Thud!
“Ouch—!”
Ji Rou rubbed her sore backside, about to lash out at Shen Xingbai—but the moment she saw his dark, brooding expression, she immediately fell silent.
“Haha… the bed’s actually pretty soft…” she said awkwardly, forcing a laugh.
Shen Xingbai remained silent, his gaze deep and unreadable as he stared at her.
“Ji Rou… do I have to break your legs before you stop betraying me?”
Ji Rou: “…”
“Haha… you’re joking, right? How could I ever betray you?”
“D-don’t come any closer…”
Shen Xingbai stepped forward. “Looks like you won’t learn unless I teach you a lesson.”
“Mmm—”
Ji Rou’s eyes widened in shock. She couldn’t believe he had kissed her.
Doesn’t he hate me? Then why…?
Seeing her distracted, Shen Xingbai’s gaze darkened. His grip tightened, and the kiss deepened, more forceful than before.
“Mmm…”
Gradually, Ji Rou lost herself in the kiss.
The next morning
Ji Rou slowly opened her eyes. Seeing that Shen Xingbai was gone, she felt an unexpected trace of disappointment.
Ji Rou, what are you thinking? Why would you feel upset just because he’s not here?
He’s someone who came back to take revenge on you.
But the moment she spotted a note by the bedside, her mood instantly lifted.
“Hmph.” She puffed her cheeks slightly. “That jerk… kissing me last night and disappearing first thing in the morning.”
Still…
After reading the note, the irritation in her heart quickly faded.
“Sorry, I had something to take care of and had to leave. I ordered breakfast for you—just press the bell by the bedside when you wake up.”
Ji Rou glanced at the bell and felt her stomach growl.
Well, since he already ordered it… it’d be a waste not to eat, she thought, reluctantly deciding to accept it.
Meanwhile, Wu Xiaomei was happily holding her phone.
Seeing that her scandalous photos had finally disappeared from the internet, she smiled in relief.
Looks like introducing Ji Rou to Young Master Zhou really worked.
But just as she was basking in her happiness, a phone call from Zhou shattered everything.
“Oh, Wu Xiaomei—you dared to lie to me?!”
Her face turned pale as she clutched her phone. “Y-Young Master Zhou, how could I possibly deceive you? I even arranged for campus belle Ji Rou to meet you tonight!”
“And you still dare to bring her up?!” Zhou roared.
His body still ached from the shock. As a wealthy heir, when had he ever suffered such humiliation?
And it was all because of Wu Xiaomei.
She had told him Ji Rou secretly admired him, that if not for their mismatched status, she would’ve confessed long ago.
But instead of showing affection, Ji Rou had greeted him with a stun baton, leaving him in agony.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
He immediately ordered his men to restore Wu Xiaomei’s deleted photos and hired online trolls to spread them everywhere. He wanted her to understand the consequences of offending him.
As for Ji Rou—how could a beauty be at fault? The blame was entirely on Wu Xiaomei.
Grimacing in pain, Zhou ground his teeth and pushed the smear campaign even harder.
Soon, the entire school knew about Wu Xiaomei’s scandal. No matter how much she begged for help, it was useless.
In the end, the school expelled her to preserve its reputation.
Standing at the school gate with her luggage, Wu Xiaomei shivered in the cold wind.
The looks of disdain from her former classmates made her face alternate between flushed red and pale white.
A gentle-looking girl nearby hesitated, feeling a bit sorry for her and wanting to step forward.
But her friend quickly stopped her.
“Xiaoxiao, don’t be naive. That woman was expelled for being shameless. Didn’t you see those photos? She was completely exposed, pushed out by some random man, and even got photographed by reporters… honestly…”
She shook her head in disgust. Even as women, they felt embarrassed just thinking about it.
Hearing this, Wu Xiaomei trembled with anger, wanting to rush over and tear that girl apart.
But when she saw the crowd’s hostile and disgusted expressions, fear stopped her in her tracks.
Zhang Xiaoxiao lifted her gentle, innocent face.
“But what if she was forced into it?” she said softly. “There are so many girls who end up in situations like that because of hardship… and rich men can do anything for their desires. Maybe she had no choice.”
“Th-that…” her friend hesitated, unsure how to respond.
Even if it was true, selling oneself for money still felt disgraceful.
“No matter what,” Zhang Xiaoxiao continued, “she’s already in such a pitiful state. We shouldn’t mock or humiliate her. What if she can’t take it and harms herself? Then wouldn’t we be responsible?”
Hearing this, the crowd began to feel ashamed and quickly stopped their criticism.
Seeing that someone was speaking up for her even now, Wu Xiaomei felt a surge of gratitude toward Zhang Xiaoxiao, thinking she was a kind person.
What she didn’t know…
Was that this very “kind” person would eventually push her into an even deeper abyss.