Chapter 24 Part 3

Beyond that, Lin Yang hadn’t revealed anything more.

The lawyers were still pushing forward. Liu Su promised the two that she would handle it personally and wouldn’t let it drop easily.

Even so, for these students, the matter had to be forcibly brought to a close.

Before Shi Ruofeng was discharged, Zhu Lexing finally remembered her and paid a visit.

In those few days, Li Nian had already grown close to Shi Ruofeng. When Zhu Lexing arrived, Li Nian was peeling an apple—but her technique was clearly inferior. Still, Shi Ruofeng watched her calmly, occasionally responding to her chatter.

Everything seemed to have returned to normal. Only Shi Ruofeng’s life remained unstable.

She could never go back to the Shi Family. To her, it was a nightmare.

At first, Zhu Lexing had considered inviting her to stay at the Zhu Family. She wouldn’t have minded living with Shi Ruofeng. But the moment the thought crossed her mind, she remembered that she would differentiate into an Alpha.

And Shi Ruofeng was an Omega.

Living under one roof with two Omegas… it would invite misunderstandings.

Besides, Shi Ruofeng wouldn’t want to anyway.

“I still have a little money,” Shi Ruofeng said bluntly. “I can rent a place off-campus.”

There weren’t many Omegas on campus. If she stayed in the dorms, she’d have to room with Betas.

The incident at the Beta Hotel had left her scarred. She couldn’t handle communal living anymore.

Zhu Lexing could only say, “If you ever need money… just tell me.”

Shi Ruofeng looked at her for a long moment before replying, “Thanks.”

After Zhu Lexing headed home, Li Nian spoke up. “Zhu Lexing… well… she’s been pretty decent lately, at least.”

Shi Ruofeng had heard all about the old Zhu Lexing’s awful temper. But seeing her today… she was completely different.

She nodded, then suddenly said, “Thanks.”

Li Nian replied offhandedly, “You sound just like Mianmian. Back when we first met, she was always saying ‘thanks’ to me every day.”

Shi Ruofeng thought she was about to correct her speech habits and paused, wondering how to respond. But Li Nian just grinned. “But! You’re welcome.”

If you insist on always saying thanks…

Then I’ll keep saying you’re welcome right back.

Shi Ruofeng stared at her smiling face for a long moment before murmuring, “Mm.”

On the first day back at school, Yan Mian discovered her desk stuffed full of gifts and love letters. They were from people who’d only just realized her appeal and finally mustered the courage to confess after the holiday.

Yan Mian looked utterly at a loss.

From a few rows away, Zhu Lexing watched with an indescribable mix of emotions.

The System hadn’t notified her of any favorability changes, yet Yan Mian still smiled at her proactively.

Their relationship seemed unchanged on the surface. But because their pheromones had briefly mingled once, there was this vague, ambiguous connection neither of them could quite define.

Propping her chin on her hand, lost in idle thoughts, Zhu Lexing was interrupted when Song Yingying turned in her homework.

Spotting Zhu Lexing, Song Yingying’s eyes lit up. “Lexing!”

Yan Mian’s situation was on hold for now. Liu Su had her own plans, and Zhu Lexing didn’t want to interfere recklessly. But she’d gotten the video from the System and planned to release it at the right moment.

Song Yingying had still heard the rumors from Qiao Qiao. She glanced at Yan Mian first, confirming she was okay, then asked, “Are you alright?”

Zhu Lexing, who hadn’t been fussed over much before, was deeply touched.

Who said no one cared about her? Here was proof!

Song Yingying continued, “The scores came out two days ago. You did great.”

Zhu Lexing: “…”

She’d been about to say not to rain on her parade when Song Yingying added that she’d done great on the exam. The words froze her thoughts, filling her with profound emotion.

Hard work pays off. Those motivational sayings weren’t lying after all.

Flipping through her test paper a few times, Zhu Lexing thought of Yan Mian. “…What about her?”

There was only one person she could mean.

Song Yingying got it immediately and flashed an envious smile. “First place.”

Zhu Lexing had imagined that Yan Mian’s grades were good… but first place still far exceeded her expectations. She grew increasingly shocked by the other’s intelligence. The next second, she heard Song Yingying say, “I just went to the office and saw Shi Ruofeng. She said she’s going to retake the exam.”

Zhu Lexing: “……Ah.”

Song Yingying continued, “Her grades are really good too. If they count toward this exam… she’d probably be in the top five.”

Zhu Lexing thought of her own ranking of 493rd and pondered for several seconds. She felt like she should be kicked out of the Protagonist Group.

She had lost face for the Protagonist Group!

Halfway through her words, Song Yingying suddenly remembered something and pulled out an envelope. “Oh, right—someone asked me to give this to you this morning.”

The envelope was pink, with only one line written on it—

“To Zhu Lexing”

As if afraid Zhu Lexing wouldn’t open it, there was a little heart after the “Xing.”

