Chapter Thirty: Inviting the School Belle to Dinner

After the parent-teacher meeting, everyone could finally relax a little. But Zhou Xuan and a few other classmates didn't have that luxury, because the city essay competition's second round was about to begin.

On Friday, their Chinese teacher, Mr. Chen, informed Zhou Xuan that he would be giving special coaching to the students who made it to the essay competition on Sunday morning. Zhou Xuan agreed.

At eight-thirty on Sunday morning, Zhou Xuan arrived at the Chinese teacher's office to find several students already there, including the school beauty, Liu Yixue.

Catching sight of Liu Yixue's graceful figure, Zhou Xuan smiled and greeted her, "Good morning, Liu Yixue."

Liu Yixue looked at Zhou Xuan, curiosity written all over her face. She couldn't understand how Zhou Xuan had managed to leap from two hundred and fiftieth place to first in just one month.

Was he just pretending to do badly in all those previous exams? Liu Yixue pondered. As for the explanation that he'd started studying at four in the morning during the summer and put in over ten hours a day, she found that hard to believe.

"Ah... good morning, Zhou Xuan," Liu Yixue replied, caught off guard and needing a few seconds to recover.

Seeing Liu Yixue's awkwardness, Zhou Xuan nearly laughed out loud. "Congratulations on placing eighth in the grade," he said.

"Hmph, you should be congratulated! You did so well—you're the biggest dark horse in our grade."

"It was just a bit of luck, that's all," Zhou Xuan replied with a chuckle.

"If you're so lucky, shouldn't you treat us to a meal?" The words slipped out, and Liu Yixue instantly sensed they'd crossed a line—after all, she and Zhou Xuan weren't exactly close.

"What are you thinking, saying something like that? Where's your usual composure?" Her cheeks flushed, and she silently scolded herself.

She never expected to end up inviting Zhou Xuan to a meal. After all, since the second year, they hadn't even exchanged a handful of words.

Zhou Xuan suddenly realized how much appeal came with being a top student. Even the school beauty was inviting him out—he couldn't help feeling a little smug.

"Sure, anytime," Zhou Xuan replied, seeing no reason to refuse. With several thousand yuan in his pocket, he wasn't worried—he could take her to any place in NC County.

A few coughs from nearby interrupted their conversation.

"We'll talk about this later..." Liu Yixue remembered that there were other students present, and her voice grew as soft as a mosquito's.

Zhou Xuan turned to look at the others. There were three more students who'd made it to the second round—two boys and a girl, none of whom he knew.

At this point, Liu Yixue introduced them: the girl was Lu Fei from Class Two, the refined-looking boy with glasses was Hai Chen from Class One, and the tall one was Hou Yong from Class Four.

Zhou Xuan greeted them. Lu Fei and Hou Yong smiled back. But Hai Chen from Class One acted as if he couldn't be bothered, which Zhou Xuan found odd.

He couldn't figure out why, but didn't dwell on it. If not for Mr. Chen's enthusiastic invitation, Zhou Xuan wouldn't have bothered coming.

With his skills, winning first place in the essay competition was a piece of cake.

If he hadn't come, he'd have started writing popular novels like "Stories of the Ming Dynasty" or "Under the Hawthorn Tree," hoping to earn his first pot of gold before high school.

After a while, Mr. Chen arrived. Everyone pulled their chairs up to his desk, and he handed out materials to each student. Zhou Xuan glanced through his packet—it contained their essays from the preliminary round, writing tips compiled by the teacher, and some exemplary sample essays.

The teacher began by reviewing each student's preliminary essay, pointing out strengths and areas for improvement.

He then explained writing techniques from the materials, followed by a discussion of the sample essays.

Everyone listened intently. Zhou Xuan found Mr. Chen's explanations extremely helpful.

After all, even as someone recycling past works, he couldn't simply copy every sentence word for word. Some passages had to be written anew, and improving his writing was essential. Otherwise, his "borrowed" novels would be full of awkward moments—anyone could tell something wasn't right.

At noon, Mr. Chen finished his lecture and assigned an essay for them to write, to be handed in during evening study hall.

As they headed into the hallway, Zhou Xuan and Liu Yixue walked toward Class Six's classroom.

Just then, Hai Chen from Class One approached, stopping in front of Liu Yixue and saying abruptly, "Yixue, would you like to have lunch together?"

At that moment, Zhou Xuan finally understood why Hai Chen had been giving him dirty looks all morning. So the school beauty Liu Yixue was at the heart of it all.

"A beautiful face brings trouble," Zhou Xuan mused—ancient wisdom never lies.

It seemed Hai Chen and Liu Yixue knew each other; otherwise, he wouldn't have addressed her so directly.

But Liu Yixue declined, "Hai Chen, we're not that close. You should call me Liu Yixue. As for lunch..."

She glanced at Zhou Xuan, then continued, "I've already promised Zhou Xuan I'd have lunch with him. Sorry about that."

Zhou Xuan was taken aback—when had he asked her to lunch? But he certainly wasn't about to contradict her, and watched with amusement as Hai Chen's face fell. "That's right. I'm honored that Miss Liu agreed to share a meal with me," he confirmed.

Behind them, Lu Fei and Hou Yong, seeing what was happening, also stopped to watch.

Hai Chen's face darkened. From morning till now, he'd had to watch the girl he liked chatting and laughing with Zhou Xuan, and then Mr. Chen's lavish praise for Zhou Xuan's essay only made things worse.

He'd always been the best essayist in the grade, and had hoped to use the competition as a chance to connect with Liu Yixue.

But Zhou Xuan had appeared out of nowhere, instantly capturing all of Liu Yixue's attention—not only was his writing superb, he’d also ranked first in the midterm exams.

He’d even caused Wei Xinyu from Class Six a great loss, making Hai Chen wary of crossing him.

Watching Liu Yixue and Zhou Xuan banter, Hai Chen was furious, but with Lu Fei and Hou Yong watching, he couldn't do much. "Alright then, maybe next time," he managed.

After Hai Chen left, Zhou Xuan asked, "So, Liu Yixue, what would you like to eat?"

Liu Yixue grew a little embarrassed. "I was only joking."

"Haha, since you used me as a shield, isn't it only fair to treat me to a meal?" Zhou Xuan teased, unable to resist her shy expression.

"Huh?" Liu Yixue hadn’t expected Zhou Xuan to turn the tables and suggest she should be the one to treat him. She’d never had lunch alone with a boy before.

"I did you a pretty big favor—won't you even treat me to a meal?" Zhou Xuan pressed.

Liu Yixue grew annoyed at his audacity; she didn't know whether to agree or not. At a loss for words, she suddenly remembered their conversation from that morning and chided him with a laugh, "Zhou Xuan, you have some nerve! Weren't you the one who said you'd treat me? You even said anytime—now you're putting it on me."

"Alright, let's go! We can eat anywhere you like. Money's no object!" Zhou Xuan replied, deciding not to tease her any further.

"Oh, so you're a big spender now!"

"Just average, just average."