Chapter 3: Then He’d Have to Love Me to Death…
Watching Shen Mingjun collapse onto the ground in such a sorry state, the other students kept glancing over—some openly, some discreetly. The group chat was buzzing. A few troublemakers even secretly snapped a photo to share with those who weren’t present so they could enjoy the gossip too.
Yu Bai, who had never liked Shen Mingjun to begin with, couldn’t resist patting him on the shoulder as he passed, shaking his head with exaggerated sympathy.
The damage wasn’t high—but the humiliation was extreme.
“Why are you even talking to him?” Ying Jiayi couldn’t suppress the upward curl of her lips. She was practically laughing herself to death inside.
She’d still had doubts before, but judging by Shen Mingjun’s reaction, it was practically a confession.
Heaven has eyes. That pretentious poser’s true colors were finally exposed.
“Just teasing him,” Yu Bai shrugged. “By the way, where did Gu Yang go?”
After that explosive gossip, they’d been too busy ranting in the group chat. Only now did they realize the source of the gossip had disappeared.
“A’Yang said he was going to the restroom,” the class monitor replied with a pleasant smile, leaning against the wall. He glanced at his watch. “But it’s been quite a while. Makes you worry.”
“He’s a grown man. What could happen? He probably snuck back to the classroom again,” Yu Bai scratched his hair. “Whatever, I’m heading back too. Wouldn’t want to miss any gossip.”
He grabbed his jacket impatiently and left with Ying Jiayi.
The rest didn’t move, but their burning gazes all stuck to the class monitor.
“If you’re all staring at me like that, let’s just leave early.” The monitor withdrew his gaze from outside and greeted the P.E. teacher. “Teacher Xu, our class will head out a few minutes early. You can end early too.”
The P.E. teacher nodded eagerly. After watching the young masters and ladies leave in a grand wave, he finally let out a breath of relief.
—
Gu Yang had indeed just been a little sleepy and wanted to wash his face. But the nearest restroom was under maintenance. Too lazy to take a detour, he simply walked back toward the academic building.
Since autumn had begun, the sun had softened. He walked along the corridor; overhead were wooden lattices entwined with vines. Fine shards of light filtered down, reflecting off the flowerpots lined on both sides.
Gu Yang squatted down, hugging his knees as he stared at the withered petals in one pot. After a while, he took out his phone, snapped a photo, and started editing a social media post.
Click.
Something fell to the ground.
Then came unmistakably malicious laughter from around the corner.
Several boys in uniform shirts stood together, smirking. A cup of coffee had been smashed at their feet; brown liquid splattered across one boy’s white sneakers.
The boy confronting them had fallen to the ground. Coffee stained his clothes too. His overly long bangs covered his eyes, and his pressed lips looked restrained and cold.
“What’s this? Just walking along and somehow you crash into us? Don’t tell me you’re trying to scam us?”
“That’s why I hate special-admission students. One wrong move and you’re covered in that poor stench. Bad luck.”
“Hey, you got my shoes dirty like this. How are you going to make it up to me? I doubt you can afford it. Why don’t you kneel and apologize, huh?”
“You were the ones who bumped into me,” the boy on the ground replied coolly. He tried to push himself up, but one of them viciously kicked his shoulder, sending him back down.
More laughter.
“If you don’t want to lick them, that’s fine.” The instigator kept his kicking posture, raising his shoe. “These are brand new. Since we’re classmates, I’ll round it down for you. Ten thousand. Pay up, top student.”
“What’s wrong? No money? Then get down and lick my shoes.”
“How could he have no money? He can afford fifty-yuan coffee.”
“Doesn’t our top scholar still collect financial aid every month?”
“Maybe we should report him. If he can afford coffee like that, maybe he doesn’t need aid.”
“Hahaha, sounds good…”
They grew more animated, while the boy on the ground remained silent. The hand clutching his uniform trembled violently, knuckles turning white.
“What an ugly farce.”
A silver-haired boy who had been standing off to the side with folded arms finally spoke, smiling faintly.
He hadn’t led the conflict, yet the moment he spoke, the others fell silent.
“Why don’t you try begging me?” the silver-haired boy said lazily, as if granting charity. “If I’m in a good mood, maybe I’ll let it go. As for how you beg… use your imagination, Song Yinxing.”
Gu Yang, who had been leaning behind a pillar watching the drama, froze when he heard the name. His hand slipped, and he staggered forward several steps, losing his support.
He landed right between the two sides.
Looking up innocently, he met the boys’ eyes.
The suffocating tension shattered. The silver-haired boy’s relaxed expression darkened, becoming complicated and oppressive as he looked down at Gu Yang.
The instigator turned pale as if he’d seen a ghost, exchanging uneasy glances with his companions.
Meanwhile, Yu Bai—who had just rounded the corner after leaving the gym—slammed on the brakes when he saw who stood ahead.
The group behind him crashed into a stop.
“Why is Nie Ying here? Didn’t he skip the whole day? I thought he wasn’t at school…”
“Who knows? Wait, how did he run into Gu Yang? Is something going to happen?”
“I just saw Gu Yang post: ‘All things eventually die,’ with a picture of a wilted flower. I thought he was emo somewhere again.”
