After Becoming the Abused Heroine in a Campus Story - Chapter 6: Another Good Show to Watch

Chapter 6: Another Good Show to Watch

“I’m telling the truth. There’s no shortcut to studying. If you don’t believe me, I can’t help it.”

Tian Xue didn’t say more and handed Zhou Yining the milk tea.

The two left the milk tea shop, the atmosphere a bit awkward. Zhou Yining didn’t mind, though. She’d spoken the truth. In her previous life, she worked hard for the college entrance exam to get into Peking University. She didn’t want Tian Xue to have false hopes. Studying was a path you had to walk alone—no one could do it for you.

Soon, Zhou Yining entered the classroom. As she sat down, Xu Yueming leaned over.

“Heard you cussed out Zhang Ye at noon?”

“Does that concern you? You’d be better off doing a few more questions.” Zhou Yining ignored him after that, pulling out her math textbook and workbook. High school material wasn’t hard for her, but practice makes perfect, and she needed time to adjust.

Xu Yueming, rebuffed, didn’t dare push it. Zhou Yining was bold enough to curse out Zhang Ye—if he kept at it, he’d just be handing her his head.

Soon, the first math class started.

June’s heat made the afternoon’s first period tough. Students sat listlessly below, the teacher’s voice a lullaby.

Teacher Zhang’s chalk began targeting sleepy students with precision. His gaze landed on Zhou Yining, who sat upright, her desk covered with scratch paper, as if working out something.

“Everyone, pay attention. The last part of this big question is beyond the curriculum, a competition-level problem. I’ll explain it anyway—try to understand.” Teacher Zhang continued writing on the board.

The whole class was lifeless. When it finally ended, students collapsed onto their desks, catching up on sleep.

Zhou Yining sighed in relief. She wanted to use the bathroom but worried about the diary. It had been taken once; it could happen again.

She tucked it between some workbooks, making it look inconspicuous, then headed to the bathroom.

Along the way, people pointed and whispered about her. The love letters on the confession wall were still online, the issue still brewing.

As Zhou Yining came out of the bathroom, washing her hands, she thought about it.

To punish whoever posted the original’s love letters, she needed evidence. At this point in high school, most were still minors. Even if she reported it to the police, they’d likely just get a warning, not real punishment.

Zhou Yining thought for a moment and had a plan, but she had no money and couldn’t do much.

Walking back, she thought of Jiang Xianzhi. With no money or connections, finding the culprit meant making a big fuss, maybe involving the media, but that would burn bridges with the school.

That was the worst-case plan, and Zhou Yining wasn’t ready for it. Since Jiang Xianzhi offered help, she decided to find her later.

The second period was history. Zhou Yining skimmed the textbook—easy stuff. In her previous life, she chose the full liberal arts track for the college entrance exam—history, geography, politics—same as the original. Her scores were near-perfect back then. Flipping through the textbook and exercises, she found them still easy, and felt relieved.

She quickly worked through the workbook. The teacher was explaining how to approach big questions, but those methods were second nature to Zhou Yining—she didn’t need to relearn them.

When class ended, Zhou Yining took out her pink notebook. After a moment, she asked Xu Yueming, “Do you know which class Jiang Xianzhi is in?”

Xu Yueming looked at her, shocked. “What, are you crazy? Jiang Xianzhi not causing you trouble is good enough, and you’re going to find her?”

“Cut the crap. Which class is she in?” Zhou Yining shot him a cold glance.

Xu Yueming shrank back under her stare. “You really don’t know, or are you pretending?”

Zhou Yining threw him a sharp look, and he quickly said, “She likes Zhang Ye, so her family pulled strings to get her into Class 1. Everyone in the grade knows that. You’re something else, not even knowing which class your rival’s in.”

“Why so much bullshit?” Zhou Yining grabbed her notebook and left. Class 19 was on the fourth floor; Class 1 was on the third.

As she headed to Class 1, she drew attention. People pointed and whispered.

“Isn’t that Zhou Yining? Going to apologize to Brother Ye?”

“Tch, she was all bold at noon, saying she didn’t like him. Now she’s running to him?”

