Compared to the loose, ordinary classes, the supervision in Baiying Academy’s experimental building was even stricter than in regular schools.
Not to mention pulling out a phone during class, even stepping out of the teaching building’s main entrance would prompt any encountered teacher to interrogate you.
Under such rigorous discipline, their awareness of outside news naturally lagged behind.
The time had already passed ten in the evening.
Although it was the unified break time for high school students, nearly a quarter of the students in Class 1, Second Year Experimental still sat in the brightly lit classroom, continuing to bury their heads in study.
The hardworking Bai young master was no exception. If nothing unexpected happened, today he would also be the last person to leave the classroom.
However, what exactly he was working so hard on, no one knew.
— Meng Wange, surname Meng, given name Wange.
… What an unlucky name?
Bai Heyi stared at the three large characters “孟换歌” written on the blank sheet of paper.
He silently circled the characters, eyes furtively scanning as he thought to himself.
That was none other than the arrogant, conceited Su Wanli.
Would she really come to like someone else in such a short time?
That was obviously impossible.
Moreover, before today, he had never heard of this name.
This so-called Meng Wange was probably just a scapegoat Su Wanli had found for herself during winter break.
Heh heh.
He himself had just publicly expressed his intention to pursue her before the break.
And yet, Su Wanli had already found a vague romantic interest for herself over the holiday.
This was tantamount to slapping himself hard in the face.
… She really is shameless, Su Wanli. Consider me played by you.
After all, she was the biological daughter of Su Heng.
Although she usually acted foolish and wild, making her lose rationality was not as simple as he thought.
Forget it, as long as the rumor he wove still existed, the plan for the day after tomorrow wouldn’t be greatly affected.
He quietly added Su Wanli’s name on the other side of the paper, drawing a small star in the upper left corner.
… Mountains and rivers are easy to change, but one’s nature is hard to shift.
Even if you craft an indifferent mask for yourself, as long as you appear at the banquet, I have countless ways to strip that facade away.
Before that, I only need to avoid you for a while longer, letting Su Wanli’s anger have no outlet.
However…
— “I heard that during Meng Wange’s self-introduction, Su Wanli specifically stood up and said this person was under my protection. Anyone who dares to insult her is insulting me,” said someone from Class Three, Year Two, repeating what they personally heard.
Recalling Wang Zheng’s confident words, Bai Heyi furrowed his brows slightly.
If she was just an ordinary scapegoat, would Su Wanli really go to such lengths to defend her?
That girl boldly insults even her own biological father, yet in such an irrelevant situation, she defends another person?
Is she so focused on counterattacking me that she can’t even maintain her usual proud arrogance?
Or could it be that Meng Wange really has something about her that makes Su Wanli…
“Hey, Bai Shao! Uh—Bai Heyi!”
The girl who had been quizzing him earlier at noon suddenly appeared with two or three other girls, surrounding Bai Heyi and calling out his name.
“Evening, everyone.”
Bai Heyi instinctively rested his elbow on the notebook in front of him and spent a split second adjusting his expression before smiling at them.
“What’s up? Any questions you don’t understand?”
“No, we just feel like maybe you’re in a bad mood today.”
… Ah, it must be about Su Wanli.
Although people in the experimental class usually didn’t care much about campus gossip, news about her always spread particularly fast.
Surely the entire class already knew about the ambiguous relationship between Su Xiaoli and this Meng Wange…
Seeing the worried expressions on their faces, Bai Heyi felt especially irritable for a moment.
No, after all, confessing to Su Xiaoli was only a temporary measure he sacrificed some of his reputation for, all for the banquet the day after tomorrow.
So what was this now? Were they pitying him?
Bai Heyi clenched his teeth silently.
Sure, looking a bit hurt now might help the plan for the banquet, but…
It’s just Su Wanli. I don’t need to make this kind of sacrifice, right?
“… Heh heh, if you’re talking about the rumor concerning Su Xiaoli, I’m not really upset about it.”
Bai Heyi smiled gently and shook his head, folding his hands.
“After all, I was at fault first. It’s only natural that Su Wanli strikes back in her own way.”
The girls exchanged confused glances before suddenly pursing their lips in realization.
“Ah, I get it now! So, Su Wanli sitting beside a pretty girl, constantly chatting with her and seemingly ignoring Bai Shao, was actually just venting her anger at you?”
“Completely ignoring him…”
Though the pressure at his temples was beginning to throb, Bai Heyi merely narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled at them while shaking his head.
“No, it’s not like that. If Su Wanli can develop such strong feelings for a stranger in just one month, I would sincerely wish them happiness.
After all, I only want the person I like to be happy.”
“… Damn Su Wanli, Bai Shao’s going crazy but dares to…”
“And Meng Wange, too! How dare they humiliate Bai Shao together!”
“I think that Su family guy is only rich. He really doesn’t have any other merits, right? Maybe Bai Shao should look around more…”
… Heh heh, that’s the right attitude.
Sure, I can be the loser in love, but being misunderstood as serious is no fun.
Bai Heyi smiled and shook his head.
He took out his phone from the depths of his bag, preparing to send a message to his loyal little brother to ask for the latest news.
“Ah, Bai Shao! You really are still here! I’ve got good news!”
Wang Zheng hurried in through the classroom’s back door, waving the backup phone in his hand excitedly at Bai Heyi.
“The forum says Meng Wange is actually Su Wanli’s distant relative! Because of family reasons, she’s temporarily staying at the Su Family and transferred to Baiying for school. Su Wanli’s protection of her is just due to family ties!”
“Plus, a few people from San Ban in the group chat said this information was personally confirmed by Su Wanli—no fake news!”
Bai Heyi glanced at him silently and felt a shout in his heart.
Right, good news.
This really was good news if Wang Zheng was only sending it to him casually.
“So, it actually has nothing to do with Bai Shao?”
“And those actions weren’t retaliation, just dealings with a relative…”
Hearing Wang Zheng’s words, the girls who had surrounded him earlier paused thoughtfully and then gave Bai Heyi awkward smiles.
“Sorry, Bai Shao, we misunderstood.”
“… It’s fine, I’m a bit anxious too. Wang Zheng, you’ve come at the right time.”
Just as Bai Heyi was trembling slightly while standing up to pull his little brother into the hallway outside the classroom, the notebook tucked under Wang Zheng’s arm suddenly slipped with a thud onto the floor.
“Ah, Bai Shao, I’ll help you dig it out…”
The leading girl immediately lowered her head to pick it up, intending to put it back on Bai Heyi’s desk, but then stopped for some reason.
On the paper, a large “Su Wanli” with stars next to it was positioned on the left side of the page.
On the right side was a nearly unrecognizable “Meng Wange,” framed by countless black circles.
Seeing their expressions—whether shocked or disillusioned—Bai Heyi quickly waved his hands, pointing to the marks on the paper one by one.
“… No, no misunderstanding, this is me… I…”
“No, it’s okay Bai Shao. It’s a bit late today, we’ll head back to the dorm now!”
“Wait, I really am not—my feelings for Su Wanli are just…”
Watching those girls rush away in embarrassment, Bai Heyi silently sighed and reached out.
In the end, he could only grab Wang Zheng’s shoulder.
“Hand over your phone.”
“Bai Shao, this model’s not brand new, but it originally cost six grand!”
“I’m only checking the news! What do you take me for?!”