Lovers of Valiant Ladies

"Classmate Zhao Xing!" The young man stood in front of her, looking very nervous, that she thought her fight of last week in the market had been discovered by the teachers and they had asked him to come get her.

Thus she tried to act innocent, as she stared back at him. "W...what?" she stuttered.

Xue Shan Shan who stood beside her, and looked on at the situation, also had the same thoughts as Zhao Xing. "Classmate Jiang Chen, what's the matter?"

But Jiang Chen didn't answer her instead; "I want talk to you, could we meet up after school?" His face became redder and redder the more he spoke.

Hearing this, Xue Shan Shan seemed to have sensed something as she held herself from laughing, nudging her friend in the process.

But Clueless Zhao saw there was no hostility from the other party and had already calmed down to some extent. Ignoring her friend acting weird she asked. "What do you want to say in private that can't be said here?"

Hearing this the boy was a bit flustered, but still managed drop a few words before hurrying away.

"You'll see when we meet!"

Xue Shan Shan let herself laugh as she thought the boy was cute. "Xing Xing ah, I didn't know you were popular."

Zhao Xing, who had no idea what she was talking about: '???'

Zhao Xing spent her time in class thinking about the plan she'd came up with. She wondered if she should return to the traditional Chinese Doctor. He seemed to know a lot. It'll be good if she could get some information out of him…

"Classmate Zhao Xing!"

"Ah?" The harsh voice called her out of her thoughts.

It was the teacher staring at her with a displeased expression. She hit her palm on her desk angrily.

Zhao Xing quickly stood up.

"Where you even listening?"

"I-" Teacher Fang cut in on her, refusing her to speak.

"Isn't this what I was talking about?" She said as she pointed at her. Zhao Xing could only bow her head and act mute.

"Classmate Zhao Xing, you have a lot of potential, but you lack concentration, I say this every time but you don't listen to me, instead you choose to skip class, pick fights, or even daydream in class!"

"But I tried to change…"She mumbled.

"What? Yes, you tried to change, but you're too inconsistent." Miss Fang then turned to the whole class, the typical teacher, if one person was wrong, the whole class was wrong as well. "You all are seniors in this school, seniors! There're some things you must put aside…" She went on ranting.

Some felt guilty, others felt bored. Zhao Xing remained standing.

But she didn't feel all that guilty. She felt she really had no choice, her life depended on it. Who wanted to carry the burden of being stuck two worlds where a prince who only knew how to threaten people disturbed her life?

Thank goodness Mrs. Fang didn't punish her.

After the incident the class was quieter. Zhao Xing in her corner felt wronged, as she turned to Lu Yang by her side, furrowing her brows at him questioningly, her expression saying 'why didn't you warn me?'

The later shrugged, lifting his book to show that he was busy reading and didn't notice.

Seeing him looking so innocent, she made a face, trying her best not to roll her eyes. What was the use of having a friend like him if he couldn't watch her back??

After school she expected her friends to go home together with her like they always do. Who would have thought that they would suddenly disappear?

"Xiao Liu!" she called out to a classmate, "Did you see Shan Shan and Xiao Lu?"

The girl accompanied by her friends shook her head.

She'd asked a few classmates, but no one knew, she had only gone to the bathroom, Shan Shan had followed her but when she was done, Shan Shan was gone. She came out, Lu Yang was gone as well.

'Was this some kind of joke?'

Tch, if they wanted to desert her, then they could desert her. She was going home either ways. She didn't have time for all this, she was a busy young lady working for a Crown Prince of an Empire!

Upon reaching the school gates she heard someone call out her name.

She thought it would be her friends who couldn't bear to see her walk home alone. But she was wrong.

"Classmate Zhao Xing!" the young man ran as fast as he could, towards her.

"Jiang Chen?"

He stopped as he arrived right in front of her. He held his knees, out of breath.

"Ah, I forgot." She suddenly remembered she had promised someone to meet up after school. Did her friends desert her because of this?

"Classmate Zhao Xing…" he said, panting. He then stood straight, pausing to swallow, "Let me walk you home."

