The Heartthrob Halo Doesn't Work on the Villain - Chapter 8

Lou Yubing suddenly froze, her mind blank. Alerted by 555’s warning and the charged atmosphere, Lin Yan quickly realized she had said the wrong thing. The person before her seemed unwilling to give her a chance to explain.

“Alright, if you already know it, that’s even better. In that case, there’s no need for me to waste my weekend tutoring you. It would be a waste of both our time.”

To Lou Yubing, whether Lin Yan was telling the truth or not didn’t matter. Even though she had briefly considered settling into her current situation, maintaining distance from this person would be ideal.

The favorability score remained unchanged, but Lin Yan could clearly sense Lou Yubing’s mood had suddenly improved. Perhaps she was envisioning a future free from pressure, a normal high school life. But Lin Yan couldn’t let her continue down that path. Losing the tutoring opportunity would make it much harder to establish a connection with her.

Words spoken are like spilled water—impossible to retrieve. She had to find a way to backtrack.

“No! I… I just meant I know how to solve this problem. When I encounter something I don’t understand, I’ll still need you to teach me properly…”

Lou Yubing merely raised an eyebrow, tapping the final, most challenging problem on the exam paper with the pen in her hand—the same problem Lin Yan had been staring at just moments before.

“Are you sure?”

The moment Lin Yan saw the problem, the corner of her mouth twitched slightly beneath the cover of the exam paper. A problem of this magnitude was completely beyond the capabilities of the “her” in this world to solve independently. But having made such a bold claim, there was no turning back now.

“Don’t rush me! Give me time, and I’ll definitely figure it out!”

Lin Yan’s petulant yet domineering words were laced with a hint of wounded pride. She believed this little act would be highly effective on Lou Yubing, who, in her opinion, lacked worldly experience.

With this maneuver, the situation transformed into a stubborn refusal to back down in response to repeated doubts from the person she liked. After some time had passed, she could then humble herself, feign weakness, and coax Lou Yubing into teaching her with a fresh wave of flattery.

Caught off guard by Lin Yan’s response, Lou Yubing froze for a moment before breaking into a rare smile.

“Alright, then let’s work on it together. I can use your answers to eliminate the wrong ones.”

Though Leng Bingbing’s usually icy face softened into a smile as warm as a spring breeze, Lin Yan still barely suppressed the urge to punch her. In her original world, as the youngest person to earn a doctorate in business administration from her university, solving high school math problems was child’s play. But now, burdened by her “academic slacker” persona, she had to feign incompetence.

Hold it together… she reminded herself. This is the mission target, the future benefactor of my perfect life. Charm her first, charm her first.

To uphold her earlier “tough talk,” Lin Yan copied the problem’s given conditions multiple times, adding nonsensical scribbles and illogical cause-and-effect relationships in between. Since the first question was a proof, she figured she could force a solution by brute force, adding random steps and scribbling wildly. Even a cobbled-together answer like this was within her capabilities.

Finally, the soft scratching of a pen against paper reached her ears. Lou Yubing was genuinely curious about what Lin Yan would write, but she wanted to solve the problem herself first before openly observing her. The beauty of math problems lay in their concise statements, diverse solution paths, and unified answers. With a single glance, Lou Yubing had imprinted the problem’s few conditions—easily counted on one hand—into her mind. After briefly outlining her approach, she swiftly picked up her pen and began scribbling furiously on a blank A4 sheet.

Lin Yan had no idea what a perennial underachiever should write on an exam paper. In her mind, such students usually submitted blank sheets. It was the average-performing students who filled their answer spaces with half-right, half-wrong solution steps, as if leaving any space empty meant missing out on potential points.

But right now, she was arguing with someone, so she had to write something. A couple of correct steps should seem normal, right?

She hesitated before picking up her pen, only to find Lou Yubing already had her legs crossed, leaning casually against the wall by the bed. The flimsy answer sheet was pinched between her fingers, while her other hand rhythmically twirled a pen.

Lin Yan’s lips twitched again, an inexplicable feeling that Lou Yubing was putting on an act.

Despite this thought, she glanced at her own awkwardly written answer, which looked like a complete mess. If that’s the case, might as well give up entirely.

Adjusting her posture, she quickly slipped into character.

“You’re already finished…”

Lou Yubing’s listless tone made her sound utterly dejected. Lin Yan felt a pang of sympathy, but quickly regained her composure, waving the A4 paper in her hand with a nonchalant expression.

“Of course. It won’t take much time anyway.”

Look at her, saying such infuriating things.

Even as she thought this, Lin Yan knew she had to play her part. She pinched her thigh hard, the pain instantly reddening her eyes. She slammed the barely-started exam paper shut and tossed it onto the bed, turning her back to Lou Yubing in a huff.

