You Xinghai, who was fully immersed in writing code, had stayed up all night and skipped her usual sleep. Meanwhile, Wen Xiaoyue enjoyed a long night of dreamless, restful slumber.
On Saturday morning, the campus security office, which Wen Xiaoyue had contacted in advance, sent over the surveillance footage.
Wen Xiaoyue had assumed that since the perpetrators knew they were targeting her, they would have obscured the corridor cameras, requiring a great deal of effort to root them out.
To her surprise, the culprits were as foolish as pigs. They had taken no precautions at all; the surveillance had even recorded the audio of them plotting.
Such reckless audacity! They truly did not show her any respect.
After confirming their identities, Wen Xiaoyue determined that the group responsible was a small clique under the command of Chen Shiru from the International Class.
She knew of the girl, but because of the vast gap in their family backgrounds, they had rarely interacted. She could not fathom what kind of grudge would drive someone to act so arrogantly against her.
Once the facts were verified, Wen Xiaoyue chose to keep the information quiet for the moment. Instead, she contacted a friend in the International Class to dig for information on Chen Shiru.
[Chen Shiru? Why are you suddenly asking about her?]
[Oh, you really have no idea. She acts like a total delinquent. She thinks she has everyone in class under her thumb, but she is actually just a clown.]
[I heard she likes Gu Yingyu. She finds Guan Yinqi annoying every single day and looks for any way to diss her.]
[Exactly. She constantly looks for chances to trip her up. She is incredibly arrogant and thinks no one can teach her a lesson. Totally lawless.]
Wen Xiaoyue lowered her gaze, skimming through the messages.
Chen Shiru likes Gu Yingyu and has a conflict with Guan Yinqi?
Wen Xiaoyue quickly recalled the events. If she had to trace her connection to Gu and Guan, it would likely lead back to yesterday afternoon’s music class.
Did she harbor a grudge because I was called up to play the piano with Gu Yingyu?
Or was it because I sat with them, and she thought I was trying to steal Gu Yingyu away?
Wen Xiaoyue closed her eyes, thinking for a moment.
Suddenly, she remembered that when she first entered the restroom, there seemed to be a girl with a frail back staring blankly at the mirror.
Connecting this to the girl she had looked for in the International Class classroom the day before yesterday, that must have been Guan Yinqi.
In an instant, the logic became clear.
Chen Shiru did not intend to harm her; the target was Guan Yinqi, but in the process, the water had been poured over Wen Xiaoyue instead.
While the result was a blunder, such reckless behavior was indeed “lawless.”
Sitting on the living room sofa, Wen Xiaoyue’s mind raced as she plotted her revenge.
“Knock, knock.”
Footsteps sounded from behind her.
Wen Xiaoyue snapped back to reality and turned her head. The butler walked in and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Miss Fu Dongxue is here to see you. She is waiting in the drawing room.”
Fu Dongxue?
Wen Xiaoyue immediately remembered that this person was also among those who had taken her to the infirmary yesterday.
She followed behind the butler to the drawing room. As she entered, Fu Dongxue looked over, her face wearing its usual, unchanging melancholy expression.
“I was a bit worried, so I came specifically to check on you. Are you feeling better?”
Wen Xiaoyue nodded and sat on the sofa opposite her. “I am honored to receive a personal visit from you. Thanks to your help, I am no longer in any danger.”
The melancholy between Fu Dongxue’s brows eased slightly. “That is good. I wanted to stay and look after you yesterday, but an unexpected event came up and delayed me.”
“Yes, You Xinghai stayed by my side. Though, she actually fell asleep in the infirmary and had not woken up by the time I left. Is she not a fool?”
At the mention of You Xinghai, Fu Dongxue noticed the corners of the girl’s mouth curl up slightly. She looked radiant, and the restrained expression she had when they first met relaxed significantly.
Fu Dongxue asked cautiously, “Is she a classmate of yours? She seemed quite enthusiastic.”
“Haha, you have no idea,” Wen Xiaoyue’s eyes crinkled with amusement. “She is a famous figure throughout our entire grade level. As soon as she transferred here, she started chasing an Omega from the neighboring class. Later, she even got into a fight with Gu Yingyu and came back with her tail between her legs. She has only been at this school for less than a week and is already notorious.”
Fu Dongxue observed her and thought secretly: Why are you so happy about it?
However, she was somewhat surprised by Wen Xiaoyue’s words. “She fought with Gu Yingyu? Why?”
“Why else?” Wen Xiaoyue crossed her legs. “Gu Yingyu likes that Omega too. You probably do not know her; she is a scholarship student in our grade. Her grades are consistently at the top, even Gu Yingyu cannot beat her.”
Fu Dongxue was slightly stunned. “It is truly surprising that Gu Yingyu would fall for a scholarship student.”
“Do you also find it amusing? That girl has already been selected as the host for the September Gala. Perhaps you will see her there.”
“Yes, yes. Wait?”
Fu Dongxue suddenly remembered the pure, innocent girl who had touched her piano in the music room yesterday. She had also mentioned the September Gala.
She sat up straight and asked with uncertainty, “The Omega you mentioned, her name would not happen to be Guan Yinqi?”
Wen Xiaoyue raised an eyebrow. “That is correct. Do you know her?”
