To prevent the incident from continuing to escalate, the department leaders called Ming You, Gu Xirui, and Liu Xianhe in for a talk. They did some ideological work and reached a private reconciliation.
The mentor also publicly explained in class the reason for Ming You’s “withdrawal from the competition” and warned everyone not to believe every rumor they heard. They should trust their classmates.
After the “cola incident” and now with the mentor’s endorsement, the truth came out. The online and offline gossip, rumors, and abuse targeting Ming You quickly changed direction.
Everyone said Ming You’s counterattack against Liu Xianhe was incredibly satisfying. A despicable little man like Liu Xianhe had shot himself in the foot and reaped what he sowed—he didn’t deserve any sympathy. The forum’s long-accumulated rule-breaking posts and comments were also mass-deleted.
The speed and reach of online spread wasn’t so easy to control. There were always a few fish that slipped through the net.
The next night, a message came from Qi Xuexin.
【Qi Xuexin: You got into a fight??】
【Qi Xuexin: Don’t tell me no, I saw photos online. I don’t care why you fought, I just wanna know if you’re okay?】
It was getting cold, so fewer people were running. Even fewer came to run on weekend evenings. Ming You liked the feeling of fewer people around. Seeing it was Qi Xuexin, she wiped her sweat, left the track, and walked slowly across the field.
Did it count as a fight if both sides were throwing punches? This had been more like a one-sided beatdown.
【Ming You: I beat someone up.】
【Ming You: He made the first move, but he couldn’t handle it.】
【Qi Xuexin: Alright, alright, don’t get cocky.jpg】
【Qi Xuexin: You hit people so hard—does Yan Huahua know?】
【Ming You: No.】
【Ming You: Don’t tell Sister Yan.】
【Qi Xuexin: Look at you begging me like that.jpg】
【Ming You: Please.gif】
【Ming You: Please.gif】
【Ming You: Please.gif】
【Ming You: Please.gif】
【Ming You: Please.gif】
【Qi Xuexin: Get lost!!! So annoying!】
Stickers were seriously handy. After messing around shamelessly with Qi Xuexin, Ming You switched to Yan Ningxi’s chat window: 【Sister Yan, are you going home during the New Year’s break?】
Her progress pursuing Yan Ningxi during that trip to S City had been a milestone breakthrough.
But the dating guide said distance made the heart grow fonder.
So last night, she’d messaged Yan Ningxi about planning to stay on campus over the weekend to catch up on studies, continuing to play the role of the good student.
【Yan Ningxi: Yeah.】
【Ming You: Oh.】
【Ming You: It’s been a week, so your hair can get wet now. If it’s inconvenient for you to wash it yourself, go to a salon. Tell them to be careful.】
【Yan Ningxi: Mm.】
【Ming You: Then, see you next Friday?】
One “yeah,” one “mm”—they doused most of Ming You’s enthusiasm and killed her urge for a video call. If she replied with that kind of perfunctory attitude, she and Yan Ningxi would’ve been done ages ago.
The feeling of repeatedly pressing her warm cheek against cold ass—she’d gotten plenty of experience with it from Yan Ningxi. She admired herself for sticking it out this long.
【Yan Ningxi: Sure.】
【Yan Ningxi: If Friday’s too late, come back Saturday morning.】
How late was “too late”?
Ming You had no idea how to reply to Yan Ningxi anymore. She stuffed her phone back into her armband pouch and walked slowly toward the parallel bars at the edge of the field.
After starting university, she’d practiced fistfighting less, so the field was her main spot for venting and training. If she didn’t find a way to release the frustration pent up inside, how could she keep fighting through defeat after defeat?
Pursuing Yan Ningxi wasn’t just a skill—it was physical labor too. She needed both brains and brawn.
…
The biggest difference in Ming You and Gu Xirui’s daily schedules was evenings: one ran, the other holed up in the library. The dorm, field, and library formed an isosceles triangle.
The dorm sat at the top point. There were main roads to the field and library, but a quiet path connected all three vertices directly.
That night, Gu Xirui left the library and passed through the small bamboo grove when she heard two people arguing.
“Lin Yiyang, I did everything your way, but now you’re going back on your word?”
“Can’t you take a good look in the mirror? With your ugly mug, no looks, no talent, no class—who’d want you? Not me or Ming You, not a single girl in the department. Besides, those things were your own self-directed, self-acted, voluntary stunt. Don’t pin it on me.”
“You wanna burn bridges after crossing the river?”
“What river did I cross? Besides making yourself and our class look bad, have you ever done anything useful for me? What, I get second place nationwide and now I gotta thank you for paving my way with your face?”
