Chapter Eighteen: "You're the Lady? Your Whole Family Are Ladies!"

Chapter Eighteen: "You're the Miss? Your whole family are misses!"

Ruthless! Not only did he hand out the "nice person" card, but he also called a girl "little sister" right to her face and addressed the boy as "big brother"—those are killer words reserved for breaking up...

The girl’s eyes turned red.

“Besides, what’s so good about me?” Young Master Xu gazed up at the morning sun, his expression as melancholy as could be, as if he’d seen through all of life’s illusions. With a sigh, he murmured, “Go home... take a shower, get some sleep. Open your window in the morning and every street is full of men—each one better than me.”

Xu Yifan spoke absentmindedly, catching sight of Chen Xiao approaching from afar. He shot Chen Xiao a subtle look.

The girl, heartbroken and sorrowful, finally gave Young Master Xu a peck on the cheek before drifting away.

“You really are something,” Chen Xiao said with a smile as he walked over. “Even using lines from ‘Sweet as Honey’ to trick girls. Aren’t you afraid someone will recognize them?”

“Huh? Xiao Wu? You didn’t come yesterday, did you? As far as I recall, you never skip class.” Young Master Xu smirked, a hint of disdain in his eyes. “These girls nowadays, ask them about CK, CD, Chanel—they know them all. Most of them look glamorous, full of brand names—and nothing else. Yet each dresses up as if she’s so sophisticated—at most, they’ve read a couple of fashion magazines. Who’s even heard of Eileen Chang?”

“If you look down on them, why do you mess with them?” Chen Xiao shook his head.

“How would you know if someone’s right for you if you never try?” Young Master Xu replied shamelessly. “Breaking up is just a bit of a hassle.”

Chen Xiao grinned. “You’re ever afraid you can’t get rid of them?”

“There was one last time—even the nice person card and sibling routine didn’t work.” Young Master Xu’s smile turned wicked. “In the end, I just told her I was in a relationship with you...”

“...” Chen Xiao glanced at the time. “Your car is pointed straight at the school gate... what’s up? Planning to skip class?”

Young Master Xu grinned slyly, dodging the question and changing the subject: “Not telling you for now, I’ve got somewhere to be... Oh, by the way, since you missed yesterday, you should know there was big news at school!” He grinned conspiratorially.

With that, he hopped into his car, put on his sunglasses. “I’m busy today. Let’s have a spar tomorrow. I’ve been practicing hard lately, but don’t worry—if you get hurt, I’ll buy you some liniment for your bruises.”

He revved the engine and sped off, sticking his hand out the window with a thumb pointed downward.

Chen Xiao hurled a playful curse after him, though inwardly he felt a warmth. Young Master Xu was clever—his fighting skills were nowhere near Chen Xiao’s, but ever since Chen Xiao’s family had fallen on hard times, and everyone at school knew of his misfortune, he’d grown used to pitying or gloating stares. As a friend, Xu Yifan had once tried to help him financially, but knowing Chen Xiao’s pride, he realized direct charity would only be seen as an insult and be refused.

Simply handing over money wouldn’t work—so Young Master Xu started inviting Chen Xiao to “duels” every now and then, going out of his way to provoke him into betting on the outcome—always losing, of course, and then treating Chen Xiao to lavish meals as the forfeit. Chen Xiao knew his good friend was worried, seeing him juggle both school and part-time jobs, living on instant noodles and lacking proper nutrition.

When Chen Xiao figured out Young Master Xu’s trick, he stopped fighting him. He remembered, at the time, Young Master Xu—usually easygoing—lost his temper and pointed at Chen Xiao’s nose, shouting, “Do you even have a heart? I’m your friend! Just to treat you to a meal, I have to let you beat me up every single time! I’ve done this much as your friend and you still won’t appreciate it? Do you even see me as a friend or not?!”

It was said that, after his family’s fall, the first time Chen Xiao rode a bicycle to school, he was mocked by many. And this friend, behind the scenes, had gotten into a fierce fight with those who laughed at him, injuring the bone in his right hand, which took weeks to heal.

With that, this friendship truly settled deep in Chen Xiao’s heart.

Chen Xiao felt little attachment to this elite school. He stayed mainly because his parents had paid all his tuition years ago. If he dropped out, he’d get some of the money back, but it would feel like a betrayal of his deceased parents.

The second reason for staying was that he couldn’t bear to leave his one true friend.

•

In college, skipping a day of class wasn’t enough for anyone to notice. So Chen Xiao went about his day quietly, sitting through classes without talking to anyone. A few rich girls would sneak glances at him during lectures—something he was used to by now. To these heiresses, he was attractive enough, with a tragic background that tugged at their sympathy and motherly instincts.

In truth, Chen Xiao had always been popular with girls at KID Academy. Every Valentine’s Day, he’d receive enough chocolate to fill a large box. But he had no interest in these heiresses, decked out in designer labels and strutting the streets with LV and Prada bags before they were even adults. As Young Master Xu had said, most of them were full of fashion magazines and brand names, with little substance. Though still a virgin and never having had a girlfriend, Chen Xiao preferred girls who were genuine and unpretentious.

