Quan Le: "..."
It was truly speechless to the extreme, beyond words.
He didn't explain further, but instead directly opened a forum post and handed it to Shen Yujing, "See for yourself."
Shen Yujing quickly understood the situation, and the corner of his lips revealed a malicious smile, "So, Jiang Yiheng lost?"
Quan Le nodded, "You could say that."
Shen Yujing shoved the phone back into Quan Le's hand, "Let's go watch the fun."
For Shen Yujing, Jiang Yiheng was like the proverbial child from another family, always held up as a comparison since childhood.
Everyone praised Jiang Yiheng for being smart and outstanding, but to Shen Yujing, he was disgustingly hypocritical.
But even so, he had gotten used to Jiang Yiheng being the top student in their grade. Now that someone could surpass Jiang Yiheng, Shen Yujing's interest was instantly piqued.
The arrival of Shen Yujing and Quan Le was like uninvited guests for Song Yi.
Song Yi didn't understand - Murong Huan hadn't bullied her, so what did Shen Yujing have to do with this? Just because he was the male lead didn't mean he had to be in every scene, right?
Shen Yujing pulled out the chair next to Murong Huan and sat down, "You've made a new friend and didn't introduce us?"
Although he was speaking to Murong Huan, his gaze remained fixed on Song Yi's face the entire time.
It was an undisguised, blatant appraisal and scrutiny.
Shen Yujing was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected the person with even better grades than that freak Jiang Yiheng to be such a seemingly harmless and fragile girl.
Look at those delicate shoulders - he was a bit worried that if she stayed up studying until midnight, she might faint from physical exhaustion.
Her face was only the size of a palm, and her head so small - how could it contain so much knowledge? It was quite remarkable.
Murong Huan ignored Shen Yujing and frowned at Quan Le, "What are you trying to do?"
Quan Le shrugged his shoulders innocently, "You're really wronging me here. I just came with Shen Yujing."
"That's right," Shen Yujing nodded, smiling in an unusually good mood, and extended a hand towards Song Yi, "New classmate? Nice to meet you."
The surrounding girls looked at Song Yi with envious gazes.
Heaven knows how much they wanted to exchange even a single word with Shen Yujing, let alone shake his hand and become friends!
Song Yi looked at the last piece of sweet and sour pork ribs on her plate. Following the principle of not wasting food, she mumbled with her mouth full while gnawing on it, "What are you so happy about?"
Shen Yujing's smile froze on his face.
Quan Le: "..."
He had never seen someone so bad at conversation.
But for some unknown reason, he actually felt a sense of admiration for Song Yi.
Shen Yujing had never been treated like this before, but he still patiently said, "I just want to be friends with you."
This time Song Yi didn't even bother to look up, directly refusing, "No need, I have plenty of friends."
"Pfft-"
Quan Le couldn't hold back his laughter this time, but quickly composed himself and put on a straight face under Shen Yujing's warning glare.
He mustn't laugh, he mustn't laugh! He was professionally trained, unless he really couldn't help it.
Murong Huan couldn't bear to watch anymore and said, "Come on, Shen Yujing, can't you see she's not interested? Stop embarrassing yourself."
Shen Yujing and Jiang Yiheng had never gotten along, so Murong Huan was quite happy to see Shen Yujing being put in his place, and didn't mind adding fuel to the fire.
"What does this have to do with you?" Shen Yujing's eyes turned cold as he spoke, staring at Song Yi, "I'll give you one more chance."
This time Song Yi ignored him completely, only getting up to look at Murong Huan, "I'm going back first."
Murong Huan nodded in response.
Shen Yujing was thoroughly irritated by her attitude. As Song Yi walked past him, he gripped her wrist tightly, "Who said you could leave?"
Song Yi frowned at Shen Yujing, "Let go of me."
Due to her sweet voice, her words of warning actually sounded somewhat like a coquettish complaint.
A tense atmosphere filled the air between the four of them, and the scent of gossip permeated the entire cafeteria.
Some male students looked at Shen Yujing with disapproval, unable to understand how he could bully such a gentle and obedient transfer student girl, showing no chivalry at all.
There were also female students with envy in their eyes, thinking Song Yi was really ungrateful, or perhaps playing hard to get.
The soft, warm feeling in his palm momentarily dazed Shen Yujing. When he met the girl's innocent doe eyes, the irritation in his heart dissipated somewhat.
Although she was a bit impolite, considering she was smarter than Jiang Yiheng, he could forgive her.
Thinking this, Shen Yujing handed over his phone again, giving Song Yi another chance. He said in a commanding tone, "WeChat ID."
Song Yi: "..."
Hadn't Murong Huan done the same thing this morning? Couldn't these people come up with something new?
Song Yi didn't want to get involved with Shen Yujing, so instead of taking the phone, she said, "I told you, I don't want to be your friend."
"Bang-"
The plate on the table was directly smashed by Shen Yujing, the sharp sound piercing in the quiet atmosphere.
Silence, is tonight's Cambridge.
Silence, is the current cafeteria.
