"Sister Qing, this is my junior from university, Liu Yutong."
"Your junior? So she’s just a freshman?"
Su Qing quickly recalled where she had heard that name before.
At the end of last year, the program Campus Stars announced that the next episode would be filmed in Bright Pearl City after an online poll went viral.
With just a single photo of her back, Liu Yutong had overwhelmingly topped the poll as the most beautiful campus belle at the University of Finance, surpassing candidates from other schools.
Sometimes, things were just that absurd—what could a mere silhouette reveal? At most, it proved she had a great figure.
But without seeing her face, nothing could be confirmed.
Yet, miraculously, what seemed like a casually snapped photo had skyrocketed to the top of the online poll for campus belles.
What made it even more tantalizing was that no front-facing photos of her could be found online, fueling netizens' curiosity.
Human curiosity is a powerful thing—the more elusive something is, the more people crave it. The mystery even sparked significant online buzz.
The program team had chosen to film at the University of Finance precisely because of its trending appeal.
If they could unveil the mystery behind the campus belle, their ratings were bound to soar.
However, soon after, the title of "campus belle" was abruptly transferred to Xue Linna.
The original silhouette was also replaced with one of Xue Linna.
Though it was likely orchestrated behind the scenes, none of that mattered in the end.
Whether it was Liu Yutong or Xue Linna, as long as the girl on screen wasn’t unattractive, the show would still deliver.
And if she exceeded expectations? Even better.
In reality, Xue Linna’s looks did meet the standards of a campus belle—otherwise, Su Qing wouldn’t have signed her without hesitation.
Now, Su Qing finally understood why Liu Yutong had suddenly been replaced by Xue Linna online.
A figure like Liu Yutong probably had no interest in stepping into the spotlight.
Once exposed, countless people would dig into her background, which could spell trouble for her.
As the saying goes, darkness dissolves once exposed to sunlight.
"Sister Qing, should we go say hello?"
"No, let’s wait a little longer."
Su Qing had already noticed someone calling the police, and she was curious to see how the officers would handle the situation.
Would it play out as she expected—once the police arrived (sunlight shining), these intimidating men in black would scatter in panic and get caught (dissolving)?
At least in the major metropolis where she usually lived, she had never seen such a large gathering of underworld figures.
Of course, her city was an international hub where law enforcement cracked down hard on such elements.
That was precisely why today’s scene had shocked her so much—she had genuinely never witnessed anything so terrifying.
Soon, several police cars arrived with sirens blaring in response to the call.
Though Liu Yutong heard the sirens, she didn’t even glance toward the police cars, seemingly unconcerned that they might be here for her. Instead, she pointed at Rubber Eraser and the dozen or so thugs, asking Lin Muyang:
"These men were sent by that General Manager Sun. What do you think we should do with them?"
"Throw them all into the river?" Lin Muyang suggested after a moment’s thought.
The moment those words left his mouth, Rubber Eraser and his gang nearly fainted from terror.
The bruised and battered men immediately dropped to their knees, wailing and exaggerating their pitiful state.
"Young Master Lin, please, have mercy! We were wrong, we admit it!"
"Young Master Lin, we were deceived by General Manager Sun!"
"Young Master Lin, we should all care about the environment! We reek—dumping us in the river would pollute the water! Think about it, wouldn’t it?"
"Yeah, yeah! Drowning us is bad for the environment! We’ll volunteer to sweep streets or clean toilets—we’ll do it for life if we have to!"
"We’ll turn ourselves in! The police are here—we’ll confess! We’ll even rat out that bastard General Manager Sun so the cops can arrest him and avenge you and the young miss!"
"Right, right! We’ll confess! We shouldn’t have listened to that scoundrel and tried to mess with you!"
It was clear that Rubber Eraser and his crew had come up with this plan only after hearing the police sirens.
At this point, they’d rather be locked up than remain at the mercy of these two—especially the girl.
Though they hadn’t seen what happened to the two men dragged away earlier, their bloodcurdling screams had made it clear they’d suffered inhuman treatment.
Losing their freedom in jail was still better than being killed or drowned, right?
Just then, over a dozen stern-faced officers stepped out of their cars. The moment they saw the overwhelming sea of men in black, they froze, instinctively reaching for their belts.
Hundreds of intimidating-looking figures in black had formed multiple rings, encircling a group of thugs kneeling and wailing on the ground.
At the center stood a young man with a rebellious air and an unbelievably beautiful girl beside him, tilting her head slightly as if lost in thought.
"Nobody move! What’s going on here? Who called us?" the lead officer barked.
The moment Rubber Eraser and his men spotted the police, they scrambled toward them on hands and knees.
"Officers, we surrender! We’re turning ourselves in!"
"We were wrong to even think about laying a hand on Young Master Lin and the young miss! We’re guilty—just lock us up already!"
The officers: "……"
Seriously? Do you think we’re blind?
Sure, you don’t look like saints either, but given this scene, how could you possibly be the ones dishing out punishment?
If anything, it looks like you’re the ones who got schooled.
Hell, even we’re sweating a little under our uniforms just looking at this.
"You don’t need to be afraid. Just tell us the truth—we’ll protect you!"
"Officer, we really are guilty!"
"We’re scum of the earth! We’ve committed… uh, what’s the word? I didn’t go to school much, but we’ve done a lot of bad stuff!"
"Yeah, yeah! Our moral compass is broken! We were jealous of Young Master Lin’s looks and the young miss’s beauty! We’re rotten inside—throw the book at us! We’ll even take extra jail time if we have to!"
"Officer, please, lock us up and purify our souls!"
The officers’ faces stiffened, twitching slightly.
What kind of nonsense is this?
Since when do criminals beg to be arrested, especially when they look like the victims here?
But with so many people at the scene, it was best to take them in for questioning.
"Alright, alright. If you’re surrendering, get up. We’ll sort this out at the station."
Overjoyed, Rubber Eraser and his men nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes! We’ll cooperate fully!"
But just as they stood up, Liu Yutong’s voice cut through the air.
"Wait!"
The officer frowned at her. "Miss, what are you doing? Trying to interfere with our duty?"
Liu Yutong extended her hand and wagged her index finger. "No, I just wanted to remind you that the crimes these people committed are very serious. You officers better keep a close eye on them."
The lead policeman frowned. "What do you mean?"
Liu Yutong clapped her hands lightly.
Several men in black immediately dragged over two half-dead individuals and dumped them in front of the officers.
The policemen’s expressions darkened instantly.
Was this a direct challenge to their authority? Beating people to such a state right in front of them?
"Arres—"
Before the lead officer could finish shouting "Arrest them!"
Liu Yutong spoke again, "Officers, I suspect these two are fugitive killers with blood on their hands. I suggest you take them back for a thorough investigation and then send them to meet their maker."
"As for the ones kneeling on the ground, they’re accomplices."
The officers: "???"
Eraser and his gang: "???"
What the hell?
Were they being framed right in front of the cops?
They were just involved in a brawl—normally, they’d get a few days in detention at most.
How did they suddenly become killers? And now they were supposed to face execution?
Did money and power really let people do whatever they wanted?
Damn, this was beyond corrupt!
