New Couple On Campus!

Hao Sheng groaned.

Did he ever mention how he absolutely hated having to wake up at such an ungodly hour to have to go to learn, of all things?! If he hadn't, this was his chance. He absolutely hated it.

To make matters worse, he had to take a taxi to school. A public transport! The one thing that could have made this experience of forced hell, was having his own car. Taxi's were severely limiting. And expensive!

Just then, he heard a knock at his door.

He sighed and went to the door. He checked through the peephole and found a deliveryman of sorts standing outside.

He didn't remember ordering anything…

Oh well. Maybe it was a blessing waiting for him in disguise. If it wasn't he could just beat up the guy.

He opened the door with a charming smile.

"Uhm, can I help you sir?" he asked, silently picking up the bat he had hidden behind the door.

The delivery guy smiled shyly. "Oh, uhm, sorry to bother you so early. Your, uhm, car has been delivered", he said, handing him a clipboard with some papers. "You just need to sign at the line at the bottom page and then things will be sorted".

Car? Was this some sort of joke? He was just lamenting his not owning one and then suddenly one falls into his lap. He couldn't help but think that was suspicious.

Hao Sheng signed the papers sceptically.

The deliveryman bowed and handed him the keys as he took back the clipboard.

"Thank you for your patronage sir" he said, then he was gone.

Hao Sheng closed the door and looked down at the key's in his hand. Was the car a trap? Was there a bomb or some bugs placed in it.

'333, by any chance, did the system arrange a car for me?'

[No host. The system would do no such thing. It is a fair and just system and there is no way there would be such foul play. To get a car, you would need to use point. Which you do not have.]

Hao Sheng rolled his eyes.

'Geez, okay, I get it. You didn't need to say it like that.'

This didn't make any sense at all. Maybe it was gift from the Malakai? But no, was his affection even at that stage yet? Besides, if it was gift, the delivery guy would have said so. His manner of speech suggested that this car was for him and that he had placed the order.

Just as Hao Sheng stated contemplating all the possibilities, his phone rang. It was the original owner's father. This was the first time he was going to make contact with him since he transmigrated. This was bound to happen soon either way so Hao Sheng had already prepared a few excuses in advance in case his cover was blown.

"Hello?" he said tentatively.

"Ah Sheng Sheng, my boy! How have you been?" a jovial voice came through. Looks like the original owner and his father had a relatively good relationship. Realising this, Hao Sheng changed his approach.

"I'm good dad. Thank you. How have you been?" Hao Sheng perceived that the original Hao Sheng was a shy but kind person. So if he was close to his father, he wouldn't call him something outrageous like 'old man' or something as distant as 'father', so 'dad' was a safe choice.

"Good, good" Looks like he passed.

"Anyway, did it get there yet? The company told me it should be getting there this morning before you have to go to school".

Hao Sheng was confused for a second.

"Get here?"

"Your car silly. I know you wanted it sooner but there were a lot of red tape issues from importing a car so it was slightly delayed. But it should have arrived or be arriving soon".

That's when Hao Sheng realised. That must mean the car was actually the original owner's.

"Oh yes my car! Yes, it just arrived. Sorry, I'm a little slow this morning. I think I haven't woken up fully yet", Hao Sheng said with an awkward laugh.

The original owner's father didn't seem to find it weird. "Still not a morning person huh?" he said with a boisterous laugh. "Well, let me not take up too much of your time, don't be late for school'.

"I won't".

"Haha, okay. We'll talk another time". With that he hung up.

Hao Sheng looked down at his phone in disbelief. Well that solved the mystery of the car. Looks like it was nothing bad after all.

He pumped his fist into the air.

Jackpot!

What kind of shitty luck was this? Ask and you'll be given for real huh? Is this what they call a protagonist's halo. That was amazing.

He check the time and realised he was running late. With a curse he picked up his bag from where he had discarded it on the sofa and ran to the kitchen, grabbing his lunch bag and his usual morning coffee. After making sure he rounded up everything, he locked the apartment and went downstairs to the parking garage.

The feeling of getting off a floor lower was still a bit foreign to him but he was glad he didn't have to wait outside for a stupid taxi to come pick him up. Now he could officially drive!

Since he didn't know which one his car was, he just walked around clicking the unlock mechanism on the key until he finally heard a click.

He turned to find a silver Audi R8 and he whistled. He didn't know much about car but could appreciate a good looking car when he saw one. Looks like the previous owner had really good taste.

Hao Sheng opened the door and put his bags down on the passenger seat. He massaged the steering wheel with a pleased hum.

"Looks like you're going to be mine now girl. Don't worry, I'll take good care of you" he said with a smile.

The silver car then pulled out of the apartment building and made its way through traffic to a particular school.

Hao Sheng finally got to school and was walking through the hallways in a relatively good mood. As expected. Driving yourself places really was the best.

Well, that wasn't the only reason he was happy. As he passed by, he heard people whisper and gossip about something. Although he couldn't exactly make out what was being said, from the few keywords he caught, he could guess what all the fuss was about.

Looks like things were going according to plan.

Hao Sheng silently encourage them in his heart. The more they talked, the quicker things would spread and soon his intended target would get the news.

He went to his locker and changed his books and put away his lunch.

Just as he closed his locker, he heard his name being called out from down the hall. Luxia ran to him looking frantic. Looks like he had to start working soon.

"Well good morning" Hao Sheng greeted.

"There's no time for that! Something happened!" Luxia tells him. Ever the dutiful and clueless friend, Hao Sheng looked confused and worried.