Is she… crying?

Lou Yubing hadn’t anticipated this reaction and looked completely flustered.

Her life experiences had left her without even a proper friend, let alone any experience comforting others. She unconsciously leaned forward, her arm extending until her fingertips hovered just a hair’s breadth from Lin Yan’s shoulder.

In that instant, Lou Yubing seemed to snap out of her daze. Her hand recoiled as if burned, a strange emotion churning within her.

What was she doing? Was she actually worried about the person who had once humiliated her?

Though Lin Yan couldn’t directly see Lou Yubing’s actions or facial expressions since her back was turned, 555’s alerts kept her aware of Lou Yubing’s position.

The notification sounds of Lou Yubing’s favorability score rising one or two points, then immediately dropping back down, repeated endlessly, revealing the inner turmoil of the other woman.

Lin Yan had never expected their relationship to progress rapidly. After all, repairing a relationship required patience and time. Faced with this situation, she felt little disappointment, only a small flicker of joy.

At the very least, her efforts were having some effect.

No matter where she lived, Lin Yan remained a genuine optimist. Life was a rare gift, and every day of joy was a day well-spent, just as every day of sorrow was.

Though the plotline still held a so-called “crisis” for her to face in six months, she could only do her best. After all, who could truly predict the future?

According to the current plot, the Female Lead’s career arc hadn’t yet begun. All Lin Yan could do was cultivate a good relationship with this major Villain, hoping to influence her future actions through those around her. If that path failed—

She would have to place all her hopes on protecting the Female Lead.

Although the Lin Group would become an empty shell in six months, there was still a significant period between that moment and the complete collapse of the Main Storyline. This should have been enough time for her to earn enough money, help others solve their problems, and at least get them out of the country to hide.

Still, she was deeply curious about the reasons behind the group’s downfall. While the collapse of business giants usually stemmed from a few common causes, it was exceedingly rare for such a well-established industry leader to plummet from heaven to earth overnight. It was truly a cause for lament.

Unlike Lin Yan, whose mind was racing with possibilities, Lou Yubing remained trapped in self-doubt, unable to escape her own suspicions. In the end, she could only attribute the cause to Lin Yan’s recent abnormal behavior.

When things deviate from the norm, there’s always something fishy going on. She was genuinely curious to see what this person was planning.

With her thoughts finally clear and free from the passive feeling of being manipulated, Lou Yubing let out a soft sigh of relief.

Her gaze returned to the slightly frail yet inexplicably stubborn figure before her. This time, she didn’t reach out.

“Since you’re so eager to study properly, remember to come find me this Saturday. We’ll start with math.”

Her voice was much steadier than before, suggesting she had made up her mind.

Lin Yan listened, her right thumb and forefinger twisting a corner of the bedsheet. She suddenly switched to an expression of delight, turning around excitedly.

“Really?!”

The Monthly Exam ended quickly, and before they knew it, the agreed-upon day had arrived. Thanks to financial support and the fact that the school was primarily residential, Lou Yubing shared a dormitory room with her roommates.

For someone like Lin Yan, who could come and go as she pleased, such regulations were practically nonexistent. She had a private car for daily transportation and lived in a mansion with a garden so vast it could be converted into a golf course. Traveling on foot was practically unheard of in her estate, where she lived like a princess.

Lou Yubing’s situation was different. As a student on financial aid, she was assigned to a small eight-person dormitory room. But she was content with this arrangement, having endured far worse conditions in the past. Moreover, Hai City First High School’s financial resources ensured decent living standards for all students, though the disparity between her circumstances and those of wealthy heiresses like Lin Yan felt like the difference between heaven and earth.

Fortunately, the other girls in her dorm were in similar circumstances, so even during her recent period of isolation from the class, they maintained a normal, if somewhat distant, relationship with her in the dorm.

By the way, Xia Qiyu was one of these seven roommates.

Perhaps due to their shared background at the Hai City Orphanage, their relationship was slightly closer than the others, though not by much. At most, they would exchange greetings if they ran into each other outside.

Lou Yubing had initially thought that forcing such a spoiled young lady into this environment would make her give up. But Lin Yan not only came, she was also incredibly sweet-tongued, greeting each roommate individually and promising to be quiet and not disturb them. She even brought signature tiramisu from Hai City’s most famous pastry shop, enough for everyone, effectively bribing them into submission.

Seeing this harmonious scene, Lou Yubing was momentarily speechless. But the next moment, Lin Yan reappeared, stealthily pulling a delicate little box from her bag.

“There’s one more piece—let’s share it.”