In the splendid hall, people sang and danced. Liang Sheng arranged for Lu Ziqing and Su Ze to dance in the ballroom, and Miss Lu Ziqing was smiling so happily.

Liang Sheng chatted with Gu Yuqi off to the side. She got straight to the point and asked, “What exactly is going on between you and Wu Qian?”

She only knew the original story. Gu Yuqi had confessed to Su Ze, and Wu Qian happened to see it. Wu Qian had secretly loved Gu Yuqi for a long time, and that scene made her completely snap.

But this time, Liang Sheng had no idea what had set Wu Qian off. Somehow, she’d been driven into such a rage that she wanted to jump off a building ahead of time.

Gu Yuqi let out a sigh, lifted her head, and slowly told her what had happened.

Wu Qian always liked secretly following Gu Yuqi. Or taking candid photos. Or using a drone to spy on her. It bothered Gu Yuqi a lot.

One time, Gu Yuqi and Liang Sheng were fooling around on the way home from school. They were very close, and Wu Qian, who had been tailing her, saw everything. Wu Qian nearly broke down. The moment she got home, she called Gu Yuqi and demanded to see her right away. Gu Yuqi thought something serious had happened, so she rushed over without delay.

When she got to Wu Qian’s house, Wu Qian threw her arms around her and cried. Gu Yuqi had no idea what to do. She looked left and right, trying to see where Wu Qian was hurt, but couldn’t find any injury at all.

Then Wu Qian suddenly confessed to her.

Gu Yuqi was scared silly, of course. There was no way she could accept it, so she turned her down as gently as she could.

Wu Qian then told Gu Yuqi all about her misery and her feelings for her. Gu Yuqi sympathized with her, but she still firmly refused. And that led to the scene where Wu Qian tried to jump off the building.

“I stubbornly believed I was the one who pushed her into jumping,” Gu Yuqi said with a soft sigh. “So I felt like I had to save her. And back then, I also thought you were so cold, Liang Sheng. But after thinking it over carefully, I realized you were worried about me and trying to protect me. My own thinking was too childish. Too unrealistic.”

Liang Sheng fell silent. Only after a long while did she slowly say, “I used to really like people who were pure and kind. But they’re the most pitiful ones. Who says evil people always get what they deserve? They’re the ones living the happiest lives.”

There was no longer any starlight in Liang Sheng’s eyes. In its place was a deep, endless darkness.

“Liang Sheng...” Gu Yuqi parted her lips, but she didn’t know what to say, or how to comfort her.

“Hey, it’s okay!” Liang Sheng gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. “As long as I don’t provoke people who don’t provoke me, and I don’t become the kind of person who repays hatred with kindness, that’s enough!”

She smiled again, but her face was full of bitterness. Even under the bright lights, she seemed a little dim.

Silence. That was all Gu Yuqi could offer.

She didn’t know what Liang Sheng had gone through, so she couldn’t comfort her in some easy, casual tone. The only thing she could do was raise a hand and gently pat Liang Sheng on the forehead.

“A-Sheng!”

The bleak mood was suddenly shattered by Song An’an, who came bouncing over. After arriving, she shot Gu Yuqi an unhappy look, grabbed Liang Sheng’s hand, and said, “A-Sheng, let’s go get dessert. There’s tons of yummy stuff!”

Liang Sheng smiled, tugged lightly on Gu Yuqi’s hand, and said, “Come with us, Senior Yuqi.”

Gu Yuqi nodded, and gave Song An’an a smile whose meaning was impossible to read.

Tch, what are you so smug about!

Song An’an was jealous. Completely, thoroughly jealous. Why did A-Sheng care so much about her? This scheming woman was definitely trying to seduce Liang Sheng. No way. She couldn’t let Liang Sheng have too much contact with this scheming woman.

