Li Panpan wasn't entirely oblivious to social cues; seeing that Ning Yunhuan was genuinely annoyed, she quickly stifled her laughter and offered an apology. Just as she was about to say a few more words, classmates noticed the pair and waved them over. "Huanhuan, Panpan, hurry over and look! Mingyu is on the front page!"

Several students in the class were holding newspapers, engaged in a lively discussion. Someone couldn't help but blurt out the scoop first: "I never realized Mingyu was that kind of person. I used to like him so much."

Hearing that the person she intended to trouble seemed to have run into bad luck before she could even make a move, Ning Yunhuan let go of her own worries and felt a spark of interest. She drifted over, took a newspaper, and began to read.

The entertainment section’s headline today featured bold, large black letters: Ming Yu Returns Late at Night, Beats Up Driver!

Accompanying the headline were several unflattering photos of Bai Mingyu. The clear signage for a police station was visible behind him. Bai Mingyu’s hair was a mess, his face utterly distressed. Though he tried his best to shield his face, in front of reporters whose noses were sharper than a dog's, there was nowhere to hide. The camera flashes completely exposed the bruises on his face and his grim expression. His clothes were torn and askew. A middle-aged man with his head wrapped in white gauze was pointing a finger toward his own nose, seemingly mid-speech. The angle of the photograph emphasized his wide-open nostrils and the teeth visible in his grimacing mouth—the scene looked fiercely charged just from the picture alone.

"I used to like him so much, considered him my idol. I never thought he was like this," a delicate-voiced classmate sniffed, wrinkling her nose in distaste.

The newspaper article stated that Bai Mingyu had returned to the country mysteriously and taken a taxi out of the city late at night. Upon reaching his destination, he allegedly refused to pay the fare. A dispute escalated, leading to a physical altercation with the driver, who angrily called the police.

Below that was a smaller section detailing an interview with the driver, suggesting that Bai Mingyu not only refused to pay but also seemed to be involved in something illicit and shady, rambling on about a host of vague accusations. From the snippets of conversation among her classmates, Ning Yunhuan could tell that Bai Mingyu was in serious trouble this time.

Perhaps it was because she felt miserable herself, seeing someone else in a worse state brought her a strange sense of satisfaction. Ning Yunhuan felt her spirits lift considerably. To see Bai Mingyu, a man whose eyes seemed perpetually fixed on the ceiling, someone who had never suffered a real setback in his life, finally meeting his match—it was immensely gratifying!

In her delight, Ning Yunhuan tossed her own recent troubles aside and laughed while holding the newspaper.

As she returned to her seat, a figure sat down right beside her. Ning Yunhuan assumed it was her deskmate, Liu Zhen, and paid it no mind. However, Li Panpan poked her head over. "Huanhuan, did Mingyu offend you? Why are you smiling so happily seeing him suffer?"

Though Ning Yunhuan was slightly surprised to find Li Panpan sitting there, given the history they shared, there was still some affection between them. Ning Yunhuan paused, then decided not to hide anything. "You know I started an entertainment company, right?" Seeing Li Panpan nod, Ning Yunhuan continued, "The person managing the company for me now is one of my husband's former subordinates. He invited Bai Mingyu back to the country to participate in a variety show, but Bai Mingyu’s schedule didn't align, so they arranged for him to return this way."

Li Panpan came from a respectable background and naturally knew who Ning Yunhuan’s husband was. Her elders, who cherished her, had subtly encouraged her to spend more time with Ning Yunhuan recently, especially after learning they were close. Li Panpan, once the one being courted, now found herself being prompted by her own family to curry favor with someone else. This realization, coupled with the shock from her kidnapping and her fiancé cheating with her best friend, had deeply impacted the once somewhat innocent girl.

Her perspective had darkened somewhat. Things she once deemed good now seemed bad, and the bad seemed good. Since the incident involving Fu Yuan, she hadn't harbored any ill feelings toward Ning Yunhuan, meaning she might even have resisted her family’s suggestion to associate with her.

After the kidnapping—and perhaps particularly after the moment Ning Yunhuan handed her a piece of clothing when she was nearly assaulted by Dongfang Aoshi—Li Panpan held a favorable impression of Ning Yunhuan. Furthermore, she seemed to see a different world reflected in Ning Yunhuan, one her elders had taught her about. She genuinely wanted to befriend Ning Yunhuan anyway, so she readily accepted this new dynamic without pushback.

Li Panpan hadn't really wanted to come to school lately. Since the Fu Yuan affair, her view of human nature was no longer so simple. However, the presence of Ning Yunhuan, someone she wanted as a friend, drew her back periodically. Regardless, with the status of the Li family, she could graduate even without attending classes.

