The conversation between the two came to an end.
Huo Chao motioned Shu Er to go into the classroom and grab her school bag so he could take her home.
Shu Er hesitated for a long time, and when Huo Chao looked over at her in confusion, she put her hands behind her back and pouted, “Brother, I really want the title of ’Goddess’.” And she had already taken the first step today by campaigning in front of all the students in the school. She didn’t want to end up in failure.
Huo Chao: “Got it.”
Got it? That was his only reaction?
Dissatisfied, Shu Er said, “Brother, I said I want it, I want it, I want it!” To emphasize her point, she specifically said “I want it” three times.
Huo Chao had no choice but to say, “Alright, alright, I’ll give it to you.”
An innocent bystander who just happened to walk by and overheard the last part of their conversation blushed inexplicably.
No matter how you listened to it, those last two lines were easy to misinterpret.
How could these two people be so dirty?
–
Shu Er was relieved after getting Huo Chao’s guarantee.
Since Huo Chao had agreed, he would definitely help her get the title of campus goddess!
When Shu Er entered the classroom to grab her bag, Jiang Xici silently walked over to her.
While she was packing up her books, test papers, and exercise books to take home, she asked, “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Xici glanced at Shu Er’s expression. Out of politeness and respect, he only looked for a moment before averting his gaze, “He didn’t do anything to you, right?”
Recently, the whole school knew about Huo Chao bringing food to Shu Er, but as a guy, Jiang Xici felt that Huo Chao didn’t actually like her that much.
In Jiang Xici’s eyes, Shu Er was like a little sun, emitting endless warmth.
She was very delicate, and her smile was very sweet and beautiful. She was the type who should always be showing off her smile. So Jiang Xici was worried that Huo Chao was only treating her well on a whim and that Shu Er might get hurt.
Shu Er blinked, her gaze clear, “No.”
‘That’s good,’ Jiang Xici thought. Before he could leave, Shu Er stuffed a box of fried chicken into his hands.
Shu Er didn’t eat it herself and handed it to him instead. In her eyes, Jiang Xici is too skinny, so it wouldn’t be a problem if he eats more high-calorie food. If he gained a little weight, he’d look even more handsome!
“Take it home and eat it. I’m leaving now, see you tomorrow.”
After saying that, Shu Er slung her bag over her shoulder and walked briskly toward the classroom door.
Jiang Xici looked down at the still-warm fried chicken in his hands and softly said, “See you tomorrow.”
–
After Huo Chao dropped Shu Er off at home, she didn’t forget to remind him to pick her up tomorrow morning.
Huo Chao agreed.
Only then did Shu Er feel relieved and head inside. She arrived just in time for dinner.
While eating, Shu Er’s mother suddenly asked, “Shu Er, have you been studying hard at school? You’re not dating anyone, right?”
Shu Er paused mid-bite, then replied, “No, what’s the matter?”
Her mother picked up a piece of food, her expression remained cold, “You’d better not be. Your Aunt Zhang told me that she saw a boy riding a bike to bring you home.”
Shu Er immediately understood—it must have been the aunt living across the street. She was the one who had seen her with Huo Chao last time.
She hadn’t run into anyone she knew in the neighborhood today. But even if she had, she wouldn’t recognize them.
Shu Er’s older sister, Shu Rou, was two years older than her. She had started school late and is still in her third year of vocational high school. With a sarcastic tone, she said, “The boys in our school drive to school by themselves.” The implication was that the guy who had dropped Shu Er off was pretty low-class for using a bike to woo girls.
Their mother glared at Shu Rou, “You are studying in a vocational high school and yet you feel superior?”
Shu Rou protested, “What’s wrong with studying in a vocational school? There are a lot of rich kids at my school!”
Their mother snorted, “And what does that have to do with you? Let me tell you, you better behave at vocational school and don’t provoke people you shouldn’t provoke!”
Shu Rou reluctantly muttered an ”okay”.
Shu Er rolled her eyes. Even though she didn’t particularly like Shu Rou, and they aren’t really destined to walk on the same path, she had to admit that her mother’s fiery temper was something she appreciated.
The cheap mother in her life still has a pretty positive outlook on life.
After dinner, she went back to her room, did some homework, and then checked Weibo.
To her surprise, she found herself trending on the front page.
#HighSchoolBoyCampaignsForHisCrush#
#HighSchoolStudentsNowadaysAreReallyRich#
Both hot searches were about the fried chicken incident from earlier that day.
She clicked on a hot search and found a video.
The boy in the video was likely a student from her school. He chattered to the camera, “Yes, he’s a big shot at our school. His family is very rich. I heard he ordered 3,500 servings of fried chicken and milk tea… He’s campaigning for the girl he likes… What event? It’s our school’s annual ‘Campus Goddess’ contest, which has been going on for years… Haha, I ate his fried chicken, so of course, I’m voting for her!”
