Chapter 20: The Golden Emblem!

The young master preferred peace and quiet, and nothing annoyed him more than being surrounded by too many bodyguards... Adding people in secret was one thing, but if the young master ever discovered it, there'd be no way to explain.

***

As Shi Qingqing stepped through the classroom door, she sneezed for no apparent reason.

A five-yuan fine for being late was astronomical for her. She had skipped the spectacle at the school gate, gasping for breath as she hurried, just making it to Class Seventeen of the second-year students.

The homeroom teacher was absent today; he wasn't there every day, only occasionally dropping by to catch latecomers.

As she entered the classroom, most of her classmates barely acknowledged her presence.

It was little wonder.

Qingming High School was one of the capital’s elite academies. The bar for admission was extraordinarily high; it was a venerable institution with centuries of history and had produced countless celebrated alumni. Only those with outstanding academic achievements or powerful family backgrounds could set foot in Qingming.

Shi Qingqing, who had neither grades nor family status, was an anomaly—a misfit. It would have been odd if anyone had bothered to pay her any attention.

Most days, Shi Qingqing passed through the classroom almost invisible, except for her friend Zhang Xiaotu, who, being on the same social rung, kept her company.

Zhang Xiaotu and Shi Qingqing were both poor girls who couldn't even afford Qingming High's seasonal uniforms.

"Qingqing, you finally made it! You wouldn't believe how lively things were just now in Class Sixteen next door!" Zhang Xiaotu, who sat with her at the very back—where the underachievers of Class Seventeen gathered—whispered excitedly.

"How lively could it be?" Could it possibly top the crowd swooning over the school heartthrob at the gate? But Shi Qingqing kept that thought to herself; if Zhang Xiaotu couldn’t resist the allure of the nation’s heartthrob and ran off to see him, she’d only end up late for class.

"It was Lin the prodigy! The same Lin who wrote a love letter to Young Master Zhan on the school forum yesterday! She’s in Class Sixteen, right next door. She’s famous now—so many people came to see her, but it seems she didn’t come to school today," Zhang Xiaotu said, barely containing her excitement.

"She dares write the letter but doesn’t dare show up? Coward..." Shi Qingqing muttered as she tidied her bag.

If only the bell would ring soon, she could snatch a few more red packets after class. Maybe she’d have enough money to buy her mom something nice to eat on the way home—chicken drumsticks, rabbit legs, duck wings...

School rules strictly forbade using mobile phones during class. If a teacher caught a student using one, it would be confiscated.

With class about to start, even though Shi Qingqing wanted to grab a few more red packets, she had to restrain herself. If the teacher decided to take her battered old phone away, she'd have nowhere to cry.

"Exactly..." Suddenly, Zhang Xiaotu’s eyes widened, and she nudged Shi Qingqing. "Hey, look who’s here! Qingqing, Senior Sheng is here again."

Shi Qingqing looked up. There were a few boys standing at the classroom door.

The one at the front was tall and stood out the most.

He wore the Qingming High uniform—the fabric was exquisite, the tailoring impeccable, fitting him perfectly. A sparkling gold stud gleamed in his ear, echoing the golden school badge on his chest, lending him the air of a spoiled young aristocrat.

It was Sheng Chao.

It was said his family was worth tens of millions, and he was handsome to boot—a senior in the third year.

Before Shi Qingqing could say anything, her classmates had already begun to gossip.

"It’s Sheng!"

"Look, the gold badge! Oh my god, that’s incredible..."

"Why the surprise? The Sheng family just opened another chain hotel—they’re raking in money. Chao was promoted to the gold badge last month..."