18 Suck-up?

The moment they arrived at TIHS, Xiong Zhi quickly left the car and went inside the junior's building. She did not even wait for Linfeng.

She was still mad. She was confused and frustrated.

She did not want to lash out to Linfeng. She felt that if she stayed any longer, she would not be able to restrain herself and tell Linfeng the truth, as well as her desires.

They should be together and not waste the time this second chance had given them. No flirting with others.

Xiong Zhi was very, very frustrated. She wanted to wrap her arms around Linfeng, to tell him everything she had wanted to say from her previous lifetime, her proclamation of love.

But somehow, even without experience in romantic relationships, she knew that if she blurted out all of her feelings now, Linfeng would likely distance himself from her. She was not blind. She could see that whenever she tried to make a move, staring at him and praising him, Linfeng was uncomfortable.

She was afraid that Linfeng might misunderstand, and instead of loving her like he had done in the past, he might be end up guarded against her. She did not know what to do.

He was near... but seemed so far away.

Arriving at the classroom, Xiong Zhi shook her head and put away all these thoughts at the back of her mind. She had a goal to make today. She needed to focus.

________________________________

Lunch quickly came.

At the farthest corner, Gu Zhen sat on his usual spot. He was typing non-stop on his laptop.

Soon, he felt a shadow over him. He looked up and saw Xiong Zhi sitting across his seat again.

He returned his gaze to his laptop and continued typing. Without looking up he said,

"I thought you are giving me a year?"

He waited for a response. Not hearing anything, he looked up at Xiong Zhi.

Xiong Zhi was just sitting in front of him, staring at him. He did the same, and stared at her.

Minutes passed, they stared each other unmoving.

Not far away, a girl carrying a lunch tray circled around their table many times, like she was looking for something.

Xiong Zhi felt she had stared enough. She tried very hard to look for something worth praising in Gu Zhen's appearance.

Finding nothing, she recalled the sample Mr. Ji had given to her.

She looked at Gu Zhen's eyes and opened her mouth.

Seeing that Xiong Zhi was about to say something serious, Gu Zhen's full attention focused on her.

"Gu Zhen, you look handsome today."

A loud sound of glass breaking interrupted everyone in the cafeteria.

Xiong Zhi looked at the source, the girl nearby was standing amidst the broken fragments of glasses and plates. The girl had a horrified look on her face.

Xiong Zhi recognized her. She was one of her and Gu Zhen's classmates.

One of the staff member of the cafeteria hurriedly walked towards the girl. She first checked if the girl had been injured in some way and tried to talk to the stunned girl.

"Young lady, are you okay? Let me send you to the clinic right away." The staff looked worried and troubled. She could lose her job if the girl was as much scratched by the shards. These rich students could fire them easily! She was afraid of offending the little ancestor, err, student.

The girl shook her head, still dazed.

"N-no. I'm alright. My hand just slipped."

Xiong Zhi, who had glanced over, returned her attention to the youth in front of him.

Gu Zhen did not even notice the accident earlier. He just stared dumbfounded at Xiong Zhi.

'Did I hear her correctly?'

Xiong Zhi thought her praise was not enough. So, she continued.

"I like your fashion. How did you style yourself?"

Gu Zhen's jaw dropped.

Who would like his fashion?! He himself knew that he looked weird. He had untrimmed mess of curly hair that covered his eyes, had thick glasses on which made him appear nerdy, and he had buttoned-up his uniform all the way in such an outdated style.

His father and his relatives always pestered him to at least fix his appearance. But he liked what he looked like. No one noticed him. No one bothered him. And he like it.

He was not concerned of his popularity nor his image. He did not even care about girls. 

That was why, faced with a girl's praise on his looks, he did not know what to say.

Gu Zhen observed Xiong Zhi.

'What happened to her?'

With an expressionless face and cold voice, honestly, she did not look like she was praising him sincerely. It almost appeared like she was forced to do this.

But why say this to him?

Xiong Zhi continued her so-called 'praise'.

"What I liked the most are your beautiful fingers."

This time, Xiong Zhi was sincere.

"They are like gods over that laptop of yours. I believe no one could match them. Even the genius hacker of the previous generation, his worth could not even reach up to one of your fingers. He is already crushed by a mere finger."

Xiong Zhi had read many poems and books in the past. She used figurative speech to enhance her praise. Besides, what she said was partly true. Years from now, this youth in front of her would be titled the 'Unparalleled Genius' of their generation.

However, to Gu Zhen, it felt like she was exaggerating too much. He knew himself so well, he was confident in his skills. But he was not sure he could confidently say that he was on par with the current genius hacker, with his current level. The way Xiong Zhi praised him made him doubt himself more.

Xiong Zhi 'attacked' again.

"I really admire you. I am a fan of yours. As a fan, I will be truly in heaven if you lend me your strength and help me just this once. You are the only one who can do it," Xiong Zhi said the last part seriously, although with a robotic voice. She felt like she could qualify as a poet.

When Gu Zhen heard this, his expression became completely sour.

'What the hell?! I think this girl just wanted to ask me a favor!'

He looked at Xiong Zhi. Xiong Zhi looked back at him expectantly, waiting for his answer.

'She troubled herself to suck up to me just for a favor. It is so unlike her.'

