Lin Qingqian’s arrival came as a relief to Shen Guang. If she hadn’t shown up, he really wouldn’t have known how to bring this to a close.

Lin Qingqian noticed Luo Xiaoxiao behind Shen Guang.

She was a little surprised. What was this woman doing here? She wasn’t even a student here, and she’d been on leave for a long time.

She had plenty of questions, but this wasn’t the time to ask Shen Guang what had happened.

Her imposing presence intimidated the students around them.

The students who’d been leading the shouting a moment ago didn’t dare make so much as a peep now.

They knew exactly how the Student Council president operated. The Student Council played by its own rules.

The whole “strength in numbers” thing didn’t work against the Student Council!

“Why are you still standing around? Do you want me to take down your names before you’ll leave?”

Like mice scattering at the sight of a cat, the students who’d been huddled together a moment ago quickly dispersed. None of them dared go anywhere near Luo Xiaoxiao.

Luo Xiaoxiao saw Lin Qingqian too.

Her eyes widened, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“That’s enough. This is a cafeteria, not a stage.” After leaving them with those words, Lin Qingqian turned and walked away.

Shen Guang could sense her displeasure, especially from that final look she gave him. It was as if he’d done something unforgivable!

He was about to take Luo Xiaoxiao to a seat, but she stood frozen in place, as if she still hadn’t come back to her senses.

“Come sit here! There’s an empty seat!” Just after class, one of Yan Qingxue’s classmates had come to see her, so she’d been away for a while. Now that she was back, it was clear she had no idea what had happened.

........

Shen Guang felt that something was off with Luo Xiaoxiao. Ever since Lin Qingqian showed up, she’d seemed distracted.

It was as if all her earlier enthusiasm had been doused with a bucket of water.

He ate lunch under everyone’s needle-sharp stares. No matter how delicious the chicken on his tray was, it tasted like nothing.

After lunch, Luo Xiaoxiao left first, while Yan Qingxue went off to take care of something else.

Shen Guang took a walk through the school gardens by himself.

A stream flowed beneath a low bridge, and a huge banyan tree flourished along the bank, making the scene look picturesque. As Shen Guang walked across the bridge, the gentle breeze felt so pleasant that he’d never breathed air so fresh and clean.

It was rare to have a quiet moment, so Shen Guang leaned against the low bridge’s railing to rest.

Without the girls chattering all around him, he felt much more at ease.

“What should I do next? Help another girl with her problems? But according to the timeline, it shouldn’t happen this soon.”

Shen Guang fell silent for a while. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a plastic bag rustling in the pavilion not far behind him.

He turned around instinctively and saw a girl sitting in the pavilion, chewing on a little steamed bun smaller than his fist.

Her long black hair fell loosely down her back. Her slightly faded uniform and flat shoes did nothing to conceal her unadorned beauty or her quiet, otherworldly air.

She seemed like someone who belonged in a painting.

Shen Guang was curious, too. The girl looked like she was struggling financially, and she was sitting here alone. Maybe she was trying to hide the fact that she didn’t have much money.

Shen Guang stared at the girl for a while, lost in thought. She seemed to notice him, too.

She suddenly looked up. When she saw Shen Guang staring blankly at her, her cheeks turned crimson, and she hurriedly hid the steamed bun behind her back.

Did she still not want to throw it away?

Not wanting to embarrass her, Shen Guang decided to leave and spend some time in the library.

But before he’d gone very far, the girl hurriedly called out to him!

“Excuse me!”

She rushed up to Shen Guang, still keeping both hands behind her back.

“What is it?”

“Um... about what you just saw... could you not tell anyone else?” She looked a little nervous.

Shen Guang studied the girl in front of him. Suddenly, someone’s words came back to him.

He narrowed his eyes without thinking and asked,

“What’s your name?”

“Zhu Youting.”

Hearing her name, Shen Guang finally understood why the girl in front of him seemed so strangely familiar.

Back in the game, Zhu Youting was actually the reason Shen Guang first met Yan Qingxue.

It was the thing Yan Qingxue felt most guilty about. It took Shen Guang a long time to help her move on from it.

What happened to this girl was truly tragic, but according to Yan Qingxue, she always seemed cheerful to everyone else.

She hadn’t shown anything was wrong, not even on the day it happened.

If this girl was destined to meet her end, what if he stepped in to help her?

If he could save her, would that mean he could change whether characters lived or died?

It felt like he’d discovered a whole new world. Shen Guang didn’t want to see a life vanish from this world for nothing.

“I actually know Yan Qingxue,” Shen Guang said bluntly. Zhu Youting’s face instantly turned deathly pale, and she staggered back several steps.

“You know Qingxue? But...”

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Shen Guang.” Shen Guang held out his hand to Zhu Youting, as if inviting her to shake it.

But when Zhu Youting heard the name Shen Guang, some color returned to her face. It was as if his name worked like an instant emergency remedy.

“You’re Shen Guang?” Zhu Youting had only heard people say that someone kept bothering Qingxue, though Qingxue always insisted there was nothing to it. But now that she’d met him in person and heard what he’d just said, perhaps the rumors had been true after all!

All sorts of images flashed through the girl’s mind, but she shook her head firmly. Then she looked at Shen Guang and said,

“I won’t help you pursue Qingxue! Even if you... even if you tell everyone what you just saw!”

Shen Guang raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected things to go this way. She seemed to have gotten the wrong idea about him.

“You’ve got it wrong. I want to help you.”

“Help me? What are you really after? Besides, there’s nothing I need your help with!” Zhu Youting’s tone was firm, and Shen Guang didn’t press her.

After all, Zhu Youting was extremely strong-willed. Back then, she’d rather die than tell Yan Qingxue the truth. That showed how much she valued her dignity.

Still, he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. Not at this point in time.

“In that case, I’ll be going.” Shen Guang turned to leave, but then seemed to remember something. He looked back at the nervous Zhu Youting and said, “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone about what happened—not even Yan Qingxue.”

Relieved, Zhu Youting watched Shen Guang’s figure disappear into the distance. The more she thought about him, the stranger he seemed.

Everything about him, from the way he spoke to the way he acted.

........

The library was quiet.

Shen Guang was still reading in silence, while Lin Qingqian sat beside him with an icy expression.

The old man at the front desk was still watching the couple with curiosity.

He was curious to see how that boy would tease the girl today.