When she arrived today, she sensed a subtle shift in Ning Yunhuan, which gave her the courage to sit down close by. After only a few words, Li Panpan gathered from Ning Yunhuan’s mention that Bai Mingyu had been forcibly brought back. She had heard some background details about the gentleman surnamed Lan from her family elders—apparently, someone not to be trifled with. Only Ning Yunhuan’s husband would dare orchestrate the kidnapping of a national idol.

The classmates assumed Ning Yunhuan’s use of the term "husband" was just a romantic endearment between partners. Few at school knew that the two were actually legally married. Just as Li Panpan was about to tease Ning Yunhuan, her peripheral vision caught sight of a slender girl in a ponytail standing quietly behind her. Her expression immediately hardened.

Ever since being betrayed by Fu Yuan, Li Panpan detested anyone waiting silently behind her. Fu Yuan had always done that, yet to Li Panpan, that waiting resembled a hungry wolf poised to strike and steal everything she possessed. Seeing the silhouette behind her now, Li Panpan's eyes turned cold, and she stood up abruptly. "What are you standing there for?"

Ning Yunhuan heard her words and turned to look, seeing Liu Zhen standing behind Li Panpan. Liu Zhen wore light-colored denim pants that stretched tautly over her firm, straight legs, a pure white T-shirt on top, and held a black knit cardigan in her hands. Her long, straight, jet-black hair was swept over her right shoulder and chest. She looked innocent and untainted by the world. Ning Yunhuan realized that while talking about her own affairs with Li Panpan was one thing, she couldn't let others overhear. Although Bai Mingyu was arrogant, he couldn't stand against his fiercely devoted fans—mostly young men and women between fifteen and twenty, with a majority being girls. These individuals were at an age of recklessness; many were so obsessed with their idols they would ignore their own parents. If the news that Lan Biao had abducted Bai Mingyu got out, even with Lan Lingyan's influence, it would still cause massive trouble.

"Liu Zhen?" Ning Yunhuan’s smile vanished. Noticing faint brownish marks on Liu Zhen’s face, she quickly averted her gaze. The girl had decent features, and her eyes were clear and pure, but the blemishes ruined the fresh look, making her face appear fragile. It was clear she had already applied some powder-based isolation cream; otherwise, in just a few days, even with quick-acting treatments, her acne wouldn't have cleared up so rapidly to restore the quality of her original skin texture.

"Why are you eavesdropping on our conversation?" Li Panpan’s heart was somewhat twisted now, but her core character was sound. Although annoyed, she didn't resort to the haughty insults common among the second generation elites. Yet, even though she spoke softly, just frowning was enough to make Liu Zhen flinch as if startled. Her lips trembled twice.

"L-Miss Li, I wasn't listening." After saying this, she seemed embarrassed. "This is just where I sit. I saw you talking with Huanhuan, so I didn't come over..."

Liu Zhen’s voice trailed off, her face etched with confusion. The surrounding classmates watched coldly, no one showing any inclination to speak up for her. Even if Li Panpan was bullying her with her status, she at least came from good standing. These classmates were all heading into the entertainment industry, a world where the tactless and the heedless certainly wouldn't survive long. No one stepped forward to defend Liu Zhen now. Her face flushed crimson, and her eyes blinked rapidly, like a frightened animal, the lowered eyelids concealing her true thoughts.

Li Panpan let out a cold laugh. Before she could speak, Cheng Qiaomei, sitting on a desk nearby with a heavily made-up face and a voluptuous figure, holding a magazine, sneered at Liu Zhen: "A slut being melodramatic!"

That single sentence made two veins visibly twitch on Liu Zhen’s forehead. Li Panpan joined in with a laugh. "I'm sitting in this spot now. You can take my old seat later." Liu Zhen had never offended her, but the sight of her—so innocent and seemingly delicate, like a little white rabbit that couldn't handle fright—reminded Li Panpan too much of Fu Yuan’s pretense. It instantly grated on Li Panpan’s nerves, making her intensely dislike Liu Zhen.

As soon as Li Panpan finished speaking, Liu Zhen visibly shuddered and looked toward Ning Yunhuan. Ning Yunhuan flinched internally. It didn't matter who sat next to her, but she admitted that she probably had more common ground with Li Panpan than with the other classmates. If Li Panpan could sit beside her and exchange a few words, that wasn't a bad thing, so she remained silent.

Liu Zhen’s eyes dimmed. She nodded, clutched her bag, and started to leave with her head bowed. This demeanor sparked a measure of pity in some of the male classmates. Just as she took a step, she paused, then spoke softly to Ning Yunhuan:

"Huanhuan, be careful. The stuff on my face before—I heard it was contaminated with something it shouldn't have been, from the letter in your drawer. Luckily, I opened it to look. If you had touched it, you would have been hurt again. If it was accidental, fine, but if it was intentional, I wanted to give you a heads-up."

