Chapter 2 — A True Academic Ace Has No Time for Love

Young Master Bui, notorious for skipping school all year round, today made a rare and punctual appearance in class. Everyone turned with astonished expressions toward the back row. Bui Thac waited and waited, yet he did not receive even a fleeting glance from me. Finally, unable to endure it any longer, he stood up, strode over to my desk, leaned down, and spoke with an arrogant, condescending tone: "I'm thirsty." I kept working on my math problems without lifting my head: "So what?" "I want an iced Americano, go buy it for me." I looked him up and down, glanced at my clock, and smiled brightly: "I'm busy." Seeing me refuse, Bui Thac frowned: "What could possibly be more important than me?" Before his words even faded away, he saw me intently staring at a countdown clock. "Three." "Two." "One." "Shen Zhaozhao!" It's time! The corners of my lips curved upward slightly. Jiang Tu's joyful voice echoed from the downstairs hallway. Right as class was about to begin, nearly the entire student body was already present, and everyone with a moment to spare curiously poked their heads out to look down. There stood the campus heartthrob Jiang Tu, cradling a gorgeous bouquet of purple tulips, looking up at me with a dazzling, radiant smile. "Shen Zhaozhao, may I pursue you?" In front of thousands of people, he spoke those words openly, and the air suddenly fell completely silent. The next second, deafening cheers erupted across the entire building. Through the glass window's reflection, I could see Bui Thac's expression turning pitch black, his lips stiff, and his dark eyes glaring fixedly at me. I pretended not to see, returning my gaze to Jiang Tu down below, and answered in a clear, loud voice: "Give it a try then." The surrounding cheers grew even more enthusiastic. Jiang Tu clutched the bouquet and sprinted up the stairs, intending to place the flowers directly on my desk, but Bui Thac deliberately sat right on the edge to block his path, offering a cold smirk as he looked at Jiang Tu: "Even model students know how to date early now, huh?" Jiang Tu replied with perfect calm: "Is there a problem?" I calmly accepted the bouquet under Bui Thac's darkening gaze. He gnashed his teeth in inexplicable frustration: "Shen Zhaozhao, you've clung to me for so long, haven't you seen anything of the world yet? You're actually accepting cheap flowers like these?" The moment Bui Thac finished speaking, I leisurely placed the bouquet on the corner of my desk and exaggeratedly took a deep breath, acting completely oblivious to every single word he had uttered. Bui Thac was about to say something more when his childhood friend, Tran Trach, gently nudged his elbow as a warning. On the phone screen handed to him was a fresh batch of photos posted just this morning on the school gossip account. In the pictures, he and Lam Tran were getting into the Bui family's Maybach at the school gates, and Lam Tran was intimately helping him adjust his collar. The truth was that the two of them had simply attended a banquet together the previous night. The gossip post was trending rapidly, and the comment section was remarkably unanimous: "Woah, a talented young man and a beautiful lady from equal backgrounds, they are such a perfect match!" "Indeed, only an aristocratic young heiress like Lam Tran is worthy of Young Master Bui. Look at that Shen Zhaozhao trash, does she really think she's Cinderella? A wild chicken trying to turn into a phoenix!" "I'm dying of laughter, how can Shen Zhaozhao be so thick-skinned? Young Master Bui shows utter impatience every time he looks at her, yet she still follows him around like a stray tail." "Shameless to the core..." Bui Thac furrowed his brow deeper the more he read. Yet, suddenly thinking of something, his expression relaxed. So that was it. Shen Zhaozhao must have been upset seeing him and Lam Tran so close, and those harsh comments had undoubtedly wounded her pride. That was why she had deliberately agreed to Jiang Tu's proposal in front of everyone to prove her own appeal. To be honest, this little trick was rather clumsy. But Bui Thac had to admit, Shen Zhaozhao had succeeded. He had witnessed the interaction between her and Jiang Tu. It had felt genuinely, immensely, and particularly grating. But that was as far as it went. He was the heir to the Bui Corporation, the darling of the heavens. If he allowed a poor student like Shen Zhaozhao to lead him by the nose, wouldn't that be an utter humiliation? Bui Thac curled his lips in a scornful smirk, glanced coldly in my direction, and sat back down in his seat. I remained completely oblivious to the complex web of thoughts churning in his mind. After class, Jiang Tu and I were immediately summoned to the faculty office over the morning commotion. The moment we stepped inside, we found Lam Tran helping a teacher organize test papers. Jiang Tu and I exchanged a glance. Time to step into character.

