Rumors, once they start spreading, are easily exaggerated.
At first, the clerk said, “Mr. Huo will pay for the whole meal today,” but as the students of No. 1 Middle School embellished the story, it gradually turned into, “Huo Chao spent a lot of money just to make Shu Er happy.” This version was far different from the original, resembling the old story of King You of Zhou lighting the signal fires just to amuse his consort, Bao Si.
When the news reached Huo Chao, he initially didn’t take it seriously. He thought it was just a joke.
Surely, he would know if he had done something like that, right?
He hadn’t. He knew nothing about it. So when he heard people saying he had spent a lot of money on Shu Er, he just let it slide, not giving it much thought.
However, as more and more people started complimenting him—some even from his middle school—saying he was awesome, Huo Chao finally realized something was off. His old classmates from other schools even sent him messages praising his generosity.
Xu Chen scratched his head, scrolling through his phone, and said to Huo Chao, “Ah Chao, I have a neighbor who is currently a freshman here at No. 1 Middle School. He said that he ate the fried chicken that you specially bought for Shu Er. He wanted me to tell you that it tastes pretty good.”
Zhao Zhifeng looked at Huo Chao in surprise and said, “Brother, I didn’t expect this from you.” Even he have never used such tricks to make girls happy, yet Huo Chao executed it flawlessly.
Huo Chao frowned, “It’s not me.”
Zhao Zhifeng was silent for two seconds before asking, “Could it be Fu Chen from No. 12 Middle School who did it?”
Fu Chen is their mortal enemy. Both sides had been openly competing with each other for years.
Xu Chen snorted and hurled a few insults at Fu Chen. But after a moment, something dawned on him, and he asked, “But what would he gain from doing this?”
Exactly—Fu Chen wouldn’t benefit from it. Would he really go through the trouble just to make Huo Chao spend some money? But Huo Chao wouldn’t care about a small amount like that.
Logically speaking, there was only one biggest beneficiary of the fried chicken incident today: Shu Er.
Zhao Zhifeng and Xu Chen exchanged glances, speculating, “Could it be…?”
Before they could figure out what was going on, the clerk from the fried chicken chain store finally showed up. The school was huge, with many teaching buildings and even more classrooms, so it had taken him quite some time to locate Class 36 of Senior 3.
Huo Chao’s appearance was highly recognizable. Amidst the crowd, he stood out like a crane among chickens. The clerk wasted no time and headed straight to him. “Are you Mr. Huo Chao?”
Huo Chao raised his eyebrows, “Yes, I am.”
“Here’s the thing. You ordered 3,500 servings of fried chicken and milk tea, right?” The clerk explained the situation, then added, “Since the order was so large, the manager rounded off the total. That total would be 98,000 yuan. Would you prefer to pay with Zhifubao or Weixin?”
Huo Chao crossed his arms. “I have no problem paying, but first, show me the number that placed this order.”
He wanted to see who was deliberately messing with him behind his back.
–
While the students in Shu Er’s class—Class 12, Year 2— were eating the fried chicken, they were all gathered around her.
Although school was over, thanks to the fried chicken incident, none of them went home, nor did they head to the cafeteria for dinner. They stayed in the classroom.
“Shu Er, you are awesome!”
“Shu Er, don’t worry, our class will definitely vote for you!”
“Shu Er, you are the undisputed campus goddess of this class!”
Shu Er felt a little emotional when she heard these words. Winning people over in school was really easy.
A little food, and they would side with her immediately.
But Shu Er knew that food alone wouldn’t be enough. Part of the reason they were supporting her was out of respect for Huo Chao.
She stuck a straw into her milk tea and took a sip. Just then, a boy from the front row shouted, “Shu Er, Mr. Huo is here to see you!”
When the store employees had come to their class earlier, they hadn’t forgotten to read that line aloud from the note.
Now, instead of calling him “Big Brother” or by his name, they were all referring to Huo Chao as “Mr. Huo.”
Shu Er was stunned for a moment, then stood up with an unchanged expression.
Ning Meng, sitting nearby and munching on greasy fried chicken, gave Shu Er an ambiguous wink.