Zhao Xing stared him up and down, with a confused expression.

As if he could tell what she was thinking, he quickly explained, "Ah, I was going to collect stuff from a relative…they live around there."

Zhao Xing nodded with a bit of doubt.

As they walked alongside each other the air felt awkward as none of the two said a word. Well, maybe not everyone felt the awkwardness in the air, since Zhao Xing was absentminded, thinking about her own problems.

Jiang Chen on the other hand already sweated from being completely ignored. He had wanted to tell her something, but he didn't know how to put it.

"Zhao Xing…"

"Um?"

"Do…do you like ice cream?" he only came up with an idea when he saw the store's poster featuring new flavors.

"Huh?" the question caught her off guard.

Jiang Chen was happy he finally caught her attention, "The store over there sells newly released flavors of ice cream, wanna try?" He pointed to a store across the street, close to their school.

Zhao Xing wanted to refuse since she wanted to get home early so she could at least do her homework before it was time for her to be sucked away to another world. But seeing the eagerness in his eyes, Zhao Xing didn't have the heart to refuse anymore.

"Ok…"

"Wait here." He said then ran off, crossing the streets and heading towards the store.

Zhao Xing sighed, scratching her head impatiently. She hadn't thought of what to tell the prince if he asked about her progression on the task.

She didn't have time, alright. She spent most of her waiting time sulking.

Then she thought of something, and that was when Jiang Chen returned with two ice cream bars. He handed one to her, "Here"

"Ah, thank you…" the sudden treatment really got her confused.

Her eyes narrowed as she approached the boy, looking at him carefully, making the other party flustered.

"Jiang Chen, if there's anything you want me to do for you there's no need to beat around the bush, we're both classmates, it's only normal to help each other." She said as she unwrapped the ice cream.

"Say it." The sweetness and coolness in her mouth after she'd beat into it made her happy, and she thought her classmate was really good, treating her to ice cream. Then she won't be polite.

Being asked to state his request so straightforwardly, made him surprised, and he was unable to say a word, and just watched as Zhao Xing devoured the ice cream, with a happy expression on her face.

He had always overheard from her friends that she was easily pleased, at first he didn't believe it, but seeing her like this, he felt very happy inside. He thought she was very cute!

The feeling he felt inside, he wanted it to stay that way forever. Only he didn't know what to do to maintain it.

"Jiang Chen?" Zhao Xing noticed that Jiang Chen was absentminded and called out to him. Who would have thought he would hand over his ice cream to her at that moment. "Here, you can have mine too." He said with a smile. Well he could try anything, anything as long as it made her happy.

"Ah…I can't do that, you won't have any…" she said awkwardly.

"I just realized I bought the chocolate and peanut flavored one…and I'm allergic to peanuts…" He lied without batting an eye.

Zhao Xing stared at him for two seconds, then grinned widely, "How could you be so silly! Forgetting you're allergic to peanuts, how could you forget, here, don't worry, it'd be a waist to throw it indeed, I'll help you deal with it then." She said happily as she took the ice cream from his hand.

Jiang Chen couldn't help but laugh.

Zhao Xing also smiled back. This Jiang Chen made himself very unnoticeable in class, if she remembered correctly, he joined their class last year, meaning they've been in the same class for two years. But she didn't have much an impression of him, but now, she thought overall he wasn't bad.

She even wondered why they hadn't become friends earlier.

They trailed on the road, chatted, laughed and had fun.

Zhao Xing arrived her destination first, and waved to Jiang Chen as she walked towards the apartment building.

"Xing Xing" Jiang Chen called out to her, from where he stood.

"In the future let's be good friends."

Zhao Xing smiled and nodded, before entering the building.

Jiang Chen made a U-turn and went home. He had lied about picking whatever from a relative. He just wanted to have a chance to approach her. He had been fighting the urge since that 'day'. Since then he asked his parents to transfer him to this school, just so he could meet her again. He wasn't good at interrelationships, and really didn't have many friends. But he wanted to fight, for her sake.