Phó Hạ Nghi deliberately waited for her classmates to leave first, promising to do their cleaning duty and close the windows for them.
Her silly excuse was so she could have some quiet space to finish copying the dense notes from the blackboard.
But her real reason for wanting to stay a little longer wasn't to finish copying those simple assignments that she could "do with her eyes closed"...
"I see you, Khương! Hurry up and bring that paparoti bun and refreshing peach iced tea you just bought in here for me..."
Khương Duy Minh had deliberately hidden well to surprise Hạ Nghi, but she still found him out. He pouted, feigning displeasure as he walked in, placing the still-warm bag of buns and the freshly bought iced tea in front of her...
"Are you avoiding him again? I saw a luxurious car waiting in front of the school gate for quite a while now..."
Phó Hạ Nghi looked smugly at Duy Minh's feigned jealous face, deliberately speaking up to tease him...
"Do you like that car? Then I'll buy you another one, a more expensive one.
That way, you can take me to school every day, no need to be jealous of him..."
Khương Duy Minh didn't pay much mind to Hạ Nghi's teasing.
But their strained relationship within a family was truly not okay at all...
Phó Hạ Nghi stopped laughing, continued to pull the delicious bun out of the plastic bag, and slowly took a bite.
Only after she finished chewing did she answer his initial question...
"What's there to avoid? After all, we're siblings living under the same roof; I run into him every day.
It's just his presence that I can't stand..."
The words "anh em" (siblings) seemed to be deliberately emphasized by Hạ Nghi, to create distance in their relationship.
She put the half-eaten bun back into its bag and lazily walked towards the window.
Her slightly annoyed gaze stopped on the man who looked utterly dashing, leaning against the car door, waiting for someone.
It seemed he was about to lose his patience...
"I... just want to spend a little time at the end of the school day with my boyfriend, that's all..."
Khương Duy Minh understood the meaning behind Hạ Nghi's words. He held the still-cold iced tea in front of her, his hand gently wiping away the remaining bun crumbs...
"Drink it, you'll feel better. Don't mind him anymore..."
Hạ Nghi didn't take the iced tea; she simply bent down and touched her mouth to the straw.
Her gaze subtly flickered downwards, to where the man, with a murderous aura, was staring intently at the two of them...
"Wait for me to pack my books, then let's go eat grilled skewers near the school, okay...!"
Khương Duy Minh nodded in satisfaction. He wiped the blackboard clean and conveniently closed the windows for Hạ Nghi while she packed her books into her bag.
The two of them walked hand-in-hand down to the schoolyard in the cool afternoon, a hint of coldness lingering in the eyes of the person opposite them...
"We're going to eat at our usual spot, right, anh...?"
Hạ Nghi tightened her grip on Duy Minh's hand as they neared the school gate. She smiled brightly, looking at his handsome, scholarly face; he truly lived up to his reputation as the school's heartthrob in the eyes of the female students...
"Phó Hạ Nghi..."
"Phó Hạ Nghi..."
"PHÓ HẠ NGHI..."
The utterly furious voice seemed to hiss in the air, making Hạ Nghi's steps suddenly halt.
Although she had told herself to deliberately act indifferent, in reality, she still felt a little afraid of this man who looked dashing yet wild...
"Today I have to go to dinner with Duy Minh, and I'll be home before eight PM... so you don't need to wait for me..."
Fu Liping slowly walked up to them, his deep, dark eyes fixed on their hands, still tightly intertwined.
Deep down, at this moment, he truly wanted to kill the young man in front of him…
“I don’t want to waste words on you. Let go of this brat’s hand and immediately come back to the Fu family villa with me before things get troublesome…”
Fu Xiangyi sneered. Her voice turned sarcastic as she replied to Fu Liping’s serious face…
“Are you giving me orders? Have you forgotten that the Fu family only has one precious young lady?”
In truth, Xiangyi absolutely disliked bringing up their relationship or status in arguments.
Firstly, she was afraid of her father hearing bad things about her. He would make her copy out the entire epic poem book, which was over a hundred pages long.
Secondly, she worried that Fu Liping would feel inferior about his status. If he were to develop hatred and harbor thoughts of revenge against her, it would be like hanging herself.
But it seemed that if she didn’t bring up their relationship today, Fu Liping wouldn’t leave her alone.
Just as Xiangyi expected, his face began to darken…
“That’s right, you reminded me, I almost forgot that the Fu family only has one young lady. So, do you really think this pauper has a chance to step into the Fu family…? How naive, my dear young lady…”
Xiangyi knew Fu Liping couldn’t do anything to her, so he would find every way to mock Jiang Duy Ming’s background, hoping to make him feel inferior and leave her.
But what sent shivers down one’s spine the most was that phrase, “my dear young lady…”
“Perhaps the Fu family won’t accept me, but at least I have Xiangyi’s love. So tell me, Mr. Fu, what do you have that can compare to that…?”
Xiangyi wanted to laugh out loud at Duy Ming’s sharp retort. She truly wanted to see his face, furious to the point of madness, yet unable to do anything.
But in response to her anticipation, there was only that dangerous, sneering smile…
“Sharp tongue, kid. Too bad for you, I have the power to make that hand you’re holding slowly drop. Oh, and if you want, the other hand too…”
Xiangyi shivered slightly at the ruthless threat from this cold-blooded man.
Even if Fu Liping’s words were true, she would certainly not bow down and submit to him…
“If you dare touch Duy Ming, I’ll be the first one to kill you…”
Xiangyi deliberately flashed a bright smile, pulling Jiang Duy Ming past Fu Liping. She also didn’t forget to remind him of something before leaving.
“Just make sure you do a good job with what Father assigned you, my dear brother…!”