What exactly is temperament?
To Ye Qianying, temperament is simply the impression one person conveys to others.
And impressions can be deceiving. Through makeup, styling, clothing, accessories, posture, tone of voice, even the gaze...
Later, Ye Qianying reflected on the effect of "The Fair One, by the Water's Edge" and realized it was like a grand hypnotic illusion.
Yet illusions require props, a magician's deft touch, or an assistant's cooperation. But "The Fair One" needed nothing—it only demanded that Ye Qianying sit there quietly.
When Ye Qianying's veil lifted, triggering the skill's passive effect, no one in the room truly saw her face. Yet the idea of "beauty" surged through them like an electric current, racing up their spines to their nerves.
It was a bright, sunlit morning, but the moment the veil fluttered, the world seemed to blur into mist from the sheer radiance of the girl's beauty.
—"The reeds grow lush, the dew turns to frost. The fair one, by the water's edge."
There was no need to clearly see her face—the reeds and frost already obscured her silhouette in hazy mystery. Nor was there any doubt about her loveliness, for she lingered like mist or dew in every restless dream.
What lingered most was the sense of loss, the impossibility of pursuit, the wisp of fragrance that once clung to fingertips before drifting away.
No need for enchanting eyes, a delicate nose, rosy lips, or pearly teeth—only the fleeting glimpse of a profile as she passed by, just enough to etch the memory of perfection.
Seated in her wheelchair, Ye Qianying faced the light, her gauzy veil lifting and falling, revealing her true appearance for but an instant.
In that brief flash, her features and gaze seemed to blur in the sunlight, evaporating like dew from memory. Yet her ethereal, frost-like aura imprinted itself deeply, refining every recollection into something more exquisite.
For a moment, the room fell utterly silent.
All voices stilled, leaving only the crisp, tinkling sound of the veil clasp snapping from Ye Qianying's hair, bouncing and spinning like a coin across the marble floor.
Qi Yuanwen's arm remained frozen mid-air, still posed to part the crowd. Unaware of how absurd and stiff he looked, he stared at Ye Qianying in stunned awe, his gaze brimming with profound shock.
How could she be so beautiful? He had seen her before—her face was completely scarred...
Yet that fleeting glimpse had obliterated his entire definition of beauty, forcefully replacing it with Ye Qianying's image.
As the veil settled back into place, Ye Qianying adjusted its ties.
Watching her concealed face once more, Qi Yuanwen felt a pang of desolation, as though he had lost something irreplaceable.
He wasn’t alone—nearly everyone present exhaled an involuntary sigh.
Finally, a shout from the far end of the hallway snapped them out of their daze.
"Who’s bullying my Qianying-jie?!"
Lian Deng and a few others came panting toward them, their footsteps as chaotic as a stampeding herd of wild horses.
Mu Pan, tall and long-legged, reached Ye Qianying first. Without a shred of politeness, he smacked Gao Lan'er's hand off the wheelchair’s backrest.
"Picking on Ye Qianying while she can’t walk—real classy," he sneered, barely containing his anger. "If you weren’t a girl, I’d beat you till your own mother wouldn’t recognize you."
Gao Lan'er flinched and took a step back.
Mu Pan let out a heavy breath, as though swallowing a mouthful of bitter resentment. Even when he bent to speak to Ye Qianying, his voice was stiff with suppressed fury. "...Come on, I’ll push you back."
"No need," Ye Qianying replied calmly.
Her voice hadn’t changed much from before, but her tone was steadier, more composed—a reflection of her inner resolve.
Yet to the ears of those still reeling from her earlier radiance, those three simple words rang like shattering crystal or clashing jade, sharp and clear enough to send a shiver down their spines.
Under the crowd’s gaze, Ye Qianying gently moved Mu Pan’s hand from her wheelchair and gave a slight nod to the pale-faced Gao Lan'er. "You stay. And you—Xing Yuwei."
Gao Lan'er opened her mouth to protest, but Mu Pan shot her a glare, while Zhan Lulu stepped forward to block her, leaving Xing Yuwei without backup.