Others could no longer hide their gossip-hungry hearts and directly looked in their direction.
Shen Yujing had grown up being the center of attention since childhood, and no one had ever dared to treat him like this. Song Yi's actions had undoubtedly touched his reverse scale.
Originally, seeing that her grades could surpass Jiang Yiheng, he wanted to offer her some protection or convenience at school. This was a rare moment of kindness from the young master Shen, who had been used to being willful and arrogant for years.
He didn't expect that a mere top student would be so ungrateful. Her level of irritation was no less than Jiang Yiheng's.
As for Song Yi, her mood was no better than Shen Yujing's.
Why did the male lead have to stick to her like a leech? Was it because of that damn female lead halo? If the fate of the female lead halo was destined to be death, then it wasn't worth having at all.
Since she couldn't stay away from these main characters, it wouldn't matter if they disliked her.
Shen Yujing's grip on Song Yi's wrist not only didn't loosen, but tightened, as if using silence to make her compromise.
Three, two, one.
Song Yi silently counted down in her heart, but Shen Yujing clearly hadn't realized the danger that was about to come.
Song Yi twisted her wrist and grabbed Shen Yujing's hand, then quickly used her other hand to press on Shen Yujing's neck, forcefully slamming his face onto the table, "Who gave you permission to touch me? I told you to let go, can't you understand human speech?"
Shen Yujing had never been treated like this before, losing face completely in front of so many people.
However, more than being watched by so many people, what he found more unbelievable at this moment was... that he couldn't break free from Song Yi's grip?
Amidst the exclamations of surrounding classmates and Murong Huan's dumbfounded expression, Song Yi continued word by word: "Eight streets of Saint Slee Academy, ask around who's the boss!"
*
Rumors spread throughout the school at an extremely exaggerated speed-
"Did you know? The new transfer student slammed Shen Yujing's face onto the table! I saw young master Shen's black face at the scene and was almost scared to tears!"
"Shh! Let me tell you secretly, the transfer student beat up Shen Yujing! His face was all bruised! My friend at the scene was almost scared to tears!"
"Oh my god! The transfer student beat up Shen Yujing in the cafeteria, Shen Yujing was almost scared to tears!"
"What? Shen Yujing was beaten to tears by the transfer student?!"
Meanwhile, Shen Yujing sat in the infirmary with an ashen face, holding an ice pack to his eye.
Quan Le stood nearby, not daring to breathe loudly, while also truly beginning to ponder a question-
What was this transfer student's background?
At Saint Slee Academy, there was the academic god Jiang Yiheng, and the school bully Shen Yujing.
The former had won first place in countless city-wide exams, while the latter had fought his way to the point where even the neighboring Saint An Boys' School dared not provoke him.
Yet this transfer student came along, not only taking away Jiang Yiheng's first place but also making Shen Yujing taste defeat in a fight.
Shen Yujing was known for his explosive temper - anyone who displeased him, male or female, would suffer.
So Quan Le asked, "Why did you let her go just like that today?"
Shen Yujing's handsome face bore a bluish-purple mark, which, combined with his expression, added an extra touch of menace.
Faced with Quan Le's question, he remained silent for a few seconds before answering, "I couldn't beat her."
"Being able to accept defeat" was one of Shen Yujing's rare virtues, though he hadn't lost much in recent years, so others hadn't really noticed this quality.
Shen Yujing's frank admission caught Quan Le by surprise. He said, "No way? How can a girl be that strong? If even you can't beat her, it's a shame she's not competing in the Olympics to bring glory to our country."
Before Shen Yujing could respond, the door to the infirmary opened.
Shen Yujing's lackey walked in carrying a bag of chilled drinks. "Boss, if you ask me, what's there to discuss? Leave it to me. Tonight, I'll get a few girls to lure that Song Yi to the storage room. I guarantee she'll be crying and apologizing to you."
Shen Yujing threw the ice pack in his hand at the boy's feet, irritably saying, "Get lost."
"What kind of ridiculous idea is that?" Quan Le also looked at the boy with exasperation. "Alright, we don't need you here. Just leave the stuff and go."
"Sure thing, Young Master Quan." The boy put the bag on the table and walked towards the door, but then hesitated.
He scratched his head, wondering if he should still go bully Song Yi to get revenge for his boss.
"Ding ding—"
The boy's phone rang. He checked and saw it was a WeChat message from his girlfriend.
[Why didn't you buy me a cupcake last night? (angry)]
The boy replied: You said anything was fine.
[Just because I said anything was fine, you didn't buy it? People can be shy, you know. Saying they don't want something means they do want it, and saying anything is fine also means they want it. As long as there's no clear refusal, it means agreement! Can't you be less of a blockhead?]
The boy was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly had an epiphany.
Right, people can be shy, especially their boss who just got beaten up by a girl. How could such a humiliating incident be left unresolved?
Moreover, the boss didn't explicitly refuse his suggestion earlier. Got it! As long as there's no clear refusal, it means agreement!
*
Class A.
