My Years as the Pure Love Interest at the Noble Academy

Chapter 51

Song Yi withdrew from the dance floor without hesitation, feeling like she was the odd one out.

In the dance floor, Shen Yujing and Jiang Yiheng exchanged a three-second glance before turning and walking in opposite directions, clearly showing their mutual dislike.

Song Yi walked to a corner, grabbed a small cake to eat, and opened a can of cola.

Since Saint Slee was a high school, there were no alcoholic beverages, only cola, sprite, and some milk.

Song Yi's gaze inadvertently fell on the dance floor, where she saw Murong Huan having a great time, dancing with a young man in a white suit.

He looked familiar - the second-year student who had hosted the school anniversary celebration earlier today.

Song Yi's gaze shifted away from them, pausing briefly when it reached the entrance.

Hang Feng's silhouette hurriedly departed, as if he had some urgent matter to attend to.

Song Yi bit down on her cola straw, thinking seriously.

In the original plot, this school anniversary segment mainly focused on the romantic development between the original character and Jiang Yiheng, plus some jealousy from Shen Yujing, but had little to do with Hang Feng.

Well, since it wasn't relevant, she might as well let him be.

Song Yi put down her cola and walked outside, wanting some fresh air away from the noise.

However, upon stepping out, she unexpectedly saw some surprising people, including Chen Xue.

On such an important day, contrary to Chen Xue's typically flamboyant personality, she wasn't wearing a formal dress in the dance hall, but instead was lurking behind the teaching building in her school uniform, looking rather suspicious.

She received a phone call and seemed to get into an argument with the person on the other end, then hung up and walked away.

Song Yi heard Chen Xue shout "Lu Qingqing's" name during the phone argument.

Not being one to mind her own business, she followed without hesitation.

If anyone had passed by at that moment, they would have witnessed quite a scene—

A girl in school uniform striding forward anxiously, followed by a young lady in a black formal dress tiptoeing behind her, creating an oddly eerie picture.

Song Yi managed to follow Chen Xue without being discovered, all the way to the music building.

A light was on in the corner classroom on the first floor of the music building, and Chen Xue went in around the corner.

Neither the front nor back door was properly closed, so Song Yi didn't even need to press her ear against the door to clearly hear Lu Qingqing's voice.

Perhaps because both Chen Xue and Lu Qingqing thought that on such an important day, no one would come to such a remote music building, they had zero vigilance, or maybe the situation they were dealing with was so urgent that they had no time to think about such things.

Song Yi took out her phone and opened the recording function.

Lu Qingqing's voice came from behind the door, "Shen Yujing is already going to check the surveillance footage. We can't keep using the excuse that the cameras were broken - it's too basic. We need to figure something out now!"

"Figure something out?" Chen Xue laughed coldly, "Now you come to me? This has nothing to do with me! What benefit would I get from cutting up Song Yi's dress? You're the one who's afraid she'll outshine you!"

Lu Qingqing had calmed down, "What's the use of saying all this now? We're in the same boat. If Shen Yujing finds me, do you think you can escape? Those recent forum posts blackmailing Song Yi - more than half of them came from you. Would you like to see the evidence?"

"You're despicable!"

Lu Qingqing continued, "Ever since we framed her for cheating in the last monthly exam, there's been no turning back. Either we drive Song Yi out of Saint Slee, or we watch her shine alone in the future. Which would you prefer? Your choice."

Chen Xue grew angrier, "Of course I don't want that!"

Standing at the door, Song Yi thought: "?"

No, wait. She couldn't understand the cause and effect relationship between these things.

Although she didn't particularly like them, their relationship wasn't exactly life-or-death, was it? Was it really necessary to target her like this?

She could somewhat understand Lu Qingqing's reasoning, but what was Chen Xue thinking?

Chen Xue's family background was far superior to Lu Qingqing's, yet whether it was taking the blame for Lu Qingqing in the previous cheating incident or now, she acted completely like Lu Qingqing's subordinate, following her every command.

While Song Yi was still confused, Chen Xue's voice rang out, asking, "So what do we do now?"

Song Yi: "?"

She was convinced just like that? Isn't that a bit too hasty?

What was wrong with Chen Xue's brain? How could she be so easily manipulated by Lu Qingqing?

Lu Qingqing said, "If you take the blame for this, given the recent business cooperation between the Shen family and your Chen family, Shen Yujing wouldn't dare touch you."

Chen Xue let out a cold laugh, "Lu Qingqing, do you really think I'm that stupid?"

Lu Qingqing's voice remained calm, "If Shen Yujing is determined to stand up for Song Yi, this incident could be seen as either simple damage to a dress or, more seriously, as school bullying. Especially in a place like Saint Slee where there's such a stark divide between rich and poor, this topic tends to attract public attention and discussion. If it's investigated thoroughly, neither of us can escape involvement, but Uncle Shen will definitely protect me, which means you'll end up taking all the blame."