So every time Liang Sheng and Gu Yuqi had barely exchanged a sentence, Song An’an cut in. If they accidentally touched, she wedged herself between them. By the end, even if Liang Sheng only glanced at Gu Yuqi, Song An’an would yank hard on Liang Sheng’s arm.

Liang Sheng was utterly baffled. What kind of nonsense was this girl on now?

She felt like the cream filling in an Oreo, with Gu Yuqi and Song An’an as the two cookies, squeezing and squeezing and squeezing until she could barely breathe.

“Miss! Miss Lu Ziqing, come over here for a second!”

Out of options, Liang Sheng could only call for outside support.

When Lu Ziqing heard her and turned around to see Liang Sheng calling for her, she was a million times unwilling inside. She grumbled to herself. Why did Liang Sheng have to call her over right when she was having such a great time dancing with Su Ze? Though in truth, she was the only one enjoying it.

Fine. I, Lu Ziqing, am a loyal person.

Miss Lu sighed, pulled herself out of the dance floor, and stepped into Liang Sheng’s personal battlefield.

“Hehe, Miss, I suddenly need to use the restroom. Help me handle this, okay? Thanks, haha. Sayonara~”

The moment she finished speaking, she bolted toward the restroom like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins. She ran so fast it looked like a ghost was chasing her.

And just like that, the three girls were left standing there.

Lu Ziqing ground her teeth in anger. So you dragged me over here just to use me as a tool, huh?

“Whoosh~” Favorability decreased.

“Lu Ziqing’s favorability toward Liang Sheng: 55”

Fine, let it drop. Keeping my dog life intact is more important.

Liang Sheng didn’t even look back.

The moment she pushed open the restroom door, she saw a girl with purple twin-tails standing by the sink, crying.

Hey, hey, no way. I run into a girl even when I’m just going to the bathroom? What kind of protagonist halo is this?

Liang Sheng didn’t want trouble. She just wanted to sneak past quietly. But she had a soft heart. The moment she saw such a pretty girl crying so pitifully, tears like pear blossoms in the rain, her heart ached.

“Hey, hey, are you okay?”

Liang Sheng stepped forward and lightly poked the girl’s soft body with a fingertip.

The twin-tailed girl turned around, rubbed her swollen red eyes with her hand, and sniffled pitifully. It stirred Liang Sheng’s protective instincts at once.

The girl’s voice was choked with sobs. “Mom and Dad... Mom and Dad don’t want me anymore...”

Liang Sheng frowned after hearing that. She couldn’t help grumbling inwardly about the girl’s parents. Such a cute girl, and they didn’t want her? Why?

Liang Sheng gave her shoulder a comforting pat, handed her a tissue, and tried to console her. “Don’t cry. I’ll take you, okay?”

She swore to heaven, that had only slipped out because she was trying to comfort her.

“Y-You... you really want me?”

The girl suddenly lifted her head. There was still a trace of tears in her eyes, but now there was also a hint of a smile, which made her look strangely eerie.

Liang Sheng didn’t hesitate and hurriedly nodded. “Yes, yes.”

“What’s your name?”

“Liang Sheng. Liang as in cool and thin, Sheng as in music.”

The girl smiled. Tears still hung on her face, but her smile was sweet. She looked nothing like the girl who had been crying so miserably just moments ago.

That only made it even creepier.

Liang Sheng shivered. She had a bad feeling about this girl. A woman’s sixth sense told her this seemingly innocent and adorable twin-tailed girl was anything but simple. But because she had zero resistance to cute things, Liang Sheng still decided to see it through.

If you’re saving someone, save them to the end.

“Then... can you tell me what happened?”

She coaxed her in an absolutely gentle voice.

“Okay, okay!”

The girl split into a grin. She widened her eyes, grabbed Liang Sheng’s hand, and began.

“Dad said I was a worthless girl, a money-losing burden. Mom grabbed my hair and kept hitting me. Then Mom got pregnant again. She wanted to give birth to a little brother.”

