Chapter 3: Thank You for the Manhua

That morning’s classes had just ended, and everyone was getting ready to go eat.

Seeing that Qi Ze was about to leave the classroom, Jiang Mingyue quickly caught up to him.

“Qi Ze, want to eat together?” Jiang Mingyue asked with a radiant smile.

Qi Ze glanced at her but said nothing.

Jiang Mingyue didn’t mind and followed him all the way to the cafeteria.

The cafeteria had three floors, and Qi Ze headed for the third floor.

As expected of a place where rich kids ate—one word: luxurious.

She followed behind Qi Ze and took the same food as he did.

When it came time to pay, she rushed ahead and pulled out her campus card.

“I’m treating you. Thank you for lending me the Manhua book.”

Qi Ze shot her a glance. “I didn’t lend it. You snatched it.”

Jiang Mingyue chuckled. “How can something between classmates be considered snatching?”

Beep—

Insufficient balance. Please recharge in time.

The situation turned a little awkward.

Jiang Mingyue quickly took out her phone. “I’ll pay by phone then.”

The cafeteria uncle said mercilessly: “Sorry, the mobile payment system is down today. It can’t be used.”

“…”

Haha, the situation became awkward again.

A long, fair hand reached over.

Beep—

Card swiped successfully.

Jiang Mingyue’s eyes sparkled. “Qi Ze, you’re the best!”

Qi Ze turned away coldly and sat at a window-side seat. She followed and sat down across from him.

The swaying shadows of bamboo outside the window fell upon him, making him look like a painting.

Truly a feast for the eyes!

Staring at his face, Jiang Mingyue polished off a full plate of food with a clatter.

Suddenly, a quarrel erupted nearby. Her gossip radar instantly activated, and she looked in that direction.

Oh ho—it was the male and female leads!

Of course it had to be the protagonists.

Qi Moyang had a tall, straight nose, defined features, and carried a trace of handsomeness mixed with sharpness.

Qiang Wei wore a high ponytail. Her face was dazzling yet carried a touch of innocence—pure and radiant.

The two were in an argument. With reddened eyes, Qiang Wei said: “You can look for whoever you want. It has nothing to do with me.”

Qi Moyang stood up angrily and walked off.

Only… why was he heading in her direction?

Qi Moyang walked over to their table, first glancing at both of them, then fixing his gaze on Jiang Mingyue.

With a cold face, he spoke: “I accept your invitation to the movie tonight.”

Huh?

Jiang Mingyue was stunned. Looking past him, she saw Qiang Wei’s eyes brimming with tears, mixed with a stubborn expression.

All the students nearby had paused mid-bite and were staring over.

Indeed, watching drama was truly human nature.

Wait a minute—this scene felt familiar.

She remembered now.

This scene did appear in the original novel.

That morning, the Original Owner had given the male lead breakfast and invited him to watch a movie that evening. At first, the male lead refused.

But during lunch, after the male and female leads had an argument, the male lead, in order to spite the female lead, accepted the Original Owner’s invitation.

However, the movie hadn’t even reached the halfway point when the male lead received a call from the female lead. He immediately left the Original Owner behind and walked out.

After that incident, the Original Owner grew to hate the female lead even more.

Jiang Mingyue patted her pocket, and sure enough, the movie tickets were still there.

Looking at Qi Moyang’s sulking face in front of her, she raised her brows slightly as a plan formed in her mind.

She handed him one of the tickets and said in a deliberately shy tone: “Sure, tonight at seven. Don’t be late, okay?”

Qi Moyang snatched the movie ticket from her hand.

Before leaving, he cast another sweeping glance over both of them.

What is his problem?

Qiang Wei and the two classmates beside her were glaring at Jiang Mingyue with hostility. She didn’t back down and glared right back.

A textbook example of a vicious female supporting character.

Once the little drama ended, Jiang Mingyue realized that Qi Ze was still looking at her, a trace of… curiosity? in his eyes.

Jiang Mingyue widened her eyes and looked back at him. “Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?”

Qi Ze actually nodded. “A grain of rice.”

Before Jiang Mingyue could react, he got up and walked away.

“…” Jiang Mingyue was horrified and quickly picked up her phone to check her reflection. Sure enough, there really was a grain of rice.

So just now, she had delivered that whole little performance… with rice on her face…

No matter. As long as I’m not embarrassed, it’s someone else who should be.

