The next morning, Chen Die was awakened by a phone call.

At this time, Wen Liang was still asleep beside her. She was used to sleeping with her back to him, Wen Liang’s chest against her back, his arm wrapped around her waist over the blanket.

It was Xia Ying calling.

“Hello?” Chen Die’s voice was still groggy.

Xia Ying whined like a child, “Butterfly…”

“What’s wrong?” Chen Die smiled with her eyes half-closed. “So you still remember to look for me. Haven’t you been with your boyfriend these past few days?”

Xia Ying suddenly burst into tears.

Chen Die paused, now fully awake. “What happened?”

Xia Ying sobbed, “Xu Zhiran is such a jerk!!”

Chen Die sat up.

Her movement was abrupt, making the mattress bounce. Beside her, Wen Liang frowned and hissed, trying to pull her back by the waist.

Chen Die patted his hand, keeping her voice low, “Stop it, I need to take this call.”

Wen Liang kept his eyes closed but stopped pulling.

Xia Ying seemed not to have heard her, and continued sobbing, “I checked his phone yesterday and found out that Xu Zhiran and Fan Yan have been together for three months already, and they got offers from the same school.”

That was a lot of information to process.

Xu Zhiran was Xia Ying’s boyfriend who was about to go abroad.

And Fan Yan… that name sounded familiar.

Chen Die was confused for a moment, “Fan Yan is…”

Before she could finish asking, Xia Ying said, “She’s that bitch who’s always with Chen Shuyuan!”

Chen Die frowned. She didn’t like Fan Yan either, who always tried to trip her up and acted like a bully under Chen Shuyuan’s protection.

“I don’t even want to go to today’s graduate assembly,” Xia Ying cried until she started hiccupping. “That disgusting couple will be there. It’s too embarrassing!”

“Why wouldn’t you go? There’s no reason for the other woman to hold her head high.” Chen Die threw back the covers and got out of bed. “I’ll go with you.”

She hung up the phone.

Chen Die went to the bathroom to wash up. She had just finished applying her skincare products and was about to put on makeup when Wen Liang pushed open the door.

His voice was still hoarse from sleep, “What’s going on?”

“My friend’s boyfriend cheated on her,” Chen Die said. “There’s a final graduate assembly at school this morning.”

Wen Liang responded with a noncommittal sound, appearing unconcerned, and walked to her side to pick up his toothbrush.

He was quick. By the time Chen Die was halfway through her makeup, he had already finished washing up and left.

Chen Die checked the time, sped up her routine, finally applied some lipstick, changed out of her pajamas, and hurried downstairs.

Wen Liang was sitting at the dining table having breakfast.

“I’ll skip breakfast, I’m running late,” Chen Die said.

“I’ll take you there,” Wen Liang looked up at her. “Come eat your breakfast first.”

Chen Die said, “I don’t want to eat. I need to lose weight for an upcoming role.”

Wen Liang said, “Come here.”

“…”

Without his permission, the driver definitely wouldn’t take her to school. Chen Die stood there for two seconds, then had no choice but to go over. She only took a few bites, and when she saw that Wen Liang had finished eating, she put down her spoon and followed him out.

Zhu Qicong was already waiting outside.

He wasn’t just a driver but one of Wen Liang’s assistants. Usually in the mornings when there were no events to attend, the driver would drive, and Zhu Qicong wouldn’t personally drive them.

Chen Die calculated the time in her head—having to be ready so early in the morning, this job was exhausting.

Zhu Qicong parked the car outside the gymnasium.

Chen Die immediately spotted Xia Ying, whose eyes were red and swollen.

She knew the whole process of how Xia Ying and Xu Zhiran got together. Back then, Xu Zhiran had pursued Xia Ying for nearly half a year, and now he was already involved with another girl.

So fickle and heartless.

She couldn’t help but glance at Wen Liang.

The man was resting with his eyes closed, his brows slightly furrowed, exuding coldness and aloofness.

Huh.

Chen Die rolled her eyes dramatically, got out of the car, and slammed the door with a loud bang.

She pulled Xia Ying along and entered the lecture hall through the back door. Inside the school’s largest lecture hall, there was a bustling, dense crowd of people—all the graduating students had gathered there.

