Chapter 5

A chill crept up Tang Jingdan’s spine. All at once, a terrifying thought leaped into her mind: Never mind an injury, if she actually died here, with the Meng family’s power... they’d probably just hush it up, right?
At this, Tang Jingdan backed up again, as if she’d seen a ghost.
“D-Don’t come any closer! Just stay away from me!”
The PE teacher finally arrived, fashionably late.
On the field, one side was Tang Jingdan, panic written all over her face, surrounded by a few girls from the International Class trying to comfort her.
On the other side: Yu Linghuan, Meng Xin, and Shen Ying.
Two camps, clear as day. Around them, a ring of gawking classmates.
The PE teacher took one look and felt her headache coming on strong.
She’d only left for ten minutes, just enough to fill out a form in the office, thinking nothing much could possibly go wrong in so short a time with this group.
Who knew disaster would strike in under five?
Wiping her brow, the PE teacher looked to Class One’s monitor, Shen Ying. “You tell me, what happened here?”
As the senior class’s go-to monitor, Shen Ying was serious, capable, and every teacher’s favorite for a reason. Naturally the PE teacher picked her to explain.
The rest turned to listen as Shen Ying cleared her throat. “Nothing major, teacher. We were just playing a game, and both Meng Xin and Tang Jingdan accidentally got hit by a dodgeball.”
She paused, then added, “Everyone saw it.”
The teacher grunted, then asked, “Meng Xin, Tang Jingdan, is that right?”
Tang Jingdan parted her lips, as if she wanted to say something more.
But catching sight of Yu Linghuan and Meng Xin across from her, she swallowed the words back down.
Maybe it was Yu Linghuan’s icy glare, or maybe it was Meng Xin’s calm “I can pay any price”, either way, she lost her nerve.
Tang Jingdan bit her lip. “...Yes.”
And Meng Xin nodded too. “Yeah.”
The PE teacher quietly let out a sigh of relief. Seemed like there was no major incident after all, her performance bonus for this month was still safe.
As for the tense air on the field, just some high school drama, nothing unusual for kids this age. No need to dig deeper.
She asked if Tang Jingdan or Meng Xin needed a trip to the nurse. Both refused. So, she let everyone rest for a few minutes before resuming class.
Yu Linghuan went with Meng Xin to get some water in the shade.
Tang Jingdan huddled far, far away from Yu Linghuan, comforted by another girl from the International Class.
Yu Linghuan twisted open a bottle of water and handed it to Meng Xin.
“Thanks.” Meng Xin took it and sipped, then added, “And… thanks for standing up for me just now.”
Yu Linghuan’s tone was casual, like she couldn’t care less. “Nothing worth thanking me for.”
That just made Meng Xin laugh.
Yu Linghuan shot her a confused look as she hugged the bottle and giggled. “What’s so funny?”
Shaking her head, Meng Xin smiled. “Nothing. I’m just happy, you’re acting like my old Huanhuan again.”
She grinned as she held the bottle back out. “Want some?”
Yu Linghuan took the water back, her gaze complicated. “Mm.”
It was only over the summer that she’d been so heavily influenced by the script, that flood of negative feelings toward Meng Xin had felt so real.
But truthfully, those emotions hadn’t come out of nowhere. The plot just magnified fears she already had buried deep down.
She’d worried that Meng Xin would look down on her for not being rich, worried she’d no longer deserve Meng Xin’s friendship, worried she’d become some pathetic clown trying to leech off a rich heiress.
All those feelings? Totally real.
But the very moment she awakened to the system, when she learned Meng Xin might lose everything, or even die,
Yu Linghuan realized maybe none of that mattered at all.
Because Meng Xin was her best friend. Her number one. That was what truly mattered.
She could never stand by and watch her best friend lose everything, never mind push her even further down.
She just couldn’t do it.
Resolving herself, Yu Linghuan spoke seriously. “Meng Xin.”
“Yeah?” Meng Xin looked up, blinking.
“You’re my very best friend,” Yu Linghuan said, dead sincere.
There was a beat where Meng Xin froze. Then her eyes curved into a smile. “You’re my very best friend too.”
Yu Linghuan continued, “So if something ever happens, and you’re hurting, you have to tell me. Don’t keep it all to yourself.”
Meng Xin went a little blank.
Then she flashed a smile. “How could I possibly be bullied now? I’m the Meng family’s daughter, remember? Who’d dare pick on me?”
Yu Linghuan gave her a long, searching look.
She knew Meng Xin too well; it was impossible not to see the forced cheerfulness in that smile.
Besides, the truth was laid out plain as day in that novel, the whole Meng family bent over backwards for Meng Mingzhu.
