Chapter 17

Prince Charming, The Poacher

After putting Yu Ling in a car, Si Huang took a cab back to Fragrant View Societal Homes.

“You’re so amazing, Your Highness!” Wu Bao’s voice echoed in her head, imitating Yu Ling’s flattery.

Si Huang smiled. “What is it?”

“Ding, ding, ding! Congratulations, Your Highness! You’ve won a gold sparkle!” Wu Bao exclaimed, its tail wagging.

Si Huang raised her brow. “We need three more. Aren’t you afraid of dying with me?”

“Three sparkles shouldn’t be a problem for you, Your Highness,” Wu Bao replied carelessly.

Si Huang was speechless. ‘Who was it that kept urging me like a workaholic from the very beginning? Who didn’t believe in me? Hah! What a capricious, silly little thing.’

Yu Ling got out of the car when she was near her house. She noticed a figure underneath a street lamp immediately.

“Big brother!” Yu Ling called out to him as usual, clutching the sweater around her waist nervously.

The man strode toward Yu Ling and grabbed her wrist. “Something’s happened,” he said in a low, grim voice.

Yu Ling gritted her teeth silently. He had made a statement. He wasn’t going to believe her lies.

Silence began to permeate the air between the pair. Suddenly, Yu Xi wrapped his arms around her and stroked her head. “Let’s go home. Mom is worried.”

Yu Ling grabbed his sleeve. “Mom doesn’t know anything, does she?”

“I told her that you were celebrating a friend’s birthday,” Yu Xi replied as he released her and walked straight ahead. “You’re not allowed to go there anymore. You’ve promised. This time, I won’t let you have your way.”

Yu Ling bit her lips. Si Huang’s image appeared in her mind, and her heart raced furiously. She lifted and lowered her head but was unable to provide Yu Xi with a rebuttal. Her brother was just as stubborn as she was. Once he made a decision, no one could change his mind. He had previously agreed to help cover for her in front of their mother. However, if anything happened, she’d have to quit.

Yu Ling had been supposed to stop anyway after Poison Eyes’ involvement. She suddenly remembered Si Huang. ‘Could he have misunderstood in some way? Does my job make me look like a rebellious delinquent to him? But why should it matter? Why do I have to explain myself to him?’

Yu Xi noticed that something was on his sister’s mind. However, there was no point in asking her. If there was something on her mind and she didn’t want to talk about it, no one would be able to get it out of her.

The two siblings walked along the dirty, dilapidated streets. Soon, they arrived at an old single-story house. They set aside their respective emotions and shared a look. Then, Yu Ling called out in a clear, bright voice, “Mom, I’m home!” She pushed the door open and walked into the house.

“You’re home, Lingling! I’ve warmed up your food for you. Come and eat.”

If Si Huang were there, she would have realized that the middle-aged woman who had stepped out to greet them was her hired housekeeper, Zhao Limei.

…

Si Huang received another call from Si Zhihan after her morning jog. The phone rang while she was in the shower. To her surprise, she wasn’t greeted by Si Zhihan’s angry screams when she stepped out of the shower to answer the phone. However, she could tell that he was in a bad mood.

“This can’t be done over the phone. You’re coming home today, or I will send someone to get you.” This was clearly a thinly-veiled threat.

Si Huang was very calm in the face of this threat. “I’m going to school.”

The conversation between the pair ended on bad terms once again. To be exact, Si Zhihan was the unhappy party. Si Huang, on the other hand, didn’t care. In fact, she was in a pretty good mood because everything was going her way. That phone conversation with Si Zhihan was a sign that all negative news about her on the internet had been wiped clean.

Si Huang returned to Star Youth Academy of Arts once again and unsurprisingly became the center of attention. After all, she was the hottest topic in the Star Youth Academy of Arts’ forum.

She had put on a clean white shirt today with a dark green suit jacket and a pair of pants in the same style that complimented her long legs perfectly. She’d slipped on a pair of leather boots, not bothering to tie up her shoelaces neatly. The loosened style gave her a casual and indolent air.

The 16-year-old was completely unfazed by the stares she was getting from everyone around her. She kept her gaze steadily forward and smiled as she walked along the pavement in the schoolyard. She seemed to be bursting with youthful vigor, yet she had such a calm and steady air about her that she didn’t seem like an impulsive teenager at all. Her aura was so overpowering that no one dared to approach her. They could only watch as she walked past them.

Si Huang did not go to her classroom. Instead, she went to the Art Department.

“AAAAHHHH! YOUR HIGHNESS! AAAAAHHH!”

Class had just ended for Class B of the Art Department. Yu Ling, who was sitting in the last row next to the window, turned her head to look outside. She was absent-mindedly thinking about last night’s incident when she heard the noise outside. Her heart started racing so fast that it skipped a beat.

She had seen the term ‘Your Highness’ plenty of times in forums. Upon hearing the deafening screams of the girls outside, she rose to her feet and walked out of the classroom before she could arrange her own thoughts, as if she were in a trance.

Meanwhile, Si Huang was extending her hand to catch a female student who had nearly tripped. “Are you alright?” Then, she lifted her head and looked around. Her gaze was pure and gentle, as though moonlit pools were flowing deep within her eyes. “I’m glad that you’re all so friendly, but I’d feel very guilty if someone ended up getting hurt because of all this.”

His magnetic, sublime voice was tinged with a hint of distress, but it didn’t sound like he was scolding anyone. In fact, it made them feel as if he were coddling them instead!

The girls slowly turned from savage wolves into shy little sheep. However, their eyes burned with more fiery passion than ever before. Some even covered their lips with their hands, batting their eyes furiously at Si Huang as if they were trying to send him a telepathic message that said, ‘Prince Charming! I’ll be good! See? I’m a good girl! Don’t I deserve a reward?!’

Si Huang laughed.

“AAAAAAAHHHHH!” This was probably the most accurate portrayal of everything that was going on in the girls’ minds. ‘Your Highness, how could you look at me with such helpless, indulgent eyes? Why is your smile so seductive? Ah! I’m going to faint! I’ll faint! If I fall, would you catch me, Your Highness?’

“Yu Ling.” After dealing with the girls, Si Huang turned to the side and noticed the young girl by the classroom door. She smiled. “I need to talk to you. Do you have some time? Can we talk somewhere alone?”

The words “you”, “alone”, and “talk” drummed heavily into every girl’s mind. Yu Ling could sense the animosity around her from the moment Si Huang said those words. However, she couldn’t help feeling as if her heart had skipped a beat. She nodded at Si Huang despite the intense glares of the crowd. “Mm, mm… Sure.”

The pair walked out of Star Youth Academy of Arts.

Si Huang looked at the girl, who was hanging her head, and initiated the conversation. “You have a brother named Yu Xi, am I right?”