There's Always a Beautiful Girl Trying to Conquer...

Monday.

Early morning.

Su Cheng woke up early. Yesterday, after riding home in Li Guanqi's car, he had gone straight to bed. However, since he had returned late, he slept in a little longer and was now in danger of being late for school.

He quickly got up, put on his school uniform, and after straightening his clothes, checked the time on his phone. Rushing through his morning routine, he grabbed a piece of bread, stuffed it into his mouth, and dashed out of the house toward the parking lot.

"I'm gonna be late—ahhh!"

With the bread still in his mouth, Su Cheng shouted as he hurried forward, his voice filled with urgency and frustration.

But at the next corner, he suddenly slammed on the brakes, his expression shifting into something more complicated.

He had sensed someone else about to turn the same corner.

Sure enough, a girl in Flame City Private Academy’s uniform appeared from the other side. Her face was slightly round and adorable, her hair long, straight, and black, paired with black knee-high socks.

In her hands was a bulging leather pouch.

Their eyes met.

Xuan Ying’s cheeks flushed slightly, her large eyes shimmering with shyness as she looked at Su Cheng. "Su Cheng, what a coincidence. I was just about to look for you. The money’s been recovered—I’m here to return it to you."

With that, she held out the pouch to him.

Su Cheng blinked in surprise but quickly took it. "Got it."

Xuan Ying then explained, "The thing is, the scammer exchanged it into foreign currency, so what’s inside is foreign cash. You’ll need to go to the bank to convert it back into Flame Currency."

"Oh?"

Su Cheng opened the pouch and saw a thick stack of foreign bills. After estimating the amount, he nodded in understanding.

"Well then, I’ll be going now. Goodbye."

Xuan Ying waved and turned to leave.

Su Cheng watched her retreating figure, his brow furrowing in suspicion.

Logically, shouldn’t they be heading to school together now?

Was this another one of her schemes?

Whatever it was, he’d deal with it as it came.

Shaking off his worries, he mounted his bicycle and pedaled toward school.

Yet, less than a few minutes later, he spotted Xuan Ying strolling leisurely down the street, her school bag in hand.

Su Cheng: "…"

He sighed inwardly. "Of course. She’s waiting for me on my usual route."

At this pace, Xuan Ying would definitely be late—and it was all because she had come to return his money.

By all reason, any decent person would offer her a ride.

"Tch."

Su Cheng exhaled sharply. Even though he knew it was a trap, he couldn’t just let her be late, could he?

So, he stomped on the pedals, abruptly changed direction, and sped off like the wind.

If he pretended not to see her, then technically, he wasn’t "letting" her be late, right?

A brilliant plan, Su Cheng thought.

Nothing could stump him!

He pedaled even harder, deliberately cutting through an alley to bypass Xuan Ying before reappearing on the main road ahead of her, continuing his breakneck pace.

His strategy? Make sure her little scheme backfired.

Behind him, Xuan Ying stood frozen in shock. She had fully expected Su Cheng to stop and offer her a ride. Instead, he had somehow appeared in front of her out of nowhere?

By the time she processed it, Su Cheng was already long gone.

But no matter.

"Mr. Qin predicted this. He gave me a contingency plan."

Xuan Ying smacked her forehead and pulled out a note from her pocket.

It read:

[If he rides past without noticing you, deliberately arrive late. Walk into class in front of everyone.]

(Note: Remember, you’re doing this for him!)

After reading it, Xuan Ying’s face lit up with a radiant smile.

She could already picture it—under Qin’s guidance, she’d win Su Cheng’s heart and ascend to the peak of life.

Just thinking about it made her giddy!

But just as she tucked the note away and prepared to move, a car suddenly pulled up beside her.

"Huh?"

Xuan Ying blinked, then looked up—only for her smile to stiffen.

A black-haired girl leaned out of the car window, her expression calm as she spoke softly, "Xuan Ying, get in. You’ll be late otherwise."

Hearing this, Xuan Ying’s grin faltered. A million protests raced through her mind, but she couldn’t refuse. Reluctantly, she climbed in.

After all, Li Guanqi was close to Su Cheng. If she turned down the ride and word got back to him, wouldn’t he realize she had planned to be late on purpose?

Xuan Ying didn’t dare risk it. She had no choice but to grit her teeth and get in.

…………………………………………

Noon.

Lunch break.

Li Guanqi’s message popped up on Su Cheng’s phone: "I’m going to the library with Xuan Ying at noon."

Su Cheng stared at the screen, momentarily stunned.

