Xia Ruan had no intention of getting involved with the second male protagonist. She firmly remembered that both the male protagonist and the second male protagonist belonged to the female protagonist. So, she gave the person opposite her a smile and said, “Sorry, I didn’t bring my phone.” 

Lu Yanzhi looked at Xia Ruan, who was smiling at him across the table, feeling a bit confused. Is this how the little fairies behave when they’re flustered nowadays? 

Laughter erupted from the table next to Xia Ruan, and someone even whistled and teased, “Brother Yan, this must be your first time being rejected, huh?” 

Lu Yanzhi clearly hadn’t expected to suffer a defeat like this. He raised his head and glanced at Xia Ruan. It was obvious he’d heard what Qin Mo had said, but he just slightly lifted his eyelids and didn’t respond further. Lu Yanzhi looked at Xia Ruan helplessly and said, “Classmate, my name is Lu Yanzhi. I just wanted to get to know you, I had no ill intentions.” 

Alright then, maybe she had misjudged things and thought she was the second male protagonist. But it’s his own fault for using that excuse to start a conversation. Feeling a bit curious, Xia Ruan glanced at him and asked, “Do people at your school always use that excuse to hit on others?” 

Lu Yanzhi raised an eyebrow. “Have you met others who did the same?” 

Xia Ruan gave him a light glance. “Just answer yes or no.” 

“That’s one of Brother Yan’s go-to pick-up lines for the forum,” someone from earlier said, laughing loudly. “Didn’t expect it to fail with this girl.” 

When Xia Fei walked into the restaurant, this was the scene he saw. He instantly became defensive. “Ruan Ruan, you—” Before he could finish, Lu Yanzhi turned to look at him, and Xia Fei froze. “What the heck, Lu Yanzhi? Why are you here?” 

Xia Ruan looked curiously at Xia Fei. “Brother, you know him?” 

Lu Yanzhi glanced at Xia Fei, then at Xia Ruan, and awkwardly asked, “She’s your sister?” 

Xia Fei gave him a fierce glare. “Obviously. And what are you doing standing here?” 

Lu Yanzhi backed away while explaining, “Nothing, just asking your sister to borrow her phone.” He then returned to his seat, grabbed his school uniform jacket, and headed out. The others followed him and left as well. 

Xia Ruan looked at the visibly angry Xia Fei with some confusion. “Brother, do you have bad blood with him?” 

Xia Fei looked at her curious face and hesitated for a moment, unsure whether he should say it. 

Xia Ruan noticed his reluctance and became more puzzled. “Is it something you can’t say?” 

Xia Fei suddenly asked out of the blue, “Was he really asking to borrow your phone?” 

“I suppose so,” Xia Ruan replied. 

From her tone, Xia Fei understood what she meant and immediately felt somewhat vindicated. “He finally got what he deserved, hmph.” Then, he began explaining to Xia Ruan, “He’s Grandpa Lu’s grandson. One time, when Grandpa and his grandfather were meeting up, I went along too. He happened to be there. Grandpa jokingly said that since you two are around the same age, maybe we should arrange a child engagement or something. Who would’ve thought this guy would directly refuse and even say he wouldn’t marry some country bumpkin girl? Ever since then, he’s been calling us “country bumpkins” behind our backs.’” 

At the time, both Xia Fei and Xia Ruan had only just been introduced to this social circle, so plenty of people behind their backs still called them country bumpkins. 

This wasn’t something mentioned in the book, so Xia Ruan, as the imposter, didn’t know anything about it. She could only look at Xia Fei and ask awkwardly, “So what happened after that?” 

“After that, of course I beat him up and warned you to stay away from that snobbish guy. Didn’t expect him to get a taste of his own medicine today,” he said proudly by the end. 

Xia Ruan patted her chest in relief. Good, at least there wasn’t some cliché childhood engagement. So she quickly brushed off what had just happened and the people involved. “Brother, let’s eat first. It’s our first day at the tutoring center—we can’t be late.” 

At the mention of “tutoring center,” Xia Fei’s excitement instantly wilted like a flower hit by frost. He replied weakly, “Got it…” 

Xia Ruan couldn’t help but laugh at him. “Brother, cheer up. Just treat it like playing.” 

Xia Fei felt he was starting to not understand his own sister anymore. If it weren’t for Lu Yan, why would he be forced to go to tutoring in the first place? It’s all that Lu Yan’s fault. No, he had to teach Lu Yan a lesson tomorrow to vent his frustration. 

The tutoring center that Zhou Jingyi signed them up for was no joke. Seeing all the parents and students coming and going, Xia Fei was shocked. These people already go to school every day, and now they come here voluntarily for extra torture? If not for Ruan Ruan, he’d never come to this hellish place. 

Xia Ruan called the number Zhou Jingyi gave her. Soon after, she and Xia Fei were assigned to their respective classrooms. After hanging up, the two headed toward their designated room. 

Xia Fei nudged Xia Ruan’s arm. “Hey Ruan Ruan, I still haven’t asked—what subject are you here to get tutoring for?” 

Xia Ruan turned to look at him with a bright smile. “All of them, of course!” 

Xia Fei: …Is it too late to back out now? 

As if reading his mind, Xia Ruan quickly tugged on his sleeve. “Come on, brother. Let’s go in.” 

There were already quite a few people in the classroom. Seeing the two new faces, no one seemed surprised—after all, this was a tutoring center, and newcomers showed up every day. 

