The Arrival of the School Belle

It's Inadvisable to Be Like Quan Jing

Jiang You was admiring her beauty in the mirror when she suddenly, with a hint of disgust, confided to Xiao Mei, "Xiao Mei, how can Quan Jing be so ungentlemanly in the presence of such a pretty face! Does he have a problem with his eyes?"

After a moment of thought, Xiao Mei responded, "Host, maybe Quan Jing is just the cold and slow-to-warm-up type. If you don't like it, just swap him out when the results come out."

"With your current beauty, admirers flow ceaselessly, like carps crossing the river. You certainly don't lack for someone like Quan Jing."

Touching up her lips with a tender pink lip gloss, Jiang You pursed her shiny lips, which looked pure and pretty, and hummed delicately, "There are still seven days left, I guess I'll have to endure a bit longer. He changes his attitude faster than flipping a page in a book, it's really troublesome."

"But I haven't found my next target yet, it's so annoying."

Xiao Zhi suddenly joined the conversation, "Host, I think Quan Jing isn't that cold toward you. Didn't he just come back to find you and even offered to have his driver pick you up from school in a luxury car?"

"Perhaps he's just not good at expressing himself. Why not give him a bit more time? Maybe he will become more affectionate. After all, one month is quite short."

With a soft snort, Jiang You retorted, "I don't want to. I've had enough of him in just a month."

"If it weren’t for his handsome face, I would have ignored him a long time ago."

Knowing that Jiang You is always the priority over Quan Jing, Xiao Zhi did not dare to speak further for Quan Jing and quickly started to soothe her, "Alright, alright, if the host is unhappy, we'll just replace him. With me by your side, the initiative will always be in your hands."

Her eyebrows relaxed and she smiled sweetly, "That's more like it. Xiao Zhi, you are my system, don't speak up for Quan Jing. It makes me unhappy."

Xiao Zhi nodded vigorously, "I understand, Host."

When it was time for class, everyone's desks were covered with books, notes, and computers, while Jiang You had laid out a whole array of makeup products. She had many beautiful makeup mirrors, and the one she brought today was vintage and beautiful, with intricate patterns engraved on the back and felt heavy in hand.

After having Xiao Mei, Jiang You's favorite activity had become looking in the mirror. She adored her face—the most perfect bone structure filled with the ultimate fair and flawless skin. Pure yet enchanting, she had already completely forgotten what she used to look like, which must have been quite ordinary and easily drowned out in a crowd.

While indulging in her own beauty, Jiang You suddenly heard a familiar voice softly calling, "Choi Jin-lang."

She thought she had heard wrong, but when she slightly lifted her eyelids to look, the scene from the cafeteria at noon replayed before her. Choi Jin-lang walked ahead while a girl, carrying books, followed behind, seemingly wanting to sit with him.

Choi Jin-lang, with his gentle nature, seemed uncomfortable with outright rejections. Not wanting to sit with the girl yet not wanting to embarrass her, he glanced around and unexpectedly met Jiang You's gaze.

Choi Jin-lang looked serene yet profound. Jiang You felt a sudden unease—surely he wouldn't use her to shield himself!

Indeed, the next second, Choi Jin-lang made his way toward Jiang You, and the girl following him hesitantly stopped.

Before Choi Jin-lang could even speak, Jiang You frowned in exasperation and said disdainfully, "This seat is taken. Don't sit here."

Choi Jin-lang paused, his eyes dimmed slightly, but he then gave her a polite nod with a warm and decent smile, "Okay, I'll find another seat. Thank you."

Without looking at him, Jiang You fiddled with her wavy curls in the mirror, her pale and pretty face arrogant and proud.

Choi Jin-lang's gaze darkened further, he turned and sat down in the front, and the girl eventually managed to sit beside him.

Jiang You put away her makeup mirror and stared at Choi Jin-lang's straight back, letting out a petulant snort and murmuring softly, "Thinking he can use me as a shield to ward off pursuits? No way."