To protect himself from being manipulated,

To uphold his independence,

For the sake of love and strength—this charming, righteous protagonist!

His third power—the "Guanqi Scout"—was off gathering intel again.

In the end, he sighed. This couldn’t go on. He could confront Xuan Ying directly and tell her to stop, but she already knew he’d refuse.

What if pushing her away only made her more obsessive? What if she spiraled into full-blown yandere madness?

If a high-society girl like her was willing to dig through trash for him, what wouldn’t she do?

Besides, he hadn’t even retaliated for the last incident.

These were the reasons he hadn’t laid his cards on the table yet.

"Ugh."

Su Cheng sighed again, feeling melancholic.

Who knew being liked could be so exhausting? What a mess!

As he walked, he reached a patch of grass—not the usual spot he shared with Li Guanqi, but somewhere else.

Sitting down, he realized this couldn’t continue.

So, Su Cheng pulled out his phone and dialed his fourth trump card.

"Hello? Senpai!"

As soon as the call connected, Su Cheng spoke up.

"Junior. Did you have fun over the weekend?"

The voice on the other end was sweet, gentle, and familiar—making Su Cheng pause.

But then it clicked. The weekend’s incident, where the club president had shown up at the practical club, had to be this scheming woman’s doing.

"So, was it your idea to send the president to the practical club?"

After a brief silence, Su Cheng finally asked.

"I just mentioned it casually. She was the one who got interested—I didn’t tell her to go."

Liu Qingyue’s voice carried a hint of complaint as she continued, "You have no idea. Yesterday, the young mistress insisted on showing me the photos she took. They were awful, but I had to praise them anyway. Still, as bad as they were, I couldn’t help feeling jealous looking at them."

As she spoke, her last sentence was deliberately delivered in a pitiful tone, even adding a choked-up sob for effect.

It sounded as if she were saying, "You all get to go out and have fun, while I'm stuck working in the countryside like a widow."

Su Cheng: "..."

"Alright, alright, let's get back on track."

With that, Liu Qingyue regained her usual lively demeanor. "So, what do you need help with this time?"

Su Cheng spoke in a serious tone: "Well... there's another bad woman at school."

"Huh?"

Liu Qingyue paused on the other end of the line before asking, "Another one? Who was the first?"

Su Cheng immediately coughed awkwardly at the question.

"Ahem... Well, senior... um..."

He scratched his head sheepishly before explaining, "It's Gu Ruoxue. Yeah, that's right—she's the worst!"

"Oh, her. Yeah, she really is terrible."

Liu Qingyue's voice carried a note of realization before she sighed in relief. "I thought you were talking about me for a second. Scared me to death."

"Of course not! If anyone dares call you a bad woman, I'll take them down myself."

Su Cheng quickly reassured her.

"That's more like it."

Liu Qingyue sounded satisfied before continuing, "Seems like a new character has appeared while I've been away."

"Yeah."

Just as he was about to explain the library incident, his gaze caught a golden-haired figure approaching. He hurriedly said, "Senior, something came up. Let's talk more tonight."

Without waiting for a response, he hung up on the "bad woman" and turned his attention to the approaching figure.

It was none other than Zhao Yan.

Spotting Su Cheng sitting on the grass, Zhao Yan paused briefly before smiling. "Su Cheng?"

"Yeah, what a coincidence."

Su Cheng quickly stood up and greeted her politely.

"Aren't you going to eat at this hour?"

Zhao Yan checked the time and asked.

"Oh, I usually eat here."

Su Cheng replied, though internally he couldn't help but grumble: And you? Shouldn’t you be eating too? What are you doing here instead?

"Ah, am I interrupting?"

Zhao Yan lowered her head slightly with an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that."

Every movement she made exuded elegance and grace, yet her fashion sense was undeniably trendy. The combination gave her an inexplicable charm—especially since she had modified her school uniform skirt to better showcase her long, fair legs.

"No, no, not at all."

Su Cheng waved his hands dismissively. "I already finished eating. Just resting now."

"I see. I didn’t have much appetite today either. Since you're free, why don’t we continue our conversation from last Saturday?"

Zhao Yan’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.

"Uh... sure."

Su Cheng hesitated briefly before agreeing.

Last Saturday, they had discussed the library over coffee. She knew he planned to visit it.

Now, she was using that as an excuse to approach him again—and he couldn’t exactly refuse. After all, this was the same Zhao Yan who had sold out her own best friend!