But Yu Linghuan understood that Meng Xin just didn’t want her to worry, so she refused to say anything more.
In a way, the two of them were total opposites, one known for her temper, the other always soft-spoken, yet sometimes, they were exactly the same.
Stubborn as hell.
Since Meng Xin was determined not to talk, Yu Linghuan let it go and just drank a couple sips of water in silence.
One way or another, she’d never let Meng Mingzhu take everything from Meng Xin. Never.
“By the way.” Yu Linghuan suddenly remembered. “What did the homeroom teacher want when she called you at lunch?”
“She asked if I wanted to switch to International Class.” Meng Xin replied. “Probably because my dad keeps pushing for me to study abroad, so she wanted to talk me into it.”
Yu Linghuan’s eyes flickered.
She remembered, the way things played out in the novel, Meng Xin really did switch to International Class C, ending up in the same class as Meng Mingzhu and the male lead, Sheng Han, kicking off all sorts of messy love triangle drama.
After graduating, all three of them went abroad and spent years tangled up together.
As the tragic romance novel’s female lead, Meng Xin caught hell in International Class, not just getting bullied, but rumors, humiliation, the works.
Even if the plot stayed the same, as Meng Xin’s bestie, Yu Linghuan really didn’t want her to transfer.
Bottom line: Yu Linghuan didn’t think Meng Xin and that novel’s male lead were any kind of “happily ever after.”
Thanks to Sheng Han, Meng Xin spent her high school days getting tormented, even ending up disabled in one hand, and even when they married, life didn’t get much better.
And on top of that, the current Meng Mingzhu wasn’t even the original anymore, now she was possessed by a transmigrator with a system from another world.
If Meng Xin switched classes now, she’d probably have it even rougher than in the novel.
And with Meng Xin’s grades, she just had to stay in the Gaokao Division and do her usual best to get into the country’s top university.
“So…” Yu Linghuan asked, “what did you tell the teacher?”
She really didn’t want Meng Xin to transfer, but she couldn’t just say so outright. That would count as “directly interfering with the main plot,” and who knows how the system would punish her for it.
“I told her I’m not going anywhere, I just want to stay in Class 1.”
Yu Linghuan was surprised. “Really? I thought… you’d at least think it over.”
In the novel, Meng Xin switched to International Class right after the first round of exams in early October.
Yu Linghuan figured Meng Xin herself must’ve been considering it, otherwise, the Meng family wouldn’t be pushing this hard.
Meng Xin just smiled. “Don’t you remember? What’s my dream school?”
Yu Linghuan blinked.
The next second, both girls grinned at each other and said in unison, “Jing University Medical School.”
They both burst out laughing.
Before transferring to Beicheng, Meng Xin had grown up in a small town nearby, raised by her grandmother.
Getting into Jing University Medical School to become a doctor had always been her lifelong wish, and her grandmother’s hope for her, too.
Yu Linghuan had heard Meng Xin talk about her dream a thousand times; there was no way she’d ever forget it.
Just like Meng Xin would never forget hers.
When their laughter died down, Meng Xin said, “Honestly, the first time my dad asked about switching classes, I did hesitate a little.”
Yu Linghuan: “How come?”
Meng Xin dropped her gaze, lashes trembling lightly. “I figured… if you really never wanted to see me again, if just looking at me annoyed you, then transferring out wouldn’t be so bad. At least you’d be happier, Huanhuan.”
“But now it’s all good.” Meng Xin lifted her head, smiling softly. “We’re still best friends. I don’t have to go anywhere.”
Yu Linghuan was stunned speechless.
In the novel, the reason Meng Xin transferred got glossed over. The female lead ending up in the male lead’s class was just fate, plot logic. Who needed a reason anyway?
Yu Linghuan never would've guessed that, in the end, she’d become the reason herself.
Suddenly, she felt a prickling tightness in her nose.
"Yeah." Yu Linghuan repeated it slowly, word by word. "Best friends."
…
After a few minutes’ rest, the girls from both classes went back to their activities.
This time, the teachers hovered nearby the entire time, so at least nothing else crazy happened.
The forty-minute PE class finally ended, and everyone broke into little groups to head back to the main building.
Yu Linghuan found Meng Xin. As they grabbed their bags and were about to leave, a figure blocked their way.
"You two." The girl tossed her hair arrogantly. "Don’t flatter yourselves, I wasn’t scared of you, I was just sparing my friend Mingzhu. I didn’t want to make things ugly, that’s all."
Yu Linghuan looked up, meeting Tang Jingdan’s smug, chin-held-high glare.
With more than half the period gone, Tang Jingdan had finally shaken off her panic from before.
