Afterward, this incident became known to everyone; the forum completely exploded, and no matter how much Li Qifei talked himself hoarse, nobody believed him.

After all, what kind of person was Jiang Wen?

Top student, handsome as hell, one of the ten model students, high IQ—the moment he was mentioned, people thought he was amazing, carrying his own aura of a natural glow.

Would a person like that help Feng Ning lie? Was there even a need?!

And besides, the two of them didn’t even seem to get along well on ordinary days!!

After accompanying her through the whole performance, they walked out from under everyone’s astonished gazes, leaving the buzzing discussions far behind them. Jiang Wen’s face gave nothing away, but in truth his mood was churning, still unsettled.

Under the camphor tree, Feng Ning turned back: “What’s wrong, are you unhappy?”

Jiang Wen: “I helped you deceive people.”

She met his eyes, looking surprised: “So what if it’s deceiving people, have you never deceived anyone?”

Jiang Wen paused for a few seconds, his expression righteous: “On matters of principle, I don’t lie.”

For her sake, his bottom line kept dropping lower and lower.

“Hmph, whoever provoked me deserves it.” Feng Ning didn’t care at all. “Actually, I’m a bit dark inside—if people don’t offend me, I won’t offend them. But if someone offends me, even from a thousand miles away, I will hunt them down!”

Jiang Wen said, “I already made him delete the post and apologize.”

Feng Ning smiled without quite smiling: “Remember what I said? Once the outcome is set, the truth doesn’t matter anymore. So what if you made Li Qifei apologize? What good does it do? Most people have already gotten the ‘truth’ they wanted from that post. What you need to do is destroy his ‘fact,’ and then construct another ‘fact’ that people will believe instead—understand?”

Jiang Wen fell silent, quietly listening to her twisted theory.

“The magic of gossip lies in its ability to satisfy people’s curiosity. Compared to those exposés on the forum, obviously [a pervert unable to win over a beautiful girl, resorting to spreading rumors online out of humiliated rage] is far more thrilling than [a poor girl throwing herself at a rich young master]—it satisfies their desires much more.”

After saying this, she let out a sly laugh and asked, “Do you think I’m bad?”

Jiang Wen made no sound.

“But I think it feels great.” Feng Ning’s words carried a hidden edge. “Being good-looking really does make it convenient to do bad things—thanks for helping me today.”

He kept up his cold, distant manner: “Don’t flatter yourself.”

“Fine, fine, fine.” Feng Ning shook her head theatrically. “I understand, I understand, you just didn’t like the look of him either.”

Walking from the small auditorium on the west side back to the first-year building required crossing most of the campus. Looking up at the sky, dark clouds pressed down—it looked like rain was coming.

The thought had just crossed her mind when a gust of wind suddenly rose, and a few cold drops of rain hit her forehead.

“Are you heading back to the classroom?”

Feng Ning wiped the water off her forehead, indifferent. “Why would I go back to the classroom, the exams are already over. I’m going back to the dorm to pack up and head home.”

“Oh.”

“By the way.” Feng Ning suddenly grew curious. “Why haven’t I seen you with Zhao Binlin and the others lately? Weren’t you all like conjoined twins before?”

Jiang Wen got goosebumps from her words. “What conjoined twins, don’t make it sound so weird.” He said slowly, “They’ve been a bit busy lately.”

She was intrigued: “Busy with what?”

“Dating.”

“Bros aren’t worth mentioning once women are in the picture.” Feng Ning sighed. “So aren’t you lonely, then?”

Jiang Wen was baffled: “What’s there for me to be lonely about?”

Feng Ning smiled, didn’t answer that question. She stretched lazily, eyes lighting up. “Jiang Wen, do you want to go on an adventure?”

“What adventure.”

“You’ll find out when you get there, are you coming or not?”

Jiang Wen refused: “I don’t want to.”

“Come on, come on.”

He didn’t budge: “Not going.”

Gradually, the rain seemed to be growing heavier. Feng Ning puffed out her cheeks. “Fine then, are you heading back to the dorm or not?”

Jiang Wen nodded.

“Want me to take you on a shortcut?”

Jiang Wen shook his head.

“Alright, I’ll head off first then, bye!”

With that, she turned around briskly, and Jiang Wen suddenly felt a bit at a loss.

After the final exams, until the next semester started, there might be a long stretch of time before they saw each other again. Still hesitating, Jiang Wen heard himself blurt out: “—Wait.”

Feng Ning stopped, turned back: “Hm?”

He realized he’d seemed too eager, so he switched to a flat tone: “Where are you going.”

