In the blink of an eye.

By lunchtime, the other students had either gone home or headed to the cafeteria. The classroom was suddenly empty, with only three people left inside.

They were Jiang Yuan, Yi Nanye, and Qin Xin.

After a little while, Qin Xin suddenly stood up, clearly intending to approach Jiang Yuan. But Yi Nanye, who had been leaning against the wall, appeared in front of her in an instant, turning into a shadow and blocking her way.

“Miss Qin Xin, given your current status, you’re not allowed to approach the suspect Codename Jiang.”

Yi Nanye told Qin Xin she couldn’t approach Jiang Yuan, making Qin Xin’s already foul mood even worse.

“Move.”

She couldn’t be bothered to waste words. She reached out to push Yi Nanye aside, but Yi Nanye only smiled faintly. Her movements were so fast that ordinary people couldn’t see them at all—especially from this close.

The next moment,

Yi Nanye appeared behind Qin Xin and pinned both her arms behind her back with a restraint hold.

“Miss Qin Xin, with your current abilities, you can’t pose any real threat to me. Your powers are still developing.”

Yi Nanye was completely calm, and confident that even the future Doomsday Hero couldn’t pull any tricks on her at the moment.

Qin Xin said nothing. The air in the classroom simply began to turn cold, and frost suddenly spread across the floor beneath her feet.

“Miss Qin Xin, I’ll warn you once: any excessive behavior on your part will raise Jiang Yuan’s supervision level. Please watch what you say and do!”

Yi Nanye didn’t threaten Qin Xin directly. Instead, she used Jiang Yuan as leverage—and it had to be said, it worked. The oppressive feeling in the classroom immediately dissipated.

“I can’t even talk to him?”

“No.”

“What about chatting online?”

“You can try and see if he gets your messages. Being allowed to meet at all is already a kindness. Please don’t disappoint the people of the world.”

At Yi Nanye’s words, Qin Xin gritted her teeth, then looked at Jiang Yuan and met his gaze.

Jiang Yuan was her boyfriend. They’d known each other since childhood, and her feelings for him weren’t as fiery as those of couples swept up in new love. Their bond felt more natural because they’d grown up together—and that made the thought of Jiang Yuan suddenly disappearing from her side even harder to accept.

To her, seeing each other had become as much a part of daily life as eating and drinking.

There was an apologetic look in Jiang Yuan’s eyes. He met her gaze for a moment, then quickly looked away, and it hurt Qin Xin.

“Jiang Yuan, I know what you’re thinking, but I won’t agree.”

Years of knowing Jiang Yuan had taught her to understand what he meant. He wanted to break up, to cut off all contact with her for good.

At her words, Jiang Yuan pretended he hadn’t heard. He just looked out the window and didn’t answer.

“Miss Qin Xin, please don’t make things difficult for Jiang Yuan, too. He understands his position, and he understands yours. He knows what’s best for both of you.”

“What would you know?!”

“Miss Qin Xin, please remain calm.”

Yi Nanye answered Qin Xin in a thoroughly formal tone, and Qin Xin almost lost her temper. She was a calm person. She rarely let anyone truly anger her, and hardly ever got mad—but ever since something had happened to Jiang Yuan, she hadn’t been able to calm down at all.

“Hmph… You’d better do your job properly from now on. I care more about the person who’s always by my side than some people of the world who have nothing to do with me.”

Qin Xin made her position clear: she was on Jiang Yuan’s side. He had no one left to rely on, so she had to step up.

“Miss Qin Xin, please watch what you say. You’re a future hero. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that this time!”

“Do whatever you want. And do me a favor—tell your superiors that I’m very unhappy with you. I’m also fully capable of supervising Jiang Yuan, and I’m qualified to take responsibility for my own mistakes.”

Qin Xin wanted to drive Yi Nanye away from Jiang Yuan. She instinctively disliked Yi Nanye, though she didn’t know whether it was because of what Yi Nanye did, or because Yi Nanye got to spend every hour of every day with Jiang Yuan.

“No, no. You’re nowhere near qualified. I think you might need to be put under supervision yourself before long.”

Yi Nanye was smiling brightly now, with a hint of menace beneath it. If Qin Xin, as the Doomsday Hero, insisted on protecting Jiang Yuan at all costs, it would be a sight the people of the entire world would never want to see.

Qin Xin had no idea how highly the people regarded her.

She was the heroine who had saved the world, the most respected woman on the planet. She was destined to go down in history, revered by generation after generation.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Qin Xin glared at Yi Nanye. The air in the classroom turned unbearably cold, as if all the heat had been sucked out in an instant.

“I would.”

Yi Nanye wasn’t afraid in the least. If Qin Xin really was put under supervision, so be it. Qin Xin couldn’t be allowed to lose her way because of Jiang Yuan.

After that, neither of them said another word. Qin Xin left the classroom. Jiang Yuan watched her walk away, and there was no way he could say he wasn’t moved. He’d expected her to treat him the same way she always had, but more than anything, he wanted her to stay away from him.

Yi Nanye knew she and Qin Xin weren’t going to get through to each other, so she simply walked over to Jiang Yuan and rested a hand on his shoulder. Then she slowly bent down, brought her lips close to his ear, and whispered:

“Jiang Yuan, you should know how to treat her from now on. You don’t want people picking on Qin Xin, do you?”

As she spoke, she lightly poked his earlobe with a finger, making Jiang Yuan feel all tingly and uncomfortably ticklish.

“I understand that better than you do. But where’d you learn that line?”

“Online. Anyway, remember to be a little more heartless toward her.”

“I know what to do.”

Jiang Yuan nodded quietly. That was already what he’d planned to do. Pleased by his answer, Yi Nanye patted his shoulder. Qin Xin was another matter; as long as Jiang Yuan was willing to cooperate, everything else would be easy.

“By the way, judging by how you acted today, are you really not going to fight back in any way?”

Yi Nanye had noticed just how incredible Jiang Yuan’s tolerance was. Anyone else treated like that would’ve blown up by now. Even someone timid would’ve shown some other negative emotion, but Jiang Yuan showed none.

He was smiling.

He could still face people with a smile!

“I won’t talk back when I’m insulted, and I won’t hit back when I’m struck. Even if explaining won’t help, I’ll keep explaining. The fact is, there are still a few people willing to believe me.”

Li Xiaoyan, the class study committee member, was one of them. More than the fact that she’d insulted Jiang Yuan, what mattered to him was that she truly regretted it and was willing to believe him.

“I never said you couldn’t fight back. You can insult them right back, and if they hit you first, you can hit back too. That’s self-defense, after all.”

“Heh. A character like me, stripped of my rights, is supposed to get to talk about self-defense?”