CHAPTER 7:  Su Jiasui is Very Domineering

“Take this! Soul-Crushing Palm!”

“Ji Jing! You bastard—!”

Truth be told, Ji Jing had long been annoyed with Chen Xu badmouthing his girlfriend behind her back. But for the sake of their friendship, he never said anything. Now, he was more than happy to let Su Jiasui dish out some payback. “Why are you calling me? You should be begging the heroine for mercy.”

Chen Xu tried to pry Su Jiasui’s arm off, but her chokehold was a childhood-honed skill—near impossible to escape. “You can kill me, but you can’t insult me—!”

Seeing that Chen Xu’s face was turning red, a few of their buddies quickly stepped in to mediate. “Su-jie, Su-jie, don’t be mad. He’s not worth it.”

Su Jiasui kept her strength in check and let go once she felt it was enough. “For the sake of the people’s pleas, I’ll spare your dog life this time. But next time? I’m settling old and new scores together.”

Chen Xu clutched his neck, taking several deep breaths. “You, you…” Under Su Jiasui’s threatening gaze, he slowly turned his head and looked at Ji Jing. “Good work, eliminating evil for the people.”

With all that commotion, naturally the whole class had turned to watch. But hearing that, everyone laughed—not maliciously. After all, Su Jiasui didn’t earn her nickname “Miss Busybody” for nothing. She didn’t just meddle in her own class’s affairs—she stuck her nose in other classes’ business too. She really did have that chivalrous aura of stepping in when she saw injustice, which made her quite well-liked across the grade.

Now that she had shown up, the rocket class—a group made up of top students and well-connected transfers—quickly warmed up and no longer felt so distant.

Ji Jing nudged Chen Xu’s chair, signaling his buddy to move and make space for his girlfriend.

Chen Xu had no choice but to stand up—only for Su Jiasui to press him right back down. “I’m sitting with Simiao.”

Lin Simiao wasn’t Su Jiasui’s best friend, nor were they close like sisters. They didn’t even talk much on a regular basis, but when it came to studying together, their efficiency soared. There was a bit of comradeship between them.

She wanted to sit with Lin Simiao. Ji Jing had no objections. “Mm, go ahead.”

Su Jiasui thought for a moment, then grabbed Chen Xu as well.

Chen Xu was furious. “What is wrong with you two?”

Su Jiasui looked completely serious. “You don’t study properly. Don’t drag others down with you. Go over there—far away.”

Chen Xu knew all too well that once Su Jiasui set her mind on something, there was no stopping her. Grudgingly, he picked up his bag and moved to another seat.

The homeroom teacher, Old Li, entered through the front door, hands behind his back, and walked up to the podium. He swept his gaze across the classroom and nodded in satisfaction. “Not bad. Quite self-aware. We’re all familiar faces here, so I’ll skip the small talk. This is senior year. If you want to get into college, pull yourself together. If you’re planning to go abroad and just coast through, fine, but don’t stir up trouble in class. I don’t care how much your family has donated to the school or what kind of backing you have—if you disrupt the rocket class, I’ll kick you out all the same. Got it?”

“Yes—!”

“Alright. This semester we have two transfer students. Let’s meet them, then we’ll start class.”

With that, Old Li waved toward the door. As the transfer students stepped in, a series of gasps echoed through the room, like a kettle boiling over.

Admiring the beautiful is human nature—especially in a class already full of good-looking students. The commotion wasn’t entirely rowdy; it had a welcoming tone, so Old Li didn’t stop it.

“My name is Jiang Yan. Jiang from ‘river’, Yan from ‘delay’.”

Jiang Yan had already changed into the spring-summer school uniform. Though it was just a white shirt and black slacks, he gave off a calm and gentle vibe. His short hair and tanned skin added a rugged charm to his already well-defined features. With that deep, magnetic voice, he easily qualified as a certified heartthrob.

The girls gave an enthusiastic round of applause.

Old Li said, “Go sit in the fourth row by the window. If there’s an issue, we’ll adjust later. Next.”

Then came the girl in the white dress—the one Chen Xu had rated as an eight out of ten.

“Hello everyone, I… I’m Ji Mutian…” The new girl in the white dress seemed a bit shy. A faint blush colored her cheeks, her eyes shimmered, and her voice trembled slightly. But encouraged by the steady applause, she soon smiled—a soft, innocent smile.

Nearly half the boys in class were left dumbfounded.

After all, at Hai High, the girls who were good at studying were all like iron-fisted disciplinarians, hands on hips, ready to curse your whole family. The ones who weren’t good at studying were mostly pampered princesses who looked down on everyone like they had crab eyes growing on top of their heads.

Someone as sweet and delicate as the girl in the white dress was like a panda in an Indian zoo—virtually nonexistent.

“What’s your name again? Didn’t catch it.”

“Ji Mutian.”

“Yo! Ji Jing! Your little sister’s here!”

Su Jiasui was stunned. She turned around, surprised. Who would dare make fun of Ji Jing like that when he was sitting right here?

Old Li also felt it was inappropriate and quickly explained, “Her ‘Ji’ is the one from ‘rose’ [yuèjì].”

“Little Rose.”

A low, teasing murmur brushed past Su Jiasui’s ear.

It was Ji Jing’s voice!

But Ji Jing was sitting in the far corner of the room. Even if he had spoken, there was no way she could have heard him. It was like a hallucination.

No, something was off.

Suddenly, Su Jiasui was struck by a piercing headache. It felt just like when, as a child, she had forcibly absorbed a high-level mutated beast core to enhance her mental strength. Only now, what flooded her mind was a deluge of unfamiliar memories.

“Sister Sui, are you okay? You look pale.”

“…I’m fine. Just a little unwell.”

