Watching Straw Head flee in panic, Xia Fu couldn’t help but complain silently in her heart.

What a coward! How could she ever think of getting along with these people?

This was her first time clashing with someone alone, without Fang Jingcheng or Ji Xiaowei backing her up. The entire conversation was led by Xia Fu herself. Her heart raced wildly, and in her nervousness, her sweaty palms even bore a few bright red marks from her own nails.

But compared to the effectiveness of her resistance, the slight pain was utterly insignificant.

I did it! I didn’t back down against him!

As she continued to watch Straw Head’s retreating figure, Xia Fu felt compelled to berate him in her mind again.

What a coward! How could she have ever considered getting along with that guy?

Straw Head was like that, and so were the boys who hung out with Bao Zhiwei. From now on, these parasites would never borrow her notes.

She could earn 80 yuan for tutoring middle schoolers outside!

Being friendly with her classmates and becoming the “good girl” everyone praised was nothing but a mirage. No matter how well she performed, the counselor would take it for granted and wouldn’t stand up for her.

Not to mention that after the Bao Zhiwei incident, she had caused quite a bit of trouble for Jiang Rong’s evaluation.

Who knew if her scholarship for the year would still come through? If it didn’t, she would march right to the secretary with her transcript, go above heads to lodge a complaint, and make sure to see the “problem student” through to the end.

These were things Xia Fu had never even considered before.

Aside from the financial support, Fang Jingcheng’s words and actions had opened a door to a wider view of the world for her.

At just over twenty, the only people Xia Fu interacted with were coarse and rude relatives, plain and earnest teachers from her small county, and similarly young and naive classmates and friends. She was still a blank slate when it came to social interactions, until Fang Jingcheng suddenly appeared, shining bright and at ease, becoming a model for her to look up to.

She should find opportunities to observe him more. Was she a bit too cold just now?

Xia Fu reached into her desk and, through the packaging, caressed the soft, fluffy bread, lost in thought.

Anyway, they were all in the same team now, so there would be plenty of chances to meet. For now, she should focus on something productive.

Just like Straw Head said, most of the boys in class thought Bao Zhiwei and she were in some ambiguous relationship, and this rumor was very detrimental to her.

Fortunately, the man who spread the rumors had his phone confiscated in detention. Bao Zhiwei used to love picking on her for being shy and silent, but now it was his turn to experience the bitterness of being unable to speak up.

Xia Fu’s guilt toward Fang Jingcheng faded quickly. She took out her cane from her bag, laid it out prominently beside her, then unlocked her phone and clicked on the class monitor’s profile.

“Sorry, Class Monitor, I injured my leg and it hurts to walk. It’s not convenient for me to pass out the assignment today. Could you ask a classmate to help me out?”

Unlike the blunt Straw Head, the class monitor replied quickly, his tone full of concern.

“Oh? Is it serious?”

“It’s fine, just leave it to me. I’m still in the cafeteria, and I’ll be right over.”

The cafeteria was very close to the teaching building, and soon the class monitor walked into the classroom with a few familiar boys, carrying a cup of sweet soy milk as a consolation.

Their class monitor was a tall, handsome guy who spoke in a crisp northern accent, friendly with everyone and quite charismatic. Even though Bao Zhiwei used to prance around in front of Jiang Rong, racking his brain for ways to win her over, he could only manage to get the position of Youth League Secretary.

“I originally wanted to bring you some milk tea, but they didn’t sell any in the morning. How come you were fine yesterday, but today you’re on crutches? The Yunnan Baiyao and massage oil I bought for you during the last basketball game are still with Xiao Gu. I’ll get someone to bring them to you after class.”

“Old Bao, as the Youth League Secretary, he really should be here for the class when the students need him.”

But the class monitor’s good relations with everyone didn’t mean he understood them deeply. Explaining the situation to him was far easier than arguing with the biased Straw Head.

Feeling naturally inclined to lower her guard with someone who could help her, Xia Fu replied, “Don’t!”

Upon hearing Bao Zhiwei’s name, the girl, who had been calm moments ago, shrank back like a frightened rabbit. She looked up at him with tearful eyes, pleading,

“No, please don’t let Bao Zhiwei come over.”

It seemed she was terribly afraid he would call others over, and she even anxiously clutched at his clothes.

“Eh? What’s wrong?”

Faced with the sudden change in atmosphere, the class monitor was confused but instinctively softened his tone.

“Actually, he’s the one who caused this injury.”

