The man in front of her stood with his head held high, and the bouquet of bright red roses matched his blushing face. He was clearly in his early twenties, but his eyes were unexpectedly firm.
He's had a crush on Linlang for a long time. He waited for her to come back and mustered the courage to express his feelings.
"Sister Ji, I'm truly sincere. Please give me a chance to cherish you!"
"I—"Please read this at onemachineshow.blogspot.com
"Sorry, she has a boyfriend."
A man's cold voice suddenly carried over, followed by his invasive scent.
The grip around Linlang waist was so strong that she struggled without a second thought.
"Ah! You bastard—"
The young man kissed her in front of everyone, making sure to hold the back of her head with a firm grip. She wasn't able to break free.
Linlang was squeezed so hard she could hardly breathe.
The world underwent great changes in a short period of time.
The overhead stage lights gradually blurred as tears spilled from her eyes. It was like she had lost all of her strength and could only lean on Fu Xi's shoulder. To everyone else, she appeared to be shy from the kiss and was burying her face on her boyfriend's shoulder to hide her embarrassment.
The youth who confessed was extremely disappointed, but he generously expressed his blessings and walked away from the crowd.
From the corner of his eyes, Fu Xi glanced at his rival's desolate back.
Good, another one was eliminated.
"Fu... Xi! What are you doing?!"
Linlang bit down on her tingling tongue and tried to push the irrational man away.
Oh, this is going overboard.
How exciting.
She turned the level-headed male lead from the original plot into a pervert. This low-handed trick of revealing love in public is something the former male lead would have disdained to do.
"What am I doing? Isn't it obvious? Your boyfriend is making a demonstration."
Linlang laughed grimly. She didn't refute the 'boyfriend' identity but instead chose to storm out.
---
"Hu, hu, hu..."
Yang Lu struggled to catch her breath. She supported herself on her knees and helplessly looked for him amongst the crowd.
Strange. she clearly saw Master come in here. Why can't she find him anywhere?
The girl felt somewhat aggrieved. She had prepared for the school celebration for so long just to confess to Fu Xi in public, but it was as if she drew water with a wicked basket and came up empty.
"Yang Lu! Cheer up! It's not yet midnight, how can you give up so quickly! They say women chase men in layers. You're at the last step! Come on!" Yang Lu patted her face and pumped her fist to cheer herself on.
The school performance was over, and people were walking out of the stadium in groups clusters. Yang Lu had no choice but to stand on tiptoe and use the street lights under the trees to find the familiar face in the crowd.
"I told you they didn't break up. Didn't that kiss show they couldn't bear to separate?"
"Wow, I was shocked when I first saw it. I squeezed through to see and it really turned out to be them. That underclassman was pitiful."
"Yeah, Senior Brother Fu looks rational. I didn't expect him to be so jealous."
Yang Lu's radar automatically grasped the keyword and hurried over.
"That Master you're talking about–er, that's not it. Is it Senior Brother Fu Xi?"
The girl looked at each other. They didn't know the girl who had suddenly appeared but still answered her question with patience. "Uh, Senior Brother Fu Xi is that promising school figure. He opened up that one company—do you know it? Just now there was an underclassman who confessed to his girlfriend and Brother Fu rushed up and forced a kiss..."
"Ahem, mind your words. They're boyfriend and girlfriend, what do you mean 'forced a kiss'?"
Her companion nodded. "Oh, yeah. Anyway, they're a really good-looking pair, a perfect match."
Yang Lu's lips suddenly turned white. "No, it's impossible. They... broke up a long time ago."
The lights under the tree were not bright. Yang Lu lowered her head and so girls didn't notice her anomaly when they blurted out, "Not to mention breakups, even divorced couples can reconcile. It's not a big deal."
"Right. Sister Ji is beautiful and capable. It's no wonder Fu Xi wasn't willing to let go. I just got back from the hockey rink to pick up a pulley I dropped the day before and saw him blocking her in the back row. It looked like he was talking about something major."
"What, you actually have firsthand information! Why didn't you say anything before! Then what, then what?" The girls were immediately attracted by the topic, not minding that Yang Lu was still there. Their eyes shone as they looked at the informant, eager to be fed heavenly dog food1.
The informant spread her hands defensively, but she also seemed excited. "There's nothing else. Before I could get any closer, Senior Brother glanced at me. His expression was really cold but, ahem, it was also really sexy."
Yang Lu couldn't listen anymore.
Impossible!Please read this at onemachineshow.blogspot.com
How was that possible?
She cut through the crowd and ran to the ice hockey rink.
At this time, Linlang folded her hands over her chest and looked at the culprit blocking her path. After the school performance ended, she made plans with a few classmates to watch a battle at the rink. The match had been exciting, so they didn't leave right away.
The classmates were intimidated by Fu Xi's imposing aura. Every one of them turned into small animals. They tucked their tails and slipped away as soon as they were done greeting him.