She had returned the Manhua book to Qi Ze, but there was no next volume to read—the sequel hadn’t been published yet.

It had been two years since she graduated high school, and she had completely forgotten all the high school knowledge.

---

That afternoon’s classes were biology and physics—it was like listening to a foreign language.

Unable to focus at all, Jiang Mingyue propped up her textbook in front of her and secretly played on her phone behind it.

118: 【Host, pay attention in class.】

Jiang Mingyue: “Aiyo, you startled me speaking out of nowhere.”

“I don’t understand it, and I don’t want to listen.”

【Don’t forget your mission.】

Jiang Mingyue kept scrolling on her phone. “Listening to class has nothing to do with the mission.”

【……】

She opened WeChat. The Original Owner had a pitifully small friends list.

Qi Ze wasn’t even on it.

No surprise—The Original Owner had always been chasing after Qi Moyang, and any interaction she had with Qi Ze had been filled with hostility.

And yet, at lunch, he still paid for her meal. Truly, he was good-looking and kind-hearted.

She found Qi Ze’s contact in the class group chat. His avatar was a handsome white border collie, and his display name was a single character: 【Ze】.

She sent a friend request. Sent!

Jiang Mingyue turned her head and looked toward Qi Ze, only to find him staring out the window in a daze.

He probably wouldn’t be accepting her friend request anytime soon.

So, she turned back and started scrolling through the school forum, hoping to learn more about the school.

Shock!

What was so shocking?

Jiang Mingyue curiously clicked on a post with a title that consisted of just one character.

As soon as it opened, she was met with a photo: Jiang Mingyue sitting while handing a movie ticket to Qi Moyang, with Qi Ze sitting across from her, looking in their direction.

Below the post, the comments had already stacked up into a towering thread.

【HateMath】: Jiang the toad aiming for swan meat? Two swans at once?

【QiZesAccessory】: Why is Jiang Mingyue sitting with my male god Qi Ze? Is she even worthy?

If I’m not worthy, are you? You must be a perfect heavenly match then!

【MoMo】: What male god? Qi Ze is just the son of a homewrecker. Trash, worse than trash.

…

【IAmACha】: Can y’all stop fighting for a sec? Can someone explain what’s going on? Didn’t Qi Moyang hate Jiang Mingyue? Why is he watching a movie with her?

【HeardFromSomewhere】: I was there. I know. Qi Moyang had a fight with Qiang Wei, then Jiang the lovesick girl jumped in and clung to him about watching a movie.

【Snowflake】: I was there too. Qiang Wei was crying. Jiang Mingyue is honestly pathetic.

…

Heh. If I weren’t the person involved, even I might’ve believed it.

Most of the comments were scolding her. But as she kept scrolling, she suddenly came across a post that stood out.

【Cappuccino】: Am I the only one who thinks the way Qi Ze looked at Jiang Mingyue was kind of shippable? Cold noble prince X spoiled rich girl.

As soon as that comment was posted, the replies got even more vicious.

【QiZeMaleGod】: Whoever said that upstairs, get your eyes checked and your mouth shut. What part of Jiang Mingyue is worthy of Qi Ze? She’s not even worthy of copying his house key.

【StudyHard】: Spreading rumors isn’t just illegal, it’s pathetic. Qi Ze liking Jiang Mingyue? Other than being kind of pretty, what does she even have? She clings to Qi Moyang like duct tape.

【DeerInTheWoods】: Actually, I think they match perfectly. One’s a fool, the other’s trash—a perfect pair. And people still like someone like Qi Ze? Are your morals governed by his face?

【MoWei】: Exactly. She’s always bullying Qiang Wei. She’s not even worth one of Qiang Wei’s toes.

【RoseInBloom】: Poor Weiwei…

After scrolling through all those comments, Jiang Mingyue summed it up in her mind with two words: not worthy.

Not worthy of Qi Ze.  

Not worthy of Qi Moyang.  

Not worthy of Qiang Wei.

It seemed that the Original Owner’s social standing was not just bad—it was catastrophic.

But why was there so much hostility toward Qi Ze, too?

118 silently peeped in from her mind:  【Aren’t you angry?】

“Not angry, not angry. If I get angry and ruin my health, no one’s going to suffer on my behalf. No point getting mad at idiots.”

Jiang Mingyue didn’t have many strengths, but she did have the ability to let things go.