From the moment morning assembly ended, whispers clung to An Ran like a second skin.
"She was seen with Jiang Cheng yesterday evening."
"As if she's good enough for him."
"Probably begged for his attention…"
"She thinks being picked by Star Entertainment makes her special."
An Ran kept her head down, fingers tightening around the strap of her bag. The sharp glares from her classmates weighed heavier than her books. With each passing minute, the air in the classroom thickened, sarcasm, jealousy, outright disdain. Qin Mo wasn't in school today; for once again, she felt completely... alone.
By literature period, the tension had reached its breaking point. The teacher hadn't arrived yet, and the room buzzed with restless chatter. An Ran focused on her exercise, her handwriting steady even though her heart raced.
Lin Ruoyi sat at the front, her polished nails drumming against the desk. Every whisper of An Ran and Jiang Cheng scraped against her ears like knives. Her jaw clenched, her smile practiced, but her thoughts burned dark:
Jiang Cheng is mine. Who the hell does this pathetic girl think she is? Just because she got through the audition… just because he looked at her once…
Her fury coiled tighter with each second, until finally, she stood. Heels clicking sharply, hips swaying with deliberate poise, she strode toward the back. The room fell into anticipatory hush.
Reaching An Ran's desk, she "accidentally" brushed against it. The textbook slid, crashing to the floor, followed by her pen case and eyeglass case. A ripple of laughter spread across the classroom.
"how can someone be So clumsy?" someone snickered.
"Maybe Jiang Cheng likes clumsy girls"
An Ran bent quickly, cheeks burning, to gather her things. Lin Ruoyi crouched too, her shadow falling over her. Her lips curved into a perfect smile for anyone watching, sweet, helpful, harmless. But beneath that mask, her voice was venom.
"Listen closely," she whispered, her nails grazing the back of An Ran's hand. A sudden sting, sharp and deliberate.
An ran flinched, red welt bloom across the back of her hand, blood beaded instantly where her nails cut skin. "Stay away from Jiang Cheng. You're nothing but death beneath his shoes, don't embarrass yourself, he isn't for you."
An Ran trembled. The pain, the humiliation, the coldness of those words, every instinct screamed at her to shrink away. But something inside her rebelled. Maybe it was exhaustion, maybe it was the endless whispers, maybe it was Jiang Cheng's steady eyes from yesterday.
Her voice came out soft, trembling but unyielding. "…I won't."
Lin Ruoyi's smile froze. Slowly, she tilted her head, eyes glinting with icy amusement. "What did you say?"
An Ran forced herself to meet her gaze, even as her stomach knotted. "I said I won't. You can glare, you can whisper, you can scratch me with your nails... " her voice faltered for a heartbeat, but she pushed through, "stop acting like he's yours to begin with."
The words struck like a slap. For the first time, Lin Ruoyi's smile slipped, revealing the raw anger beneath. In one swift, merciless move, she stood and struck An Ran across the cheek.
The slap came hard and fast, the crack echoed in the stunned silence of the classroom.
An Ran staggered, vision flashing white. Before she could fully rise, Lin Ruoyi's hand tangled viciously in her hair.
With cruel force, she slammed An Ran's head against the desk. Wood rattled, pens clattered to the floor.
A chorus of gasps broke out, followed quickly by laughter and whispers.
"Did you see that?"
"She deserved it."
"Lin Ruoyi doesn't play around."
Pain seared through An Ran's skull, her vision swimming. Instinctively, she pushed back, clawing at Lin Ruoyi's wrist, struggling to free herself.
Her nails scraped uselessly, her strength no match for the taller girl's frame.
Lin Ruoyi leaned close, voice low and deadly against An Ran's ear. "Try to defy me again, and I'll destroy you. Piece by piece."
The snickers around them only fueled her cruelty. To everyone else, this was entertainment. A show. And not a single classmate moved to intervene.
Finally, the door slammed open. Xu Haoran's voice cut through the chaos: "Enough!"
He and two other boys rushed forward, prying Lin Ruoyi back just as the literature teacher entered, confusion flashing across his face.
An Ran's breath came in sharp gasps, her cheek burning, scalp throbbing where hair had been yanked. She gripped the edge of her desk, forcing herself upright, every muscle trembling from pain and shame.
Lin Ruoyi, held back by Haoran, only smirked. "Clumsy little girl," she said sweetly in immaculate charm, as if nothing had happened. "Careful not to trip next time."
The teacher's sharp voice demanded order, but the echoes of laughter and Lin Ruoyi's venom lingered in the air.
And in An Ran's chest, a fragile resolve began to harden.