Xing Yuwei bit her lip with pearly teeth, waiting in vain for someone to defend her. When she glanced pleadingly at Qi Yuanwen, she found him staring dazedly at Ye Qianying instead.
Her eyes flickered. Shaking off a friend’s supportive hand, she took two stubborn steps forward. "Why single me out? Do you suspect me?"
Ye Qianying chuckled at her expression. "Look at you, jumping to conclusions. You’re the victim here—someone put razor blades in your locker at school. We can’t just let that slide. I’ll have the dean handle this immediately. If the dean can’t resolve it, we’ll go to the principal. And if even the principal fails, we’ll call the police. How does that sound?"
At the mention of police, Xing Yuwei’s face twitched uncomfortably. After a pause, she forced out, "Don’t disrupt everyone over my little problem... It’s really not necessary."
"Not necessary?"
Ye Qianying’s voice turned razor-sharp in an instant. Her demeanor flipped like a page—where there’d been faint amusement, now storm clouds gathered.
"Something this serious isn’t yours to dismiss, Xing Yuwei. Today, you were lucky—you found the blades in your locker. What if tomorrow, this person puts thumbtacks or broken glass in your shoes? What if you don’t notice and step on them? Your kindness is misplaced. The school has a duty to protect its students. If they don’t get to the bottom of this, I won’t stand for it."
Xing Yuwei’s face twisted at being put on the spot. "I doubt he’d..."
Ye Qianying cut her off. "No. This isn’t about what you think. You don’t have the right to vouch for him. For all we know, this isn’t just between you two. If he’ll hide blades in your locker today, what’s stopping him from spitting on someone’s door tomorrow? Or smuggling a lighter into school to burn down a classroom? Your forgiveness isn’t kindness—it’s enabling."
With that, Ye Qianying tilted her head slightly, casting a glance through her veil.
No further words were needed. Lian Deng, Mu Pan, and the other fast runners were already sprinting to fetch the dean.
Ye Qianying's words were logically clear, delivered in a crisp and resonant tone, each syllable falling like pearls onto a jade plate, with a depth that progressed layer by layer.
By the time Xing Yuwei snapped out of her daze and tried to defend herself, she realized the situation had already been framed by Ye Qianying's succinct remarks. Several heavy accusations had been hurled at her, making any response now seem inappropriate. The best course of action was to wait for the school administrators to arrive.
But she couldn’t afford to escalate things publicly—because she had a rough idea of the origins of today’s incident...
Xing Yuwei’s face paled, her bitterness and frustration trapped behind sealed lips.
She took a shaky step forward, her slender figure swaying like a willow in the wind, her steps unsteady as if she might collapse at any moment.
However, before she could do anything, Zhan Lulu, never one to miss a chance to stir the pot, let out an exaggerated gasp.
"Oh my, someone give her a piece of chocolate! She looks like she can barely stand—must be a blood sugar crash. Hey, Qi Yuanwen, be a man and take care of your girlfriend properly, will you?"
Only then did Qi Yuanwen seem to snap out of his stupor, stepping forward under the watchful eyes of the crowd to steady Xing Yuwei.
Xing Yuwei observed his delayed reaction with a mix of humiliation and resentment. He had only moved because Zhan Lulu ordered him to—such half-hearted concern might as well not exist.
Yet she couldn’t voice these thoughts aloud. Just like how Ye Qianying had publicly cornered her and summoned the school administrators, both situations were bitter pills Xing Yuwei had no choice but to swallow.
A few minutes later, several school officials hurried over, trailed by Mu Pan and Lian Deng, who had gone to report the incident.
Their first priority upon reaching the hallway was to disperse the gathered students.
"The teachers are still in a meeting—everyone return to your classrooms immediately! Class monitors, take charge of your homerooms and ensure no one wanders around unsupervised."
After herding the students back like sheep into their pens, the administrators turned their attention to the involved parties. When their gazes landed on Ye Qianying, sitting unshaken in her wheelchair, they exchanged subtle glances.
The school board chairman’s treasured daughter—this was all too familiar. In fact, she had become even more familiar lately.
One saying held true: though Ye Qianying’s presence might be absent from the school, her legend permeated every corner.
