Ye Qianying clicked on the video link.
The content was simple—it covered a joint social welfare initiative organized by No. 1 High School, No. 6 High School, and Shenji High School. Students from each school were selected as representatives to promote environmental protection and nature conservation.
The local news station conducted a routine interview and included a few typical clips in their report.
Shenji’s student representative was Xing Yuwei, while No. 1 High School’s representative was Shen Hanyin.
In the video, Shen Hanyin’s screen time was brief—just a glimpse and a single line. The boy smiled warmly, his soft, curly hair adding to his gentle demeanor, making anyone who saw him feel at ease.
—Even with traces of youthful innocence still on his face, his warm, smiling expression was no different from when they met eight years later.
So, from childhood to adulthood, he had always been this kind of person.
Ye Qianying exhaled slowly, inexplicably feeling her restless mood settle into calm, like undisturbed water.
The learning system asked her, "Host, is this someone you know?"
Ye Qianying laughed. "We don’t even know each other. We just happened to cross paths once and exchanged a few words."
With the video now focusing solely on Xing Yuwei’s lengthy segment, Ye Qianying closed it and scrolled down to read the comments. "I didn’t even learn his name until later, from the news."
"You seem quite interested in him."
"Maybe. After all, he’s a rare kind of stranger."
To Ye Qianying, Shen Hanyin was like an old friend she had long lost contact with.
Since they had only been acquaintances back then—far from inseparable companions—it would be excessive to go out of her way to track down his contact details. Yet, whenever she suddenly remembered him, she couldn’t help but search for updates about him online. Seeing that he was doing well brought her a quiet sense of reassurance.
Watching Shen Hanyin’s spirited appearance in the video, clearly thriving, Ye Qianying felt her mood lighten.
She skimmed through the comments, which were filled with uniform praise, while the reposts subtly hinted at Xing Yuwei being the "high school belle."
Even the hair accessory Xing Yuwei wore sparked a wave of nicknames like "Snowflake Girl" among the crowd. Seeing the nearly identical timestamps on the reposts, Ye Qianying already had an idea of what was happening.
After checking other reposts from marketing accounts, her suspicions were confirmed.
Aside from the official local news channel’s interview, every other account had seemingly coordinated to crop out Shen Hanyin and others, leaving only Xing Yuwei’s segments.
Zhan Lulu and Lian Deng were fuming when they saw the reposts and comments.
As Ye Qianying’s friends, they rallied behind her: "Ying, don’t pay attention to these nobodies. You’re the real school belle—we don’t acknowledge Xing Yuwei."
Ye Qianying couldn’t help but chuckle at their almost childish indignation.
She replied to each of them: "Don’t worry about it. She’s just building hype."
A catchy nickname, labels like "school belle" and "top student," a sudden surge of reposts in a short timeframe—all part of the publicity machine.
After all, the reason "fame" and "fortune" are so closely linked is because reputation can often be directly converted into profit.
As for why Xing Yuwei’s family was pushing this narrative…
Ye Qianying sighed softly. The possibilities were endless—it all depended on how they used it, how bold they were, whether they could sustain it, and how far they could take it.
As long as no one dragged her into it, it had little to do with Ye Qianying.
After succinctly replying to all the messages, she turned off her phone screen, deciding it was time to focus on something productive.
—School was starting in half a month, and the arts vs. sciences placement exam was approaching. Had she finished her math problems?
No? Then no more distractions—time to study!
However, things rarely go as planned.
Even though Ye Qianying paid no mind to Xing Yuwei’s publicity stunt, she still ended up indirectly tied to the name "Xing Yuwei."
Online, Ye Qianying’s real name never appeared—instead, she was referred to as "Shenji’s former school belle."
Ye Qianying: "..."
Not only did she not want the title of "former school belle," she didn’t even want "school belle" in the first place.
Discussing it with the learning system, she said with genuine exasperation, "It’s so tacky. Even worse than being called 'host.'"
The learning system: "...Host, that’s slander against the system."
In any case, whether out of ignorance or sheer audacity, Xing Yuwei’s publicity campaign kept brushing up against Ye Qianying’s name.
After all, when trying to praise someone, the easiest and most common tactic is to contrast them with another person to highlight their superiority.
If Ye Qianying was the "former school belle" and Xing Yuwei the "current school belle," then surely Xing Yuwei must surpass Ye Qianying in many ways.
For instance, her academic performance was supposedly more outstanding, her personality more gentle and understanding, her demeanor more poised and graceful, and her reputation far better.
The articles also never failed to subtly praise Xing Yuwei’s background—her mother came from a scholarly family, her father was a successful businessman, making her family extremely wealthy. Ah, how unfair heaven was, bestowing so many virtues upon a single girl!
Ye Qianying: "..."
This was so ridiculous that if she had taken a sip of water, she would have spat it out by now.
During her time studying in China, Ye Qianying had never flaunted her background—after all, who would plaster "My dad is [XX]" on their forehead?
Even the fact that her family were school trustees was only known to some administrative staff and teachers.
Her classmates were the same—they had a general sense of each other’s family situations but never pried into specifics.
