"Well..." Lingyuan gritted his teeth.

Calling Yixinxue beautiful would be betraying his 2D waifus!

He had zero connection with Yixinxue—absolutely none! Of course he’d choose his waifus!

"Obviously the ones on the cards are prettier! These are all my wives!" Lingyuan declared without a shred of shame, ignoring the stunned stares around him.

Was he indirectly denying Yixinxue’s beauty?

Probably only Lingyuan in the whole school would dare reject Yixinxue’s looks to her face...

Silence crashed down like a tombstone. Lingyuan had voiced what most wouldn’t dare say—or rather, what most wouldn’t agree with.

"These are your wives? They’re quite cute," Yixinxue said calmly. She couldn’t deny the card characters were lovely.

But she didn’t think she’d lost on looks. She’d lost on outfit.

*So what if they show a little skin? Big deal.*

Yixinxue straightened up, twirling her pen.

She owned revealing clothes too—just never wore them outside her room.

Those daring outfits were only for her private mirror sessions.

Until her sister Yiyingnan caught her. Yixinxue still remembered her shriek:

*"Xue’er! Why do you buy such perverted clothes!?"*

Her ladylike image had shattered completely in front of her sister. Damn it.

*Clatter—*

Her pen hit the floor. Annoyed, Yixinxue bent to pick it up—and spotted Lingyuan asleep behind her again.

Her suppressed anger needed an outlet. She yanked his ear. "No sleeping in class! Stand at the back!"

"Eh?! Ahh—oww! OWW!"

Dazed, Lingyuan stumbled back with his test papers, utterly confused for minutes.

The whole class—and the homeroom teacher—froze too. But the teacher recovered fastest.

"Ah, placing Yixinxue here was the right choice after all..."

*Right my ass! I never disturbed anyone back there! Why am I suddenly under surveillance?! Did Yixinxue even ask me before switching seats?!*

Lingyuan screamed internally. First Yanxi woke him this morning, now Yixinxue this afternoon—what was even happening?!

Too bad he was a problem student. Protesting was useless.

The cold draft from the back, the ear-pulling, the burning fury—his sleepiness vanished completely.

He slouched at the back, deliberately sloppy, defying the teacher. Until...

Yixinxue glanced back. Just a flick of her eyes.

An apologetic look. As if whispering:

*I only wanted to help. I’m not targeting you. I’m sorry...*

Guilt gnawed at him like hungry worms. Shame followed close behind.

*Maybe... probably... I shouldn’t sleep in class. She’s here to supervise me—it’s the teacher’s order. How can I make her look bad? How can I trouble her?*

Lingyuan wanted to slap himself.

*I’m such a piece of crap.*

Still, blame the teacher.

If looks could kill, the teacher would’ve been shredded to pieces a thousand times over.

*Fine. For Yixinxue’s sake, I’ll stand properly this once.*

Hating to burden others, Lingyuan straightened up—and glared fiercely at the teacher.

To the teacher, it looked like newfound determination. A proud smile spread across his face.

*This kid... there’s still hope.*

The bell rang. The "mysterious" punishment ended. When Lingyuan returned to his seat, Yixinxue was gone.

"Bro! You okay? You looked furious during class!" Lanfeng rushed over. Seeing Yixinxue’s empty seat, he plopped down there.

"Yeah. I’m still clueless why I was standing there." Lingyuan sighed deeply, face full of despair. "Lanfeng, when are you coming back? I miss you. I can’t nap in class anymore... sigh..."

"I miss it too! I can’t sleep up front either!"

The two tragic buddies hugged, mourning their cruel fate.

Yixinxue had silently returned. She stood beside them, watching their embrace.

Lingyuan’s peripheral vision caught a white figure. He jerked away instantly.

*Do you like boys?*

Her words from noon replayed in his head. Lingyuan froze solid.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Seeing their "intimacy," Yixinxue arched one eyebrow in disdain, fixing Lanfeng with an icy stare. Lanfeng slipped back to his seat without a sound.

"So you really like boys," Yixinxue pouted, settling into her chair.

"It’s just bros sharing life struggles! How is that liking boys?!" Lingyuan nearly tore his hair out. Why was this so twisted?

"Okay, okay. Here." Yixinxue placed a lime-flavored cola on his desk. "Didn’t know your favorite. This lime one looked rare—I thought it’d be good. An apology for last class."

"Apology..."

Lingyuan had almost forgotten the whole incident.

"Yes. Hope you’re not upset."

Yixinxue flashed that heart-melting smile again—the kind that made you forgive any mistake.

"I’m not really mad... you were just looking out for me..." Lingyuan smiled awkwardly.

Yixinxue tilted her head, puzzled.

*Oh? You don’t mind at all? Are you a masochist? Then I like you even more. I’ll do it again next time.*

Strange. Lingyuan felt uneasy under her fiery crimson gaze—as if something dangerous flickered deep within those eyes.