Even though Ye Qianying hadn’t attended classes, her family had made extensive preparations since last semester.
For instance, every part of the campus had undergone emergency renovations to expand accessibility measures. The girls’ restrooms had been redesigned, and despite the school history museum’s traditional Chinese pavilion aesthetic—exuding classical charm—the chairman had insisted on installing an elevator inside...
The bottom line was simple: whether Ye Qianying would use these facilities or not, they had to be available so she would never face inconvenience.
The entire winter break had seen a flurry of construction, with the work crews under immense pressure to meet deadlines.
Teachers had their own speculations about Ye Qianying’s situation, but given that they owed their jobs to her family, they kept their thoughts to themselves—silent understanding was enough.
The real issue was that the chairman’s beloved daughter had been cornered on the very first day of school. This...
Though it was just a student dispute, the moment the administrators heard Ye Qianying was involved, their headaches multiplied.
After exchanging glances, they tacitly pushed forward Principal Ge—the most straightforward and impartial among them—to handle the matter.
Principal Ge didn’t hesitate. His first question was directed at Qi Yuanwen.
—Qi Yuanwen was a prominent figure on campus, and his family was part of the school board. Most importantly, as a young man, he was expected to have thicker skin.
Principal Ge was genuinely concerned about Ye Qianying. Given her recent hardships and drastic changes, what if questioning her first made her break down in tears?
The moment the narrative power shifted to Qi Yuanwen, Gao Lan’er fixed hopeful eyes on him.
In her view, Ye Qianying was just some girl from another class who had relentlessly pursued Qi Yuanwen but never received his affection. Meanwhile, though she wasn’t close to Qi Yuanwen, they were classmates, and through her friendship with Xing Yuwei, she had spoken to him several times.
If Qi Yuanwen spoke first, surely he’d lean slightly in her favor...
Her delusion was shattered within three seconds. After a brief hesitation, Qi Yuanwen replied coolly and decisively: "I don’t know. When I arrived, Gao Lan’er was already pulling off Ye Qianying’s veil."
Principal Ge’s frown deepened. He turned to Gao Lan’er and asked sternly, "You’re Gao Lan’er? Is what he said true?"
Gao Lan’er’s face flushed and paled in turns. She hadn’t expected Qi Yuanwen to undercut her so thoroughly. Caught off guard, she paused before replying belatedly, "Yes, it was me. But I only did it because Ye Qianying stuffed razor blades into Yuwei’s locker first. I couldn’t just stand by, so..."
The administrators exchanged uneasy glances, their headaches worsening.
They had assumed this was just an ordinary student conflict, albeit complicated by the involvement of the chairman’s daughter and the sensitive issue of bullying a disabled student. But now razor blades were involved?
Kids these days were so hard to manage—what kind of mess was this?
Ye Qianying nodded calmly and seamlessly took over the conversation. "I asked my classmates to fetch the administrators because of the razor blades in Xing Yuwei’s locker. My issue is minor—just a squabble between students that can be resolved with a conversation. But planting razor blades in a classmate’s locker? That’s malicious. If left unchecked, who knows how far it could escalate? That’s why I thought it best to address it immediately."
Hearing her claim indifference to having her veil publicly removed, half the onlookers exhaled quietly in relief.
Only half, though—because the other half were still holding their breath over the razor blade incident.
After all, in a school environment, anything could spiral into a major issue.
After speaking, Ye Qianying leaned back into her wheelchair and noticed Qi Yuanwen staring at her with an incredulous expression, as if seeing her for the first time.
His gaze was fixed, unblinking—had he suddenly developed sunken eyeballs or something?
Ye Qianying quipped inwardly before turning her head away.
Principal Ge, straightforward by nature, reprimanded Gao Lan’er despite Ye Qianying’s claim of indifference.
"Just because of a suspicion, you thought it was acceptable to yank off someone’s veil? Have you considered the consequences if the classmate had a medical condition—like sensitivity to wind, pollen allergies, or personal privacy concerns? What if your impulsive act had caused real harm?"