"But if you take the blame voluntarily, just like last time, nothing major will happen. After all... this wouldn't be your first time, would it?"

Chen Xue wasn't clear about Lu Qingqing's exact family situation, or rather, most students at Saint Slee weren't.

They only knew that Lu Qingqing's father was a trusted right-hand man to the Shen family, and her mother's identity was mysterious, supposedly a wealthy heiress from City A - in any case, someone from a prestigious family.

Combined with the "special" relationship Lu Qingqing had deliberately cultivated with Shen Yujing over the years, some people even believed she was the Shen family's chosen daughter-in-law, surrounding her entire person with a mysterious aura.

This was how she had successfully fooled Chen Xue.

Just a door apart.

While Chen Xue was hesitating, Song Yi was rolling her eyes, then directly pushed the door open and started applauding them.

In the empty room, the sudden applause sounded jarring and eerie.

Faced with Song Yi's unexpected appearance, both Lu Qingqing and Chen Xue's expressions turned pale instantly.

Realizing that Song Yi must have heard everything they had just said, Lu Qingqing's hand gripped a nearby desk for support, trying but failing to maintain her usual fake smile, which now looked stiff and powerless.

Because it was clear that in this situation, there was no point in pretending anymore.

"Why are you here?" Chen Xue yelled at Song Yi, then realized, "You followed me?"

"Not completely stupid after all." Song Yi pulled out a nearby chair and sat down, crossing her arms as she looked at them, "So? Have you two reached a conclusion after all that exhausting arguing? I'm tired just from listening."

Chen Xue retorted, "What's it to you?"

"Don't be so hasty." Song Yi looked at Chen Xue with exasperation, "You're so stupid."

"What did you say?" Chen Xue slammed her hand on the desk, seemingly trying to "intimidate" Song Yi.

"You're too stupid to even see the situation clearly. I'm trying to help you." Song Yi disgustedly shifted her gaze from Chen Xue to Lu Qingqing, contemplatively asking, "Do you really like Shen Yujing that much? Because he repeatedly targeted me, you clearly hate me, yet you keep smiling at me every day. You've done so many underhanded things behind my back, yet still pretend to be my friend. Isn't all this acting exhausting?"

"Oh, of course you wouldn't be tired, since you've been acting for so many years." Song Yi gave Lu Qingqing a malicious smile, directly attacking someone's weak spot for the first time, "After all, you love acting, don't you? Your mother is just an ordinary working-class woman, yet with your words alone, you've made everyone believe she's some wealthy heiress."

Chen Xue's face showed bewilderment, while Lu Qingqing's usually hypocritical mask was completely torn off, "Stop it! Shut up!"

Song Yi wasn't the kind of person who would just obey. She had grown weary of maintaining this superficial peace. Taking a step forward, she continued, "As for your father, he's nothing but a dog of the Shen family. Are you envious of him? Is that why you're so desperately clinging to Shen Yujing? After all, just wagging your tail gets you the master's leftovers - I suppose that's enough to satisfy someone like you?"

Song Yi's words were so direct that they nearly broke Lu Qingqing, who lunged forward and grabbed her throat. "Shut up! Just shut up! You're nothing but a crazy woman full of lies!"

The gentler people appear in daily life, the more terrifying they become when they finally snap.

Song Yi didn't struggle. Instead, she looked at Chen Xue beside her, coughing while letting out a cold laugh. "Being deceived, used, and threatened by a poor man's daughter... don't you find it... *cough cough*... ridiculous?"

Chen Xue's hands clenched into fists at her sides. Just thinking about how she had taken the blame for Lu Qingqing last time, causing her to hang her head in shame at school for so many days, made her blood boil.

That incident had barely blown over, and now they were almost repeating the same mistake. She was trembling with anger.

And all of this was because she had been deceived by Lu Qingqing, allowing herself to be used.

Chen Xue couldn't take it anymore. She rushed forward and separated Lu Qingqing and Song Yi, gripping Lu Qingqing's wrist tightly. "Is what she's saying true?"

Lu Qingqing naturally couldn't answer this question.

Song Yi, covering her throat and coughing, supported herself against the table. Then she looked up with a smile and said, "If I've spoken even one lie, may Shen Yujing be struck dead by five thunderbolts from heaven."

Chen Xue's anger was uncontrollable now. Her palm struck Lu Qingqing's face without hesitation. "Who do you think you are? How dare you deceive me?"

Lu Qingqing was forced to kneel on the ground by Chen Xue, her face contorted in pain.

Song Yi unhurriedly added from the side, "Not just deceived - she threatened you too."

"SLAP—"

Chen Xue's second slap landed.

