“I don’t want to hear anything similar to this from anyone else later on, or I’ll come after you for slander. And don’t make baseless accusations; bring evidence first, or I might just say your parents aren't good people either!” Ning Yunhuan remembered this Chen Yuanyuan. In her past life, this girl was also notorious at Imperial Capital University as a Cinderella figure; her parents were exposed six months later for group drug use, and because it reflected so poorly on the university, Chen Yuanyuan was advised to withdraw. Ning Yunhuan never heard of her again after that.

But because this incident was a rare scandal among the Imperial Capital University students, it circulated widely at the time, and since they were classmates, Ning Yunhuan remembered it.

Hearing Ning Yunhuan speak now, Chen Yuanyuan’s face cycled through shades of pale and ashen, her eyelids twitching uncontrollably. After a long moment, she let out a cold snort, her previous saccharine smile gone, and stomped back to her seat angrily.

Ning Yunhuan couldn't care less about her mood. In her previous life, constrained by her role as the novel's supporting female character, she constantly suppressed herself, playing the saint, and lived unhappily. Reborn, there was naturally no way she would tolerate indignities for the sake of some empty reputation like last time. In truth, that good reputation hadn't benefited her in the end; perhaps because she was the designated supporting character, her final displays of kindness were only seen as weakness to be exploited.

“Huanhuan, it should have been this way all along!” Fu Yuan was thrilled to see her reprimand Chen Yuanyuan. Recently, Ning Yunhuan had become the talk of the class. Xie Zhuoyin had mysteriously come looking for her in the classroom several times. Not only students from the Performance Department but also those from other departments were starting to pay attention to Ning Yunhuan. Under these circumstances, Fu Yuan desperately wished she could immediately announce that she and Ning Yunhuan were friends to draw attention to herself. However, Chen Yuanyuan, leveraging her seat next to Ning Yunhuan, had been selling information about her to many people.

Fu Yuan didn't care about the money, but what she truly couldn't bear to give up was the prestige of being surrounded by attention. Moreover, she was no longer young, and the Fu family had expectations for her to use her time in university to find a powerful and influential boyfriend.

But Fu Yuan had just entered Imperial Capital University and hadn't had a chance to create a stir or attract notice. Now that she finally had this opportunity with Xie Zhuoyin, Fu Yuan was determined to seize it. Having used Ning Yunhuan to strike down Chen Yuanyuan, Fu Yuan was afraid people wouldn't know about her connection to Ning Yunhuan, so she quickly embraced her and declared loudly:

“Huanhuan, I haven’t seen your auntie in ages! I miss her. I’ll come over for dinner at your place tonight.” As she spoke, she cast a triumphant glance around the classroom.

But Ning Yunhuan had no intention of playing along. She just shook her head: “I already told my mother I wouldn't be home.”

Although Fu Yuan was somewhat familiar with Mrs. Ning on weekdays, the feeling of 'missing her' wasn't genuine. Ning Yunhuan tugged at the corner of her mouth: “I have an appointment, I need to leave now.”

Upon hearing this, many people tentatively gathered around: “Ning Yunhuan, is your appointment with the senior Xie?”

“I don’t know who Senior Xie is.” Ning Yunhuan smiled, gathered her things, and walked away. Fu Yuan hadn't expected her to be so dismissive and was so angry she twisted her fingers. Many classmates looked at her with strange, mocking gazes. Fu Yuan glared in the direction Ning Yunhuan had left with an ugly expression for a moment before reluctantly turning back with a strained smile: “She’s gone, everyone stop crowding around.”

“She says she doesn’t know Senior Xie, then why has Senior Xie come looking for her repeatedly?” Many students ignored Fu Yuan and instead started whispering to each other: “Exactly, she’s just playing hard to get!”

...

By this time, Ning Yunhuan had already put the events in the classroom behind her. As soon as she stepped out of the door, Lan Lingyan called. She said she had been delayed and sent a driver, who would arrive in about fifteen minutes. She asked Ning Yunhuan to find somewhere to sit and wait for the driver to call her.

After carelessly wandering off last time and stumbling upon a live intimate scene, Ning Yunhuan dared not wander this time. After leaving the classroom, she picked a bench under the shade of a tree and sat down obediently. This spot wasn't too secluded, but it wasn't the busiest area either; there were scattered people around her. She didn't look around inquisitively, nor did she have any intention of joining a crowd.

She didn't believe she was so unlucky that sitting down randomly would cause trouble again. In broad daylight like this, she figured no trouble could arise. Only then did Ning Yunhuan pull out her bag and settle in.

Just as she pulled out her phone to swipe—this device was similar to the smartphones from her past life but infinitely better than any fifth or sixth generation she had seen—with numerous functions and fast network speeds. She was about to download a game to pass the time when, just as she sat steady, a strange sound came from the bushes behind the bench.

The moment her ears caught the noise, Ning Yunhuan froze stiff. No way?

“Don’t there, be gentle…” Whose familiar voice was that? Ning Yunhuan recognized it almost instantly!

No way. Running into it in a secluded spot last time was one thing, but now, in such a public area, she ran into it again? How much 'action' did this female lead have, and how desperate was she? Ning Yunhuan didn't know if she had hit the lowest point in eight lifetimes, or if this was a special perk of being the supporting character. Imperial Capital University was so vast that it took four or five days just to walk around the campus. There were plenty of secluded spots, so why did she always have the bad luck to run into things?

“Darling, it’s too tight, relax a little! Are you reluctant to let me out!” A man’s voice, gritted through clenched teeth and breathless with exertion, rang out, accompanied by Gu Yingxi’s death-like wail. This area wasn't deserted, but with the female lead screaming so loudly, and people sitting on chairs about five meters away on either side, wasn't the female lead afraid others would hear?

“It’s going to break, woo-woo…” Accompanied by the female lead’s cries, the man’s gasps grew more rapid. Before long, both of them were crying out. Ning Yunhuan was so afraid she’d grow eye-needles that she lowered her head and quickly reached for her things, preparing to leave.

She had already noted her rising posture and confirmed she wouldn't step on any twigs to make noise or trigger any melodramatic incidents. But unexpectedly, the couple who had just been fully immersed in their private act, treating their surroundings as non-existent, suddenly became sharp of ear and eye the moment they finished. The man, still panting, roared: “Who is it?”

As soon as his voice fell, Gu Yingxi’s shrill cry of shame and anger erupted. After a few comforting words inside, a man with his top unbuttoned, revealing a patch of solid chest, and a face full of gloomy resentment—Xie Zhuoyin—stood up. He emerged from behind the neatly trimmed, half-human-high, spherical evergreen bushes, revealing half his body.

“It’s you?” Xie Zhuoyin frowned when he saw Ning Yunhuan, who hadn't managed to run away, his face contorting into a vicious expression.

I'm feeling faintly sorrowful!!!! I kept eagerly refreshing the collection... But, I'm weeping into my handkerchief, why did I only get a few, a few, a few more today? Sob sob, I feel like we'll never love again... C

For more novels, visit storyread.net.