Ning Yunhuan already knew whether that incident was an accident. She knew exactly how Liu Zhen’s acne had appeared; Lan Lingyan had gone to great lengths to investigate everything, so Ning Yunhuan understood. But it was strange that Liu Zhen knew and was now warning her.

If it was a genuine warning, fine. But Ning Yunhuan, perhaps scarred by Gu Yingxi in her past life, remained guarded toward everyone in this one. Liu Zhen's words carried two potential meanings to her: one, a sincere warning to be cautious; the other, a reminder that Liu Zhen had nearly ruined her face because she looked at the letter for Ning Yunhuan, thereby subtly emphasizing the favor she’d done for Ning Yunhuan.

For some reason, Ning Yunhuan felt strongly that the second meaning was dominant. Her initial good impression of Liu Zhen wavered, and she smiled faintly, replying softly, "Thank you for the reminder." She said nothing more. Liu Zhen hesitated for a moment, hugged her knit cardigan, and walked toward Li Panpan’s vacated seat.

"You’re buying out the Fu family to start an entertainment company? Your man is truly generous, even inviting Bai Mingyu over for you?" Li Panpan said with a hint of envy after Liu Zhen left. "He treats you so well; I’m jealous."

Ning Yunhuan joked back, "You can't be jealous. Even if I wanted to give him to you, you couldn't take him." After saying this, not only was Li Panpan stunned, but Ning Yunhuan herself froze for a moment.

Li Panpan felt a pang of sadness due to the confidence in Ning Yunhuan’s tone, while Ning Yunhuan recalled Lan Lingyan’s disciplined behavior over the past two years, feeling a sudden surge of emotion.

Given Lan Lingyan's status—he had the Lin family as backup in Huaxia, and even without them, the Lan family’s power and wealth guaranteed an endless stream of women throwing themselves at him. For someone of his standing, having countless companions would be the norm. Few young masters his age weren't womanizers. He was lustful, but it seemed he poured all that attention onto her. She had never demanded he remain celibate for her; in fact, she was reluctant at first, always planning to leave once she was safe.

But because he never showed any indication that he was willing to let her go, Ning Yunhuan used to think her relationship with Lan Lingyan was inconsequential. She had grown accustomed to the small details of his care without realizing it. At first, she was too terrified to notice, or perhaps she noticed but dismissed it as the instinct of a demon designed to lower one's guard. She never considered that outside of his time at the company, he spent almost all his free time with her. She used to think it was just expected that he wouldn't frequent pleasure houses. Now, however, the certainty in her voice while talking to Li Panpan—the assumption that he wouldn't be out carousing—made her heart beat rapidly.

"Exactly. Some men are just pathetic. As long as someone beckons, they rush forward, whether they’re fragrant or foul," Li Panpan said, grinding her teeth in resentment, clearly thinking of Fu Yuan and Qin Yi. Tears were close to spilling. "What am I lacking compared to Fu Yuan? With so many women throwing themselves at him, why did he have to get entangled with that woman?"

Although she had forgiven Qin Yi, Li Panpan still felt the sting when talking about it. It wasn't her place to interfere in others' romantic troubles, but Ning Yunhuan couldn't help herself. She exclaimed in surprise, "Why haven't you ever thought about leaving Qin Yi? What's so good about him that he's not even worth half a finger of Lan Jiu?" Though she still feared Lan Lingyan, Ning Yunhuan had to admit that compared to a fickle scoundrel like Qin Yi, Lan Jiu was much better. At least he was self-respecting. In her previous life, before her death, no matter how many times Gu Yingxi confessed or schemed to be with him, the unattainable god resisted. Just based on that, even if Ning Yunhuan feared Lan Jiu, Lan Lingyan outshone Qin Yi by light-years.

Li Panpan was deeply provoked by the situation between Qin Yi and Fu Yuan, but Ning Yunhuan's suggestion made her pause. "Leave him?"

Ning Yunhuan nodded, picked up the newspaper again, found nothing else of interest, and returned it to the classmate who lent it to her. She smiled at Li Panpan. "Of course. Qin Yi isn't a good person; there's no pity in discarding him. Why are you so reluctant to let go?" No one knew better than Ning Yunhuan, who had been kidnapped with her, whether Li Panpan had been violated. Ning Yunhuan recalled Lan Lingyan mentioning that the Qin family seemed to believe Li Panpan's body was tainted, implying she wasn't worthy of Qin Yi. Qin Yi's mother, Zhu Susu, had openly declared that a suitable daughter-in-law was hard to find, clearly disrespecting Li Panpan.

