Ji Nian never expected that Ma Xiaofei had also been among the sea of people in the audience back then.
Soon, she heard waves of gasps around her.
"Is that a boy?! He’s way too good-looking!!"
"Oh my god, whose OC came to life?!"
"Ahhhh that waistline—someone please understand!!"
The girls, especially, were the loudest in their chatter.
Ma Xiaofei was stingy—she only let them glance at her phone before snatching it back.
"He’s even more stunning in person! My mom has local friends, so we got there early and had front-row seats!" she declared proudly.
When someone tried to grab her phone for another look at the young prince, Ma Xiaofei swiftly switched the photo.
Back then, as a little girl, she had been in a foul mood from the crowd, repeatedly urging her mom to leave—until the sudden beat of drums echoed from the stage. She looked up, and there, like an angel descending to earth, that figure crashed into her vision.
Moving with the rhythm, his dance was as light and graceful as a noble white bird. The wind seemed to shape the folds of his clothes, every spin breathtakingly beautiful.
Ma Xiaofei felt her soul tremble in that moment.
After the performance, she was among those who lingered by the stage, unwilling to leave. The young prince’s dance lingered in her mind, so vivid that she couldn’t even remember what she ate or did afterward.
Her mom said she was bewitched.
Even when she slept that night, she dreamed of that celestial prince.
In her dream, after his dance, he leaped off the stage and stood before her—she was the one receiving his blessing.
She woke up smiling the next morning.
Ah, what a pity she never saw who had been lucky enough to earn the favor of that ethereal prince.
"My future boyfriend has to meet the prince’s standards—a golden-haired hottie!"
"Wow, Xiaofei, so you’re aiming for a foreign boyfriend?"
Ma Xiaofei lifted her chin. "Obviously."
Another girl, who had just shared two chocolates with her, chimed in, "Maybe you don’t even need to set standards."
"You’re so pretty, Xiaofei. Next time you visit Country O, you might bump into him like in those novels—and he’ll fall for you at first sight!"
Ma Xiaofei shot her a playful glare. "Oh, stop it!"
The girls burst into giggles, teasing her as pink bubbles of youthful fantasy drifted toward Ji Nian.
Ji Nian found it endearing.
She couldn’t help but reflect—this was the age when fantasies about the opposite sex were at their most vibrant.
Wait till they grow up a little more, and they’ll find men annoying…
She shook her head involuntarily.
The movement caught Ma Xiaofei’s sharp eyes.
What was that? Looking down on her?
Ugh! She’d never show Ji Nian the prince’s photo. That stunning image? Ji Nian would never lay eyes on it in her life!
School life was dull. Even with phones, they couldn’t use them openly. But with Ma Xiaofei’s gossip fueling them, they spent the whole morning discussing Lu Jinghuai.
They speculated—did he live in a castle with his princess mother? Did he receive elite education, ride a white horse, and have a perfectly calculated smile, gentle and refined?
Someone even dug up old photos of him from foreign websites, gushing over how adorable he was as a child.
The hype lasted until lunch break.
Yesterday, Zhi Le had specifically checked the school’s food quality. After learning about the cafeteria offerings, she insisted Wei Yang deliver meals to Ji Nian—afraid the school food might upset her stomach.
Ji Nian, who regularly ate Wei Yang’s street snacks: "……"
If Wei Yang actually showed up with food, given their family chef’s habit of stacking lunchboxes sky-high, she’d definitely become a spectacle.
Back at S High, it wouldn’t have mattered—everyone was used to it. But here…
She ultimately declined.
Instead, she happily took the meal card Teacher Gao gave her and headed to Hainuo’s cafeteria.
Stewed cabbage with glass noodles… braised potatoes with green beans, stir-fried cabbage.
It had been so long since she’d had home-style dishes like these.
Just the smell made her mouth water.
Even in Hainuo’s uniform, Ji Nian stood out effortlessly.
A stranger even offered to let her cut in line, but she politely refused.
She queued up properly.
The cafeteria was packed, with barely any seats left. Finding a spot meant sharing a table.
But with a quick scan, Ji Nian spotted a corner table with only one person sitting there.
She walked over and asked, "Excuse me, is this seat taken?"
The girl she addressed didn’t react at first.
Ji Nian repeated herself, and only then did the girl look up, freezing briefly at the sight of Ji Nian’s face.
The girl’s complexion was slightly sallow, her bangs nearly covering her eyes. After a beat, she answered, "Uh… no one’s sitting there."
Ji Nian plopped down beside her and, too hungry to care about the stares around her, dug into her meal.
"Damn, she knows Xiang Wan?"
"Doubt it. She probably didn’t even see her sitting there."
"Should we warn her?"
“Am I the only one noticing she’s eating stewed cabbage with glass noodles? Since when are young ladies this down-to-earth?”
The biggest hardship the young lady has ever faced is probably being an exchange student at our school.
"What do you know? After a lifetime of gourmet food, she’s probably never tasted simple cafeteria fare—bet she’s blown away by the honest flavors."
While Ji Nian was indeed blown away…
Back in the classroom—
"Xiaofei, eating your housekeeper’s meals again?"
Ma Xiaofei neatly arranged her three-tiered lunchbox, sanitizing her fork and knife. "Obviously. The cafeteria food is practically pig slop—it upsets my stomach."
The others skipped the cafeteria too, either buying snacks from the school store or ordering takeout.
They huddled together, chattering excitedly about the young prince topic they hadn’t exhausted earlier.
A calm, gentle voice suddenly came from the doorway. "Excuse me, is Ji Nian here?"
Everyone instinctively turned. Follow current novᴇls on novel fire.net
Standing at the classroom entrance was a boy they hadn’t noticed before.
He wore S High’s uniform, his semi-long golden hair bright as sunlight. His skin was nearly translucent, and when his silver-gray eyes swept over them, it felt like being pulled into a vortex.
The classroom fell dead silent. Boys, girls, even the birds outside the window—all froze in unison, staring dumbfounded at this boy who looked like he’d stepped out of another dimension.
Was none other than the subject of their earlier discussions—the only son of Country O’s princess, the young prince who had performed the ceremonial dance at the recent Oulei Festival.