Chapter 8

Zhou Yue’s heartbeat quickened under the gaze of her teary, glistening peach blossom eyes. His eyes darted away nervously.
“D-Don’t look at me like that.”

What, she was just expressing her dissatisfaction after he interrupted her hard-earned food time—and now she couldn’t even glare at him?

Jiang Qiao was annoyed and said bluntly,
“Who are you? Do I know you?”

Only then did Zhou Yue realize he hadn’t introduced himself.
“I’m from Class 8, Grade 11. We had P.E. together last time.”
He had a sunny appearance and a gentle, friendly smile as he reached out his hand.
“You might not know me, but I know you. Hi, I’m Zhou Yue.”

Like she cared what his name was.

Jiang Qiao gave a vague “mm” and clearly had no intention of shaking hands. Zhou Yue awkwardly withdrew his hand and tried to keep the conversation going.
“Qiao Qiao, shouldn’t you be in class right now? Why are you out here?”

As soon as he said that, he noticed Jiang Qiao giving him a “you serious?” kind of expression and belatedly asked,
“Can I call you that?”

“No.” Jiang Qiao rejected him flatly.

Zhou Yue wasn’t offended. In fact, he found her serious expression when turning him down even more charming.

Still, he asked again, with concern, why she wasn’t in class. Jiang Qiao was irritated.
“Didn’t you skip class too?”

“I took a leave of absence,” Zhou Yue replied honestly.

In truth, he had seen Jiang Qiao storm off campus from a classroom window.

Jiang Qiao wasn’t the least bit interested in how he ended up here.
“Oh.”

Zhou Yue: “……………”

Her indifference left him a little at a loss, but having dated quite a few girls before, he quickly found a new topic.

Zhou Yue was fairly well-known at First High School, so he knew a lot of gossip.

Jiang Qiao hadn’t planned to talk much with him, but he piqued her interest.
“Lover’s Hill? There’s a place like that at First High? How come the dean hasn’t shut it down?”

“Of course they have! To stop couples from dating, they even send out the disciplinary committee after evening classes, flashing their flashlights everywhere to catch people.”

Seeing she was curious, Zhou Yue grew more excited, even describing it in detail. Jiang Qiao teased,
“Wow, sounds like you’ve got plenty of experience…”

“Absolutely not!” Zhou Yue quickly defended himself.
“I just heard about it from others. No way would I know anything firsthand!”

Jiang Qiao: “Oh.”

Zhou Yue: “……………”

Seeing she didn’t believe him, Zhou Yue panicked, afraid his carefully maintained image as a gentle upperclassman was ruined.

Then, an idea hit him.
“Yesterday, a friend of mine said he saw Lu Xun from your class at Lover’s Hill.”

“Lu Xun?” Jiang Qiao froze, her chopsticks pausing mid-air.

“Yeah, him,” Zhou Yue said, his tone oddly casual.
“I heard there was a girl with him. Pretty good-looking—probably his girlfriend.”

It was pitch dark up there; no one could really see how pretty she was. Zhou Yue had made up that detail himself to make Jiang Qiao angry and disappointed in Lu Xun.

Sure enough, Jiang Qiao’s expression instantly changed. She even lost her appetite and angrily demanded,
“That girl—was it Song Qingying?!”

Who was Song Qingying? Zhou Yue had never heard the name before, but judging by Jiang Qiao’s reaction, it clearly wasn’t a simple matter. He gave a vague answer,
“My friend said… it might’ve been her.”

BANG!
Jiang Qiao slammed the table and shot to her feet, full of fury.

By the time Zhou Yue realized what had happened, the seat across from him was already empty.

He quickly chased after her, but just as he reached the shop entrance, the store owner blocked him.
“Hey, you two haven’t paid yet.”

“Paid?” Zhou Yue looked confused.

“The meal!” the owner said impatiently. “It’s 43 yuan total.”

Zhou Yue: “……………”

Under the shop owner’s suspicious stare, Zhou Yue’s face turned red. He quickly pulled out his phone to scan and pay.

That short delay—and the girl he was longing to chase after was already gone.

Just as Zhou Yue walked off disappointed, Jiang Qiao swaggered out from behind the corner where she’d been hiding.

Zhou Yue had interrupted her meal—making him pay for it was just his way of apologizing. Jiang Qiao felt no guilt whatsoever.
166 scolded her: [You’re shameless.]

[Don’t you think he deliberately made up that romantic rumor about Lu Xun in front of me?] Jiang Qiao felt like she had uncovered the truth.
[Tsk tsk tsk… Men and their little mind games…]

Unable to bear her smug expression, 166 shattered her fantasy:
[He wasn’t lying.]

Jiang Qiao’s eyes widened.

166: [Scan confirms that the male lead did spend time at Lover’s Hill last night.]

[With Song Qingying?]

[No.]

[?]

If it wasn’t Song Qingying, then was it another girl? So that cold and distant image of his was all an act?

Jiang Qiao’s expression grew more colorful by the second. 166 knew exactly what she was thinking and cut in:
[A girl from the class next door found an excuse to ask the male lead to meet her and confessed her feelings. He didn’t even know what Lover’s Hill was.]

[This novel strictly adheres to a 1v1 romance—every side character, male or female, is nothing more than a minor obstacle on the path to true love.]
It said this deliberately.

Jiang Qiao clapped.

166: […………….]

Jiang Qiao took out her phone, tapped around for a bit, and pulled up Lu Xun’s number. 166 immediately grew wary:
[What are you doing?]

[Well, someone went out of their way to snitch on Lu Xun. I have to show a little reaction, don’t I?]

Logically speaking, now that she had “learned” Lu Xun went to Lover’s Hill with Song Qingying, she had to act accordingly to stay in character.

So, as if it were the most natural thing, Jiang Qiao dialed his number.

It rang a few times—no answer.

She glanced at the time. Nearly midnight. Not during class. He was ignoring her on purpose.

[Lu Xun is a top student, you know,] 166 reminded her proudly.

Top students wouldn’t bring their phones to school.

Jiang Qiao curled her lips. In her heart: “Top student with a side hustle at a bar. Busy nightlife.”

Since he didn’t pick up, she stubbornly kept calling. On the fifth try, he finally answered—but said nothing.

Jiang Qiao glanced at the screen, confirmed the call had connected, and immediately snapped:
“Lu Xun, where were you last night?!”

“What does that have to do with you?”

Jiang Qiao pretended not to notice his cold tone:
“You don’t need to say it—I already know!”

“Heh.”

Jiang Qiao: “……………”

She twitched at the corner of her mouth, but professional pride kept her in character.
“It was Song Qingying, wasn’t it? Lu Xun, your taste is awful!”

Choosing some countryside bumpkin over a wealthy heiress like her.

When Lu Xun heard that, he finally understood what kind of ridiculous misunderstanding she had.

It was so absurd, he didn’t even feel like explaining.

His silence was taken as confirmation. Jiang Qiao gritted her teeth and threw out a threat:
“I won’t let her off!”

Click.
The call ended suddenly, her angry words still echoing in his ears. Lu Xun’s face darkened. After a moment of silence, he stood up.

On an old, quaint street known for antiques, Jiang Qiao patted her hands after finishing some grilled squid.
[Still not there yet?]

166 hadn’t yet realized she was headed to the female lead’s house.
[What are you trying to do?]

[Obviously, I’m fulfilling my role as the villainess,] Jiang Qiao said as if 166 were hopelessly dense. She explained with great patience:
[I already see Lu Xun as my man. Since Song Qingying is clearly trying to steal him from me, of course I have to do what a proper villainess should do~]