Zhu Susu ought to consider what kind of man her son was before scorning others. If this marriage went through, it would likely become a source of enmity rather than union. Li Panpan was not the one who made the mistake. Even if she was assaulted on Long Meng's island while trying to save Gu Yingxi, the fault lay with Qin Yi—that useless coward who couldn't even protect his own fiancée! For the Qin family to look down on her was absurd. If Li Panpan actually married into that family, she would be racing toward the same fate as in her past life: abandoned by Qin Yi, the Li family absorbed by Qin Yi because of her, and ultimately sacrificed to Gu Yingxi.

"I need to think about it." Unlike before, when she would conjure up countless excuses to deceive herself, Li Panpan quickly finished speaking and turned her head away. Ning Yunhuan didn't want to play the role of a confidante; some realizations couldn't be forced by someone else’s desperate pleading. If Li Panpan couldn't figure it out herself, Ning Yunhuan's persuasive efforts would be wasted.

Meanwhile, the matter of Bai Mingyu had spread throughout all of Huaxia. The greater his previous fame, the larger his current disgrace. While some people condemned Bai Mingyu for refusing to pay and resorting to violence, Bai Mingyu’s most loyal fans mobilized. The taxi driver’s home was quickly surrounded by a mob of these fans. The organized and disciplined fans had successfully doxxed the driver’s residence and gathered outside, many beginning to throw garbage at his house. The already explosive incident escalated further due to the fans' irrational behavior.

The protagonist of this story, meanwhile, sat gloomily inside the distinctly ancient-styled Tang residence. Because the scandal had grown so large, nearly everyone from the Tang family in Huaxia had returned home.

Tang Xiuyuan had also been summoned back by his grandfather, Tang Jun. Upon seeing his usually spirited close friend, he couldn't help but smile, completely dismissing the incident. He stated plainly:

"Dad, it’s just a farce. As long as we bring down a few publishing houses, this can be suppressed eventually. Why make such a big fuss?" Tang Xiuyuan knew several influential figures in the Imperial Capital due to his grandfather Tang Jun’s connections, even chatting occasionally with major figures like Su Ying, the principal of Imperial Capital University. He viewed Bai Mingyu’s current issue as merely a conflict with a driver, not serious, and felt a bit of sympathy for his despondent friend.

"Shut up!" Tang Jun, in his sixties, wore a pure white cotton Tang suit embroidered with golden thread in circular Fu (fortune) characters, looking solemn and authoritative. Tang Xiuyuan dared not say more and merely exchanged a look with his father, Tang Tianhao.

"Father, I think there might be some hidden details here. Perhaps we should clarify before reacting. I watched Mingyu grow up; I know his character best. He wouldn't be the type to skip out on a fare." Tang Tianhao glanced at his son, who was clearly not meeting expectations, then softened his tone as he looked at the disheveled Bai Mingyu. "Mingyu, when did you get back? Why didn't you let the family know? Since you're back now, why not stay through the Dragon Boat Festival? Your aunt has missed you terribly..."

Bai Mingyu impatiently pushed his hair back. He retained enough composure to know this wasn't the time to lose his temper. He suppressed his inner frustration and said, "Uncle Tang, forget about the driver's issue, but I do have something important." He then recounted how he was forcibly brought back to the country, glossing over his vacation in Hawaii and framing it as being abroad for work filming. Tang Tianhao had called Huo Xi repeatedly, hoping that he and his brothers could return for the Dragon Boat Festival, but Bai Mingyu had found it bothersome and made an excuse to refuse. He had assumed his next return wouldn't be until next year, never anticipating this sudden crisis forcing him to seek help from the Tang family.

Upon hearing that Bai Mingyu had been kidnapped, the expressions of Tang Jun and the others immediately turned grave. "Who kidnapped you? Do you have a grudge with them?"

Bai Mingyu was growing impatient. He still had a contract waiting to be finalized, yet the Tang family members were being irritatingly tedious, constantly asking endless questions. His status had soared over the years; there was no longer any occasion for him to force a smile and play the sycophant. Even high-ranking executives in his company sought to flatter him, this veritable cash cow. Now, as the Tang family pressed him, a surge of anger instantly flared up in Bai Mingyu—this was precisely why he hated returning to the Tang residence.

When he was young, it seemed the Tang family presumed upon having adopted him and Bai Mingchun, thus controlling and scrutinizing every aspect of their lives, speaking down to them from a position of assumed superiority, demanding absolute clarity on everything. Furthermore, returning to the Tang home always brought back the unwelcome memory of being under someone else's roof. Consequently, he had long resisted coming back to Huaxia. He hadn't anticipated that now, having finally made the trip, while he certainly wouldn't let his kidnappers go unpunished, the contract was the immediate priority. These people simply couldn't distinguish between what was critical and what was secondary!