Ever since I started collaborating with Jiang Tu, I had not only quit my tutoring job for the Bui family, but I had also resigned from my weekend waitressing job at the restaurant. However, the manager explained they were short-staffed and begged me to help out for just one Friday evening. He had generally treated me well in the past, so I agreed. Never did I expect to run into Lam Tran in this moderately upscale Western restaurant. She didn't look surprised in the least. "I heard classmates say you were actually working as a waitress, but I didn't think it would be true." My face remained expressionless: "What would you like to order, Madam?" "Shen Zhaozhao, you..." "Pardon me, our establishment does not carry any dish named Shen Zhaozhao." "Meeting a classmate and you can't even offer a simple greeting?" "My apologies, that name is far too long and clearly doesn't sound like anything on our menu. Perhaps the esteemed customer would care to look at the menu and make a selection?" Lam Tran: "..." Her face was filled with utter speechlessness. Along with several friends mixing both English and Mandarin, she ordered every single one of the most expensive items on the menu. Then she put on a disdainful air: "A restaurant of this caliber is nothing special after all." I stood like a machine, not bothering to care. I was far too lazy to entertain her petty provocations. It wasn't because I possessed boundless patience; rather, the mere thought that she was generously funding both Jiang Tu and me made me willing to serve her meals with a smile. When I brought the food out, I was even exceptionally enthusiastic, thoughtfully reminding her to be careful because the plates were hot. Lam Tran's face darkened completely. As I walked past with my tray, she suddenly extended her foot to trip me, causing me to stumble and crash into a passing customer. An entire glass of fruit juice splashed all over the customer's attire. She immediately shrieked at the top of her lungs: "What on earth do you think you're doing!" That was when I noticed she was wearing a designer LV shirt. The commotion instantly brought the manager running over, and the customer demanded full compensation for the retail price of the shirt, flatly refusing to accept dry cleaning. I frowned slightly and checked my phone; that shirt cost nearly twenty million dong. Lam Tran finally got to witness the exact expression of panic she had been hoping to see from me. Unable to eat or drink anymore, she purposely raised her voice to put on a show of fake sympathy: "Didn't you all know? This waitress is a impoverished student from my school, her living expenses for an entire year wouldn't even equal this shirt. How could you possibly expect her to pay for it? Just let it go." The customer grew even more furious: "What does her poverty have to do with me? She made a mistake, so she has to compensate, or else I'll sue you all until this restaurant goes out of business!" The manager kept bowing and apologizing profusely. Seeing that she had successfully enraged everyone, Lam Tran stepped back with a smug expression to watch the spectacle. She even pulled out her phone, intending to record a video of me flustered and crying while begging for mercy. Unexpectedly, the moment she withdrew her phone, someone forcefully slapped it out of her hand. Looking up, she realized it was Bui Thac. "Ah Thac..." Bui Thac pressed the power button to switch off the phone and casually tossed it back into her lap. Then he strode directly toward me. His demeanor was entirely that of an owner reluctantly cleaning up a mess caused by his own pet. "Causing trouble again?" Seeing that I couldn't be bothered to look at him, he let out a low chuckle: "You've certainly been making quite a fuss lately. To be honest, having a few days without you running around taking care of things for me felt rather inconvenient. Apologize to me, and I'll handle the financial matter for you." Just listen to that tone. It was as if he considered himself a savior offering divine redemption. Had it been the old me, blinded by greed and self-interest, I probably would have smiled obsequiously, bowed my head in apology, and begged for his assistance. But I was no longer the person I used to be. I still had fifty thousand safely tucked away from the transfer his father had just sent, and there were even bigger business ventures awaiting me in the future. I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of saving face. "Not necessary." "Huh?" Bui Thac frowned at me, as if he couldn't believe his own ears. I ignored him entirely, turning instead to address the customer: "I will pay the full retail price for this shirt. But since I am paying for it, this stained garment becomes mine, doesn't it?" She paused briefly: "Naturally." "Wonderful, then let's exchange contact information." Seeing me handle the situation with such decisive composure, Bui Thac's expression darkened further. He sneered at me: "Go ahead and act tough while you can. When you don't have the money to pay for it later, don't come crying to me for help." With those words, he strode away. Lam Tran, torn between staying to watch the drama unfold and chasing after Bui Thac, hesitated for a moment before hurriedly running after him. The manager looked at me with anxious eyes: "Would you like us to chip in some money to help you out?" I smiled faintly: "It's fine. There's a wonderful saying: whatever goes around comes around, and sooner or later, everyone must pay the price." The manager and staff all assumed I was talking about my own predicament. Little did they know, those words were meant entirely for Lam Tran.