Before going to bed, Xiao Yao logged into her forum account.
It had been a month since her last post. During that month, she had been completely immersed in her beauty transformation and had hardly logged in at all.
After the Ming Family’s public relations team stepped in, the post’s popularity had been suppressed. During this period, it only received two or three scattered replies each day. However, her private messages were still being visited daily by Ming Jing’s fangirls.
Xiao Yao noticed that Loves Eating Candy had sent her quite a few messages.
The first batch had arrived on the day the public relations campaign began.
Loves Eating Candy: I’m so mad I’m so mad I’m so mad I’m so mad I’m so mad. How the hell did Ming Jing manage to clear his name? Damn it, I ****** him **** seriously ****
Loves Eating Candy: Sorry, Sister. I got too emotional just now.
Loves Eating Candy: Sister, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to swear. I’m just too angry.
Loves Eating Candy: Sister?
Perhaps because Xiao Yao had never replied, the other person had not sent any more messages afterward.
As one of the few cannon fodder characters in a Male Lead novel who actually caused trouble for the Male Lead, Xiao Yao felt that if this person was truly an anti-fan, they were unusually clear-headed.
After all, in this novel, almost every girl in the world liked the Male Lead.
She typed a reply.
I haven’t been online recently.
After a pause, Xiao Yao added:
I hate him too.
There was no response.
The other person was probably offline.
After exiting the chat, Xiao Yao could not resist arguing with some of the Male Lead’s fangirls in private messages.
She called them sewer rats living underground and said they were stupid and malicious, spending their days rotting at home. She even mocked them for not being able to afford decent phones.
Although her insults were completely random and lacked any real impact, she felt much better afterward.
Satisfied, Xiao Yao logged off and went to sleep.
…
In order to obtain evidence of the cheating scumbag, Xiao Yao followed him for several consecutive days, getting up early every morning.
However, the man was extremely cautious.
Whenever he was in public, he never got too close to any particular girl. There were always other people present during his interactions.
Meanwhile, Moon had also sent her a message.
She said that over the past few days, her boyfriend’s attitude had returned to normal. In fact, he had become even gentler and more considerate than before.
Their third anniversary was only half a month away.
She suspected that she might have misunderstood him. She had even bought an expensive gift and was planning to fly over to surprise him.
Afraid that Xiao Yao would overthink things, she specifically told her that the deposit did not need to be refunded.
Xiao Yao frowned.
She remained convinced of her original judgment.
That guy looked dishonest at first glance. He might be able to keep up the act for a while, but no one could pretend forever.
The system thought she was meddling unnecessarily.
The couple had already reconciled, so why was an outsider still getting involved?
However, although Xiao Yao was a vicious cannon fodder, she had her own principles.
She never accepted money for nothing.
And she absolutely refused to return money that had already reached her hands.
Since ordinary surveillance was not producing any evidence, Xiao Yao decided to change tactics.
Coincidentally, the next day was another one of Ming Jing’s classes.
Sitting in the last row, Xiao Yao fixed her gaze on a figure seated toward the front and pondered something for a long time without looking away.
Moon’s boyfriend was named Liang Yu.
Because of his excellent grades and refined, handsome appearance, he was very popular in their class.
Girls confessed to him frequently, but he always rejected them by saying that he already had a long-term girlfriend.
Rather than discouraging people, this devoted image attracted even more admirers.
After all, handsome men were everywhere.
Handsome and devoted men were rare.
At the podium, Ming Jing noticed her gaze and frowned slightly.
Over the past few days, he had not contacted her.
Although he felt a vague affection toward Xiao Yao, that affection was not strong enough to make him lower himself and become a third party in someone else’s relationship.
He was the heir to the Ming Family.
He was not some reckless young man willing to throw everything away for love.
And this seemed to suit Xiao Yao perfectly.
He could tell that she did not want much interaction with him.
She never looked at him during class.
The moment class ended, she picked up her bag and left.
Because of that, he had repeatedly reminded himself not to do something as foolish as forcing attention upon someone who clearly was not interested.
Yet now, even though he did not want to concern himself with anything related to her, he still found himself unconsciously following her line of sight.
His gaze landed on the boy she had been staring at.
A subtle frown appeared.
The boy looked completely ordinary.
Slanted eyes.
A hooked nose.
A frail-looking frame.
The appearance of a pretty boy.
Her taste was truly questionable.
Liang Yu was sitting in his seat when he suddenly felt an intense gaze from the podium.
