Chapter 7: 07 ◎Lin Yang◎

Zhu Lexing spent the entire day worrying about Yan Mian.

The girl’s schedule proceeded as usual: classes, breaks, meals, and rest. Li Nian stayed by her side the whole time, so Zhu Lexing didn’t dare stare too openly at Yan Mian. Instead, she poured out all her concerns for her to the System.

She finally muddled through the day. As school was letting out, Zhu Xing didn’t leave right away. Instead, he announced the date for the school anniversary.

The other classes seemed to make their announcements at the same time, filling the corridors with clamor. But Class 2 remained as calm as ever. Most students in the Elite Class were steady by nature, treating the news like a trivial matter.

Lost in thought, Zhu Lexing was still asking the System: 【Yan Mian’s body is really okay, right?】

The System, hounded by her questions all night, finally snapped back: 【If the Host doesn’t trust the System, she can ask Yan Mian herself.】

Zhu Lexing: 【If I could talk to Yan Mian directly, why would I be talking to you?】

System: “……”

But that gave Zhu Lexing an idea.

She might not be able to chat with Yan Mian directly, but others could.

For instance, the driver. Or the Zhu Family’s private doctor. Zhu Lexing had every reason to invoke Zhu Lin’s name and have the private doctor take Yan Mian to the hospital for a check-up.

With a plan in place, Zhu Lexing’s mood lifted considerably.

She finally had the bandwidth to tune into Zhu Xing’s speech. But the moment she focused, the first words she caught were: “For this event, then, our class will have Zhu Lexing and Yan Mian take charge together.”

Zhu Lexing: ?

Her and Yan Mian? Take charge of what??

Zhu Lexing looked up in confusion. Zhu Xing—whom she’d half-expected to pick on her—hurriedly added: “Any questions, come talk to me during break. Class dismissed.”

A bunch of students scattered right away. Yan Mian stood and followed Zhu Xing out. Zhu Lexing immediately noticed hostile stares converging on her.

Zhu Lexing: “……”

What the hell!

She ignored the System and turned to Song Yingying instead. “What did he just say?”

Song Yingying was used to her spacing out by now. She explained: “The school anniversary calls for a performance. Teacher Zhu wants you and Yan Mian to organize it…”

Zhu Lexing finally got what Zhu Lin meant by his “gift.”

Working together on a shared goal was a surefire way to bond. Rehearsing the show was basically paid downtime. By the end of it, even total strangers would end up as close friends.

Zhu Lin’s plan was solid. But he had no idea just how far gone the original host was.

This would only shove Yan Mian straight into the fire.

In the original work, Yan Mian turned down the assignment outright. The original host bailed too, too lazy to bother.

Zhu Lin had said he’d come back to watch the show. But with both of them out, he ended up stuck handling film crew drama instead, full of regrets.

Outside the window, Yan Mian’s figure had vanished around the corner.

Zhu Lexing knew this was her first real choice since arriving in this world. Refusing it wouldn’t lock her into the old plotline—she could still wheedle Zhu Lin into showing up, put on a show for Yan Mian’s sake.

Agreeing meant stepping into the unknown. Infinite possibilities.

If it were just about her, Zhu Lexing would’ve jumped at the second option. No risk, no reward, right?

But Yan Mian was on this boat too. After a moment’s thought, she picked the safer bet she could control.

The plot was already laid out in the original work, after all. She just had to dodge anything that hurt Yan Mian.

With that settled, Zhu Lexing’s lips curved up.

She had fox-like eyes and thin, cool lips. Silent, she kept everyone at arm’s length. But in a good mood, the subtle uptilt at her eyes and brows drew people in like moths to flame, heedless of the burn.

That was the sight that greeted the girl with shoulder-length curls as she approached.

Her throat bobbed. She tossed her bag to the person trailing her. The school badge dangling from the zipper swayed in the breeze, etched in Song typeface: Lin Yang.

“Your mood seems great, Lexing.”

Lin Yang blinked her long, curled lashes, her voice soft. “I’ve got even better news. Remember Shi Ruofeng? The Omega whose family hit hard times. She’s broke lately—guess who’s coming to my brother’s party tonight.”

