Shu Er’s final “oh” over the phone sounded a bit ecstatic. The waiter took a few seconds to regain her composure before responding, “Okay.”
Shu Er was about to hang up but paused. No, this wasn’t right. What if the waiter had a poor memory and forgot what she said?
You know, even a slight variation in wording could drastically change the meaning of what she intended.
What if people didn’t realize she was Huo Chao’s little baby and didn’t vote for her?
And what if she didn’t get enough votes to take first place in the second-year group? The 100,000 yuan worth of fried chicken and milk tea would be wasted then!
With that thought, Shu Er asked, “Could you write down what I just said?” She then carefully repeated her words.
Perhaps Shu Er’s tone was too entitled and confident, like that of a spoiled little princess, because the waiter couldn’t refuse. The waiter followed her instructions and wrote everything down in her notebook.
After hanging up, the waiter immediately informed the manager. The order was too large for a small employee like her to handle alone.
The manager thought for a moment and then clapped his hands. “We’ll take this order! There’s nothing to be afraid of. This customer won’t run off without paying.”
So, all the employees of the fried chicken chain in Beijing City rushed to prepare—making milk tea and frying chicken as fast as they could.
–
In the morning, Huo Chao brought food to Shu Er.
She glanced at it and saw that, in addition to the usual fruit and milk, he had indeed bought a few extra bags of potato chips as she’d asked.
But only a few bags! Not enough for her to share.
Yes, it wasn’t that there wasn’t enough for her to eat—it was that there wasn’t enough for her to share. She seldom ate high-calorie foods because she was prone to gaining weight.
She had wanted to use these snacks to gain favor with others.
Although Shu Er was dissatisfied with the limited amount of snacks, she didn’t cause any trouble today.
After all, she had a bigger move planned for later.
“Brother, I don’t have your WeChat or phone number yet,” she said, stepping forward to tug on Huo Chao’s shirt hem. Tilting her head slightly, she asked softly and coquettishly, “Brother, don’t you want to contact me and hear my voice more often?”
Huo Chao couldn’t resist. He reached out to pinch her soft, delicate cheek.
He’d wanted to do that for a while but had held back. Now, he couldn’t suppress the urge anymore.
He wanted to see for himself how thick her face must be to say such things so naturally, without a trace of awkwardness.
He had expected her skin to feel thick, but to his surprise, it was soft and smooth, like a peeled egg. She was thin, with barely any flesh on her face—nothing like what he had imagined.
As he pinched her cheek and leaned in slightly, the two were close enough to see the color of each other’s eyes.
Shu Er blinked and suddenly asked, “Brother, do you want to kiss me?”
Why else was he leaning in so close? And pinching her cheek, too!
Didn’t he know that a girl’s face was as sensitive as a boy’s head and shouldn’t be touched randomly?
Huo Chao was stunned. Before he could respond, Shu Er continued, “Brother, you’re not allowed to kiss me right now.”
Not right now, but could he do it later?
Huo Chao was utterly defeated by this little troublemaker.
He withdrew his hand, stood up, and for the first time, seriously called her name.
“Shu Er.”
Huo Chao called her name with a softness that made Shu Er subconsciously scratch her ears.
The male protagonist had a really nice voice.
But how silly of him! He had mistaken her for someone else!
“Brother, what did you call me for?”
“Why are you so good at acting spoiled? How did your family raise you?”
Shu Er lifted her chin and replied confidently, “Princesses are naturally good at being coquettish.”
Huo Chao chuckled.
He opened his phone, pulled up his WeChat QR code, and showed it to Shu Er, asking her to scan and add him.
Shu Er eagerly added him as a friend and, right in front of him, saved his contact as “The most gentle, most considerate, and best brother in the world.”
Huo Chao was baffled. When had he ever given her the impression that he was gentle and considerate?
Gentle?
Considerate?
Do these words even apply to him?
Of course, he didn’t know that Shu Er was just taking preventive measures.
She’d done something bad, so naturally, she had to give him a little sweetness first. By making him think she saw him as gentle and considerate, she hoped he’d feel too embarrassed to get angry at her later.
—
Shu Er walked into the classroom with the snacks and casually distributed the bags of chips.
Those who received them were filled with excitement, while those who didn’t were disappointed, hoping they’d get some next time.
“These are the potato chips Huo Chao bought! Thank you, Shu Er!”
“Wow, I don’t even want to eat them!”
“It’s great being in the same class as Shu Er.”
