Suppressing the fury rising in her heart, Fu Yuan dared not be struck publicly again; another blow would send her face crashing into the Pacific. Though she held back from action, the thought that the man surnamed Lan was not only handsome but also held a status far beyond that of Ning Yunhuan’s kept little white face chafed her nerves raw, leaving her eyes flushed crimson.

“Fu Yuan, don’t treat everyone like fools. You know perfectly well what you’ve done.” Li Panpan, inherently kind-hearted, finished her admonishment only to turn and offer Ning Yunhuan an apologetic look before continuing, “You reap what you sow. Don't bother looking for me again.”

After the dispute between the two women was settled, Ning Yunhuan watched as Fu Yuan’s face turned beet-red, tears welling up in her eyes, and let out a cold snort: “If you dare to spout nonsense again, believe me, my boyfriend will tear your mouth apart! I will report today’s events to Principal Su; I don’t want to be in the same class as someone like you. I trust the students in this class are reasonable and wouldn't believe her lies!”

The previous time Su Ying had shown Lan Lingyan markedly different behavior, and now Ning Yunhuan deliberately invoked his name to startle the crowd. Indeed, a few students who had been watching the spectacle grew fearful, murmuring amongst themselves before turning their heads away, unwilling to look in their direction.

Fu Yuan’s face burned scarlet. She suddenly stomped her foot: “I hate you both, and I won't let you get away with this!” With that, she spun around, covering her mouth, and fled outside.

Ning Yunhuan couldn't be bothered with such people. After class, as she was tidying her things, the young mistress of the Li family was indeed standing by her desk, clutching her handbag, having apparently dismissed the two followers trailing her. Although the other students were curious about this situation, they were either afraid of Li Panpan or wary of Ning Yunhuan’s boyfriend’s unknown connection to Principal Su. Thus, despite their curiosity, no one dared to linger.

Being constantly watched, even Ning Yunhuan’s calm while packing couldn't hold. She sighed, tossed her packed bag onto the desk, and climbed up to sit beside it before saying:

“Go on then, what is it you need to tell me?”

Li Panpan’s eyes flickered, and she offered a sweet smile: “What could it be? I just find you so intriguing, and I thought we could be friends?”

Hearing this, Ning Yunhuan laughed: “I certainly don’t see it that way. If you don’t say what you mean, I’m leaving.” Although Ning Yunhuan remembered Li Panpan lending her the phone last time, she had no intention of becoming close confidantes with her. After all, Fu Yuan alone had soured her appetite for making new friends; that incident had already dampened her desire for companionship. She had a partner, a son, and parents—those were what mattered most now.

“Alright, what I’m about to tell you is true. I had someone investigate, and Fu Yuan really is seeing Qin Yi behind my back.” Seeing Ning Yunhuan about to leave, Li Panpan quickly stopped her, forcing a strained, somewhat bitter smile: “I didn't expect that the first friend I managed to make would have ulterior motives. Am I truly such a failure at being a person?”

As she spoke, tears began to stream down her face: “I’ve known Qin Yi since I was seven. I grew up right beside him; our families even joked about betrothing us early on. He was even my first man!” At this point, Li Panpan finally lost control and began sobbing louder and louder: “But how could he do this to me? It’s one thing for him to exchange secretive glances with Fu Yuan, but they actually went that far.”

Hearing her story, Ning Yunhuan felt a twinge of sympathy. She sighed, pulled a tissue from her bag, unfolded one sheet, and handed it to her without speaking.

“I always thought he loved me the most, but I never expected him to do this. Even a rabbit doesn’t eat the grass near its own burrow, yet Aunt Zhu tells me all men are like this, that I should just endure it, that no matter how many women Qin Yi has outside, none of them can compare to me.” Whatever she had bottled up for a long time now poured out, and Li Panpan grew increasingly agitated. Finally, she took the tissue to wipe her face and then said, “Why aren’t you comforting me?”

“Why should I comfort you? We aren't friends.” During their first meeting, Li Panpan had actually scolded her once. As Ning Yunhuan picked up her bag to leave, Li Panpan seemed to recall their first encounter and couldn’t help but chuckle:

“That’s right, we’re not friends. But you offered me a tissue when I cried, and you don't seem to want anything from me. My so-called best friend wasn't just after my Li family background; she went after my fiancé too. Truly a good friend of mine.” Li Panpan’s tone turned somewhat grim as she said this.

The girl who had initially seemed pure and kind harbored so much hidden pain. However, this had little to do with Ning Yunhuan. While she remembered Li Panpan lending her the phone, the presence of Qin Yi created a barrier to true friendship. Moreover, Fu Yuan’s actions had genuinely made her hesitant about making new friends. Still, having a shared adversary in Fu Yuan created a sliver of reluctant understanding between them.

