1.3 – Milk Tea – Crimson Academy

╔════ Author's note ═════╗

Remember, MC's not the knows it all type, (for now) her assumptions are not always correct.

╚═══════════════════╝

Behind the main gates, a Chauffeur was waiting for Olivia. "Miss Olivia," greeting her politely, he opened the door of the car for her.

Bing Shi nodded at him and went inside the black sedan.

· · ─── · ⊱❈⊰· ─── · ·

The time Bing Shi arrived at LéCaffe was between breakfast and lunchtime — the time when it was the least crowded. She chose a table with two seats by the entrance. Sitting down, she accessed the interior design of LéCaffe.

░They sure made it look luxurious by adding loads of gold everywhere.░

❝I'm planning to ask Mark to come. Do you think he will come?❞

❰I don't know Host.❱

░I'll have to get him here somehow.░

Going through the menu, Bing Shi ordered herself some milk tea and a velvet cupcake. Before the payment, she called her sister while examining the shop that started to cram up, "Grace? Hi, I forgot my wallet at home. Could you give it to the chauffeur for me, please?"

"How could you forget your wallet?! Where did you put it!?" Grace asked while walking to Olivia's bedroom.

At the same time, Bing Shi sent Mark a double-meaning message.

Olivia Bacchus: Are you by any chance near LéCaffe? Someone wants to break her engagement here. It's not going good. I feel like getting wasted. In need of a company.

❝System, could you make the ringtone extra loud and long?❞

❰Yes.❱

Bing Shi imagined her room and spoke out random spots, "Desk table."

Grace walked towards her sister's desk, "Not here."

Olivia used to be a gentle young lady, cheerful and lively. Like an older sister, she always treated the capture targets like her little brothers, it wasn't difficult to charm two or more boys. Her behavior changed when the news of her engagement spread out, she started to distance herself from the boys, the liveliness disappeared, and what replaced it was a frivolous woman with a very questioning reputation of going to parties and wasting her youth away. It quickly caused her engagement to be called off, her prospect of finding a man became zero. And that's how the first daughter of Bacchus family met her fall, followed by the second daughter soon after.

Due to Grace's interference, Olivia Bacchus ended up happily married to her fiance.

"Under the table?"

"Not here."

"On the bed?"

"Not here."

"Under the bed?"

"Not here."

"A couch?"

Grace's mood turned sour, "Not. Here. Either." Remembering her purpose, she sighed, "I'll come." Her sister was such an airhead. She sighed again.

"Thank you! You are the best! I am going to order a treat for you, so could you hurry up please?"

"You!"

After a while, Grace arrived.

"I am here," Olivia waved at Grace, sliding a plate with a cupcake before Grace, "The last one, just for you."

Grace opened the wrapper of the cupcake and took her spoon to scoop a bite, "Mm... it's good."

Olivia grinned at her sister and took a sip of the milk tea, "Sweet food is good medicine for heartbreak. You are still young, don't lose yourself over somebody else."

Hearing Olivia mentioning Xavier, Grace raised her voice with annoyance, "Who would love a bastard like him!?"

Olivia laughed out, "You are overreacting, sister. I didn't even mention his name. Besides, everyone loves him. You don't usually find a combo of handsomeness, mysteriousness, and affluence in one package."

Grace didn't retaliate; she puffed her cheeks and continued eating in a bad mood.

❰Host, Second male lead is almost here.❱

░He really took the hook! ░

"I am going to the toilet, had too much milk tea," said Olivia urgently, standing up, she rushed to the toilets.

A few girls noticed a young man standing in front of the store; they nudged their friends and pointed in his direction. From his look, one could tell that he was going to be a handsome man in the future. There was still some water dripping down his light brown hair, which looked like that he just ran out of the shower. And those lively green eyes, without even trying, they had captured many young maidens' hearts.

Like a chain reaction, every girl started hyperventilating, while whispering to each other, their burning gaze never left the handsome man. "Oh my god, is he a celebrity? He is so hot! Does he have a girlfriend?" Their whispers became louder and louder until it became a commotion.

