Chapter 99: Princess, Prince, and Knight

A senior year day passed all too easily—a few practice papers and the day was already done. Compared to Cheng Xiaoyu's past life, this was far more relaxing. Only six classes a day, teachers never held students past the bell, and physical education and music classes were never taken over by other subjects. It was practically a paradise of a high school.

Thinking back to his miserable former life—eight classes a day, evening study sessions on top of that, and every teacher treating overtime lectures as an essential skill—if the next period happened to be PE, you'd hear the teacher say, "I've already spoken with the PE teacher. We'll continue this class. If you need to use the restroom, go quickly." After a wave of resentful groaning, everyone would obediently return to the lesson.

When the dismissal bell rang, Cheng Xiaoyu was, for once, out of the classroom before the teacher. He still had to go home to change clothes and pick up Su Yuxi's gift. Xu Qin'ning's birthday banquet was set at the revolving restaurant on the top floor of the Golden Summit Five-Star Hotel.

It was a bit far from Cheng Xiaoyu's place, so he was running short on time.

Once he got in the car, Cheng Xiaoyu figured changing clothes didn't really matter—he had to go to Zhongshan Park first to pick up the gift Su Yuxi had bought.

By the time he drove to Zhongshan Park and found a small shop called Qiqi's Boudoir at the address Su Yuxi had given him, it was already past five. He parked on the roadside, too lazy to look for a proper spot. He figured, let them write him a ticket if they wanted to. He went into the shop to pick up the item.

Cheng Xiaoyu gave Su Yuxi's phone number, and the shopkeeper handed him a tightly wrapped box that needed to be carried in both arms. He hadn't managed to prepare a gift for Xu Qin'ning himself—he'd planned to just buy something random at the same place Su Yuxi's gift came from. But looking around the little store, he had no idea what to get!

It was a figurine shop selling manga merchandise. Cheng Xiaoyu thought it over—his sister's gift counted half as his anyway—so he simply bought nothing. He just walked out carrying the box of unknown contents Su Yuxi had purchased.

Seeing that time was running short, going back to change was out of the question. He'd have to attend the banquet in his school uniform.

Driving to the Golden Summit during rush hour, the roads were especially congested. There was nothing Cheng Xiaoyu could do but inch forward through the heavy traffic.

By the time he reached the Golden Summit, he was a bit late. He parked hurriedly, held the box in his arms, and went straight up to the revolving restaurant on the 88th floor.

The moment he stepped out of the elevator, he was faced with a massive poster of Xu Qin'ning covering the entire wall. In the poster, she wore a leopard-print dress with a short black fur jacket over it, her long legs bare, radiating a pure white glow with careless abandon.

Her short hair was messily tousled, her eyes slightly narrowed, her expression utterly alluring. Her bright red lips were pressed tightly together, giving off an air of spoiled indifference, as if telling you she had no interest in anything at all.

Her pose was charmingly coy—hands on her hips, one leg slightly bent. An ordinary pose, yet when she did it, it somehow seemed graceful and breathtaking.

Cheng Xiaoyu studied it carefully for a moment, then walked toward the restaurant entrance. He was stopped at the door by a waiter dressed in a bellboy uniform with white gloves. "I'm sorry, sir. Our restaurant is not open to the public today."

Cheng Xiaoyu pointed at a smaller poster propped by the entrance, also featuring Xu Qin'ning's photo, with the words "Happy 17th Birthday, Miss Xu." He said, "I'm here for her birthday."

The bellboy smiled and said, "Sorry, but could you please show me your invitation?"

Hearing that an invitation was required, Cheng Xiaoyu couldn't help muttering to himself that rich people loved making a fuss. Su Yuxi had only told him the time and place, but never mentioned an invitation. He still didn't even have Xu Qin'ning's phone number.

Left with no choice, he called Su Yuxi and asked her to send Xu Qin'ning's number.

After a moment, Su Yuxi replied, "Wait a bit—Ningning will come out to get you soon."

Cheng Xiaoyu could only stand by the door holding the box.

He waited and waited, but Xu Qin'ning didn't show up. Bored, Cheng Xiaoyu struck up a conversation with the waiter. "Brother, can you just let me in? I'll drop off the thing and leave."

"Sorry, sir. If I let you in, I might lose my job. Do you know who's inside?"

Cheng Xiaoyu shook his head. "Whoever they are, they're still human, not monsters."

The waiter looked at him with an expression that said "you clearly haven't seen much of the world." "It's the birthday of Xu Jiacheng's daughter—the richest man in S City. The mayor and many of Shanghai's business elite are here. Brother, you must be one of Miss Xu's classmates, right? I'd suggest you just give her the gift at school tomorrow. I definitely can't let you in here." Clearly, the waiter had already pegged Cheng Xiaoyu as some toad hoping to taste swan meat.

Cheng Xiaoyu thought to himself, "If I could study at Fengxian Girls' High School, that'd be heaven." He didn't bother arguing with the waiter any further and simply waited for Xu Qin'ning to come out.

