“It hurts so much.”
Huai Yin sniffled, her brow knitting into a faint furrow. Tiny beads of sweat glistened on the tip of her delicate, upturned nose. Clutching the coat draped over her shoulders, she forced three words past her constricted throat.
“I’m in pain.”
Shen Xiaozhou froze. Hearing her words, he lowered his gaze.
The soaked fabric clung tightly to her skin, outlining a subtle, alluring flush beneath. Shen Xiaozhou’s brow twitched. His eyes drifted down her exquisite collarbone, finally coming to rest on her knees.
The skin was scraped raw, and a few stray drops of blood were slowly oozing out. Her skin was so pale that the abrasion looked shockingly vivid—a sight that instantly tightened the chest of anyone looking on.
And that wasn’t all.
Huai Yin opened her hands to show him. Her palms were scraped up, too.
Shen Xiaozhou lowered his eyes, remaining silent.
What a spoiled, delicate young heiress. She had taken one minor spill and managed to wreck herself like this.
Then again, didn’t she bring this on herself? If she hadn’t constantly targeted Su Yi, this wouldn’t have happened. If she hadn’t just tried to splash paint all over Su Yi, how could she have tripped over the bucket?
This was entirely her own doing. She was the one in the wrong, yet here she was, putting on a pitiful, spoiled act—showing him her palms as if trying to play on his sympathy.
That was what Shen Xiaozhou told himself. Yet his eyes never left her. Those pitch-black eyes remained fixed on her, utterly unwilling to look away.
Sensing his overly direct gaze, Huai Yin uncomfortably curled her legs inward.
Shen Xiaozhou was handsome in a refined, elegant way. His features were remarkably delicate—almost refined to the point of looking feminine—without a single flaw on his face.
In the novel, Shen Xiaozhou was supposed to be the gentle, devoted second male lead. But Huai Yin had always felt he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing—a deeply dark, scheming figure whose malice ran deeper than anyone else’s.
Pinned under those cold, dark eyes, Huai Yin’s entire body stiffened. She instinctively flinched away.
Noticing her movement, Shen Xiaozhou raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable. “What’s wrong? Why are you shrinking away?”
Was she not even allowed to flinch?
Shen Xiaozhou’s eyes darkened slightly as he looked down at her from above.
Huai Yin’s voice was barely a whisper. “I’m a bit cold.”
Her clothes were drenched and stuck to her skin in a deeply uncomfortable way. She was sitting on the cold floor, too—how could she not be cold?
Is that so?
Shen Xiaozhou studied her subtly.
So, she had pulled away because she was cold, not because she despised him.
He didn’t care to dissect whether that was the truth or a lie.
After a few seconds of silence, he dropped to one knee, crouching directly in front of her. Clasping her slender wrist with one hand, he slid his other hand under her thighs.
The moment his palm met the soft, delicate skin of her thighs, his movement paused for a fraction of a second.
Huai Yin’s face flushed bright red. Panic surged through her, and she instinctively thrashed her legs—only to trap Shen Xiaozhou’s hand firmly between her thighs, locking him in place.
An unexpected look flashed across Shen Xiaozhou’s face. He glanced at her, perplexed.
“W-What are you doing?” Huai Yin stammered out her accusation.
Shen Xiaozhou said nothing. His fingers slowly tightened, gripping her thigh. His cold palm pressed against her soft, smooth skin. With a firm lift of his wrists, he pulled her directly onto his lap.
To keep her from exposing herself, he adjusted her draped coat around her once more.
Shen Xiaozhou was tall—barely nineteen, yet pushing 185 cm. His school jacket was oversized on Huai Yin, easily wrapping around her completely and hiding her body from view.
Around the classroom, the other students reluctantly pulled their gazes back, disappointment evident on their faces.
Tch, what a buzzkill.
After all, a vulnerable, disheveled young heiress like her wasn’t something you got to see every day.
Now that those ravenous, predatory eyes had finally vanished, Li Qing and Xu Zhouzhou snapped back to reality. They rushed up to Shen Xiaozhou, pointing directly at his nose and shouting: “Put Huai Yin down right now! You’re just a scholarship student—who gave you permission to lay a hand on her? Watch it, or I’ll have your hands chopped off!”
How shameless! Taking it upon himself to carry Huai Yin in front of everyone!
He’s just a scholarship kid who got way too bold. Who gave him the right?
Huai Yin was small, her entire body tucked safely into Shen Xiaozhou’s chest. The boy’s broad uniform completely shielded her, revealing only her pretty, pale face and a glimpse of her slender, fair calf resting in his grip.
Hearing the commotion, the other students in the room cast envious, accusatory glares at Shen Xiaozhou.
Why did he get to touch Huai Yin when they couldn’t?
Shen Xiaozhou glanced at them, entirely unfazed. The corner of his lips curled into a disdainful smirk. “I’m taking her to the infirmary.”
“Out of my way,” he added, his tone cold and measured. “Delay any longer, and her wounds might get infected.”
Li Qing and Xu Zhouzhou exchanged hesitant looks.
Ignoring them, Shen Xiaozhou stood up with Huai Yin in his arms, stepping right past the pair as he headed for the classroom door.
Su Yi watched their retreating figures. Her hands tightened unconsciously, her nails digging deep into her palms.
