"Junior Sister, what did I do wrong for you to treat me like this?" Hearing her words, the tears that had been welling up in Gu Yingxi’s eyes immediately gushed forth. The female protagonist, whose looks were merely delicate before, now appeared utterly heartbroken and incomparably lovely as she wept.

Ning Yunhuan was somewhat speechless. She tilted her head up, truly puzzled, "What exactly did I do wrong? That you have to spy on me even when I go to the restroom?"

"No, I didn't..." Gu Yingxi’s face flushed crimson as she desperately waved her hands. She fidgeted restlessly with the pleats of her skirt while twisting her legs, posture suggesting she was about to sit down heavily. "I wasn't spying, Junior Sister, I, I..." Gu Yingxi actually wanted to demand the return of the photos she had taken earlier, but recalling how Ning Yunhuan and Xie Zhuoyin had behaved on the campus lawn, she found it too awkward to ask. Thus, her face burned red, and she stammered, unable to articulate her thoughts.

"If there is nothing else, please do not follow me again in the future." Ning Yunhuan spoke, her eye twitching slightly as she prepared to leave. Unexpectedly, the man who had been waiting outside the women's restroom for what felt like ages could no longer bear hearing the girl he cherished weeping so desperately. He finally burst forth, glaring fiercely at Ning Yunhuan, "How can you be so malicious, woman? Little Ying'er speaking to you is your honor. Be careful not to ignite my anger, or even the Ning family won't be able to save you!"

Xie Zhuoyin’s tall frame materialized outside the women's restroom door. He was dressed in an iron-gray silk shirt and crisp casual trousers. With one hand jammed in his pocket, he was currently berating Ning Yunhuan while gesturing near her nose. He looked quite presentable, but the moment Ning Yunhuan heard his threat, her expression darkened instantly.

If in her previous life, Ning Yuncheng had coaxed his own sister into forfeiting her inheritance, then Xie Zhuoyin, one of the legendary 'cool and arrogant' male leads, had used coercion and intimidation to plague Ning Yunhuan with nightmares for a long time.

Now that she had been reborn into this life, seeing him dare to threaten her again, Ning Yunhuan couldn't help but laugh.

She smiled without speaking. For some reason, Xie Zhuoyin was reminded of the man who had made him feel intensely threatened a few days prior. After returning that day, he had exhausted every means and utilized all his connections but failed to uncover the identity of that mysterious man. Fear gnawed at him, yet for a favored son of heaven who had always had his way, being so unnerved—especially since the man hadn't even shown himself—that he suffered nightly nightmares of being shot in the head for several days, felt utterly humiliating!

Although no one witnessed his internal discomfiture, Xie Zhuoyin knew clearly that he had no outlet for his rage except to unleash it all upon Gu Yingxi, his newest subject of interest. He had driven Gu Yingxi to cry and beg him repeatedly before the anger inside him finally subsided a little. But the moment he saw Ning Yunhuan, the fear from their first encounter with Lan Lingyan, coupled with the shame of her ignoring his attempt to reconcile during their second meeting, surged back into Xie Zhuoyin's heart all at once.

On top of hearing Ning Yunhuan make Gu Yingxi cry just moments before, Xie Zhuoyin’s fury intensified, mixed with exasperated anger. His face grew colder, a sinister glint appearing in his eyes. He extended his fingers:

"I'll give you three seconds. Get down on your knees and apologize to Little Ying'er immediately, or I'll have your entire Ning family come to atone to her!"

Xie Zhuoyin had always been pampered by the Xie family, which was no ordinary household; they were an exceedingly wealthy clan within Huaxia, possessing reserves that could not be compared to a minor company like the Ning family. Moreover, coupled with Father Xie’s directorial status at Imperial Capital University, everyone showed Xie Zhuoyin a degree of deference, especially the adoration from women, which had fostered his arrogant and high-minded temperament. Seeing his woman being bullied now made him extremely displeased:

"No one bullies my woman!" Only he was permitted to bully Gu Yingxi. Any other woman who dared to trouble his person must be prepared to pay with her life!

"U-Uncle Yin, n-no, that’s not right..." Hearing Xie Zhuoyin demand Ning Yunhuan kneel, Gu Yingxi suddenly seemed panicked. Tears streamed down her face as she collapsed onto the ground with a heavy thud, shuffling toward Xie Zhuoyin on her knees. "It has nothing to do with Junior Sister..."

What was with these two constantly kneeling? Had they watched too many television dramas? And demanding a bow right off the bat—was this the 'give up on treatment' stage? Ning Yunhuan’s eye twitched incessantly. Xie Zhuoyin was already tenderly lifting his beloved, clutching her tightly, "Little Ying'er, you are just too kind-hearted. If this kind of woman doesn't kneel and apologize to you today, allowing you to slap her, how can she atone for what she's done to you!"

What? Forcing her to kneel was bad enough, but now a slap too? Unpleasant memories from her past life flooded back. In her previous life, she had worked hard to please Ning Yuncheng, only for him to disregard their sibling bond for the sake of Gu Yingxi. He hadn't cared how devoted she had been, even cheating her out of company shares she trusted him with, and ultimately demanding she take a slap for Gu Yingxi. Now that Xie Zhuoyin was voicing the same demand, a furnace of fire erupted within Ning Yunhuan, causing her to instantly link the images of both (scum men), Ning Yuncheng and Xie Zhuoyin.

It was a fresh grievance layered upon an old wound; the more she looked at him, the angrier she became!

Without a second thought, Ning Yunhuan snatched the incense burner from the washstand, which was emitting a faint, lingering smoke, and hurled it directly at Xie Zhuoyin: "Help! There's a pervert! A wolf has broken into the women's restroom! Help!"

Xie Zhuoyin sensed trouble the moment he saw the faint smirk playing on her lips. But before he could react, not only did the censer strike him squarely in the face, but the residual ash from the burnt incense scattered all over him, some even puffing into his mouth, nostrils, and eyes. Xie Zhuoyin let out a loud yell, instantly forgetting to hold Gu Yingxi. He instinctively reached up to cover his face!

Gu Yingxi, who had been leaning softly against Xie Zhuoyin, suddenly slipped to the ground as soon as she was released. Caught off guard, she fell hard, her face draining of color.

After Ning Yunhuan let out her cries, many people, having heard the shouts of 'pervert' and 'wolf,' hurried toward the women's restroom—the very restroom Xie Zhuoyin had cleared out to vent his anger on her behalf.

"I saw your underwear," Ning Yunhuan mocked Gu Yingxi after taking a moment to adjust her clothes in the mirror. She then glanced at Gu Yingxi, lifted her chin slightly, and prepared to exit.

She had considered kicking Xie Zhuoyin one more time, but decided against it for now. Lan Lingyan wasn't around, and if she stayed too long only to be caught by Xie Zhuoyin, the risk wouldn't be worth it. Revenge could wait for the next encounter; after all, she hadn't forgotten his demand for her to kneel today.