“But that wouldn’t do. Having me should’ve been enough for Mom and Dad, right? So I made Mom drink abortion medicine. Then Dad got mad and wanted to throw me out. He said I was just some wild orphan from the orphanage to begin with, and told me to get lost and go back there.”

Liang Sheng was startled. Why did this plot sound so familiar?!

The girl continued, “I refused to leave, so Dad tried to chop me with a knife. I was so sad, so I picked up a fruit knife and stabbed him. Dad got hurt, and that made me even sadder, so I threw the knife away. Then Mom ordered the servants to tie me up and send me to a mental hospital.”

N-No way. This plot!

Liang Sheng was on the verge of collapse. It was that yandere girl who blackened every now and then!

She narrowed her eyes, and a pile of data popped up before her.

“Name: Hana

Age: 17

Height: 167 cm

Weight: 48 kg

Looks: SSS

Favorability toward Su Ze: 0

Favorability toward Liang Sheng: 99”

Th-This...!

Don’t tell me I’m about to get latched onto by a yandere?

Hana moved closer to Liang Sheng, clasped her hand tightly, and with a flushed face, pressed Liang Sheng’s hand against her chest. In a chant-like tone, she said, “Sheng-chan~ Can you feel my burning love for you?”

“N-No, y-you, wait...”

Liang Sheng was babbling incoherently. She had no idea how to shake off this walking disaster.

“Sheng-chan, do you know how heartbroken I was when Mom and Dad abandoned me? But then Sheng-chan suddenly appeared! And said she wanted me! I like her so much. It’s different from how I liked Mom and Dad. It’s a hotter, more special kind of love!”

Hana leaned close to Liang Sheng’s face, her beautiful big eyes brimming with affection.

It’s over!

This is exactly what they mean by disaster coming from a loose mouth!

At that moment, Liang Sheng wanted nothing more than to rip apart her own troublemaking lips. She’d been trying to avoid this yandere, and in the end she’d walked right into the trap herself.

A warm kiss landed beside the corner of Liang Sheng’s lips. Hana pressed her down beneath her, her face flushed pink.

“Sheng-chan, you absolutely mustn’t abandon me, okay~”

I wouldn’t dare! If I abandoned you, wouldn’t you kill me?!

Liang Sheng was on the verge of tears.

“Hey, Sheng-chan, take me home.”

Hana still wore that sweet smile.

“Sheng-chan, was that your first kiss?”

She kept asking, her face still red.

Liang Sheng was so frightened her mind had gone blank. She opened her mouth, but she hadn’t even heard clearly what Hana had said. Unfortunately, Hana misunderstood that expression.

Her face darkened instantly. She lowered her voice.

“Who was it?”

“W-What? Who was who?”

Liang Sheng had only just snapped back to herself. She blinked in confusion.

Hana’s eyes widened, her pupils suddenly dilating as she shrieked, “Who stole Sheng-chan’s first kiss?!”

Liang Sheng was so scared she nearly collapsed to the floor. Her legs shook nonstop. In a flash of desperation, she blurted out, “It... it was Hana!”

The moment she said it, she almost suffocated.

Besides, that was just a kiss near the corner of her mouth, not an actual kiss. What first kiss was she even talking about? Her first kiss had gone to a baby bottle nipple, okay?

Hana froze. A few seconds later, her expression changed again. Like snow in early winter melting under warm sunlight, she revealed an adorable smile.

“Really? Sheng-chan! I’m so happy!”

“Ding~” Favorability increased.

“Hana’s favorability toward Liang Sheng: 100+”

You’re happy, but you nearly scared me into passing out!

Liang Sheng moved her lips, but didn’t dare make a sound.

“Wait... Sheng-chan, how do you know my name?”

Hana suddenly looked at Liang Sheng in confusion.

It’s over...

What if she thinks I secretly investigated her?

Cold sweat broke out on Liang Sheng’s forehead.

I’m done for! I’m going to get yandere-murdered!