After Becoming the Abused Heroine in a Campus Story - Chapter 19: Is That Really Zhou Yining?

Chapter 19: Is That Really Zhou Yining?

Zhou Yining saw Zhang Ye didn’t respond. She didn’t bother with him and pulled Yu Yang away.

Zhang Ye stood there, his face dark. Some students secretly recorded their exchange with their phones. Soon, it spread among small groups of students.

In various group chats, people discussed the incident.

[Oh my gosh, look! Who’s that with Zhang Ye?]

[Who’s that girl? She looks a bit like Zhou Yining, but way prettier. Zhou Yining had straight bangs and never wore her hair down.]

[I think it’s her too. But doesn’t Zhang Ye hate Zhou Yining? Why would he talk to her?]

[Probably because she got prettier, and he regrets it. Guys are like that.]

[No way, is that really Zhou Yining? I can’t believe it.]

Many students chatted heatedly in their groups. Zhou Yining entered the classroom. The noisy class fell silent instantly.

Zhou Yining scanned the room. “What? Never seen me before?”

“No, Sister Zhou, you got a haircut? It looks great.” A girl who asked her a question that morning said with a smile.

“Yeah, where’d you get it done? I want to get a trim too.” Another girl chimed in.

Zhou Yining smiled and told them the barbershop’s name, then returned to her seat.

Xu Yueming glanced at Zhou Yining secretly. When he felt her gaze, he quickly looked away, making a flurry of awkward movements.

Zhou Yining saw him fidgeting like he was on pins and needles. She frowned and said, “Are you okay? Shaking the desk like that—do you have ADHD? I suggest you get it checked. At your age, it might be too late to fix.”

Xu Yueming’s temper flared at her jab. The tiny spark of teenage admiration he felt for Zhou Yining vanished. Her sharp tongue hadn’t changed.

“You’re the one with ADHD,” he muttered, pulling out his workbook to start on it.

Many in the class noticed Zhou Yining’s change. If her demeanor shifted a few days ago, today her hairstyle transformed her. Her appearance had improved dramatically, making her seem like a different person.

The first afternoon period was English. Teacher Cao entered Class 19 with a grim face. Thanks to Zhou Yining, his class’s average score was the lowest in the grade. Worse, he heard her other subjects were all grade-first, nearly perfect.

Scoring zero in English was clearly a challenge to him.

Teacher Cao stormed into the class. The students, sensing trouble, quieted like quails.

“Look at your scores. Some students have no sense of class pride. Their low scores dragged our class average to last in the grade.”

Teacher Cao spoke, his gaze fixed on Zhou Yining. Seeing she didn’t care about her English zero and even got a new hairstyle, he sneered, “Some people don’t study properly and only think about dating. Do you think anyone would notice you?”

Zhou Yining wasn’t afraid. She met Teacher Cao’s eyes, a playful smile on her lips.

Her smile made Teacher Cao angrier. “You study for yourself, not for me. Class representative, come up and distribute the answer sheets.”

His one-sided rant didn’t faze Zhou Yining. Feeling tired from scolding, Teacher Cao stopped and prepared to review the test.

Zhou Yining took out her novel outline and started refining it.

Still upset, Teacher Cao didn’t let Class 19 take a break, teaching two periods straight. When class ended, students rushed to the bathroom.

Worried the fourth-floor bathroom would be crowded, Zhou Yining went to the third floor. Along the way, students from other classes stared at her.

“Hey, look, that’s Zhou Yining. She got a haircut. She looks so much prettier.”

“Yeah, she’s almost as good as Zhong Yumeng or Jiang Xianzhi now.”

“No way, I still prefer Zhong Yumeng’s gentle scholar vibe.”

“But I heard she talked to Zhang Ye this afternoon. Maybe he regrets it.”

“Impossible. Zhang Ye has Zhong Yumeng. He wouldn’t look at her.”

Zhou Yining ignored the chatter. After using the bathroom, she went straight to Class 1.

At Class 1’s door, she looked inside. Some boys in the class whistled at Zhang Ye.

