flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, but it quickly faded, replaced by calm indifference.
Shu Er sat down next to him without hesitation.
The swing wasn’t very big, so when she sat down, it was completely filled. She had to be careful not to touch him.
After realizing it was her, Huo Chao closed his eyes again, clearly signaling that he didn’t want to talk.
Shu Er leaned in to take a closer look at his injury. When Huo Chao sensed this, he opened his eyes, his gaze impatient. “What are you doing?”
Shu Er smiled. “What happened to you, brother?”
Huo Chao clearly didn’t want to discuss it.
Shu Er casually guessed, “It has nothing to do with me, right?”
Huo Chao’s closed eyes twitched, and Shu Er was startled. Could it really have something to do with her?
As she quickly processed the situation, an idea popped into her head.
Was it because of last night’s hot search?
Even though the post didn’t name anyone specifically, Huo’s father, who had donated many buildings to the school, must have known what happened to his son.
After thinking it through, Shu Er felt a bit sorry for the male lead. The fried chicken incident had been orchestrated by her, and Huo Chao had nothing to do with it.
It must have been miserable for an 18-year-old to get beaten by his father.
Though she felt bad, Shu Er couldn’t help but feel like laughing a little.
No, she couldn’t laugh. He got beaten because of her!
Shu Er rolled her eyes and reached out to gently touch the injured area on Huo Chao’s face.
Huo Chao caught her hand tightly, opened his eyes, and said hoarsely, “What are you doing?”
Shu Er hummed, “Just wanted to touch it.”
Huo Chao didn’t appreciate it. “No need.”
Shu Er didn’t care. Even though he was holding her hand, she was still flexible. She got up from the swing and leaned closer to blow on his wound. After blowing, she added, “A princess’s breath is very precious, you know.”
If it were someone else, she wouldn’t bother comforting them, even if they asked.
Isn’t this just a way to fish for something bigger?
After all, she hadn’t taken enough advantage of the male protagonist yet. She had to give him some sweetness every now and then, especially since he got hurt because of her.
Shu Er’s warm breath brushed against Huo Chao’s cheek, bringing a strange sensation that momentarily dazed him.
Seeing her opportunity, Shu Er leaned in and blew a few more times.
Her voice was soft. “Brother, how are you? Feeling better?”
They were so close that they could see their reflections in each other’s eyes.
Huo Chao looked up and saw Shu Er kneeling on the swing. With just a slight movement from her, the swing began to sway gently.
Shu Er’s playful antics somehow lifted Huo Chao’s suppressed mood.
Is a princess’s breath really that precious? But at eighteen, this was the first time someone had treated him this way.
Huo Chao slowly released Shu Er’s wrist and asked softly, “Why are you here?”
Shu Er, unashamed, shot back effortlessly with a cheesy line. “Because I was worried about you.”
Huo Chao was taken aback for a moment. After a few seconds, he replied, “I’m fine.”
Last night, he had a minor conflict with his father over the hot search.
Huo’s father disapproved of him not focusing on his studies and spending time on frivolous matters. In a fit of anger, he had thrown a teacup at him. When it hit him, Huo Chao’s temper flared, leading to a physical altercation. It wasn’t until his older brother returned just in time to intervene that they were separated.
Shu Er was skeptical. “Are you really okay?”
“Yeah.”
At first, Huo Chao had been affected, but now he was fine.
As soon as Shu Er heard that, she quickly scrambled off the swing, grabbed Huo Chao’s hand, and started pulling him back to school. “Then let’s get back to class.”
During the “Campus Goddess” selection event, she needed to drag Huo Chao around the campus to boost her presence.
The event would last seven days, during which students would campaign for votes.
That morning, Shu Er finally saw a photo of Zhang Beibei, the campus beauty Shu Rou had mentioned.
To be fair, Zhang Beibei looked beautiful in the picture—big eyes, white skin, and a typical “first love” face. However, photos could be deceiving, though being the campus beauty, her real appearance was likely not far from the image.
She had a booth set up at the school gate, and several admirers were campaigning for her. It seemed she hadn’t shown up herself, probably thinking it would lower her value.
Not only did they have posters of her, but they also displayed her resume.
She had placed second in the campus’s top ten singers competition and third in the dance competition.
At that moment, Shu Er realized that the “Campus Goddess” selection wasn’t just an event.
The competition was fierce.
She wasn’t the only one vying for the title. Many students had their own tricks to make their youth twinkle.
Shu Er’s enthusiasm was now fully ignited; she certainly didn’t want to let her efforts go to waste.
This event would last for seven days, but one day had already passed, leaving only six days. With two of those days being weekends, she had only four days left to campaign, during which everyone would showcase their talents.
If she wanted to win the title, she had no other ace up her sleeve—Huo Chao was her only trump card.
Huo Chao had initially planned to skip class today, as his appearance didn’t suit being in the classroom.
But Shu Er would never agree to that. If Huo Chao wasn’t at school, how could she get close to him?
As they passed a pharmacy, Shu Er went inside and bought a band-aid. Despite Huo Chao’s strong objections, she put it on him.
After applying it, she took a closer look. To her surprise, the bandage didn’t affect Huo Chao’s looks at all. In fact, it made him look more unruly and handsome.
Shu Er sincerely praised him. “Brother, you’re really handsome. I’ve never seen anyone more attractive than you at school!”
Huo Chao paused in his attempt to tear off the band-aid. Shu Er quickly grabbed his hand to stop him from causing trouble and firmly led him back to school, not giving him a chance to remove it.
“Brother, I saw Zhang Beibei’s photo today. So many people are helping her get votes. Will I be able to beat her?”
In addition to Zhang Beibei, there was Li Sijia, another top contender for the “Goddess” title in the second-year group. Without Shu Er’s participation, the title would likely have been decided between the two.
So Shu Er was feeling quite anxious.
Huo Chao sneered. “What are you so anxious about?”
Shu Er moved closer to him and pouted. “Brother, you’ll help me, right?”
Huo Chao curved his lips slightly, looking down at her with a nonchalant demeanor. “Just wait. I’ll help you stabilize the situation today.”
Wow.
Shu Er’s smile widened, her eyes shining with genuine delight. “Brother, you’re the best.”
Before long, Shu Er would find out how Huo Chao planned to help her!
It had to be said that although the male protagonist seemed clueless, he was really sweet! Really sweet.
Noice