Chapter 453 — The Peculiar Feng Xiaoxiao

"Nothing... I'm just glad you're all right." Wei Zhao nodded, thoroughly depressed. How was this girl even more extreme than Shen Yushu? Why did he keep running into people like this? He had always thought the days of dodging bullets were terrifying, but he had never imagined that real life held terrors of its own.

"Here, for you—it's really tasty. I had a bottle earlier and thought it was good, so I bought one for you!" Feng Xiaoxiao set the drink down in front of Wei Zhao.

"Thanks..." Wei Zhao forced the word out with some difficulty. What else could he say? If Feng Xiaoxiao had marched in and given him an earful the moment she arrived, he would have found it normal—at worst he could simply ignore her and be done with it. But when someone spoke to him so gently, he could hardly pretend he hadn't heard.

Wei Zhao even wondered whether the person who had been blown up yesterday had been a twin sister of this Feng Xiaoxiao—the violent elder sister had been sent home by the explosion, and today she had been swapped out for a gentle younger one.

He really was a little thirsty. Wei Zhao picked up the drink, glanced at the cap—unopened—then cracked it open and took a sip. Nothing seemed wrong, so with lingering suspicion he drank a few more mouthfuls...

"You're welcome!" Feng Xiaoxiao shook her head. "If you like it, I'll buy you one every day!"

"Pfft—" Wei Zhao was mid-sip when he heard this, and the mouthful of drink shot straight out of him, splattering across Kang **'s back...

Kang ** was all ears, eavesdropping on the conversation between Feng Xiaoxiao and Wei Zhao behind him and secretly envying Wei Zhao, when he got sprayed. His face twisted into a grimace as he turned around. "Leader, I'm already plenty jealous of you... and you still spit on me?"

"Sorry..." Wei Zhao broke out in a sweat and gave Feng Xiaoxiao a strange look. "Feng Xiaoxiao, be straight with me. What exactly do you mean by all this?"

"Mean by what?" Feng Xiaoxiao stared at Wei Zhao with wide, innocent eyes, as though she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Was it you who got your backside blown up by a firecracker yesterday?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Oh, come on... don't bring that up, it's so embarrassing..." A rosy flush spread over Feng Xiaoxiao's pretty face, and she pressed her lips together and spoke in a small voice.

"..." Wei Zhao felt faint. "Did the explosion blow your brains loose?"

"You're the one who's lost their brains! The me you're seeing now—this is the real me..." Feng Xiaoxiao pouted and spat back. "Didn't I ask you to teach me street racing before? I felt like my approach was a bit off too, so I changed..."

"Teaching you to street race is out of the question. Street racing is illegal," Wei Zhao said.

"That's fine, then—you can teach me racing and drifting instead," Feng Xiaoxiao said seriously.

"I don't have the time," Wei Zhao said with a frown.

"It's all right, then I just won't learn." Feng Xiaoxiao shrugged with an indifferent smile.

"?" Wei Zhao stared at Feng Xiaoxiao in disbelief. What was going on? What on earth had happened? When he had left at noon, Feng Xiaoxiao's cold face had still been tinged with anger—so why now...

Evening self-study was physics class, and the teacher came in soon after. Wei Zhao could hardly press her with questions in front of everyone, so he turned away, flipped open his physics textbook, and paid Feng Xiaoxiao no further attention.

A faint smile flickered at the corner of Feng Xiaoxiao's mouth, and she wanted to clench her fists and cheer! Sure enough, Wei Zhao was the type who softened to kindness but would not yield to force. As long as she kept this up, she needn't fear failing to capture Wei Zhao's heart—and when the time came, she would dump him. Hmph, she would let him know the price of crossing her!

The whole class period, Feng Xiaoxiao was lost in dreaming up her future plans... while Wei Zhao was thoroughly miserable, puzzling over why Feng Xiaoxiao had turned into this.

By his past experience, Feng Xiaoxiao ought to be cooking up some grand scheme. The first time she had given him a drink, she hadn't meant well at all—she had wanted him to go to the restroom so she could sneak in and take photos.

This time, surely she wouldn't stoop to using the same trick again—it would be too crude. So there was probably nothing wrong with this bottle of drink; it was just Feng Xiaoxiao's way of making nice with him.

Zhong Yongliang was in high spirits at the moment. Through one of his father's business partners, he had already made contact with a high-class seaside resort and could book out the *** exclusive area. When the time came, he would be able to show off and take credit before Gu Mengyao.

He had already worked things out with their homeroom teacher, Mr. Liu, and planned to make the good news public as soon as school let out.

At long last the evening study session ended. Mr. Liu came in, and Zhong Yongliang strutted up to the front of the room, bursting with pride.

"Everyone, quiet down for a moment—hold off on packing your bags just yet. I have some good news to share with you all." Mr. Liu was more than happy to back Zhong Yongliang's sponsorship of the class spring outing. There was so little time left in their senior year, and even less for everyone to spend together having fun. The tree-planting trip had left many of them reluctant to leave, and now Zhong Yongliang had stepped forward on his own to sponsor a spring outing for the class. It raised the boy considerably in Mr. Liu's estimation—so he was not, after all, some spoiled rich kid who knew nothing about anything.

The moment they heard there was good news, the noisy classroom fell silent at once. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at Mr. Liu.

"This weekend, our class will be organizing a spring outing. The destination is the Natural Sunshine Seaside Bathing Beach in Colorful City!" No sooner had Mr. Liu finished speaking than cheers erupted from the classroom.

A trip to the beach was naturally far more fun than planting trees, and their long-suppressed classmates were instantly fired up.

"This outing has been organized and sponsored by Zhong Yongliang. Not a single cent will come out of your pockets—just bring along some snacks for yourselves!" Mr. Liu said. "Let's give a warm round of applause and thank Zhong Yongliang for his contribution to our class!"

Mr. Liu had originally intended to hold a class meeting and give Zhong Yongliang a good dressing-down. The boy was far too reckless—setting off fireworks in a tree, did he have no fear of starting a fire? But now there really was nothing more to be said.

"Woohoo!" When they heard it was free and wouldn't cost them a thing, even more students grew wildly excited. After all, very few of them came from seriously wealthy families, and most had only a limited allowance.

"All right, that's all I have to say. Once Zhong Yongliang has worked out the detailed plan for the spring outing, I'll let everyone know," Mr. Liu said. "You're dismissed!"

Those classmates who had previously harbored some hostility toward Zhong Yongliang now looked at him with far friendlier eyes, and many of them greeted him on their way out.

Zhong Yongliang was absolutely delighted. Had he known it would turn out like this, he would have organized a spring outing long ago. Not only could it build his prestige, it could also win favor with Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu—so why wouldn't he do it?

When Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu walked out of the classroom, Zhong Yongliang hurried after them at a trot. "Yaoyao, Xiaoshu, are you satisfied with this outing of mine?"

"Not bad. Sister Yaoyao says it's all right," Shen Yushu said to Zhong Yongliang after a glance at Gu Mengyao.