“…”

Zhou Nanye hid in a corner where they couldn’t see him, his heart pounding erratically as his ears burned bright red.

He replayed the words he had overheard—the ones that could almost be considered a confession—and found himself filled with disbelief.

It must be… a joke.

Yes, a joke.

Zhou Nanye pressed his lips together tightly and muttered to himself, afraid that he might be overthinking it and ruining the budding friendship between them.

Someone like him—how could he possibly deserve to be with someone so radiant?

Lowering his gaze, Zhou Nanye silently warned himself to pretend he hadn’t heard anything.

Initially, he had thought about walking straight past them. But he worried that if he walked by now, Mianmian might guess he had overheard her words.

In the end, Zhou Nanye chose to stay where he was, inadvertently listening to their conversation.

A group of girls wearing Miston Academy’s dark red skirt uniforms surrounded the most exquisite and beautiful girl in the group, questioning her:

“So, Big Sis, you really don’t like Ming Yao anymore?” The lackeys were starting to believe Jiang Mianmian after hearing her confident tone.

“Mm, I don’t like him anymore,” Jiang Mianmian replied, slightly tilting her chin upward with a small, proud smile. “Why would I choose someone like Ming Yao, who ignores me, over my gentle Little Nanye?”

“Hmph, I was blind before, but now my eyes and ears are wide open. Love should make me a better person, not drag me down.”

Jiang Mianmian’s words carried conviction.

After all, the original Jiang Mianmian had decent grades before following Ming Yao into rebellion, dying her hair, applying heavy makeup, and becoming the school’s “Big Sis” bully—all just to match Ming Yao’s notoriety.

The followers listened to Jiang Mianmian’s explanation, their disbelief slowly transforming into admiration:

As expected of Big Sis—she knew how to let go with grace and strength!

Jiang Mianmian even took the opportunity to instruct them not to cause trouble for Zhou Ling’er.

After all, what if Zhou Ling’er encountered difficulties and sought Zhou Nanye’s help? Jiang Mianmian had no intention of letting Zhou Nanye become the quiet protector from the original storyline.

Moreover, the supposedly kind-hearted female lead only used him to enhance her virtuous image. She never truly saw him as a friend.

Once Jiang Mianmian and her group left, Zhou Nanye stepped out of the shadows, his gaze lingering on the tall, striking silhouette of the girl at the center of the group as they walked away.

His eyes dimmed slightly as he told himself,

Mianmian is amazing. I mustn’t have any inappropriate thoughts.

He was just a stuttering orphan. The fact that Mianmian was willing to be his friend was already the greatest fortune of his life.

How could he dare to take her words seriously?

But in just one dinner’s time, Jiang Mianmian’s lackeys began spreading her words one by one, each saying, “I’ll tell you, but don’t tell anyone else.”

Soon, almost everyone knew why Jiang Mianmian hadn’t stopped other girls from approaching Ming Yao this time.

The school forums quickly lit up with trending posts about Jiang Mianmian and Ming Yao:

[Big Sis and Big Bro’s Fallout! After over a decade of waiting for an unkind lover, she chooses to let go…]

[Big Sis falls for the new transfer student: A stuttering but equally handsome boy…]

[The campus love story of the school bully and the stuttering boy…]

Ming Yao had just returned to class after dinner with Zhou Ling’er, who couldn’t find the cafeteria, when he overheard his classmates discussing Jiang Mianmian’s supposed change of heart.

His first reaction was amusement.

It had to be another one of Jiang Mianmian’s schemes to make him jealous. She liked him so much—how could she possibly fall for that stutterer?

Ming Yao didn’t take it seriously at all.

He firmly believed that it wouldn’t be long before Jiang Mianmian came crawling back to cling to him again.

This was what Ming Yao thought.

But that moment… never came.