Feng Ning waved her hand grandly, like a gang leader ordering her underling: “Follow me!”

The sky began to drizzle. They stopped in front of an iron gate. Jiang Wen frowned: “Where is this?”

Feng Ning answered gravely: “The girls’ dormitory building.”

Jiang Wen had an ominous premonition: “Why did you bring me here?”

“Didn’t I say, I’m taking you on a shortcut!”

Because their schedules differed, Qide’s third-year girls’ dorm was separated from the first- and second-year dorms. At this hour, the third-years hadn’t finished class yet, so the dorm building’s main gate was still locked. This spot was shaped like a right angle, and they were stuck at the acute-angle corner. The obtuse-angle corner was the girls’ dorm building; they’d need to climb over and then climb out from another spot.

Feng Ning gestured to demonstrate this to him.

Jiang Wen demanded, “You want me to climb over the girls’ dorm wall?”

“What’s wrong, why are you so worked up!” Feng Ning reasoned with him. “Following my route, going over here saves a lot of walking. When I oversleep, I always take this shortcut!”

With that, she skillfully pulled a square brick out from some corner and wedged it between two thin iron bars. Using her hand to hold it firmly in place, Feng Ning clapped her hands and said to Jiang Wen: “Watch closely!”

She tossed her backpack over, stepped back slightly, grabbed the railing with both hands, planted her feet on the low wall’s ledge, easily found a foothold, and using the wedged brick for leverage, kicked off and scrambled over—more nimble than a monkey.

She flipped over in three quick motions, landed on the ground, and asked, “See how it’s done?”

Jiang Wen shook his head, backing off: “I won’t.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to climb.”

Feng Ning grew anxious, goading him from the other side, “You’re already here, what are you scared of, hurry up hurry up, are you even a man.” After much persuasion mixed with intimidation, Feng Ning coaxed and threatened at the same time: “There’s no one here anyway, once you’re out this way it’s just a few hundred meters to get there. If you go around, it’ll take you half an hour extra! Look at this sky, who knows when the rain will get heavier, seriously, trust me, I’m right.”

In the end, Jiang Wen still got talked into it by her.

He was wearing jeans today, which limited his movement somewhat. Clumsily imitating her earlier motions, when he reached the highest point, Jiang Wen glanced down and his face went pale, looking helplessly stuck, unwilling to continue.

Feng Ning waited below, hands on hips, looking up. “Come down already, are you just going to sit up there admiring the view?”

“I…” Jiang Wen coughed. “Wait a moment.”

Feng Ning shouted: “The third-years are about to get out of class, what are you still waiting for!”

He took two deep breaths, thinking he was truly an idiot, bewitched by something, to be following behind her doing these things only elementary schoolers would do.

After a moment’s thought, Feng Ning suddenly realized: “You wouldn’t be afraid of heights, would you!!”

Jiang Wen couldn’t take it anymore: “Shut up.”

Feng Ning said repeatedly: “Okay okay, I won’t say anything.” She was very patient: “Don’t be nervous, don’t look down, I’ll guide you slowly.”

After several minutes, just as Feng Ning’s ominous prediction foretold, the rain grew heavier.

Jiang Wen’s legs were long, making it awkward to swing them over. His hands trembled a little; he finally managed to get his foot onto the brick, and just as he let out a breath of relief, he heard Feng Ning exclaim that something was wrong.

As misfortune piled upon misfortune, the dorm supervisor auntie’s booming voice carried through a loudspeaker: “What’s going on over there! Are there two people climbing the wall?!!!!”

“Not good, not good, the auntie is coming.” Feng Ning urged him anxiously, stepping forward to support his waist. “Hurry down, I’ve got you.”

Veins bulged on Jiang Wen’s forehead; he turned furiously, “Where are your hands touching?”

“Huh, huh?” Feng Ning looked closely and realized her clumsy paws had landed right on his backside. She shifted her grip to his thigh instead, going “aiya” twice, coughing out a laugh: “I didn’t mean to, it’s so thick I couldn’t even feel anything anyway.”

Seeing the dorm supervisor about to arrive, Jiang Wen no longer had time to care about any of this, and hastily landed on the ground.

There was a ripping sound—the sound of fabric tearing. The two of them bent down, grabbed their backpacks off the ground, and Feng Ning led Jiang Wen dodging left and right, fleeing in a panicked sprint.

The rain fell hard, and behind them the auntie chased even harder.

Fortunately there were plenty of trees here and the terrain was complicated. Feng Ning spotted a narrow passage up ahead.

This was a gap between two walls, normally only wide enough for one person. While keeping an eye on the peering auntie’s movements, she shoved Jiang Wen hard into the gap: “Quick, get in there and hide.”