“I need to leave now. Do you want to sit here a while longer, or are you leaving too?” Lan Lingyan had told her before class that he would bring their son to pick her up; they had already scheduled the wedding photoshoot, and he was taking her to choose dresses in the afternoon. Ning Yunhuan already felt overwhelmed and had no time to comfort Li Panpan.

Unexpectedly, her directness made Li Panpan laugh. She wiped her tears and then said, “I’m not that fragile. At most, Qin Yi is just playing around with Fu Yuan. He will definitely marry me.” Whether she was saying this for others or to comfort herself, no one could dictate the affairs of the heart for another, especially when one’s own circumstances were still complicated. Ning Yunhuan simply smiled and remained silent.

“You really won’t stay for dinner with me?” Li Panpan’s eyes were slightly red, but she still smiled and extended her hand to Ning Yunhuan: “I genuinely wanted to be friends with you.”

“I’m sure there’s a line of people waiting outside the school gate who would love to dine with the great Miss Li. I don’t need to, as my boyfriend is already here to pick me up.” Seeing that Li Panpan had regained her composure, Ning Yunhuan picked up her bag and left. Li Panpan smiled after her, then suddenly seemed to recall something: “Wait, Huanhuan, oh right, my future mother-in-law asked me to ask you if you’d be interested in having your boyfriend cooperate with her to take down that senior student surnamed Gu. I heard a foreign consortium is currently helping her.”

The moment the words ‘foreign consortium’ were mentioned, Ning Yunhuan suddenly recalled one of Gu Yingxi’s men from the novels she read—a British nobleman with a baronet title who owned a large vineyard, the only foreign man among Gu Yingxi’s circle of admirers. In her past life, Ning Yunhuan hadn't managed to meet the male lead described as having the strongest stamina among Gu Yingxi’s harem; she wondered if the person Li Panpan mentioned, who was saving Gu Yingxi and opposing the Qin family, was that British Baron, Bruggelin.

“A foreign consortium?” Seeing that Ning Yunhuan had finally shown interest, Li Panpan nodded. In truth, she didn't wish for Qin Yi’s mother, Zhu Susu, to target someone as seemingly innocent as Gu Yingxi. According to her own investigations, Gu Yingxi was just an ordinary person with a somewhat pitiful background. While she had some connection with Xie Zhuoyin, it wasn't by choice; even her first time had been forcibly taken by him. Though this man subsequently clung to her, given her status back then, refusing the eldest young master of the Xie family hadn't been easy.

Her family had a sick mother desperately needing a kidney transplant, plus two younger sisters and a younger brother. Gu Yingxi was practically the only earner for the Gu family. If anything happened to her, the Gu family would be in serious trouble. However, when she tried to advise Zhu Susu, her mother-in-law wouldn't listen, remaining determined to deal with Gu Yingxi. Fortunately, the Englishman wasn't heartless and had saved Gu Yingxi once; otherwise, Gu Yingxi would likely be dead by now.

“Huanhuan, if you can, give her a hand too. She’s not having an easy time either…” Li Panpan showed a look of pity as she spoke. Ning Yunhuan understood the situation, smiled, but did not agree to the request before genuinely turning to leave.

In the afternoon, because this matter occupied her thoughts, Ning Yunhuan was less resistant to the idea of taking wedding photos than before. Lan Lingyan observed this, pretending to notice nothing, and after helping her choose the clothes, he took her back to the company.

While Ning Yunhuan was distracted, Lan Lingyan managed to ascertain that the young mistress of the Li family had sought out Ning Yunhuan and understood why she seemed slightly off. Though he found Ning Yunhuan’s excessive preoccupation with Gu Yingxi strange, Lan Jiu reflected that he was often around this girl, spending significant time with her during her pregnancy and after she gave birth. Yet, why was it that in the end, no woman commanded as much of her attention as this other one?

Even though Lan Lingyan felt he was lowering himself by comparing himself to Gu Yingxi, the more he dwelled on it, the more uneasy he became. This growing discomfort also made Gu Yingxi, whom he had previously dismissed, increasingly displeasing in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Gu Yingxi, whom both Ning Yunhuan and Lan Lingyan were now focused on, was being rescued, heartbroken, by Mu Jinyan, the second young master of the Mu family. The memory of those people forcibly touching her made her contemplate suicide several times. However, once the Mu family brought her back, Mu Er Shaoye, whose temperament was usually childlike, suddenly developed an intense interest in her. The Mu family treated her as a toy to amuse the second young master, naturally preventing her from dying. As days turned into weeks, Gu Yingxi slowly pulled herself out of the initial self-loathing, and the desire to die gradually faded.