[Someone’s here. I’ll be there.]
Then she shoved the phone deep into the bag in her arms.
…
Left alone, even the tips of Shen Yi’s cold, elegant brows were tinged with gloom.
Her slender fingers pulled out a slim cigarette and lit it casually, yet she only squinted, staring at the white smoke as it swirled upward.
Someone was coming.
Shen Ruoshuang?
That youngest daughter of the Bai family who was monitoring her movements?
“Handle the surveillance matter tomorrow night.”
Her red lips moved slightly, issuing her usual cold and stern command.
.
Xu Yinian had no idea that Ji Yan’s casual remark about “accompanying her to the class meeting” was actually serious.
It was currently the peak time for evening classes, and the two of them walked through the teaching building, one behind the other.
Xu Yinian felt as though she had never been the center of attention as much as she was at this very moment.
The black mask obscured most of her sharply defined, stunning features, leaving only a pair of cold, damp obsidian eyes visible, yet it only served to make her look more languid and unrestrained.
She looked like a superstar walking through an airport.
Ji Yan was being downright wicked. Knowing that Xu Yinian didn’t want anyone to see her weakness, she stubbornly pestered her, forcing her to beg in that soft, sweet, and bashful voice.
She had just sat down casually in the hallway outside the classroom, where she could see Xu Yinian’s soft, fair profile as she sat obediently by the window, just as they had agreed.
Knowing Ji Yan was right outside, she didn’t even dare let her gaze drift in this direction.
The corners of Ji Yan’s mouth curled up. She was just about to send a WeChat message to tease her when she saw a message from Lu Zhou.
[Are you sure you’re not coming? Watching that crazy woman put on a performance—if you didn’t know better, you’d think the Bai family was breaking into the entertainment industry.]
She let out a sneer. Did they have any idea how good she and Xu Yinian were feeling right now?
[Enjoy yourself.]
Lu Zhou looked at those few words, feeling a bit strange. What could possibly make a “Mad Dog,” who sought revenge for every slight, no longer care about retaliating against Bai Ran? Suddenly, a possibility occurred to her: could Ji Yan have sent her away to deal with and stall Bai Ran just so she could secretly steal a taste and make progress on her own?
The mood she’d had earlier, watching the drama between the Lu and Bai families with cold detachment, vanished in an instant. She was dying for it to end so she could go find her.
The recent topic of conversation in the Chinese Language and Literature department was, naturally, the former class monitor being severely exposed and sanctioned.
Though even now, no one knew which big shot was behind that rigorous and well-organized exposé.
Everyone guessed that he had provoked some tough character from another class.
Just as Xu Yinian hurried into the classroom alone, everyone was reminded of a matter that had been leaked and was blowing up on the forum today.
The Young Mistress of the Bai family, who had donated an entire building at the start of the semester, had actually taken a medical leave of absence.
Because Bai Ran would occasionally wait discreetly outside the classroom for Xu Yinian so they could go to dinner after class, and because she had spent a fortune covering the entire class’s expenses during the mixer, everyone finally realized that the gentle girl was actually the legendary Young Mistress. In private, they all teased Xu Yinian, calling her the “Princess Consort” pampered by the Young Mistress.
But there were also those who were jealous, claiming Xu Yinian had shamelessly latched onto a wealthy heir. Seeing Bai Ran take a leave of absence, they couldn’t help but gloat, saying all her brown-nosing had been for nothing. Now that her backing was gone, everyone was waiting to watch the drama unfold.
The oblivious Xu Yinian was completely unaware of all this.
It wasn’t until the class meeting began and the former class monitor, who had been missing for a day, came forward to apologize that she finally understood what her classmates had been whispering about all day.
He… he had been exposed?
Although Xu Yinian was surprised, she didn’t go looking for the long exposé, and naturally, she didn’t connect it to Shen Ruoshuang at all. She simply figured that he was finally reaping what he had sown. After the class meeting ended, Xu Yinian was afraid of being caught with Ji Yan, so she lingered in the classroom, slowly working on her calculus homework, intending to be the last one to leave.
A shadow fell over her just then, and Xu Yinian looked up in a fright.
The former class monitor…
Thinking he was going to make things difficult for her again, she gripped her pen tightly, her lips turning white. Her eyes instinctively darted toward the window in a helpless search.
Ji Yan already loathed anyone getting close to Xu Yinian. Seeing her look of fear and silent plea for help, she instantly stood up from her seat.
There were still a few people scattered about the classroom, but she couldn’t care less.
“Student Xu, you’ve misunderstood. I’m here to apologize.”
Who knew the class monitor was even more terrified than she was? His legs were shaking, as if he had recalled something.
“I’m sorry, I’ll never do it again. Please, plead with her for me… tell her to let me go…”
He seemed to have forgotten there were other people in the classroom. Shaking uncontrollably, his emotions spiraled into a total breakdown of panic.
The remaining few were the ones who had been jealous of Xu Yinian all along. Seeing her lingering, they had stayed behind, expecting some sort of drama to unfold.
Now that they had stumbled upon such juicy gossip, they looked at each other in shock. Was the class monitor being exposed because he had offended Xu Yinian? And who was “she”? Was it Bai Ran?
“…Who?”
No matter how afraid Xu Yinian was, she still trembled and asked after hearing those words.
The class monitor froze. Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by a ruthless voice: “Get out.”
Beneath the fringe of her hair, those eyes were dark with the fury of someone whose dragon’s scale had been touched—bone-chillingly cold.
Xu Yinian didn’t have the headspace to worry about the class monitor’s inexplicable words, terrified that Ji Yan might actually start a fight in the classroom. She hurriedly shoved her belongings into her bag and moved to Ji Yan’s side, whispering, “It was my misunderstanding. Let’s… let’s just leave first.”
