8

Shi Yue focused intently throughout the class and finally managed to sketch out a few design drafts for her semester project. When the bell rang, she took a sip of her now-cold coffee and leaned back in her chair, stretching with a satisfied sigh.

Just as she was about to pack up and head back to her apartment for a rest, someone approached, casting a shadow over her.

Looking up, Shi Yue saw teary eyes staring back at her.

Shen Lingling, while not conventionally beautiful, had a strikingly fair complexion that seemed to glow regardless of lighting. Her lips were a vivid red, contrasting sharply with her snow-white skin, giving her a fragile, defiant allure that left a lasting impression.

To put it simply, if this novel wasn't a "torture-the-female-lead" CEO romance but rather an old-school romance, Shen Lingling's aura would make her a more fitting heroine than the original Shi Yue.

Apparently, Leng Mingchuan thought the same. To him, Shen Lingling was the one worth defying his family for.

So the legendary "White Moonlight" came to her on her own? Shi Yue watched with keen interest, waiting for her to speak.

Shen Lingling hadn't expected her to be so calm. Nervously, she stammered, "M-Miss Shi, I need to talk to you."

"Hm?" Shi Yue glanced up with mild curiosity.

"I…" Shen Lingling's lips were pale from biting them. "I'm sorry, but I wanted to explain on Mingchuan's behalf. He didn't mean to embarrass you at the engagement party. I fell down the stairs at school, so I had no choice but to call him. I'm really grateful that he helped me, but we're just… close friends."

As she spoke, a blush slowly crept up her cheeks.

Shi Yue covered her nose with one hand. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"It's like this…" Shen Lingling lifted her gaze, still slightly teary-eyed. "He's been having a really hard time since he got kicked out. Mingchuan cares deeply about his family, so he feels terrible about the situation.

"Could you… could you stop making things difficult for him? I'm begging you."

The commotion wasn't small, and since the classroom was a relatively enclosed space, most of the students were still there after class and had their attention on the two of them.

Shen Lingling's bold move essentially painted Shi Yue as the villain in this scenario, making her the bad guy in front of all these onlookers. The crowd eagerly waited to see how Shi Yue would defend herself.

But in the next moment, Shi Yue's response shocked them all.

"No."

Shen Lingling was stunned. "What did you say?"

"I said no." Shi Yue gave her a once-over. "First of all, you said it yourself—Leng Mingchuan embarrassed me first. So why should I go easy on him?"

Ignoring the gasps of disbelief around her, she continued, "Secondly, Shen Lingling, what position are you in to plead with me? I don't recall the Leng family changing the engagement and making you the prospective Mrs. Leng."

Laughter erupted from the classroom.

Shen Lingling's already pale face turned even whiter. "I-I just…"

"You're here to compete for the role of Mrs. Leng, right?" Shi Yue calmly completed the sentence for her.

"No!" Shen Lingling shook her head frantically.

Shi Yue looked at her with pity and sighed. "But it's pointless to come to me. You should talk to Leng Mingchuan's elders. Oh…" She tilted her head. "I forgot, they seem to look down on you more than I do."

Shen Lingling was barely able to stand now.

She staggered back two steps, using the edge of a desk to steady herself.

Just then, a tall figure pushed through the crowd, heading straight for the two of them—Leng Mingchuan, the guy who annoyed everyone including stray dogs.

He immediately wrapped an arm around Shen Lingling's shoulders and glared at Shi Yue. "Don't think you can act recklessly just because you're the Shi family's daughter. Shi Yue, bullying a classmate in public—have you no shame?!"

Shi Yue shrugged. "I didn't touch her."

"You didn't touch her?" Leng Mingchuan sneered. "So, did Lingling do this to herself?"

Hearing this, Shen Lingling closed her eyes and buried her face into his shoulder, silently escalating the situation.

Shi Yue rolled her eyes.

Too lazy to argue, she simply opened her half-empty coffee cup and tossed it at the two of them, splashing the remaining coffee all over them.

Because Leng Mingchuan jumped in front to protect Shen Lingling, most of the coffee ended up on his expensive-looking white coat.

"Ah!"

The crowd gasped. Leng Mingchuan stared in shock for a split second before his eyes turned red with rage. "Shi—Yue—!!!"

Shi Yue tossed the empty cup into the trash can at the back of the classroom and dusted off her hands. "I'm here."

She smiled. "Alright, now I've actually done something to her. What do you have to say now?"

Leng Mingchuan clenched his fists, his veins bulging, but he couldn't do anything.

"If you're that mad, I suggest calling the police. You can send the court summons to my family's company," Shi Yue said as she waved them off and squeezed through the crowd to leave the classroom.

After she left, Leng Mingchuan took Shen Lingling to the bathroom to clean up. Through her tears, Shen Lingling recounted how she had confronted Shi Yue for his sake.

"Ugh, why did you bother with her? There's no way she could get between me and my family," Leng Mingchuan said, annoyed.

After experiencing Shi Yue's coquettish behavior, he suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity. He couldn't shake the feeling that Shen Lingling was acting a bit like Shi Yue.

He shook his head hard to get rid of that odd thought. Looking at Shen Lingling again, she was still the same stubborn and cute Omega.

"But I heard you say… your aunt blocked you…" Shen Lingling clutched her chest, on the verge of tears. "I was really worried."

"My aunt…" Leng Mingchuan scratched the back of his head. "She definitely wouldn't be bewitched by that vixen Shi Yue. She just got annoyed with me. She'll add me back in a few days, don't worry."

Only then did Shen Lingling breathe a sigh of relief. "Okay."

Two days later, Leng Yanmi unblocked Leng Mingchuan.

Carrying all his grievances, Leng Mingchuan exaggerated the coffee-splashing incident to his aunt.

"Does she like coffee too?"

Leng Mingchuan stared at the message he had waited for so long to receive, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"Huh? Auntie, who are you talking about?"

Leng Yanmi ignored his reply and pulled up the schedule he had sent—tomorrow was the weekend, and Shi Yue didn't have any classes.

Sure enough, that evening, she received a message from Shi Yue asking if she wanted to see an art exhibition by a young painter named Wu Xuan tomorrow.

Leng Yanmi deliberately waited five minutes before replying with a single word.

"Okay."

Shi Yue: "But I can't get tickets. This exhibition is by invitation only for industry insiders."

Leng Yanmi looked up this "Wu Xuan" person and replied: "I'll arrange it."

On the other end, Shi Yue held her phone, grinning from ear to ear.

Wu Xuan held about sixteen percent of the shares in the Shi family's fashion design company. According to Shi Yue's investigation, these shares were a legacy from Wu Xuan's mother. Wu Xuan herself wasn't interested in business and had left her shares to another acquaintance to manage. Even though profits had been declining over the years, she never intervened.

Since most of the other shareholders had been bought by her uncle's family and were now united with Shi Wen, Wu Xuan was the last possible point of breakthrough for Shi Yue to regain control of the company.

However, Wu Xuan was an aloof artist, and with Shi Yue's current identity, she couldn't easily approach her.

But she knew that Leng Yanmi could.

The plan went smoother than she had expected. Shi Yue made a mock kissy face at her phone screen and responded in a sweet voice message, "Auntie, I'm really looking forward to it~"