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Read advanced chapters at Shanghai fantasy.com
“Xiaowen, what are you doing?” Her friend Xi Dinglan noticed her best friend staring blankly at her phone and reminded her, “Even if you’re using your phone, don’t be so blatant about it.” She gestured towards the class monitor’s seat in the front row.
Yu Xiaowen stared at her phone in a daze. Ever since that day at the mall, Wei Qi hadn’t acknowledged her at all. Despite her desperate pleas, he remained indifferent.
He didn’t answer her calls, reply to her texts, or acknowledge any of her messages. Everything seemed to disappear into the void.
At first, she might not have been that fond of Wei Qi, but as he ignored her more, she became even more determined to win his affection. Now, not only was he indifferent, but he also refused to even see her.
While she was lost in thought about how to reconnect with Wei Qi, she suddenly heard a familiar voice. Looking up, she saw Xi Dinglan waving her hand in front of her face. Instinctively, she grabbed the hand in front of her and paused before asking, “What’s up?”
Seeing her friend’s distracted expression, Xi Dinglan couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong with you?”
Under her friend’s probing gaze, Yu Xiaowen’s eyes flickered as she gave a sad smile. “Wei Qi, he probably really doesn’t like me anymore…”
Xi Dinglan looked at her, hesitated for a moment, and finally said through gritted teeth, “Xiaowen, listen to my advice and give up on Wei Qi. He’s not worth it.” At first, she hated Wang Shasha, thinking she was the one who ruined her friend’s relationship with Wei Qi. But now, half a semester has passed, and Wei Qi wasn’t even with Wang Shasha. Yet, Xiaowen…
As Yu Xiaowen’s friend and confidante, Xi Dinglan knew it wasn’t appropriate to be too blunt, so she said earnestly, “It’s time to let him go. Besides, there are several guys who are interested in you right now.”
Yu Xiaowen forced a smile, revealing a hint of dissatisfaction, but unfortunately, Xi Dinglan didn’t notice.
At that moment, a boy from the front turned around and, mysteriously, said to them, “Do you know the latest gossip?”
Yu Xiaowen remained silent, while Xi Dinglan rolled her eyes and asked, “What gossip?”
The boy smirked and said, “I heard that Wang Shasha has successfully defeated Zong Nana and become the new campus beauty at the Second High School.” After the boy finished speaking, Xi Dinglan’s expression changed, and she turned to look at Yu Xiaowen, who indeed had a stiffened face.
Wang Shasha—why is it always Wang Shasha? What’s so special about her? Wei Qi feels that way, and so do other guys! Yu Xiaowen stormed home, opened her computer, and saw a new email notification. When she saw the content of the email, she was stunned.
She quickly scanned through it and, closing her eyes, let a slow smile spread across her face.
On Saturday, Tan Yixuan stayed at Wang Sasa’s house to tutor the four underachievers.
During lunch, Tan Yixuan went to the bathroom to wash her hands and nearly bumped into Zhou Yunlu as she opened the door.
Seeing her, Zhou Yunlu froze and then immediately became flustered, reflexively saying, “I wasn’t slacking off! I’ve been doing my homework!”
Tan Yixuan glanced at her but said nothing.
Zhou Yunlu noticed that Tan Yixuan didn’t seem angry and breathed a sigh of relief. It hadn’t been long, but she looked as awkward as a mouse meeting a cat! Just thinking about the terror of the math test made Zhou Yunlu shiver.
Realizing that Tan Yixuan was working hard to tutor them, Zhou Yunlu couldn’t help but say, “Tan Yixuan, thank you.”
Tan Yixuan nodded slightly and said calmly, “No need to thank me; it’s not free.”
Zhou Yunlu showed a puzzled expression and asked, “Not free? But… you clearly didn’t take any money.”
Tan Yixuan frowned, looking at her in confusion. “What do you mean?”
Zhou Yunlu, seeing Tan Yixuan’s puzzled look, was suddenly worried she had ruined Wang Sasa’s plan. She hurriedly waved her hands and said, “I was just joking! Forget I said anything!”
Tan Yixuan wasn’t easily fooled and quickly uncovered the truth.
The tutoring was a pretense, but Wang Sasa had indeed paid for Tan Yixuan. It turned out that Wang Sasa had covered all the so-called tutoring fees herself. Though the amount was trivial to Wang Sasa, it meant a lot to Tan Yixuan.
Tan Yixuan gently stroked the cover of the textbook, feeling a mix of sweetness and bitterness in her heart as she thought about how Wang Sasa had come up with this plan. When she returned to the living room, the emotion stayed with her, showing on her face.
Wang Sasa was flipping through the textbooks when she noticed Tan Yixuan’s expression and jokingly asked, “What’s wrong? You look so moved that you want to offer yourself?”
Tan Yixuan looked down and smiled faintly. “Sure.”
Wang Sasa paused and replied, “I can’t really respond to that.”
Tan Yixuan smiled, about to reply, when her phone suddenly rang. She picked it up and saw it was from an unknown number and immediately hung up.
However, the caller was persistent. After Tan Yixuan ended the call, the second call came through immediately.
Wang Sasa, hearing the phone ring, turned her head and asked in confusion, “Who’s calling? Aren’t you going to answer?”
Tan Yixuan shook her head and hung up again.
The third call came while Tan Yixuan was on her way home after finishing tutoring Zhou Yunlu and the others.
