Oh no! Drunk last night, I accidentally wandered into my ex-boyfriend's room.

After saying this, Lu Beiting turned and walked out of the private room without looking back, leaving behind a cold and resolute back view.

Xia Tingshi remained stunned for a long time, her face extremely pale.

Her sharp nails dug into her palms, and she bit her red lips in resentment.

Ever since high school, Lu Beiting had always ignored her, unlike other boys who would easily fall for her at first sight.

Lu Beiting is aloof and lazy, but deep down he has a rebellious and wild spirit. Even when she tries to be nice to him, he still ignores her.

But the more this is the case, the more she wants to have it!

An awkward atmosphere filled the private room, and a few classmates began to try to smooth things over:

"Tsk, Lu Beiting's mouth is just too sharp!"

"I heard from a friend of mine who graduated from Imperial University that he had a lot of girlfriends in college, and every single one of them was incredibly beautiful, but none of them lasted more than two months."

"Oh my, what a playboy, all lust and no heart? But when it comes to Lu Beiting, I think it's pretty normal, he's a man after all."

Ye Miaomiao raised her chin: "But I feel that he treats Shishi quite differently!"

Xia Tingshi's expression softened slightly, and she smiled faintly, deliberately becoming more intimate in her tone:

"Brother Beiting has always liked to joke around with me, probably because we're quite familiar with each other, and we're not that different~"

Meanwhile, inside the restroom.

After Lin Qian came out, she stayed here, constantly rinsing her face with cold water.

From the moment Xia Tingshi entered the door.

Her chest felt heavy. Even though she had prepared herself mentally before coming, when she actually saw Xia Tingshi, the bitter emotions that had been building up for so long couldn't help but overflow.

Lin Qian raised her head and looked at herself in the mirror. She was beautiful, slender, and confident. But for a moment, she was reminded of her former self who was insecure and slightly overweight.

Those three agonizing years of high school...

An hour after the school bell rang.

Lin Qian was still locked in the men's restroom and had no way to go home.

The toilet was dark and damp, with a pungent and unpleasant smell, which kept her awake for more than an hour.

"Let me out!" she pounded on the door, on the verge of tears. "Let me out! I didn't steal anything!"

Ye Miaomiao stood outside the door, deliberately turning off the bathroom light, and mockingly gloating:

"You should spend your time reflecting on your actions in the men's restroom. Who told you to steal Shishi's bracelet? You're not going home tonight; you'll be sleeping in there."

Cold sweat beaded on Lin Qian's forehead, her voice weak and desperate, "I didn't... I didn't steal it. If you don't believe me, you can check the security footage, or you can call the police!"

Ye Miaomiao grinned and said, "But the security cameras just happened to be broken these past few days~"

Xia Tingshi stood to the side, dressed properly in her blue and white school uniform, holding a book, looking every bit the model student.

She said pitifully, "Qianqian, if you like it, I can give it to you, since you're my half-sister... But you can't just steal it, can you? That's not right..."

Xia Tingshi's other friend, Xu Feier, couldn't help but say in a pitying tone:

"Lin Qian, if you're having any trouble, just tell us. We can help you. After all, everyone knows you're a poor little thing. Your father doesn't want you anymore, and your mother died young. I heard she died of a heart attack..."

Lin Qian was trapped in the dark toilet and couldn't see the faces of the people outside.

But not long after, she suddenly heard a deep male voice outside the door:

"Make way, you're blocking the way."

Xia Tingshi paused for a moment, her voice becoming much gentler and softer: "Brother Beiting? What are you doing here?"

Lu Beiting stood in front of the men's restroom, speechless. "Because I need to use the restroom."

Ye Miaomiao said guiltily, "Um... why don't you go to the restroom on the upstairs floor? We're teaching a thief a lesson. This guy stole Shishi's six-figure bracelet and he's refusing to admit it!"

Lu Beiting scoffed, casually exposing her lie, "Steal? Didn't you slip the bracelet into her bag?"

Ye Miaomiao: "How...how did you know...?"

"I saw it," Lu Beiting interrupted her.

To maintain her image of being kind and innocent, Xia Tingshi immediately distanced herself from the situation, saying, "Miaomiao, how could you do that? You made me misunderstand Lin Qian."

"Uh..." Ye Miaomiao quickly explained, "It was just a prank. Lin Qian shouldn't be that angry. She just went into the bathroom."

Lu Beiting said impatiently, "Then should I lock you in the men's restroom too?"

Ye Miaomiao was so frightened that she dared not utter a sound.

Xia Tingshi gently persuaded, "Brother Beiting, don't be angry, okay? It was just a joke between us girls, don't take it too seriously."

Lu Beiting: "Looks like you also want to go into the men's restroom?"

Xia Tingshi: "..."

Lu Beiting had no patience to argue with them anymore and simply uttered a cold word, "Get lost."

After a long while, it finally became quiet outside the toilet.

Lin Qian sat on the ground, her face pale, still clutching her schoolbag.

The door that had been blocking their way slowly opened.

A ray of bright light shone through the crack in the door, landing precisely on her and slowly dispelling all the darkness in the toilet.

Lu Beiting stood in front of her, his features cold and superior, his whole being unruly and exuding a strong aura.

Lin Qian paused for two seconds, then immediately got up, grabbed her schoolbag, and hurriedly walked outside.

"Hey, classmate." Lu Beiting suddenly called out to her from behind.

Lin Qian turned around hurriedly, her voice still trembling, "Wh...what's wrong?"

Lu Beiting bent down, picked up a ballpoint pen, walked over to her, and stuffed it into her schoolbag.

"You dropped your pen."

……

After that, Xia Tingshi and the others were probably worried about ruining their image in front of Lu Beiting, so they stopped bullying her openly and only isolated and ostracized her in secret.

Lin Qian finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She didn't know when it started, but she began to habitually lie on her desk and secretly glance at Lu Beiting's indifferent profile from an unintentional angle.

He sat in the last row by the window, where lush camphor tree leaves stretched out, and dappled sunlight streamed down his face, making him look like a male protagonist from a comic book.

Midsummer, passion, youth.

This was the beginning of her downfall.

Deep within her barren heart, a seed of unrequited love was planted.

However, an event that happened later caused this carefully cherished secret crush of the young girl to vanish into thin air...

Lin Qian washed her face with cold water again, water droplets dripping down her long eyelashes and rippling across the surface of the water.

She remained sober for a while before leaving the bathroom.

As soon as I stepped outside, I ran into someone.

"Hey, Lin Qian."