"Brother Yaoyi, haven’t you gone a bit too far?"

A lazy, feminine voice drifted through the phone.

After that, Chen Yaoyi finally located the principal’s office. But covered head to toe in grime, he had no choice but to postpone classes until tomorrow.

With everyone else in session, this was the only window for Chen Yaoyi to contact his assigned specialist, Yaya.

Every company employee got a specialist to monitor and report on the male and female leads’ progress. Assigned to Chen Yaoyi was Yaya—a hikikomori.

Ah, she’d been a hikikomori before passing, and remained holed up in the dorm afterward. Truly, a hikikomori through and through.

Only the boss had ever seen her face. Even Chen Yaoyi communicated with her solely via a special phone line.

Yaya handled nearly all updates about Zhao Xiaoluo and May, though observational lag often delayed her intel.

Chen Yaoyi didn’t mind. As a former blond-haired extra, he never needed backup anyway.

"Is that so?"

"You sniffed her hair, touched her body… yeah, that’s crossing a line… ah~" Yaya yawned.

"Still, I’m just a blond-haired extra. What’s the harm?"

"Uh… fair point…"

"When’s the next opportunity?"

"Hold on—"

Her voice faded, replaced by the rustle of turning pages.

"Tomorrow, a beautiful transfer student with long black hair arrives. Zhao Xiaoluo—who skipped class today to find May—will be assigned as her campus guide…"

Chen Yaoyi paused. In a wholesome romance plot, this setup would pressure the heroine. A rival?

"Which company? Stealing my job?"

"No, Brother Yaoyi. She’s canon—a spoiled heiress from a broken home. She’ll likely crush on Zhao Xiaoluo… novelty effect."

Yaya read slowly, laying out every future detail.

She knew the trope well. A seasoned romance enthusiast herself, she’d been placed here specifically to keep Chen Yaoyi in check.

The transfer student would tour campus with Zhao Xiaoluo, try bribing him, get firmly rejected and lectured.

Accustomed to gold-digging men and high-society drama, she’d find his quiet resilience intriguing—and cling to his arm. May would inevitably witness it. Misunderstanding guaranteed.

In this world, endless reverse-pursuit plots meant endless pretty girls. Chen Yaoyi was long used to it.

Yaya knew too: in manga logic, supporting beauties always appeared. If Chen Yaoyi (the blond-haired guy) stirred anxiety in Zhao Xiaoluo, this black-haired transfer student existed to rattle May.

True to prediction, the next noon, the moment Chen Yaoyi sat at his desk, a 160cm girl with ash-brown hair stood before him.

Face flushed, glistening tears welling at her eyes.

"You knew?"

"Knew what?" Chen Yaoyi kept studying the class roster, ignoring May’s voice trembling on the verge of tears.

(Lunch break. Teachers were at the cafeteria. He claimed he was memorizing names—really waiting for May. Stubbornly calling it "work.")

"That girl! This morning, you were the only one unbothered! And—you’re the teacher! You knew! Why didn’t you tell me?!"

"Why should I?"

He flipped open Zhao Xiaoluo’s page and set it squarely between them.

"I—I…"

May knew—she had no right to panic. Not yet.

That was the transfer student’s purpose: to ignite this exact anxiety. Chen Yaoyi almost admired her.

All because of that intimate contact right before May’s eyes. Even now, in the cafeteria, a feeding scene was likely unfolding.

Why couldn’t Zhao Xiaoluo refuse her? Chen Yaoyi guessed: zero progress with May.

Faced with a gorgeous, wealthy, elegant girl pressing close on first meeting—who wouldn’t waver?

Even Chen Yaoyi had once fallen for a similar reverse-pursuit, letting the main heroine Feng Aotian seize the chance to crush him.

"I’m finding Xiaoluo to clear this up!"

May staked everything on those words. Chen Yaoyi wouldn’t stop her—he couldn’t. But he’d delay the pain.

Without him, she’d have reached the cafeteria already. They’d probably finished eating.

"Go where? Know his location? Search the whole school for a girl who might be his girlfriend?"

Chen Yaoyi’s retorts made her eyes dart away, stammering.

"I—I’m going to the cafeteria! Xiaoluo’s always there at noon!"

"They’ll be gone by the time you arrive!"

"I don’t care! I’m going!"

She flung the words, wiped her tears, and ran—then froze just outside the office door.

Puzzled, Chen Yaoyi stepped closer. Through the hallway window, they saw Zhao Xiaoluo carrying the black-haired transfer student on his back, her knee clearly injured.