He looked up.
His eyes met a handsome, refined face.
The man wore a gentle smile, but beneath it lingered a cold and gloomy indifference.
Liang Yu’s heart immediately sped up.
As he looked at the person on the podium, a trace of obsession gradually appeared in his eyes.
He was deeply closeted.
Although he already had a girlfriend he had dated for years, deep down he still longed for the affection of a tall, attractive man.
Unfortunately, he was extremely picky and cared deeply about other people’s opinions.
Ever since discovering his orientation at sixteen, he had never dared reveal it.
After the college entrance examinations, he had even accepted the pursuit of a wealthy, beautiful girl and used her as a shield.
To outsiders, he was the perfect devoted boyfriend.
Privately, however, he needed medication just to maintain intimacy with his girlfriend.
Three years ago, the first time he saw Ming Jing’s photo online, he had become completely captivated.
He liked handsome, tall men.
Ming Jing’s appearance and temperament matched his ideal type perfectly.
Countless times, he had comforted himself while looking at Ming Jing’s photographs.
Just to have a chance of meeting him, he had given up the opportunity to attend the same university as his girlfriend and instead enrolled at A University, where Ming Jing taught.
He often fantasized that one day he would meet Ming Jing and then…
Make him fall for him.
The gaze fixed upon him left Liang Yu’s thoughts wandering.
His ears reddened as he lowered his head.
He could not help wondering whether Ming Jing might also be interested in him.
Otherwise, why would he look at him with such…
Such a direct gaze?
Ming Jing had been handsome since childhood.
He was extremely sensitive to the admiring and obsessed looks people directed toward him.
Whether they came from men or women, those disgusting gazes were always easy to recognize.
And this man was even wearing an expression of bashful infatuation.
Ming Jing’s face immediately darkened.
The smile on his lips nearly disappeared.
…
As soon as class ended, Xiao Yao hurriedly stood up and followed the crowd toward the exit.
After struggling through the packed stream of students, she finally spotted the target.
Just as she was about to follow him, a hand suddenly shot out and grabbed her wrist.
Before she could cry out in surprise, she was pulled around a corner.
The hand gripping her was cool.
Long fingers easily encircled her entire wrist.
Forced to stop, Xiao Yao watched helplessly as her target disappeared from sight.
Only then did she turn back and glare angrily at the person responsible.
“What are you doing?”
The one who had grabbed her was the Male Lead.
In her urgency, she forgot to maintain her usual timid disguise.
The cold expression on her face fell directly into Ming Jing’s eyes.
To him, it looked as though he had ruined her plans.
Slowly releasing her wrist, the smile vanished from his lips.
Xiao Yao thought that since Liang Yu had not gone far yet, she still had time to catch up.
She immediately stepped forward.
“You like him?”
A cold voice sounded behind her.
The Male Lead’s voice was distinctive and pleasant, gentle as jade.
But now it seemed coated in ice, every word carrying a chilling edge.
The sounds of the crowd descending the stairs gradually faded away.
Xiao Yao estimated that it was already impossible to catch up now.
Frustration rose within her.
Deciding to stop pretending, she admitted it outright.
“Yes. I like him.”
She turned around.
Her bad temper was written all over her face.
Yet even when she was this spoiled and unreasonable, her face made it impossible to truly dislike her.
Ever since Xiao Yao had vaguely realized that the Male Lead treated her differently, her attitude toward him had gradually begun to change.
The timid little cat that only dared bare its teeth from the shadows had slowly started showing its claws.
Ming Jing stared at her expressionlessly.
Under his gaze, Xiao Yao’s confidence gradually weakened.
Suddenly, he laughed.
“You like him?”
“Does your boyfriend know?”
Xiao Yao wanted to boldly declare that she did not have a boyfriend and that he was threatening the wrong person.
But when she met Ming Jing’s eyes, her usually slow brain finally started working.
For some reason, she felt that saying it might lead to something even worse.
So she swallowed the words.
Biting her lower lip, she looked at him warily.
Ming Jing took two steps forward.
Then he raised a hand and gently rubbed her lip, rescuing the poor thing from her teeth.
The contrast between his pale fingers and her reddened lips was striking.
His voice was gentle.
His words were not.
“Does your boyfriend know that you worked at Jinye?”
“That you wore a maid outfit and sat beside another man pouring him drinks?”
“Does he know that you’ve spent the entire class staring at another man?”
“That the moment class ended, you wanted to throw yourself at him?”