After all, those who needed to know already did, and the vast majority weren’t the type to show off.
As for Xing Yuwei, since she and Ye Qianying moved in different circles and Ye Qianying wasn’t one to boast, Xing Yuwei had no idea about Ye Qianying’s family background.
Had she known even a little more, she probably wouldn’t have approved such cringe-worthy promotional material.
After finishing the article glorifying Xing Yuwei, Ye Qianying laughed for a good thirty seconds.
After a while, she caught her breath, finished laughing, closed the webpage, and buried herself in solving math problems again.
As for that absurdly worded paid article, Ye Qianying didn’t give it a second thought.
After all, her family members had appeared in such public account headlines far too many times.
There was always some new business star making a dazzling debut, hailed by the media as "the next Ye Tiao," or an entrepreneur making bold claims, declaring themselves "the second Ye Jiao."
Her parents, eldest brother, and second brother were perennial targets, dragged out as comparisons every single day. Once her third brother gained fame, he’d inevitably receive the same treatment.
There was no need to pay attention to such shameless flattery.
Ye Qianying was all too familiar with this routine.
Sometimes, certain articles even deliberately disparaged her family, hoping to provoke a reaction from her brothers or elicit a response from her household—all for the sake of clicks and attention.
—Like a toad begging for scraps while trailing behind for miles, if Ye Qianying so much as glanced back at them, she’d consider it a loss.
Sure enough, the hype surrounding Xing Yuwei quickly escalated, soon abandoning her as the "ordinary former school beauty" and instead dragging a recently popular girl group member into the spotlight for comparison.
There were even articles like, "Talent Scout Makes Three Visits to Recruit ‘Snowflake Girl,’ Who Insists She Just Wants to Study."
...
The buzz persisted even as Shenji High School’s new semester began, showing no signs of fading.
For a time, Xing Yuwei became the most talked-about figure in the entire school. After all, it wasn’t every day that someone from the news appeared right before their eyes. When someone familiar suddenly became the center of attention, it naturally piqued the curiosity of her peers.
In contrast, Ye Qianying, the "former school beauty" used as a foil, inevitably drew many gazes as well.
Especially since her appearance—wearing a veil and seated in a wheelchair—was already eye-catching enough.
That article comparing Ye Qianying and Xing Yuwei had likely been seen by quite a few people.
So, when the opening ceremony ended and Ye Qianying maneuvered her wheelchair down the hallway, she overheard someone deliberately raising their voice to mention Xing Yuwei behind her back.
She didn’t turn around, but the person actually chased after her and grabbed hold of her wheelchair.
Ye Qianying frowned slightly, turning her head to ask coldly, "What do you think you’re doing?"
The girl wore a class badge for Class 16, bearing the name Gao Lan'er. Her face was flushed with indignation as she demanded aggressively, "Was it you who sent Yuwei that harassing email yesterday?"
Harassing email?
Ye Qianying scanned the hallway and noticed many students exchanging knowing glances, whispering gossip to their neighbors.
Clearly, quite a few had already heard about this.
As the commotion spread, more students poked their heads out to observe the unfolding drama.
Ye Qianying took in the scene, her gaze sweeping over the crowd of onlookers before finally settling on the doorway of Class 16.
Ignoring Gao Lan'er’s provocation, she called out a name directly: "Xing Yuwei, if you have something to say, say it to my face."
Xing Yuwei stood with her hair loose, her face pale as she leaned against another girl. Her eyes were slightly red, and though the other girl patted her shoulder comfortingly, her expression remained blank.
"Why drag Yuwei into this? Isn’t this your doing?" Gao Lan'er shot a glance back at Xing Yuwei, as if interpreting something infuriating from her demeanor, then swung her arm violently—nearly striking Ye Qianying in the face.
"Just because Qi Yuanwen likes Yuwei and not you, you sent her threatening emails, forcing her to break up with him—and even slipped razor blades into her locker in the girls’ changing room! What are you, some kind of terrorist?!"
At this shocking accusation, the hallway erupted in uproar.
Even students who had been quietly studying in their classrooms were riled up, calling friends over to crowd by the windows and watch the spectacle.
In no time, the glass panes of every classroom were pressed with faces, like paper cutouts pasted against them.
Gao Lan'er’s chest heaved with emotion before she dropped another bombshell: "Oh, I get it. Because your face is ruined, you want to ruin Yuwei’s too, don’t you?"
At that moment, the crowd suddenly parted like the Red Sea. Qi Yuanwen strode through, his steps hurried—clearly, he’d rushed over after hearing the news.
And just then, Gao Lan'er, in her fury, reached out and yanked at Ye Qianying’s veil: "Fine! Since Qi Yuanwen is here, let him judge for himself—"
Ye Qianying dodged, but Gao Lan'er still managed to pull loose a corner of the veil. The neatly tied ribbon came undone under the rough handling, and one of the clasps at the back snapped. The delicate fabric fluttered upward, revealing most of Ye Qianying’s face.
With the black veil no longer shielding her, Ye Qianying’s vision abruptly brightened. At the same time, a notification chimed in her mind.
—"Specific conditions met. [The Fair Maiden by the Water] has been triggered."
