Shi Qiuyu found it hard to imagine spending every day looking at Feng Yunhe's deadpan face.

But how did you come to the conclusion that I have a secret crush on him?

You need evidence for such claims. If you keep saying that, I'll sue you for defamation.

Wait, my friend, let me explain.

Don't let this misunderstanding about me liking Feng Yunhe affect our friendship of over a decade.

"Darling, I really don't like him."

[It's normal to like the male lead]

Shi Li patted her shoulder understandingly, "I still have to advise you, don't like him anymore. It won't lead anywhere."

Shi Qiuyu was eager to defend herself, "We're sisters. How could I like the man you like?" I actually dislike him, okay?

Shi Li sighed, "If you really like him that much, go ahead and pursue him boldly. Just one thing - don't break any laws."

Shi Li gave this advice to her best friend based on her own identity in this world. In the original novel, the villainous female characters represented by Shi Li resorted to all sorts of schemes to frame the female lead in their pursuit of the male lead, nearly violating half the criminal code. It was truly heartbreaking to hear about.

Shi Qiuyu took every word from her sister seriously. Hearing Shi Li tell her not to break the law,

She was terrified. So I'm going to be a criminal in the future?

For a moment, Shi Qiuyu didn't know whether it was more important to explain that she didn't like Feng Yunhe, or to be upset about potentially ending up in jail in the future.

Dawn was breaking, and Shi Qiuyu still couldn't sleep.

She thought for a long time but still couldn't figure out whether Shi Li had actually been asleep earlier, or if she was just fishing for information.

The next morning, Shi Qiuyu was woken up by the sound of messages.

Every morning at six o'clock, her phone would automatically turn on.

After the phone turned on, all the messages she hadn't received overnight due to the phone being off came flooding in at once.

She knew without guessing that they were messages from the group chat. She glanced over and saw that Shi Li was washing up.

Shi Qiuyu sneakily opened the chat group. Everyone was asking her what news she had heard from Shi Li last night.

She definitely couldn't reveal what she had actually heard, or she'd never be able to clear her name.

So she just sent one message: "She went to sleep so early, I didn't hear anything."

Whether the others believed it or not, this was her only answer.

"Qiuyu, stop playing with your phone and come wash up," Shi Li's voice called out.

Hearing Shi Li's voice, Shi Qiuyu quickly turned off her phone. "Okay, I'm coming."

Sitting in the car with Shi Li, Shi Qiuyu reminded her, "Oh right, did you buy the books the Chinese teacher asked us to read?"

A few days ago, the Chinese teacher had shared a list of extracurricular books in class. Shi Li had already read these books several times in her previous life.

"Not yet."

For her, there was no need to read them again. However, learning is a boundless ocean, so Shi Li planned to go to the bookstore in the evening to buy a few books she hadn't read before.

Since the driver was right there, Shi Li told him, "Uncle, you don't need to come pick me up from school tonight. I want to go to the bookstore to buy some books. I'll just take a cab home after I leave the bookstore."

The driver offered to pick her up from the bookstore, but Shi Li refused that too.

"No need, Uncle. Take the night off and have dinner with your wife and kids early."

Hearing that she was going to browse the bookstore, Shi Qiuyu felt a bit regretful, "I have ballet class tonight, otherwise I could have gone shopping with you."

Just two seconds after saying that, she suggested, "Why don't I skip class tonight, and we can go out together?"

"My dear princess, give it a rest. Think about it, you just skipped class a few days ago, and now you want to do it again?"

It was indeed the case.

The last time she skipped class to watch the excitement at Wei Yongsheng's funeral, Shi Qiuyu was scolded to death by her father when she got home.

Better not provoke the tiger.

Maybe in a few days.

Every school has bookstores nearby, and since the students at Qianpu Middle School come from well-off families,

The bookstore near Qianpu Middle School was huge, comparable to a shopping mall.

That's why in the morning, Shi Li had used the term "browse the bookstore" rather than "go to the bookstore to buy a few books."

When Shi Li walked out of the bookstore, it was already dark.

But her harvest was plentiful – two full bags of books.

She had been so engrossed in looking at books that she hadn't had time to eat.

Thinking about dinner, she really craved the spicy skewers from the food street near the school.

Near Qianpu Middle School, the somewhat shabby food street managed to stand firm, and for good reason.

Each small shop had its own signature dish, incredibly delicious, making people want to eat more and more, suspecting they might have added some illegal substances.

However, while the environment of this food street looked ordinary, its hygiene was quite good.

As the old saying goes, it's best not to walk alone at night.

Shi Li hadn't expected that in such a safe environment near the school, there would actually be thugs.

At this time, the second and third-year high school students were all studying in the school, with security guards patrolling around.

Even the security guards at Qianpu Middle School had professional backgrounds, capable of taking on five opponents at once in dangerous situations.

Other schools might have some hooligans nearby, but the area around Qianpu was very clean.

A few young punks with dyed yellow hair pushed Shi Li around, blowing smoke rings, with the leader cursing, "Someone asked me to pass on a message to you: stop fucking bullying Liang Rongrong."

Shi Li couldn't help but scream internally [This scene wasn't in the original plot!]

After the lead thug finished cursing, he left, but the two thugs behind him, seeing Shi Li's pretty face, had bad intentions and started pushing her towards an alley.

[Ah ah ah ah ah, shit shit shit, don't touch me with your dirty hands!]

She definitely couldn't obediently follow these thugs into the alley. Once in there, she'd be truly beyond salvation.

She pushed the two bags of books she was carrying into the thugs and took off running towards a crowded area.

Shi Li's athletic abilities were average, but her survival instinct had unleashed her potential.

She had never felt this street was so long when passing by before.

Until a male voice ahead asked with some confusion, "Shi Li?"