Dedicated to studying, yet forced into a chaotic situation.

Chapter 9 The system was so proud of her

Without a doubt, none of these thugs were a match for Shi Sui.

She easily deflected the knife from the red-haired thug's hand with the wooden stick in her hand, then kicked him hard in the knee. The thug fell to the ground, and the knife landed squarely between his legs.

Shi Sui delivered the final blow to his head with a wooden stick. Before he passed out, she kindly told him why he was beaten: "You shouldn't have stolen my money. Let me tell you, my last father was beaten to death for stealing my money."

The thug's pupils contracted, and he completely fainted, whether from fear or from being beaten, it was unclear.

Shi Sui put away the wooden stick, thought for a moment, and threw it to the only spectator in the viewing area: "Here, for self-defense."

Xu Chaomu: "..."

He finally agreed and accepted the stick.

"Thank you," he said.

Just as Shi Sui was about to leave, she heard a very nice thank you. She turned around and took a serious look at the boy she had 'saved'.

The boy was quite tall, at least 1.8 meters, and he was wearing the same school uniform as her. Although he was thin, he had broad shoulders.

Her eyebrows and eyes were gentle and aloof, and she was beautiful, but her skin was so white that it was almost transparent, making her look frail and sickly.

After only a quick glance, Shi Sui decided to take advantage of the situation and said without any hesitation, "I'm hungry, treat me to a meal?"

She always bullies the weak, just like these thugs.

"Huh?" Xu Chaomu was taken aback.

Shi Sui's words sounded all too familiar: "Aren't you the top student at Xinghua? Doesn't the first-place scholarship in the grade get you 20? How come you can't even afford to treat someone to dinner? You can't be that stingy, can you?"

"The top scholarship in the grade isn't 20," Xu Chaomu asked. "What do you want to eat?"

"Xinghua can't even afford 20? That's incredibly stingy," Shi Sui exclaimed in surprise.

"It's 50 million."

When it was Shi Sui's turn to fall silent, she felt that getting rich through scholarships was more practical than getting rich through the learning system.

After going around in circles, we all end up in the same place: we still have to study like crazy, right?

Xu Chaomu really wanted to ask her, "Aren't you a student at Xinghua? How come you don't even know how much the scholarship is?" But then she thought about it again and realized that she looked like a rich girl from a wealthy family, so it was normal that she didn't care about the scholarship.

Seeing that the girl seemed to be in a daze, he asked again, "What do you want to eat?"

Shi Sui snapped out of her daze: "Whatever, I'll eat whatever you want. Oh right, let's go first, it wouldn't be good if they woke up."

Xu Chaomu lowered her head and looked at the limp 'corpse' at her feet.

"Don't worry, I was careful. It's just some superficial injuries." Shi Sui took a step forward first, and seeing that the boy beside her didn't move, she pulled his sleeve and walked away. "Let's go, let's go, I'm really a little hungry."

After all, I only ate a plain steamed bun for lunch.

Xu Chaomu looked at the sleeve that was being pulled. The girl's fingertips were slender and white, and she looked delicate and weak, but he knew that her hands were very strong. When she swung the stick to hit people's heads, each blow made a loud clanging sound.

He clearly disliked being touched by others, but he didn't reject her.

Stepping out of the alley, Shi Sui looked around and asked, "Is there anything to eat around here?"

Xu Chaomu was taken aback. Compared to other areas nearby, Liyuan Road was old and dilapidated. It had long been designated as a government demolition project, but the actual start of construction was uncertain. Two years ago, they said it would be demolished, but to this day, not even a single piece of plaster has been removed.

There are some restaurants nearby, but they are all dirty and greasy, with heavy oil and salt that suits the workers' tastes. The environment is also poor, with oil stains on the tables that can't be wiped clean even after wiping twice with a napkin.

Shouldn't a young lady go to upscale restaurants? At least to restaurants in shopping malls, right?

"Hmm? Is there really no food around here?" Shi Sui asked loudly again when he didn't answer.

Xu Chaomu hesitated for a moment: "Let's take a taxi to Qianyehui to eat, it's very close."

Chiba-kai is a well-known shopping mall nearby, and Xu Chaomu often saw her classmates having meals there.

Whether the food is good or not is secondary; the restaurant's environment goes without saying—it's very clean, has a great atmosphere, and the photos taken there are top-notch, which is exactly what these young ladies love.

"Are you a picky eater?" Shi Sui rubbed her flat stomach. "I'm so hungry. Please, just grab something to eat nearby."

Make sure to eat nearby.

The system said the lottery shop wasn't far from here.

After dinner, we'll go get some scratch cards – perfect!

Xu Chaomu stared blankly into the girl's bright, pleading eyes, momentarily stunned. His Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and his voice became a little hoarse: "I know a relatively clean teppanyaki restaurant not far ahead, is that okay?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Shi Sui was overjoyed, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

Xu Chaomu led the way, and he noticed that the girl was still unconsciously pulling on his sleeve. He didn't remind her and just let her pull him along.

As the sun sets, the two shadows gradually overlap.

After a whole day, Shi Sui finally got to eat some meat.

It was a free dinner, so it tasted especially good.

Rice was free to refill, so Shi Sui didn't hesitate to ask for another full bowl of rice.

Xu Chaomu ate with great elegance and slow, deliberate manners. In contrast, Shi Sui looked like a rude and uncouth person who ate with great gusto.

Shi Sui was so hungry that she didn't have time to talk while eating.

Xu Chaomu looked at her; the girl was eating heartily, her eyes sparkling, as if she hadn't eaten all day.

He hesitated, wanting to ask her name.

Forget it, she was just someone he met once. The life of a young lady is something he can never reach in his entire life.

Finally, after finishing the last grain of rice in her bowl, Shi Sui took the tissue the boy across from her handed her, wiped her mouth, and said contentedly, "This is my first time eating teppanyaki, and it's actually quite delicious."

Xu Chaomu thought that it was normal for the young lady to have never eaten street food since she had been eating in fine restaurants since she was a child.

"As long as you are satisfied."

"Thank you so much, thank you for treating me to dinner." Shi Sui expressed her sincere gratitude, then realized she hadn't asked his name yet. "My name is Shi Sui, I just transferred to Xinghua School today. What about you? What's your name?"

A light seemed to shine in the boy's cool eyes. He said, "My name is Xu Chaomu, and I'm in Class 4 of the second year of high school."

Class 4, Evergreen Class.

"Oh, oh." Shi Sui nodded and smiled slightly. "Hello Xu Chaomu, you are the first friend I made at Xinghua."

He's also a top student who received a scholarship of 50 yuan.

That's really impressive.

It's amazing that Shi Sui has made such a friend; the system must be incredibly proud of her.

Xu Chaomu didn't speak, but stared into her eyes, which were as bright as stars, and panicked for the first time in his life.

No, it's my mind that's in turmoil.