Once Su Cheng agreed, Zhao Yan gracefully walked over, smoothed her skirt, and sat down beside him without hesitation. She tilted her head slightly, brushing her hair aside to reveal a glimpse of her fair collarbone before smiling at him.

Su Cheng had no choice but to sit back down next to her.

But the moment he did, he realized something was off.

She was using the wind to her advantage!

Every time the breeze blew, Zhao Yan’s distinct fragrance wafted toward him—a subtle, intoxicating scent that made him feel uncomfortably warm.

This is torture.

His gaze unconsciously drifted to her slender legs before he noticed that Zhao Yan had been watching him the whole time, maintaining the same poised posture.

"Su Cheng, still curious about my skincare routine?"

She smiled, noticing his lingering stare.

Su Cheng: "Huh?"

Then it hit him—last time, he had also stared at her legs and asked how she maintained them!

Before he could respond, Zhao Yan did something that left him breathless.

She pinched the fabric of her sheer stockings between her fingers and tugged slightly, revealing their smooth elasticity.

The sight burned into his vision.

This move…

Su Cheng felt like he was suffocating.

"I usually wear these," Zhao Yan explained with a smile.

Su Cheng’s face stiffened.

Right now, his HP was thinner than her stockings.

Staring at her, he managed to ask, "What brand are those?"

"Hmm..."

Zhao Yan actually listed off a brand name.

Eventually, Su Cheng averted his gaze. He was beginning to realize that when a woman took the initiative, he was completely defenseless.

If Zhao Yan had made her move earlier, he might’ve already been conquered.

Desperate to change the subject, he blurted out, "Uh... skipping lunch is bad for your stomach."

With that, he quickly pulled out a small bread roll from his pocket and handed it to her. "Here, have this."

……………………

Meanwhile

A golden-haired girl and a black-haired girl strolled through campus after lunch.

"Did Su Cheng bully you again?"

Ailiya glanced at Cornelia, who had been silently kicking at blades of grass in frustration.

"No, Su Cheng didn’t bully me," Cornelia quickly denied, lifting her head. "I’ve just been in a bad mood lately."

Over the weekend, she had invited Su Cheng to play games, but he turned her down. So, in the afternoon, she sneaked out to his house behind her mother’s back—only to find Yaya alone at home.

She had no idea where Su Cheng had gone.

All she knew was that on Saturday, he had met Xuan Ying’s friend—someone named Zhao Yan.

In her words, Zhao Yan was a fake blonde.

Sure, their hair colors overlapped!

But Zhao Yan’s was dyed, while hers was natural!

"Then why do you look so down?"

"It’s nothing. I’ll be fine soon."

Cornelia shook her head before gazing up at the sky. Her sapphire-blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

She couldn’t help but reminisce about the days when she used to play games at Su Cheng’s house every day.

Back then, she knew everything about him. Now, she didn’t even know what he was up to.

"You’re crying."

Ailiya frowned.

"No, I just got sand in my eyes."

Cornelia wiped her tears and forced a smile.

Ailiya eyed her skeptically but didn’t press further. The two continued walking until they reached a grassy area.

Suddenly, Ailiya stopped and tugged at Cornelia. "Let’s go somewhere else."

She had just spotted Su Cheng sitting with another blonde, sharing bread.

But—

Cornelia had already noticed too. Instead of being pulled away, she stood frozen, staring at Su Cheng in disbelief.

Wasn't the plan to talk to Zhao Yan about rejecting Xuan Ying?

Did that discussion take three days?

And now they’re sitting together, eating bread all cozy-like?

Ailiya, noticing her reaction, couldn’t help but glance worriedly in Su Cheng’s direction.

"Cornelia, you should just give up on him. There are plenty of guys at school who are better than him—richer, more talented. And honestly, it’s clear he doesn’t like you."

Though it pained her to say it, the words came out anyway.

She didn’t want her best friend to keep hurting like this.

Hearing this, Cornelia’s face paled further, her lips pressed tightly together. Yet she stubbornly shook her head, her voice firm: "No! Impossible! Absolutely not!"

Ailiya sighed.

Seems like her words had the opposite effect again…

So she tried another approach. "Then at least don’t wait around for him to confess. Just tell him today—say some other guy already asked you out. Someone even better than him. And that you’re considering it. Then see how he reacts—that’ll tell you if he really likes you! If he does, maybe he’ll finally make a move. Maybe he’ll even confess right then!"

Cornelia’s eyes reddened at the suggestion. Her mind blank, she clenched her teeth—then gave a sharp, determined nod.