"You are all educated children. From the very first day of elementary school, the first lesson you learned wasn't Chinese or math—it was respect! Respect your teachers, respect your classmates, and never bully others. Look at you, you're so grown up now. Even first graders understand this—are you telling me you don't know?"
As Principal Ge sternly reprimanded Gao Lan'er, the other school officials chimed in one after another.
Gao Lan'er pressed her lips tightly together, her expression clearly defiant. She never expected that a single impulsive act would land her facing such serious accusations.
She had just seen forum posts mentioning Ye Qianying's disfigurement and, out of curiosity, wanted to see what she looked like. But when she lifted the veil, even though she didn’t get a clear look at Ye Qianying’s face, wasn’t she still beautiful? No harm was done, so why was she being subjected to such harsh criticism?
Besides, when they found the razor blades in the locker earlier, Xing Yuwei’s first reaction had been to blame Ye Qianying…
At this thought, Gao Lan'er stiffened her neck, raised her head, and stubbornly retorted, "Fine, I shouldn’t have lifted her veil. But Ye Qianying shouldn’t have stooped so low as to plant blades in someone else’s locker either!"
Everyone present could attest that Ye Qianying had initially been willing to let the matter slide.
But since Gao Lan'er refused to back down and instead charged headfirst into trouble, Ye Qianying saw no reason not to set the record straight.
"Excuse me, let me interrupt. The veil incident was an impulsive clash—I can let that go. But forcing this blame onto me? That’s just malicious slander, isn’t it?"
Ye Qianying raised a hand. "This accusation—I refuse to accept it."
Principal Ge’s forehead creased deeply. "Gao Lan'er, do you understand the difference between a scuffle and false accusation? False accusations reflect on one’s moral character! A person must take responsibility for every word they speak!"
"Fine, I’ll take responsibility then!" Gao Lan'er shot back without hesitation.
"...Alright, alright," Principal Ge said, his tone icy. Known for his strictness, students usually feared him like mice facing a cat. This was the first time he’d encountered someone so brazen. "Then let’s go check the surveillance footage right now."
"Planting razor blades is an extremely serious offense. This matter must be investigated thoroughly."
The group marched to the surveillance room and pulled up the footage from outside the girls’ locker room on the first floor.
Since it was only the first day of the new semester, they didn’t need to review days of footage—just the events of that day.
The locker room was bustling with activity, making it difficult to pinpoint any one person.
But the priority was clearing Ye Qianying’s name. Her wheelchair made her highly conspicuous, so the footage was sped up to sixteen times its normal pace, playing out on the screen like a slapstick comedy—though no one in the room was laughing.
After three minutes, Gao Lan'er’s foot began fidgeting unconsciously on the floor.
By the five-minute mark, she was shifting her weight from foot to foot, adjusting her folded arms restlessly.
When the footage reached the eight-minute mark, with only a small portion left, Gao Lan'er craned her neck forward, as if desperate to scrutinize every pixel. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead, her guilt plain for all to see.
Ten minutes later, the footage concluded. Ye Qianying hadn’t appeared in the surveillance—she hadn’t even stepped foot in that hallway.
Gao Lan'er’s face had flushed crimson during the playback. Now, under the collective gaze of everyone in the room, she looked utterly humiliated.
Still refusing to admit fault, she stubbornly insisted, "Who’s to say Ye Qianying didn’t get someone else to do it? Just because she wasn’t in the locker room doesn’t mean she’s innocent—"
"If you’re accusing Qianying, where’s your proof?" Zhan Lulu couldn’t hold back any longer. "If you love presuming guilt so much, why don’t you prove you’re even your parents’ real child while you’re at it?"
"Zhan Lulu, you—"
Zhan Lulu scoffed. "Me what? Your family must’ve been professional gymnasts for generations—how else could they produce an Olympic-level contrarian like you?"
Despite the gravity of the situation, Ye Qianying nearly laughed out loud.
The school officials, sensing the conversation spiraling, cleared their throats. "Gao Lan'er, the school cannot condone baseless accusations. If you insist Ye Qianying is involved, you must provide evidence. Otherwise, you will apologize to her and accept disciplinary action."
