He Stepped Forward—and the Classroom Fell Silent

Lu Jing naturally knew Pei Du.
Most girls in the senior year with any social circle knew Pei Du.
To exaggerate a bit, even many sophomores and freshmen knew this very handsome senior.
In high school, grades and looks were far more attractive than whether someone’s family had money or connections.
His height, instantly noticeable in a crowd, his spine as straight as a silver pine, that handsome face no girl could easily forget, and the viral “contrasting persona” videos—He Chengxi wasn’t wrong; Pei Du was really famous.

The gazes of almost everyone in the class followed Chen Xinmei’s look and found Pei Du sitting in the corner of the second row.
Glancing silently at her own boyfriend, then at Pei Du, Lu Jing had to admit that if she were Chen Xintian, having a guy of this caliber in her class, she really wouldn’t waste time on other boys.
Unless Pei Du was genuinely vile and detestable, she couldn’t think of any other reason.
To put it bluntly, even if he were clueless, spent women’s money, smoked, and drank, plenty of women would still throw themselves at him like moths to a flame.

Fang Wen noticed the change in Lu Jing’s gaze and expression, his own face inevitably darkening with embarrassment.
His own girlfriend was focusing on another man now? What was going on? She didn’t care about his feelings at all.
Was Pei Du just a bit better-looking? Was it worth it? He hadn’t been in a relationship for three years; who knew if he had some hidden issue?

Chen Xintian, seemingly calm, was actually carefully observing Pei Du’s reaction.
Her sister suddenly dragging Pei Du out for comparison was something she hadn’t anticipated.
But right now, she was very eager to see Pei Du’s reaction.
Would he be displeased, indifferent and uncaring, or perhaps a bit pleased?
Testing the waters was necessary to proceed with the next steps.

Zhao Yu, eating melons in the back row, was baffled.
What was going on? How did the argument end up dragging Young Master into it?

At this point, Pei Du could continue to lie low and do nothing.
But he had told Chen Xintian he knew about the matter, so he couldn’t remain completely passive.
At the very least, he had to make it appear that he and Chen Xintian were on the same side.
This was a matter of a man’s word, and had nothing to do with protecting a beautiful girl who was pursuing him.

He stood up and walked from his seat into the aisle.
After several days of fine-tuning, the enhancement provided by the beauty stat was proving surprisingly effective.

His temperament was natural and effortless, every movement brimming with a sense of beauty.
Not just the opposite s*x, even those of the same s*x couldn’t ignore this charm.
As he drew closer, whether it was Chen Xintian, Chen Xinmei, or Lu Jing and her friends, their heartbeats all accelerated.
Seeing Pei Du take action, Zhao Yu, forgetting about packing his bag or watching the show, stood up and followed beside Pei Du, ready to help.
He didn’t know what Young Master planned to do, but he just needed to support him.

“I am Chen Xintian’s… friend. Pei Du.” Pei Du chose his words carefully, afraid of causing misunderstanding.
“She’s not an indiscreet girl. This matter likely has nothing to do with her.”
Feeling this wasn’t enough, Pei Du added,
“Please leave.”

The young man’s voice was low but not hoarse, clear and vibrant yet carrying a magnetism that could unsettle hearts.
Chen Xintian believed this voice alone was enough for her to use for three—no, thirty—nights.
Probably she wasn’t the only one having this thought right now; any girl present with even a slightly lecherous streak would have had the same idea.
Of course, the main point was that Pei Du’s statement was putting a definitive end to the matter.
The subtext was also clear to everyone:
–Chen Xintian is not the problem. The problem is your boyfriend, Lu Jing’s Fang Wen.

Hearing Pei Du’s words, Fang Wen’s face turned green.
He threw caution to the wind and quickly spoke up,
“Who are you to decide? Fine, I’ll tell the truth. It was Chen Xintian who started chatting with me. I really didn’t do anything.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them.
The moment Pei Du stood up, he realized Chen Xintian wouldn’t choose him. He couldn’t compare to Pei Du.
In that case, Chen Xintian definitely wouldn’t side with him and help cover his lie.
Telling such a lie would be extremely awkward when exposed.
But his pride, not wanting to be overshadowed by Pei Du, and his fear made him say it anyway.
It was a peculiar kind of youthful face-saving and self-respect.

“Fang Wen.”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
Chen Xintian and Chen Xinmei spoke simultaneously.

Chen Xintian’s beautiful eyes held a terrifyingly dark gaze.
She absolutely would not allow anyone to ruin her image in front of Pei Du at this moment.
Pei Du, with his usually aloof attitude, had finally taken the initiative to help her.
If Fang Wen ruined her future plans, she would think of every way to utterly destroy this guy who dared to slander her.
Chen Xintian, true to her desires and choices, made Fang Wen, who was under her gaze, feel a chill.