Only the lights from the central beam were still on, casting a dim light over the surrounding area.
"Fu Xi, what the hell are you doing?"
His low voice was raspy, like a vampire contemplating what blood was sweeter during a night hunt. "I said I want to talk about the past and our future. You wouldn't listen when others were around. I could only do it my way."
Linlang had a disinterested expression and tried to leave from the other direction.
Shua––
Fu Xi reached forward and took away the spider-shaped hairpin that bound her fine black hair. The person who only reached up to his chin looked frail and helpless.
It was like she could shatter with a single squeeze.
"You're being unreasonable!"
She touched her unraveled hair and glared up at him.
Fu Xi's dark eyes took on a frightening tint as if his human shell had been peeled of, and there stood a beast that wished to devour her life.
"Ji Linlang, you should be happy. You've succeeded." He released a light and inaudible sigh.
She succeeded in driving him crazy.
The next words he uttered created great waves on flat ground.
"Let's get back together."
"...What?"Please read this at onemachineshow.blogspot.com
"Get back together." He repeated clearly and briefly. "We get back together, torment one another, and repeat the same mistakes." After that, gladly die a gruesome death.
"Sorry, we're not suitable. I refuse."
Fu Xi was silent.
Linlang felt a sharp pain on her lips, and a rusty smell permeated the air.
This lunatic!
Was he a dog in a former life?
While she was struggling, Linlang saw a figure standing at the entrance of the arena. Given that outline, they seemed to be a female student.
"Help! Someone's assault—mph!"
A handkerchief smothered up Linlang's face. Suddenly, her vision began to blur.
"Student by the door, is there something wrong?"
In the quiet space, the young man's aloof voice seemed to drip with icy cold.
Yang Lu trembled. Her guts were like a deflated ball. She couldn't muster the courage to speak. This dreadful stranger couldn't be her master. By the time her chaotic mind cleared up, she had already sprinted to the school gates.
Fu Xi looked down at the unconscious person in his arms.
"Ha... it's fine. The coming days are long. You'll have plenty of time to come around and think about our future..."
The man's countenance was frigid and unfeeling. His appearance was astounding, but the unfathomable deep eyes sent a chill down people's hearts.
Linlang woke up dizzy on the second day. Other than a slight headache, there was no other physical discomfort.
Fu Xi pushed the door open and smiled at her. "You're awake?"
Linlang didn't speak. After waiting for him to walk inside, she immediately seized the bedside lamp and swung it at his head.
The man easily caught her wrist. "You want to kill me?"
"What did you do to me?" She glared at him.
Fu Xi smiled, "What do you think I'd do to my beloved girlfriend? I merely brought you back to the apartment, sat back, and waited for the scandal over our cohabitation to break out."
"Who's your girlfriend? What nonsense—"
He squeezed and Linlang's wrist and she immediately felt pain. He then snatched the lamp and flung it to the ground.
"You don't seem to understand the situation."
Fu Xi's slender fingers gently brushed the woman's soft hair. Seeing how she stubbornly turned her head away, he wasn't annoyed but had the attitude of admiring his captured prey. He touched her face with a look of fascination. "So beautiful."
There was no escape.
He chuckled and bowed his head for a kiss.
Linlang didn't dodge this time.
The man's large palm had already quietly grasped her neck. He could fracture a bone with just a bit more force.
He was gentler this time around.
"How obedient."
He smoothed out the frown between Linlang's eyebrows and pulled her into his embrace.
Linlang was forced to lie on the side of his neck, but her lips faintly hooked up in a smile.
The task was progressing more smoothly than she had imagined.
After breakfast, Linlang asked to go back to school. To her surprise. Fu Xi readily agreed.
"If I can grab you once, I can grab you all your life."
He tucked her hair behind her ears.
Linlang didn't think that was necessarily the case.
At present, the only person who could compete with Fu Xi was Han Shu.
Appearing with the image of a victim, she successfully earned the young master's protection and vowed to make Fu Xi, this beast in human clothing, pay the price. However, she seemed to have underestimated his level of blackening.
Han Shu's first love was back. He was a good-looking Briton. It was said that the two had no choice but to separate when their families got involved and now the great Master Han was wavering between the two of them.
Suddenly, the first love lay all his cards on the table. He was suffering from a heart disease. He didn't have much time left and hoped Linlang would yield to him. Han Shu crumbled on the spot. Weeping bitterly, he hugged the person and apologized to her with his reddened eyes. Linlang clearly saw the triumphant smile in the boy's scheming eyes.
She pretended to panic and knocked over the tea cup2, but her mind was calm as before.
Aiyah, so sorry. Her prey had never been Han Shu.
She no longer needed a target to attract the male lead's gunfire.
In other words, Master Han was no longer useful.
She lowered her head and her long lashes masked her calculations.