"Yes, teacher, I got a haircut so you didn’t recognize me?"
Liu Wei took a closer look at the lower half of Zhou Yi’s face and realized—it really was him.
Damn, this kid usually hid behind long bangs and thick black-framed glasses, exuding an aura of gloom wherever he stood in a crowd.
Who would’ve thought his face was actually more handsome than a celebrity’s? No, scratch that—it wasn’t just "more handsome than a celebrity."
As a straight guy, Liu Wei didn’t know how to describe it, but judging by the reactions of the girls, Zhou Yi was about to become famous.
Liu Wei waved his hand dismissively. "Go stand in line for now. We’ll talk about you skipping the class meeting later."
Zhou Yi walked straight to his usual spot, with every pair of eyes in the room following him.
No exaggeration—the guys were green with envy, and the girls were practically swooning.
Zhang Wu frowned at him. "Who are you? Wrong class, buddy."
For some reason, Zhang Wu instantly disliked this guy. That face made him look like dirt in comparison.
At least with the old Zhou Yi around, he never had to worry about being overshadowed.
"Hey, Zhang Wu, no need to be so rude! He can stand wherever he wants."
"Yeah, it’s not like Zhou Yi’s even here. Let him stay for a bit."
"Seriously, don’t be so petty."
"Hey, which class are you from?"
"Can I get your contact info?"
"Are you a transfer student?"
......
The girls in the class chattered excitedly, showering Zhou Yi with attention.
In the past, no girl had ever spoken to the original Zhou Yi like this—mockery and bullying were all he’d ever gotten.
Zhou Yi smiled at them and said, "I’m Zhou Yi. Don’t you recognize me?"
His words dropped like a bombshell.
The room fell silent for a moment before erupting in laughter.
"Nice joke, handsome. You’re hilarious."
"No way Zhou Yi looks like you. Stop messing around."
"Zhou Yi’s probably hiding in some corner right now."
"Come on, just tell us which class you’re from. Don’t be stingy..."
Some of the girls even started speaking to him in a flirtatious tone.
Faced with a guy this good-looking, they couldn’t help but swarm around him.
Zhang Wu’s face darkened when he noticed the girl he had a crush on was among those giggling and talking to Zhou Yi.
Damn it! He hated this guy. And to think the girl he liked was just another shallow, looks-obsessed airhead!
Clenching his teeth, Zhang Wu glared at Zhou Yi with barely concealed hostility.
Zhou Yi stayed silent, waiting until the girls’ chatter died down before raising an eyebrow.
Slowly, it dawned on them—this really was the same Zhou Yi they’d treated as a laughingstock.
Several girls turned to each other, eyes wide with shock.
"Holy crap, it’s actually Zhou Yi."
"That jawline does look like his."
"He always hid the top half of his face before."
"What the hell... The world’s gone crazy. Zhou Yi’s a white-shirted heartthrob now?"
"I’m gonna pass out. I used to say the nastiest things to him."
"Same. The way he’s looking at us now feels like we’re the clowns."
As his system buzzed with continuous notifications of rising favorability, Zhou Yi felt no real pride—just a detached amusement at how shallow people could be.
Himself included, of course.
After all, he only had eyes for beautiful women too.
Zhang Wu swallowed hard, staring at him with a mix of confusion and unease. "Hey, are you really Zhou Yi?"
Zhou Yi’s gaze turned icy as he looked at his so-called desk mate.
If not for this guy snooping through the original Zhou Yi’s diary and broadcasting it to the whole class, things would never have escalated like this.
Keeping his tone flat, Zhou Yi replied, "What, after sitting next to me for so long, you can’t recognize me after just a few days?"
Zhang Wu took a step back in disbelief. That voice—it was unmistakably his loser, simp of a desk mate, Zhou Yi!
But how could he have changed so much overnight?
Even plastic surgery couldn’t work that fast. That left only one explanation:
Zhou Yi had always been this good-looking. He’d just hidden it behind those long bangs.
The realization only fueled Zhang Wu’s resentment. A face like that wasted on someone like Zhou Yi?
A worthless guy like him didn’t deserve it!
Noticing the jealousy burning in the boy’s eyes, Zhou Yi smirked, his expression dripping with open disdain.
That look ignited Zhang Wu’s fragile ego. The old Zhou Yi would never have dared to face him with such arrogance.
He grabbed Zhou Yi by the collar and snarled, "What the hell’s that look?! You think you’re better than me now?!"
Zhou Yi’s smirk deepened. "Oh? After what you pulled—snooping through my private thoughts and making me a laughingstock—you expect me to play nice with a snake like you?"
Zhang Wu barked out a laugh. "A snake? Me reading your diary makes me the bad guy? Isn’t it worse that you, a toad, dared to lust after a swan?"
Zhou Yi calmly pushed Zhang Wu’s hand away and said coolly,
"Snooping through someone’s diary and announcing it to the world is the definition of snake behavior. Honestly, it’s a violation of privacy rights. I’d be within my rights to sue you."
He made sure to speak loudly enough for the whole class to hear. The whispers that followed carried a very different tone now.
"Zhang Wu’s kind of scary, isn’t he? Reading someone’s private thoughts and shouting them out like that. Better keep my distance."
"Zhou Yi was just quietly crushing on Su Ning. He never bothered her. Zhang Wu’s the one who put both of them in an awkward spot."
"Come on, who hasn’t had a crush on the school belle? I even asked her out once. There’s nothing wrong with a silent admirer."
"And Zhou Yi’s no toad. Look at him—he’s way hotter than Zhang Wu."
"Looking back, Zhou Yi’s behavior wasn’t just simp energy. It was kind of... romantic? He’s not as bad as I thought."
The girls’ attitudes shifted instantly. With Zhou Yi’s new face in the picture, his past actions took on a different light.
What might’ve been called pathetic groveling before could now be reframed as deep devotion.
An unattractive guy bending over backward for a girl? Pathetic simp.
But a guy who looked like a celebrity doing the same thing? A tragic romantic, sacrificing everything for love.
That was the power of looks.
"Pretty privilege" worked both ways.
And this was only the beginning.
From here on out, Zhou Yi would systematically reshape his image in everyone’s minds, ascending to the status of an untouchable, perfect male god in the eyes of the girls.