“You! Believe me, I’ll spill all this. See how you stand afterward. Lin Yiyang, my sincerity is real…”
“Save it. Don’t go biting people like a rabid dog. Bad mood? Call your bros and go drink. A few mocking words and sarcasm—what can’t a big man like you face? I transferred you 500 bucks. Don’t bother me again. My temper’s no better than Ming You’s. If you want cola, I can afford to treat you too.”
She didn’t just want to treat him to “cola”—she wanted to kick him too.
Having been trampled by two women in a row left Liu Xianhe feeling utterly humiliated. Cornered like a rabid dog, he lunged at Lin Yiyang and gripped her wrist tightly. “What makes you people so arrogant? You just got lucky being born well!”
“Liu Xianhe, this is school. You think we’re shooting some melodramatic teen angst flick?”
“I’ve done so many shady things for you, and you think a few hundred bucks sends me packing? You treating me like a beggar? Hey, I mean…”
“Scram!”
The argument was over—now they were about to throw down?
Gu Xirui didn’t pick fights or brawl, and she never meddled. But thinking of Lin Yiyang’s spoiled, arrogant personality—if a loser like Liu Xianhe took advantage of her, wouldn’t she jump in the Yellow River and still not wash clean?
The Yellow River had always been deep, murky, and swift—good luck getting clean. So Gu Xirui “righteously intervened” by turning on her phone flashlight.
After a crisp round of slaps came Gu Xirui’s clear voice: “Dog-blood teen angst lit inspired by real life. Authentic lines, emotions on point, good pacing—just the plot’s cliché, nothing fresh.”
“Gu Xirui!” Lin Yiyang recognized the voice and shouted her name, kicking Liu Xianhe again in her panic.
Liu Xianhe wouldn’t back down. He clung to Lin Yiyang and forcibly slung an arm around her shoulders. “Keep it down. Us tussling in the bamboo grove like this—if word gets out, it’ll ruin your reputation. I’ve got nothing left to lose anyway.”
“If you wanna act out the next scene, how about I call some more audience members?” Gu Xirui waved her phone, shining the flashlight right in Liu Xianhe’s eyes.
Lin Yiyang flushed with rage and fury, slamming her elbow into him again. “Liu Xianhe, you bastard—get your filthy hands off me.”
Hearing Lin Yiyang curse, Gu Xirui burst out laughing. “You two have decent acting chops. Why not apply to switch to the performance major?”
A couple passed by, peering curiously into the pitch-black bamboo grove, muttering something before quietly walking off.
Liu Xianhe and Lin Yiyang both shut up, locked in stalemate. Gu Xirui was getting bored too.
She tapped a few spots on the screen and held it to her ear. “Hey, Ming You, you done running? Looks like I stumbled on another shady deal. If you’re still pissed, come handle this infringement on our likeness rights? Yeah, over by the small bamboo grove. Villain One and Villain Two are fighting in their nest…”
Lin Yiyang: ???
Liu Xianhe: !!!
Gu Xirui: “Or should I call the mentor too? Confront it right here, save someone from refusing to repent without seeing the coffin.”
Three women made a drama.
Liu Xianhe couldn’t handle even one—let alone three?
A wise man doesn’t fight when the odds are bad. He let go and bolted.
Lin Yiyang rubbed her wrist and walked out. “Miss Gu, your on-the-spot reactions are pretty sharp too. We’re evenly matched.”
“Same to you.” Gu Xirui hung up and shone her flashlight on Lin Yiyang’s wrist—it was all red from Liu Xianhe’s grip. “Your hand okay?”
Lin Yiyang’s face twisted in disgust. “What’s gonna be wrong? If anything, it’s just annoyance from being chased by a dog. Don’t buy his bullshit. Total delusional douchebag. I never told him to do those dirty, lowlife things. He assumed I hated Ming You—who’s always one-upping me—so he lost his mind and tried to trash her rep on his own…”
“Yeah, Miss Lin wouldn’t stoop to associating with trash like that.”
Everyone knew Lin Yiyang’s dad was the dean of a famous university’s art college, and her mom was an exec at a TV station. Pride and superiority were in her bones from birth.
Gu Xirui’s family was much more ordinary. Four people: mom was an exec at a state-owned enterprise, dad a orthopedic doctor, and her brother had just started working.
“Hey, you didn’t actually fall for Ming You for real, did you?”
“What’s it to you?”
Gu Xirui glanced over casually and saw a dry, yellow bamboo leaf in Lin Yiyang’s hair. She raised her hand, and the other stepped back.
“What’re you doing?”
“What do you think? You’re not scared of a big brute like Liu Xianhe—afraid of a frail little thing like me with no strength to truss a chicken?”
“True, frail little thing.” Lin Yiyang chuckled, thinking for the first time that Gu Xirui got humor.
“There’s a bug in your hair.”
“Bug…?” Lin Yiyang froze, scared stiff, not daring to move. “Gu Xirui, hurry and get it off me.”
