Chapter Twenty: Lady Bai

(Note: Tonight at midnight, there will be an extra chapter for the leaderboard challenge! Everyone is welcome to come and support with their votes~)

Chapter 20: "White MM"

The girl's expression darkened, as if she were a bit displeased. "What's wrong? Is there a rule at Kyd School that forbids students from riding bicycles?"

Chen Xiao rubbed his nose, sighed, and muttered, "I thought I was the only one in this school who rode one of these."

But the girl had already dashed over, swiftly unlocked her bike, and shot Chen Xiao a glare. "Don't look down on me! I actually look down on you rich kids! At least I bought this bike with money I earned myself!"

Chen Xiao's face was a little odd. There was a clear pride in the girl's gaze, but he didn't say much, walked over, and glanced at the bike. "Alright, I'll ride, and you sit on the back. Let's just get out of here first."

"Can you even ride?" The girl clearly doubted him. "Rich kids like you usually drive cars. Not many know how to ride a bike."

Chen Xiao smiled, not bothering to answer. He thought to himself: I’ve even delivered takeout by bike before.

With that, the two got on the bicycle. Chen Xiao carried the girl, pedaling hard as they slipped out from the far end of the parking lot. Just as they were nearing the exit, the bodyguards behind spotted them. But the distance was too great; Chen Xiao powered the bike forward, and the bodyguards could only shout curses as they watched him and the girl speed away.

Outside Kyd School lay a wide national highway. Chen Xiao rode on with the girl for over ten minutes before turning onto a small road. No one followed, and at last they felt safe.

Under the streetlights on the narrow road, Chen Xiao stopped the bike. The two leaned against a lamp post, catching their breath, and Chen Xiao couldn't help but laugh.

These days had certainly been eventful—he'd encountered all sorts of bizarre things. Blue-blooded people, organizations of special abilities, bank robberies...

He glanced at the girl beside him, noticing she was stealing glances at him too.

"Hey." The girl seemed a little embarrassed, a shy smile on her face. "Just now... thank you."

"It's nothing," Chen Xiao replied, looking at her. "I just hope you won't randomly call people 'husband' in the future."

"Tch, stingy guy." She shot him a look. "I knew there were no good people in this school. If I hadn't been forced, I wouldn't have come here! But seriously, you ride pretty fast!"

Suddenly, Chen Xiao's mind stirred. He looked at the girl—her face still flushed from their wild escape, even her neck was a bit red, and beads of sweat dotted her forehead. Chen Xiao noticed that as she wiped her brow, her shirt cuffs beneath her uniform were a bit worn—clearly old.

At Kyd Academy, the girls typically wore world-famous brands. Not only were there no shabby clothes, most never wore the same outfit twice in a week.

"You... you just transferred here?" Chen Xiao hesitated. "It's rare to see someone ride a bike to school at Kyd."

"Hmph, I just transferred yesterday..." The girl blushed under Chen Xiao's gaze, but tried to act fierce and loud: "Hey! I know what you're thinking! That's right, my family doesn't have much money! I'm no rich kid! You people drive to school, so of course I can only ride a bike!"

Chen Xiao laughed, squinting at her, suddenly finding her very interesting—and the proud look in her eyes reminded him of himself. He smiled faintly. "Who said I was rich?"

"You're not?" The girl was stunned, clearly skeptical. "Hmph, at Kyd, any random student is worth tens of millions. You look so clean and neat, like you've never suffered before."

"I'm really not rich," Chen Xiao said with a bitter smile, looking at her.

"You..." She was about to say more, but suddenly a thought flashed through her mind. She remembered hearing something when she arrived at school, and stared at Chen Xiao in surprise. "Ah! When I rode my bike here yesterday, I got a lot of dirty looks! They said that apart from me, there's another unlucky boy here from a poor family who rides a bike too... Is that you?"

Chen Xiao looked at her wide, round eyes, calmly pointed at his nose. "That's right, I'm the unlucky one they talked about."

"...You?! You're that fallen rich kid?"

"I actually dislike the term 'rich kid,'" Chen Xiao chuckled. "My name's Chen Xiao—Xiao as in 'carefree.' And you?"

"...My surname is Bai." The girl seemed to blush, her voice muffled, as if reluctant to reveal her name.

Chen Xiao looked at her, sensing her shyness, and grew curious. "Your surname is Bai? What's your full name?"

"Bai $^^&." The girl mumbled something quickly and indistinctly.

Chen Xiao didn't catch it. "Bai what?"

"Bai..." The girl steeled herself, gritted her teeth, and glared at Chen Xiao. "I—I have two names, both aren't very nice! Do you really need to know?"

Chen Xiao sighed. "I just saved you, got hit on the shoulder with a stick. At least out of basic courtesy, you should tell me your name."

"My old name was Bai Mei-Mei!" The girl finally spat out the three syllables.

Bai... Bai MM?

The girl stared fiercely at Chen Xiao, her threatening gaze openly warning him: "If you dare laugh, you're dead." If not for that, Chen Xiao really would have laughed on the spot!

Bai MM?

Uh... Her parents must have a wicked sense of humor!

"Alright, alright! If you want to laugh, just go ahead!" The girl puffed her cheeks, annoyed. "I knew you'd react like this after hearing my name! Hmph! Listen up! It's not 'MM,' it's 'Mei-Mei'—'Mei' as in 'beautiful,' 'Mei' as in 'eyebrows!' My grandfather said my eyebrows were lovely when I was born, so that's how I got the name."

Mei-Mei... Beautiful eyebrows?

Chen Xiao instinctively studied her brows and eyes—her eyebrows were gracefully arched, like two crescent moons. Indeed, they were quite pretty.

Well... That makes sense. When this girl was born, there wasn't even the internet yet. Her parents surely never imagined that years later, "MM" would become a popular online term.

Chen Xiao cleared his throat. "Ahem... So, why did you come to Kyd? Don't misunderstand, I mean no offense, but... Kyd's tuition is expensive. A year's fees could easily equal several years of income for an ordinary family."

"It's all thanks to my dear mom and dad!" Bai MM seemed helpless, with a hint of irritation. "My parents are a little... eccentric! They believe that 'a woman's lack of talent is a virtue.' That a girl’s business success doesn’t matter—marrying well is better! Those old fogies! They spend their days hoping I’ll snag a rich husband! Rich husband, rich husband! Where are all these fools in the world? A few years ago they watched some third-rate TV drama and got obsessed... Last year, they heard that 'Kyd Academy' is full of rich young men, so they pulled every string, spent their life savings, and forced me to transfer here!"

"...This plot sounds familiar..." Chen Xiao was a little lost.

Then suddenly he realized, his mouth gaping as he stared at Miss Bai MM. "You! Your parents—did they watch that show, was it..."

"That's right! That idiotic show..." Bai MM looked like she was about to cry, gritting her teeth, enunciating each word: "Meteor! Garden!"

Chen Xiao: "............"

Bai MM added, with even greater indignation: "Didn't I say I have two names? My old name was Bai Mei-Mei, but before I transferred, my parents forcibly changed it..."

"So now your name is..." Chen Xiao swallowed.

"Cabbage." The resentment in her tone was palpable.

Bai, Cabbage...

(To all readers, I just want to say, you're amazing. Today is the ninth day since this book launched... Two million clicks already. Very impressive, very bold... I truly have no way to repay you! All I can do is bow deeply~ Tonight at midnight, to challenge for next week's leaderboard, there’ll be an extra chapter right on time. Please bring your votes and come support~)