Chapter 28 Part 2

Qiao Qiao’s relentless ribbing had toughened Zhu Lexing up; barbs like that barely registered anymore. Song Yingying had the stack mostly sorted, so Zhu Lexing grabbed two-thirds of it and tossed out casually, “If she likes me, that’s all the more reason she shouldn’t film any TV drama.”

The student fell quiet at last.

Out in the hall, Zhu Lexing walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Song Yingying.

Towering a head above her companion, and finally alone together, Zhu Lexing cut straight to it. “What was going on with you this morning? You sick?”

Song Yingying furrowed her brow. “Just a headache. No fever, though.”

Zhu Lexing nodded firmly. “…If something’s wrong, see the doctor. Don’t let it fester.”

With humanity’s six genders, Zhu Lexing still grappled with understanding human biology even now. But consulting a doctor beat doom-scrolling symptoms online and self-diagnosing some cyber-grave illness by a mile.

Song Yingying nodded.

The office looked just as it had last time, save for the stack of art exam prep books now crowding the homeroom teachers’ desks. Zhu Lexing glanced over; every title screamed “Art Exam.”

Song Yingying dropped off the homework, and the two turned toward the cafeteria—only for Zhu Xing to hail Zhu Lexing.

She told Song Yingying to go on ahead and planted herself in front of Zhu Xing. He hemmed and hawed for a few seconds before asking, “Does Yan Mian… want to join a shoot? Not the TV drama—a short film the school is making.”

Zhu Lexing felt like “filming” had haunted her all day.

She shot back, “Why not ask Yan Mian herself?”

Zhu Lexing figured she’d been on her best behavior lately, embracing her Silence is Golden vibe. She shouldn’t come across as that intimidating.

Or maybe she did—and that’s why everyone kept dragging her into this?

Lost in thought, Zhu Lexing barely registered Zhu Xing’s straightforward reply: “The school wants you and Yan Mian both on camera. She’s got that gentle personality, so… we figured we’d check with you first.”

Zhu Lexing got the picture. They still pegged her as the wild card.

And if she was the wild card? Time to play the part.

She said bluntly, “I’m not interested in being on camera. But if you need someone to handle the filming, feel free to come find me again.”

Zhu Xing didn’t seem thrilled by the idea, but he nodded anyway and said he’d think about it.

Zhu Lexing couldn’t be bothered with him and headed straight to the cafeteria with Song Yingying.

No. 1 High School didn’t skimp on the food for anyone, but the cafeteria had three floors, and the third was still reserved exclusively for Flying Class—with a much nicer atmosphere to boot.

In the past, Qiao Qiao and Xu He never came to the cafeteria, but after getting chummy with the group, they’d ditched their old habits and started grabbing seats on the third floor for the two girls without being asked.

Qiao Qiao was too recognizable for anyone to pick a fight with her, even if they spotted her.

Xu He played the role of mascot perfectly—chummy with everyone, able to strike up a conversation with just about anybody. The two of them occasionally bumped into Yan Mian here as well. Even though neither she nor Zhu Lexing were in Flying Class, a certain stage play had tied them all together, so no one batted an eye at the sight.

Li Nian stuck close to Yan Mian’s side, while Shi Ruofeng kept her distance, tray in hand, silently watching the pair.

Today was no different.

Xu He mulled it over for a few seconds before saying, “Doesn’t Shi Ruofeng look like a total third wheel?”

Qiao Qiao flashed back to a few months earlier, when she’d caught Yan Mian and Shi Ruofeng chatting in private. It had only dawned on her later that Li Nian might’ve been the topic that day.

But judging by the current scene, whatever they’d discussed hadn’t done much good.

“Being Mr. Nice Guy to everybody just won’t cut it,” Qiao Qiao said.

Xu He stirred her rice idly with her spoon. “Did Zhu Lexing trip or something on the way? She’s still not here—”

Just then, Yan Mian spotted them. She hesitated for a beat before waving hello.

Xu He beamed and called out, “Join us, Mianmian—”

“She’s already eating with me!” Li Nian shot back.

“You’re with her every single day,” Xu He retorted. “What’s the harm in her grabbing a bite with me once in a while? Mianmian belongs to all of us—”

Li Nian opened her mouth to reply, but a sudden uproar erupted behind her.

She whipped around to find Shi Ruofeng standing just a few feet away, soup dripping from her hair and the back of her shirt soaked through.

A boy in a Senior Year 3 uniform stood in front of her, hurling his empty tray to the floor with a sneer. “Just looking at you makes me sick.”

Qiao Qiao recognized him instantly: Shi Song, one of Shi Ruofeng’s older brothers. He’d just skyrocketed to fame after crushing the competition on a survival variety show, then landed a lead role in a drama as the ultimate “warm-hearted school heartthrob.”