Gao Lan'er’s face burned, but she clung to her stance. "If it wasn’t Ye Qianying, then who? Xing Yuwei even said—"
"I never said that." Xing Yuwei’s calm voice cut through Gao Lan'er’s words.
Under Gao Lan'er’s stunned, wide-eyed stare, Xing Yuwei repeated, cool and composed, "I never linked the razor blades to Ye Qianying. Lan'er, I understand you must feel cornered right now, but admitting mistakes takes courage. A mistake is a mistake."
She then bowed slightly to the officials. "My apologies for wasting everyone’s time over a personal matter. I’m in no rush for answers—I trust the school will handle this appropriately. As students, we shouldn’t interfere with the investigation. We’ll return to class now."
"Ah—yes, yes, go ahead. We’ll inform you once we’ve concluded the investigation," one official hastily agreed, eager to usher the students out.
Principal Ge turned to Gao Lan'er, his voice stern. "You, come to my office. We need to discuss your punishment."
Gao Lan'er’s flushed face had gone deathly pale. At the principal’s command, she took an involuntary step back, casting one last desperate, pleading look at Xing Yuwei.
But Xing Yuwei had already turned away, her graceful figure retreating without so much as a backward glance.
Gao Lan'er was subsequently summoned to the principal’s office for a lengthy discussion, and her parents were called in.
In the end, the resolution was this: Gao Lan'er was to apologize to Ye Qianying in person, serve a one-week suspension, and handwrite a 3,000-word self-criticism.
When Gao Lan'er came to apologize, her eyes were swollen nearly shut from crying, all traces of her earlier arrogance gone.
Principal Ge truly lived up to his reputation. Most educators had a knack for cutting straight to a student’s conscience—and reducing them to tears in the process.
At the very least, whenever Gao Lan'er thought back to that conversation, her heart still ached as if it had been ruthlessly twisted.
—"You considered her a friend, but how did she treat you? The moment someone provoked you, you jumped to action. Tell me, wasn’t that foolish? Hurting others for the sake of so-called ‘friendship’—do you think that was right?"
"I’m sorry, Ye Qianying," Gao Lan'er murmured, her voice barely audible as she hung her head. "I shouldn’t have deliberately pulled off your veil."
Faced with Gao Lan'er’s apology, Ye Qianying didn’t easily utter the words "it’s okay."
"Apologizing is your responsibility, but forgiveness isn’t my obligation," Ye Qianying said regretfully, shaking her head. "I find your behavior deeply unpleasant."
Watching Gao Lan'er suddenly lift her head in disbelief, Ye Qianying leaned back into her wheelchair. "What, surprised? Then put yourself in my shoes—if Xing Yuwei apologized to you right now, would you immediately forgive her?"
"...No," Gao Lan'er forced out through clenched lips.
"So I won’t accept it either. You can leave now—just tell them you’ve apologized." Ye Qianying gave a simple nod. "That’s all."
"..."
Gao Lan'er turned and walked away.
Her phone screen lit up again in her pocket—another new message from Xing Yuwei.
—"Lan'er, talk to me. Don’t be mad, okay? I didn’t mean what I said earlier. It’s just that if we couldn’t definitively pin this on Ye Qianying, I couldn’t openly side with you in that situation. You understand, right, Lan'er?"
Gao Lan'er stubbornly thought to herself: I already told Ye Qianying I wouldn’t forgive her. This time, I need to stand my ground.
She took out her phone, opened Xing Yuwei’s profile, and resolutely dragged that pristine, haughty edelweiss avatar into the blacklist.
Not long after, Gao Lan'er returned to school for the arts vs. sciences placement exam. The moment the results were announced, she checked the box for the humanities track, completely eliminating any chance of sharing a class with Xing Yuwei, who had once mentioned choosing the sciences.
Even if they passed each other in the hallway, she refused to greet Xing Yuwei.
As for the incident where Xing Yuwei had razor blades planted in her locker, the school eventually uncovered the truth.
"An idol fan?"
