Chapter Twenty-Seven: The School Beauty Falls for Me

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The School Belle Falls for Me

The next day dawned bright and clear, the sun high in the sky and the flowers smiling upon the world. Shi Bai arrived at school as usual, but today, he deliberately chose to walk right past Liu Feifei.

He had already accepted the challenge: to make Liu Feifei utterly enamored with him.

He fixed his gaze on her, staring so intensely that she began to feel uneasy. Then, with a sudden movement, Shi Bai tossed his thoroughly unimpressive hair, squinted his narrow, single-lidded eyes, tugged at the collar of his already less-than-clean school uniform, and strutted past her in an exaggerated display, nearly brushing against her head.

The girls nearby nearly gagged. “Ugh! How can someone who looks like that try to act cool?”

“I really want to punch him!”

“Never have I seen someone so shameless!”

Zhang Tongtong turned to Liu Feifei. “Feifei, what do you think? I feel like he’s got his eye on you.”

But unexpectedly, Liu Feifei didn’t curse him. Her expression was oddly conflicted, and she murmured, “Is... is that so?”

“You don’t find him disgusting?” Zhang Tongtong pressed.

Liu Feifei hesitated, “Well... he... he is disgusting.”

Yet, she couldn’t help glancing back at Shi Bai, only to catch him picking his nose—using his thumb, no less.

She snapped her gaze away, her cheeks flushed a delicate pink. “Damn it! Why does... why does he look so handsome even picking his nose?!”

Zhang Tongtong, seeing her suspicious expression, shook her by the shoulders. “Feifei, what’s wrong with you?”

Liu Feifei quickly looked up. “Huh? What do you mean?”

Zhang Tongtong frowned slightly. “You’re acting strange.”

Liu Feifei turned away. “Maybe… I just didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Really?” Zhang Tongtong glanced at Shi Bai, unconvinced.

For the entire class, Liu Feifei couldn’t focus, her mind repeatedly returning to the image of Shi Bai picking his nose.

“Am I out of my mind?” she muttered, digging her nails into her palm. “How could I ever think someone like him is handsome? Haven’t I always hated him?”

“Damn it…”

During morning exercises, Shi Bai stood slightly ahead and to the side of Liu Feifei. He deliberately exaggerated his movements, performing them awkwardly and ridiculously, yet this only made Liu Feifei’s heart flutter.

“Damn, how does he manage to stand out even doing exercises?”

When the exercises ended and Liu Feifei passed Shi Bai, he stuck his hands in his pockets, glanced at her, and drawled, “Hey, you’ve put on weight!” Then he snickered, “Almost as big as Pigsy now!”

“Who are you calling fat?!” Zhang Tongtong couldn’t take it anymore. “Don’t think you’re some big shot and can say whatever you want! Feifei isn’t fat at all—she’s 168 cm and only weighs 90 jin! Where do you see fat?”

Shi Bai just chuckled. “Are you blind? She’s not 168. At most, 158, okay?”

“You’re the blind one!” Zhang Tongtong shouted back. “She’s exactly 168 cm! Measured at enrollment! The whole school knows she’s the school belle!”

“The school belle?” Shi Bai gave Liu Feifei a once-over, laughing derisively. “Her? That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Zhang Tongtong glared daggers at him, practically grinding her teeth. “How is she not the school belle? Her height, looks, and aura—she’s the best in the whole school!”

By now, a crowd had gathered, drawn by the argument. When they heard Shi Bai’s words, they unanimously condemned him—a petty man willing to insult the school belle just for attention.

But Shi Bai just smirked. “Forget her height. Let’s talk about her looks. She’s got the face of a Balianjin, and you call her the school belle?”

Zhang Tongtong exploded. “You’re the Balianjin! Your whole family are Balianjin!”

“I may be Balianjin,” Shi Bai retorted, “but that’s still better than her—she’s a regular Pigsy!”

“You—!”

Zhang Tongtong was about to lose her temper when Liu Feifei suddenly grabbed her arm. With her head lowered and cheeks flushed, she murmured, “That’s enough, Tongtong. Let’s just go.” She stole a bashful glance at Shi Bai as she spoke.

The onlookers were dumbstruck—especially the guys, who stared at Shi Bai as if they’d seen a ghost.

“Since when did chasing girls mean being gentle and treating them like princesses? How come this guy insults Liu Feifei so brutally, and she looks as if she likes it?”

A tide of admiration welled up in their hearts. “He’s a true role model for us all!”

That afternoon, Liu Feifei went to the school store and bought an Alpenliebe lollipop. Just as she was about to eat it, Shi Bai spotted her.

With his hands in his pockets and one leg stretched out, he adopted a roguish pose. “Hey, what are you eating? Give me some!”

Zhang Tongtong immediately exploded, flinging the candy wrapper to the ground. “Damn it, don’t you ever quit?” She jabbed a finger at Shi Bai’s nose.

“Look at yourself! Is there a single thing about you that deserves Feifei? Do you know how disgusting you look when you try to act cool? Every girl who sees you wants to puke, you know that?”

“Enough!” But before Shi Bai could reply, Liu Feifei interrupted, glaring fiercely at Zhang Tongtong. “How can you talk to Xiaobai like that?”

Shi Bai and Zhang Tongtong both froze.

“Xiao... Bai?”

Liu Feifei’s pretty face turned scarlet as she lowered her head, nervously twisting her fingers. In a small voice, she said to Shi Bai, “I’m calling you Xiaobai… I hope you don’t mind?” Then she shyly handed him the unwrapped Alpenliebe.

Zhang Tongtong’s pupils dilated in shock, her mind going blank except for a single thought: “This world… has gone mad.”

Shi Bai’s heart melted in that instant, as if a desert had suddenly bloomed. When a girl is gentle to you, it can truly steal your soul away.

He took the Alpenliebe, scratching his head. “N-no, I don’t mind!” Then he bolted back to the classroom. “Damn it, why does it feel like I’m about to fail the mission?”

Sitting at his desk, Shi Bai was awash with emotion. He looked at Liu Feifei, who kept sneaking glances at him, and felt both sweet and anxious. “What the hell is going on? I was supposed to mess with her—why do I feel like I’m getting pulled in instead?” He thumped his chest in frustration. His own soft-heartedness was to blame.

After a while, he managed to sort out his thoughts. “Wait a minute, isn’t this exactly what I wanted? Get her to fall for me, then ruthlessly dump her! Isn’t her reaction just what I planned?”

He clenched his fist. “Worst case, I’ll just date her for a bit. No big deal—aren’t all scumbags doing this nowadays?”

He was about to nod in resolve, but then he noticed the lollipop in his hand and couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt. “Damn this gentleness of hers!”