After ninety-nine online romances, I finally met my ex in person when school started.

The first class in the afternoon was an introduction to modern literature.

Zhu Xun Chuan sat in the last corner of the classroom, head down, trying to shrink himself into an invisible person.

On the podium, Gu Qinghan, wearing a black suit dress, was opening her textbook.

"I am Gu Qinghan, your instructor for Introduction to Modern Literature this semester." Her voice was indifferent and steady. "There is only one rule in my class... No daydreaming."

The whole class was so quiet that you could hear your own breathing.

The freshmen were stunned by the young female teacher's aura.

Zhu Xun Chuan didn't look up. He didn't dare to look at the podium.

He was still processing the bombshell from noon... "Qingfeng Mingyue" was Gu Qinghan. His teacher. His ex-girlfriend whom he had met online.

How did he manage to seduce her back then?

"Sister Qingfeng, your name is as beautiful as you."

"Sister, the moon is so round tonight, but it's not as pretty as you."

"I will definitely come to find you someday, no matter where you are in the world."

Zhu Xun Chuan closed his eyes in agony, wishing he could travel back in time and give his sixteen-year-old self two big purses. Serves you right for flirting! Serves you right for being so cheeky!

"Third student from the left in the first row, please answer this: What is the core meaning of the iron house metaphor mentioned by Lu Xun in the preface to 'Call to Arms'?"

A girl stood up and answered haltingly.

Gu Qinghan nodded, her gaze sweeping over the entire class.

Finally, it landed on Zhu Xunchuan in the last row.

It paused for two seconds.

Zhu Xun Chuan felt a chill run down his spine when he felt that gaze.

"The student in the last row."

Zhu Xun Chuan froze.

"Zhu Xun Chuan, right?"

"……arrive."

"Could you elaborate on what Lu Xun meant by 'I myself thought that I was no longer someone who felt compelled to speak out'?"

All eyes in the class immediately turned to the last row.

Zhu Xunchuan stood up, his mind racing.

"To be unable to stop speaking means to be unable to cease speaking. Lu Xun ostensibly says he has fallen silent, but this statement itself is an expression of a refusal to remain silent. He is using denial to confirm his stance."

The classroom fell silent for a second.

Gu Qinghan pushed up his glasses.

"Well analyzed."

She lowered her head and turned a page of her textbook, her lips moving slightly, her voice so low that only those in the front row could faintly hear her...

"You still have such a silver tongue."

The students in the front row looked bewildered.

Zhu Xunchuan heard it.

His ears turned bright red.

He felt like he was being roasted on fire the entire time; those forty-five minutes felt like forty-five years. The moment the bell rang, he grabbed his bag and dashed out.

"Zhu Xunchuan."

Gu Qinghan's voice came from the podium.

His footsteps froze at the doorway.

"Next week's pre-class reading material will include an additional piece called 'Regret for the Past,'" Gu Qinghan said, tidying up her folder without looking up. "You should have a lot of insights about the theme of starting something and then abandoning it."

Several classmates around him cast curious glances his way.

Zhu Xun Chuan's face turned red, he nodded stiffly, and fled the classroom.

He leaned against the corridor wall, panting heavily.

I can't live like this anymore.

My phone vibrated.

Weibo private messages.

"Dark Rose" sent another message.

It's a photograph.

The photo shows the main gate of Kyoto University.

The shot was taken from the window of a black Rolls-Royce.

Caption: "Arrived."

Zhu Xunchuan's pupils suddenly contracted.

She's arrived? She's already at school?

He typed rapidly in reply: "What are you doing at Kyoto University?"

"Dark Rose" replied instantly: "Looking for you."

We've broken up.

"You think we can just break up like that?"

"..."

"Dark Rose" posted another message: "Don't hide, I'll find you. Which college are you in?"

Zhu Xunchuan did not reply.

He stuffed his phone into his pocket and quickened his pace toward the dormitory.

hide.

Let's hide for a while first.

He walked through the teaching building and onto the tree-lined path connecting the dormitory area.

I had walked less than fifty meters when I saw a black Rolls-Royce Cullinan parked ahead.

The license plate number starts with 京A and is followed by four 8s.

Zhu Xunchuan slowed his pace.

The car door opened.

The first to get off were two men dressed in black. They were over 1.85 meters tall, with muscular builds, wearing sunglasses, and with expressions as if carved from stone.

Then, a girl got out of the back seat.

A black leather jacket, a black mini skirt, and black Doc Martens boots. Her long hair was dyed with dark red highlights, and she wore three silver earrings. Her features were unbelievably beautiful, but her eyes were extremely sharp, exuding a ruthless aura that warned others to stay away.

He exudes an aura of "I'm not someone to mess with".

As soon as she got out of the car, all the students passing by on the tree-lined avenue instinctively made way for her.