“She’s just cheap. She should take a piss and look at her reflection. Think Brother Ye would like her?”

“Let’s watch. Another good show’s coming.”

The corridor got crowded, people pretending to be busy, chatting or pacing.

Zhou Yining found them laughable. They’d be better off doing some questions. She couldn’t understand their thinking.

Soon, she reached Class 1’s door. Someone was coming out, so she said, “Hi, can you call Jiang Xianzhi for me? I need to talk to her.”

The boy recognized her. “You—you’re Zhou Yining?”

She nodded openly. “Yeah, that’s me. Can you call Jiang Xianzhi? Thanks.”

The boy nodded, leaned into the classroom, and shouted, “Jiang Xianzhi, someone’s looking for you.”

Inside, Jiang Xianzhi froze. She was chatting with her two followers.

Many at school wanted to curry favor with her, but Jiang Xianzhi wasn’t dumb and ignored most. She only kept Shi Yuanyuan and Si Yaqing close. Few came looking for her.

Still, she got up and headed out, her two followers trailing her.

When Jiang Xianzhi stepped out, she saw it was Zhou Yining.

“You’re looking for me?” she asked, unsure.

Zhou Yining nodded, her gaze on Jiang Xianzhi. The girl’s dark hair was loosely tied in a bun, making her skin look even fairer. Her fox-like eyes met Zhou Yining’s.

Zhou Yining smiled. “I need to talk to you alone. Didn’t you say I could come find you?”

Jiang Xianzhi nodded. “Alright, let’s find somewhere else to talk.”

“Okay.” Zhou Yining headed out of the corridor, Jiang Xianzhi following, with her two followers behind her.

Zhou Yining glanced back and stopped.

“What? Scared I’ll eat you? Need bodyguards?” Zhou Yining smirked at Jiang Xianzhi, glancing pointedly at her followers.

Jiang Xianzhi, quick to take the bait, retorted, “Who’s scared of you?”

She turned to Shi Yuanyuan and Si Yaqing. “You two, go back. Don’t follow me.”

“But, Zhizhi…” Shi Yuanyuan started, but Jiang Xianzhi cut her off.

“No buts. Go back.” She didn’t want Zhou Yining looking down on her.

“Fine.”

Shi Yuanyuan and Si Yaqing reluctantly returned to Class 1, glancing back occasionally.

“Tch, if my family didn’t make me suck up to her, you think I’d put up with her princess attitude?” Shi Yuanyuan muttered.

Si Yaqing patted her shoulder, agreeing. “No kidding. If my family didn’t push me to get close to her, I’d steer clear. Who can stand her shitty temper?”

“Yeah, but we gotta be careful. Can’t let Zhou Yining steal her away,” Shi Yuanyuan warned.

“I know,” Si Yaqing frowned.

They stuck with Jiang Xianzhi for the benefits.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yining and Jiang Xianzhi left the building and reached the playground.

Zhou Yining found a quiet spot and stopped.

“Here for the diary?” Jiang Xianzhi asked.

Zhou Yining nodded. “I need your help. I’ve got no money or connections to hire a tech expert to trace the IP of whoever posted on the confession wall. Can you help?”

Jiang Xianzhi looked up at her. “Of course. They put your diary on my desk on purpose to frame me. I’m a victim too.”

“Great, thanks for helping. If you get any leads, can you let me know soon?”

Jiang Xianzhi nodded, then looked at Zhou Yining haughtily. “I don’t even have your contact info. How would I reach you?”

Zhou Yining smiled, pulling out her beat-up phone. “I’ll scan you.”

“Alright.” Jiang Xianzhi smugly pulled out her phone, displaying her WeChat QR code for Zhou Yining to scan.

Zhou Yining fiddled with her old phone. Maybe because she’d recorded earlier, the storage was full, and it was lagging badly. Opening WeChat took forever.

Jiang Xianzhi was shocked. A phone could lag this much?

“How old is that phone? Can it even work?”

Zhou Yining saw Jiang Xianzhi staring at her phone in disbelief and smiled. “No choice, gotta make do. Give me a sec—I’ll restart it, and it’ll be fine.”