"Yep," Zhan Lulu gossiped with relish. "Xing Yuwei spent the whole break inflating her own reputation, didn’t she? Before, her PR pieces kept tearing you down to prop her up. Then, for some reason, she zeroed in on that girl group’s lead singer—endless articles using her as a stepping stone, milking one person dry. That idol’s fans absolutely despise her."
"So the student who planted the blades was a fan of that idol?" Ye Qianying mused, closing the book in front of her. "How did you find out?"
At this question, Zhan Lulu burst into laughter.
"And here’s the best part—Xing Yuwei actually blasted the whole story online! Now the entire internet knows that a sophomore at our school, a fan of that girl group, planted razor blades in Xing Yuwei’s locker after sending her over twenty threatening emails. The girl got expelled, but quietly. And now the web’s flooded with headlines like ‘Edelweiss Girl Faces Cyberbullying—Should Fans Exercise Restraint?’"
Here, Zhan Lulu couldn’t help but scoff dismissively.
Ye Qianying opened a new workbook and picked up her pen. "I thought she didn’t want this to blow up. I even wondered if she staged it herself." Who’d have guessed she’d turn around and sensationalize it online? Truly, appearances could be deceiving.
Zhan Lulu laughed so hard she nearly toppled over, snatching the pen from Ye Qianying’s hand.
"Qianying, don’t rush off to study yet—I haven’t finished!"
"Xing Yuwei keeps pulling stunts like this. Do you really think netizens can’t tell? ‘A fox shouldn’t preach to geese,’ as they say. Some netizens dug deeper, and guess what they uncovered?"
Leaning in, Zhan Lulu lowered her voice conspiratorially. "The girl who sent the emails and planted the blades has an older cousin who works at a celebrity PR firm. And that firm’s hype tactics? Exactly like Xing Yuwei’s current playbook!"
She smirked coldly. "The exposé post was deleted within a day. Everyone knows—money must’ve changed hands."
"Xing Yuwei hasn’t even debuted in entertainment yet, but she’s already mastered all its dirty tricks. At this point, all she’s missing is a lawyer’s cease-and-desist to complete the set!"
Ye Qianying chuckled again.
The more rotten Xing Yuwei’s scandals became, the less interest she had in them. But Zhan Lulu’s dramatic delivery always amused her.
A silent, attentive listener was the perfect audience. With Ye Qianying’s cooperation, Zhan Lulu grew even more animated.
"Oh, and since Qi Yuanwen’s family is on the school board, rumor has it Xing Yuwei used his connections to keep things hush-hush. Otherwise, the administration might’ve handled it openly like you suggested—issuing a formal notice to reassure students. But Qi Yuanwen’s family suppressed it, so the girl was quietly expelled."
"Who’d have thought? Qi Yuanwen buried it at school, only for Xing Yuwei’s team to splash it all over the internet! If I were him, I’d be furious—ahahahaha!"
Ye Qianying saw the situation with crystalline clarity.
Her mother, Lin Mumian, was an internationally acclaimed actress. Though her status meant she never needed to resort to "outshining rivals" or "lighting up red carpets" in tabloids, growing up in that environment had familiarized Ye Qianying with such tactics.
Since this was a staged incident, of course Xing Yuwei feared exposure.
She likely didn’t know the blade-planting girl well enough to trust her completely. A quiet expulsion aligned with prearranged terms—but if the school escalated matters, the pressure might’ve made the girl crack and confess everything.
Naturally, as the "victim," Xing Yuwei wanted minimal fuss.
This way, the incident remained a blank canvas. Controlling the narrative online, her team could spin it however they pleased, painting it in whatever colors suited them best.
"Even if she wanted to stir up publicity, using such methods is going too far." Ye Qianying shook her head, her eyes flashing with a hint of mockery. "The only reason she remains untouchable right now is because of the natural advantage of being an 'outsider.'"
An "outsider" refers to someone outside the entertainment industry.
While the public loves drama, they still have basic moral boundaries.
For instance, once doxxing gets involved, it becomes a serious scandal. If a celebrity's controversy drags in an outsider, that star’s reputation will be ruined.
