The two were chatting when a girl suddenly approached.

She was tall and slender with a gentle and pretty face. Despite looking slightly nervous, she mustered the courage to speak.

“Su Wan… could you please stop bullying Shen Tingyan?”

Su Wan, who was in the middle of talking to Chang Xiaozhen, froze for a moment. Who was this now?

Chang Xiaozhen’s expression immediately turned hostile. “Fang Qianqian, who do you think you are, telling us what to do?”

Fang Qianqian was known for her gentle and beautiful demeanor. She was a school-wide goddess and a year above them. After Su Wan started high school, comparisons between the two were frequent. Thanks to Su Wan’s previously poor behavior, Fang Qianqian had easily come out on top.

Recently, however, Su Wan’s popularity had skyrocketed. On the school’s forums, boys who admired her and Fang Qianqian had been fiercely debating their merits in a thread that had grown to over a thousand replies without any resolution.

Su Wan was familiar with Fang Qianqian’s name. After a moment’s recollection, she remembered: Fang Qianqian was one of the female confidantes in this story, a gentle soul who had fallen in love with the male protagonist at first sight when he transferred schools. She quietly cared for and supported him.

In the original story, Fang Qianqian had confronted Su Wan to defend Shen Tingyan, further highlighting Su Wan as nothing more than a pretty but hollow villainess.

When Fang Qianqian saw Su Wan, she was momentarily stunned.

They had met before, and she remembered Su Wan as someone who, while beautiful, lacked any spark. Her behavior had been unpleasant and distasteful.

But the girl standing in the hallway now seemed different.

Her black hair and dark eyes exuded a quiet elegance. Her demeanor was serene, and her figure was slender and graceful. Her face was so beautiful it seemed almost unreal.

It was as though she had transformed into someone else entirely.

Fang Qianqian’s voice faltered slightly before she softened her tone further.

“I don’t mean anything by it. It’s just… Shen Tingyan is so pitiful. He shouldn’t be treated like this.”

Students leaving the restroom began to gather, drawn by the brewing conflict.

They marveled at Fang Qianqian’s boldness in confronting Su Wan. Many admired her bravery and kindness, and some remarked that the goddess’s gentle nature was miles apart from Su Wan’s poor temperament.

The contrast was striking.

Chang Xiaozhen was about to retort when Su Wan held her back tightly. Su Wan had already mentally categorized Fang Qianqian as part of the protagonist’s group, and in any story, offending the heroine was a surefire way to meet a bad end.

She had no intention of provoking Fang Qianqian or angering Shen Tingyan, only to suffer the consequences later.

Let them indulge in their romance. Su Wan couldn’t care less.

Her sole concern was her own survival.

Su Wan responded with a casual “Oh, I understand. Do you need anything else?”

Fang Qianqian was briefly taken aback.

“What I mean is—”

“I understand what you mean,” Su Wan interrupted with a warm smile, patting her shoulder. “Don’t worry, I won’t bother Shen Tingyan anymore.”

Fang Qianqian was so surprised by this unexpected reply that her eyes widened.

“Do you mean it?”

Could Su Wan really let Shen Tingyan go so easily? She had previously treated him as a source of amusement and a target for humiliation. How could she simply let go?

Su Wan replied breezily, “Of course. You don’t have to worry—I’m not interested in him anymore.”

What she meant was that she had no interest in bullying Shen Tingyan or causing him trouble again. However, in Fang Qianqian’s ears, it sounded entirely different.

At that moment, faint footsteps could be heard behind them.

Fang Qianqian glanced past Su Wan and instantly softened her expression. Her smile grew even gentler, her eyes sparkling. “Shen Tingyan!”

Su Wan turned around in surprise, and sure enough, amid the crowd, a tall and striking figure stood out.

With black hair, dark eyes, and a coldly handsome face, Shen Tingyan’s presence was impossible to ignore.

The surrounding students quickly parted, stepping aside to avoid incurring the displeasure of either party.

Shen Tingyan stood there expressionless, his gaze fixed on Su Wan. It was clear he had overheard everything that had just been said.

Su Wan, unbothered, greeted him with a cheerful smile.