Zhu Lexing had just felt a twinge of envy watching Yan Mian open a love letter. Now she had received one herself. Her heart raced with nervous anticipation, her hands trembled—

But when she opened it, the paper inside was nothing like the soft pink envelope. It wasn’t even proper stationery, just a page torn haphazardly from scrap paper.

Only one scrawled sentence was written on it.

—Thank you.

Zhu Lexing: “………………….”

Song Yingying caught sight of it too and pondered for several seconds. “At least it’s not cursing you out.”

Zhu Lexing replied, “If it were cursing me, that would narrow down the suspects a lot.”

The top suspect was Zhou Yang!

It wasn’t a love letter, and it wasn’t an insult either.

Still, Zhu Lexing happily tucked it away.

Zhu Lin and Jiang Yue had left a few days earlier. Before departing, they hadn’t forgotten to transfer a hefty sum of pocket money to Zhu Lexing.

Jiang Yue hadn’t said a single word to Yan Mian. She hadn’t even glanced back at her when she left. In the end, it was Liu Su who gave Yan Mian’s shoulder a light pat and said gently, “Let me take you around.”

Zhu Lexing suspected that was the only comforting line she knew.

Liu Su was swamped with work in the area and usually didn’t return until late at night, but whenever Zhu Lexing called her, she responded right away.

Zhu Lexing wasn’t one for fun and games, nor did she lack for food or drink. The money from Zhu Lin was essentially useless to her. After some thought, she decided to spend it on Yan Mian.

She was still mulling over the specifics when dinnertime rolled around.

The front door opened, snapping Zhu Lexing out of her reverie.

Yan Mian stood in the doorway, the dim yellow twilight spilling in from behind her and stretching a stunningly elegant shadow across the floor.

“……Is Auntie still at work?” she asked slowly as she stepped inside and closed the door.

Zhu Lexing murmured an affirmative, then added, “If you’re ready to eat, I can—”

“If you’re not busy with anything else,” Yan Mian said after a brief hesitation, “let’s eat together.”

Zhu Lexing froze midway through standing up.

“And I have something for you,” Yan Mian added.

That made Zhu Lexing sink fully back into her seat.

She watched Yan Mian cautiously, not daring to ask outright. But Yan Mian had already pulled an envelope from her bag.

It was the same pink envelope, but the contents couldn’t have been more different from Zhu Lexing’s. The letter paper carried a faint fragrance, and the handwriting was meticulous and graceful. Zhu Lexing skimmed it in one quick pass. The message was straightforward.

The writer was a sick netizen who had stumbled across their stage play performance online. It had inspired her, but she couldn’t find Yan Mian’s social platform, so she wrote this letter of thanks instead.

A friend at No. 1 High School had passed it along.

The words were few, but the sincerity shone through, filling Zhu Lexing with warmth.

But then she thought of her own “Thank you”: “……”

Whatever. Who said “Listen to Me Say Thank You” didn’t count as thanks? Any gratitude was better than none! A person had to learn contentment!

Zhu Lexing handed the letter back to Yan Mian. “Hope she… gets better soon.”

Yan Mian tucked it away, then suddenly asked, “What about you—the one from the social platform?”

Zhu Lexing blinked. “Huh? What about me?”

“The inhibitor injection,” Yan Mian said after a few seconds of silence. “Doesn’t it hurt?”

After getting the inhibitor shot, her suspicions about Zhu Lexing had already started to fade.

Once the truth came out, those suspicions vanished entirely… along with a newfound complexity in her emotions.

Hate? That had faded long ago.

Like? Or fully erasing the hurt? That felt too contrived, and Yan Mian couldn’t force it.

She had planned to let things cool off until the end of high school. But today, Li Nian had mentioned how Shi Ruofeng’s reaction to the inhibitor pain was especially severe—and offhandedly brought up Zhu Lexing. That’s when Yan Mian learned about it.

According to Zhu Lin, Zhu Lexing was terrified of pain. She blew any injury out of proportion, which was why he’d been so on edge when her arm got scratched last time.

Yan Mian recalled the moments before blacking out: the body pressed close in the darkness, breaths mingling.

Zhu Lexing had been trembling too.

Zhu Lexing had no idea what was going through Yan Mian’s mind.

All she knew was that Yan Mian had suddenly lit a lamp right in front of her.

With a sharp “click.”

The whole world brightened.

Zhu Lexing said, a little embarrassed, “Of course not… well, a bit, but not much.”

Denying it outright would be too out of character. She could admit to it, but not overdo it.

After all! Zhu Lexing was destined to differentiate into an Alpha. A little pain in the wind and rain was nothing!

Yan Mian smiled faintly. “Thank you.”

She had said “thank you” many times before—some real, some not, always slipping out on instinct, no matter her intentions.

But this time, her voice brimmed with genuine sincerity.

Zhu Lexing could hear it.

She tugged at her lips. “Don’t get all sentimental. Let’s eat.”

In her heart, though, she thought: It’s okay.

For Yan Mian, Zhu Lexing could handle anything.