Keep making a scene if you want to lose credits!

[He already said that, and you're still not staking your claim?]

[If this is the best you can do as the male lead, I have no respect for you!]

Yao Tao supplied the sarcastic commentary in her head.

"Zhen!" Tan Nianzhi was so furious that all she could do was stamp her feet, pout, and lash out like a little kid.

Qin Zhen said, "Come with me!"

Fu Xin looked at He Zhen. "No! Zhen, help me!"

Tan Nianzhi tried to pull away Qin Zhen's hand, which was gripping Fu Xin's wrist.

Qin Zhen was the one doing the pulling, yet Tan Nianzhi glared furiously at Fu Xin. "Let go!"

Qin Zhen shouted, "Tan Nianzhi!!!"

Tan Nianzhi said, "Zhen, I'm your fiancée!"

The doorway of Class 7 had descended into utter chaos.

"Let go!"

Some people arrived late, but they arrived all the same.

[Well, well, what breeze blew through my Class 7 doorway to bring this whole crowd here?]

Yao Tao watched Guan Xingchen stride over with a swagger that acknowledged no one. The black stud in his left ear caught the bright sunlight, casting a dazzling glint.

The glint was small, but his presence was overbearing.

[Hello there, Guan Xingchen. One click and I've got a photo. Ten yuan wouldn't be too much to charge, right?]

[Hah. Men!]

[Whatever I've lost because of you...]

[I'll take back from your brain-dead fans!]

Yao Tao began grinding her teeth.

"If you don't disperse now, the Student Council's Discipline Department will be here soon." He Zhen tapped lightly on the door. "Sorry, but if this is a personal matter, I hope you can resolve it calmly in private."

He Zhen looked at Fu Xin and Qin Zhen. "What do you say?"

"Zhen!" Fu Xin called out to him. "You've changed."

Fu Xin felt terribly wronged. "You always took my side. You've never done this before."

"People grow up." He Zhen's tone was gentle, but his words were like frost in July. "You need to grow up too."

"No! You said you'd always be with me!" Fu Xin struggled free of Qin Zhen's grip and reached for He Zhen. "You said it! You said it yourself! You said you'd never leave me!"

Qin Zhen tried to step forward again, but Tan Nianzhi seized her chance, wrapped herself around his arm, and held him firmly back. "She doesn't care about you at all, Zhen! Open your eyes!"

Guan Xingchen had effectively become part of the scenery.

[You said it~]

"Fu Xin! Come here!"

"Don't come over! Zhen, snap out of it!"

[You said you'd always be with me~]

"Come over here, senior."

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Qin Zhen, this is a school, not the Qin Group."

[Tsk, tsk, tsk. Even the Three Kingdoms had nothing on this standoff.]

[Fight! Fight! Fight!]

"Who gave you permission to talk about my Zhen like that?"

"Stay out of this!"

"Zhen! Say something!"

[Ooh, hoo, hoo, hoo~]

[Fine, then get together. You have my blessing.]

[May you be forever wed, grow old, and have a kid!]

"Stop!" At the end of his patience, He Zhen pressed down on Fu Xin's hand where it gripped his arm. "Do none of you want your credits anymore? What you're doing now will affect your studies down the line. You're not little kids anymore..."

[Why am I getting so angry?]

He Zhen's tone softened. Yao Tao's curse was vicious; his words cut off abruptly, and his heart rate began to soar.

[Straight to the grand finale, huh.]

[What a joke. If they manage to stay together peacefully, I'll write my name backward!]

[Go ahead, keep stirring up drama. Fu Xin is so lovely, Fu Xin is so wonderful, the female lead is just amazing. Flip-flopping is her specialty.]

[They can still break up after getting together.]

[Stay locked together. Since you're all having so much fun, why don't all five of you make it a relationship?]

He Zhen: ...

"Song Pianzhou, notify a teacher." He Zhen took a deep breath to keep his composure.

[Now you remember to notify a teacher? Why not call the Security Department?]

[Feeling sorry for Xin Xin, huh? Pah, you bastard!]

