Chapter 9

Gu An’an had never really understood the mechanics of “favorability points.”
Now it was all laid bare: the male lead, female lead, male supporting, female supporting, all gathered in one place. What could be more of a battlefield than this? Bringing together the four main characters, could it summon a dragon?
Gu An’an bit back a groan, wrapped herself in the towel from the lounge chair, and blocked out the scorching gazes. The only person daring to whistle got a casual glare from Xie Jinxing that almost choked him with saliva.
Expressionless, she turned and left in one smooth motion.
She wasn’t the protagonist; her exit wouldn’t affect the plot.
In the locker room, the coach peeked out from behind the lockers. Seeing her, she clicked her tongue twice, making a strange sound.
Gu An’an’s deadpan eyes stared back.
The coach gestured at her swim shorts: “Today’s lucky color is yellow. You’re wearing black, not suitable for going out.”
Gu An’an blinked: “???”
“You actually believe in horoscopes?”
“Not allowed?”
Passing by, the coach suddenly pinched her butt, towel in hand, and headed straight to the shower without a backward glance.
“...”
Gu An’an grabbed her own towel and followed.
After changing, she returned to find the hotel lounge already occupied.
The second-generation heirs, territorial like street-fighting stray dogs, had split into two clear camps on the east and west sofas. The big boss adjudicator wasn’t present, yet both sides glared at each other relentlessly. The young princes ignored each other, one on his phone, the other smoking.
And the female lead, Su Ruan, sat obliviously in the exact middle of the two camps.
Gu An’an glanced at her. On the key characters’ heads, colorful “slime” glowed as if under LED lights, making it look like a massive holographic online game rather than real people. The male lead, Xie Jinxing, was absent, but the other three lined up like a color bar, from black, to blue, to red.
Black: Su Ruan.
Blue: Lu Xingyu.
Red: Shen Shan. Score: 70.
Whoa!
Gu An’an was shocked, Miss Shen had given her favorability ten points above the passing line!
Such sincerity!
Unable to resist, she stole a few more glances at Shen Shan. The heiress frowned, noticed Gu An’an looking, then turned back to glare at Su Ruan, who kept her head down, lost in thought. If her eyes could eat, Su Ruan would already be swallowed whole.
Su Ruan didn’t seem to notice Shen Shan at all.
Shen Shan’s cheeks puffed with anger, a true pufferfish rage. Pure impotent fury.
Gu An’an pressed her lips together and, for the first time, considered the original plot.
How exactly did Su Ruan meet Xie Jinxing?
She poured out the mental “water” she had tried to memorize that afternoon and finally remembered: at this point, the male and female leads hadn’t even met yet.
Although Just Spoil You was a bit of a mindless romance, the story wasn’t entirely unoriginal.
The classic “rich, arrogant male CEO and poor Cinderella” formula applied: first torment, then sweetness. The female lead notices the male lead first; he’s intrigued but too proud, thinking he’d never like a flat-chested, underdeveloped girl, refusing to admit his feelings. Early interactions show disdain, later a dramatic reversal where he chases her desperately. The opening was painfully cliché: hero saves the damsel.
The soft but determined poor girl, needing money for her mother’s expensive dialysis, accepted an offer from the supporting female, Shen Shan. Daytime school, nighttime working at a high-end club serving drinks. The job was easy and well-paid. Su Ruan, though puzzled by Shen Shan’s generosity, ignored it in favor of money.
Soon she realized the club’s wealthy patrons sometimes misbehaved. Complaints were ignored, the high pay acting as compensation.
Su Ruan had no choice, if she wanted her mother’s dialysis, she had to endure harassment. And unsurprisingly, she encountered a pervert.
He dragged her into the men’s restroom, pinned her against a urinal, and attempted to assault her.
Xie Jinxing, smoking in the hallway, heard the commotion and intervened.
One phone call summoned the staff, successfully rescuing the poor girl. Su Ruan, shaken, clung to Xie Jinxing like a lifeline. He escorted her home safely, and that was how they met.
This happened after the basketball match. Gu An’an was sure of it.
Scanning the lounge, she saw Xie Jinxing talking to a tall man in a suit on the balcony. Glass walls couldn’t block the view. She also glimpsed Su Ruan, sneaking looks toward him.
So... what was going on? Had their meeting been accelerated?
“Gu An’an, over here!” a young girl called suddenly from the corner. She stood and waved, but her trendy influencer makeup made her unrecognizable. Still, her enthusiasm was clear.
Gu An’an, feeling lethargic, didn’t want to go, but the girl’s voice was so lively even the smoker on the balcony glanced over. She had no choice but to approach.
After sitting, a well-dressed man hurried in. Gold-rimmed glasses, neat British-style hair. His sharp gaze instantly landed on Zhou Jiayu, sprawled with crossed legs, before a smile appeared.
He adjusted his sleeves and strode toward Xie Jinxing.
Clearly, Xie Jinxing preferred to cut to the core rather than let kids bicker. Adults solved problems simply and efficiently.
The tension waiting for his action was suffocating; he struck precisely at the weak point.
His presence put even the arrogant Zhou Shao on edge.