Song Yi's heroic deed in the cafeteria had spread throughout the school, resulting in countless gazes washing over her as she entered the classroom.
Before parting, Murong Huan had patted her shoulder and said two words, "Take care."
While Murong Huan could protect her from offending Quan Le, doing this to Shen Yujing was undoubtedly courting death.
It wasn't just Murong Huan who thought this way; everyone did. They looked at Song Yi with complex and sympathetic expressions, knowing that this top student's days ahead would not be easy.
However, Song Yi remained calm, sitting at her desk and opening another set of practice questions, continuing to study as if nothing had happened.
Just as the preparatory bell rang, Jiang Yiheng returned to class right on time, taking his seat next to Song Yi.
The two had no interaction, living in a state of mutual non-interference, which was Song Yi's ideal way of getting along.
Until the break after the second period, when suddenly someone called her name from the doorway.
The girl had delicate features, wore her hair in twin ponytails, and had adorable dimples when she smiled – a face that easily evoked goodwill.
The girl said, "You're Song Yi, right? Teacher Xu wants you to find her after school. Her office is on the third floor of Building A7, the leftmost room."
Teacher Xu was the homeroom teacher for the senior class, so Song Yi didn't suspect anything and replied, "Thank you, I got it."
Song Yi returned to her seat, and a cool voice beside her spoke up, "All teachers' offices are in Building A3."
Song Yi was startled and looked up at Jiang Yiheng with confusion, confirming that he was the one who had spoken.
Jiang Yiheng didn't respond to Song Yi's look. He picked up the registration form on his desk and walked out, as if nothing had happened.
Song Yi rested her chin on her hand, staring at the desktop and thinking. Compared to other male characters in this book, Jiang Yiheng seemed to be a person with a sense of justice.
So his words were probably meant to tell her that the girl from earlier was suspicious.
Although this didn't seem to be part of the original plot, based on Song Yi's experience of reading hundreds of romance novels, a qualified female protagonist always had to suffer bullying from cannon fodder characters.
She had even beaten up the male lead, so what was there to be afraid of?
Song Yi came to terms with the situation, then lowered her head and rummaged through her bag, pulling out a hammer.
System: [When did you put that in there???]
Song Yi answered matter-of-factly, "Oh, I just grabbed it on my way out this morning."
System: [......]
What kind of normal person casually grabs a hammer?
*
After school, Song Yi arrived punctually at the door of the room the girl had mentioned, inwardly feeling somewhat contemptuous.
Look at the rust on this door; it's clearly not used often. They really think they can fool her so easily.
Nevertheless, Song Yi pushed the door open, while simultaneously taking a step back.
A bucket fell from above. Although Song Yi had consciously dodged it, some dirty water still splashed onto her white sneakers.
Two girls stood inside the room. Seeing that Song Yi had avoided most of the dirty water, disappointment flashed in their eyes. But they quickly exchanged a glance, then rushed forward to roughly grab Song Yi's arms, dragging her into the room.
Song Yi's eyes showed a frightened expression. She looked at them pitifully, struggling and shouting, "What are you trying to do? Is anyone there? Can someone please help me!"
_
Shen Yujing hurriedly walked into Building A7. The bruise under his eye had faded considerably since noon, but his expression was even more grim than before.
Zhang Yong had just come to him seeking praise, and that's when Shen Yujing learned what he had done.
Although Shen Yujing wouldn't easily forgive Song Yi, he absolutely wouldn't stoop to such tasteless actions.
What he wanted was to win fair and square, not to coerce the other party with such underhanded tactics.
So now, his goal was to rescue Song Yi.
When he arrived at the room Zhang Yong had told him about, Shen Yujing realized something was wrong upon seeing the iron bucket and puddle of dirty water at the door.
Had he arrived too late?
Shen Yujing reached out to push the door, but found it was locked from the inside.
"Song Yi! Song Yi!"
Shen Yujing pounded on the door, shouting her name, but the response he got was painful female screams. It seemed the expected bullying was taking place just beyond the door.
Shen Yujing's brow furrowed even more. At this moment, he had no time to think of anything else. He took two steps back and forcefully kicked the door lock.
The old lock swayed precariously and soon fell to the ground.
With a creaking sound, the door gap widened, and the situation inside was fully revealed to Shen Yujing.
He saw that the two girls Zhang Yong had sent to teach Song Yi a lesson were tied to chairs, with cloths stuffed in their mouths, frantically struggling and begging him for help. They looked more like the victims.
And the fragile girl he had imagined might be crying from being bullied was now standing nonchalantly to the side, tilting her head and looking at him while raising... a hammer??? from behind her back.
Shen Yujing: "......"
Wait, why is there a hammer? He didn't understand.
Moreover, the current situation seemed quite different from what he had imagined.
"Shen Yujing!" Song Yi called out his name, then enthusiastically extended an invitation, "Want to play whack-a-mole together?"
The girl's almond eyes looked utterly innocent, and her smile seemed genuine, but her next words were like a devil's whisper—
"Of course, you're all moles."