Her sister Chen Xinmei, on the other hand, would not allow anyone to slander her sister.
Her sister wasn’t someone who would seduce other girls’ boyfriends; why should she be saddled with such a reputation?
“You were the one constantly bothering my sister, sharing this and that,” Chen Xinmei crossed her arms, her voice filled with anger and sarcasm.
“And complaining endlessly about how strict your girlfriend is, how much it troubles you.”
Since this guy had no shame, she didn’t need to save face for him either.
Chen Xinmei spilled the things Chen Xintian usually said about Fang Wen as a source of amusement.

Everyone was digesting these revelations from the individuals involved.
It had to be said, it was too stimulating.
Like a stone thrown into a calm lake creating ripples, their gossip was a wonderfully intense seasoning in the tense life of senior year.
No classmate wanted to miss it.

Pei Du walked up to Fang Wen.
Because of the height difference, Pei Du’s gaze came from slightly above, looking down at him.

“Will you take responsibility for what you said?”
He had thought Fang Wen was just a case of his little head controlling his big head, which wouldn’t have stirred any particular emotion in him.
But what Fang Wen was doing now was completely slandering a girl’s reputation.
That clashed greatly with Pei Du’s values.
Pei Du most despised people who damaged others’ reputations.

To be honest, Pei Du was also acting from a subjective standpoint.
If Fang Wen wasn’t lying, then it really wasn’t his fault.
Pei Du, without any investigation, directly believed what the Chen sisters said—that was purely subjective judgment.
But Pei Du trusted his own judgment and his understanding of Chen Xintian.
If he was wrong, he would bear the consequences of his mistaken judgment.
This wasn’t arrogance; it was a man’s responsibility to face risks.

“What are you pretending for? Who do you think you are?”
Fang Wen raised his voice, trying to sound fierce but revealing his inner weakness, his voice unpleasant like a duck’s quack.
He reached out to push Pei Du, wanting to demonstrate his male strength.
As someone who loved sports, he was confident in his own strength.
Even with a slender build, his explosive power was certainly not weak; otherwise, he couldn’t have played basketball with people like Zheng Zhengbo.
As long as he could overpower Pei Du physically, he could salvage some face!

Fang Wen’s plan was beautiful, but he forgot one thing: Pei Du also loved sports and exercised daily.
Not to mention his newly gained physique stat points, even with his previous training, he could easily pin Fang Wen.

The moment Fang Wen’s hand touched Pei Du’s chest, Pei Du’s right hand clamped down hard on his wrist, preventing him from exerting any force.
Seeing himself restrained, Fang Wen lost his temper.
His other hand shot straight towards Pei Du’s shoulder; he had to prove he was better than Pei Du in some way.
The fist carried force, showing Fang Wen wasn’t holding back.
However, he had aimed for the shoulder from the start; even with force, it wouldn’t cause serious injury.
Even in his agitated state, he knew high school fights couldn’t result in serious harm; he hadn’t aimed for Pei Du’s vital areas.

The increase in his physique stat had greatly enhanced Pei Du’s senses, allowing him to easily notice Fang Wen’s intention.
Pei Du merely used his right hand to pull Fang Wen towards him slightly, then kicked at Fang Wen’s right leg with his left foot, disrupting Fang Wen’s balance.
Once balance is lost, it’s hard for the body to exert force.
In an instant, Fang Wen fell sideways onto the floor, raising a cloud of dust.
His right hand was still held by Pei Du, his lower body knocking a nearby desk askew.

He looked utterly disheveled, dragged along by Pei Du like a dead dog.
Even after being thrown down, he still struggled stubbornly, unwilling to accept defeat.

Pei Du bent one arm, leaned forward slightly, and pinned him to the floor with a single hand, leaving him completely immobile.

Everything happened far too fast.
Zhao Yu, standing nearby, didn’t even have time to intervene.
The surrounding people only caught the general picture.

All they knew was that Fang Wen had tried to shove Pei Du first—only to be taken down instantly.
The gap in their fighting ability was obvious; they weren’t on the same level at all.
Fang Wen had made the first move, even resorted to a sneak attack, and yet was still utterly suppressed.

Seeing her boyfriend thrown to the ground, Lu Jing instinctively took a step forward to help him up.
But halfway through the motion, Chen Xinmei’s earlier words suddenly surfaced in her mind.

If that were true… if Fang Wen had really betrayed her… then why should she help him?

She stopped.

When she looked up and met Pei Du’s cold, severe gaze, she didn’t dare act rashly.

When Pei Du made a move, there was something almost magical about it—
a terrifying kind of presence that compelled submission.

It came from an instinct buried deep within living beings.
Any creature naturally feels awe toward one with greater combat strength.

To be precise, it wasn’t just fear of Pei Du’s physical power—
it was an instinctive sense of submission toward a dominant predator.

No one cared about how Lu Jing felt.

Chen Xintian felt it was time to hurry home.

She needed to change her pants.