Gu An’an, feeling helpless, sank into the influencer girl group. Shen Shan, finally able to spare attention from Lu Xingyu, glanced at her. Gu An’an almost getting expelled was known to Shen Shan, so her eyes were slightly guilty.
But Gu An’an hadn’t actually been expelled, just nearly. She straightened up with pride: “Anna, give her the bag.”
Anna, another green-eyed influencer, pouted and tossed the shoulder bag into Gu An’an’s lap.
“Here, for you!”
The bag was a limited edition from Chanel. Previously, Gu An’an had admired it while accompanying Shen Shan to a facial appointment. Though Shen Shan wasn’t fond of the color, she had kept one for herself, and now offered it as compensation.
Shen Shan didn’t say it outright, but Gu An’an understood. She was slightly stunned.
Recognizing Chanel’s logo but not the value, Gu An’an didn’t notice it was crocodile leather, if not for envious looks from the surrounding influencer girls, she wouldn’t know.
“Over forty thousand...” someone whispered.
Forty thousand, Gu An’an’s pupils nearly trembled.
One bag. Forty thousand!
So this was how rich people lived.
Suddenly, she understood the perks of serving the heiress. If carrying her bag could get her a small apartment in three years, she might... maybe... sacrifice her brain for it, but life was still more important.
“Thank you, Miss Shen~” she said happily.
“Pfft, ”
Lu Xingyu, suddenly off his game, clicked his screen off and tossed the phone into his swim shorts pocket. Stretching his long legs, he nudged Gu An’an’s chair.
Looking up at her, he said, “Look at you, so accomplished.”
Gu An’an returned a big eye-roll, not wanting to speak another word.
The adults on the balcony had made some discreet, shady deal. A faint smell of smoke drifted in through the open window. Not unpleasant, but enough to freeze the room.
The atmosphere shifted: from cold detachment to suddenly relaxed conversation.
Xie Jinxing leaned against the railing, backlit, his deep eyes curling slightly.
You couldn’t see his face clearly, but those eyes alone could dominate anyone’s looks.
Glancing at Su Ruan, his gaze lingered. His face couldn't be seen, but those eyes were beautiful enough to overpower anyone.
He glanced at Su Ruan, who looked completely bewildered.
Gu An’an: “...”
Soon, the balcony conversation ended. The gold-rimmed man exited first, scanned the crowd, and sincerely apologized to Gu An’an before delivering a precise kick to Zhou Jiayu.
The elegant smile vanished, replaced with a cold ruthlessness reminiscent of Zhou Jiayu.
After kicking him, he turned, “Let’s go.”
The arrogant young prince didn’t explode in anger. He looked at Su Ruan, slowly stood, and followed.
The man in glasses caught the glance, then delivered another swift kick to Zhou Jiayu before leaving, expressionless.
Zhou Jiayu said nothing, trailing behind.
The room fell silent. Even Lu Xingyu’s entourage froze, stunned.
Zhou Jiayu’s face darkened, embarrassed and sullen.
With him gone, his followers had no leverage. One by one, they made excuses: “my cat’s about to give birth,” “my mom called for dinner,” “grandpa had surgery”, and left.
Lu Xingyu lounged lazily, not lifting his head.
As the crowd thinned, the lounge gradually became serious.
The sound of the man kicking Zhou Jiayu still echoed, harsh enough to make teeth ache. It reminded everyone of the Zhou family’s hidden power. Suited, ruthless at the core.
Lu Xingyu’s entourage realized it too late. One blond whispered “Brother Yu” and nudged his neighbor.
“Everyone out,” Lu Xingyu decreed.
The rest stood.
Shen Shan didn’t want to leave. Seeing Xie Jinxing and Liang Chengli approaching, she hesitated: “Uncle...”
Lu Xingyu didn’t look up: “You’re leaving too. Don’t linger and annoy me!”
“Who’s lingering?!” Shen Shan, frustrated, pointed at Su Ruan, still seated, shouting, “Why don’t you make her leave?!”
Su Ruan looked startled. Wide eyes, shoulders huddling in. Calm voice, as if stating a principle: “I’m resort staff. I can’t leave.”
"She's a staff member. You're going to pay her if she leaves?"
The two said in unison, and Shen Shan was about to die of anger at their concerted voice. She stood up angrily, grabbed Gu An’an's wrist and turned away.
Gu An’an, pulled along, felt utterly helpless and confused. Why bring her into their fight? She couldn’t even comment, let alone watch the drama unfold.
Lu Xingyu lifted a leg to block her; she nearly tripped and fell.
She staggered back two steps, unsteady, colliding with a hard chest. A faint, grassy-cold scent reached her nose. A hand steadied her waist for a moment, then withdrew.
Where the hand touched, it felt like fire.
Xie Jinxing stood straight in the balcony-lounge passage, ignoring Gu An’an. His calm gaze fixed on Lu Xingyu. Though silent, the pressure in his eyes made Lu Xingyu avoid meeting them, turning away silently.
The hand that had steadied Gu An’an’s waist slipped into his pocket, fingers curling unconsciously.
“Fighting again?”