Chapter 15: The Rift After the Rescue

Liang Sheng wrapped her arms around Gu Yuqi’s neck and leaped upward, her legs coiling around her senior sister’s waist. An inscrutable smile lingered on her face the entire time.

She tilted her head up, leaned in close, and planted a feather-light kiss on Gu Yuqi’s cheek, brushing past ever so slightly. It all seemed to unfold in slow motion.

Gu Yuqi froze. She stared straight into Liang Sheng’s eyes, where a hint of amusement sparkled.

“Liang Sheng! Go die, go die, go die, aaaaaah!” Wu Qian screamed at the top of her lungs. Her hands gripped the railing so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. Her lips split open, trickles of blood seeping out.

Liang Sheng glanced at Wu Qian out of the corner of her eye. Seeing the girl’s reaction, she grinned and leaned in again, aiming to plant another kiss on Gu Yuqi’s forehead.

But before she could land it, Wu Qian let out another piercing shriek.

“Aaaah!” Wu Qian scrambled off the railing like a madwoman, landing unsteadily on the rooftop. She staggered and stumbled toward Liang Sheng and Gu Yuqi.

Liang Sheng flashed a confident smile. She had won. She hopped down from Gu Yuqi’s body just as Wu Qian closed in.

“Slap!” A sharp crack echoed as Liang Sheng delivered a fierce slap across Wu Qian’s face. The force was so great that one side of Wu Qian’s cheek swelled up high, like a steamed bun puffed to bursting.

“You…!” Wu Qian reeled from the blow, her head spinning so badly that she lost her bearings and couldn’t tell where Liang Sheng even was.

“Haah~ What ‘you’?” Liang Sheng wasn’t satisfied. She raised her leg and kicked Wu Qian hard in the stomach, sending her sprawling to the ground in a fit of dry heaves.

Still not enough. Liang Sheng lifted her foot again, viciously targeting non-lethal spots on Wu Qian’s body.

And what of Gu Yuqi? She stood there in a daze, rooted to the spot, ignoring Wu Qian’s cries as Liang Sheng pummeled her.

Clatter-clang-bang! A commotion erupted from the hallway as the young principal, the balding school doctor, and a swarm of directors and teachers finally rushed in, arriving fashionably late.

They had barely stepped onto the rooftop when they caught sight of Liang Sheng… and the thoroughly beaten Wu Qian, the red-haired girl lying on the ground on the verge of passing out.

“Um…” Liang Sheng spotted the crowd and her mind raced. She snapped a salute and declared in a crisp, clear voice, “Report! I’ve successfully rescued this girl who was trying to jump. Emmmm, but she was still intent on leaping off, so to save a precious young life, I had no choice but to beat her until she couldn’t move anymore. Sob sob sob~”

With that, she blinked her eyes pitifully and shed a few fake tears.

And everyone bought it.

Some rushed to help, others dialed for an ambulance. The young principal placed a solemn hand on Liang Sheng’s shoulder, his tone rich with praise. “Well done! As expected of a student from our ‘Saint Mary Noble Academy’! Outstanding!”

Liang Sheng just smiled without a word.

Deep down, her heart pounded like a drum on the verge of bursting. She might have looked confident on the outside, but inside, she was terrified.

Not that she cared much. If this worked, she’d be hailed as a hero for saving someone. If not, some worthless nobody would die, and she could play the traumatized victim. No one would blame her—they’d pity her instead.

That was Liang Sheng: utterly heartless when the moment called for it.

Only then did Gu Yuqi snap out of her stupor. She stared in disbelief at everything that had just happened. She never imagined it could be resolved so easily.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Favorability surged dramatically.

“Gu Yuqi’s Favorability towards Liang Sheng: 62”

Liang Sheng saw the notification for the skyrocketing favorability and chuckled to herself. She turned and walked away.

“Wait! Liang Sheng.” Gu Yuqi hurried after her downstairs and called out to her in the first-floor lobby.

“Heh… What is it?” Liang Sheng’s tone was indifferent, stripped of her usual enthusiasm. Even her gaze carried a hint of impatience.

Gu Yuqi bowed uneasily, thanking her with utmost sincerity. “Thank you, Junior Sister Liang Sheng.”

“You’re welcome…” Liang Sheng’s voice suddenly turned sweet again. Gu Yuqi let out a relieved breath and started to smile. Then, with a stifled “pfft,” Liang Sheng clapped a hand over her mouth, trembling with barely contained laughter—but it was forced. “You thought I’d say that, Senior Sister?”

Her lips parted slightly. “Senior Sister… I’m so disappointed in you.”

Gu Yuqi’s body jolted as if struck. A mix of confusion and hurt flickered across her beautiful face.

Liang Sheng turned her head slightly, afraid that seeing her flustered senior sister would make her go soft. She pressed on. “Your behavior today was so disappointing. So you’re that kind of… bleeding-heart saint, huh?”

“No… that’s not it, Liang Sheng. What are you talking about?” Gu Yuqi’s thoughts were in a whirl. She couldn’t make sense of the situation. “Any normal person would do the same in that scenario…”

“I wouldn’t!” Liang Sheng shot back crisply. “If I were you, since I hadn’t done anything wrong to her and she was using her life to blackmail me for her shameful goals, I’d pull out my phone, record it all, and prove her death had nothing to do with me.”

“But…”

“That’s it, Senior Sister. Our relationship ends here!” Liang Sheng walked off without looking back.