Xia Ruan casually picked two empty seats, pulled Xia Fei along, and started walking over. At that moment, someone rushed in with their head down and accidentally bumped into Xia Fei. His backpack was knocked to the ground, and the girl’s books weren’t spared either. As she squatted down to pick them up, she apologized, “Sorry, sorry.” 

Xia Fei’s initial anger almost vanished upon hearing the girl’s soft and cute voice. “It’s okay,” he said as he crouched down to pick up his own books. 

Fang Yinan handed the last book back to Xia Fei and said gently, “You must be new here. I’m Fang Yinan. I’m really sorry about just now.” 

The book Xia Ruan was holding suddenly slipped from her hands and fell to the ground. She looked at Fang Yinan in shock. What kind of devilish luck was this? Even in a tutoring class, she could run into the female protagonist. In the novel, the female protagonist’s first appearance wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Xia Ruan thought for a moment—perhaps it was because the original Xia Ruan would never attend a tutoring class, so this encounter never happened in the original story. Or maybe, since books are limited in detail, they can’t cover everything. But now she was facing a real, living person. 

Thinking this, she couldn’t help but observe Fang Yinan more closely: black hair tied into a ponytail, an oval-shaped face, delicate eyebrows, large eyes like black grapes, a high nose bridge, and small cherry lips. Her skin was fair and smooth, and even her voice was pleasant to hear. She really did seem like the favored female protagonist. 

Although she had once enthusiastically declared she wanted to be friends with the female protagonist, Xia Ruan now felt that a person’s aura truly was a strange thing. Though she didn’t dislike Fang Yinan, she couldn’t bring herself to get close to her either. Fang Yinan, too, after apologizing, simply nodded to the siblings and left with her arms full of books. 

Xia Ruan thought, as expected, no matter how things change, the female protagonist and the cannon fodder are never meant to be friends. What a pity—just like that, she missed her chance with the lucky koi heroine. 

Xia Ruan’s purpose for joining the tutoring class was just a pretense, an excuse to justify her future improvement. But the female protagonist showing up here piqued her curiosity. If she remembered correctly, the female protagonist would soon transfer into their class. She had taken a break from school for over a year due to health reasons. Thinking about it, Xia Ruan guessed she must be here to catch up in advance. 

By the time tutoring ended, the sky outside had darkened. Their driver was already waiting. As Xia Ruan left, she glanced at Fang Yinan, who was still tidying up her desk. She thought it was probably for the best that the female protagonist appeared early. The sooner she secured the male protagonist; the sooner Xia Ruan could live her peaceful little life. 

❖❖❖ 

Lu Yan flipped through all his textbooks but couldn’t find his math book. He turned to Xia Fei and asked, “Where did you hide my math book?” 

Xia Fei looked at him blankly. “What are you talking about?” 

Lu Yan snorted, “Childish.” 

Just then, the class bell rang. Xia Fei raised his eyebrows smugly—he knew the math teacher was the strictest. Last time someone forgot their book, they were punished by having to copy the entire textbook. 

As expected, when class started, the math teacher noticed Lu Yan’s empty desk. Xia Fei also saw the teacher’s gaze and couldn’t help but smile. 

“Lu Yan, where’s your book?” The teacher’s tone was unusually gentle. 

“Teacher, I took it home to preview the lesson and forgot to bring it back,” Lu Yan replied earnestly, lying through his teeth. 

The teacher raised his voice. “Everyone, take a look at Lu Yan. Even the students with better grades are working so hard. What excuse do you have for slacking off?” He softened his tone again. “Lu Yan, why don’t you just share with your deskmate?” 

What kind of double standard was this? Xia Fei looked completely unconvinced. 

Lu Yan, naturally sensing Xia Fei’s dissatisfaction, raised his eyebrows during a moment when the teacher wasn’t looking and said, “This is the difference between a top student and a slacker.” 

Xia Fei’s face instantly darkened. To hell with the difference between a top student and a slacker. 

The moment the teacher spoke, Xia Ruan had a bad feeling. Sure enough, it was one of Xia Fei’s stunts. She felt a headache coming on. 

After class, before she could say anything, she saw Xia Fei throw a math book in front of Lu Yan and then walk out of the classroom looking a bit dejected. 

Xia Ruan couldn’t help but glance at Lu Yan, only to find him staring at her with a mysterious look, his pen spinning in his hand. 

She quickly followed Xia Fei out of the classroom and caught up with him. “Brother, didn’t you promise me?” 

Xia Fei looked at her seriously. “Ruan Ruan, tell me the truth—do you really not like that Lu Yan anymore?” 

Xia Ruan also nodded seriously. “Mm-hmm, I don’t like him anymore.” 

“Really?” Xia Fei confirmed again. 

Xia Ruan looked at him helplessly. “I’ve said it so many times already. If you still don’t believe me, what can I even do?” 

Xia Fei stroked his chin and thought back over Xia Ruan’s behavior the past few days. She did seem to be telling the truth. So he nodded. “Okay, I got it.” Since he didn’t have to worry about Ruan Ruan, he could go ahead and challenge Lu Yan after school. He might not beat him at studying, but fighting? That was another story. 

Seeing the look on his face, Xia Ruan quickly warned, “Don’t cause trouble with him. He’s not someone we can afford to mess with.” 

Xia Fei scoffed and patted her on the shoulder. “Relax, Ruan Ruan. I already looked into him. His mom’s just some online writer. And I’m not looking for trouble—I just want a one-on-one fight. Totally fair.” 

Xia Ruan thought about what was written in the book: the male protagonist had trained in taekwondo and karate from a young age to protect his innocent and naive mother. So she looked at Xia Fei with a hint of sympathy.