There were no seats left in the back rows, so the two of them walked forward.

By coincidence, Xu Zhiran and Fan Yan were just coming up the stairs toward them.

Chen Die’s gaze briefly passed over the two, without much reaction.

Fan Yan, however, displayed contempt and disdain, holding her head high with arrogance. She tightened her grip on Xu Zhiran’s arm and deliberately snorted when her shoulder brushed against Chen Die’s.

She was proud of being the other woman.

Chen Die couldn’t stand it anymore. She grabbed Fan Yan’s arm and slammed it against the table. Fan Yan lost her balance and frantically reached backward to find support, but a slap had already swiftly landed on her face.

SLAP—!

The noisy lecture hall fell completely silent.

Not just because of Chen Die’s slap, but also because the school president had walked in at that moment, followed by a tall, handsome man.

Chen Die looked up and was also stunned.

The man’s expression was calm, his gaze falling directly on her without any evasion. After understanding the situation before him, he even raised his eyebrow with interest.

Chen Die, “…”

Why was Wen Liang at the school?

Before she could react, the president had already shouted angrily, “Chen Die! What are you doing!”

Fan Yan was stunned by the slap. Chen Die’s series of actions had been too fast, without any warning. After the president’s shout, Xu Zhiran finally came to his senses.

He hurriedly helped Fan Yan up and frowned at Chen Die, “Why are you hitting people?”

Chen Die laughed lightly, her voice perfectly audible in the quiet lecture hall, “Why are you cheating?”

“You—!” Xu Zhiran couldn’t save face and couldn’t defend himself. He pulled Fan Yan behind him and angrily raised his hand toward Chen Die.

“President.”

The man who had been standing beside the president, exuding an intimidating aura, spoke up.

Just those two words, with a hint of a smile, already made people feel the pressure. Somehow, Xu Zhiran dared not bring his hand down.

Wen Liang smiled, “Please handle this first.”

The president strode to their side.

“You’re about to graduate and still causing such trouble! You don’t want to graduate, do you?” The president pointed forcefully at both sides, “Chen Die! You’re an outstanding graduate student but you’re bullying your classmates in public. Aren’t you being too arrogant!?”

Beside her, Xia Ying began to sob quietly, her eyes red. She tried to hold back but couldn’t help the choked sounds escaping from her throat, “Professor, this isn’t Chen Die’s fault.”

She sniffled, lowered her eyes, and tears fell straight to the ground, “It’s—it’s because of my relationship problems with Xu Zhiran. It’s all my fault for not seeing how unprincipled Xu was, unable to resist Fan Yan’s temptation. He had already been with Fan Yan for three months before we broke up.”

As people around them understood the backstory, they began to talk among themselves.

Xu Zhiran and Fan Yan couldn’t maintain their composure, their faces alternating between red and white.

Chen Die looked back at Xia Ying and suddenly felt enlightened.

She took a deep breath and joined Xia Ying in looking pitiful, “Professor, I was wrong too. My temper is too bad, and I couldn’t control myself from hitting her.”

Chen Die sniffled, as if she was about to cry too.

People around them voiced their support, looking at Xu Zhiran and Fan Yan with contempt.

Chen Die lowered her head pitifully and said, “Relationship matters are indeed about mutual consent. Xia Ying and I shouldn’t hit someone just because he cheated. I just hope Fan Yan doesn’t need to show off in front of us. You and your boyfriend are a perfect match—both ugly. No one else wants to compete with you for him.”

The president had thought Chen Die was sincerely apologizing, only to realize she was mocking them!

Even Xia Ying’s tearful words earlier had been setting this up!

And it worked effectively.

Now everyone in the lecture hall was whispering and pointing at Xu Zhiran and Fan Yan, laughing loudly after hearing Chen Die’s last few sentences.

How could you trust the tears of a fox who had been through four years in the Performance Department?

But with Mr. Wen still standing behind them, the president couldn’t maintain his dignity. Fuming, he shouted, “Chen Die!!”

Having vented her frustration, Chen Die felt much better, “Yes.”