Seeing the number, Tan Yixuan considered blocking it, but before she could do so, the call was cut off. Shortly after, a text message arrived: “Tan Yixuan, you like Wang Shasha, don’t you? If you don’t want to be exposed, meet me on the rooftop on Monday.”
Tan Yixuan stared at the message with a stern expression, her eyes dark and her fingers gripping tightly, knuckles whitening.
Monday, on the rooftop.
Tan Yixuan pushed open the iron door, and a mocking female voice rang out.
“You arrived quite on time.” Yu Xiaowen, dressed in the school uniform of the Second High School, stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the iron railing. “I really didn’t expect you and Wang Shasha to have this kind of relationship.”
Seeing Tan Yixuan’s suddenly darkened expression, she paused and quickly covered her mouth, correcting herself, “Sorry, I misspoke. It’s just that you, Tan Yixuan, have a one-sided crush on Wang Shasha. You know…” she drawled out, with a malicious smile, “If I were to show Wang Shasha your diary, what do you think her reaction would be?”
Tan Yixuan’s eyes darkened as her expression grew increasingly menacing. “Yu Xiaowen, what exactly do you want?”
Yu Xiaowen shrugged, appearing nonchalant. “Actually, you misunderstood me. I called you here today because I want to propose a collaboration.”
Tan Yixuan regarded her coldly and remained silent.
Yu Xiaowen looked up, her eyes shifting, “When you think about it, we don’t really have any conflicts, do we? In fact, our goals are actually the same.” She paused and then directly said, “You want to get Wang Shasha, and I want to get Wei Qi.”
Tan Yixuan sneered, “So what?”
“Don’t you see? This means we can work together to break up Wei Qi and Wang Shasha!”
Tan Yixuan replied with a cold laugh, “Even if our goals are aligned, I still won’t cooperate with you.”
Yu Xiaowen was unshaken and waved her phone, smirking. “Then, aren’t you afraid of being disgraced? Afraid of Wang Shasha looking at you with disgust?”
Something in her words hit a nerve. Tan Yixuan suddenly stepped forward, grabbed Yu Xiaowen by the neck, and pinned her against the railing. Her fingers tightened, and she leaned in with a chilling tone, her demeanor far from that of an ordinary high school girl. “If you’re not afraid of death, go ahead and try!”
Yu Xiaowen’s eyes widened in fear, her face turning red. She struggled to move Tan Yixuan’s hand but couldn’t shift it at all. She was terrified, unable to understand how Tan Yixuan, with such a small frame, could have so much strength.
After a while, seeing Yu Xiaowen’s eyes rolling back as she struggled to breathe, Tan Yixuan finally released her grip.
Yu Xiaowen gasped for fresh air, coughing violently, and looked up to see Tan Yixuan’s cold gaze, feeling a mix of fear and apprehension.
Tan Yixuan snatched her phone, deleted the photos, and glanced disdainfully at Yu Xiaowen. “If you want to go public, go ahead. But once it’s out, you won’t come out unscathed either… Have you forgotten that one of the school’s board members is Wang Shasha’s grandfather? If he finds out his granddaughter is involved in such a scandal, do you think he won’t hold a grudge against you, the informant?”
“You!”
Yu Xiaowen wanted to argue, thinking that as long as she avoided being identified, no one would know who leaked the information. However, considering the dense network of security cameras on campus, especially around the notice boards, she couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t be caught. Her hesitation was evident.
Although Tan Yixuan’s words were harsh, her demeanor remained relaxed. She said calmly, “Also, don’t you remember that you’re holding evidence against Wang Shasha?”
Yu Xiaowen clutched her throat, trembling.
Tan Yixuan glanced at her without any emotion and left the rooftop. As she stepped out, her figure lingered in the darkness.
After her warning, Yu Xiaowen was unlikely to choose to expose the information and might instead send the diary to another party.
Wang Sasa, your closest friend is about to suffer defamation from an adversary. Which side will you stand on? Tan Yixuan smiled faintly, her eyes as cold as a deep, bottomless pool.
She thought about the impending events, feeling both anticipation and fear. When she returned to her seat, her fingers trembled with excitement.
Wang Sasa noticed and frowned. “Tan Yixuan, what’s wrong with you?”
Tan Yixuan froze for a moment, then suddenly embraced Wang Sasa, resting her head on her slender shoulder, breathing into her ear. She said softly, “I’m scared… Sasa, will you hate me?”
Wang Sasa, taken aback by the sudden hug, had her hands frozen in mid-air before she slowly placed them around Tan Yixuan, gently returning the embrace. “Of course not. No matter what, I’ll never hate you.”
Tan Yixuan hugged her tightly for a moment before letting go, showing a hint of dejection. “Then… if I did something to wrong you?” She looked up with shimmering dark eyes, “Would you hate me? Would you stay away from me?”
Wang Sasa’s heart skipped a beat, anxious about not diminishing Tan Yixuan’s affection. She steeled herself and answered, “Of course not.” Holding Tan Yixuan’s hand firmly, she assured her, “I promise, as long as you don’t cross a line, I will never hate you, and I will never leave you.”
“That reassures me.” Tan Yixuan said softly, gently caressing Wang Sasa’s cheek.
Wang Sasa felt a bit uncomfortable and slightly turned her head. Tan Yixuan, seemingly unaffected, loosened her grip and smiled faintly. For a brief moment, a shadow of something dark flashed across her eyes, but it was gone in an instant.