It wasn't because of those two bodyguards.

It's because of her aura.

The girl glanced around and her gaze settled on Zhu Xunchuan.

She strode over, her Doc Martens boots clicking rhythmically on the ground.

Zhu Xunchuan stood still.

There is no escape.

The girl walked up to him and looked up at him. She wasn't short, but Zhu Xun Chuan was 1.83 meters tall, so she still had to look up slightly.

"Zhu Xunchuan."

"...Are you Dark Night Rose?"

"My real name is Jiang Yao." The girl's voice was low and carried an undeniable air of authority. "Jiang from the Jiang family."

The Jiang family. The Jiang family of Kyoto.

Zhu Xun Chuan's head buzzed and exploded.

The Jiang family of Kyoto… they are the head of the entire Kyoto underworld. Their business empire is just a front; they secretly control half of Kyoto's gray areas. The head of the Jiang family, Jiang Ting, is known in the underworld as the "King of Hell in the North."

His online ex-girlfriend was the daughter of the Jiang family.

Zhu Xun Chuan swallowed hard and opened his mouth.

"You told me before that you were... a regular high school student."

"You still tell me you're an honest person?" Jiang Yao sneered, retorting, "We're even now."

Zhu Xunchuan was speechless.

"I don't agree with the breakup message you sent yesterday," Jiang Yao stared intently into his eyes.

"Relationships can't be decided by one person alone..."

"I said," Jiang Yao took a step forward, instantly closing the distance between them to less than thirty centimeters, "I disagree."

The two bodyguards in black behind her took a step forward in perfect unison.

Students passing by on the tree-lined path all stopped in their tracks and began whispering amongst themselves.

"Holy crap, who's that woman?"

"Cullinan with bodyguards in black... We can't afford to mess with him..."

"Is this a forced marriage or revenge?"

Zhu Xunchuan felt an immense pressure, like Mount Tai pressing down on him.

It wasn't because of the two bodyguards. It was because of Jiang Yao's fixed, unwavering eyes.

Those eyes held so much. There was anger, resentment, resentment, and a stubbornness he couldn't understand at all.

"Jiang Yao," Zhu Xun Chuan took a deep breath and lowered his voice, "let's talk calmly."

"I am very calm."

"You brought two 200-pound bodyguards to block my way, and you call that calmness?"

"They are the driver and assistant." Jiang Yao didn't even blink.

Zhu Xun Chuan glanced at the two "assistants" with fierce faces who looked ready to draw their knives at any moment.

"...Alright then."

"Let's find a place to talk." Jiang Yao turned and walked towards the Rolls-Royce, her tone leaving no room for argument. "Get in."

"I think discussing comparisons at school is more appropriate..."

"Get in the car."

There is absolutely no room for negotiation.

Zhu Xun Chuan stood there, hesitating for just three seconds.

My phone in my pocket suddenly started vibrating like crazy.

WeChat message. Sender: Shen Tianxi.

"Brother Chuan, whose Rolls-Royce is that in front of the teaching building? I just saw a really fierce girl walk towards you. Who is she?"

Then another one followed.

"You don't have another girlfriend, do you? :)"

The last smiling emoji made Zhu Xun Chuan break out in a cold sweat.

Before he could even decide how to reply, his phone vibrated again.

Another WeChat message. Sender: Gu Qinghan.

"Zhu, my office window faces the tree-lined avenue. You and that... friend, please be mindful of your behavior."

A decisive goal.

Holding his phone, Zhu Xun Chuan stood in the bright September sunshine on campus, experiencing firsthand what it meant to feel like he had fallen into an ice cave.

Three ex-girlfriends. All online at the same time.

Moreover, they have started frantically switching channels, triggering a major battleground.

He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth to make a decision.

He walked to the Rolls-Royce and yanked open the passenger door.

"Okay, let's talk."

Jiang Yao sat in the back seat, arms crossed, watching him coldly. A faint smile played at the corners of her lips.

The moment the car door closed, Zhu Xunchuan's phone vibrated again.

A new text message. From a completely unfamiliar number.

"Hello, is this Zhu Xunchuan? I'm 'Da Ju Wei Zhong,' my name is Su Mucheng... Um, the music video for my new debut song is being filmed in Kyoto, I'll be there next week, could you... could you come pick me up? [shy]"

Looking at the shy emoticon, Zhu Xun Chuan closed his eyes in despair and pressed his phone screen down tightly against his lap.

The Rolls-Royce's engine emitted a deep roar as it slowly started.

Jiang Yao leaned back in the leather seat of the back seat, and a sentence drifted out softly:

"I advise you, it's best if you only have me as your girlfriend."

Zhu Xun Chuan sat frozen in front, not daring to turn around at all.