"Ah?!" Her confusion instantly turned to shock. "That person is... Is he transferring to our school?"
Li Yuexin whispered, "Probably? I heard from others that he returned to the country last month. I thought he was just staying for a month or two, but I didn't expect him to transfer to our school..."
Su Zhiyi's attention was entirely on her phone; she wasn't listening to their conversation.
Luxury goods, nail art, returning home... None of it was interesting to her.
She was using a photo editing app to touch up the photo she took this morning.
What a coincidence—on her way to school this morning, she saw a black luxury car parked by the roadside.
She had been through many worlds and pretended to be rich for so long that, although she had no money, she was familiar with high society and knew these luxury items well.
The car looked expensive on the outside, and she immediately recognized it as a Rolls-Royce Phantom worth millions.
A passing luxury car shouldn't go to waste. She took several photos with the Rolls-Royce on the road, casually revealing her Chanel bag with its logo.
Her fingers slid, cropping out the license plate in the front.
She couldn't afford to expose herself.
"Zhiyi."
A familiar gentle voice sounded above her. Su Zhiyi's fingers paused; she calmly exited the editing interface and turned off the phone.
When she looked up, her beautiful eyes, which had been lackluster a moment ago, instantly sparkled like stars, revealing joy, surprise, and the delight of reunion.
Even though she had just chatted with this person last night, her acting was flawless. Her voice softened like cotton candy, coated in honey, as she sweetly called out to the person before her.
"Brother Song!" She beamed a bright, sweet smile. "You're back so soon."
The newcomer was none other than Song Lian, who had chatted with her on the phone last night.
Song Lian had very handsome features, which together formed a gentle and pleasing face.
He pressed his thin lips together and gave Su Zhiyi a faint smile: "Mm, just returned to A City yesterday. I wanted to see you, so I came to school today."
"I was thinking about what souvenir to bring you when I remembered you like desserts. While handling business in C City, I happened to pass by a handmade chocolate shop. I thought you might like chocolate, so I specially bought some for you to try."
Su Zhiyi's surprise and joy were evident; the intense sweetness in her eyes was impossible to hide: "You think of me even when handling official business?"
"Mm." Song Lian hummed. "I think of you all the time."
He lowered his eyes slightly, his gaze meeting Su Zhiyi's on the table.
Song Lian kept one hand lightly in his pocket, while the other hand, with well-defined knuckles, rested on an exquisitely wrapped gift box.
Only after Su Zhiyi followed his gaze to the table did he withdraw his hand and smile lightly: "Want to open it and have a taste now?"
"Sure, I really like desserts, especially chocolate."
As Song Lian expected, Su Zhiyi opened the box of chocolates on the table.
As she opened the box, her gaze flickered briefly, landing on the hand that had been on the box.
Her attention had been entirely on the half-exposed watch on Song Lian's wrist.
She recognized the brand—Rolex, and the model was worth tens of thousands.
Song Lian withdrew his hand, and his sleeve covered the watch, so she couldn't see it clearly anymore, only catching a glimpse of a small portion.
Truly worthy of the Song family heir—dammit, effortlessly flaunting his wealth.
Su Zhiyi marveled inwardly, until she opened the chocolate box before her and froze again at the sight of the chocolates inside.
Handmade chocolates filled the box, irregular in shape, each with a different filling: some with hazelnuts, some with dried strawberries, some with pistachios... There were over a dozen flavors, cramming the box full.
They were clearly very expensive handmade chocolates.
This one box was worth at least four figures.
Su Zhiyi lowered her head, her butterfly-wing-like, light and long lashes concealing the sudden surprise in her eyes, which she quickly suppressed before anyone noticed.
Replacing the surprise was the joy of receiving a gift, and her affection for Song Lian almost overflowed from her face like molten honey.
Su Zhiyi looked up at Song Lian and said, "Wow, these chocolates look so delicious!"
Song Lian's brows slightly drooped, the corners of his eyes lifted, and his gaze softened. His tone was even gentler than before: "I'm glad you like them. I was worried you wouldn't like this gift."
"I like any gift you give me!" Su Zhiyi winked at Song Lian playfully. "Even if it's not chocolate, I'd still like it."
Song Lian couldn't help but let a faint laugh escape his lips: "Go ahead and try them."
"Mm-hmm."
Su Zhiyi picked up a strawberry chocolate from the box, brought it to her mouth, and took a small bite.
The strawberry chocolate had no bitterness at all—just the sweet and sour taste of strawberries. The dried strawberries were tangy and sweet, with the chocolate part being the most dominant sweetness.
Truly worthy of being a thousand-yuan chocolate; this was definitely the best dessert she had tasted across all her worlds.
Su Zhiyi swallowed the chocolate that had melted on her tongue, the sweet flavor lingering between her lips and teeth.
"This chocolate is so sweet! Not a hint of bitterness—really delicious!"
Song Lian watched her tenderly all along.
The next second, the sweet taste burst and melted on Song Lian's tongue.
The girl stood up, half-standing on tiptoe, leaning slightly toward him, holding half a piece of chocolate, one end of which was the part she had just bitten.
The piece of chocolate, bitten by the girl, was thus fed into his mouth.
Realizing this, the calm and composed man momentarily lost his composure; he could almost hear his own heart pounding in his ears.
"Try it. Isn't it sweet?"
The girl's fingers touched his lips like a dragonfly skimming the water—quickly coming and going. His lips inevitably brushed against the girl's soft fingertips.
After her fingers left, he couldn't help licking his lips, savoring the flavor of the strawberry chocolate.
A faint strawberry aroma spread on his tongue.
Sweet enough to choke, rich enough to intoxicate.
"Mm." He licked his lips again, his gentle voice seeming to taint with the sweetness of the chocolate. "Very sweet."
Bam!
The sweet atmosphere created by the chocolate was abruptly shattered by a sudden loud slap on the table.
Song Lian and Su Zhiyi instinctively turned toward the source of the sound.
Su Qinghuai sat at a seat not far away, holding a thick book, which he opened as if to look up some information.
The sound was from the book hitting the table.
But the noise was just too loud.
And the book's owner—Su Qinghuai—looked up as if accidentally, exchanging glances with Su Zhiyi and Song Lian in turn.
His expression was as cold and indifferent as ever, but there was extra chill in his eyes when he looked at Song Lian. The surrounding temperature seemed to drop sharply, and every gaze exchanged with Song Lian seemed to transform into icy blades.
As if wanting to pierce through, leaving it riddled with holes.
Author's note:
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Having finished drafting the first world, I feel a bit more at ease. For the next world, I still plan to write the female celebrity arc.