Shi Ruolan finally noticed the girl that stumbled all by herself and fell down with a snicker along with her girl friends. She noted that the girl's face wasn't familiar but didn't dwell too much on the point and was about to pass the paper with her number to Tian Kuo when she noticed that he was also staring at the girl. Her pretty smile faltered on her face as jealousy poked her heart so she stroked his arm to gain his attention once again and said charmingly. "Tian Kuo, here is my new number. You can call me anytime if you like."
"Who is that girl?" Tian Kuo's voice made everyone on the table fall quiet as his eyes stayed glued to the girl who had now apologizing to her fellow student about the unfortunate incident about to leave the cafeteria. His question made everyone who sat on their table a little uncomfortable, especially as they stuck a glance at Roulan's envious countenance at his side.
When none of them was able to give him the information he desired, Fulin finally spoke up after dropping his fork on a plate and wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Oh, her? I think she is new here. Someone told me that she is a new scholarship student."
The atmosphere instantly changed among the students who sat by the table, Ruolan sharing a sly look with the girls as she had now found their new target to bully. She had been bored all these while but had been too hesitant to offend anyone since the last time she got into trouble in middle school but she had finally found someone who could never talk nor be able to report her, someone who was much weaker than her. "Oh, really? How interesting..."
The boys at the table roller their eyes as they read her intent, choosing to ignore her actions like they had always done because of two reasons. The first one being that they were not as vicious as the girls at their side and preferred peace on their end and the second one was the fact that their own code said no one made a move against anyone without Tian Kuo's orders and no one interfered with his business except his senior brother intervened. It was how they kept the balance and lived together as elites and the one percent of the school. They continued to eat until they heard Tian Kuo say to Ruolan. "I don't care what you do with her but make sure my senior brother doesn't find out about this. If this information leaves this class, no one would be able to escape the consequences."
He got up and picked his leather jacket before he left, leaving the rest of his friends in fearful silence and Ruolan glaring at his departing back. Once she was sure that he had left the cafeteria, she grumbled openly with a touch of anger in her eyes as she faced Fulin. "What's up with your best friend? Why is he always so intense and moody?!"
"You know that he hates it when his senior brother interferes in his business." Fulin reminded her gently, his eyes sparkling as he talked to her. "Tian Qi already in sophomore year, about to graduate but he still has time to stalk his younger brother. I can see that he is serious this time so please do not disobey him."
Shi Ruolan tapped her manicured fingers on the surface on the table, pondering over something that bothered her. She looked at the rest of the girls who seemed to be watching her expressions closely and said to them. "Go and find out everything we need to know about her. I do not want any complications at all, do you understand?"
After receiving the girls' sounds of compliance, she grabbed her pink bag and left her tray for one of the girls to go to class. Fulin's eyes trailed her very moment as soon as she stood up until she left the room, gaining the attention of one of the girls who sat beside him. Her eyes flashed with subtle annoyance as she told him. "Can you stop drooling so brazenly after her? You do know that she is Tian Kuo's girl."
Fulin scoffed when he heard her as he put another morsel of food into his mouth and chewed it slowly. "His woman? We both know that Tian Kuo doesn't like her neither would he pay her any form of attention if it wasn't for his mother's influence."
"But that doesn't still mean you would get a chance with her, Fulin. Ruolan has been in love with him since we are little and you know she won't settle for anyone except him so forget about it." The girl who had said it was the closest friend to Shi Ruolan, Niu Ming and she scowled at him as she said it. When she saw that her words did not faze him at all, she sighed and got up to leave him alone.
Back at class, Luo Kexin sat down at her seat until she felt a gaze of adoration from a group of boys by her side but she paid no attention to them. She had been bashful and shy in the past when she had noticed them staring but that only earned her the animosity from the girls in return. This time, she pretended that she didn't even notice them but her indifference had also caught the attention of Tian Kuo who sat down with an unlit cigarette in his mouth. He couldn't shake off the nostalgic feeling he got when he saw her the first time and it made his heart ache for an unknown reason.
He kept trying to recall if he had met her from somewhere but he was positive that he has never seen her before. As he looked at her from the corner of his eyes, he spotted some of the girls he knew already hanging around her as one of them snuck her head into her bag and stole her purse. He unconsciously narrowed his eyes at the sight.
The girls had officially marked her as a target and to them, the fun had just begun.