Shu Er knew that Ning Meng and the entire class had misunderstood. They all think that Huo Chao had come to see her for something good. But that wasn’t the case. She doesn’t need to explain, though.
When Shu Er arrived at the door, there was no expression on Huo Chao’s handsome face. She took the initiative and suggested, “Shall we go to the corner?”
There was no one in the corner, no one would see anything, and no one would hear anything.
In the morning, Shu Er didn’t really care about any of this. To her, Huo Chao was just a fool.
But now, she realized he wasn’t as foolish as she had thought. He had figured out that she was behind it all. Still, even if he knew, she wasn’t afraid.
As soon as they reached a secluded spot, Huo Chao smirked slightly and pinched Shu Er’s chin. “Shu Er, is the fried chicken delicious?”
Shu Er nodded, unfazed, smiling brightly. “It’s delicious.”
Huo Chao was genuinely impressed. “Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
Shu Er thought for a moment and then replied, “Oh, there is.”
“Hmm?” Huo Chao pretended to listen attentively.
“Thank you, brother, for buying everyone fried chicken and milk tea to help me get votes.”
Huo Chao was nearly laughing in disbelief.
How can this little thing be so troublesome?
Initially, he, Xu Chen, and Zhao Zhifeng had thought someone was messing with him. They had even suspected Fu Chen and his group.
But in the end, it turned out he had indeed been messed with—by an entirely unexpected person.
At the time, Xu Chen had remarked, “Ordinary people really wouldn’t be able to support little Shu Er.”
Spending ten thousand yuan at the drop of a hat—who else could survive her whims?
“Do you really want that title of campus goddess so badly?”
Shu Er nodded vigorously and said eagerly, “I want it, I want it very much, I want it super much.”
She wanted to get the title of campus goddess and then piss off the heroine to death!
As Shu Er’s eyes flickered with a plan, she decided to give Huo Chao a little sweetness. After all, she couldn’t always act like a bitch.
She said sweetly, “Brother, everyone is saying that you spent a lot of money on me today.”
Huo Chao took back his hand that was pinching Shu Er’s chin and casually slipped it into his trouser pocket.“You misunderstood something.”
Shu Er’s heart skipped a beat. Misunderstood? What?
Could it be that he wanted to take back this little money from her?
No way! How could a dignified hero of a novel be so stingy?
Huo Chao curled his lips with his usual contemptuous expression. “You probably don’t know what it really means to spend a lot of money.”
Ten thousand yuan wasn’t even close to what he considered extravagant spending.
Relieved, Shu Er’s worries melted away. As long as he wasn’t asking her for money, everything was fine.
She really can’t afford to give him a hundred thousand yuan right now.
But when she understood his words, her eyes immediately sparkled.
Real extravagant spending!
She grabbed the hem of Huo Chao’s clothes, raised her head, blinked and said, “Brother, when will you spend a fortune for me?”
The sooner, the better! Otherwise, when the heroine appears, she won’t have a share!
Before the female protagonist shows up, she has to squeeze as much from him as possible.
Huo Chao glanced at her. To spend a fortune on someone was a privilege reserved only for his woman.
But Shu Er is just his benefactor. He can distinguish the difference between kindness and love. He will never do such things as making his girlfriend or wife sad for his benefactor, as shown in TV dramas.
So, no, spending a fortune on Shu Er was impossible.
He stayed silent, so Shu Er quickly understood what that meant.
She pouted, her lips forming a sulky expression that could hang a bottle on her mouth. She looked every bit like a child who didn’t get what she wanted.
Huo Chao touched her upturned lips after seeing it.
He was actually a little angry when he came over. He didn’t like the feeling of being played around. Normally, he would have lost his temper already.
But now, seeing Shu Er’s expression, the little bit of anger he had left gradually vanished, like a balloon that had been punctured.
Shu Er was just a spoiled child and she had no bad intentions.
What could he really do with her?
For her, as his benefactor, he was willing to lower his bottom line a bit. But Huo Chao still reminded her, “Don’t act on your own next time, okay?”
Shu Er pouted more, sulking as she replied, “Got it, brother.”
Stingy!
Though Shu Er said she understood, she had no intention of following through. She had no plans to stop causing trouble.
Want her to stop?
Maybe in the next lifetime!