Xu Qin'ning still didn't show, but the elevator doors opened again. A handsome young man in a black formal suit, carrying a red Cartier bag, walked over and headed for the revolving restaurant.

The waiter was far more polite to this man, his tone softer. "Sir, I'm sorry, but could you please show your invitation?"

The young man was taken aback—clearly he hadn't brought an invitation either. He said, "I'm Mayor Gu's son. Do I still need an invitation?"

The waiter's expression immediately turned fawning, but even so, he couldn't just let him in. "Young Master Gu, please don't make things hard for us servers. If I let you in like this, I'd lose my job. See this gentleman here—he's still waiting outside too!"

The young man glanced at Cheng Xiaoyu standing to the side. Seeing an unfamiliar face, he didn't bother looking further. He pulled out a card case from his chest, took out a gilded business card, and handed it to the waiter. "This works as an invitation anywhere."

The waiter immediately stepped aside and bent over. "I'm sorry. Please, come in."

Cheng Xiaoyu, holding the box, tried to follow him in.

But the waiter grabbed his arm. "Please don't!"

Cheng Xiaoyu smiled wryly. "How about you come with me then? I'll drop off the gift and leave right away."

The waiter shook his head, his face saying "please don't make this difficult for me." "That won't do. Why don't you give Miss Xu a call?"

Cheng Xiaoyu had no choice but to grumble to himself—every time he ran into this she-devil, nothing good came of it. She wouldn't even part with a phone number, as if afraid he'd pester her. He, Cheng Xiaoyu, just wanted to stay as far away from her as possible.

He looked down at his Chopard watch. He decided that if Xu Qin'ning didn't come out in five more minutes, he'd leave the box with the waiter and tell Su Yuxi to come pick it up herself. He'd done his duty and then some. Actually, that would make things easier for him.

But fate didn't cooperate. Just as he made up his mind, Xu Qin'ning appeared in the doorway, revealing her exquisite features. She was wearing a pale pink silk princess dress with thin straps, her delicate shoulders and collarbones tracing a beautiful line exposed to view, while her magnificent chest was wrapped up tightly—which only made it more dangerously alluring. Her neck was long and slender, unadorned by any jewelry, yet it seemed to dazzle the eyes. Her bangs scattered across her forehead, her eyes large and lively. Her face bore not a trace of makeup, only a shimmering gloss on her lips.

Cheng Xiaoyu couldn't help stealing another glance at Xu Qin'ning's fair, long legs, which ended in a pair of beige Chanel flat ballet shoes, her dress just reaching her knees. This kind of physical beauty had already been perfected by Xu Qin'ning. If she were a few years older, radiating the mature charm of womanhood, she'd be a siren capable of toppling cities and ruining kingdoms.

Xu Qin'ning wasn't the least bit polite to Cheng Xiaoyu. "What are you staring at? Never seen a pretty girl before?"

Cheng Xiaoyu showed no deference to her either, replying irritably, "You kept me waiting so long, and I get blamed for looking at you a bit more? Fine, fine. I can't be bothered to wait on you, Miss Xu. Gift delivered—I'm off!" He handed the wrapped box to Xu Qin'ning.

But she didn't take it. Instead, she walked straight over and hooked her arm around Cheng Xiaoyu's. "Mr. Cheng, a great man like you has a big heart. Forgive this little girl for any lack of hospitality. It's not easy for me to sell my smile, you know. So do me the honor and come have a bite to eat, how about that?"

Cheng Xiaoyu really had no way to deal with Xu Qin'ning. In truth, any man would be powerless against a girl like her—they could only give her whatever she wanted.

Under the stunned, jaw-dropping expression of the waiter, Xu Qin'ning linked arms with Cheng Xiaoyu and entered the revolving restaurant. Facing the curious gazes gathering from all around, Cheng Xiaoyu smiled wryly and said to Xu Qin'ning, "Miss, I'm just a country boy. Go play with your own crowd. If you keep holding onto me, I'm afraid I won't make it out of this restaurant alive." Clearly, no one would assume that a young man being escorted by Miss Xu of the Xu family was some ordinary nobody—even if he wore a school uniform and carried a cardboard box, looking unremarkable.

Xu Qin'ning tilted her head slightly and said in a low voice, "Fine. But you're not allowed to run off. Grab something to eat first. I'll go deal with that Gu guy and then come find you."

Cheng Xiaoyu nodded and asked, "You don't expect me to eat while holding this gift, do you? Where should I put it?"

Xu Qin'ning glanced at the box, a flicker of light passing through her eyes. "It's from Xixi, isn't it? Ah, where to put it... I don't care! You hold onto it for me. I don't trust anyone else with it. Don't you dare lose it! And what about your gift?"

Cheng Xiaoyu grinned cheekily. "My sister's gift naturally counts half as mine."

Xu Qin'ning deployed her face-changing trick once more, hardening her expression with a cold laugh. "Cheng Xiaoyu, don't think you can fob me off that easily. Start thinking. You'd better make me happy today, or I'll make you eat hotpot with me until you throw up."

It was only then that Cheng Xiaoyu realized taking Xu Qin'ning to eat hotpot that first time had been the biggest mistake of his life.