The Weight of Secrets

For the entire morning, Lin Yi barely registered a word of his lessons. His mind was a whirlwind, a tangled knot seemed to constrict his chest, leaving him feeling utterly flustered.

The moment the lunch bell chimed, Lin Yi bolted out of the classroom. Qin Ruoxue, still tidying her books, watched his hurried departure with a hint of confusion.

Having packed her belongings, she walked over to Li Yan. He was still slumped over his desk, seemingly asleep.

From Qin Ruoxue’s vantage point, however, she could clearly see him secretly playing on his phone.

“Cough, cough.”

The sudden sound startled Li Yan, his body instinctively jolted upright. Realizing it was Qin Ruoxue, he swiftly hid his phone, feigning composure as he looked at her.

“Class Monitor Qin, is something the matter?”

His panicked expression practically screamed his guilt. Qin Ruoxue calmly extended a hand, her face a mask of cold indifference.

This was her usual demeanor with others: distant and stern. Li Yan was caught dead to rights, leaving him no choice but to surrender his phone obediently.

“Playing on your phone during class. Should I report you to the teacher, or will I spare your life this time?”

Her voice was chillingly cold. Li Yan shrank his neck, pleading softly.

“Class Monitor, my family situation is… complicated. Please don’t tell the teacher, or my dad might actually kill me.”

Qin Ruoxue rolled her eyes. She had heard countless excuses like this before. However, her true intention today wasn’t actually to catch Li Yan playing on his phone.

“Alright, has Lin Yi said anything to you today?”

Li Yan was utterly bewildered by the question. He scratched his head, racking his brain but recalling nothing.

“No, Brother Lin hasn’t said anything to me recently.”

Qin Ruoxue’s brow furrowed. Without another word to Li Yan, she turned and walked away.

“Hey! Class Monitor, my phone!”

“I’ll return it after school.”

****

Inside the head teacher’s office, Lin Yi stood beside Liang Rumeng, his face etched with an unpleasant expression.

“Teacher, has my transfer application still not been approved?”

Liang Rumeng glanced at him, then began typing rapidly on her keyboard, as if communicating with someone.

“Is it urgent?”

“Urgent, very urgent.”

How could he not be anxious? Every second he lingered here felt like a threat to his life.

Liang Rumeng pressed her temples, a headache brewing. She had just inquired with the principal, whose response was simply to “wait a little longer.”

“If the principal won’t approve it, there’s nothing I can do.”

Sensing the helplessness in Liang Rumeng’s tone, Lin Yi could only nod with a heavy heart.

Stepping out of the office in silence, Lin Yi ran straight into Qin Ruoxue. Before he could utter a word, her slender, well-proportioned hand seized his arm, forcibly pulling him into a secluded corner.

“Lin Yi, is something going on with you recently?”

“Huh? No, why do you ask?”

Qin Ruoxue’s eyes narrowed slightly, the light within them flickering erratically, causing a flutter of unease in Lin Yi’s heart.

“Lin Yi, are you hiding something from me?”

Having spent so much time with Lin Yi, Qin Ruoxue understood his nature intimately. The thought of Lin Yi keeping secrets from her was simply unacceptable.

She yearned to understand everything he did, to permeate every corner of his life. She couldn’t bear for him to hide anything from her; if he continued to do so, she truly feared she would lose control.

Lin Yi froze on the spot. He was at a loss for what to do. If he told Qin Ruoxue he wanted to transfer, she would undoubtedly press him for the new school’s name, then transfer with him.

If he kept it from her, Lin Yi feared Qin Ruoxue might instantly snap, transforming him into someone utterly dependent on her.

This wasn’t Lin Yi being alarmist; it had been mentioned in the original novel. Given that Qin Ruoxue’s family owned a pharmaceutical empire, creating a drug tailored for Lin Yi would be terrifyingly simple.

After a moment’s thought, Lin Yi decided to choose the lesser of two evils.

“Actually, I want to transfer schools.”

Upon hearing this news, Qin Ruoxue’s expression visibly darkened.

“Lin Yi, why do you want to transfer?”

“I plan to move back to my hometown, to be closer to my parents.”

“So that’s it…”

Qin Ruoxue knew a little about Lin Yi’s family situation, so she could understand his decision. But why did he hide it from her? Why did he distrust her so much? Was she truly insignificant to him?

The light in Qin Ruoxue’s eyes dimmed, and a chill emanated from her, striking Lin Yi. He involuntarily recoiled a step, his amber eyes fixed intently on Qin Ruoxue.

Qin Ruoxue remained still, and Lin Yi dared not approach rashly, fearing she might drug him. He vividly remembered that in the original novel, the male lead merely brushed against Qin Ruoxue before collapsing unconscious.

Though that time hadn’t arrived yet, Lin Yi dared not be careless.

“Qin Ruoxue, you… alright?”

“Oh, I’m fine.”

Qin Ruoxue waved a dismissive hand, her golden eyes slowly turning cold. Then, her eyes narrowed again, locking onto Lin Yi with an intense, unwavering gaze.

“If I hadn’t come after you for something so important, were you planning to keep it from me forever?”

Under Qin Ruoxue’s piercing gaze, Lin Yi felt profoundly uncomfortable, instinctively shrinking his neck. He mentally rehearsed his words, only speaking when a flicker of impatience appeared in Qin Ruoxue’s eyes.

“I just didn’t want you to worry. If I had told you in advance, you definitely wouldn’t have let me leave, right?”

‘So that’s how it was…’

The light in her eyes seemed to return somewhat, though her expression remained unchanged.

“That’s not necessarily true. If you had told me beforehand, perhaps you would have brought an extra person with you on your transfer day.”

Lin Yi’s lips twitched. He knew Qin Ruoxue would react exactly like this.

The two conversed for a while longer, and thankfully, Lin Yi managed to stabilize Qin Ruoxue’s mood. For now, outwardly, Qin Ruoxue showed no signs of ‘blackening.’

This was likely tied to the original plot; it wasn’t yet time for Qin Ruoxue to ‘blacken.’ Her descent began after Chen Sishi kidnapped the original male lead, and that moment was still some time away.

This whole experience had scared Lin Yi half to death. Not only had he altered the original plot, but he had also nearly provoked a minor boss from later in the story.

Lin Yi learned his lesson: next time he deviated from the original plot, he absolutely had to keep it from the female leads.

Bidding farewell to Qin Ruoxue, Lin Yi headed for the cafeteria. On the way, his mind was a jumble of random thoughts.

They were fragmented and unfocused, and when he finally snapped back to reality, he was already inside the cafeteria.

Approaching his usual stall, Lin Yi ordered two dishes: one meat, one vegetable. This combination was the most economical and satisfying he had discovered in recent days.

As he ate with relish, Lin Yi enjoyed pulling out his phone to browse videos. He opened a pink-themed app, idly scrolling through his ‘Following’ list.

Finding no new videos, Lin Yi navigated to the homepage. Lately, the app had been consistently recommending videos about a new game’s internal beta test—the same game Li Yan had mentioned to him earlier.

A shiver of apprehension ran through him. Lin Yi had never searched for anything related to this game, yet the app had actively pushed it to him. The power of big data was truly terrifying.

If one of the female leads possessed such capabilities, Lin Yi wouldn’t even bother resisting; he would simply give up and let them have their way.