“The school news department must have all gone to the US for training or something.”
Just glancing at the headline, Ji Yuenian couldn’t help but feel the urge to complain.
“That’s not the point. The important thing is this picture below.”
Luo Yikang tilted his phone screen slightly toward Ji Yuenian, who narrowed his eyes slightly.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled patterns on the campus bench.
A black-haired girl in a maid outfit sat there quietly, like a flower blooming in silence.
Her head was slightly bowed, her gaze intently fixed on the phone in her hands, which bore a print of a muscular devil character.
She seemed completely absorbed in it.
The sunlight bathed her figure, adding a faint golden glow to her exquisite maid outfit.
A gentle breeze passed by, causing the hem of her skirt to flutter like a dancing butterfly.
At least the photographer had some decency-the girl’s face wasn’t shown in the shot.
Even so, the comments below had already surpassed a thousand, with views well over ten thousand.
“Awooo~ Which junior is this? I’m gonna pursue her!!”
“Coming to school in a maid outfit, tsk tsk, must be the master’s orders! lewd emoji”
“Staff from the maid café near the school? How come I’ve never seen her before?”
“Upstairs, Daji is the real deal! That ‘Master’ she called out last time melted my heart.”
Suddenly, Luo Yikang’s teasing voice rang in his ear:
“Tsk tsk, Old Ji, spill it—what’s your relationship with that girl?”
“What relationship?”
Ji Yuenian instinctively denied it, but under Luo Yikang’s knowing smirk, his heartbeat involuntarily quickened.
He took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice steady.
“Don’t start nonsense, or I’ll teach you a lesson with my fist the size of a sandbag!!”
“Really, no relationship?”
Luo Yikang grinned mischievously as he picked up Ji Yuenian’s phone and shook it, tapping his index finger on the identical muscular devil phone case.
“Couple items, huh? Exactly the same~”
“Bro Ji, quit pretending. We’re all buddies here. You’ve been staying out all night these past few days because of her, right? Say hi to the missus for me.”
The weight in Ji Yuenian’s chest suddenly lifted.
He had thought he’d been exposed, that they’d figured something out.
Turns out, they just assumed he’d been staying out to live with some pretty girl.
Well, that made sense. No normal person would jump to gender-swapping conclusions.
Ji Yuenian at 183 cm and Ji Qingchan at 163 cm—as long as Ji Yuenian didn’t confess, who would ever guess they were the same person?
Still, this served as a warning.
From now on, when using the “Ji Qingchan” identity, he absolutely couldn’t bring out any “Ji Yuenian” items.
This time, it was mistaken for a girlfriend-next time, who knew what they’d think?
After a brief hesitation, Ji Yuenian opened his mouth, about to explain that “Ji Qingchan” had nothing to do with him, when suddenly, a sharp female voice rang out from somewhere in the cafeteria.
“Oh no, someone’s jumping off the building!”
* * *
At that moment, a dense crowd had gathered around the Mingzhi Cafeteria at Wanqingyongguan School in the afternoon.
They were all looking up at the rooftop.
Under the sunlight, a figure could be seen standing at the edge.
Long hair fluttered wildly in the wind, looking somewhat disheveled.
The girl had a well-proportioned figure but appeared somewhat frail.
It always felt as though a slightly stronger gust of wind from the rooftop could send her tumbling down, making onlookers’ hearts clench in worry.
Students below were buzzing with chatter.
“Who is that? Why would they want to take their own life?”
“This is terrifying! I’ve only seen stuff like this in the news-never thought I’d witness it in real life!”
“Isn’t that Song Shiyu from the sports department?”
“Song Shiyu? The one who borrowed money not long ago to attend her brother’s concert?”
“Yeah, that’s her.”
“Hey, no matter what’s troubling you, don’t give up on life!”
“Come down and talk to the teachers. We’ll find a way to help you.”
The figure stood motionless, completely ignoring the teachers’ pleas.
Amid the dense crowd, Su Tian withdrew his gaze and nudged the person beside him, lowering his voice.
“Brother Ji, isn’t that the girl who gave you flowers last time?”
“Huh? Where’d Brother Ji go?”
In the stairwell, a limping figure dashed past the steps and kicked open the half-shut iron door.
Ji Yuenian arrived on the rooftop of the cafeteria.
The loud commotion naturally caught Song Shiyu’s attention.
She turned her head, standing at the edge of the balcony.
“Don’t come any closer!”
Her sobs carried on the wind, laced with despair.
“Let me jump! I don’t want to live anymore!”
“If you take another step, I swear I’ll jump!”
“Wait, classmate, just calm down first.”
Limping forward, Ji Yuenian raised his hands to show he meant no harm.
“I’m the head of the sports department. You’re part of it too, so you should know me. No matter how tough things are, don’t resort to something this extreme. Let’s talk it through slowly.”
“What do you know?!”
Song Shiyu’s emotions flared abruptly.
Her body trembled slightly, tears streaming down her face.
“No one can help me. I’ve hit a dead end.”
The wind howled, as if echoing her cries.
“You’re right, I don’t understand.”
“But could I you pick a different day to jump?”
Ji Yuenian’s voice was loud enough for the entire cafeteria to hear.
“You’re part of my sports department. If you jump now, it won’t just hurt the school’s reputation-it’ll also reflect badly on me.”
He pointed upward with a helpless expression.
“If I let you jump, what will the higher-ups think of me? They’ll say I’m a lousy department head. How am I supposed to compete for ‘School Heartthrob’ then?”
“So, could you postpone your jump for a few days? At least wait till I’ve secured the title first.”
The moment these words left his mouth, the crowd erupted in shock!
Song Shiyu froze.
Then, tears burst uncontrollably from her eyes.
She covered her face with her hands, her voice hoarse.
“Ji Yuenian, I never thought you’d be this kind of person! And to think I once liked you!”
As she sobbed, darkness suddenly engulfed her vision.
A pair of strong arms yanked her back violently from the balcony’s edge.
Snapping back to reality, Song Shiyu struggled desperately, kicking wildly and even elbowing Ji Yuenian in an attempt to break free.
Thinking fast, Ji Yuenian punched her in the waist, knocking her down before pinning her beneath him.
Song Shiyu’s hair tangled across her face, her eyes wild with frenzy as she thrashed with all her might.
I have no idea what she was fed growing up, but her immense strength made it impossible for Ji Yuenian to subdue her alone.
“Damn it, someone get over here! I can’t hold her down anymore!!” Ji Yuenian shouted.
Four male students suddenly rushed out from the stairwell, and together, they managed to restrain Song Shiyu.
Finally, with a swift chop to the neck from Ji Yuenian, they succeeded in knocking her unconscious.
The farce came to a perfect end when the school rescue team arrived.
The onlookers were dispersed, and strict orders were given to prevent the spread of any videos.
Meanwhile, Ji Yuenian and his group volunteered as helpful bystanders, carrying the unconscious Song Shiyu to the infirmary.
After an examination by the school doctor, she was deemed unharmed-except for Ji Yuenian’s sprained foot, which had taken another hit.
A farce? Then it was coordinated? But why would he think saying something so self-centered would give him any points? And why would she hit his ankle if it’s only an act?
He said that not to help his reputation but to make her angry knowing this man that’s so annoying and makes me angry if I die now he’s reputation will take a hit yet instead of thinking about me it’s telling me to wait a few days motherfucker even I instead of sucide will go murder the dude with anger.