Leng Ruobing's blush instantly drained away, her face turning pale. She stood frozen, seemingly unable to process what had happened. The apology she'd prepared caught in her throat.
By the time she recovered, Chen Beiyuan had already brushed past her, heading out of Donghua Academy without a backward glance.
As he passed, a gentle breeze stirred her long, black hair.
That once-familiar figure showed no sign of hesitation, as if she were a complete stranger.
Leng Ruobing had imagined many scenarios, wondering how Chen Beiyuan would react and forgive her after she apologized.
Ultimately, she had only been misled by Lin Xiao, leading her to do some wrong things. Fortunately, the consequences hadn't been too severe.
So, perhaps it could all be treated as if it had never happened...
But she never dreamed that Chen Beiyuan would leave so decisively, so unreservedly, as if they were just strangers.
Didn't he like her?!
Lost in confusion, Leng Ruobing felt an inexplicable ache deep in her heart, as if she had lost something.
However, the anxious Leng Ruobing had yet to realize the seriousness of the situation.
She should know that over the years, the reason she could enjoy special treatment at Donghua Academy, the reason everyone treated her politely, and even those young masters from the aristocratic families didn't dare to be rude to her...
The Leng Family behind her was just a small, second-rate family, yet they could expand wantonly, frantically seek benefits, and do whatever they pleased, with no one daring to provoke them.
It was all because Chen Beiyuan stood behind her!
Who was Chen Beiyuan?
The young master of the Donghua Chen Family!
The future head of the Donghua Chen Family!
A young genius with the potential to become an Emperor!
With such a behemoth backing him, who would dare to provoke his authority?!
With this tiger skin, anyone would have to be wary!
But now, Chen Beiyuan had, in front of everyone, voluntarily removed this tiger skin?!
This was huge news!
Initially, everyone's attention was on Chen Beiyuan. When he said "take care" to Leng Ruobing, it was like a giant missile, instantly detonating the entire scene.
Suddenly, the entire place fell silent!
When Leng Ruobing reacted, she noticed something strange. She felt the gazes of those around her gradually changing.
The respectful, friendly, flattering, and obsequious looks she had seen before instantly transformed into mockery, disdain, disgust, and coldness.
The swiftness of the change made Leng Ruobing feel extremely uncomfortable.
What made it even harder for her to accept was the unrestrained comments that followed.
"Heh, I knew Young Master Chen wouldn't take a woman from a small family seriously; it was just a fling."
"There are plenty of women like her in Donghua Academy. If it weren't for Young Master Chen, when would she have been ranked among the Four Beauties of Yanjing?!"
"She's just a Canary trapped in a cage, for people to admire. Once the master is tired of her, she'll naturally be discarded!"
"Thinking they're so high and mighty, but they're nothing. If it weren't for Young Master Chen, who would even bother with her? Always with that cold face, like everyone owes her money. Annoying to look at, what is she even?"
"Haha, you guys probably don't know, she only seems cold and pure. Actually, tsk tsk tsk, I have inside information. Last night, this woman took the initiative to invite Young Master Chen to the Longteng Hotel, and she limped out the next day..."
"Wow, that's explosive! Truly, you can't judge a book by its cover. Turns out a woman who looks so cold is actually so open-minded in private. Did she not satisfy Young Master Chen..."
Before, those classmates who were very respectful of her now seemed to have changed their faces, and they spoke ill of her endlessly.
Among them, there were even some "good sisters" who shared the same dormitory with her and usually played with her very well, flattering her in every way.
The gazes of those young masters from aristocratic families also lost their previous clarity, instead revealing a hint of evil, like wolves that had broken free.
Leng Ruobing felt as if she had fallen from heaven to hell, and the good people around her instantly turned into evil people.
At this moment, she felt like the sky was falling!
The sudden, violent changes assaulted her mind, leaving her blank, dazed, and unable to accept what was happening.
Why had things turned out this way?
She felt as if the entire world had abandoned her.
In the front row of the audience, Bai Yuze, who had been sitting with his legs crossed, relaxed his furrowed brow. A hint of joy appeared on his arrogant face. Ignoring the surrounding chatter, he stood up and left.
He also took out his phone and dialed a familiar number.
The phone only beeped once before being connected. A charming, sexy voice, tinged with laziness, came from the other end.
"Little Bai, what is it?"
"Sis, good news. I think Brother-in-law got tired of it and dumped the Canary he was keeping outside."
On the main platform, after watching Chen Beiyuan's figure completely disappear, Vice-Principal Liu Wenhui finally breathed a sigh of relief.
If this Star of Calamity didn't leave, things would be difficult for him!
He ignored the messy affairs between the men and women.
Instead, he looked down into the pit, at the two figures, an old man and a young man, whose lives were uncertain, lying together in a miserable state.
He sighed and waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to quickly send Old Man Qiong and Lin Xiao for treatment.
At the same time, he looked outside the academy at the departing luxury car, a hint of complexity in his eyes:
"With things having escalated so much, I'm afraid that within two days, the entire Yanjing City, no, the entire Empire will know."
"Everything that happened today, everyone, including me, will become stepping stones, a backdrop..."
"An eighteen-year-old Rank 5 War Marshal..."
On the way back,
Chen Beiyuan sat in the luxurious car with his eyes closed. A slight curve appeared on his handsome face, as if he had already anticipated everything that would happen in the academy.
For Leng Ruobing, mere physical harm didn't mean anything, and wouldn't even cause her to feel the slightest remorse.
On the contrary, mental harm was what mattered.
Once she got used to enjoying the privileged life Chen Beiyuan brought, once the rug was pulled out from under her feet, she would fall from the high clouds into the abyss, and be swallowed up by the darkness bit by bit.
The drastic shifts and changes in human nature were enough to make anyone feel utterly devastated.
As the old saying goes, when you're on top, everyone around you is good, with no bad people in sight.
But once you fall, you'll likely witness the true cruelty of human nature.
With Chen Beiyuan's status, he didn't need to lift a finger to kill someone.
Many things didn't even require him to take the initiative. Just a single word from him, and many people who knew how to read between the lines would take care of everything, making sure it was done cleanly.
"Everything has just begun."