The class monitor was like a gossip hub among the boys, and explaining the situation to him was basically the same as explaining it to everyone else. As long as she said it once, that was enough. Xia Fu didn’t mind revealing Bao Zhiwei’s true colors in detail.

“Last night after English class, he suddenly jumped out from the garden in front of the girls’ dorm.”

“He said a lot of weird things, acting like I was his girlfriend, going on about how I should be beaten for cheating, and then he just started hitting me… My laptop got smashed too.”

“Fortunately, someone called the dorm supervisor, and after reporting it, the counselor took him to the police station. Fighting, secretly taking photos of girls at night, damaging property—lots of terrible things happened. He’s probably going to be locked up for a while.”

Her account was based on facts, no exaggeration, purely genuine expression.

This approach had worked on Fang Jingcheng; she wondered if the other boys would fall for it too.

After she finished speaking, Xia Fu pressed her lips tightly together, secretly gauging the class monitor’s expression.

As the only girl in the class, she usually seemed shy and reserved, always curling up to avoid eye contact and maintain distance from others. In that atmosphere, people often felt it was rude to stare at her, so they intentionally kept their distance, preventing Bao Zhiwei from thinking he had a good relationship with her.

But if you looked closely, Xia Fu actually had a delicate and beautiful face. It was as if, on a rainy evening, you rushed under the eaves of a café, only to wipe your clothes and inadvertently catch sight of a girl on the other side of the window.

She set her book down, resting her fair, slender fingers on the bed, her clear eyes meeting his through the rain.

Glittering raindrops slowly rolled down, leaving a wet trail on the glass, dividing the foggy view like a clam shell opening slowly, and the young man could faintly glimpse the pearl’s delicate sheen through that “crack”—after all, Fang Jingcheng had also acknowledged her exquisite appearance. She only lacked a graceful posture compared to conventional beauties.

How could he do something so excessive to her?

It was unfathomable; she couldn’t even imagine it.

The horrifying incident made the class monitor gasp in shock.

“That’s terrifying… But thinking back, it makes sense. He often likes to express extreme opinions during chats; I thought it was just typical male chauvinism, so I didn’t pay it much mind.”

“It’s okay, we’ll definitely stop him in the future.”

He naturally followed Xia Fu’s accusations, tracing Bao Zhiwei’s warning signs from minor incidents, then patted his chest to assure her.

“If you need anything in the future, just tell me. Like getting rides to school or getting meals, I can ask some strong classmates to help out.”

That was great; he was actually listening.

Xia Fu’s mouth curled up as she flashed a grateful smile at the class monitor.

“With you around, I feel at ease. But you don’t have to worry about it; the previous witness promised to help me, and he’s one of the guys who plays basketball with us.”

What a coincidence—it’s that super handsome guy who shines on his own—

The class monitor understood right away, scratching his head and not asking too many questions. He turned and casually patted the shoulder of the person beside him, instructing, “Alright, Xiao Gu, go hand out the assignments.”

“Hmm?”

Gu Jiashi didn’t respond immediately. He entered the classroom with the class monitor and noticed that Xia Fu’s bandaged face had him visibly tense. After hearing the details about Bao Zhiwei’s violence, he clenched his fists tightly, veins bulging in his muscular arms.

Only when the class monitor patted his shoulder did he seem to wake up from a dream, taking several big strides toward the podium.

“Okay, I’ll go now.”

With Gu Jiashi’s help, Xia Fu felt much more relaxed.

After all, she had said everything she needed to. She hoped that when Bao Zhiwei returned to school, he would face the unusual stares of his classmates. When pushed to the edge, he would definitely continue causing trouble. As Ji Xiaowei said, would everyone go to the campus forum to shout for “justice”?

Xia Fu didn’t want to add trouble for her roommate. She had promised the secretary to let the school handle this matter and not speak out herself, but that didn’t mean others couldn’t. Her part-time work group gathered students from various departments, and as long as she was willing to spend the money, she could probably find someone in communication studies to conduct a “campus practice.”

It’s just that as a fellow worker, she couldn’t post a “task.” She’d have to ask Fang Jingcheng for his opinion later.

Thinking like this, Xia Fu slowly opened her linear algebra notebook, where the page was filled with the usual red check marks. It was obvious that the person grading her homework was a graduate student under the teacher, still with a childlike spirit, even drawing a bright red sunflower as encouragement at the end.

There was always a way.

She pressed the pen cap onto the paper, tracing the cute pattern, and her gloomy mood gradually brightened.

The first half of the class was a review session of previous knowledge, and since Xia Fu got all the questions right, she naturally didn’t feel like listening much. Having nothing else to do, she began studying Fang Jingcheng’s course schedule.