So, even for glamorous celebrities, outsiders are a hot potato—untouchable. If their PR team mishandles the situation, they could end up paying a steep price.
But if an outsider chooses to step into the murky waters of the entertainment industry, they lose that natural shield of protection.
The industry has no shortage of dirty tricks.
When Zhan Lulu heard Ye Qianying mention this, she couldn’t help but sigh. She spent a long moment lamenting the situation before looking down and realizing Ye Qianying had already filled half a page of her workbook.
Zhan Lulu: "...Qianying, Xing Yuwei has been coming at you like that, and you’re not even interested in when she’ll crash and burn?"
"With her, I only care about one thing." Ye Qianying didn’t look up as she substituted the function result into the inequality, swiftly solving for the interval. "I have to win the bet on the liberal arts vs. science exam."
The bet—that was a side quest, meaning points and recovery progress.
As for the rest...
What did Xing Yuwei’s rise or fall have to do with Ye Qianying?
Even if Xing Yuwei wanted to claim some connection, flipping through the family tree wouldn’t reveal a single tie between them.
Oh, actually, there was one thing that might matter.
If Xing Yuwei really wanted to break into the entertainment industry... she might eventually come knocking at Ye Qianying’s mother’s door.
But she’d have to be either wildly famous or backed by powerful capital for that.
...
While Ye Qianying buried herself in practice problems, focused on pre-studying, and spent nights in the library—already halfway through the second-semester curriculum for her freshman year—Xing Yuwei clearly hadn’t been idle either.
In less than a week since school started, she’d already given two interviews and filmed an episode of a show.
Though the episode hadn’t aired yet, in the published interviews, Xing Yuwei earnestly claimed that her daily life had been greatly affected. She emphasized that she was still a student and just wanted to study in peace.
Ye Qianying: "..."
Even though she was used to two-faced behavior, Ye Qianying couldn’t help but marvel at Xing Yuwei’s performance.
She almost wondered if Xing Yuwei had forgotten about their exam bet.
The study system chimed in: "Host, isn’t it a good thing if your opponent underestimates you?"
Ye Qianying shook her head. "Pride goes before a fall—that’s fine. But looking at her attitude now, fulfilling this bet feels like beating an opponent who’s already crippled herself."
The study system mused, "Understood. A master swordsman doesn’t waste their blade on nameless foes."
Ye Qianying: "..."
She was starting to realize that ever since the system unlocked partial intelligence, its whole personality had taken a weird turn.
However, as it turned out, Xing Yuwei hadn’t forgotten the bet.
She was just outright underestimating Ye Qianying.
Because the day before the exam, Xing Yuwei gracefully walked into Classroom 15 and, under the stunned gazes of their classmates, stopped in front of Ye Qianying’s desk.
"Good luck on the exam tomorrow." Xing Yuwei smiled elegantly and placed a pale pink greeting card on Ye Qianying’s desk. "Both Yuanwen and I hope you do well."
Whether intentional or not, the card was left open. When Ye Qianying glanced down, she saw Qi Yuanwen’s flamboyant signature right there on the card, paired with Xing Yuwei’s. Someone had even drawn a little heart connecting the two names.
Ye Qianying: "..."
Ignoring Qi Yuanwen’s existence was the extent of her tolerance, but if someone insisted on provoking her, she wouldn’t hold back—no matter the occasion.
She closed the card with a flick of her fingers and, under Xing Yuwei’s meaningful gaze, slowly smiled.
"Thanks, I’ll keep this." Ye Qianying casually tucked the card into a stack of books. "Oh, and do me a favor—tell Qi Yuanwen that betting against just one person is boring. If he’s going to challenge someone, why not take on the whole couple?"
Under the shocked stares of everyone present, Ye Qianying enunciated each word clearly:
"For this bet, I’m adding him in too. Does he dare accept?"
—Ding. [Side Quest: Liberal Arts vs. Science Exam] activated.
Quest Description: In the upcoming exam, surpass Qi Yuanwen’s score. Will the host accept?
Ye Qianying’s eyes curved into crescents, sparkling with amusement.
"Accept? Of course."
"Who would say no to free points and recovery progress?"
