1 PM.

Hua Xin and Xia Yan sat together in the back row as usual. The girl was starting to get used to classroom lectures, not as scared as she’d been at first.

The teacher never called on her—thanks to a talk between the counselor and Xia Yan.

Classmates ignored her because she radiated an aura of poverty.

(Snags on her clothes, frayed pants, a plain black old hoodie.)

(Easy to mistake her for some kind of murderer… she shuddered.)

As for class,

she could happily pass the time with two rounds of Teamfight Tactics or a nap.

↓

Just one more card. Just one more for three-star Kaisa! Reroll, reroll, reroll, reroll!

The girl stared intently, her face twisted in determination, tapping the "Refresh for 2 Gold" button again and again. Champions in the pool kept changing, her emotions swinging wildly.

Her eyes, half-hidden by hair, watched gold drop to zero. They glowed red, ready to shoot laser beams like Homelander—blasting the dog of a designer who set the pool odds.

(God, please let me get this Kaisa!)

(Give it to me now! Ugh!)

Ding!

Somewhere, Niu Niu must have heard her heartfelt plea. After her last reroll, a shiny five-cost card appeared.

Niu Niu: Child, this is the second-to-last time I grant your wish.

God didn’t hear her.

But telepathic Niu Niu did.

(Wow!!!!)

(Just wait and die, wait and die…)

Hua Xin breathed a sigh of relief. With excited arrogance, she glared at the top-ranked player who’d been peeking. She lifted her feet from oversized shoes, stretching her legs onto the desk’s crossbar.

Pure white thin socks wrapped her delicate feet, small and adorable.

If Xia Yan had looked down then, he’d recognize those feet—the ones he’d set as his QQ chat background.

Alas, studies get in the way…

(Still watching? I’ll crush you. Don’t run. If you’re a man, stand your ground…)

Hua Xin clicked the last card, calm and tsundere. Her lips curled up. The joy of a last-minute comeback was… absolutely exhilarating!!

Come on! My proudest three-star fi—

?

Why no response?

She stared at the "Connecting to network 1/10" message. Her finger froze on the scorching Xiaomi screen, like a C4 bomb.

Tap again.

No response.

Dis… disconnected?

Hua Xin sweated, frantically switching networks. She lowered her head, glued to the screen like a fruit fly.

(This can’t be happening…)

Seconds later,

as she reconnected, her health hit zero. The opponent’s chat message "Is that all?" echoed like a voice, shattering her last defense.

…

Flushed with rage, she exited the game.

Head down, she leaned against the wall, silently shedding tears.

(I need a new phone… wuwu…)

(I want an iPhone 15 Pro Max 1TB Frost Blue… not this C4 that’s worse than a poopy iPhone 5…)

"Done playing?"

"Next time, bring me along?"

"We can try duo mode."

Xia Yan spoke softly, watching her with quiet anticipation.

He’d focused on lectures and notes but still tracked Hua Xin’s mood.

She seemed less resistant to class now.

Next step: get her used to socializing, making friends. Candidates?

Only the two goofballs from his dorm.

(Play with me? He’s begging, right? My skills awed him… I’ll reluctantly take him under my wing.)

Hua Xin thought tsunderely, then lifted her chin and nodded.

"Which server?"

"QQ or WeChat?"

Unusually talkative, she replied in a boyish voice, "WeChat."

She disliked strangers adding her on QQ.

Her entire friend list held only that Shrimp Head guy.

"Okay."

Xia Yan smiled, grabbing his phone to create an account.

"Students, class is over. Teacher, thank you for your hard work…"

The dismissal bell rang most inopportunely, startling them both.

Uh…

Crap. Miscalculated the early exit.

Xia Yan thought inwardly: this is bad.

For him, dismissal was fine. For Hua Xin beside him?

Pure torture.

"Class rep Xia Yan~"

"Fire Fire Fire~"

"Bro Yan~"

"We never catch you after class! So busy, class rep? 😍"

"Yeah! I wanted to discuss the student council election with you. 😍"

"That football match against Civil Engineering this morning was epic! Those concrete-pouring losers got wrecked—that last goal was insane! 😍"

As class ended, girls swarmed Xia Yan.

Several "pure underclassmen" didn’t hide their possessiveness; their gazes sparked with lightning.

In the Management Department—highest female ratio—his class was mostly girls, beauties worlds apart from Civil Engineering or CS.

And in this spider’s den stood Xia Yan: gentle, witty, polite, never arrogant, perfect build, top-tier looks. He’d been their target since day one of military training.

"No, message me on WeChat. I’m friends with everyone."

"Football wasn’t just me—Xiang Guan and Mu Feng passed well too."

Xia Yan calmly packed his books.

"Yan, coffee this afternoon?"

A fiery red-haired woman shoved aside the "pure" girls, approaching with aggressive confidence.

Her nickname for him was more intimate.

The girls glared but lowered their heads, dwarfed by her height and bust.

Losers with no strength.

"Sorry, busy this afternoon, Tian Yue."

Xia Yan rejected her smoothly, eyes never straying to her chest.

He turned to find an excuse to take Hua Xin away—but her seat was empty.

This kid…

"Sorry, I’m leaving."

Heart tight, he grabbed his backpack and strode out, ignoring their disappointed stares.

Meanwhile.

Hua Xin trembled, hiding in the boys’ restroom.

She’d bolted the moment those women surrounded him.

(Friend? Hah. Got women and forgot me? 😭)

(Men’s words are lies. 😭)

(Hmph, Bro Yan. Hmph, Fire Fire Fire. Hmph, "so handsome" in that fake voice. Screw you.)

She leaned against the wall, heart icy, wiping tears.

Envy for Xia Yan’s popularity was inevitable—but being ignored hurt more.

As expected… she still had to be alone.

She checked her phone. Ten minutes gone—why were crowds still outside? 😰

I want to go home. 😭

Knock knock knock.

The sound made her heart race.

Who? Who? Who?

She lowered her head. Only one pair of shoes here—no risk of being caught in an affair. 😨

"Hua Xin?"

The familiar voice startled her.

He… came for me??

Not those bad women? 🥺

She unlocked the door. Xia Yan stood there, anxious.

"Y-you… how’d you find me?"

Hua Xin asked awkwardly, tsundere.

"All other classrooms were full. Only the restroom was empty."

"Let’s go. I’ll take you home?"

"Women aren’t as important as brothers, you know."

Xia Yan smiled, sincere. His gaze melted the ice in her heart.

She didn’t answer. Just lowered her head and grabbed his arm.

Then…

I’ll trust you once more.