Act 3

Upon the realization, she stood to prepare herself without forgetting to make her bed. Carrying her school bag and lunchbox on hand, she ran with blinding speed that soaked her white school uniform with sweat.

In mere minutes, the school gates that were designed to open and close in a set time could be seen. Leaping directly above it, she barely made it through the skin of her teeth as she continued running, only stopping after reaching her destination that was situated on the third floor.

The white hallways afront the doors were barren as the bells were supposed to ring in mere seconds, causing the students to hastily scurry inside their prospective classes.

Above the sliding door, the wooden sign that spelled XII A could be seen swinging about as she entered, feeling relieved when there seemingly wasn't a teacher on sight.

Entering the class with a confident expression, she startled her classmates by abruptly opening the sliding door. As she walked in, the room fell into silence, as only the sounds of murmurs could be clearly heard.

"The hero arrived late again, eh?"

A female classmate who sat in the back row snickered, watching the latecomer leisurely enter through the door with a delighted glint in her eyes.

"Of course, a hero always arrives late, unlike you, a villain who arrives early." Yue XiFeng answered with a gentle smile before sitting down on her desk that is situated beside her best friend, Lian Ji's.

Lian Ji looked upon her close friend with her alluring slanted eyes and perfectly sculpted nose, as she was a physical representation of the term 'Asian beauty'.

"So, why are you late this time?" she asked, her eyes crescents while her index finger teasingly poked her friend's arm.

XiFeng nonchalantly replied as she took out her books before boldly crossing her arms and legs.

"I jumped to save a poor boy from drowning in the Han river since I couldn't bear to leave him be."

Upon hearing her answer, Lian Jin rolled her eyes whilst brushing her delicate brown locks.

"Seriously, you should fix that habit of oversleeping all the time." She advised, whereas the latter simply replied with a hum.

Their idle chatter soon came to a halt when the physics teacher entered the class, signaling the beginning of the day's lessons.

***

In the middle of the physics class, Yue XiFeng tilted her head and focused her gaze onto the studious figure of her best friend that glistened under the morning light, highlighting her beautiful features.

She propped her chin on her wooden desk whilst thinking of a proper way to convey what she wanted to say, before finally deciding to do it the spontaneous way.

Turning her head to face Lian Ji, she poked on the latter's shoulders a few times before softly whispering to her ear.

"Lian Lian... I'm sorry if it's sudden, but it's time for me to leave."

Yue XiFeng whispered while lifting her hand to cover a part of her face, as to not get caught by the teacher.

As her eyes widened in surprise, Lian Ji glared at her best friend with hurt filled eyes accompanied with a bewildered expression.

"What..?" With a dazed utterance, she glared at her best friend who sat beside her, before continuing,

"Are you... serious?" She inquired with a probing gaze as she tightly held her XiFeng's hand. Upon seeing Lian Ji in such a state, XiFeng couldn't help but feel her expression soften, as she felt somewhat guilty.

"I've talked to you before about this, and I am sure you know just how capable I am, as the only one who had witnessed my abilities."

Yue XiFeng attempted to soothe her dissatisfied friend but to no avail as Lian Ji stood there motionlessly, staring at her with a wronged expression as if she ate the last slice of pizza.

Lian Ji sighed as she stared at the ceiling with a blank expression. She knew that this was coming as Yue XiFeng had already told her of her plans years ago. But she still felt disheartened of the fact that her only friend was... leaving her for a whole year. She wasn't doubtful of her friend succeeding in her business since she, knew a lot about what this friend of hers could do.

Lian Ji harrumphed as her slightly watery eyes narrowed in displeasure and she conceded before nodding at her friend's delicate gaze, beaming a thin smile.

"Just don't forget to frequently call and hire me once your business succeeds!"

She chirped in a low voice as she was cautious the teacher's movements.

XiFeng felt a sweet smile appear on her lips as she raised a thumb up, appreciating her supportive friend.

Even though Lian Ji wasn't someone she knew of in her past life, she was still someone who was completely sincere and devoted to her.

Ever since the betrayal, she could vaguely make one's thoughts by simply observing their mannerisms, and that made it convenient as she knew what yo do and when to do it.

As Lian Ji cared for her, she would treasure her the same way.

***

"Once again, Xiao Feng... are you sure about this?" Lian Ji gazed at her friend's composed expression while blowing out tissues with her reddened face. As the class was empty, she wasn't discreet in clearing every last bit of her nose.

