Chapter 54: The Male and Female Leads Meet

Inside the infirmary, a faint scent of disinfectant lingered in the air. Shang Ying sat lazily slumping against the back of her chair, her crossed leg swinging aimlessly as she munched on an apple peeled by Lin Qian, watching the two sisters face each other in silence.

Lin Yuan's eyes were red from crying, filled with tears and looking utterly aggrieved. She struggled slightly as she asked tentatively, "They weren't called by you, right?"

When morning exercises ended, she had intended to go to the restroom to wash her hands, only for several girls to pin her to the floor without a word, hurling crude and vicious insults at her before splashing water all over her body, leaving her shivering from the cold.

Those girls claimed they were getting back at her on Lin Qian's behalf, saying she was merely a poor relative of the Lin family who couldn't compare to Lin Qian—words that stabbed her self-esteem bit by bit.

Ever since she was brought back to the Lin family, there had been no peace at home, and she understood everyone's attitude toward her quite clearly. Her brother doted on her and always protected her. Her mother loved her as well, though she ultimately favored her older sister slightly while her father didn't care about anything at all.

In contrast, Lin Qian remained cold and distant, never taking the initiative to speak to her and appearing busy every day. Whenever their eyes met, Lin Qian would dodge her gaze uncomfortably.

Lin Yuan understood that Lin Qian's avoidance stemmed from inferiority. Lin Qian was outstanding in every aspect, while she only knew how to study. She sometimes wondered: if no accident had happened and she had grown up in the Lin family, would she have been just as outstanding as Lin Qian?

Yet all of this could only remain in her imagination. The more outstanding Lin Qian was, the more inferior she felt, involuntarily generating feelings of jealousy deep down, though she didn't want to feel this way either…

"It wasn't me."

Lin Qian's cool eyes blinked. Truth be told, hearing Lin Yuan ask this made her feel somewhat annoyed, as she hadn't done a single thing from start to finish. In fact, she had initially intended to get along well with Lin Yuan.

Yet whenever something happened to Lin Yuan, everyone's immediate reaction was to ask what she, the fake heiress, had done. Was she an idiot to use such underhanded tricks?

‘So annoying.’

Seeing both of them fall silent, Shang Ying stretched her neck and stepped in to clarify with Lin Yuan.

"This matter has nothing to do with your sister, and even less to do with me. You must seek out whoever actually did it to settle the score, understand?"

‘Whatever happened, she wasn't going to let this get pinned on the two of them!’

Right now, she only felt thankful that the male and female leads hadn't met yet. Otherwise, heh, if that gloomy guy Huo Yunshu insisted on pinning this wrongful accusation on the two of them, they'd have a terrible time ahead.

Lin Yuan shifted her watery eyes, bit her lower lip lightly, and nodded. She didn't believe Lin Qian would hire people to do such a thing either. Zomeone as outstanding as her wouldn't pull tricks like that.

Tossing the apple core into the trash can with a clatter, Shang Ying grabbed a tissue to wipe her hands and walked out alongside Lin Qian.

"I have a jacket in the classroom. You can put it on in a bit."

"I know."

Shang Ying shot a sideways glance at her.

"You really aren't standing on ceremony."

Lin Qian's face remained composed.

"I knew you wouldn't stand by and leave her to suffer."

"That's true. But going back like this, won't that foolish brother of yours cause trouble for you?"

Whenever that brother was brought up, Lin Qian's expression would turn cold, and this time was no exception as her footsteps quickened slightly.

"You know he's foolish too."

A day later, in an alleyway.

"Student, you're injured! I have a band-aid. Don't rush, wait a second for me to give it to you!"

"No need."

"I found it! Injuries need to be treated quickly, otherwise it'll get serious. You're so handsome. It'd be bad if you got scarred."

Just as she entered the alley, conversational voices carried faintly from around the corner. Shang Ying immediately pulled Shang Yi's leg back, then swiftly ducked down, poking half her head out to watch the drama unfold.

The voices sounded familiar. Wasn't that Lin Yuan and Huo Yunshu? This had to be the very first time the two met, where Huo Yunshu formed an impression of this gentle girl.

Shang Yi lowered his eyelids, standing quietly behind Shang Ying without showing the slightest interest in the voices around the corner. However, he noticed that Shang Ying seemed particularly fond of eavesdropping around corners, sneaking around like a hamster.

Initially, Huo Yunshu felt that the girl stopping him was somewhat troublesome. He had already said there was no need, yet she insisted on clinging to him and spouting strange words.

However, when he saw Lin Yuan carefully handing him the band-aid with a nervous, scared, yet pretending-to-be-brave posture, he suddenly found it slightly interesting.

So he intentionally refrained from taking it, pointing at the injury on his forehead instead.

"Help me put it on. Didn't you like playing the good person? Then be a good person all the way."

Lin Yuan let out a dazed "ah," hesitated for a moment, then looked at Huo Yunshu's cold yet handsome face, let out a breath, tore open the band-aid, and gently applied it over the wound.

The girl's body warmth and scent drifted into Huo Yunshu's nose without warning, causing his muscles to stiffen slightly as he stared blankly at Lin Yuan's face.

Watching from around the corner, Shang Ying couldn't help letting out a scoff, thinking that this male lead truly lived up to being a melodramatic, gloomy guy who loved seeing the female lead look pitiful.

‘If it were her instead of Lin Yuan, a fist would have landed on his face long ago.’

Huo Yunshu composed himself, noticed that Lin Yuan was wearing a Capital No. 1 High School uniform, swept his eyes over her, and asked, "From No. 1 High School? What's your name?"

Hearing him ask for her name, Lin Yuan felt quite happy, thinking she might be able to make a friend. Ever since transferring, she had been alone, with no one willing to hang out with her, and some even bullying her.

"My name is Lin Yuan. 'Yuan' as in willing. What about you?"

"Huo Yunshu."

Looking at the girl's bright, shining eyes, Huo Yunshu instinctively averted his gaze, casually turned around, said he was leaving, and walked off. Having finally run into someone willing to chat with her, Lin Yuan wanted to converse more, so she followed behind him, asking if he had eaten and suggesting they grab food together.

Only after their figures disappeared down the alley did Shang Ying stand up from the ground, raising her chin toward the direction they left to issue a serious warning to Shang Yi.

"Stay far away from those two, got it? Especially Lin Yuan. Since you two are in the same class, focus on your studies and don't think about useless things."

Shang Yi nodded obediently. His impression of Lin Yuan was merely the words "a small sun," and every time he remembered her, he felt an intense repulsion, so even without Shang Ying's warning, he wouldn't interact with Lin Yuan anyway.

The weekend arrived once again.

With midterm exams scheduled for the following week, Shang Heng kept Shang Ying trapped in the study to study for an entire day. Finally, after putting on a dizzy, exhausted, and play-dumb performance, she managed to escape from the study.

She felt like a pig casing, while chemistry knowledge was the ground meat. Shang Heng was forcibly stuffing the meat inside her regardless of whether she lived or died. It was utterly agonizing…

As night fell, Shang Ying carefully opened her bedroom door, tiptoeing downstairs like a black cat darting out of bushes, turning into a swift blur.

She had an appointment tonight: her agreement with Xie Tuo for the gambling game.