Fu Dongxue: “…”
More than just knowing her, yesterday she had admired the girl’s dedication to the piano. Moved by her incredible perseverance, Fu Dongxue had invited her to come back often, promising to teach her more pieces personally.
She had even felt a slight fluttering in her heart.
But since she was the person Gu Yingyu liked, she decided she should let go of those feelings early and not allow herself to sink further.
After chatting for a while, Fu Dongxue soon rose to take her leave.
Before she left, Wen Xiaoyue expressed that, to thank her for her help, she wanted to treat her to a meal.
Fu Dongxue did not decline, but she asked one more thing: “Will that student You be joining us as well?”
“Well.”
Wen Xiaoyue hesitated.
She probably should. From yesterday until now, she had not properly thanked the girl.
But…
Thinking of You Xinghai’s face, she felt nervous again for some reason.
This mix of excitement and melancholy was something she could not quite grasp, so she dared not think deeply about it and forcibly suppressed the feeling.
After seeing Fu Dongxue off, Wen Xiaoyue went back to her room and collapsed onto her bed.
She stared at the empty ceiling, but what floated in her mind was the scene from her dream in the infirmary yesterday, where she and You Xinghai played the piano together.
In the dream, You Xinghai wore a long black dress, possessing a mystery that sparked a desire to explore.
She could not gauge this person’s true thoughts or see through her nature.
Yet, the feeling of peace whenever they were together could not be faked.
Ah…
Wen Xiaoyue suddenly rolled over and took out her phone.
In the class WeChat group, You Xinghai’s profile picture was at the very bottom of the list.
Her avatar was a pink cat drawn with crayons. It was done in a single stroke, very simple, yet very vivid. It looked slow and lazy, which perfectly matched the mental state of the You Xinghai in her memory.
She tapped on You Xinghai’s avatar.
Facing the words “Add as friend,” she hesitated and did not click.
Over the weekend, You Xinghai was completely addicted to writing code. She forgot to eat or sleep, with her days and nights turned upside down. It was not until the butler, Wang, came to persuade her several times that she finally ate a few mouthfuls of porridge.
Finally, as the sunset bloomed in the evening, she hit the Enter key. Success!
You Xinghai had specially developed a search engine specifically for game information, built into a newly designed game forum. She divided it into major sections according to different game genres, ensuring that every legitimate game on the market had a discussion board.
She casually dropped the forum link onto the programmer exchange website of this world, naming it “PlayBar.”
Currently, “PlayBar” only featured an anonymous player exchange function. In the future, she planned to add game ratings, official developer accounts, and even legitimate download features. However, due to time constraints, she could only go this far for now.
Ending her two days of cyber life, she decisively turned off the computer and returned to reality.
As soon as Butler Wang heard that You Xinghai had successfully emerged, he immediately had the maid heat the food so that she could have a steaming hot meal the moment she arrived at the dining room.
You Xinghai happily enjoyed the rich meal. While eating, she used her phone to browse the school forum.
This crude UI, the chaotic operational logic. Sooner or later, I will make software specifically for every campus and replace this thing!
A person who had just finished working still had a head full of work.
The current campus forum was still discussing topics from last week. Among them, a “HOT” thread on the front page caught You Xinghai’s attention.
It was a post mocking Guan Yinqi, including a video of the two girls playing piano together. Below it was a stream of bitter, sarcastic comments.
You Xinghai chewed on her meat.
If Guan Yinqi saw this, she would definitely have a total meltdown on the spot.
She scrolled down, intending to leave, but suddenly saw an unexpected comment.
[On a side note, does anyone else think yxh is actually quite good looking? (Smirk)]
You Xinghai stared at those letters for a long time before it clicked that “yxh” referred to her and was not some marketing shorthand.
Why use an abbreviation for my name? Wait, am I actually popular now? Otherwise, who would know who they were talking about just by saying initials?
And looking at that sentence, it was actually a compliment. Had she finally escaped the “creep” title and stepped onto the path of a goddess?
You Xinghai scrolled down with anticipation, but the replies below were mixed.
[Right? Right! I also think she looks pretty good.]
[What use is a good face? She is still just a stinky creep.]
[To be fair, wxy already clarified that yxh did not act like a creep. Given the Eldest Miss’s temper, how could she let her get away with it? You guys are just clinging to this.]
[There are actually people defending yxh now. I have seen everything. (Covers mouth laughing)]
[Hot take: I do not think yxh did anything major. She just acts a bit high profile, no need to target her like this.]
[Stop talking, those born as rich ladies cannot see it. If you do not have the blood of a rich second generation, you are polluting their circle. (Laughing)]
You Xinghai did not expect that going up to play the piano would actually gain her fans. She was baffled that so many people were defending her.
However, You Xinghai had actual business to do. She decisively exited the tempting gossip thread and returned to the home page.
The campus forum had been established by a “computer girl.” The original purpose was to provide a platform for her small circle, but it had unknowingly spread and was now used by the entire academy.
Almost no one in the forum knew the true identity of this mysterious moderator in real life. This person did not check private messages or respond to @ mentions; they only appeared when the website crashed. They came and went without a trace, like a ghost.
Perhaps to match the public’s impression, the moderator’s ID was simply “Ghost.”
Ordinary methods would not catch her attention. You Xinghai gave a cheeky grin, a mischievous idea forming in her mind.