That damned Li Yaorao again?!

Ouyang Qianyu reached the dormitory door just as Xiao Ai was coming out. When she saw Ouyang Qianyu, her mouth dropped open in surprise, wide enough to fit a duck egg!

She hurriedly stepped up beside him, curiosity written all over her face. “Hi, Ouyang! You came to see us so early—did you miss us?”

She spoke proudly, as if she had just read his mind perfectly. Ouyang Qianyu completely ignored her, calmly and composedly walking past her. Xiao Ai nearly lost her mind!

That Ouyang was simply unbearable! To disregard her so blatantly was utterly infuriating! At that moment, Bing Ling and Xue Xin were returning from the washroom and saw Ouyang and Xiao Ai. They quickly approached, and Bing Ling lightly patted Ouyang Qianyu on the back.

Her gesture caught his attention. Turning around, he looked at Bing Ling and frowned slightly, then glanced towards the female dormitory entrance.

He seemed not to see the two inside. Could it be they hadn’t returned yet? Noticing Ouyang Qianyu appeared to be searching for someone, Xiao Ai asked curiously, “Ouyang, who are you looking for?”

He scanned the area coldly but found no trace, so he reluctantly asked, “Where are Liang Yiyi and Lin Yue?”

Hearing Ouyang Qianyu mention those names left them momentarily stunned. Since when was he so familiar with those two? How come none of them knew?

Xiao Ai shot him a displeased look, pouting and huffing, “Who cares about them? Even though they’re classmates, those two have terrible reputations. Nobody wants to be friends with them because they’re always unbearable and ruthless. They never let anyone who offends them off easily! Anyone who crosses them ends up badly.”

She found their sneaky, vicious nature utterly repugnant. The thought that Ouyang Qianyu was associating with such people made her furious to the point she couldn’t express her feelings.

Compared to Xiao Ai, Bing Ling and Xue Xin were much calmer, though they too were puzzled. They kept their questions to themselves. Bing Ling smiled faintly and said to Ouyang Qianyu, “I saw them just now in the washroom. Do you have some urgent matter with them?”

Upon hearing that, Ouyang Qianyu responded softly with a “Mm,” then turned and hurried toward the washroom. His urgency only deepened their curiosity about his intentions.

Seeing his demeanor, the three remaining there thought he must be dealing with some serious issue. Yet it seemed unlikely—if there was trouble, he would have sought out their closer friends first. Those two barely exchanged a word with him; why would he care about them?

Driven by curiosity, the three quietly followed Ouyang Qianyu toward the washroom, determined to uncover the truth.

At the washroom entrance, Ouyang Qianyu scanned the surroundings quickly and soon spotted the two, who appeared to have finished freshening up and were now walking toward him.

Standing firmly in the doorway, he blocked their path. The two looked at him with confusion. “Ouyang, could you please let us pass?” they asked.

He stood coldly, eyes fixed on them. The chilled gaze made their scalps tingle. Finally, he spoke with a frosty tone, “Come with me.”

Without waiting to see if they would follow, he strode ahead. The two exchanged uncertain glances but reluctantly nodded and followed to see what he wanted.

They walked to a secluded hillside behind the dormitory, where Ouyang Qianyu finally stopped and quietly waited under a tree for them to catch up.

Liang Yiyi scanned the quiet surroundings. It was early morning, and not a soul passed by. She couldn’t fathom why Ouyang Qianyu had brought them here.

Although ready to face whatever came, ignorance of his purpose made them uneasy. But since it was Ouyang Qianyu, they had no choice but to comply. Severing ties over a trivial matter would be disastrous, no matter how talented they were. So they silently hoped he wasn’t here to cause trouble.

Yet, sometimes, the things you least want to happen happen anyway.

As soon as they approached, Ouyang Qianyu cut straight to the point: “You caused trouble in Class F today.”

Though phrased like a question, his tone left no doubt—he knew everything.

His unchallengeable demeanor lent weight to his words. The two were shocked; only a few knew about this incident.

How did Ouyang Qianyu find out? Even if he knew, what could he do? And who had informed him? They hadn’t told anyone!

Could it have been Li Yaorao? They quickly dismissed that—if it were her, Ouyang Qianyu wouldn’t even care.

Maybe someone else had witnessed it and reported to him? But even so, why would he risk alienating his two classmates over some unrelated dispute?

Lin Yue, unable to endure the guessing, blurted out, “Yes! Those people in Class F are hateful! We couldn’t stand it, so we wanted to teach them a lesson!”

Liang Yiyi listened nervously, wanting to stop her but it was too late.

Ouyang Qianyu’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he coolly said, “So you resorted to violence?”

Lin Yue was about to speak again, but Liang Yiyi interrupted, “That’s not true! It’s just that the Class F girl was so arrogant—calling us dogs—so Xiao Yue couldn’t stand it and confronted her. But I stopped them right away!”

Ouyang Qianyu listened, understanding the behavior matched Shangguan Xiao’s known character. He believed Liang Yiyi was telling the truth, but truth or not, trouble was still trouble.

After a moment’s contemplation, he asked again, “Are you planning to seek revenge? Or trying to make her disappear from school?”

His words and the dark aura around him startled the two. They exchanged looks, uncertain whether to be honest.

Finally, Liang Yiyi broke the tense silence with a calm explanation: “We have no such thoughts. Besides, Shangguan Xiao’s background is complicated, and we have no real grudge.”

Lin Yue added defiantly, “It’s all because of Li Yaorao! She stirred things up for no reason, so we just went to check it out.”

Ouyang Qianyu fixed his gaze on Lin Yue, his tone cold and direct: “You said Li Yaorao instigated this? Explain.”

Lin Yue snorted. They really had been misled by Li Yaorao. If not for her, they wouldn’t be facing Ouyang Qianyu’s venomous stare now.

Feeling frustrated, Liang Yiyi stepped in, “Li Yaorao said that Shangguan Xiao from Class F has been acting high and mighty, provoking others and constantly causing trouble. So we went to see for ourselves, but it ended in a fight.”

Ouyang Qianyu knew their usual ruthlessness was only directed at bullies. As long as their boundaries weren’t crossed, they were reasonable.

Thinking this over, his expression softened slightly, his fierce aura fading.

Lin Yue took out a tissue to wipe her face and hands, feeling as if a criminal was being interrogated. She was finally starting to feel a little relieved.

Still, a question had been nagging her from the start, and she couldn’t hold it in any longer.

Without hesitation, she asked, “By the way, Ouyang, what’s your relationship with Shangguan Xiao? You seem very protective of her.”

After asking, Lin Yue locked her captivating eyes on Ouyang Qianyu, searching for any hint of a reaction, unwilling to miss his every expression.

But after a long wait, his face remained stoic and unreadable, a poker face that revealed nothing.

Ouyang Qianyu was momentarily taken aback by the question but quickly composed himself.

Though reluctant to share, he realized some things were best clarified—if only so Shangguan Xiao wouldn’t be troubled by them again.

He cast a cold glance at Lin Yue, causing her to shiver involuntarily. She rubbed her arm, muttering softly, “Geez! I just asked a question. Why the icy stare? What if I catch a cold?”

She quietly stuck out her tongue at Ouyang Qianyu, making a face.

Liang Yiyi watched on anxiously, silently breaking into a cold sweat.