On the way home, Lu Chen pedaled through the sunset-stained streets and found his bike parked just outside the school gates.
Wait—I'm already this rich, and my future is clearly going to be even richer. So why the hell am I still riding a bike?
Time for a new ride.
Lu Chen glanced out at the coastal city. The endless rows of buildings were bathed in rose-gold light by the setting sun. If he planned to hunt for treasure chests in this city later, wouldn't a bicycle be way too inefficient?
An electric scooter then. Yeah, that works.
Such were the thoughts of a future billionaire.
Memorizing textbooks was tedious and dull, and his mind often wandered to Ei's face.
She was probably alone at home. What would she be doing now? Watching TV, maybe...
Those amethyst-clear eyes fixed on the screen, occasionally switching channels with a look of curious wonder at whatever oddities appeared.
Maybe she'd grab a bag of junk food from the fridge, munching away while watching, with crumbs from the chips sticking to her soft pink lips.
Thinking about it made Lu Chen smile for no reason.
What a good life this was.
To passersby, the boy smiling foolishly as he walked down the street looked like another student who'd studied himself stupid. They gave him sympathetic glances.
"Poor kid. Probably fried his brain with homework."
Still in a great mood, Lu Chen reached his bike and bent down to undo the lock—only to suddenly sense footsteps behind him.
He turned his head and saw a guy with a hairstyle that screamed arrogance.
It was Zhang Zikai, who sat in the right-hand row of their class—the one with spiked hair dyed at the tips.
Zhang Zikai walked over with one hand in his pocket, face cold, nostrils practically flared to the sky, wearing that classic "you messed with the wrong guy" expression.
Lu Chen unlocked the bike, thinking, He's not gonna slash my tires, is he?
Hmm... looks like no. Sure, the guy was here to block him, but at least he hadn't trashed the bike. Guess I can still get home on time...
Zhang Zikai got even more pissed when Lu Chen just glanced at him and went on ignoring him like air.
"Hey! What's your problem? See me and don't even say hi?"
Lu Chen calmly wheeled his bike forward, still acting like Zhang wasn't even there.
"Lu Chen, are you looking to die? Do you even know who you've messed with?"
His path now blocked, Lu Chen finally looked up. He caught a flash of that bright blue-dyed hair and thought, Haizhou Middle School has strict academics, but they're pretty relaxed on dress codes. As long as you wear your uniform during school hours, they don't really care about your hairstyle—as long as it's not too outrageous.
As for why Zhang Zikai was waiting to confront him today, Lu Chen could more or less guess.
Ah... teenage hormones.
"I warned you, didn't I? Zhao Xiaohan's the girl I've got my eye on."
Zhang Zikai was still fuming about seeing Zhao Xiaohan sitting next to Lu Chen during break, whispering and laughing like they were close.
"I gave you a chance after that last stunt you pulled!" He scoffed. "But today, you're getting a lesson!"
Teenage boys always think they're special. And in Zhang Zikai's case, he thought he was especially special.
In the fantasy world inside his head, he was the king of the school.
Usually, when he acted tough like this, the other students would get scared—or even cry. But this Lu Chen... still hadn't changed his expression at all.
Fine, time to throw a punch and put him in his place. He swung.
He aimed for the nose—first, it'd get a nice blood spray for dramatic effect, and second, it wouldn't leave an obvious bruise like hitting the eye. That way, the guy couldn't report him to a teacher.
Where else would you find such a kind-hearted school bully? Zhang Zikai thought.
With a whoosh of air and a painful yelp, blood spurted.
Everything went exactly as planned—except the one whose nose was bleeding... was Zhang Zikai himself.
Clutching his nose, he crashed to the ground.
Damn that hurts...
He looked up with effort. The setting sun was blocked by the figure standing in front of him, leaving only a lean, dark silhouette. Zhang Zikai couldn't even figure out how he got knocked down.
The shadow took a step forward.
"You—what are you doing...?"
Another step closer.
"Don't come any closer!!"
Zhang Zikai scrambled backward on the ground, hands flailing for balance.
"Do you even know who I am? My dad's on the school board! If you lay a hand on me, you're screwed!"
"You'll get expelled! You scared now?!"
...
Lu Chen's shadow finally stopped.
He hauled Zhang Zikai up by the collar, and the latter let out a sigh of relief.
Good—he played his trump card.
"Scared now, huh—"
But then... he froze.
Those eyes—lit up like they'd just struck gold—were staring at him with a terrifying glint.
"What did you say your dad does?" Lu Chen asked, voice calm but trembling with suppressed excitement. The hands gripping Zhang's collar only got tighter.
Zhang Zikai swallowed hard.
Fear.
...
"I'm home~"
Lu Chen shut the door behind him, arms full of bags packed with frozen custard buns.
To his surprise, Raiden Ei wasn't watching TV like usual.
She was standing in the kitchen, wearing a chick-print apron, like a wife waiting for her husband to come home. She stared absentmindedly at the cutting board.
Her fingers—soft and fair like freshly peeled bamboo shoots—rested lightly under her elegant chin. Her lovely violet eyes looked puzzled. The window was open, and the sea breeze from the harbor played gently with her hair.
It was a quiet, beautiful scene—so serene and heartwarming that Lu Chen couldn't help but pull out his phone.
Click.
The shutter sound snapped Ei out of her daze.
She looked up, still confused, as Lu Chen grinned.
"What were you thinking about?"
"I was wondering... if I broke your pot, what would you say to me?"
"Oh, that's easy—"
Lu Chen's brain short-circuited for a second from admiring her face. Then he spotted the pitch-black corner of the kitchen... and the pressure cooker with a hole in it.
"My pot!!"
He dashed into the kitchen.
"Ei! What did you do?!"
The pot was clearly done for. The kitchen was charred but luckily, there was no gas leak. At least nothing exploded.
Still... what the hell had she done to make the kitchen look like this?
"Ei, you've changed!" Lu Chen pointed accusingly as she tilted her head.
"My sweet, clueless Ei is gone! Now you're even pretending to look innocent—almost fooled me, and I've seen more people than I can count!"
"I just wanted to try making fish soup. Because you love fish, Chen."
She sighed—gently, beautifully. It was enough to break your heart.
Lu Chen stared at her little face, and half his anger melted away instantly.
"It's fine, just a pot." He shifted tone in a second. This world really does run on looks...
Facing a pitiful-looking Ei—honestly, even if she had blown up his entire kitchen... he might've forgiven her anyway.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
"I'm fine."
"Good..."
Lu Chen stashed the frozen custard buns in the fridge, but just then—one little question popped into his mind.
How did stewing fish soup blow a hole in the pressure cooker...?
Lu Chen fell into deep thought.