Su Jiasui pressed her lips together. She finally realized—she hadn’t traveled back in time to the peaceful pre-New Era days. Instead, she was in another dimension within her Absolute Domain.

Born in the New Era, Su Jiasui had always yearned for a peaceful life. After long, monotonous days of training, she would curl up at home, binge dramas and read novels. Right before she ate that piece of hazelnut chocolate laced with poison, she had been about to start a campus romance novel titled Little Rose.

And so, in the final moment of her life, her Absolute Domain had delivered her into the world of that book.

Her boyfriend of two years, Ji Jing, and the transfer student Ji Mutian were the leads of the story. And she—Su Jiasui—was the typical villainous supporting role.

Backed by a mediocre family background, she was arrogant and willful. Obsessed with the male lead, she relentlessly pursued him. He, in turn, only agreed to date her to spite his father, never developing any real romantic feelings for her—not even the slightest physical intimacy.

Then he met the heroine and truly fell in love. He broke up with Su Jiasui and started to secretly admire the other girl. Though cold and aloof by nature, he would always find ways to strike up conversation with the heroine, catch her attention, make her laugh. He even gave her gifts in secret and planted an entire garden of roses just for her, tenderly calling her Little Rose.

And Su Jiasui, filled with resentment after being dumped, rallied classmates to bully the heroine again and again, constantly pushing the male lead’s limits—only helping to bring the two closer together. In the end, she was utterly abandoned by everyone, left in miserable isolation.

A complete and total tragedy!

For the first time in her life, Su Jiasui didn’t pay attention in class. Her mind was filled with one thing: that name—Little Rose.

The bell rang. Old Li didn’t drag the lesson out. He picked up a stack of books and left. No sooner had he stepped out than the classroom erupted with chatter—mostly from the troublemakers in the back, led by Chen Xu. Their voices weren’t loud, but it was clear they were discussing the new students.

Su Jiasui glanced at Ji Mutian. In just one period, she’d already made a friend—a girl who wore glasses and looked very refined. Her name seemed to be… Tang Shu?

“Don’t mind them,” Tang Shu said softly after glancing at the back row. “It’s our break now. I’ll show you around the school.”

Ji Mutian nodded shyly and followed Tang Shu out of the classroom.

So this was what a real campus novel best friend looked like.

Su Jiasui was genuinely speechless. Her own supposed bestie, Cheng Xiangxue, was, in the novel, her partner in crime who helped her bully the heroine. Her end wasn’t any better—she failed to get into college and slunk back to her hometown in northeast China, tail between her legs.

“Sister Sui.”

Su Jiasui looked up. It was Ji Jing.

At school, Ji Jing did fit the image of the cold and aloof male lead in the novel. He leaned lazily against the desk, his posture relaxed, face expressionless. His uniform shirt was a size too big, sleeves casually rolled up. A steel-banded Rolex on his wrist made his fingers look even paler and longer. In short—he looked pretty cool.

“What do you want?”

“That should be my question.”

Ji Jing bent down and leaned closer to her, his pitch-black pupils shifting slightly. “Were you zoning out in the last class? What were you thinking about?”

“Who said I was zoning out? Why were you staring at me instead of paying attention in class?”

“I’m keeping an eye on you. How else would I know you were zoning out?”

Next to them, Lin Simiao frowned and said, “Can you two stop going in circles? Don’t disturb my self-study.”

Su Jiasui gave him a light shove. “Hear that? You’re disturbing the peace.”

Chen Xu came over and slung an arm around Ji Jing’s shoulders. “Can’t you tell she’s annoyed with you right now? Stop throwing yourself at her. Come on, let’s go play basketball.”

There were only twenty minutes during the long break, and Ji Jing wasn’t really in the mood, but he was dragged off by Chen Xu to make up the numbers.

—Ji Mutián

Meanwhile, Tang Shu was walking with Ji Mutian around the school track.

“That over there is the auditorium. Next to it is the campus store and the cafeteria. You can apply for a student card later—it’ll make buying stuff and lunch easier.”

“Thank you, Tangtang. I just transferred and don’t know anyone. I was honestly a bit scared… I’m really glad you’re here.”

Ji Mutian had a soft southern accent. Her voice was light and gentle.

Tang Shu reassured her, “What’s there to be scared of? Was it the boys in the back of our class that scared you? Don’t worry, they just like to mess around. They’re not like those street punks outside school.”

“That’s a relief.” Ji Mutian lowered her head, her eyes a little red. “Actually, I transferred to Xinghai because… there was a boy at my old school who wouldn’t stop bothering me.”

“Well, that’s what happens when you’re pretty. Oh—by the way, you should be careful too.”

“Careful?”

“When you were introducing yourself at the front just now, someone said you were Ji Jing’s little sister. I saw Su Jiasui turn around immediately. She’s definitely got her eye on you now.”

“Who’s Ji Jing? And who’s Su Jiasui? I’m getting confused.”

Tang Shu pulled Ji Mutian to the edge of the basketball court and pointed through the wire fence. “That one with the rolled-up sleeves is Ji Jing. Word is, just his personal assets alone are worth nearly a billion. This whole school basically belongs to him. As for Su Jiasui—she’s his girlfriend. But… you know. It’s just for fun.”

“It’s just, Su Jiasui is really possessive. Any girl who so much as talks to Ji Jing will get trouble from her. Didn’t you hear how quickly Mr. Li jumped in to explain when someone said you were Ji Jing’s sister?”

On the court, the boys were full of youthful energy. Ji Jing’s messy hair glinted faintly silver in the sunlight.

Ji Mutian turned her face slightly to look at Tang Shu. “Has she ever given you trouble?”

Tang Shu adjusted her glasses and gave a self-deprecating laugh. “I’m not pretty enough.”