Truth was, Chen Yuzhe wasn’t actually close to Huang Yanchen at all. He’d just flown so under the radar last year—and being the only guy in the previous cohort—made Huang lower his guard.

Probably thought a quiet guy like him was easy to win over. That’s why Huang never held back his friendliness.

But Chen really had no right to stop him from talking to Gu Chengjin.

Huang must’ve heard rumors about Jiang Xiaoyao chasing Gu Chengjin. He’d come today to throw his weight around, to give them both a show of force.

Chen didn’t even need to think it through. If Huang swaggered up to Gu Chengjin and casually badmouthed Jiang Xiaoyao—even if Gu didn’t believe a word—Jiang’s reputation would plummet anyway.

After all, Huang wouldn’t even need to lie. Jiang Xiaoyao’s past was messy enough.

He could just spill a few of her old green tea antics. She’d have no defense.

Especially in front of the new freshmen. If Huang wanted to make a scene, Jiang Xiaoyao would be humiliated today.

Worse… far worse outcomes weren’t impossible.

As her ally, Chen couldn’t ignore this. But how the hell did you stop something like this?

And where was Jiang Xiaoyao? She’d been here just moments ago. Chen’s gaze flicked subtly toward the door. His mood darkened.

He’d never imagined things would spiral this badly, this fast.

Alone, he couldn’t fix this. The only option was to nip it in the bud before it blew up.

Above all—Huang Yanchen and Gu Chengjin must not face each other directly. That was the worst-case scenario.

At least stall until Jiang Xiaoyao returned.

“Speaking of which,” Huang craned his neck, scanning the room, “where’s your club president?”

“Oh, she probably went to the restroom,” Chen lied smoothly, the most obvious excuse.

His attention stayed glued to the doorway. His eyes kept darting toward it from the corner of his vision, even as he kept the small talk flowing.

“Ah… come to think of it, Senior Li Wanmei hasn’t been around much lately. She came with you today… have you two gotten back together?”

“Ah, that.” Huang glanced at the quiet girl trailing behind him and grinned. “Yeah. It was just a silly misunderstanding. We’re back together now. Sorry you had to see us like that, little Chen.”

*Just as I thought,* Chen mused inwardly.

Since they’d reconciled, Huang had zero intention of making peace today. He’d brought his girlfriend along to get back at the woman who’d played him for a fool all last year.

Li Wanmei was pretty too—objectively as stunning as Jiang Xiaoyao. But her overly meek personality made her constantly yield to Huang. She’d shrink into the background, speak in whispers, and panic-apologize whenever he frowned. The only time Chen recalled her showing fire was when she’d slapped Jiang Xiaoyao after learning about her and Huang.

Guys might find that kind of girl endearing. But to others, she’d quickly lose her charm.

After the slapping incident, Li Wanmei—once she’d calmed down—hadn’t given up. She’d begged Huang for reconciliation every other day, pathetically groveling.

Now, watching Li Wanmei’s conflicted expression, Chen couldn’t guess what she was truly feeling.

While making idle chatter, Chen’s mind raced. His eyes darted between Huang and Li, searching for any usable detail, any crack he could exploit.

In these two or three minutes, Chen was pushing his observation and analysis skills harder than he ever had in his life.

He did have some interesting intel on Huang—accidentally uncovered last year while investigating Jiang Xiaoyao. But it was barely enough leverage to turn the tide.

He had to gamble. Was there another weakness in these two he could use? Chen kept smiling outwardly, his thoughts churning deep beneath the surface.

But pointless small talk couldn’t last forever. Soon, Huang made his impatience clear:

“Haha, seems like we’ve got a lot to catch up on after all this time.”

“But no rush. I’ll treat you to dinner in a couple days, little brother. We’ll reminisce properly then.”

The dismissal was obvious. If Chen kept clinging to him, it’d raise Huang’s suspicions and backfire.

This was the limit. Damn it, where was Jiang Xiaoyao—

His eyes instinctively flicked toward the door again. Chen’s pupils contracted slightly.