Although Gu Zhen was not close to Xiong Zhi nor to any Xiong family member, he still had heard about the beautiful, cold and indifferent Young Miss of Xiong's. 

Looking at the expressionless face of Xiong Zhi, he was certain that it was not her idea, so he asked her.

"Who taught you your way of sucking-up to people? It's terrible."

Xiong Zhi's eyebrows rose slightly.

'Suck-up?'

Gu Zhen saw her expression and sighed.

"Anyway, no matter what favor you want to ask, I'm not going to help you. I'm busy." Gu Zhen pointed a finger to his laptop. He was already halfway on revising his work.

He did not want distractions.

Xiong Zhi understood that her plan A did not work. Alright then, time for plan B.

She took out something from her pocket and placed it on the table.

The clattering sound of metal attracted Gu Zhen's attention back to Xiong Zhi.

On the table, there was a key.

He looked at Xiong Zhi questioningly.

"Locker 13L, there is a *** video game console, the latest limited edition."

Gu Zhen stared at Xiong Zhi blankly.

When his mind processed the word video game console, he stared at the key. He began to imagine what precious thing the locker contained.

He gulped.

What a tempting offer!

Of course, Gu Zhen knew what this 'gift' mean.

He needed that premium video game console for the progress of his game, part of his experiment.

Gu Zhen could have bought this treasure himself. The problem was, in order to curb his interest on computers, his father blocked his access to all electronics store, nor was he able to get any delivery from his online orders. He was monitored too closely.

He had game consoles before, but now they were thrown away by his father.

Seeing the thing he wanted the most offered to him, and considering that he only needed to give out one favor, he was enticed.

Afterwards, he remembered that even if he got it, where would he put it? He could not bring it to his home. Remembering what had happened last time when he sneaked in a game console, he smiled bitterly.

"That's a good move. I really do need a game console right now, especially the latest edition. However, I can't bring it home. It will be useless."

Xiong Zhi raised her brow.

'He cannot defend himself against his father?'

"You are a genius hacker. You cannot hack your own father's...?"

Xiong Zhi's unspoken words were understood by Gu Zhen. Since Xiong Zhi knew he was good in electronics, she must have also known that he could easily hack his father's security and change the password to his room. With that, no one would be able to enter his room without his permission. Even if his father hired experts to crack the lock, they would not succeed. Thus, they have no way of entering his room. Even the hidden cameras were not a problem.

So what was he worried about?

Sensing the confused gaze of Xiong Zhi, Gu Zhen explained.

"You think I'm a god in the field of computers, but I'm only a humble mortal in front of explosives."

He said, emphasizing the last word.

He was not joking. His ill-tempered father found out that he had hacked the hidden cameras and passwords; thus, he used underhanded methods.

Since his father could not crack the password to his room, he hardened his face and used mini explosives to enter his room. His father did this every time he changed the password. 

Gu Zhen was scared shitless whenever he heard that loud sound.

Hearing Gu Zhen's story, Xiong Zhi was speechless.

"…"

'As expected of a military family.'

Xiong Zhi was lost for a moment. Then, she quickly thought of something.

"Do you still have my card on you?"

Gu Zhen was startled by her sudden question but quickly recovered. He nodded embarrassingly.

The truth was that the card was always in his pocket. It was his last resort if things turned for the worst and he had no way out of his family's entanglement.

Although he mocked Xiong Zhi on their first discussion, he could not help but trust her and place his hope in her.

"There is an address there, a small office for my small company. You can use that place," Xiong Zhi suggested.

She had already bought a place for her newly opened company. The only one missing was her standing CEO and her Vice Director.

Xiong Zhi was taking advantage of this situation. She knew well that Gu Zhen was revising his work and he needed proper equipment and a place to work. That was why she did not push him and willingly waited for a year. A year should enough for him to finish his endeavor.

"Do you think my father will not see through that? He will stop me from going to that place."

"Have you forgotten who I am? One word from me, and your father will happily comply."

Gu Zhen was confused for a moment and then gaped at Xiong Zhi.

'How can I forget I was talking to one surnamed Xiong?! A first line descendant at that!'

Having the surname Xiong meant power. Even his father who was from the government with military backing could not afford to offend the Xiong's. Thus, if Xiong Zhi asked for this favor, his father had no choice but to fulfill her request.

"What are you planning?" Gu Zhen was excited.

"I will handle this matter. After you finish the task I will be giving you, I will hand you this key." Xiong Zhi picked up the key.

A corner of Gu Zhen's mouth twitched.

A favor became a task.

Xiong Zhi took out a piece of paper and a flash drive, then handed both to Gu Zhen.

"Just hack these accounts and copy the files."

Gu Zhen took the paper and looked at the list. There were at least seven names on it.

It is usually difficult to do this, but with Gu Zhen's ability, he could easily accomplish it.

Gu Zhen smirked.

"It will only take a few minutes to do this. Prepare your gift tomorrow."

"Alright."

Gu Zhen happily walked away with his laptop.

Xiong Zhi was about to stand up when she felt a glaring look directed at her back.

She quickly looked around.

'Who is it?'

But everything around her seemed normal.

Students were chatting while eating.

Workers were cleaning and serving the dishes.

No one seemed to be looking at her direction.

Xiong Zhi graciously stepped out of the cafeteria.

'I don't have time to play hide and seek with you. Soon, I will smoke you out.'