“Huo Chao’s chasing after Shu Er, and we’re reaping the benefits!”
Of course, Jiang Xici got some snacks too.
After all, Shu Er’s primary focus was on taking care of Jiang Xici. She only gave some to others to avoid being too obvious and making him uncomfortable.
After handing Jiang Xici his snack, Shu Er was about to return to her seat, but before she could turn around, Jiang Xici called out to her.
The boy’s voice was clear and slightly immature.
Shu Er paused. “What’s the matter?” She thought Jiang Xici was going to return the bag of chips.
Jiang Xici hesitated before carefully asking, “Won’t he be angry if you do this?”
The “he” he was referring to must be Huo Chao.
In Jiang Xici’s eyes, the chips were a token of Huo Chao’s feelings for Shu Er.
Although he didn’t know much about Huo Chao, who was a senior, he’d heard about his “glorious deeds” from the previous years.
Huo Chao had once been the undisputed leader of the school, able to command a group of followers with a wave of his hand. Now, in his senior year, he has matured and become more low-key. However, even though he had toned things down, he was still not known for having a good temper.
If Huo Chao found out that Shu Er was giving away his token of affection to her classmates…
Shu Er nonchalantly replied, “Don’t worry, it’s fine.”
Even if the male protagonist got angry, she wouldn’t care. What was he worth to her?
As long as Jiang Xici was well-fed and his favorability toward her increased, that was all that mattered.
Jiang Xici opened his mouth as if to say more but ultimately stayed quiet.
He knew Shu Er was intentionally taking care of him.
One day, once he becomes successful, he would repay her a thousandfold for what she had given him.
—
After the afternoon classes, the entire school was buzzing with excitement.
It wasn’t because school was over but because a large truck had pulled up in front of the gates, loaded with mouth watering fried chicken and tantalizing milk tea.
The security guard’s eyes widened.
What was going on?
When the security guard learned that it had all been ordered by Huo Chao from Class 36 of Senior 3, specifically for all the teachers and students, he was speechless for a moment before allowing the truck through.
And Huo Chao hadn’t forgotten the security guard either—he made sure the guard got his portion too.
The security guard was moved. Huo Chao really was generous! He ordered food for the entire school.
The fried chicken and milk tea tasted amazing.
If only this could happen more often!
As for Huo Chao himself, he had no idea any of this was happening.
Because the order was so large, the fried chicken shop had dispatched seven staff members. Six of them were busy distributing food to the three grades, while one went to find Huo Chao in Class 36 to settle the bill.
However, this staff member wasn’t familiar with the school layout, and by the time they found Huo Chao, the entire school was already buzzing with excitement.
The staff were extremely dedicated. In each classroom, they pulled out a slip of paper and, before distributing the chicken, loudly announced, “Today, Mr. Huo has paid for the meal. Please support Shu Er and remember to vote for her in the ‘Campus Goddess’ selection!”
Each class reacted the same way—first with stunned silence, followed by deafening screams.
For a brief moment, the entire school was abuzz with excitement.
“Oh my god, what’s going on between Huo Chao and Shu Er?”
“Should we congratulate Shu Er for marrying into a wealthy family?”
“Please, not so fast, nothing’s happened yet.”
“I never realized Huo Chao was this good at pleasing girls.”
“This vote-pulling method is good—I’m definitely voting for Shu Er.”
“A medieval mystery, are Huo Chao and Shu Er together?”
Shu Er and Huo Chao were the talk of the school. If Huo Chao’s previous gestures of bringing Shu Er fruit and milk had already boosted her popularity, then the fried chicken incident skyrocketed her fame across the entire campus.
Afterward, everyone knew Shu Er’s name.
Who’s Shu Er, you ask?
Well, isn’t she the girl Huo Chao is pursuing? Though he hasn’t succeeded yet, it’s clear she’s the one he cherishes.
Otherwise, why would Huo Chao spend nearly 100,000 yuan to help her secure votes throughout the school?
The rules of the Campus Goddess competition were straightforward: each person had three votes, which could be cast for girls from their grade or other grades.
In the end, the girl with the most votes from each grade would become one of the three campus goddesses.
So, name recognition was key.
If people didn’t even know your name, how would they vote for you?
In just ten minutes, the news was spreading like wildfire.
By the time word of “Huo Chao spending a fortune for Shu Er” reached Huo Chao’s ears, students from several classes were already sipping on milk tea and munching on fried chicken.