“The fearless Miss Lin, scared of… bugs.” Gu Xirui slowly raised her hand, fiddling around in her hair.
“Hurry up!”
“Got it.” Gu Xirui tossed the leaf part away, keeping a short leaf stem. “See? Yellow, skinny…”
“Ah! Gu Xirui, you…” In the dark, Lin Yiyang couldn’t tell what it was. At first glance, plus the description, it looked real enough.
Watching Lin Yiyang bolt a few meters away, Gu Xirui tossed the thing and clapped her hands. Teasing people was kinda fun.
Ming You walked into the small bamboo grove too.
Few people took this path at night. It was more romantic than the main roads during the day, but the nighttime lights—green and red shining upward—made it eerie and terrifying, scaring most people off.
The forum was full of students suggesting the school hang a “Caution: Not for the Faint of Heart” sign at the entrance.
A gust of wind blew through, bamboo leaves rustling. Ming You turned the corner and jumped when she saw Lin Yiyang—half her face red under the tree shadows. “Playing ghost in the dead of night.”
Lin Yiyang wasn’t in a good mood either, arms crossed. “Who’s playing ghost!”
Ming You saw right through her fake bravado. Waste not, want not—she deliberately spooked her. “The witching hour’s when ghosts come out. Miss Lin better watch her mouth, or what she says might come true.”
“!!!” Chills ran down Lin Yiyang’s spine. She cursed inwardly: Damn Ming You.
“Done too many guilty deeds, so you’re scared?” Ming You eyed her. “Liu’s gone—why didn’t you run?”
A spineless clown like Liu Xianhe dreaming of latching onto a high branch like Lin Yiyang, grown in rich soil? Fat chance.
Ming You and Gu Xirui didn’t strive for worldly gains, but they weren’t naive pushovers either. Liu Xianhe’s “crush” on Lin Yiyang had been going two years—there was evidence. This third year, who knew what stimulated him or whose advice he took. He got clever in reverse and fell into the deep pit he’d dug himself.
“I walk upright and sit straight—what do I have to fear from a ghost like you!” Lin Yiyang’s heart raced; she could only change the subject for courage. “Why aren’t you two joining the 129 Patriotic Recitation Event?”
“Your club event—I’m not in the club. Why must I join? Miss Lin, stop fixating on me, okay?”
Lin Yiyang was president of the Voice Dubbing and Recitation Association and vice president of the External Liaison Association. “With all those eyes from the department on you, can’t you two act like department belles? Ever heard of setting an example?”
Gu Xirui: …Caught in the crossfire.
She was the vice president of the hosting association. Why did she have to set an example for the Voice Dubbing and Recitation Association?
Ming You was speechless. The department belle title wasn’t something she had asked for. “Awareness, huh? That Sending Plays to the Countryside event on New Year’s Day—dare to sign up?”
Anyway, Yan Ningxi was heading home for New Year’s Day, so she couldn’t cling to her even if she wanted to.
Down to the countryside.
In the dead of winter!
Lin Yiyang retreated at the mere mention of the event.
Sending Plays to the Countryside was a school-level event, co-hosted by the Film Art Academy and the Broadcasting Art Academy. The key point was that it counted toward comprehensive evaluations—and those scores were essential for annual awards and scholarships.
Ming You had promised Yan Ningxi a scholarship, so she had to go all out to get it.
“The pampered Miss Lin, who only knows luxury and indulgence—someone like you probably wouldn’t even dream of an event like going to the countryside, awareness or not, right?” Dragging the usually arrogant, delicately raised Lin Yiyang to the countryside for a taste of hardship sounded pretty fun.
Lin Yiyang was backed into a corner. She gritted her teeth and went for it. “Fine, sign up then! But you two have to team up with me. The broadcasting major provides three programs. We’ll go as a trio and grab one spot.”
Gu Xirui: …Caught in the crossfire.
“Miss Ming, Miss Lin—are you treating me like I’m invisible or just a tool? Won’t you even ask if I have time?”
“Miss Gu, do you have time?” Lin Yiyang seamlessly picked up the thread.
“She has time, I have time. She doesn’t, I don’t.” Ming You chimed in with support.
“…Yes.”
“Deal! Let’s get out of here first. Gives me the creeps.” Goosebumps rose on both of Lin Yiyang’s arms. She rubbed them vigorously and led the way toward the main road.
Ming You quietly asked Gu Xirui, “When did you two bury the hatchet? I have a bad feeling—she won’t undermine me to steal you away and form a new CP with you, will she? Miss Gu, fickle in love—no, two-timing—will get you struck by lightning.” She pointed at the sky as she said it.
Gu Xirui sighed, a hint of resentment in her voice. “You’ve changed.”
“Changed how?”
“Changed… talkative.”
“…”
“So yeah, you can drop the ‘not’ from ‘ruthless and few words’ too.”
