Wang Fanran getting picked on by Zhou Lin seemed like an everyday occurrence.

It barely caused a ripple.

The students in class carried on with what they were doing. The noisy, bustling break was full of energy.

Maybe Zhou Lin’s threat to see him at noon had gotten to Wang Fanran. He didn’t sneer at Lin Qing like usual; instead, he sat silently at his desk by himself.

He looked anxious, as if he were terribly worried about getting beaten up.

That was a huge relief for Lin Qing. With Wang Fanran no longer bothering him, he had more time and energy to deal with Su Yao.

Back when he was in the hospital, he’d been the one to say… After they returned to school, the two of them pretended not to know each other.

Now that he wanted to approach her, he couldn’t help feeling a little awkward.

But Lin Qing couldn’t stand leaving the red skull above Su Yao’s head alone. It was like being starved for days, with a delicious feast right in front of him, its tempting aroma drifting over—only an iron fence stood in the way.

To get to the food, he’d have to climb over the fence.

As for how to climb it, he’d have to put his mind to work.

Thinking all this over, Lin Qing silently watched Su Yao’s back, unsure what to do.

When Su Yao had wanted to get close to him, it had been easy. She hadn’t faced a single obstacle.

But now that it was his turn, he’d found it incredibly difficult.

It was as if a thick wall of people stood between him and Su Yao. He couldn’t even get close enough to touch the hem of her clothes.

“Good news, good news! The math teacher has something to take care of at home, so next period’s been changed to PE.”

While Lin Qing was still agonizing over what to do, a student suddenly walked up to the podium and announced the news. Their face was beaming with joy—they were practically ready to shout, “Long live PE!”

Compared to a dull, boring math lesson, a PE class where they could run wild was much better.

This was the taste of freedom!

“Awesome!”

“We’ve got PE? How long has it been since we last had a class?”

“What a lucky day! I’m buying a lottery ticket when I get home.”

“Hope the math teacher gets diarrhea and ends up in the hospital tomorrow!”

When they heard PE had been swapped in, the other students cheered, too. While some chattered excitedly, the girls had already started heading to the changing room to put on their PE uniforms.

A few girls pulled Su Yao away with them. The group laughed and chattered as they hurried toward the changing room.

Their youthful, radiant looks and lively, adorable energy drew frequent glances from the boys.

The boys couldn’t bring themselves to look away.

Su Yao, especially, stood right in the middle, naturally taking center stage. Beside the other girls, her beauty stood out even more.

Every smile and every frown of hers held a certain charm.

Her dark, bright eyes seemed to carry a faint smile. One casual glance was enough to make a man feel as if she’d stolen his soul.

Lin Qing turned his head and looked through the classroom’s clear glass window at Su Yao smiling in the hallway. Her sweet smile didn’t fool him. He warned himself to stay on guard.

He had to be careful around Su Yao!

That woman was good at hiding who she really was.

After seeing Su Yao’s crazed side, Lin Qing now watched her blend into the crowd without the slightest hint of dissonance. It was as if a monster wearing human skin had slowly hidden its true face.

But once the monster got hungry, it would stop hiding.

It would bare its sharp claws and tear through flesh, leaving the air thick with the stench of blood.

“Su Yao’s so beautiful. She’s the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen!”

“You can say that again. Too bad she’s only good to look at, not to touch!”

“She’s the only daughter of the head of Comet Group. Who’d dare get close to her? Still, it’s surprising that someone with a background like hers would come to our public high school instead of a private one.”

“How could we possibly understand what rich people are thinking? We should just admire her from afar!”

After Su Yao and the others hurried off, Lin Qing looked away. That was when he heard two boys beside him speaking regretfully.

They looked like men who couldn’t get the woman they wanted—as if they’d just been dumped.

Seeing them, Lin Qing was reminded once again that Su Yao was even more popular than he’d imagined.

With a top-tier family background, looks, and talent, it was a shame that Su Yao had such a rotten, evil nature…

“Bzz, bzz.”

As Lin Qing thought about Su Yao’s vicious nature, his deskmate, Wang Fanran, suddenly stood up. Looking tense, he gripped his phone and quickly left the classroom.

His forehead was covered in sweat, and his eyes darted around.

He looked furtive, as if he were up to something.

What was on his phone, anyway?

Lin Qing only glanced at Wang Fanran’s retreating figure. Then, without giving it another thought, he picked up his PE uniform and left the classroom instead of changing with the other boys.

He didn’t like exposing his body in front of other people.

But the school only had a girls’ changing room, so the boys all changed in the classroom.

If he changed somewhere else, there was an even greater chance someone would walk in on him… After thinking it over, Lin Qing could only come up with one place.

“You’re back, student. Are you feeling unwell?”

The school nurse remembered Lin Qing well—the student who’d had a seizure and passed out. When she saw him come over carrying his clothes, she immediately asked him what was wrong.

She got up and quickly went to the door, welcoming Lin Qing into the infirmary.

“I’d like to change here, if that’s okay. There are too many people in the classroom.”

Lin Qing wasn’t used to the school nurse being so welcoming.

After all, he’d come to the infirmary out of the blue, without anything wrong with him. He just wanted to change his clothes here.

Wouldn’t the school nurse be unhappy when she heard that?

“Oh, is that all? No problem. Just pick an empty bed and draw the curtain.”

But Lin Qing’s guess was wrong. The school nurse remained just as welcoming.

The nurse’s warm gaze felt like a spring breeze, but it suddenly sent a chill down Lin Qing’s back.

He didn’t even know the school nurse. Why was she suddenly being so nice to him?

It was strange.

Did the school nurse like men, or something?

Thinking this, Lin Qing tightened his grip on his clothes, hesitating over whether he should stay and change here.

After escaping his captivity, but before returning to society, Lin Qing had received a thorough education from the police.

It wasn’t anything particularly impressive.

Just some basic life skills and how to watch out for criminals.

Among them were sex offenders, who could show up at any time.

They could be men or women.

“Relax, student. I don’t mean you any harm.”

Perhaps Lin Qing’s reluctance was too obvious. Once the school nurse noticed, she quickly realized he might be worried about something criminal and hurriedly waved both hands at him.

Her expression was helpless, making it clear that Lin Qing had misunderstood her kindness.

But just saying a thing or two wasn’t enough to make Lin Qing lower his guard.

If anything, it only made him more nervous.

The school nurse gave a helpless little smile. Then she deliberately leaned closer to Lin Qing and spoke in a low, mysterious voice, leaving him frozen in place.

“I know what happened to you.”