"Bai Qingzhen, my affairs are none of your business."
His voice was faint, but his dark eyes were laced with an icy undercurrent. "The one who shouldn't be here is you."
He didn't harbor deep affection for his rebellious, unrelated sister. Now, every word Bai Qingzhen spoke displeased him greatly.
Bai Qingzhen’s face turned pale at his gaze, her lips trembling. She wanted to say something more, but her throat felt as if it were blocked by something, preventing her from uttering a single word.
In the unsettling silence, he turned to look at the girl standing on the stairs, his thumb anxiously turning the jade ring on his finger. Shen Yue had cried so much yesterday; he was afraid she might be triggered again.
Fortunately, the girl merely looked pale. He let out a barely perceptible sigh of relief and softly said, "Go up and change your clothes first."
Shen Yue nodded and ran upstairs.
On the second floor, Shen Yue heard the sound of things being smashed.
When she finished changing and came downstairs, only Bai Yanzhe remained in the living room.
He sat at the dining table and smiled at the girl. "Come, let's eat breakfast."
Shen Yue paused, then walked over.
The breakfast was exceptionally quiet, yet not awkward at all.
After eating, Bai Yanzhe drove her to school.
Neither of them spoke during the ride. Shen Yue quietly watched the scenery outside the car window.
His slender, pale hand, with its distinct knuckles, loosely gripped the steering wheel.
While waiting for the traffic light, the man silently stared at the girl for a moment, a faint smile appearing in his dark eyes.
The car stopped in a parking spot next to the school.
As Shen Yue was unbuckling her seatbelt, the man's voice reached her ears: "Shen Yue."
She subconsciously looked up. The man looked down at her, his voice low and pleasant, with a faint rasp that carried an indescribable gentleness. "Study hard."
Shen Yue blinked and gave a smile, her dimples shallow. She looked obedient and beautiful. "I will."
The man reached out and gently touched her soft hair. His thin lips curved upward, his handsome face exuding a steady composure. A muffled chuckle resonated from his chest, suggesting indulgence.
"Very good."
The girl's ear tips flushed red, like a shyly blooming flower bud.
---
Shen Yue's seat had been taken. Her desk had been moved to the back row, next to the trash can.
The atmosphere in the classroom was somewhat oppressive. Bai Qingzhen stood with her arms crossed, staring at Shen Yue coldly.
Shen Yue said nothing, silently taking her seat in the back row. With a calm expression, she took out her textbook to review.
After the first class ended, Bai Qingzhen called her out.
Shen Yue followed her to the restroom.
Everyone else was cleared out of the restroom, leaving only Bai Qingzhen and her.
Bai Qingzhen's face was covered in frost. "Shen Yue, I considered you a friend. Is this how you treat me?"
The girl lowered her head, appearing timid and submissive. "I don't understand what you're saying."
"Stop playing dumb." Bai Qingzhen's anger surged as she recalled the morning's events. She had never seen Bai Yanzhe protect someone so fiercely.
And protect someone like *this*!
Shen Yue simply didn't deserve it!
Her eyes turned red with anger. The more she looked, the more she felt Shen Yue had seduced Bai Yanzhe.
How could one person be so utterly shameless!
"Shen Yue," Bai Qingzhen's voice was extremely cold. "I warn you, stay away from Bai Yanzhe."
Shen Yue looked up, quietly observing the disgusted expression on Bai Qingzhen's face. She tilted her head, her delicate features, like peony petals, appearing pitiable. She asked, "Why?"
Seeing her like this only infuriated Bai Qingzhen. She was putting on such an act. But it was only now that she realized the biggest fool was herself.
"No reason! Look at yourself. Do you believe I can make you unable to stay at Fudan?"
After delivering a fierce threat, Bai Qingzhen left.
Shen Yue, with a blank expression, approached the sink and meticulously washed each of her fingers. She took a tissue and dried the water droplets on her hands.
Without Bai Qingzhen, Shen Yue's position in the class was rather awkward.
After school, she cleaned the classroom. When she finished cleaning and turned around, she found the door had been locked at some point.
Shen Yue walked over and pulled it twice. It was locked from the outside.
Taking out her phone from her backpack, Shen Yue looked at her contacts, sent a message to Jiang Wei, and then returned to her seat to work on her homework.
Night slowly descended. Shen Yue turned on her phone; there were no new messages.
After some hesitation, Shen Yue made a call.
Ring, ring, ring—
After about ten seconds, the call was finally answered.
"Yueyue?"
The background on the other end was very noisy, and Jiang Wei's voice was not very clear.
Shen Yue pursed her lips. "Where are you?"
"I'm out. Is something wrong?" Jiang Wei's voice became clearer.
Shen Yue opened her mouth to speak, but then heard a female voice from the phone.
"...What? Wait a moment, Yueyue, I have something to deal with here. I'll hang up now."
Before Shen Yue could say anything more, Jiang Wei hung up the phone.
Shen Yue put down her phone. She had heard the female voice; it was Bai Qingzhen.
She didn't make another call and continued to work on her homework.
The temperature dropped rapidly at night. Shen Yue's face turned pale from the cold. Later, a security guard came to check, and Shen Yue called out to him, asking him to unlock the door.
Back in her dorm, Shen Yue took a hot shower. She felt a bit dizzy, likely from a fever. She made a packet of cold medicine, drank it, and felt drowsy, falling asleep quickly.
Shen Yue was roughly pulled from her bed. Blinking groggily, she opened her eyes and saw Bai Qingzhen.
Her legs felt weak. Shen Yue staggered as Bai Qingzhen pulled her out. Bai Qingzhen stood at the doorway, looking at her with disgust.
Back in the dorm room, after a short while, Bai Qingzhen came out with a pile of belongings and threw them directly outside the door. Looking down at Shen Yue, she said, "You are not welcome here."
With that, Bai Qingzhen slammed the door shut.
Shen Yue's mind was swimming, her head feeling heavy and unbalanced. She crouched on the ground to recover before going to the dormitory administrator downstairs to change rooms.
This whole ordeal made Shen Yue feel even more dizzy.
---
Due to her illness, Shen Yue had overslept. When she opened her phone, she found over eighty missed calls and countless text messages.
Two of them were from the homeroom teacher; the rest were from Jiang Wei.
Shen Yue skimmed through them. Jiang Wei's initial tone was very strong, asking with confusion and anxiety why she had called him and if something had happened. Later, his tone became agitated and even more anxious.
After reading a few messages, Shen Yue decided she didn't want to read any further. She first requested leave from the teacher for the morning and then sent a brief reply to Jiang Wei.
She took her medicine and went back to bed for a while before getting up to attend classes in the afternoon.
---
As soon as the dismissal bell rang, Shen Yue packed her schoolbag.
"Look, isn't that Song Yan?"
"Yes, yes. Does Song Yan have a crush on Bai Qingzhen? They're often seen together, and I even saw them eating together."