Gu Yuqi gazed at Liang Sheng’s retreating figure. But what about that kiss? How did it count?

Around the corner, Liang Sheng clutched her chest and let out muffled squeals. “Aaaah! I can’t believe I gave Senior Sister Yuqi the cold shoulder! I actually sassed that gorgeous face! Oh heavens! I’ve finally grown a backbone!”

Liang Sheng didn’t really want to break things off with Gu Yuqi. She just had a bit of pent-up frustration and wanted to give her senior sister a piece of her mind—maybe get some sweet-talking in return. But one look at that face, and her mouth was watering again. She forgave her instantly, though on the surface, she kept up the act.

—— —— ——

The next day, Liang Sheng stood by the side in a daze, her expression a mix of bewilderment and barely suppressed amusement as she watched the principal’s impassioned speech. Spittle flew everywhere.

“Liang Sheng! Braving mortal danger, she heroically rescued her senior sister! What spirit is this, classmates? Shout it out loud!”

Silence fell over the audience. Everyone stared blankly at one another, mouths agape like a pile of sun-dried salted fish, unsure what to say.

Thank goodness it was brief, or the principal up on stage would have died of embarrassment.

“It’s… the spirit of heroic fearlessness!” “It’s self-sacrifice for others!” “Selfless devotion!” “Utter impartiality!” “Love for classmates like one’s own child!” Voices piped up haphazardly from the crowd, a chaotic jumble.

The last one—”love for classmates like one’s own child”—reached Liang Sheng’s ears. Did that mean she was Wu Qian’s dad? At the thought, Liang Sheng stifled a snicker.

The praise from below grew more fervent, the rainbow farts inflating bigger and bigger. Liang Sheng felt embarrassed, her lips pressed tight to hold back laughter, her face twisting into stranger contortions by the second.

“Alright, classmates! Everyone, learn from Liang Sheng’s spirit of self-sacrifice! Now, applaud!”

Scattered claps rose from the crowd—clap clap clap.

The principal frowned sternly. “More enthusiasm! Your attitude is abysmal, you…” Before he could launch into a tirade, thunderous applause erupted below, complete with whistles. They’d been standing for an hour already, legs numb. Any longer, and it’d be dark.

The commendation assembly wrapped up. Liang Sheng’s legs trembled from exhaustion. The principal must have been a language teacher back in the day—probably a homeroom one.

After school, nearly everyone Liang Sheng passed grinned and waved at her. Groups whispered and pointed. She enjoyed the starstruck attention, but… not all of it was compliments. Plenty were just gossip.

“Tsk tsk, what a big hero. I wouldn’t have the guts to save someone like that, showing off her saintly halo.” “Yeah, self-sacrifice my foot~”

Liang Sheng shot them a glare, which only made them burst into laughter.

Tch, sour grapes? Lemon-heads! The old Liang Sheng never would have tangled with these girls, but things were different now. She was Liang Sheng—with money, power, and doting parents.

She marched over aggressively and raised her hand toward one girl. The girl squeezed her eyes shut and yelled, “She’s hitting someone!”

Liang Sheng smiled gently and moved her hand to the girl’s mouth, wiping softly. “Miss, you’ve got something on your lips~”

The girl’s face flushed. Panicked, she stammered, “Wh-what?”

Liang Sheng tilted her head cutely, pried open one eye, stuck out her tongue, and chirped, “Lemon juice, oh! Old hag! Look at how sour you’ve gotten!”

“You… you!” The girl’s face burned even redder, this time with rage.

“Byeee~ Ugly! Witch! Freak!” Liang Sheng skipped away, lighthearted and bouncy.

At the school gate, Song An’an waited for Liang Sheng. When she arrived, An’an stared at her face with starry-eyed adoration, her expression exaggerated. “A-Sheng, you’re so awesome! So cool!”

Of course! Liang Sheng beamed inwardly. But that had been her first time hitting someone—thrilling in the moment, but afterward, her heart raced with nerves. TV dramas always showed the villain beating the hero, only for the hero to surge with power and counter-kill. But she wasn’t the villain… right? Probably not?

As she mused, she spotted Gu Yuqi approaching. Her senior sister’s face looked wan, dark circles under her eyes.

“An’an, let’s go.” Liang Sheng shot Gu Yuqi a displeased glance and tugged Song An’an along. In truth, her heart ached for Senior Sister Gu Yuqi.

Huh? Why was Liang Sheng dragging her off like that? Song An’an glanced back at Gu Yuqi in confusion. But this was even better! Two-person world with A-Sheng! She shook her head happily and followed along.

Ding~ Favorability increased.

“Song An’an’s Favorability towards Liang Sheng: 100+”

Gu Yuqi lowered her head and didn’t give chase, trailing slowly behind.

Liang Sheng felt a pang of reluctance, but she knew she had to do this. Gu Yuqi needed to learn a lesson, or her personality would get her in trouble someday.

Song An’an hooked her arm through Liang Sheng’s, her eyes sparkling as she peppered her with questions. “A-Sheng, A-Sheng, how did you save the person?”

Liang Sheng hemmed and hawed, skipping the part about forcibly kissing Gu Yuqi—she didn’t want this little lass bursting into tears. So she spun a tall tale.

“I caught her off guard, lunged forward, and yanked her back. But the ungrateful wretch struggled like mad, so I had to sock her one.” Nothing like the real story.

Song An’an bought it hook, line, and sinker. She gazed up at Liang Sheng in worship, stars twinkling in her eyes.