In Shi Ling’s eyes, he was the apple of the family’s eye, the prized eldest legitimate son. Shi Song saw himself the same way—the one and only heir to the Shi Family—and he had zero patience for his younger siblings, especially Shi Ruofeng, whom he downright loathed.

In seconds flat, Li Nian and Xu He had rushed to Shi Ruofeng’s side. Li Nian whipped off her jacket to drape over her, while Xu He laid into the guy: “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Their exchange was seamless, like they’d rehearsed it a thousand times.

Qiao Qiao couldn’t help thinking: Anyone who knows better would realize this is school. Everyone else would swear it’s a gang showdown.

She glanced at Yan Mian, who was frowning, let out a long sigh, and rose to her feet anyway—though inwardly, she wondered:

Where the heck is Zhu Lexing?

“Hey,” Qiao Qiao said. “How’s it that the real creep’s always the one throwing ‘sick’ around at everyone else? Isn’t that right, Shi Song?”

Shi Song recognized her and scowled. “This is Shi Family business. What does it have to do with you?”

Without missing a beat, Qiao Qiao whipped out her phone and hit record. “Take a good look, folks—this is how the young master’s campus bullying goes down. Right in front of so—many people—”

She made sure to pan across the growing crowd of onlookers. Shi Song’s scowl deepened, and he lunged for her phone.

“Teacher’s coming—”

Chaos erupted as someone yelled. Shi Song froze for a split second. Qiao Qiao drove her knee into his gut, snatching her phone back before he could react. She caught sight of the figure behind him, arched an eyebrow, and backed up a few steps.

Another bowl of soup came raining down from above.

Shi Song looked up in shock. Zhu Lexing stood a short distance away, waving emphatically backward without hesitation. “Dean! Over here!”

She looked every bit the model student reporting a brawl.

But anyone with eyes could see the tray right by her hand—who’d dumped that soup was plain as day.

Qiao Qiao was still catching up when Xu He wheeled on her. “Why’d you pick a fight with him? He’s nuts, and now you’re acting nuts too?”

“Didn’t you tell me this morning that I’m seriously ill?” Qiao Qiao replied. “Anyway, I was just getting evidence on video, not throwing down.”

Xu He fumed. “You know damn well. You’ve got dancing coming up—what if you hurt your leg?”

The Dean of Students had arrived by then. One look at the group, and their face turned thunderous. With a wave, they ordered everyone to the Guidance Office.

Qiao Qiao trailed along behind, drawling casually, “Breaking it would be just fine.”

Xu He blinked. “Huh?”

“I said Shi Song’s the one who’s sick,” Qiao Qiao clarified.

The whole way there, Shi Song bored holes into the back of Zhu Lexing’s head with his death glare.

Zhu Lexing shot a cold glance over her shoulder. Shi Song switched to glaring at Shi Ruofeng instead. Before they even reached the Guidance Office, he spoke up. “This is between me and my sister. We can handle it privately.”

“Oh yeah?” Qiao Qiao said. “When you were calling Shi Ruofeng ‘sick,’ you didn’t seem to remember she was your sister. Now that you’ve thrown punches, you wanna bail?”

“I didn’t hit anyone!” Shi Song snapped furiously. “Qiao Qiao, don’t you dare—”

But Qiao Qiao was already staggering backward. “Don’t believe me? Get it checked at the hospital. I’ve got the video right here. You look like you can’t wait for me to post it and show the world your ugly mug. Perfect—time to let your fans see exactly what kind of trash they’ve been bankrolling with their hard-earned cash.”

The Dean of Students cut in hurriedly. “We’ll sort this out nice and slow. Qiao Qiao, you—”

“Shi Ruofeng hasn’t even said a word yet,” Zhu Lexing interjected. “So why are you in such a rush?”

She was staring straight at Shi Song, but the jab felt aimed squarely at the dean, whose expression soured noticeably.

Zhu Lexing recalled the identity of Shi Song that the System had just introduced to her.

He was only in Senior Year 3, yet not long ago he had gained a bit of fame from starring in a web drama. Lately, he was riding that momentum to climb even higher. Rumors constantly swirled online that he had bought his way into the production, and the original male second lead role had not been meant for him.

Because powerful backers were propping him up, those rumors were swiftly scrubbed from the internet. Zhu Lexing knew, however, that it had to be the Shi Family’s doing.

The Lin Family had claimed they were reducing the debt by ten percent, but in truth, they had simply handed over a sum of money to the Shi Family.

Now it was clear: they had used that cash to give Shi Song a boost. After all, he was their firstborn son. They were using the money from selling off their daughter to make their son shine—even returning to school for filming, all to put on a dazzling show.