Chapter 1

Gu Shaoheng was popular from the moment he transferred to our school, not only because he was handsome, but also because his family background was anything but ordinary.

Even the principal of our prestigious high school would greet him with a polite, smiling question: “Heng, how has your father been lately?”

Everyone fawned over him-everyone except me, who treated him with indifference.

When Gu Shaoheng first started pursuing me, someone even said to me, “Oh my god, Suiran, that’s Gu Shaoheng. Don’t play too hard to get.”

I didn’t understand.

In everyone’s eyes, he was Gu Shaoheng. Anything he wanted to do was effortless, and everyone wanted his favor. It was as if he were an emperor from ancient times-if he deigned to lower himself and show interest, it was considered a great honor.

So I was supposed to blush and shyly accept his advances, then fall into his arms and become his girlfriend.

And then, eventually, become one of his many ex-girlfriends.

Yes, ex-girlfriend. Gu Shaoheng was famous at school for being a flirt and a playboy. He was openly so, and within two months of transferring, he had dated almost every pretty girl in school.

The proud campus belle, the cool class beauty, the cute girl-next-door… His flirtatiousness and charm were perfectly matched.

Eventually, perhaps finding no challenge and growing bored, someone joked with him, “If you can win over Fang Suiran, then you’re truly impressive.”

He lazily raised his eyes and scoffed, “What’s so hard about that?”

And then he started pursuing me.

How do I know all this? Because I was sitting right in front of them, working through practice problems.

At school, I was a legend-a legend in academics.

Since entering in my first year, no matter how difficult the exams were, my total score never dropped below 680. Every time, whether it was a major or minor test, I was firmly in first place, leaving the second far behind.

Other than studying, I had little interest in anything else, which is probably why they joked with Gu Shaoheng about me.

I couldn’t understand their logic; I just found it boring.

But Gu Shaoheng really took it as a challenge and started pursuing me.

It began with imported snacks in my desk, then small, understated bouquets-daisies with dewdrops, peonies just about to bloom, delicate water lilies-placed quietly on the windowsill by my desk, romantic in the eyes of others.

Or lavish breakfasts, occasionally understated but clearly expensive gifts…

This was probably his usual routine for chasing girls. I ignored it all. He pursued me nonchalantly for a month, and I hadn’t spoken a single word to him.

Our first conversation happened one afternoon. He brought over a book and pointed to a bonus question, asking me about my approach to solving it.

I was always happy to help anyone with academic questions. As I explained my thought process on scratch paper, he sat beside me and suddenly asked, “What do you like?”

My gaze shifted from the paper to his face. He rested his chin on one hand, with sharp brows and bright eyes, his tousled hair making his features even more striking.

He was more handsome than any celebrity the girls in our class adored.

But I put down my pen, looked at him coldly and seriously, and said, “If your mind isn’t on studying, don’t waste my time.”

He suddenly laughed, glanced at the scratch paper, and finally said, “The answer is root 3. I get it. So, what do you like?”

I ignored him.

After that, I started getting bullied for no apparent reason-black graffiti on my desk, missing chairs and books, childish and crude school violence like being locked in the bathroom.

When Gu Shaoheng found me, he appeared like a savior descending from the heavens, rescuing the girl being bullied at school.

He opened the locked bathroom door, looked at me soaked through, took off his jacket and handed it to me, frowning as he asked, “Who did this?”

As if he was ready to stand up for me and seek justice.

I glanced at him coldly, didn’t take his jacket, just checked the time and said expressionlessly, “You’ve made me late for fifteen minutes of physics class.”

He raised his eyebrows and asked, “What does that have to do with me?”

Seeing him like that, I finally lost patience.

I looked at him and stated, word by word:

“1. I am kind and low-key, and I’ve never offended anyone.”

“2. Before you announced you were pursuing me, no one ever bullied me at school.”

“3. If it wasn’t at your instigation, who would dare bully someone Young Master Gu wants to pursue?”

The fake concern on his face finally disappeared, replaced by a lazy, amused smile. He withdrew his jacket and looked at me with interest, laughing, “Ah, you found out.”

So boring.

I turned away coldly, walked past him without a word. As I brushed past, he grabbed my wrist, forcing me to stop. He tilted his head, studied me, and asked, “Fang Suiran, are you playing hard to get?”

That made me laugh.

I stopped, turned to look at him, and sneered, “Then just be patient and stop bothering me. Wait until my fox tail shows, and you’ll know if I’m playing hard to get.”

He held my wrist, his gaze focused on my face. After a moment, he suddenly smiled.

He said, “Interesting.”