CHAPTER 7

Xiao Yan had a sharp tongue but a timid heart. As a pampered young lady, it was her first time facing such lewd, vulgar gazes, leaving her utterly disgusted.

She turned on her heels and stomped back upstairs, slamming her door shut with a loud bang.

“Big Sis, who’s that girl?” Li Yan squatted in front of Wen Yang, his eyes glinting with curiosity.

In response to Li Yan’s question, Wen Yang extended her slender finger and pointed toward the doorway.

“His sister,” she said.

A tall figure, backlit by the light, approached step by step, ignoring everyone else in the room and stopping directly in front of her.

Li Yan recognized the man as the one who had kicked him before. The oppressive presence he exuded made Li Yan’s newly recovered abdomen ache faintly. His legs gave way, and he collapsed onto the ground.

“A guest?” The man spoke with a falsely familiar tone, as if the previous unpleasant encounter never happened.

Wen Yang ignored him. She still had unfinished business with Wen Zhiqin. “It’s getting dark. Take care and don’t let me keep you.”

Wen Zhiqin was still trying to figure out the relationship between her niece and this young man with movie-star looks when she felt a sharp jab in her waist from Li Yan. The sudden pain made her gasp, and she slapped him on the back. “What are you doing, you little rascal?”

After scolding Li Yan, she turned back to Wen Yang and barked, “I’m not leaving! I already told you I came here to take care of you.” She suddenly stood up, circling around Xu Yi, examining him closely. “A student who doesn’t behave—bringing men home. Who knows what shady things you’re up to when no one’s watching? I must take responsibility for your parents and set you straight.”

Xu Yi’s deep, alluring eyes glimmered with disdain. He looked directly at Wen Yang, but the girl’s face showed no trace of the shame or anger he expected. Instead, her expression remained as cold as ever.

“Then teach me,” Wen Yang said nonchalantly. “How do you sneak into a married man’s house for an affair without getting caught?”

Wen Zhiqin was visibly shaken and stammered, “What—what nonsense are you spouting?”

“Good students don’t lie,” Wen Yang replied lightly. “Everyone here knows I’m a good kid, and good kids always tell the truth. Who wouldn’t believe me?”

If you’ve done nothing wrong, you wouldn’t fear ghosts knocking at your door—but clearly, Wen Zhiqin had a guilty conscience. She grabbed her belongings and bolted toward the exit. In her panic, she even tripped over the doorstep on her way out.

Li Yan, looking bewildered, seemed surprised that his mother might actually have done such a thing. He helped her up, and the two disappeared into the night.

The clingy pests were finally gone. Wen Yang stood up, brushing off the incident as though she were merely handling a chore. “Your old room’s still the same,” she said to Xu Yi as she turned to leave.

Xu Yi raised an eyebrow ever so slightly, finding her unexpectedly interesting. He pulled an envelope from his pocket. “For the rent.”

Wen Yang didn’t hesitate or show any unnecessary politeness. She accepted the envelope and opened it for a quick glance. Calmly, she said, “Enjoy your stay.”

---

“Using this formula, we can derive…” The teacher scribbled an equation on the blackboard.

“Report!”

The sudden interruption caused a wave of whispers to ripple through the classroom. Some students even stood on their chairs to see what was going on.

The male teacher turned toward the door and saw Xu Yi standing there.

Without waiting for permission, Xu Yi strolled in, hands in his pockets, looking down at his new deskmate.

Wen Yang didn’t spare him a glance. Her pen continued to glide across the scratch paper as she focused intently on the lecture.

Xu Yi sat down in his seat, shoved the new textbooks on the desk into the desk compartment, and pulled out his phone to play a game.

The male teacher tactfully ignored Xu Yi’s actions. After all, who would dare to discipline the boss’s son?

Outside the classroom, the voices of construction workers could be heard. A few primary school classrooms were being demolished and rebuilt, so students had been shuffled into non-construction zones. The younger students in the front rows were restless, their tiny movements audible even from afar. In this environment, hardly anyone focused on studying.

Wen Yang tried to keep listening to the lesson, but her attention wavered. Her hand stopped moving, the pen resting idly on the paper.

Behind her, Xiao Yan was persistently “bothering” Qi Chen. However, no matter how creative she got, Qi Chen remained unmoved.

When Xiao Yan finally lost interest in teasing him, Qi Chen would pretend to explain problems to her, reeling her back in. It had to be said: the male lead was a quiet but flirtatious young man.

Wen Yang sighed, setting down her now-sweaty pen. She clasped her hands together beneath the desk, stretching them. In the process, she accidentally bumped Xu Yi’s leg.

She glanced down briefly, thinking it wasn’t her fault—he was the one taking up three-fourths of the desk space. Did he think her silence meant she was easy to push around?

Twenty minutes later, the bell rang for recess. Due to the school’s construction, the teacher reminded the students not to leave the classroom except to use the restroom.

Soon, a crowd of kids surrounded Xu Yi, watching him demolish enemies on his phone. Even Wen Yang’s space was invaded. Like little chicks drawn to a big rooster, they leaned in to watch but didn’t dare disturb him.

Meanwhile, most of the girls gathered around Xiao Yan, pleading with her to braid their hair. Left out in the cold, Qi Chen quietly worked on his assignments, sulking in silence.

