CHAPTER 8:  Joining the Villain Camp

When Ji Mutian and Tang Shu returned to class, they ran into Su Jiasui in the hallway.

Tang Shu didn’t need to give any warning—anyone could tell. As Su Jiasui walked down the hallway, countless students paused to call out, “Sister Sui.”

And she stopped squarely in front of Ji Mutian.

“Transfer student, there are ten minutes until class. Want me to buy you a drink?”

Su Jiasui’s eyes curved in a smile, bright and cheery—but to Tang Shu, it was a blade hidden behind a grin. She squeezed Ji Mutian’s palm, and Ji Mutian timidly replied, “Sorry… my mom doesn’t let me have drinks…”

“Such a good girl. Alright then, let’s have lunch together instead.” When Su Jiasui was on a unity mission, refusal wasn’t an option. She believed she ought to take the lead in welcoming transfer students. After speaking, she walked past Ji Mutian and Tang Shu and left.

“See? I knew it would go like this.” Tang Shu fumed. “She’s just bullying people because of Ji Jing. Would she dare act this arrogant without him?”

Ji Mutian’s face was pale, her voice barely above a whisper—making her look even more delicate. “What should I do…”

“Don’t be scared. Worst case, I’ll go talk to Ji Jing. He won’t just sit back and watch.”

The long break ended quickly. Su Jiasui returned to class with a bag full of drinks. Ji Jing, Chen Xu, and the others followed behind, lining up like elementary school kids to each grab a bottle.

Chen Xu took a huge gulp of orange juice and came back to life. “Thanks, Sister Sui! I’ll settle up with you at the end of the month.”

“Paying me in carrots again?”

“Tsk. Ji Jing, you hear that? She really holds grudges.”

Ji Mutian snuck a glance behind her.

Ji Jing was sitting by the window in the last row, slouched in his chair, lazily fiddling with his phone. He didn’t even look at Su Jiasui.

It really did seem, just like Tang Shu said, that their relationship was just for fun.

His phone kept vibrating in the desk compartment—“bzz bzz bzz”—nonstop.

Su Jiasui knew it was messages from Ji Jing. She cleared her throat, and only then did the buzzing stop.

Tang Shu kept her eyes on the group and whispered to Ji Mutian, “The one in the black T-shirt is Chen Xu—Ji Jing’s good buddy. He knows better than anyone what kind of person Su Jiasui is. He’s the only one in our class who dares tease her.”

“But… they seem really close.”

“You’re too naive. Su Jiasui loves to butter up those boys. She even clings to them in front of Ji Jing. I mean, she’s pretty—who’s going to say no to that? You’ll see for yourself soon enough.”

—

A senior’s time is like the sand in an hourglass—slipping away slowly and silently.

Su Jiasui didn’t bother Ji Jing the entire morning. Ji Jing noticed she was focused during the later classes, so he didn’t go over to disturb her either. Finally, lunch break arrived. Ji Jing had just stood up when Su Jiasui shot him a glare.

“…?” He really couldn’t figure out what he’d done to upset his girlfriend.

Ji Jing’s eyes narrowed and landed on Chen Xu. After thinking it over, the only thing that came to mind was Chen Xu talking trash about Su Jiasui this morning—and him watching with amusement. Some best friend he was… he should’ve stepped in with a knife or two.

Ji Jing was still figuring out where to stab Chen Xu—in a metaphorical way—to help Su Jiasui vent her anger. Meanwhile, Chen Xu was blissfully unaware, enthusiastically dragging Jiang Yan along for lunch. He was busy promoting unity and friendship on the boys’ side: “We’re all classmates here, no need to be so formal! Let’s call Suijie over too—hey? Where’s Suijie? Ji Jing, how come she’s not eating with you today?”

“You’ve got some nerve asking that,” Ji Jing muttered, jabbing a ballpoint pen into his side. Chen Xu clutched his waist and spat out fake blood on cue.

At that moment, Su Jiasui had already walked out of the teaching building with Ji Mutian and Tang Shu in tow.

Su Jiasui had thought it through. She wasn’t some evil, scheming supporting character, and Ji Jing wasn’t going to fall for someone else that easily. So, she might as well make friends with Ji Mutian and align herself with the protagonist’s side. As for what came after… well, she’d deal with it step by step.

“Suijie!” Cheng Xiangxue came looking for her during the lunch break—she wasn’t in the Rocket Class and could only visit at noon. Seeing the two girls next to Su Jiasui, she immediately felt a twinge of jealousy. “What’s going on with you?”

“New classmates,” Su Jiasui said, linking arms with Ji Mutian and smiling warmly. “Let me introduce you—this is Ji Mutian.” To avoid Cheng Xiangxue assuming the girl was related to Ji Jing, she added, “Ji, as in the flower, Chinese rose.”

Cheng Xiangxue swore out of excitement. “Damn! Why is she so pretty?” Then she leaned close to Su Jiasui’s ear and whispered, “Where’s that super-hot new guy? You already have Ji Jing—have a heart, help me out and introduce me to him.”

Though her voice was soft, Tang Shu and Ji Mutian still caught bits and pieces like “new student” and “Ji Jing,” which only made them more nervous. To them, it looked like Su Jiasui had called backup to pick on them.

“Come on, let’s eat,” Su Jiasui said, brushing Cheng Xiangxue aside and walking into the cafeteria with Ji Mutian.

Xinghai High’s cafeteria was partly funded by student parents. The food was diverse, nutritious, and even cheaper than most other places, so nearly everyone on campus preferred to eat there. As lunchtime hit, the place was jam-packed with students and teachers alike.

However, seniors received special privileges, including their own designated seating area and a fast-pass line.