For Chen Xue, her mind was flooded with rage at being deceived and used, along with an intense satisfaction at being freed from her recent panic.

She needed something to vent her frustrations on, to release all the anxiety and humiliation she'd endured from being gossiped about, and Lu Qingqing, the root cause of it all, was the perfect target.

A taste of blood spread in her mouth as Lu Qingqing raised her head, looking at Chen Xue with gritted teeth.

But then, looking past Chen Xue, Lu Qingqing's gaze fell on Song Yi.

The black-haired girl in the black dress stood before her, looking down. Even with the red marks on her neck from being choked earlier, her cold eyes held undisguised mockery.

The alliance of interests between Lu Qingqing and Chen Xue had been incredibly fragile, easily shattered by just a few words from her.

So Song Yi only needed to expose the truth, then stand aside and watch them "tear each other apart."

But Song Yi still looked at Lu Qingqing and asked, "Do you truly love Shen Yujing?"

This was actually a question Song Yi had pondered for a long time, but she'd never found a definitive answer.

Was Lu Qingqing's extreme and twisted behavior toward Shen Yujing born from genuine love, or did her vanity lead to psychological extremes that then transformed into love for Shen Yujing?

Could love for someone really breed so much malice? She couldn't understand.

Perhaps Chen Xue also wanted to know the answer to this question, so she temporarily loosened her grip. After all, until now, she had viewed Lu Qingqing as a temporary ally in their rivalry for love.

"Who loves him?" Lu Qingqing spat blood onto the ground, then sneered, "Immature, disrespectful, self-centered, never considering others' feelings - I would never love someone like that. I think you're all ridiculous. What do you even see in him? A useless face that will inevitably age in twenty years?"

Chen Xue immediately defended Shen Yujing, "You can't talk about him like that! He's... he's actually a very good person!"

Lu Qingqing couldn't be bothered to argue with her. Instead, she turned to Song Yi, suddenly showing a somewhat eerie smile. "But what does it matter? So what if he has so many flaws? As long as his surname is Shen, as long as he's the only heir to the Shen family, I'll love him. Even if he doesn't love me back, as long as I'm somewhat special to him, I can enjoy countless privileges at Saint Slee just by using this connection. That's enough for me."

Lu Qingqing's words were quite clear - she didn't love Shen Yujing; she loved his money and the vanity that came from being close to him and being admired by others.

"Well said," Song Yi affirmed Lu Qingqing, then tilted her head toward the back door and called out, "Did you hear that clearly? She says she doesn't love you."

As Song Yi's words fell, Lu Qingqing's already unpleasant expression grew even worse. Her instincts told her the person at the door was...

Shen Yujing walked in through the back door, his expression far from pleasant.

The young master who had grown up pampered had never lacked people trying to please him, his ears always filled with excessive praise and flattery. Today was the first time in his life he had heard someone practically cursing him to his face.

The moment she saw Shen Yujing enter, Chen Xue instantly felt relieved that she had been defending him earlier.

When Song Yi had heard Lu Qingqing and Chen Xue arguing and mentioning that Shen Yujing would investigate this matter, she had texted him to come over.

Since they had such strong opinions about her, they might as well all get together and clear things up face to face, solving any problems directly.

Lu Qingqing looked at Song Yi and screamed in a frenzy, "You bitch!"

Song Yi looked at her expressionlessly, but her actions showed no mercy as she delivered a clean, sharp slap. "Mind your language."

The stinging pain in her cheek didn't make Lu Qingqing back down. Her eyes turned red with pain and suppressed emotion as she asked, word by word, "Why?"

Why treat her like this?

Why expose the lies she had so carefully maintained?

Why set her up like this, making her reveal these base thoughts in front of Shen Yujing?

Why could someone even poorer than her live as freely as those born with silver spoons?

Why did she have to appear at Saint Slee and effortlessly obtain everything she had wanted?

Just... why?

Lu Qingqing couldn't accept it.

These three words contained too many meanings, making Song Yi furrow her brows, momentarily unsure how to respond.

So Song Yi said, "I only asked you one question."

Shen Yujing walked to Song Yi's side. He had wanted to say something, but seeing Lu Qingqing in such a wretched state, he simply said, "Stand up first."

"I don't need your fake kindness." Lu Qingqing bit her lower lip hard, her heart racing uncontrollably, telling her what fear truly was.

Lu Qingqing had never imagined Shen Yujing would hear these words, so she hadn't considered the consequences of facing all this.

Now she grew even more hateful of Song Yi in her heart. She appeared gentle and kind on the surface but had so many evil intentions - how shameless!

Song Yi crossed her arms as she looked at Lu Qingqing, her voice calm, "You should still get up, unless you want to keep kneeling while talking to us?"

Hearing Song Yi's words, Lu Qingqing finally realized her current state.