He recalled that, after first arriving at this school and becoming friends with Young Master Xu, the latter had tried to set him up, even introducing a couple of pretty classmates. But once he got to know them—

Chen Xiao had always loved the grilled skewers from a small shop on a back street in K City. The place was humble, barely better than a night market stall, but the food was truly delicious. He once took Young Master Xu and two pretty girls there. Xu, also from a wealthy family, ate heartily, but the two girls sat there daintily, rolling their eyes, holding napkins as if they’d rather wipe down every chair and table, complaining in pinched voices, “Ugh, it’s so dirty here—can you even eat this stuff...”

Most of the girls at KID Academy were like that, so no matter how pretty they were, Chen Xiao had little interest. After his family’s misfortunes, he cared even less for romance, worn out as he was from school and work.

After class that afternoon, seeing it was already near four, Chen Xiao remembered he had a little one waiting at home. He gathered his books and jogged toward the school gate.

Just as he reached the gate, he heard a girl’s furious shout from the entrance to the underground parking lot on the left: “You think this is funny? Let me go!”

Then came the sounds of a scuffle, and a young man’s angry voice: “Grab her! She dared hit me in the face!”

Huh?

Chen Xiao paused—is this really a case of harassment?

That was rare. At KID Academy, there were seldom any bad students daring to harass classmates. After all, in this school, a single falling leaf might hit three or four heirs or heiresses. Anyone who could step foot in here wasn’t from an ordinary family.

Don’t assume rich kids are all brainless troublemakers. Even the rotten apples generally don’t cause scenes at school—who knows what kind of power stands behind each student?

So, generally, everyone kept the peace. No one would be foolish enough to pick a fight here for no reason.

But what was happening today?

Chen Xiao hesitated only a moment before he heard a girl cry out in pain from the parking entrance, followed by a desperate “Help!”

Well, Chen Xiao was reserved, but he had a strong sense of justice. Upon hearing the cry, his first reaction was to rush over.

The parking lot entrance sloped downward. Rounding the corner, Chen Xiao saw several young men—but the scene wasn’t quite what he’d expected.

Three or four boys had surrounded a girl. Judging by their uniforms, they were all students. But as for the girl in the middle, Chen Xiao couldn’t be sure.

Why? Because, in all his years at KID Academy, he’d seen plenty of girls in Versace with Chanel perfume and the latest LV handbags, but never one so... fierce.

The girl at the center, viewed from a distance, had a slender figure, chin-length black hair, and wore a pale blue KID Academy spring uniform. Wait—after three or four years at this school, Chen Xiao had never seen any student, especially a girl, wear the uniform on a regular day. Those heiresses with outfits costing five figures wouldn’t be caught dead in such plain attire.

But this girl... not only wore it, but in Chen Xiao’s eyes, she made it look good.

The simple blue uniform looked fresh and pure on her, her features delicate and, crucially, entirely free of makeup—just the kind of girl Chen Xiao liked. Her big, bright eyes sparkled with intelligence.

But her actions were far from “demure.”

She stood there with one arm locked around a boy’s neck, the other hand holding a small utility knife pressed to his temple. The boy looked like his legs were about to give out, trembling so much he could barely stand. With the blade at his head, he didn’t dare move a muscle. If not for her hold, he would have collapsed.

His face bore several red marks, as if clawed by someone.

The girl, wielding her “weapon” and choking a classmate, was at the same time shrieking at the top of her lungs, “Help! Someone, help!”

The three or four boys around her looked stunned. One finally mustered the courage to bark, “Hey! Let Xiao Ma go! Or else—”

The girl shot back, “What a joke! If I let him go, will you let me off?”

The boy she was gripping whimpered, “Miss...”

“Shut up! You’re the miss! Your whole family are misses!” she snapped, her eyes flashing.

The standoff continued. Chen Xiao stepped forward at last, unable to help himself; he coughed lightly. “Um... what’s going on here?”

One of the boys glanced back and, seeing it was Chen Xiao, raised an eyebrow. “You? Hmph, this has nothing to do with you. Get lost and mind your own business!” They all knew who Chen Xiao was—how could they not? Out of thousands of students, he was the only one who rode a bicycle.

The girl, seeing someone arrive, looked hopeful for a moment, but when she realized it was only Chen Xiao, disappointment flickered across her face. Judging by Chen Xiao’s cold and detached expression, he didn’t seem inclined to play the hero—if anything, he looked like he might turn around and leave at any moment.

Though she was tough, she was still surrounded by several boys, and couldn’t really hope to win. She’d been shouting for help for ages, but this school was so big it felt like a ghost town—no one had come! Now that someone had, she wasn’t about to let him walk away.

Her eyes locked on Chen Xiao for two seconds, then suddenly she brightened and, in a voice full of surprise, called out, “Honey! Honey! Where have you been? They’re bullying me!!”

H-honey??