Lin Zhenzhen took the knife and fork from the maid, slowly poked a hole in the soft-boiled egg on the plate, and raised an eyebrow to ask him, "What happened to your knee?"

Tan Bei looked up, revealing a pair of clear and bright eyes.

He forced a smile and said, "Little sister, this is because you accidentally lost the leash when you were walking the dog last week, and I got bitten by the dog."

Lin Zhenzhen paused for a second, then picked up a handkerchief and gently wiped her mouth, continuing casually, "Oh, and your right hand?"

The butler standing to the side coughed lightly and stepped forward, bowing slightly: "Miss, he just came back from weeding in the garden."

The garden of the Ning family manor covers thousands of acres. If Tan Bei were to weed it alone, it would take at least three hours.

It's only a little past eight o'clock now, which means he has to get up before dawn.

Lin Zhenzhen took a sip of milk and feigned surprise, saying, "Oh, I see. That must be very tiring."

She scrambled her steak across the plate with a loud crunch: "Have you had breakfast?"

Tan Bei lowered his eyes and looked at her across the long table: "The Ning family doesn't serve breakfast. That's what you told me on my first day here."

Ning Zhen practiced dance from a young age, and in order to pursue an extremely slender figure, she started a one-meal-a-day diet during her adolescence.

But even if she doesn't eat, everyone else still has to eat at the appointed time.

The claim that the Ning family didn't have breakfast was probably just an excuse the original owner used to make things difficult for Tan Bei.

The poor little brat who is neither loved by his father nor his mother—if Lin Zhenzhen hadn't seen the later plot, she might have actually felt a little pity for Tan Bei.

"I've changed my mind. Starting today, I'll eat five meals a day: breakfast, lunch, dinner, afternoon tea, and midnight snack."

Tan Bei's eyes remained calm, as if he had grown accustomed to Ning Zhen's unpredictable moods.

Lin Zhenzhen continued, "You can have whatever I leave behind. I hate wasting food, so you'd better finish it all, even if it's just the Ning family's dog."

She squinted slightly, revealing a bright smile, her face gleaming in the sunlight: "I always have to do something for my family."

Everyone's eyes swept over the densely packed dishes on the table. Ning Zhen only touched the small piece in front of her; the rest were intact.

Seeing that Tan Bei was looking at her and hadn't moved for a long time, Lin Zhenzhen's face fell and she sneered, "Brother Tan Bei, do you not want to eat my leftovers?"

Tan Bei smiled and said, "Of course not, but I need to hurry, or I'll be late for school."

[Ding dong! Ning Zhen's character attributes: Spoiled and willful progress +5, current attribute progress 70/100, comment: Looks like cannon fodder]

Contrary to expectations, his eyes were as calm as a deep spring, and even Lin Zhenzhen couldn't discern his true emotions for a moment.

According to the plot outline and character design, the male protagonist, who has just come of age, should not be able to keep his emotions in check, even though he already has his own strength.

The system popped up: [Um, the characters in the Honkai Impact 3rd world might develop self-awareness, and the plot might deviate slightly from the main storyline, so I couldn't answer your question about where the story is from the beginning.]

Tsk, this is really tricky.

Lin Zhenzhen took the warm towel handed to her by the housekeeper, wiped her fingers clean one by one, and left on tiptoe like a noble cat.

"I feel like the young lady is acting a little strange today."

"I was saying the same thing, suddenly making us eat breakfast so early in the morning, isn't this just a way of making things difficult for us?"

"Sigh, hasn't she always been like this?"

At the dining table, Tan Bei bent over and wolfed down his food, stuffing the still-steaming xiaolongbao into his mouth.

A teenager's stomach is like a bottomless pit, and with his huge daily exercise, he could eat a whole cow if he were given to him now.

After quickly finishing breakfast, he felt much better and got up to go to the garage to head to school.

The black Bentley stood imposingly across the entrance, blocking Tan Bei's way. He could see from afar that his bicycle had been cut into pieces and thrown into a trash can.

The car window slowly rolled down, revealing half of Ning Zhen's face: "Stop babbling, get in the car."

After hesitating for a moment, Tan Bei opened the back door and got in.

The two were only a few months apart in age. After Tanbei's mother moved into the Ning family home, he also transferred to the Department of Business Administration at Sacred Heart International College.

More than three months into the school year, this was the first time the two had gone to school together. Normally, Ningzhen would always avoid him, repeatedly telling him to keep his distance from her at school.

Tan Bei turned his head to look at the person next to him. The girl was wearing wireless headphones and looking out the window with an indifferent look in her eyes, as if she didn't care about him at all.

Just as he was about to look away, Ning Zhen suddenly spoke up: "From now on, you'll ride the bus with me to and from school."

Tan Bei was stunned; he didn't understand why Ning Zhen would do this.

The next second she complained, "The old man said I'm abusing you, it's so annoying."

Yes, that's right. He was wondering how the arrogant and domineering young lady could suddenly change her personality.

"good."

After those few words, the two did not exchange any more words. The car drove smoothly all the way to the gate of Sacred Heart Academy, when Ning Zhen, who had been pretending to doze off, suddenly spoke up.

"parking!"

Tan Bei didn't look at her, and picked up his schoolbag and opened the car door on his own.

He knew she definitely didn't want people at school to see him coming to school with her, so he wisely decided to get off the bus first outside the school gate.

Unexpectedly, Ning Zhen was faster than her. She suddenly pushed open the car door and rushed towards the figure not far away.

"Brother Bai!" The girl moved with the agility of a little bird.

The boy was wearing a crisp school uniform, with a red and gold embroidered armband on his left shoulder and a black and gray brimmed hat.

Upon seeing Ning Zhen, he frowned almost imperceptibly, then stepped down from his post as a campus supervisor.

"Ning Zhen, your attire is inappropriate; your skirt is too short."

Lin Zhenzhen stretched out two fingers and tugged at Bai Qingfeng's sleeve, smiling like a triumphant little fox.

"I'm a college student, can't I wear the clothes I like? Besides, if I dressed properly, why would you even talk to me?"

She smiled sweetly, her long, straight legs beneath her short skirt gleaming white in the light.

The scene was somewhat jarring, like a feather gently brushing against Tanbei's nose.

He walked into the school with a shoulder bag slung over his shoulder and eyes fixed straight ahead.