Bai Tao is hiding outside Pei Shi’s villa, checking the “tool for the mission” while her best friend Yu Guo earnestly advises her, “Bai Tao, have you thought this through? Maybe we shouldn’t do it. I think it’s too dangerous.
“The greater the risk, the greater the reward,” Bai Tao rolls her eyes at Yu Guo, “Have you ever heard the saying, ‘If we desire success, we must dare to take risks. Only in this way can we achieve great goals’?”
Yu Guo thinks carefully and inquisitively asks, : “Who said this? Why do I have no impression of it?”
“Lu Xun said it!”
“Oh, if it’s Lu Xun, then it must be reliable… But just in case, should we rehearse one more time?”
Bai Tao disdainfully waves her hand: “No need, isn’t it just a confession of love? Does this even need practice? Don’t worry, a cautious and reliable person like me has already planned more than a dozen feasible plans, and also made good corresponding contingency plans. Even if something happens later, I can easily solve it.”No matter what happens, I can handle it easily.”
Before Yu Guo could say anything more, Bai Tao puts a finger on her lips to silence her, “Woman, be quiet. Stop questioning my abilities, or I can’t guarantee what might happen.”
Yu Guo: “…”
After confidently performed her impersonation of a domineering CEO, Bai Tao said no more. She grabbed the carrying strap of the “tool for the mission,” a megaphone, slipped it over her head, tightened the lace of her sneakers, and gave Yu Guo a dashing ‘V’ sign before skillfully jumped into Pei Shi’s garden.
Today is on Saturday May 16, 2015. The location: Pei Shi’s villa.
On this exciting day, Bai Tao decided to kick off her grand plan—
After landing, she took off the megaphone, switched it on, took a deep breath, and directed her heartfelt voice in the direction of Pei Shi’s bedroom on the second floor—
“Pei Shi…”
Unfortunately, before she could finish saying “I like you,” a black French Bulldog without a leash appeared out of nowhere from the garden. The dog started barking at Bai Tao.
Damn it, can someone tell me why there’s a dog in Pei shi’s garden? When did Pei Shi get a dog???
The only animal Bai Tao is afraid of is dogs. Seeing a dog makes her unable to breathe…
In a flash, Bai Tao completely forgot about her grand plan to confess her feelings to Pei Shi. She grabbed the megaphone and began to scream—
“You, this dog! Get away from me! Don’t come near me! I, Bai Tao, command you to leave! Disappear from my sight!”
Today is Pei Shi’s birthday. He didn’t originally want to celebrate it on a large scale, especially since his parents and sister weren’t around. This month, his sister Pei Fei is holding her first small piano concert in Los Angeles, and his parents are accompanying her. However, feeling guilty for not being able to spend time with Pei Shi, they hired a professional planning team to secretly invite almost all of his classmates and friends and prepare a surprise party at his home.
Everything was going smoothly, and Pei Shi was even in a good mood. But when it came time to blow out the candles and make a wish, he suddenly heard a voice coming from a megaphone in the garden of his villa—
“Pei Shi…”
It was a girl’s voice.
Thinking his parents had arranged another surprise, Pei Shi listened as the voice continued—
“You, this dog! Get away from me! Don’t come near me! I, Bai Tao, command you to leave! Disappear from my sight!”
The atmosphere became incredibly awkward for a moment. Classmates exchanged glances. Someone opened a window to look outside—
“Is that Bai Tao? I’ve only heard of her, never seen her. She’s really beautiful.”
“But how does she know Pei Shi? And why is she in Pei Shi’s garden, yelling at him?”
“Shh, Pei Shi looks angry…”
“But he isn’t showing any expression?”
“No, really, I’ve known Pei Shi for years, and when he’s like this, he’s very, very angry…”
Pei Shi never showed much emotion. His mood was always hard to read. He didn’t say a word and walked downstairs.
Bai Tao felt the peak of regret when she saw several heads poking out of the window from Pei Shi’s room. But right now, she had no time for regrets. The French Bulldog was chasing her, and she had to run around Pei Shi’s villa until she saw Pei Shi’s cold and aloof face appear at the doorway, calling back his dog.
Having come this far, Bai Tao decided to throw caution to the wind. She raised the megaphone and passionately announced, “Pei Shi, I like you! I heard you don’t have a girlfriend, well, now you do! I’m willing!”
“I’m not willing.”
Pei Shi coldly glanced at her and frowned, “I’m not deaf. There’s no need for a megaphone when we’re this close.”