░Olivia Bacchus was a good bet. It's more comfortable with a personality similar to mine.░

Luckily, the Bacchus family was only business-oriented. They were not aristocrats. Bing Shi knew nothing about royal etiquette. Olivia was among the few who weren't affected by the capture targets, simply because they were her childhood friends, and she already had a prearranged fiance. Bing Shi would have to choose someone else if Olivia acted similarly to those girls.

░I am not an actress. I would OOC too easily!░

Mark looked up at the logo of the cafe then stepped inside. When he saw the group of women, he took a step back, wanting to leave.

"So loud..." Grace whispered to herself, but somehow Mark heard her voice, he turned in her direction.

Mark smirked in ridicule, "Like you whenever you see Xavier?" He took a seat opposite his childhood friend. Grace was here, which meant her older sister should be here too.

"I've already asked my parents to break my engagement with Xavier," said Grace with irritation, not looking at him once. Her insides were boiling. How could she change herself when everyone was trying to annoy her!? Unable to break the engagement in the morning, her sister a while ago, and now this?!

"Sure, sure...What are you plotting Grace? Did you find a new way to seduce a man?"

Grace's nostrils widened from taking a deep breath, "What do you mean, who is seducing who?"

"Give up already. Whatever you do, Xavier will never notice you."

"Shut up! You are getting on my nerves!" Grace shouted at him. She stood up, took Olivia's milk tea, and poured the whole content on Mark's head.

░I didn't plan this... My milk tea, you were well sacrificed.░ Bing Shi rubbed her fake tears.

Everyone gasped in shock. Then, the whole cafe went silent. Mark froze, too stunned to move.

❰Hidden quest: Make Grace kiss someone else besides Xavier.❱

░No way!░

░This one, I'll skip. A girl's first kiss is a serious matter!░

░I didn't even finish my first quest...░

Grace was shocked too. She thought she had her emotions under control. But she burst out without thinking again. 'Calm down, calm down,' she repeated to herself. While taking a deep breath, she took out all the paper money from her purse. There wasn't much, she usually used her credit card, "Here, money for the cleaning service, if it's not enough, call my family." She stood up and went to pay for Olivia's part too, leaving the flabbergasted Mark behind.

"Are we going home already?" asked Bing Shi, appearing out of nowhere.

Grace shrieked at Olivia, "You! It's all your fault! I wouldn't be here if you didn't forget your stupid wallet!"

· · ─── · ⊱❈⊰· ─── · ·

Mark was slowly recovering from the frozen state. He looked at the money on the table, grabbing them, he crushed them hard. Because he was Xavier's best friend, Grace always treated him with regard to her fiance. 'Grace... You just wait... don't think you'll get out unscratched...' Nobody had ever treated him like that!

A waitress grabbed a chance and handed Mark a towel, "Sir, do you need a towel? You can also use the shower for staff."

"Thank you," Mark gave her a grateful smile.

"What a flirtatious wet chicken."

"You!" Mark turned to the voice. He saw two girls leaving the cafe. The voice came out of one of them. It was Grace and the other one should be her sister, he immediately stood up, "Olivia!"

Bing Shi realized that he was calling out to her and turned around, "We're going to the airport. Do you need a lift?"

"I'm never sitting in the same car as him!" Grace protested.

"Fine by me?" Bing Shi teased her little sister and glanced at Mark, "Can I get a lift?"

"Of course," remembering how Olivia needed some company, Mark crushed the money in his hand harder. Did Grace ever realize that her sister was going through a tough time with her arranged marriage too?

"Olivia! Your reputation!" Grace followed after the both of them, "You can't just get into a random male's car alone," she pointed at Mark, "And you stop following my sister! You stalker! Don't you know that she already got a fiance?!"

"Who's a stalker?! I was just passing by!" The stalker accusations shot through Mark's ego. He looked oddly at Grace. Since when did that girl become so protective over her family? Grace was always so full of herself and her obsession with Xavier knew no limits.

Bing Shi observed their bickering. Grace remembered how Mark took a part in her family's bankruptcy. Of course she would be wary around him.

░At first, I thought of avoiding the male leads at all costs. ░

░But am I not already their childhood friend?░

░There are business banquets, birthday parties, school, and etcetera.░

░I can't avoid them forever, but I can at least switch the focus from me to Grace.░