When the professor began the lecture, Jiang You in the back row did everything but pay attention—admiring herself in the mirror, testing lip gloss colors, idly playing with her nails, browsing shopping apps for new handbags, and not listening to the class.

Ever since she obtained Xiao Zhi, she had stopped studying altogether.

While looking in her mirror, Jiang You noticed someone staring at her through the reflection. She turned her head to see that the boy wasn't shyly looking away, but rather observed her calmly. After a few seconds of eye contact, he casually looked down as if drawing something.

His eyes cast down, his lashes long, creating a tranquil atmosphere. He had a barely noticeable presence, but with beautifully long and fair hands, the veins were prominent when he held the pen.

Jiang You didn't think much of it, assuming he was covertly sketching her—as many did, gazing at her secretly. She relished the adoration and attention.

She turned her back on him, leaving him with only the sight of her pretty, haughty back—her short-sleeved shirt revealed slender, pale arms, her soft, dark wavy curls hung at her waist, and the makeup mirror in her hand caught the light, reflecting dazzling rays.

The boy lifted his eyelids for a brief look at her retreating figure before lowering his gaze again to study the paper in front of him.

The girl's silhouette on the paper captured the same black wavy curls and the same platinum bracelet, but unlike the delicate beauty of her actual figure, the drawing portrayed someone chubbier, with thick arms that lacked any sense of elegance.

He looked up at Jiang You again, his gaze quiet and inquisitive. Everyone said Jiang You was a rare beauty and the recognized campus belle of Mingde University.

His father warned him to stay away from Jiang You, calling her a seductress with a face like that of her mother, who had caused discord in the family due to her allure, the same mother who ensnared his second uncle.

Gao Chenghao was puzzled—words like seductress, campus belle, and beauty, were they really appropriate for Jiang You?

She seemed quite ordinary to him.

With an undisturbed mind, he tucked the paper into his book, which also contained many other sketches of Jiang You—the Jiang You as seen through Gao Chenghao's eyes.

There were various scenes: her ugly crying in front of the academic building, the too-small uniform squeezing her flesh, but her face beamed with happiness. During class, she looked in the mirror, got scolded by the professor, and her defiant face showed her stubbornness. In the cafeteria, her plate was piled with desserts and fried foods, with several pimples on her face.

Gao Chenghao checked his uni app to see the rankings, and there Jiang You was, right at the bottom.

Yet everyone said she was top tier.

As the future head of his family's conglomerate, raised by the elderly chairman himself due to his mother's early death and his father's preoccupation with business, Gao Chenghao had been brought up to be quiet and restrained. Accompanying the elderly chairman in fishing, tea tasting, chess playing, mountain climbing, and gardening, he had cultivated a tranquil and aloof nature.

And so, Gao Chenghao was usually uninterested in exploration or desire. However, since coming to Mingde University and encountering the odd Jiang You, he had been curious. Curious as to why, despite her ordinariness, everyone called her a beauty, and why her grades were at the bottom, yet she was considered top class.

Just like fishing, chess, and gardening which required patience and persistence, Gao Chenghao was skillful and patient. This was how he quietly observed Jiang You, waiting with enough patience and resilience.

After class, Jiang You lazily packed up her makeup bag, tilting her head and trapping her phone between her shoulder and ear, she dialed Quan Jing.

The call connected quickly.

In a whiny voice, she asked, "Quan Jing, have you come to pick me up?"

A brief and indifferent voice answered from the other end, "Parking lot."

Jiang You made sure to confirm, "What car did the driver bring?"

Quan Jing: "Ten minutes."

Confused, she asked, "What about ten minutes?"

In the car, Quan Jing curved the corner of his lips, but his voice was cold, "If you're not here in ten minutes, I'll have the driver leave."

Annoyed, Jiang You's eyebrows furrowed, "Quan Jing, that