In the video, they mentioned a certain school, a certain boy, and a certain girl but did not reveal their specific names.
There were many comments below, mostly from girls, some even tagging their boyfriends.
Netizen 1: I’m so jealous. This is a fairytale love.
Netizen 2: Is it really romance? Based on what the boy said, it sounds like he hasn’t won the girl over yet?
Netizen 3: Anyway, I’m envious.
Netizen 4: I’m jealous today. 3,500 servings of fried chicken and milk tea—how much would that cost?
Netizen 5: Probably around 100,000 yuan. Fried chicken and milk tea aren’t cheap these days. This high school student is definitely rich, probably a second-generation rich kid.
Shu Er watched the video thoughtfully. The heroine, Shu Er, must have seen this too, right?
Hehe, it would be nice if she saw it.
Good, she should be. With that in mind, Shu Er suddenly felt more motivated to study.
–
The next morning, Shu Er got up, washed up, and went to the living room for breakfast.
She and her younger sister, Shu Ya, who was in her third year of junior high school, were almost done with their porridge when Shu Rou finally came out, rubbing her eyes and moving slowly.
Their father had already left for work at 5 a.m. due to his busy schedule, but his salary wasn’t high since he worked in manual labor.
Their mother was still in the kitchen boiling eggs. As soon as she saw Shu Rou’s dead look, she couldn’t help but yell, “Your two sisters are almost done with breakfast, and you’re just getting up? Hurry up!”
Shu Rou didn’t care about her mother’s nagging. She would fly out of this poor hole and become a golden phoenix sooner or later anyway.
She sat at the dining table, took a sip of soy milk, and asked Shu Er, “Have you read Weibo? That hot search last night about a high school boy canvassing for votes for the girl he likes seems to be from your school.”
Although the video did not reveal any information about the parties involved, netizens were so powerful, and there were always insiders who leave messages below and reveal a little bit of the truth.
So, by now, most people knew that the incident was from Shu Er’s school.
Shu Er quietly sipped her porridge and didn’t say anything.
Unwilling to give up, Shu Rou asked, “You also had fried chicken?”
There was no reason to hide it, so Shu Er nodded, “I ate it.”
Shu Rou’s tone was a bit sour as she said, “Which girl from your school is so lucky?”
Shu Er couldn’t be bothered to answer, so Shu Rou assumed she didn’t know either.
Shu Rou speculated, “Is it Zhang Beibei?”
Zhang Beibei?
Shu Er asked with a puzzle look on her face, “Who is Zhang Beibei?”
“She’s the school beauty of your school. How do you not know? She’s also in the second year, just like you.”
Shu Er let out an “oh”.
Second year? That made her a competitor. But this time, Shu Er was determined to win the “Campus Goddess” title—no matter if it was Zhang Beibei, Li Beibei, or Zhao Beibei.
Shu Rou continued to mutter to herself, “It must be her. Tsk.”
By this time, Shu Er had finished her porridge. She told her mother goodbye and happily went downstairs with her backpack.
She expected to see Huo Chao as soon as she left the community.
But no.
There was no sign of him.
Shu Er pursed her lips and waited patiently.
After a while, Shu Ya came out. Since their schools were in opposite directions and they didn’t take the same bus, Shu Ya said goodbye and went on her way.
Then it was Aunt Zhang.
And then, even Shu Rou, who got up much later than her, went out.
Shu Rou glanced at her and asked, “What’s the matter? Your bicycle boy didn’t come to pick you up?”
Shu Er felt a bit upset. Today was different from the previous no-shows.
Back then, he hadn’t promised to pick her up for school.
But yesterday, he had clearly agreed. And now, he didn’t show up!
Shu Rou gave her a meaningful smile and took a taxi in a charming manner.
Shu Er waited a long time, but the WeChat messages she sent to Huo Chao seemed to vanish into thin air, with no reply.
In the end, when she was almost late, she grudgingly took the bus on her own.
Huo Chao, just you wait!
–
When Shu Er arrived at her classroom, she put down her backpack and didn’t even have time to take out her books before storming straight to Class 36 of the third year.
She had become somewhat of a small celebrity at school, so everyone recognized her.
As soon as she reached Class 36, Xu Chen walked out of the classroom on his own, saying, “Little Shu Er, are you here looking for Huo Chao? He hasn’t come to school yet.”
Shu Er let out a huff, “Why? Is he skipping class today?” Was that why he didn’t pick her up?
Xu Chen scratched his head, “I don’t know.”
“Why don’t you message him and ask when he’ll be here?”
Xu Chen looked a bit puzzled, “But I already sent him a message, and he hasn’t replied. That’s really unusual for him.”
Shu Er tilted her head.
What happened to the male protagonist?