“You two go grab seats. Chengzi and I will get the food,” Su Jiasui said. Her tone, as always, was commanding and left little room for discussion. Even when treating others, she still came off a bit bossy.

Tang Shu hesitated, then tugged Ji Mutian to sit near the teachers.

“Tiantian, don’t stress. You just transferred and haven’t even spoken to Ji Jing yet. If she picks on you just over a joke, Ji Jing will think she’s being unreasonable and might even break up with her.”

“But… wouldn’t she resent me even more if that happened?”

“It’s okay. I’m sure Ji Jing will protect you. I used to be bullied by some punks outside of school, and Ji Jing stepped in and taught them a lesson. He may act all aloof, but he’s actually a really good guy.”

Ji Mutian smiled. “Hearing that puts me at ease.”

Since she didn’t know what the others liked to eat, Su Jiasui got a bit of everything, which took a while.

When the four trays were placed on the table, Cheng Xiangxue brought over four bottles of sweet milk. “Oho, back-to-school perks!”

“Isn’t this the breakfast for boarders?”

“Well, see, Cheng-jie’s got connections in the cafeteria. Here, one for each of you.”

She tossed the milk toward Ji Mutian. She thought her aim was perfect and her throw gentle, but Ji Mutian still failed to catch it. It hit her on the shoulder.

“Crap! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to—does it hurt? Man, your hands are even clumsier than your feet.”

“I-it’s fine…” Ji Mutian picked up the milk and quietly set it on the table, her eyes welling up almost instantly.

Cheng Xiangxue was baffled. She didn’t think a little 80ml bottle of milk could hurt that much. Ji Mutian’s tearful reaction struck her as a bit melodramatic, and her goodwill toward the girl instantly plummeted.

Teenagers at this age weren’t great at hiding their thoughts. What they felt showed clearly on their faces. Cheng Xiangxue couldn’t help but pout and mutter, “Seriously? If someone sees this, they’ll think I’m bullying you…”

It really wasn’t a big deal, but the atmosphere suddenly turned weird.

Su Jiasui glanced at the two girls across from her, who now seemed as close as sisters facing death together. Then she looked at Cheng Xiangxue’s scowling face and felt like she’d somehow ended up on the villain side again.

This won’t do.

She pulled Cheng Xiangxue down to sit beside her, thinking she should start some small talk to ease the tension. “So, um—”

But just as she opened her mouth, Ji Mutian’s tears spilled down.

Even Cheng Xiangxue was stunned. Su Jiasui also froze, the two of them exchanging helpless looks.

Right at that awkward moment, Ji Jing, Chen Xu, and Jiang Yan entered the cafeteria. All three boys were over 1.8 meters tall and handsome in their own distinct ways—Ji Jing carried a natural nobility, Chen Xu was bold and cheerful, Jiang Yan calm and composed. Their arrival instantly drew everyone’s attention, especially the freshman girls who had just finished military training. They all covered their mouths in excitement.

Cheng Xiangxue was briefly distracted. “Holy crap, are they filming F3 or something? Damn, they’re hot.”

Chen Xu spotted them first, pointed their way, and the trio made their way over.

“Eh? What’s going on here?” Chen Xu looked puzzled. “Suijie, how’d you end up making the new girl cry?”

Cheng Xiangxue, now focused on impressing Jiang Yan, quickly softened her tone. “It’s my fault. I accidentally hit her with the milk bottle.”

After a long silence, Tang Shu suddenly stood up like she was about to expose a scandal. “You did it on purpose!”

Cheng Xiangxue stared at her in disbelief. “Are you crazy? Why would I purposely throw milk at her?”

Tang Shu turned to Su Jiasui, took a deep breath, and said, “You all know the truth in your hearts.”

Su Jiasui: “…”

Now thoroughly pissed off, Cheng Xiangxue exploded. “What the actual hell? I invite you guys to lunch and somehow I end up the villain?! If you’ve got something to say, just say it! Don’t talk in riddles!”

Tang Shu was even more righteously indignant. “Isn’t it because this morning, someone joked that Tiantian was Ji Jing’s sister? And now you’re here giving her a hard time!”

They already attracted enough attention at school—Tang Shu’s words only drew even more eyes their way. Whispers spread from every corner, while only their table remained silent. Even the furious Cheng Xiangxue was left speechless, mouth agape.

Ji Jing was the first to break the awkward silence. He pulled the stunned Su Jiasui from her chair without a word and led her away.

Chen Xu scratched his nose, just as confused. He didn’t like Su Jiasui, but after two years of knowing her, he understood her temper. She wouldn’t make things hard for a new classmate over a harmless joke. Regardless, with this many people watching, it would be best to explain things properly.

“Ji… uh,” Chen Xu couldn’t remember Ji Mutian’s name for a moment. “Don’t cry, okay? Here, wipe your tears, have some water. Just tell us what’s wrong slowly.”

Cheng Xiangxue got even angrier seeing the usually flippant Chen Xu coaxing Ji Mutian so gently. She huffed loudly, “Now I see you for what you are! Pervert!”

Chen Xu looked completely wronged. “How am I a pervert?”

“You have no principles! From now on, I’m not talking to you, and neither is Sister Sui!” She glared at Jiang Yan. “Are you going to side with him too?”

Of course Jiang Yan stood with Su Jiasui.

Watching the two leave, Chen Xu followed helplessly. “Why am I suddenly the bad guy here? Hey, don’t ostracize me! I already told the teacher!”

Tang Shu patted her chest and slowly sat down, finally revealing a look of lingering fear. “Tiantian, it’s fine now. Did you see Ji Jing’s face when he dragged Su Jiasui away? He must be furious. I doubt she’ll dare bother you again anytime soon.”