As they whispered, Gu Yang’s internal voice pack loaded.
[The boy standing aside has striking white hair. He’s tall, with deep, handsome features and sharply cut contours like carved stone. The wicked smile at his lips adds a dangerous edge to his imposing aura.]
Yu Bai stared at the described subject.
He couldn’t believe it—Gu Yang was using positive words to describe Nie Ying.
Weren’t these two mortal enemies?
The next second—
[…Who wrote that crap? I’m about to puke from disgust.]
Yu Bai: “……”
That sounded more normal.
But the silver-haired boy’s face instantly frosted over.
He could definitely hear it too.
Holy shit. That was Nie Ying.
Yu Bai covered his face, unable to imagine what would happen next.
Nie Ying—the male lead of The Arrogant Young Master’s Long Road to Chasing His Wife—the very person who ruined the protagonist’s future and indirectly caused his mother’s death.
As the only son of the head of Jiangcheng’s leading Nie Group, he was destined to inherit a massive business empire.
Raised in overwhelming wealth and power, he followed one rule: those who obey me live; those who defy me die.
Nie Ying stared at Gu Yang with a cold, scrutinizing gaze, as if peeling flesh from bone. His appearance was impeccable—but the arrogance and overbearing presence etched into his bones were just as real.
Gu Yang still looked listless, uninterested in anything. His lashes cast shadows over his eyes. Anyone else accidentally stepping into such a situation would at least look awkward—but Gu Yang always carried a strange, detached dullness.
[This should be their first direct conflict, right? At this stage, Nie Ying hasn’t personally stepped in yet—just ordering his lackeys to beat him.]
Later, the violence escalated. The methods inflicted on the protagonist would grow more brutal.
If he hadn’t heard the name Song Yinxing earlier, he wouldn’t have realized.
Nie Ying, the center of it all, silently watched Gu Yang continue speaking without opening his mouth.
[Is this really “arrogant dominance”? He’s just an overgrown brute.]
“Brother Nie, should we continue?” the instigator asked carefully.
Seeing Gu Yang walk over and say nothing while Nie Ying’s expression worsened by the second, he hurried to show loyalty.
[Nie Ying, Nie Ying.]
The drawn-out, almost intimate repetition of the name echoed.
[Ha. Definitely a lunatic.]
“Brother Nie…” the lackey stammered.
Nie Ying suddenly smiled. He hooked an arm around the boy’s shoulders and pressed him down with sheer size advantage. “What, in such a hurry? Want me to be your weapon?”
The lackey went white. For a second, he thought his personal grudge had been exposed. “H-how would I dare, Brother Nie? I just wanted to help you regain face…”
Bored, Nie Ying released him. He despised incompetence and mediocrity.
Even toys had to suit his taste.
[Speaking of Song Yinxing… so this is him?]
The voice sounded again. Nie Ying narrowed his eyes, thinking.
Since earlier, Gu Yang had been chattering nonstop. Normally, the dogs behind him would’ve lunged already. Why were they suddenly brainless?
Deaf? Was he the only one hearing this?
A glance sideways revealed the corridor corner packed with classmates. His entire class had gathered. Yu Bai caught his eye and began exaggeratedly wiggling his brows in warning.
Oh. They could hear it too.
Idiots.
[What rotten luck, Song Yinxing. Getting tangled up with a madman like Nie Ying—his life’s basically over.]
“Tangled up.”
The phrase darkened Nie Ying’s expression further. Who did he think he was? Wasting time on some poor nobody?
In his impression, Gu Yang was always a dodder vine—fragile, useless without someone to cling to.
Though their families were equal in status, identity wasn’t defined by background alone.
“I’m handling private matters. If you know what’s good for you, get lost,” Nie Ying said disdainfully.
Gu Yang ignored him completely. He walked to the boy on the ground, bent down, and lifted his chin.
It was an outstanding face—Gu Yang had to admit.
He’d grown up surrounded by good-looking people. Wealthy families always sought attractive partners to improve their offspring’s genes, and with enough money poured into upbringing—fashion, bearing, speech—people naturally stood out.
But the boy before him didn’t fit that category.
His black eyes were like a bottomless abyss, shaped in elegant phoenix lines with slightly upturned corners—cold but not fierce. Even in this sorry state, one could tell he was no ordinary fish in a pond.
Completely different from the exaggerated inverted-triangle, black-haired beauty on that tacky pink book cover.
So this was Song Yinxing—the novel’s protagonist?
[Pretty good-looking. Guess that’s to be expected of a protagonist.]
The voice echoed again. Nie Ying’s brows tightened.
But clearly, the strange voice seemed to speak directly inside his head—volume irrelevant.
[Why not just use the original photo? Why draw him with that weird triangular snake-face? Who’s that even appealing to?]
Protagonist? Snake-face? What nonsense was Gu Yang on about now?
Nie Ying was utterly confused. The oppressive aura radiating from him grew heavier, making the onlooking Class Eleven students unconsciously step back.
[With such a bright future destroyed, and they still end up together…]
[If I help him just a little, wouldn’t Song Yinxing fall hopelessly in love with me?]