Reading the room, Bai Tao turned off the megaphone and tossed it into a nearby bush. She looked at Pei Shi timidly, “It’s fine if you’re not willing. If you think there’s something wrong with me, I can change.”
“No need to change.”
Bai Tao’s eyes lit up. She was very beautiful. Because she had just run, her fair face had turned rosy, her lips are red, teeth white, and her eyes shined like stars. She stared intently at Pei Shi and asked, “Are you saying that I meet all your standards?”
“No,” Pei Shi lowered his gaze, “You don’t meet any of my criteria, so there’s no need for you to change.”
“…” No longer worried about the dog, Bai Tao regained her courage, “So, what type do you like?”
This time Pei Shi looked up and gave Bai Tao a slight smile, “I like someone who likes dogs.”
He glanced at her again, “Also, my first criterion for choosing a partner is that my dog must like them before I even consider liking them.”
It seems like you are actually a dog.
In the end, Bai Tao was “kindly escorted” out of the Pei residence with the megaphone. On her way back to school, Bai Tao felt like a dead dog, deflated and dispirited. Yu Guo tried several times to ask her what happened, but Bach Dao’s deadly glare stopped her.
“Don’t ask unless you’re seeking death.”
What Bai Tao didn’t expect was that worse news was coming. That night, a video of her passionate confession at Pei Shi’s villa was trending on the school forum.
Originally, her failed confession was a secret known only to her. But now, the entire school knew about it…
“Now I know why celebrities hate malicious editing. Why did they only clip the part where I was confessing? They didn’t even include the part where I was chased by a dog! I look so humiliating and pathetic!”
Bai Tao was sobbing under the covers, feeling like she couldn’t face the light of day. “Yu Guo, are you really my friend? Didn’t you say Pei Shi’s parents and sister Pei Fei would not be home?”
As Du Qua handed her a tissue, she nervously explained, “I didn’t lie. They weren’t home… I just didn’t expect he would invite friends over for his birthday.”
“Moreover, it’s clearly your fault. If you’re pursuing Pei Shi, how can you not even know his birthday?”
Bai Tao threw off the covers, “Am I pursuing him? I’m doing this to be his sister’s nemesis! Isn’t it all because of that little wench Pei Fei?”
Mentioning Pei Fei made her even angrier. “If not for her, would I even bother with her stupid brother?”
Yu Guo tried to console her, “Why not let it go? Her brother seems hard to deal with.”
“How could I let it go!” Bai Tao angrily pointed to her face recalling a past incident, “On April 12th, at 3:12 PM, in room 203, she slapped me! This is a a disgrace.”
The two girls had a deep-rooted rivalry, stemming from their families’ equal status in Dung city. They were always compared: who wore better clothes, who attended grander events like the Le Bal des Débutantes, whose grades were better, and who was more popular.
Pei Fei was beautiful, but when compared to Bai Tao, she paled in comparison. This rivalry escalated when all the boys Pei Fei liked also developed feelings for Bai Tao. Although Bai Tao never reciprocated their feelings, Pei Fei assumed Bao Tai was the home wrecker whenever she was betrayed.
Recalling a past scene, Yu Guo commented on how Bai Tao had painted Bai Tao green in retaliation, which took her three days to wash off.
Bai Tao was not a person who held grudges, but she couldn’t stand losing face. “Anyway, she messed with me, so I’ll mess with her brother.”
And with that, she declared her ambition: “Once I have Pei Shi, what can Bui Phi do? She’ll have to respectfully call me ‘sister-in-law’ and serve me.”
Yu Guo reminded her, “But that’s if you can get Pei Shi. He seems tough.”
Bai Tao sat up, “What do you know? Lu Xun once said, there are only two types of men in the world: those who like beauties, and those who still like beauties. Am I beautiful? Yes!”
“In short, if someone is hard to deal with, just try harder. If one method doesn’t work, switch to another.”
“I think I should switch to Plan B. Pei Shi probably prefers a softer approach.”
Then Bai Tao lay down again and pulled up her covers, “Turn off the lights.”
“Why?”
“I want to sleep.”
Yu Guo looked at her watch, “It’s only 10 PM, the night is young!”
“No, a great person once said, those who go to bed late won’t have a partner.”
“Who said that?”
“Lu Xun.”
“Did Lu Xun really say all these things?!”
[…] Peach Oolong Tea Chapter 1 […]