She only had two linear algebra classes that morning, but he had a full schedule. Coincidentally, the remaining classes were the ones for which she had once done his assignments. The reference materials she used back then were still sitting neatly in her bag.

Although their team would rely on Fang Jingcheng’s finance background, considering his habit of outsourcing homework, Xia Fu figured it was best to be prepared to handle everything alone. It was probably better to study his portion as well.

Might as well find him and attend class together.

Her study pace was aligned with his, so maybe during class, she could even help him get some participation points.

…

When Xia Fu found Fang Jingcheng’s classroom, the class hadn’t ended yet. She stood outside the window of the lecture hall, immediately spotting that silver-haired head.

He was sitting alone on a small desk near the back, very close to Xia Fu, and she could clearly see how he had set up his desk. The textbook was casually spread open on the table, with nothing but messy doodles in his binder, and a can of open coffee sitting quietly to the side.

Looks like he really didn’t get much sleep.

Even after drinking coffee, his gaze toward the podium was distant, a look of pure indifference on his handsome face. Who knew where his mind had drifted off to.

Xia Fu couldn’t help but sigh.

Finally, the teacher on the podium finished speaking. She hobbled through the back door with her crutch.

Fang Jingcheng casually yawned, shoving his books aside to make a comfortable space for himself to lie down. Then, lowering his eyes, he lazily scrolled through his phone.

Probably used to drawing attention with his looks, he spoke up as he heard footsteps approaching without even looking up.

“Sorry, this seat’s taken.”

Xia Fu’s phone vibrated suddenly from her pocket. Glancing at Fang Jingcheng’s screen, she realized he was texting her nonsense.

“But I want to sit next to you.”

Fang Jingcheng had no idea that Xia Fu was imitating his sarcastic tone. While she was putting on her actress facade, he was on the phone, leaning back and calling his dad’s secretary.

While he wasn’t allowed to consult experts for his studies, his family generously provided other resources.

He asked the secretary to check with the venture capital department for recommendations on durable laptops for quantitative finance, specifying that it should be lightweight, high-performance, and sturdy enough to cause pain when used to hit someone.

Despite the odd request, the seasoned professional secretary managed to compile a list for Fang Jingcheng within half an hour, right as the first class period ended.

Each laptop on the list was top-ranked in professional forums, all high-performance machines that were flawless except for the steep price. Fang Jingcheng encouraged Xia Fu to choose the priciest one or at least pick a design she liked.

After deciding on the model, he also instructed the secretary to preload any publicly accessible but hard-to-collect resources.

When he heard a familiar voice, he immediately perked up.

“Xia Fu?”

With wide, sparkling eyes, he looked at her, genuinely delighted.

“What a coincidence. I was just wondering what your plans were next. What’s up? Are you here to talk about the laptop? Want to switch models?”

Xia Fu shook her head and handed her bag to Fang Jingcheng. “I’m done on my end. Thought I’d join you for class,” she said, nudging his shoulder. “Move over.”

The two of them were tucked into an unnoticed corner, so the teacher didn’t spot the unfamiliar girl, and the class went by without incident.

When the bell finally rang, the courier delivered the “Little Monster No. 2” laptop to Xia Fu. The polished, metallic surface, sleek mirror-like screen, and neatly arranged square keyboard even emitted a rainbow light effect upon startup.

How to put it… well, this laptop was as flashy as Fang Jingcheng had recommended, with an appearance just as extravagant as his own.

Resting his chin on his hands, Fang Jingcheng proudly reminded Xia Fu, “This is from the company I selected. I also had someone put all the relevant materials into a folder on the desktop. You can start practicing with last year’s data.”

Even without his emphasis, Xia Fu immediately noticed the conspicuous folder.

“Blue Star Group,” the local real estate giant in S City, the Cerulean Star, symbolizing their presence on every land around the globe. With its growth, the company’s scale truly matched its impressive name, covering finance, real estate, energy, commerce, hotels, and more, consistently being the top choice for graduates from F University.

Currently, the trending sectors were new energy, environmental protection, and high-tech. This company even collaborated with the government and F University to invest in an Internet of Things technology lab.

What’s more, the founder was also a distinguished alumnus of F University, and by coincidence, he also shared the surname Fang…

Was this just a coincidence?

Xia Fu struggled to contain her inner turmoil.

“Let me check the configuration first.”

Her fingers glided across the touchpad, opening the system information. The Windows version displayed wasn’t the familiar F University-activated “Campus Edition” but rather the “Enterprise Edition.”