“I’ll be right there.” A moment later, the notification sound of a text message chimed. Ning Yunhuan reached out a finger and swiped the screen of her phone, opening the reply she’d received from Lan Lingyan. Only then did she realize that she had subconsciously sent Lan Lingyan a message about Xie Zhuoyin already being outside the classroom door!

Snapping back to reality, Ning Yunhuan nearly lost her mind. Why would she instinctively message Lan Lingyan? She found Xie Zhuoyin inherently dangerous. In her past life, due to Gu Yingxi, she had indeed dealt with Xie Zhuoyin before. The Xie family’s foundation was never clean; rumors suggested they had washed illicit gains into legitimate wealth. Of course, they couldn't compare to an organization like the Lan clan, which had been established for over a hundred years, but the Xie family was still hazardous. Having lived two lifetimes, Ning Yunhuan hadn't gained many extraordinary abilities, but she possessed an almost primal acuity for sensing danger. She felt Xie Zhuoyin’s arrival boded ill, even carrying a faint, unsettling premonition. But why, upon sensing danger, was Lan Lingyan the one she messaged?

Compared to Xie Zhuoyin, Lan Lingyan was arguably the more perilous figure; Xie Zhuoyin wasn't even in the same league. Her current action was no different from leading a tiger into a den. Ning Yunhuan kept her face impassive, desperate enough to pull out her own hair. But the message was sent, and she couldn't recall it. Right now, she couldn't quite articulate what she was feeling—it wasn't the initial fear. Even knowing Lan Lingyan was dangerous, perhaps due to their recent intimacy, different feelings for him had begun to blossom in her heart. That was why, when feeling unsafe, she hadn't messaged her father or called Madam Ning; he was the very first person who came to mind!

Realizing this, Ning Yunhuan’s teeth began to chatter uncontrollably. This was far too dangerous. How long had she known Lan Lingyan for her instincts to have already devolved to this state? A cold sweat instantly broke out across Ning Yunhuan’s back. It was fortunate that such an unexpected event had pulled her focus away from Xie Zhuoyin, preventing her from noticing the sinister, almost bloodthirsty gaze that Xie Zhuoyin had fixed upon her.

Contrasting sharply with Ning Yunhuan’s anxious apprehension was Lan Lingyan’s current state of utter delight; he even set aside the work at hand. The man who had been engaging in clandestine activity with that woman named Gu Yingxi outside the campus yesterday did not know Lan Lingyan, but Lan Lingyan had already stored that man’s data. Upon seeing him yesterday, Lan Lingyan had instantly identified him.

Clearly, Xie Zhuoyin had been investigating Ning Yunhuan. Lan Lingyan hadn't expected that he would show himself before Lan Lingyan could make a move. Lan Lingyan wasn't sure whether to be grateful that Xie Zhuoyin had inadvertently helped him prompt the little girl to send him a text for aid for the first time, or if he should laugh at Xie Zhuoyin for being an ignorant frog unaware of the vast world outside his well. He pushed up his glasses; the sunlight catching the lenses created a blinding glare, obscuring the chilling depths within his phoenix eyes.

The students in the classroom were already completely distracted. Seeing that continuing the lecture would be ineffective, the female instructor decided to yield to the collective mood, calling the period a self-study session before packing up and leaving. She had first gone to try and flirt with Xie Zhuoyin. Although the people inside the classroom couldn't hear what was said through the window, everyone watched as a hint of impatient amusement touched Xie Zhuoyin’s handsome and wicked face before the instructor slowly departed with her belongings.

Once she was gone, the classroom instantly erupted into noisy chatter. The girl sitting next to Ning Yunhuan turned and grinned at her, "Senior Xie is so handsome, isn't he?"

This girl had round cheeks and a fair, tender face that resembled a steamed bun. As she spoke of Xie Zhuoyin, her eyes shone with eagerness, clearly hoping for Ning Yunhuan to agree with her assessment, which amused Ning Yunhuan.

Although she harbored a strong intuition that Xie Zhuoyin’s intentions were malicious, for some unknown reason, that feeling persisted. Living two lives hadn't gifted her with any golden finger-like ability, only this innate sense regarding danger. While Ning Yunhuan felt a degree of worry, seeing her deskmate’s sweet smile and recalling the text she had just sent to Lan Lingyan—even though she regretted sending it immediately after—her heart settled somewhat.

"Junior Ning Yunhuan." As soon as Xie Zhuoyin dismissed the instructor outside, he sauntered over, one hand tucked into his pocket, the other tapping rhythmically against the large expanse of classroom glass. His peach-blossom eyes were alight with wicked charm. "Might I have the honor of inviting you outside for a moment?"

What a pretense! Ning Yunhuan frowned. Every student in the room followed Xie Zhuoyin’s voice and turned their gazes onto her.

While Ning Yunhuan was beautiful and possessed a graceful figure among her peers, compared to the many other strikingly good-looking and well-figured girls in the class, she certainly wasn't considered the absolute peak. After all, the two girls from their class who later entered the entertainment industry and became famous were not far behind Ning Yunhuan in looks. Given this context, it was unexpected that Xie Zhuoyin called out no one else but Ning Yunhuan, causing many female classmates to feel a flicker of resentment. Naturally, the way others looked at her became complicated.

With Xie Zhuoyin’s direct address, perhaps over eighty percent of the female students looked at her with undisguised displeasure. Ning Yunhuan kept her head down, pretending not to hear Xie Zhuoyin’s voice outside. For some reason, his voice sounded vaguely familiar, though she couldn’t place where she had heard it before. Perhaps it was because of her past life's dealings with him concerning Gu Yingxi that the sound felt familiar.

In that brief interval, the classroom fell into a deathly silence. Many stared in disbelief at the person who had her head down, feigning deafness to Xie Zhuoyin's call. Several people began whispering to one another:

"Who is this Ning Yunhuan? How dare she pretend not to hear when Senior Xie calls her?"

Since they had only been in university for a short while, these freshmen might not recognize every classmate. But Xie Zhuoyin's gaze was fixed directly on Ning Yunhuan’s area, and crucially, Fu Yuan was already walking towards Ning Yunhuan, loudly calling out as if to ensure everyone knew, "Huanhuan, someone’s calling you!"

At that point, all eyes in the class settled on the bowed head of Ning Yunhuan. Nobody truly believed Ning Yunhuan hadn't heard Xie Zhuoyin; nearly everyone had clearly caught his voice. The consensus was that Ning Yunhuan was deliberately playing coy. Some of the girls spoke with thinly veiled jealousy:

"She’s not even that attractive. Why did Senior Xie take an interest in someone like this this time? Has he gotten too used to delicacies that he now craves simple pickled vegetables?" Many others echoed such sentiments among the girls, but quite a few of the male students’ eyes flickered: "What pickled vegetables? You’re just saying that because you can't have the grapes yourself."