She had appeared without a sound, gazing at Zhu Lexing with naked affection. All Zhu Lexing could think was: Who the hell are you?

But after that string of loaded hints, Zhu Lexing went quiet for a few seconds. Forgetting her was impossible now.

Every protagonist came with a posse of die-hard admirers—one, two, three, even four—who’d crash headlong into walls and keep going.

Lin Yang was one such.

Second daughter of the Lin family, political heavyweights. Born with a golden spoon, rebellious streak a mile wide. She did her own thing, self-absorbed and extreme—same template as the original host, but with a lovesick twist.

The kind fixated on “Zhu Lexing” alone.

Predictably, she’d become Zhu Lexing’s devoted sidekick. “Zhu Lexing’s” built-in PUA superpowers had brainwashed her into constant anxiety, starved for reassurance.

Yan Mian’s arrival sparked a crisis in Lin Yang like never before. Terrified of being ditched by “Zhu Lexing,” she went off-script, desperate to prove her worth.

In the original story, her big debut was playing matchmaker for the original host. Too bad “Zhu Lexing” only had eyes for Yan Mian and shot her down. Repeated rejections turned Lin Yang’s ire on Yan Mian—a grudge that simmered for months. It only fizzled when Yan Mian suffered a heart attack, triggering early differentiation and locking in her secondary gender as Omega.

Recalling all that left Zhu Lexing reeling.

What a pack of psychos! Somebody save me!

Even though her inner monologue of complaints ran deeper than the ocean, Zhu Lexing still forced herself to swallow her embarrassment and deal with Lin Yang. After pondering for several seconds, her gaze skipped right over Lin Yang as she said in a cold tone, “My dad’s coming back soon. I’m not sure exactly when, so it wouldn’t be convenient for me to go out.”

Resorting to mentioning her parents at the drop of a hat—Zhu Lexing herself felt like she wasn’t falling for the trap.

But Lin Yang just smiled, her lips twitching as if she were about to come up with another excuse. Zhu Lexing cut her off preemptively, her words stiff: “Besides, what is my status? What is Shi Ruofeng’s status—”

“If you’re really sincere,” Zhu Lexing arched a brow, “then have Shi Ruofeng reach out to me directly.”

To keep this domineering CEO-style declaration from sounding too ridiculous, Zhu Lexing tried her best to maintain a cool demeanor. But by the time she reached the last sentence, she couldn’t help it—her fingers curled up awkwardly in embarrassment.

She thought it was just an ordinary threat, forgetting that “Zhu Lexing” was a confirmed Alpha. Even without having gone through differentiation, her innate pressure was enough to make ordinary people quail.

In a matter of seconds, the last traces of arrogance vanished completely from Lin Yang’s eyes.

Her body trembled as she gazed at Zhu Lexing with a mix of fear and hidden infatuation, softly murmuring, “I-I will.”

Being stared at like that gave Zhu Lexing goosebumps all over, though she couldn’t figure out why. All she could do was say, “Until Shi Ruofeng and I get in touch, don’t let anyone lay a hand on her.”

“. . .”

Lin Yang’s expression soured for a brief moment, but only that. She bit her lip and agreed.

Zhu Lexing had no idea what this villain was really thinking, but getting the result she wanted was a win. Not one to invite trouble, she bid Lin Yang a perfectly normal farewell.

The original host might have been messed up in the head, but she still observed the proper courtesies.

Zhu Lexing had striking looks and a tall, slender figure—even lost in a crowd, she stood out the most. Lin Yang watched her retreating back until she fully merged into the sea of people and vanished from sight. Only then did the heat in her chest ease a little.

A little over a month ago, her test had predicted she would differentiate as an Omega. With her differentiation period drawing near, she was starting to sense Alpha pheromones more acutely—and her infatuation with Zhu Lexing was growing stronger by the day.

At most half a year . . .

Once she differentiated into an Omega, no number of “Shi Ruofengs” could hold a candle to her.

It took some effort, but Lin Yang finally convinced herself. Following Zhu Lexing’s request, she forwarded the contact information. When she looked up again, calm at last, her gaze landed squarely on Yan Mian’s empty seat.

Lin Yang jolted in shock, suddenly realizing that Yan Mian had never mentioned the results of her predicted gender differentiation.