“Ye Bro, she’s definitely here for you.”

“Yeah, Ye Bro, I didn’t realize Zhou Yining’s kinda pretty. Never noticed her before.”

“Ye Bro, why not consider her? Don’t you like smart girls?”

“Exactly, exactly.”

Zhang Ye coughed dramatically. “Hmph, she pretended to ignore me this morning, and now she’s back already. Girls are so two-faced, saying they don’t want my attention.”

He felt a bit proud saying this. Zhou Yining used to be ordinary, but now she was a rising academic star with much better looks and a new aura. She’d probably be popular among guys.

Having such a girl crush on him made him feel honored.

Zhang Ye adjusted his clothes, stood up, and started toward the door. After a few steps, Zhou Yining spoke.

“Jiang Xianzhi.” She called out, smiling and winking at Jiang Xianzhi.

Jiang Xianzhi noticed Zhou Yining, slipped the USB drive into her pocket, and jogged out of the class. She left with Zhou Yining.

Zhang Ye’s face turned green. He stood in the hallway, unsure whether to move forward or go back.

Zhou Yining wasn’t here for him?

The boys who teased Zhang Ye scattered. Zhang Ye’s family was wealthy, not someone ordinary students could afford to offend.

Zhou Yining led Jiang Xianzhi out of the teaching building. The twenty-minute break after two periods gave them enough time to discuss the surveillance.

They reached the playground. Zhou Yining stopped. The playground was crowded with students running or young couples sneaking moments amid the chaos.

Zhou Yining found an open spot and asked, “Did you bring the USB drive?”

“Yeah, I made a copy on my home computer in case something happens. I watched it at noon but couldn’t figure out who did it.” Jiang Xianzhi said, handing Zhou Yining a silver USB drive.

“Thanks, you’ve helped me a ton. I owe you one. I’ll repay you when I get the chance.” Zhou Yining genuinely thanked Jiang Xianzhi. The original owner’s love letter somehow ended up with Jiang Xianzhi, who was innocent in this. Yet she still helped. Zhou Yining felt she should properly thank her.

But being broke, Zhou Yining didn’t know how to repay her yet and could only owe her for now.

Jiang Xianzhi paused. Her so-called friends in the past asked for favors but never mentioned repaying her, acting like her wealth and status obligated her to help.

She later got wise and stopped associating with those who used her. Now, she only had Shi Yuanyuan and Si Yaqing as friends.

“No need to repay me. I’m doing this to clear my name too.” Jiang Xianzhi said.

“Still, thanks. I’ll go home tonight and study the footage to see if I can find any clues.” Zhou Yining planned to go to the internet café to write her novel and review the video.

“Okay, let’s walk around the playground before heading back. I was working on some problems earlier, and my head hurts.”

Jiang Xianzhi’s grades weren’t good enough for Class 1, the top arts class in the second year, filled with either top-ranked students or those whose wealthy families paid for entry.

Jiang Xianzhi was the latter. She used to be obsessed with Zhang Ye, so her family got her into Class 1. But lately, she felt different. Her feelings for Zhang Ye had faded, no longer the blind admiration from childhood.

“What’s wrong? Math exam problems? If you don’t get something, you can ask me.” Zhou Yining smiled at her.

She had no money, but explaining problems for Jiang Xianzhi was no issue.

“Right, you got first in math!” Jiang Xianzhi’s eyes lit up, but she soon deflated. “Never mind. My family hired a tutor, a thousand yuan per session, and I still don’t get it sometimes. I won’t trouble you.”

Jiang Xianzhi felt her math was hopeless. On 150-point tests, she scored sixty or seventy, never breaking 90 in high school.

She considered Zhou Yining a friend now and didn’t want her to think she was dumb.

“Give it a try. Maybe I explain better than your tutor.” Zhou Yining winked at her and smiled.

Seeing Zhou Yining’s smile, Jiang Xianzhi’s ears turned slightly red. She noticed today that Zhou Yining was pretty, just hidden by those thick bangs before.

“Alright, let’s try?”

“Sure.” Zhou Yining nodded with a smile.