This red brick wall hadn’t been painted yet, and rubbing against it sent dust cascading down mixed with murky rainwater. Jiang Wen’s light-colored clothes were instantly stained with a large patch of dirt.

He looked down in despair—his limited-edition white sneakers were smeared with mud, and in the recent scramble, the hem of his clothes had also been torn.

Jiang Wen breathed rapidly, his face twisting.

“Shh shh.” Feng Ning squeezed in after him too, panting hard, pulling him down to crouch in the corner.

The space here was small to begin with, and the two of them were nearly pressed together, huddled in this filthy corner, knee against knee.

Two dorm supervisor aunties ran past nearby, not spotting the two hiding people; a faint, confused voice drifted over: “Eh, where’d they go…”

The heavy rain soaked both of them thoroughly. Jiang Wen cursed her through gritted teeth: “This is all your fault.”

He’d never been this disheveled in his entire life.

“This can’t all be blamed on me.” Feng Ning’s tone was hesitant. “Wasn’t it you dawdling while climbing that got us caught in the first place?”

Jiang Wen was full of rage, unable to control his volume out of anger: “I didn’t want to climb, it was you forcing me to climb the wall!”

Feng Ning was quick, clapping a hand over his mouth. “Hey! Keep it down! If we get caught it’s over! This is the girls’ dorm, you’re a guy, you want to be mistaken for a pervert!”

His lips were very soft, brushing against her palm. Jiang Wen looked delicate, but wasn’t feminine. His eyes were long and narrow, the irises dark and very bright, as if washed clean by the rain, looking stunningly beautiful.

In a daze, it felt like returning to their first meeting. Also a rainy day, her appearing so abruptly like this, covering his mouth, pushing him against the wall beside them.

Both of them froze for a moment.

Inexplicably, the atmosphere suddenly turned subtly awkward. Jiang Wen was the first to look away.

Feng Ning let go of her hand, cleared her throat, glanced up at the sky, “Well, that… accidents happen sometimes. This, climbing walls… it’s not a bad life experience, right? Didn’t you ever climb walls as a kid?”

She spoke shamelessly, earning another kick from him.

They were trapped here now, not daring to make any rash moves. Feng Ning said, ingratiating herself: “Alright, alright, it’s all my fault. But don’t worry, in another fifteen minutes the third-year seniors will get out of class, and we can slip out in the chaos.”

“Looking like this, right now?” Jiang Wen’s anger, which had just started to settle, surged back up. “Like two beggars, going out for people to laugh at us?!”

“Where’s there such a dignified beggar.”

Seeing his face turn as black as the bottom of a pot, Feng Ning wisely shut up.

Forget it, forget it, today was her mistake, no point arguing with this little peacock.

Just how cold it was to become a drowned rat in the dead of winter, they soon found out. Right after the intense burst of activity they hadn’t noticed it yet, but once the adrenaline faded, they started shivering from the cold, teeth chattering.

Jiang Wen’s face had frozen a miserable blue-white, like a vengeful male ghost come to collect a debt.

Feng Ning pulled him further in; overhead, a broken shed roof barely managed to block the rain.

Worried the dorm supervisor auntie hadn’t left yet, they didn’t dare go out. Feng Ning, ever the type not afraid of scalding water, comforted him: “It’s fine! Once there are fewer people around, we’ll slip away!”

Jiang Wen had already given up on himself entirely.

Feng Ning, hands behind her back, painstakingly fished a bag of chips out of her backpack. Under his somewhat shocked gaze, she then pulled out a large row of AD calcium milk drinks.

Jiang Wen couldn’t believe it: “You’re still in the mood for snacks?”

How could there be such a person.

“Might as well, I’m bored anyway.”

He confirmed again: “You brought this stuff to your exam this morning?”

Feng Ning nodded: “Yep!”

“Where are your books?”

“Who brings books to an exam.” Jiang Wen: “……”

Feng Ning held out the snacks: “Want some?”

Jiang Wen’s germaphobia was kicking in, he felt uncomfortable all over: “No.”

Feng Ning tossed a chip into her own mouth without waiting: “Hmph, your loss then.” She crunched through the chips, then asked again: “So will you drink the AD calcium milk?”

He sighed with utter disdain, exhaling a breath: “I won’t drink it.”

“Fine, don’t drink it then, why get so worked up.”

The rain kept falling, and they were trapped in this cramped, filthy corner, breathing close to each other. Feng Ning drew her knees up, leisurely eating her snacks. Suddenly, she stared at his face, unable to stop herself from snickering. “Hey, wipe your face.”