She had been slapped, had her facade torn away, and had directly confessed all her vain thoughts. She was like someone stripped of their clothes and disguises, standing naked before everyone, displaying her ugly thoughts.

Those things she had carefully hidden, occasionally self-loathing yet always convincing herself she hadn't done wrong, were like a bucket of cold water dumped over her.

As she calmed down, more emotions flooded in - shame, disgust, fear. The mixture of these emotions caused her pain.

Shen Yujing looked at her and asked directly, "So you were the one who destroyed that dress?"

Lu Qingqing didn't answer, but her silence was confirmation enough.

Shen Yujing couldn't understand. He felt he wasn't very close to Lu Qingqing, but in his memory, she had been an extremely gentle and obedient girl.

Their occasional meetings were either at family dinners or at school, and they had no other social interactions beyond that.

Shen Yujing's impression of Lu Qingqing had always been decent enough, as she was sufficiently quiet, so he didn't find her disagreeable.

However, he couldn't understand - if Lu Qingqing disliked him so much, or if she only liked his status and money, why didn't she just try to please him? Why did she have to target Song Yi?

Shen Yujing voiced his confusion, and Lu Qingqing gave him her answer.

"Do I need a reason? We were born different - everything you naturally possess is something I can barely touch even if I fight for it with my life. Compared to you, I accept that I wasn't born lucky! But her? Who does she think she is! She's even less worthy than me!"

So, what right did Song Yi have? How could she not be jealous?

Hearing these words, Shen Yujing's eyes filled with complex emotions. He clearly understood what she meant, but he couldn't comprehend it, let alone agree with it.

Lu Qingqing stared intently at Shen Yujing, yet it was as if she was looking through him at someone else.

The confusion, rejection, disgust, and even slight pity in his eyes reminded her strongly of someone else.

She felt like she was looking at her mother, and suddenly she missed her.

If her parents had been as wealthy and powerful as Shen Yujing's parents, they wouldn't have had to live in such a cramped room, or experience so many helpless moments struggling for survival, or even...

If they had been born wealthy, perhaps they too would have been naturally selfless and kind.

The previously frenzied young woman slowly lowered her head, once again slumping to the ground, this time leaning weakly against the wall.

The screaming, anger, and outburst.

After everything ended, there was only lake-like calmness, or perhaps exhaustion.

Tonight, she had said too many things she shouldn't have.

She covered her eyes with her hands, her head drooping lifelessly, and her palms quickly became wet.

Since this matter had nothing to do with her, Chen Xue looked toward Shen Yujing and said with annoyance at Lu Qingqing, "How should we handle this? I'm willing to be a witness and cooperate whenever needed."

Shen Yujing said, "I will report this to the board of directors, and as for the following procedures..."

"Apologize to me," Song Yi interrupted Shen Yujing's words, walking in front of Lu Qingqing, her voice calm.

Lu Qingqing's slightly trembling body froze, but she didn't meet her gaze.

At this point, what difference would an apology make? Song Yi was just using this opportunity to humiliate her again.

Lu Qingqing had prepared herself for the worst outcome - being expelled from Saint Slee. She just hoped... hoped it wouldn't affect her father.

If it did affect him, well, that would just be his bad luck for having a daughter like her.

As Lu Qingqing was thinking this, suddenly Song Yi's hand fell on her shoulder, repeating, "Apologize to me, and promise to stay away from my life from now on. Your feelings for Shen Yujing are your business, don't involve unrelated people."

At this moment, Song Yi's voice sounded like heaven's music to Lu Qingqing.

Because Song Yi said, "This is the last chance I'm giving you."

She said she was giving her a chance.

*

Night sky, evening breeze, empty playground.

Shen Yujing and Song Yi stood under a tree, both unusually silent.

Shen Yujing looked at Song Yi, about to say something, but stopped when he saw the marks on her neck.

The red marks on her fair skin were so striking that even in the darkness, they could be described as shocking to the eye.

Shen Yujing had just agreed to let Lu Qingqing off, but seeing these marks made him feel angry and regretful again.

Song Yi naturally knew what he was looking at and said, "It's fine, this matter is over."

Song Yi was willing to let Lu Qingqing go because Chen Xue would naturally handle certain things, no need for her to act.

For Lu Qingqing, having her carefully maintained image destroyed would be more painful than being expelled from Saint Slee - this was the real price she should pay.

Shen Yujing took off his suit jacket and placed it on Song Yi's shoulders, his hands lingering there.

He instinctively wanted to touch her but hesitated and withdrew his hands.

Under the moonlight.

The golden-haired youth lowered his head, his voice very soft, saying, "I'm sorry."

This was the first time he saw with his own eyes that his kindness toward her could become a weapon for others to hurt her.

He knew he had been wrong.