“Do you still want to graduate?!” The president pointed at her, “Stay behind after the assembly!”

The content of the graduate assembly was simple.

It was merely reporting on the status of graduate studies, going abroad, and employment, as well as arrangements for the graduation ceremony this Friday.

After what had happened, Xia Ying’s lingering feelings for Xu Zhiran had been completely erased. Now she felt as disgusted as if she had eaten a fly, too disgusted to even cry.

It was hard to imagine how she had been with him for a full three years.

“Ah,” Xia Ying leaned back in her chair and sighed. “At least our coordination wasn’t too embarrassing.”

“What do you have to be embarrassed about? The only ones who should be embarrassed are those two,” Chen Die said slowly, propping her chin. “Slapping her once was letting her off easy.”

Xia Ying suddenly smiled, “You’re the queen in my heart.”

On stage, the president finished displaying the last PowerPoint slide and began introducing the man sitting beside him.

Many in the audience had already secretly taken photos.

Chen Die lazily looked up.

“This is Mr. Wen Liang, CEO of Wenyuan Group, who will establish a five-year school-enterprise cooperation with our school, mainly dedicated to cultivating talents in the cultural industry. Those who contribute innovative ideas can directly join the middle and upper management of Wenyuan Group’s newly established cultural and entertainment industry.”

The president clicked the mouse, and a phone number and email appeared on the big screen behind him, “This is Mr. Wen Liang’s contact information. Those interested can communicate with him later.”

Xia Ying, who had been irritated by Xu Zhiran all along, finally looked up at the stage and suddenly paused.

“Hey, isn’t that the handsome guy we saw at the bar last time?!”

Xia Ying widened her eyes and looked at the screen again, “He’s so handsome, but displaying his contact information will probably lead to harassment, right?”

She was now once bitten, twice shy, and mumbled, “I wonder if he has a girlfriend. It would be so annoying to run into a Fan Yan 2.0.”

Chen Die said amusingly, “That contact information isn’t his. It’s probably some assistant’s.”

“Huh?”

Chen Die licked her lips, “Just guessing.”

“You’re probably right,” Xia Ying nodded. “Such a big company must have HR staff specifically responsible for that.”

Soon, the graduate assembly ended. Everyone was already impatient and began to leave.

“What are you going to do, Butterfly? The president will scold you,” Xia Ying asked with a frown.

“It’s fine, it’s not the first time I’ve been scolded,” Chen Die smiled at her. “Don’t you have something to do? Go ahead.”

After saying this, she picked up her phone and walked down the stairs toward the front rows.

People left quickly, leaving Chen Die as the only student in the vast lecture hall.

She walked to the president and stood still.

The president first glared at her, then turned to Wen Liang, “Mr. Wen, how are you getting back?”

“No rush, I’m waiting for someone,” Wen Liang said indifferently.

The president asked, “Waiting for someone? From our school?”

Chen Die secretly glanced up.

“Yes,” Wen Liang nodded at her. “President, please don’t mind me.”

Meaning he could start scolding now.

Chen Die, “…”

The president pushed his glasses and began, “Chen Die, I know those two have moral issues, but that’s no reason for you to get physical.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Especially in front of the whole school! And even in front of Mr. Wen! This affects our entire school’s image!” The president slammed the table, “What am I going to do with you? A simple apology would have been enough, but you had to pretend to be wronged while mocking them!”

Beside them, Wen Liang leaned back in his chair casually and chuckled.

The president instantly felt more embarrassed. This is rare school-enterprise cooperation, and on the first day, the CEO witnesses students quarreling and causing trouble.

“Aren’t you ashamed of yourself, Chen Die?”

Chen Die knew that to end this quickly, she had to play along, so she nodded obediently, “Yes, I’m very sorry.”

The president finally calmed down a bit, “Come, first apologize to Mr. Wen.”

Chen Die:?

“Why?”

“Because you’ve damaged our school’s image!”

“…”

Chen Die looked up at Wen Liang.

The man’s gaze was playful as it swept from her legs up to her face, then he slowly raised an eyebrow and met her eyes.

He had no intention of speaking up for her.

Chen Die saw two words in his eyes: Beg me.