[Every last one of you has crap in your eyes!]

[Pah! ...]

In her anger, Yao Tao blew through four purchases of 648 yuan.

When the new card appeared, she suddenly lost all interest.

[...Shit. I spent over two thousand yuan on a man in five minutes!]

[What am I supposed to do when it doesn't feel good at all?]

[I even want to hit someone!]

"Yao Tao of Class 7, Finance Department, please report to the Principal's Office immediately."

"Yao Tao of Class 7, Finance Department, please report to the Principal's Office immediately."

"Yao Tao of Class 7, Finance Department, please report to the Principal's Office immediately."

Yao Tao frowned.

Being summoned to an office could mean different things.

Usually, it meant going to the class adviser's office. If things were a little worse, it meant the Academic Affairs Director's Office or the Department Chair's Office.

A schoolwide announcement summoning someone straight to the Principal's Office meant they were either an academic superstar who had brought honor to the school or had committed a serious offense.

[Ruling out the former, there's only one conclusion I can think of.]

[Zhong Shengtai really had the nerve.]

[Fine. We'll go down together. If I'm unhappy, everyone can join me in hell.]

The students of Class 7 were all bewildered. Yao Tao usually had little presence in class; she had only recently come to everyone's attention because of He Zhen.

None of them knew what had happened to get Yao Tao summoned to the Principal's Office.

"I'll come with you." He Zhen gently removed Fu Xin's hand from his arm. "Sorry, I have something else to do. Please handle your personal affairs yourself. If you really can't resolve them, I suggest calling your parents."

[Oh, who asked you to come with me?]

[Your darling little Fu Xin is about to cry, Zhen~]

Yao Tao's thoughts dripped with sarcasm, but her words were perfectly sweet. "No need to trouble you, class monitor. Why don't you sort out that complicated relationship of yours first?"

Everyone watched Yao Tao leave.

He Zhen: ...She was angry.

"Why do I feel like she was being sarcastic?"

"Right? Normally she calls the class monitor 'He.' Why did she keep calling him 'class monitor' today?"

"The class monitor has been stripped of his surname privileges."

Most of the girls actually disliked Fu Xin.

Who would like a fence-sitter who kept one man on the hook while eyeing another?

To put it bluntly, wasn't she just taking advantage of He Zhen's feelings to reserve a spot she had no intention of using?

Now that something had upset her, she had come running to He Zhen.

Naturally, the girls of Class 7 scoffed at that.

With Fu Xin as a comparison, Yao Tao looked better in every way.

"What are you all doing outside Class 7?" Before a teacher could arrive, the Student Council's Discipline Department showed up.

Zeng Rou was so angry she almost laughed. "You lot again? Is Class 5 too small to fit your soap opera?"

Guan Xingchen was the first to leave, without Zeng Rou even having to tell him.

Fu Xin pressed her lips together. "Senior Zeng."

"Stop right there." Just hearing her soft, frail voice gave Zeng Rou a headache. "You act like this and still have the nerve to report me for abusing my position to keep you out of the Student Council?"

"Fu Xin, I'm addressing this openly to let you keep a little dignity." Zeng Rou was furious. How did she have the nerve?

After looking He Zhen up and down, Zeng Rou scoffed even louder. "He Zhen, are you falling back into your old habits? I wondered why you were so eager to arrange a get-together with us this weekend. Turns out you had an ulterior motive."

"Not a chance, hear me? I've welded even the windows shut." Zeng Rou wagged a finger. "Don't even think about it."

Unbelievable. Now she knew to turn to He Zhen. Zeng Rou was truly disappointed.

He Zhen: ...There was no explaining his way out of this, but he still wanted to try salvaging it.

"This was an accident," He Zhen said with difficulty.

Disbelief was written all over Zeng Rou's eyes.

She rolled her eyes at He Zhen, then spoke sternly. "If the Discipline Department catches you three times, the Student Council has the right to deduct your credits on disciplinary grounds. This is the second time. One more, and I'm writing every one of you up. Keep making a scene if you don't want to graduate."