Now that she’d calmed down, she instantly regretted how easily she’d been scared.
Sure, the Meng family was impressive. But Meng Mingzhu was a Meng heiress too! In fact, she was way more pampered than Meng Xin!
With Mingzhu backing her up, she really shouldn’t have let Meng Xin, or that Yu Linghuan girl she always hung with, scare her off so easily.
And that whole “the Mengs will silence me for good” thought? Total nonsense, the product of a moment’s panic and way too many crime shows.
This was a rule-of-law society now; no one’s getting offed over some dumb little incident.
So as soon as class was over, Tang Jingdan decided to regain a little dignity.
She hesitated briefly, but ultimately aimed for the one who seemed easier to push around.
After glaring coldly at Yu Linghuan, Tang Jingdan set her sights on the quiet girl beside her.
"Meng Xin." Tang Jingdan snorted. "Mingzhu and I have been friends for years. I’ll be telling her all about how you ganged up on me in gym class. If your little spat affects your sisterly bond and upsets Uncle Meng, well… good luck dealing with that."
She purposefully paused here, ready to savor Meng Xin’s panic and confusion.
But Meng Xin only looked back at her, calm, no trace of fear in her eyes.
Tang Jingdan frowned, but pressed on: "But if you apologize to me, right here and now, I might consider not telling Mingzhu about what happened."
Meng Xin’s expression stayed serene. "You were the one who hit me first."
Her voice was steady, though maybe too gentle, so even the protest didn’t sound especially forceful.
Tang Jingdan sensed weakness and pushed harder: "I already said, it wasn’t on purpose! But she, she chucked the ball at me, and you both saw it!"
Meng Xin shot back, "That was because"
Yu Linghuan interrupted, stepping forward: "Yeah, I did it on purpose. So what?"
They were best friends, but Yu Linghuan had always known Meng Xin was hopeless at arguing compared to her.
Simply put, Meng Xin was too soft-hearted. She wanted to reason with people, her voice was gentle by default, and she just didn’t have the bite to win a fight.
Yu Linghuan really couldn’t stand to watch any longer.
She fixed Tang Jingdan with a bored look. "So? If we don’t apologize, you’re running off to cry to Mingzhu, huh?"
Tang Jingdan: "…Yeah! What, you think I won’t?"
Yu Linghuan pulled out her phone, she brought it everywhere, just in case her mom needed to call in an emergency.
"Xinxin," Yu Linghuan asked, "do you remember Meng Mingzhu’s number? What is it?"
Meng Xin blinked, a bit thrown by this, but rattled off the digits anyway.
After officially joining the Mengs, she’d memorized everyone’s numbers. You never knew when you’d need them.
Yu Linghuan punched in the number and hit ‘call.’
Her movements were so fast and smooth that by the time Tang Jingdan registered what was happening, the phone was already ringing.
When Yu Linghuan put the phone on speaker and practically shoved it in Tang Jingdan’s face, she froze. "W-wait…! What are you doing?! I’m, I’m not ready, "
On the other end, Meng Mingzhu’s voice crackled through the speaker, puzzled: "Jingdan? You got a new number again? What did you say, I can’t hear, it’s loud here, repeat that?"
After a moment, the noise on that end faded, it sounded like Mingzhu had moved somewhere quieter.
The truth was, Tang Jingdan hadn’t meant to tattle to Mingzhu right here and now.
Her real plan? Wait until it was just the two of them, play up her heroic sacrifices in Mengzhu’s service, milk the sympathy, and earn some credit for being such a loyal friend.
After all, coming from a family miles below the Mengs, you had to play your cards carefully to stay in the rich-girls’ club.
But Yu Linghuan’s little stunt had thrown everything into chaos; she hadn’t even figured out what to say yet.
And she didn’t dare hang up, Mingzhu had already recognized her voice, and if she pissed the princess off, there’d be hell to pay.
But if she told Mingzhu she’d been pressured into this by Yu Linghuan, she’d just look like a loser.
Mingzhu hated losers.
"M-Mingzhu," Tang Jingdan stammered, "I’ll come to your classroom after school, okay? Let’s talk later, I’m gonna hang up, "
"Hold up!" Mingzhu’s annoyed voice snapped through the speaker, "Who said you could hang up? I just want to know, did you teach Meng Xin a lesson in PE, like I told you to, or not?"
Tang Jingdan stiffened, trying to snatch the phone so she could switch off the speaker.
Yu Linghuan moved faster. She slapped Tang Jingdan’s hand aside and pulled the phone back.
"Meng Mingzhu," Yu Linghuan said coolly, "it’s me."
The line went dead silent.