Jiang Wen instinctively reached up to wipe it. As a result, his hand was even dirtier than his face, and it only smeared another streak.

It looked absolutely ridiculous.

But his looks were so striking that even in this state, he still looked like a fallen prince. She burst out laughing, pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to him.

Jiang Wen’s mouth drooped, and he forced out, “Thanks.”

Even at a time like this he remembered his manners. This ingrained little bit of upbringing made Feng Ning find him kind of cute, and she said, “Take me off your blacklist.”

“……”

“When I come to your house later, you’ll need to guide me on how to get there.”

Jiang Wen’s eyes suddenly went wide: “Why are you coming to my house?”

“To tutor your little sister!” She said it like it was obvious. “My boss already worked it out with your mom, my wages are already paid.”

He couldn’t help himself: “Are you that short on money?”

Feng Ning looked at him suspiciously: “What kind of thing is that to say?”

Jiang Wen also realized his words had come out wrong, feeling a bit awkward, he explained: “That’s not what I meant.”

Who knew she’d suddenly turn serious: “I really am short on money, can you help me?”

Jiang Wen hesitated: “……how would I help?”

“Lend me some money, I’ll pay you back later, I can even write an IOU.” She sighed heavily, looking full of worries: “I’ll be honest with you, my brother—you know, the one you met, remember? He lost a ton of money gambling outside, ugh, it’s really so hard, my family can barely make ends meet!”

After seemingly considering this for a moment, Jiang Wen asked her seriously: “How much do you need?”

Pressing her lips together, keeping the grieving expression for two seconds. Feng Ning burst out laughing, laughing harder and harder, wiping away nonexistent tears from the corner of her eye, she said: “How many more times do you need to get fooled by me before you learn?”

Jiang Wen realized he’d been played, and cut her off in annoyance: “Stop laughing.”

She kept laughing, laughing even harder.

This time it was the annoyed Jiang Wen’s turn to cover her mouth.

His fingertips were very cold, chilly, a little damp, carrying a faint smell of ink. All that was left of her was a pair of eyes blinking, looking at him just like that.

Feng Ning wrinkled her nose, and the warm, damp sensation made his heart skip a beat—he hastily, flustered, withdrew his hand.

Feng Ning didn’t notice anything off about him: “I just suddenly imagined a scene in my head.”

“What.”

“It’s you asking me, are you short on money? I say yes, and then you pull out a check, arrogantly telling me, fine, then beg me, I’ll buy you out, however much you want, I’ll give it to you.”

An embarrassed look flashed across Jiang Wen’s face; he covered it up by saying: “You’ve been reading too many novels.”

Feng Ning said with a serious expression: “I really think you could grow up to do something like that.” She giggled foolishly, “Little Prince all grown up would be a domineering CEO, right?”

“I would never.” Jiang Wen stumbled over his words. “And besides, who’d want to keep you as a mistress, do I have a death wish?”

The bell for the end of class rang out cheerfully. The iron gate to the girls’ dorm was pulled open, and before long, footsteps light and heavy sounded, the outside growing bustling.

Feng Ning glanced sideways absentmindedly, “Are you going to keep me, we’ll see if you have the ability.”

Cold air began creeping up from her feet; she leaned forward slightly, “Take out your phone.”

Water droplets slid off the edge of the shed roof, dripping onto his cheek, sliding down toward his neck. His phone powered on, Jiang Wen opened WeChat; they were pressed too close together, and Feng Ning caught sight of her own contact note in one glance: Annoying Pest

She immediately started yelling: “How could you be so mean.”

Jiang Wen reluctantly pulled the phone back a bit, not letting her see.

Feng Ning took out her own phone too: “Oh right, right, I’m sending you something.”

After sending it, Feng Ning leaned in, stretching her arm out, tapping on his phone screen, opening the link she’d sent.

“What are you doing?”

“Just a sec, just a sec, one minute.” She simply took his phone from him.

—The link was the class flower vote thread that had opened the day before yesterday.

Feng Ning acted as if she’d discovered a new continent: “Huh, this account of yours already voted??”

Jiang Wen had a bad feeling.

Feng Ning grinned, looking up: “Jiang Wen, so the class flower in your heart is me.”

Jiang Wen failed to control his expression—his face actually turned slightly red, all the way to behind his ears. He snatched his phone back, still forcing himself to say coldly: “Oh, that was Zhao Binlin who voted.”

“Really?” Feng Ning looked at him suspiciously out of the corner of her eye. “Voting doesn’t count as one of your matters of principle, does it?”

He didn’t understand: “What?”

“After all, you never lie on matters of principle!”