The Beautiful Campus Belle Loves Money-So What? (6)

One of his friends had sharp eyes. He caught a glimpse of what was happening through the classroom's back door and immediately gave Hua Jinchen an excited nudge in the arm.

"Young Master Hua, look! Isn't that the... campus belle Shi Zheng from the forum?"

Zhao Yong pointed into the classroom. "Holy shit, she's even hotter in person than in the photos! Look at that face, that figure... damn, she's unbelievable!"

Hua Jinchen's previously indifferent gaze followed the direction of his pointing finger.

His eyes fell on the slender figure in the classroom.

Shi Zheng wasn't wearing makeup today, and faint shadows lay beneath her eyes.

But that only softened the deliberately polished look she usually cultivated, giving her a touch of fragile authenticity.

The school uniform looked bulky and stiff on most people.

But on Shi Zheng, it perfectly blended a girl's innocence with the graceful curves of a woman's body.

The white shirt, which should have been loose, now fit snugly around her slender, shapely upper body.

The waist of the shirt had been subtly taken in, outlining a waist slender enough to encircle with one hand.

The dark blue plaid pleated skirt, on her, set off a pair of long, straight legs.

Against the dark hem of the skirt, her skin was dazzlingly white.

It was as if she came with a filter of her own, reducing everyone around her to a blurry backdrop.

She alone was like the one splash of rich color in a black-and-white film, instantly seizing everyone's gaze.

Hua Jinchen's brow rose almost imperceptibly.

He had seen Shi Zheng many times.

At all kinds of parties and dinners, her makeup was always immaculate, her clothes expensive, her smile as perfect as a mask as she moved effortlessly among different men.

Beautiful, yes, but like a luxury item in a shop window with a price tag attached.

Pretty, but soulless.

She had even set her sights on him last night.

But now, she was different.

Stripped of those gorgeous disguises and washed clean of her flamboyant makeup, she revealed a beauty that was more raw and vivid.

Especially those eyes. They held none of the flattery or calculation he was used to seeing.

Interesting.

"Well, Young Master Hua? Isn't she top-tier?"

Another friend, Huang Siyuan, leaned in too, waggling his eyebrows. "She's caught up in a storm of public opinion right now, so this is the perfect chance to take advantage of her vulnerability. If someone stood firmly by her side and reassured her at a time like this, she'd probably give him her heart in no time."

"Want to give it a try, Young Master Hua? You just broke up, so aren't you between girlfriends? With your looks and family background, getting her would be a piece of cake. With someone on her level, even a fling would be worth it!"

Hua Jinchen frowned without speaking, quietly watching Shi Zheng in the classroom.

Su Qingqing noticed Hua Jinchen too.

There was probably no one at Sacred Cherry Academy who didn't know this Young Master Hua.

Compared with Gu Yanshen, Hua Jinchen was flashy in his conduct and changed girlfriends faster than he changed clothes. None of his relationships ever lasted more than three months, and he was the school's infamous playboy.

Su Qingqing had never liked that way of using one's family background to treat life as a game.

She had therefore always kept her distance from Young Master Hua, maintaining absolute politeness and distance.

Now, Su Qingqing saw Hua Jinchen outside the window, clearly watching the commotion around Shi Zheng.

His gaze was practically glued to Shi Zheng.

It was the dazzled look a man gave a beautiful woman, and for some reason it stirred a trace of discomfort in her heart.

She couldn't tell whether the discomfort came from her disgust at Shi Zheng's willing descent into depravity, or from her dislike of seeing Hua Jinchen still attracted to Shi Zheng despite knowing what kind of person she was.

Just then, Shi Zheng seemed to have finally finished sizing up the boy.

"Thirty thousand a month? With you?"

She lifted her chin slightly, her mockery casual. "Do you know how much I normally spend on skincare? Do you know how much a single bag costs? With that little allowance of yours, can you afford to keep me?"

System: [Host, the male lead Hua Jinchen is outside.]

Shi Zheng's gaze involuntarily swept toward the window.

Some students from other classes had gathered there to watch the commotion, though she didn't know when they had arrived.

Behind the crowd, Hua Jinchen was leaning against the corridor wall at an angle, meeting her gaze through the glass with perfect composure.

Their eyes met for an instant.

"You want to keep me?"

Shi Zheng's lips curved into an almost provocative smile.

Her voice was neither loud nor soft, just enough for a certain someone outside the classroom to hear clearly.

"At the very least, he'd have to be on Hua Jinchen's level, right? Rich, handsome, and generous—only then would he qualify for me to consider him."

"As for you?" Shi Zheng swept her gaze over the boy from head to toe and lightly uttered three words. "Are you worthy?"

"Whoa—!"

The classroom erupted in an instant.

Everyone stared at Shi Zheng in shock, then instinctively looked out the window—Hua Jinchen and his friends were standing right there!

Hua Jinchen's two friends were stunned too, then excitedly slapped him on the shoulder. "Holy shit! Young Master Hua, did you hear that? Her next target is you! She called you out by name to keep her, hahahaha!"

"Young Master Hua, what do you say? The campus belle's already being this forward. Are you going for it?"

All eyes were on Hua Jinchen, waiting to see how he would react.