Her complexion looked terrible, her body swaying as if she might collapse.
What is going on? Since when were Shen Xiaozhou and Huai Yin on such good terms?
A heavy tightness gripped Su Yi’s chest. She didn’t even care about the paint splashed across her uniform; her mind was completely filled with the image of Huai Yin’s tearful, pitiable state just moments ago.
So soft. So delicate.
Even covered in a mess, she was still so stunning that it was impossible to look away.
A few seconds later, Su Yi snapped back to her senses.
Wait—what on earth am I thinking? This is insane.
A bright flush instantly flooded her face.
Furious at Shen Xiaozhou’s arrogant attitude, Li Qing and Xu Zhouzhou made a move to chase after them. Seeing this, Huai Yin poked her head out from behind the boy’s shoulder, waved at the two of them, and silently mouthed: I’m fine. Go back to class.
Since Huai Yin had said so, Li Qing and Xu Zhouzhou could only stop in their tracks.
Still fuming, Li Qing spun around and yelled at the rest of the class, “Who the hell left a bucket here in the first place?”
The moment the words left her mouth, a boy wearing glasses in the furthest corner sheepishly raised his hand.
“I-It was me,” he explained, looking like he was on the verge of tears. “I was just too lazy to go to the restroom to wash my brushes, so I set a bucket of water nearby.”
Seeing his pathetic, cowardly posture, Li Qing gritted her teeth, unable to muster a single insult.
The boy took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “I-I’ll go get a mop.”
Fearing he might get beaten up, he scrambled for an excuse and bolted out of the classroom.
“Hmph. Look at him run.”
In his desperate flight, he nearly slammed right into Xu Shiyan, who was just walking back in.
“Watch where you’re going!”
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”
Xu Shiyan stepped into the classroom and realized that, for some reason, all the students were standing up. Then, his eyes landed on Su Yi.
Her once spotless uniform was now covered in paint, and a palette lay overturned near her feet.
Su Yi kept her head down, a look of desolation in her eyes that he had never seen before.
“What happened here?”
Xu Shiyan strode over to Su Yi, his face dark, a quiet rage surging in his dark eyes.
He turned to the room and demanded, “Who did this?”
Su Yi snapped out of her daze, raising her eyes slightly to explain calmly, “It was just an accident.”
“Huai Yin slipped, and the palette in her hand hit me.”
Xu Shiyan frowned. Scanning the room, he finally realized Huai Yin wasn’t there—and coincidentally, Shen Xiaozhou was nowhere to be seen either.
His art supplies were still sitting on his desk.
An uneasy feeling crept into Xu Shiyan’s chest. Out of nowhere, he asked coldly, “Where’s Shen Xiaozhou? Where did he take Huai Yin?”
Li Qing crossed her arms and replied coldly, “He took her to the infirmary.”
“Him?”
Xu Shiyan’s face shifted instantly, his expression turning strangely tense.
Since when was Shen Xiaozhou so charitable? Hasn’t he always hated Huai Yin?
There are so many people here—why did it have to be HIM taking her to the infirmary? Weren’t her two sidekicks right there? Why didn’t they go?
An inexplicable wave of irritation washed over Xu Shiyan.
Why he felt so agitated, he couldn’t even say.
He just felt that Shen Xiaozhou was being far too meddlesome.
Besides, if anyone was going to take Huai Yin to the infirmary, it should have been him.
He was her fiancé, after all—it was only natural.
Who does Shen Xiaozhou think he is? What right does he have?
Sullen and frustrated, Xu Shiyan slammed his art supplies onto the desk with a loud thud, startling everyone in the room.
The students couldn’t help but wonder: What went wrong now? Who managed to cross this high-and-mighty young master this time?
*
Huai Yin rested quietly against Shen Xiaozhou’s chest.
Her eyes were cast down, her long, thick eyelashes casting a soft, delicate shadow beneath them. With every even breath she drew, her lashes fluttered gently like the wings of a dancing butterfly—a sight so charming it stirred an itch in one’s heart, tempting them to reach out and touch.
Shen Xiaozhou’s gaze drifted casually across the young girl’s softly closed eyelids, her paper-thin, porcelain-delicate skin, and finally, her rosy, berry-plump lips.
His brow twitched, and he hurriedly averted his eyes.
Huai Yin appeared to be fast asleep, but in reality, she was conversing with her System inside her mind.
“So, how did it go, System?” Huai Yin asked with keen curiosity. “Did the male and female leads’ relationship get another boost?”
Xu Shiyan had to be overflowing with heartache for Su Yi right now. Fortunately, to outside eyes, the incident looked like an unfortunate accident—so Xu Shiyan shouldn’t end up putting the blame on her head.
After all, she had even gotten hurt herself just to complete this task.
The System hesitated, sounding conflicted. 【Actually, not really.】
“What?” Huai Yin asked in confusion.
Unable to put it into words, the System simply pulled up the current live footage from inside the classroom and displayed it for Huai Yin.
The male and female leads stood facing each other in heavy silence. Xu Shiyan hadn’t offered even a single word of comfort, while Su Yi remained in her paint-splattered uniform, neither angry nor upset, her face completely void of emotion.
Both of them seemed lost in their own separate thoughts.
Huai Yin was left thoroughly bewildered.
What on earth is going on here? This isn’t how it was supposed to play out at all.