"What is it? Is it bad?" he asked, concern coating his voice and every feature.

As they talked whispers rose up from around them. Seeming to realise they were drawing a crowd, Luxia lowered her voice.

"I think we should take this elsewhere" Luxia said, silently looking around.

Hao Sheng nod to show that he understood and they both left.

***

On another side of the school was another boy who seemed to be in a good mood.

Malakai had woken up in a good mood today and just couldn't wait to go to school again. He had even gotten here early, in his excitement.

He was so high up in the clouds that he didn't notice the different atmosphere at school today. He couldn't seem to see the multiple people with their phones out, seeming to be discussing something heatedly.

He walked around school not really looking for something, or someone, in particular. He just seemed to be taking a stroll, stretching his legs.

Soon classes started and things calmed down somewhat.

The periods flew by and soon it was lunch.

Malakai practically flew out of his seat and made his way to the lunch table he had taken to sitting at lately. Half-way there, he decided to slow down. He didn't want to come off as desperate after all.

Not that he was…

He was just… glad to finally have people he could sit with and genuinely enjoy their company. Yeah that's what it was. He like hanging out with both parties, not just specifically one party. He liked Luxia too.

Malakai didn't even notice that he had indirectly admitted to having a bit of interest in Hao Sheng…

Malakai turned the corner and saw the two familiar face and… another familiar face? Sitting next to Luxia was another girl that he was well acquainted with. It's just that he would have never expected to see her here.

Malakai went over and sat down. "Ling Xing?" he asked as he looked at the girl next to Luxia.

Luxia immediately lit up. "Oh you guys already know each other? Guess we can now forego the introductions".

Ling Xing laughed. "Yes we do. We hang around the same circle so we have seen each other a lot" she said a bit, dare he say, fondly?

Was there something he was missing? Was it just his imagination or were there pink bubbles and hearts floating behind them?

"Sickening isn't it?" Hao Sheng asked, moving slightly closer to him.

"Thank god you came. They've been making me third wheel this whole time" Hao Sheng with an exaggerated sigh.

Malakai smiled. "Oh, I see~ So it was like that".

Luxia rolled her eyes. "We can hear you, you know?" she said dryly.

"Really? I thought you were too caught up with your new friend to give me any attention" Hao Sheng retorted.

Luxia placed her hand on Hao Sheng's arm. "Come on, my love. You know there is no one more important to me that you, in my life~" she said dramatically.

Hao Sheng shrugged. "Well if you say so… Honestly you're like way down on the list but I'm glad you appreciate me this much" Hao Sheng said with a smirk.

Luxia narrowed her eyes and gave him a stink eye.

Ling Xing smiled softly as she watched their interaction. "Their friendship is very wholesome isn't it?" she asked Malakai.

Malakai smiled. "Yes it is."

"If I didn't know better I would have believed they were dating-" Ling Xing cut off with wide eyes. "Oops. I said something I shouldn't have. Ignore that last comment".

Malakai looked at her weirdly. "There's nothing really wrong with you said. At first, I also thought there was something going on between them" he said trying to comfort her.

Ling Xing gave him a weird look but didn't say anything more on the subject. The rest of the lunch break flew by with no other weird occurrences and soon the group separated and went to their respective classes.

The day flew by and soon it was afterschool.

Malakai made his way down the hallway, out the main building. Maybe because it he was tired and drained from a long day at school, he finally started noticing something weird about his surroundings.

He saw a lot of people whispering amongst themselves, gossiping probably. What a bunch of children. There must have been some of new gossip lately or something. They really were a peanut gallery.

Malakai turned a way, intending to ignore them, but he still hear bits and pieces as he passed by.

"OMG their so cute"

"Did you see them this morning?"

"…Luxia…Hao Sheng…"

The gossip concerned Hao Sheng and Luxia? Now Malakai was slightly interested. He looked around and picked his target. He fixed his hair and put on his most charming smile and approached a group of girls.

"Hello ladies" he said.

The girls stopped talking as soon as they noticed him. More than that, they looked like they stopped breathing completely.

"Mind if I ask what you guys are talking about?" he asked, leaning a bit closer to them.

The girls looked at him and stammered a reply.

One girl however was able to come down enough for her to be slightly coherent.

"Oh, uhm, w-we are, uhm, looking at the s-school of-icial school g-gossip column." She stammered out.

Malakai having gotten the information he needed left with a final goodbye to the girls.

He got into the car and immediately pulled up the popular school site.

There was a new post under the blog.

'NEW COUPLE ON CAMPUS?!'

The title made him feel slightly uneasy but as he kept reading the actual article, his heart plummeted.

'NEW COUPLE ON CAMPUS!'

'Saturday, there was the usual party at Mike's place that we are accustomed to seeing but this time something special was seen. Amongst the usual revelries that happen, our school welcomed the birth of a new couple.

Students claim to have seen them together being intimate on this night. See pictures below for more information. The two were in a quiet corner when they were spotted.

After some investigation, it was found that the people caught were our very new boy, Hao Sheng, and our very own Luxia. They were seen kissing and hugging as seen in pictures and seemed to have a relatively fun dynamic between them.

Will this couple last or will they soon break up? Comment your thoughts on them.'

-----

The article ended there. Below it were several pictures of Luxia and Hao Sheng from the night of the party. In one they were hugging. In another, Hao Sheng was kissing Luxia's forehead. In another they seemed to be coming down the upstairs and Luxia's outfit looked a bit messy...

Malakai threw his phone onto the seat and put the heels of his palm to his eyes. He felt the corners of his eyes prick with tears.

Just… what was this?