You said you hated men, why are your eyes now full of love?

"Ji Mu, how dare you!"

The man held his swollen cheek with his right hand and glared angrily.

"Assaulting a teacher on campus, you will definitely be expelled!"

This is a serious offense. Even being the top student in the six-school joint exams won't save you, I guarantee it.

"Don't speak too soon, old man."

Ji Mu slowly took his cell phone out of his pocket.

He tapped it a few times in front of the man.

A familiar audio recording played from the device.

"....... For an ordinary person from an ordinary class like you to be accepted is already a great favor."

"As long as she agrees to my demands, I can easily help her cross social classes..."

".......Remember, you lowly commoners are just toys for us rich people!"

The man's face suddenly changed dramatically.

The content that played from the phone was the entire process of him warning and threatening the boy.@@novelbin@@

If this recording was made public, his career would be completely ruined.

"Mr. Zhang, you don't want people at school to know about this side of you, do you?"

Ji Mu stopped the looping playback on his phone and asked calmly.

"Let me ask you again, who is waiting to be expelled?"

This man...

The man's body tensed, his teeth grinding in frustration.

Seeing the boy's harmless appearance, the man's heart was filled not only with resentment and anger, but also with a fear he didn't want to admit.

...

After a thorough confrontation, Ji Mu managed to get a reasonable hush money from the man.

Watching the man's embarrassed retreat, Ji Mu contentedly put his phone back in his pocket.

Another fruitful day.

"The class bell will ring soon. Let's go back to the classroom or we'll be late."

Ji Mu called to the girl behind him and walked towards the classroom building.

After only a few steps, however, he noticed that she was standing still.

He turned and waved his hand in front of the girl's face.

"Stunned?"

The waving hand brought Ruan Qingqing's distracted eyes back into focus.

She blinked in confusion and shook her head.

"No, no."

She clearly looked worried.

"Is that so?"

Ji Mu didn't press further.

"Then let's go."

Ruan Qingqing focused her gaze on the boy in front of her.

She knew.

He had already noticed.

He was just silently accommodating her without saying anything.

Realizing this, an inexplicable impulse rose from deep within her soul.

She stopped and clasped her hands.

"Ji, Ji Mu..."

The boy stopped and turned to face her.

"Yes?"

"In your eyes, am I like what Mr. Zhang just said?"

"Like what?"

"Just..."

Ruan Qingqing's lips moved, but when those unspeakable words came out of her mouth, she couldn't bring herself to say them.

"To say that I deliberately sed... seduced others, acted... promis... promiscuous..."

"If you can't say it, then don't."

Ji Mu waved his hand.

"If you can't even say those dirty words calmly, how can you be that kind of person?"

"Then why..."

Ruan Qingqing's eyes were filled with confusion.

She had never confided in anyone before, so her speech was extremely slow.

"Ever since I came to this school, I've been treated differently from others.

Even when I protested, they just looked at me as if I was being unreasonable.

It's like no matter what I do, it's always wrong.

Is it really my fault that all this is happening?"

The girl's tone was deep.

Her beautiful fox-like eyes were now filled with loneliness, as if a small, outcast animal lived inside them.

Every time she mustered the courage to step out of her self-imposed protective shell, she was hurt again.

"Why do you think it's your fault?"

Ji Mu casually crossed his arms.

He wasn't a life coach, nor did he have any profound sayings to soothe people's hearts.

His thoughts were always simple.

"Let others think what they want. You don't live to please them."

"But..."

The girl sniffled softly, her voice still as soft as before.

"No matter what I do, so many people always end up hating me."

Especially... those girls.

"So what?"

"Huh?"

"What does it matter if others don't like you? It's not like being liked by others will improve your life." Ji Mu pointed out the essence of the problem.

Ruan Qingqing was stunned, seemingly convinced.

The struggle that flashed across her eyebrows indicated that she was still somewhat hesitant.

Ji Mu wasn't surprised by her reaction.

When you're rejected by all social circles, everyone would feel confused, and in severe cases, it could lead to depression.

He hadn't expected to be able to undo the long-term effects of the deep psychological manipulation the girl had experienced from those around her.

As long as you can take a little of it.

"Instead of exhausting yourself mentally, why not go crazy and exhaust others? In this already sick world, there's no need to be too normal.”

In short, it all boils down to one sentence.

"Ask yourself 'why' less and ask others 'why not' more."

"Is that... so?" Ruan Qingqing murmured softly, her expression somewhat distant.

"Don't get stuck in a rut."

Ji Mu snapped his fingers, signaling the girl to come to her senses.

"Beauty is not a sin, but jealousy is."

"Some people envy your beauty, while others covet you."

"All these reasons combined lead them to make negative comments and slander you, hoping to drag you into the abyss with such malicious behavior."

Meeting her gaze, he said slowly.

"Just be yourself, you haven't done anything wrong."

Ruan Qingqing stood stunned.

The boy stood with his back to the sunlight, his expression calm and natural, as if he could always bring an indescribable sense of reassurance to others.

Her initially wandering attention was drawn to the first part of his words.

Beauty...

Was Ji Mu... complimenting her?

As this thought suddenly popped into her mind, her ears began to burn a moment later.

Her heart pounded wildly and the blood rushed to her limbs.

Faintly, she could hear the sound of gurgling water.

This... this feels so strange.

She had been complimented on her looks before, but no one had ever made her feel as intensely shy as this boy.

Am I... sick?

"Still daydreaming? Have you figured it out yet?"

The boy's lazy voice came from above her.

Ruan Qingqing averted her eyes, not daring to look at his face at that moment.

She could only respond with a soft "Mm," barely audible like a mosquito.

"This is good."

The carefree Ji Mu didn't pay much attention to the girl's changes, assuming that she was still deep in thought.

"Let's go back to class. The bell has rung three times already; we're definitely late this time."

"I... I won't do that again."

"It doesn't matter, just be careful."

Halfway down the road, Ji Mu remembered the important thing.

"By the way, don't forget the reward."

"Okay."

Only after the heat on her face subsided did Ruan Qingqing raise her beautiful eyes.

Even if Ji Mu didn't mention it, she wouldn't forget. "What does Ji Mu want?"

Ji Mu thought for a moment.

"Just like yesterday, buy me a bottle of oolong tea."

After eating so many buns this morning, he felt a bit choked.

"But this time a small bottle will do."

"Huh?"

"Why are you surprised? I've already lowered my demands."

Ji Mu turned around to look at her.

"Don't think about skipping out or delaying payment, it's not allowed!"

The boy's cautious tone successfully made Ruan Qingqing laugh.

Her fox-like eyes, as vivid as glass, exuded a charm that contrasted with her pure appearance.

Her eyes curved, filled with a gentle smile.

"I won't."