“Damn it, what kind of trashy network is this?!” Xu Yi slammed his phone onto the desk, startling the group of kids, who scattered like frightened sparrows.

---

The next period began, with forty-five minutes split between the primary schoolers and the high schoolers. The arrangement wasted significant learning time, but given the circumstances, there was no other option.

The English teacher, known for her strictness, took over the class. Wen Yang, however, wasn’t fazed. She excelled in English and never worried about being called on, though the teacher loved to ask questions during class.

“Wen Yang, stand up and answer the first question. What’s the correct option?”

Wen Yang stood up straight, unfazed by the question. She waited leisurely for the system’s usual prompt with the answer.

Three seconds passed. The system had genuinely gone offline this time. Just as she was about to admit she didn’t know, Xu Yi’s voice cut through.

“C,” he said, without lowering his voice. His tone was naturally sharp and calm.

Wen Yang hesitated briefly before changing her answer. “C.”

“Alright, take your seat.” The English teacher called on the next student, “Qi Chen, second question.”

After sitting down, Wen Yang frowned slightly and turned to the person beside her, saying softly, “Thanks.”

Xu Yi tilted his face slightly toward her, grabbed her paper and pen, and wrote: No need to thank me—just cover all my future meals instead.

Wen Yang wanted to say he was pushing his luck. As her pen tip hovered over the page, a piercing alarm suddenly rang in her ears. She instinctively covered her ears, bent over, and tightly shut her eyes.

“Sys—tem—!” Wen Yang’s head throbbed with pain, and she felt an overwhelming urge to peel the system’s metaphorical skin.

Xu Yi was taken aback by her bizarre behavior. “You don’t want to cook for me, but you don’t have to resort to this nonsense.” He lowered his head to peer at her. “What are you mumbling about?”

System: An unidentified variable has appeared. Prepare yourself to respond accordingly.

In an instant, the sharp noise vanished.

“Let me introduce our new transfer student,” announced the teacher at the podium.

Wen Yang sat bolt upright, her shoulder accidentally colliding with Xu Yi’s forehead.

“Ow—!” Xu Yi groaned, his voice pitch rising from the pain. “What the hell are you doing?”

Wen Yang stared at the radiant girl smiling on the platform. Transfer—student—? There wasn’t supposed to be a transfer student in the novel. Since when could students transfer to this backwater school? Wen Yang couldn’t make sense of it.

Seeing her surprise, Xu Yi rubbed his forehead. “What’s the matter? Don’t like transfer students?”

Her response was a noncommittal snort.

Wen Yang: System, what’s with the transfer student?

System: I failed to maintain control—someone from another “story insertion” system slipped through.

Wen Yang: A story inserter… Will she interfere with my mission?

System: Highly likely. She belongs to a rival faction that disrupts the natural order of novel worlds. But you have an advantage: she doesn’t know you’re an inserter, while you know she is.

Wen Yang: So this is market competition?

System: No. We’re the righteous side. They’re the villains, disturbing the natural flow of the story worlds.

Wen Yang honed in on the critical detail: interfering with her mission. She couldn’t afford to take this lightly.

Propping her head on one hand, Wen Yang stared at the transfer student on the platform with an impassive, thoughtful expression. With her air bangs, flowing curls, and bright doe-like eyes that radiated demure charm, the newcomer bore a striking resemblance to Xiao Yan, the female lead.

From behind, Xiao Yan had already noticed the problem. She angrily warned Qi Chen, “If you dare even glance at her, we’re done. I’ll never talk to you again.”

But, as if scripted, the transfer student leaned toward Qi Chen. “Excuse me, could I sit next to you for now?”

She’s here for the male lead, Wen Yang concluded, her lips pressed into a firm line. This development only complicated her mission. Sure, all she needed to do was stick to the villainess’s role and create trouble. But if the male and female leads didn’t end up together, she wouldn’t be able to go home.

Qi Chen, you better hold your ground. If this story inserter gets her way, I’ll deal with you first.

Meanwhile, the school principal was all smiles at the news of securing yet another wealthy benefactor to sponsor Sunlight Elementary. The funding guaranteed decades of solid teaching conditions. However, there was one problem left to solve: where the sponsor’s daughter—the story inserter—would live.

Familiar with unusual situations by now, the principal wasn’t one to overwork his students. This time, he called both Wen Yang and Qi Chen into his office.

Having a rival intent on targeting the male lead move into his home? That was unacceptable.

Back in the classroom, Wen Yang slumped over her desk as though the energy had been drained from her. She regretted staying in this world. It was too annoying—she didn’t want to be involved, yet she kept getting pulled deeper into the mess.

Xu Yi noticed her return and her uncharacteristic collapse onto the desk. He poked her shoulder with the pen he took from her desk. “What were you doing just now?”

Wen Yang raised her head, looking utterly defeated. The usual aloofness had vanished, leaving only resignation. “Found you a new roommate.”

“Who? The new transfer student?”

Wen Yang buried her face in her arms, muffling her response. “Mhm.”

Xu Yi studied the ends of her slightly messy hair. He reached out and lightly brushed the strands, his fingers tingling from the soft touch. “You don’t want her moving in,” he stated rather than asked—her displeasure was evident.

“Correct. Living alone is peaceful and free.”

Xu Yi frowned, feeling vaguely offended, as if her words included him in the unwanted category.