"What's up? What are you doing now?" The elderly professor assumed Tang Lingyi was speaking English to him, so he replied in English.
Fortunately, this professor was from the English department—if it had been any other department, no one else would have interpreted her words as "What's up."
"Uh… I'm… I'm… sorry, Professor," Tang Lingyi stammered. She simply couldn't keep up the pretense in a foreign language and had no choice but to lower her head and admit her mistake.
"You silly child," the old professor pushed up his glasses, not actually angry. "Now that you're back in class, just focus on your studies. If you want to play games, go home and play all you like."
After all, these were senior students. Those who wanted to learn would study hard; those who didn't, he wasn't going to waste his energy worrying about.
The surrounding classmates, having just witnessed Tian Suqing being scolded, were all covering their mouths, trying not to laugh—clearly enjoying the spectacle. From their reactions, Tang Lingyi realized that Tian Suqing probably hadn't been very well-liked among her peers either.
After class, Lin Wan approached Tang Lingyi. "Suqing, you're still as bold as ever—daring to act like that in Old Man Luo's class?"
"Haha… I didn't mean to," Tang Lingyi laughed awkwardly.
She never expected teachers at this school would actually walk around the classroom checking on students. Back at her own school, teachers never cared what students were doing.
Word that Tian Suqing had returned to campus had somehow spread, and all morning long, unfamiliar students kept showing up at the classroom door, staring at Tang Lingyi as if she were some exotic animal on display.
Passerby A: "So that's Tian Suqing? She doesn't look nearly as pretty as in her photos."
Passerby B: "Maybe she's not wearing makeup. Still, she looks kind of pure—trying to fix her 'slut' image with this innocent act?"
Passerby C: "There's no fixing it. Honestly, unless she kills herself, she'll never clear her name."
Passerby D: "Even suicide wouldn't help. Her videos are already permanently online."
Passerby C: "Oh, right."
Though they spoke in hushed tones, they seemed to be deliberately making sure Tang Lingyi could hear every word. And indeed, she caught every humiliating remark loud and clear.
Society might forbid murder—but it had no qualms about destroying someone's spirit.
But unfortunately for them, the person they were trying to break was Tian Suqing—yet the one standing here now was Tang Lingyi.
She didn't feel anger. Instead, she was curious: just what had Tian Suqing done to earn such cold disdain from her classmates?
So far, not a single person had offered her any comfort. Even Lin Wan, supposedly Tian Suqing's close friend from her diary, had only chatted casually without showing any sympathy or defending her against the gossip.
Still, Tang Lingyi didn't blame Lin Wan. She figured female friendships might just work differently from male ones. With guys, if your buddy was in trouble, you'd jump in without hesitation—ready to take a bullet for him. But girls, perhaps because they were generally more gentle, tended to avoid confrontation.
At lunchtime, not knowing where the cafeteria was, Tang Lingyi struck up a conversation with her desk-mate, Peng Yuan.
"Hey, Peng Yuan, where are you eating lunch? Can I come with you?"
"Huh? With me?" Peng Yuan looked surprised.
"Yeah! I saw you've got a bunch of two-player games on your handheld—let's play some after we eat."
Peng Yuan hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Sure."
As soon as they stepped out of the classroom, Tang Lingyi glanced around the hallway—but couldn't spot Wu Feng anywhere.
Still, she was certain he was lurking somewhere in the shadows, watching her closely, just waiting for her to slip up.
So even though escape seemed possible right now, Tang Lingyi absolutely wouldn't fall for it.
Following Peng Yuan, she arrived at Qianlan University's cafeteria. Located on the west side of campus, it had a fancy nickname: "The Western Restaurant."
Ironically, despite the name, the "Western Restaurant" mostly served Chinese food.
After three days of eating nothing but plain vegetables at Bayshore Manor, Tang Lingyi felt like her face had turned green. Now, faced with a dazzling array of food stalls, her eyes practically sparkled with hunger.
Finally—no more rabbit food! At least this was one tiny decent thing Qin Xiu had done for her in the past few days.
She ordered a huge plate of braised pork knuckle rice, then added two soy-braised eggs, two grilled sausages, and an egg pancake on top.
Both Peng Yuan and the cafeteria auntie behind the counter were stunned.
"You sure you can finish all that?" the auntie asked doubtfully.