"Yes." Yue XiFeng nonchalantly replied as she opened her lunchbox to eat, seeing that it was currently recess.

"Then... before you leave, how about I take you to do something fun, as a memory to treasure our last day together?" She proclaimed with a sinister expression, revealing a cheeky grin that made her look exactly like a villain.

Seeing the normally cheery Lian Ji show that sort of expression made XiFeng raise an eyebrow with a subtle smirk.

"heh, alright, what do you want to do?"

She propped her chin and leaned closer to her friend, only a few centimeters distance between them.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Li Jian averted her gaze away from XiFeng's as she was overwhelmed by her domineering ambiance.

Yue XiFeng observed the bizarre antics of her friend and felt amused by it, leaning closer until their foreheads touched, causing Li Jian's flushed cheeks to become as red as a tomato.

As they continued to remain in that position, a few of their classmates walked in just in time for them to witness the intimate scene unraveling.

Two beautiful girls with different glamours sat across one another with only a mere desk separating them. Their foreheads rubbed against each other as the more confident raven-haired girl gestured to intertwine her fingers with the slender finger of the seemingly docile and adorable little rabbit who awkwardly returned the gesture as she wasn't used to it.

Lian Ji was thoroughly dragged into the pace and enticing aura of her friend, which resulted in her being unable to comprehend what was going on.

One classmate prepped up their phone to take a picture and immediately posted it on to his Weibo account, but he was unfortunate due to his account being forcibly closed due to unknown reasons soon after. He gawked at his phone for a few seconds before deciding to enjoy the view first.

The crowd quickly grew as Lian Ji was quick to realize that the situation had gone out of hand and that her friend was currently getting a kick out of teasing her.

She puffed her cheeks as she forcibly pulled her hand out before folding them together to reveal an intense expression that indicated she was mad.

Yue XiFeng shrugged as she straightened her back, still maintaining the playful smile she wore.

The two of them separated, remaining at a civil distance which caused the crowd to quickly disperse. The two were popular for their looks and academics, but their cold attitude to anyone but each other made it an arduous journey just to interact with, resulting in them having no other friends, but countless rumors.

"So, what was that 'fun' thing you wanted to do with me?" XiFeng leaned on her seat as she gazed intently at Jian Li's eyes. This time, the latter remained unaffected as she sighed before revealing the sinister smirk she had before.

"Let's teach those rumor spreading b*tches a lesson!" She exclaimed with an ecstatic expression as if what she said could make her feel euphoric.

Looking at the delighted expression of her best friend, Yue XiFeng helplessly complied with her troublesome request.

"How do you plan on doing it?"

She continued munching on her lunchbox that was filled with rice and small amounts of pickled plums.

Lian Ji stared intently at the small lunchbox XiFeng ate from. It was vexing to see her friend often eating such a simple and unhealthy meal like that, so she took her own lunchbox and gave some pieces of fish that were in it to Yue XiFeng, something she ended up doing very often.

As always, Yue XiFeng thanked her as she continued devouring her lunch. Lian Ji may not come from a rich family, but her current economical condition was in far better shape than XiFeng's, resulting in her always bringing extra side dishes XiFeng could feast on.

Lian Ji grinned in satisfaction as she continued to elaborate on her plan,

"Simple, shame them, and beat them up!"

She said in a serious manner.. as if it was a proper plan.

XiFeng peered at her friend as if she was looking at a hopeless lout, shaking her head in dismay.

Lian Ji who realized the gesture smirked as she took out her phone for Yue XiFeng to see.

"I have evidence to post to the forums. Since you are smarter than me, you should post it as their main victim!"

She chirped as she gave her phone to XiFeng, but she failed to consider one important thing. As a person riddled by poverty, she didn't have the luxury to choose a suitable smartphone. Hence, the phone she owned now was riddled with viruses as it was a counterfeit she bought from Ali.

In short, she was hardly able to do anything that involved gadgets, so she gave the phone back to Lian Ji who finally comprehended that fact as she awkwardly giggled before opening the profiles of her unsuspecting victims.

But as she hovered over the upload button, her phone rang, revealing a call by an unknown number she couldn't hang upon.

Lian Ji beckoned XiFeng over to examine it, but the latter's expression darkened as she glared intently at the phone with a deep frown.