"No problem! If it's not enough, I'll come back for more," Tang Lingyi declared—after three days of near-starvation, she felt like she could eat an entire cow.
"Alright then. That'll be 30 yuan. Card or cash?" The auntie handed over the tray.
At that, Tang Lingyi's mouth dropped open so wide she looked like she could swallow an egg whole.
It suddenly hit her—she didn't have any money to pay!
Of course! That was it!
Qin Xiu hadn't done a single decent thing. He'd planned this all along—making sure she'd go hungry during the day, forcing her to starve.
And given Tian Suqing's terrible reputation on campus, nobody would ever offer to buy her a meal. Plus, as a pampered rich girl, Tian Suqing would never stoop so low as to beg for food.
Furious, Tang Lingyi gritted her teeth.
"You sneaky bastard, Qin Xiu—you thought of everything, didn't you?!"
But there was one thing he hadn't counted on: he didn't believe she wasn't really Tian Suqing.
At that thought, Tang Lingyi smirked with disdain.
"Hey, are you gonna pay or just stand there grinning like an idiot?" The auntie, thoroughly exasperated, snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Oh! Sorry, hold on." Tang Lingyi turned to Peng Yuan with pleading eyes. "Peng Yuan… could you please cover my meal for now? I'll pay you back later, I promise!"
"You forgot your meal card?" he asked.
"Yeah…"
Peng Yuan pursed his lips, then reluctantly swiped his card.
Relieved, Tang Lingyi beamed. "Thank you! Seriously, thank you so much!"
But even as she thanked him, a wave of uncertainty washed over her.
She had no money—how could she possibly repay him? And even if she managed this one meal, what about lunch tomorrow?
Well, she'd worry about that later. Right now, she needed to eat.
With that mindset, she dug in enthusiastically.
Whether as a boy or a girl, her appetite had never changed—she could easily eat more than the average girl, even out-eating some guys.
Still, she'd seriously over-ordered…
By the end, she let out a satisfied burp, slumped back in her chair, and rubbed her now-distended belly, staring glumly at the two sausages and one egg left untouched on her plate. She was utterly stuffed.
Now that she was full, though, the lunch problem loomed again. Clearly broke, how could she convince Peng Yuan to keep feeding her?
She turned to Peng Yuan, who was still eating and scrolling on his phone. "Hey, Peng Yuan—how much money do you have left on your card?"
"Couple hundred, I guess," he replied casually.
"Whoa, that's a lot!" Her eyes lit up with an idea. "Hey, wanna make a deal?"
Peng Yuan glanced up, puzzled. "What kind of deal?"
"I've got no money for meals right now. What if I trade you stuff every day for lunch?"
She remembered Tian Suqing's room was filled with expensive cosmetics—surely those could be worth something.
Peng Yuan studied her for a moment, then frowned. "Tian Suqing… you've changed a lot. Why come to me? You yelled at me before just for bumping into you by accident. We've had basically zero interaction over four years. Shouldn't you ask your so-called 'best friends' instead?"
"Huh?" Tang Lingyi blinked, then quickly clasped her hands together. "I'm really sorry! I must've done a lot of wrong things before, but I'm trying to change now. Please forgive me!"
Just how much trouble had Tian Suqing caused? Now Tang Lingyi was stuck cleaning up her mess—but she had no choice. Pride wouldn't fill her stomach.
"Uh… alright," Peng Yuan finally relented. He was a mild-mannered, easygoing guy, and seeing her so earnestly apologize, he couldn't stay upset. Besides, most students at this school came from well-off families. His parents ran a small private business—not mega-rich, but comfortably off.
Relieved, Tang Lingyi thanked him profusely. After lunch, they returned to the classroom and played games together all afternoon. Peng Yuan's handheld console could split into two separate controllers, perfect for two-player games.
Bonding over their shared hobby, their friendship grew quickly.
In the middle of playing, a sudden idea struck Tang Lingyi.
Couldn't she just call her organization right now?
She glanced out the window—no sign of Wu Feng. Seizing the moment, she quietly borrowed Peng Yuan's phone and dialed Yang Jie.
Her heart raced with excitement—she was finally going to be rescued!
But things didn't go as planned. Though the call connected, it rang for nearly a minute before automatically cutting off—no answer.
Stunned, Tang Lingyi was about to redial when a male voice sounded right beside her ear:
"What are you doing?"