“Chu Bai, I’m giving you a chance to admit your mistake. Since you refuse to repent, I’ll let the school authorities handle this,” Song Zhenyu said, clearly disappointed in Chu Bai.

“Teach… Teacher Song, please… don’t. I don’t want to make a big deal out of this, or else I… I really won’t be able to face anyone.”

Wen Jing remembered Wang Haoran’s advice not to escalate the situation, so she intervened to stop Song Zhenyu’s suggestion.

Wang Haoran had his reasons for doing so. If the matter escalated and reached the ears of the school authorities, the old principal would surely find out. Chu Bai had once saved the old principal and had also been credited for reporting some troublemakers. According to the typical web novel trope, the old principal would become a staunch supporter of Chu Bai, a tool character in the protagonist’s camp, dedicated to cleaning up the protagonist’s messes and handling various crises. The previous incident of fighting was a good example of this.

If the old principal learned about this, he would undoubtedly do everything possible to prove Chu Bai’s innocence. If they brought in professional agencies and used modern scientific techniques, they would surely clear Chu Bai of suspicion. After all, Chu Bai had merely lingered at the entrance of the girls’ dormitory. Physical evidence doesn’t lie.

“Wen Jing, are you sure?” Song Zhenyu asked.

“Yes, Teacher Song, I’ve thought it over. Chu Bai might have acted impulsively, and since we’re classmates, I don’t want to ruin him. Besides, if word gets out, I’m afraid of being talked about, even though I’m the victim. However, Chu Bai must apologize to me!”

“Alright, I respect your decision,” Song Zhenyu nodded, then turned to Chu Bai and said coldly, “Do I have to force you to apologize?”

Chu Bai felt both angry and relieved. He was angry because he had been framed. But he was relieved that the matter could be resolved discreetly, which was somewhat acceptable. After all, saying “sorry” wouldn’t cost him anything.

“Wen Jing, I’m sorry.”

At the same time, a system notification appeared for Wang Haoran:

…

[Ding! The protagonist Chu Bai has bowed to the villain’s forces. Congratulations to the host for gaining 300 villain points. Chu Bai’s protagonist halo -30, host’s villain halo +30.]

Wang Haoran received another system message.

…

Chu Bai and Wen Jing returned to the classroom one after the other. Wen Jing had stopped crying, but her eyes were still red. Apart from Wang Haoran, the other students in the class were unaware of what had happened. However, Wen Jing’s appearance clearly showed she had suffered a great grievance.

“Jing Jing, what happened?” Xu Muyan asked with concern.

Wen Jing recounted the incident of Chu Bai’s “harassment.”

Xu Muyan’s expression changed dramatically.

[Ding! The host has successfully manipulated events to damage the relationship between the protagonist Chu Bai and the heroine Xu Muyan, affecting the original plot trajectory, and gained 200 villain points.]

[The heroine Xu Muyan’s favorability towards the protagonist Chu Bai has decreased by 20. The current total favorability is -30 (extremely dislike).]

Wang Haoran received another system notification, reaping rewards one after another. According to his plan, there should be more rewards to come.

At this moment, Song Zhenyu entered the classroom with a stern face and slammed her lesson plan on the podium. The students were startled. The homeroom teacher’s expression was clearly off, as if she had swallowed gunpowder.

“Stop for a moment,” Song Zhenyu suddenly said. The students obediently paused whatever they were doing, not daring to provoke the homeroom teacher’s wrath. It must be said that Song Zhenyu’s carefully crafted persona of a hot-tempered teacher was quite effective, easily intimidating the students.

“I have two announcements for you. This Sunday afternoon, there will be no holiday,” Song Zhenyu announced.

The classroom immediately erupted in groans. The senior year curriculum was intense, with only two days off each month and a half-day off on Sundays. Losing the half-day off meant attending classes continuously for half a month. It was truly exhausting and overwhelming. Even Xu Muyan, who loved studying, felt a bit frustrated.

“Silence!” Song Zhenyu’s simple command quieted the complaints in the classroom.

“Teacher, what’s the other announcement?” Xu Muyan bravely asked.

“The last two days of this week will be the joint mock exam for all high schools in Qingling City,” Song Zhenyu replied.

With those words, a palpable tension filled the classroom. The words “53 days until the college entrance exam” written in red chalk in the upper right corner of the blackboard became even more striking.

Traditionally, the joint mock exam papers for all high schools in Qingling City were prepared by the same people responsible for the college entrance exam. The joint mock exam was essentially a mini college entrance exam. In some ways, the mock exam scores were almost equivalent to the final college entrance exam results. After the mock exam, the teachers’ attention and care for the students would change significantly. Students would be divided into different categories. Those with good grades would receive extra attention, while those with poor grades would be left to fend for themselves.

After delivering the two announcements, Song Zhenyu left the classroom. Most students remained tense, but a few were particularly relaxed. Among this small group were those indifferent to the college entrance exam, a few fearless academic achievers, and one… outlier.

“A joint mock exam, huh? This is my chance to turn things around…” Chu Bai’s eyes gleamed with determination. The beautiful homeroom teacher had developed a strong dislike for him due to the incident with Wen Jing. If he could shine in the joint mock exam, she would surely see him in a new light. Additionally, it could attract Xu Muyan’s attention. More importantly, it would pave the way for the college entrance exam. He had always been a poor student, but he improved with each exam. Naturally, he had to improve in the joint mock exam. This way, when he got into a prestigious university during the college entrance exam, it wouldn’t be too conspicuous. People would just think he was making rapid progress.

While Chu Bai was contemplating, the second evening self-study session ended. As one of the underachievers, Chen Zishi was completely unconcerned about the mock exam. Her focus was on Wen Jing. When Wen Jing returned to the classroom earlier, her face clearly showed something was amiss, as if she had been crying. Wen Jing’s eyes were still a bit uncomfortable, so she lay on her desk pretending to nap.

“Wen Jing?” Chen Zishi mustered the courage to approach Wen Jing.

Hearing the call, Wen Jing slowly sat up. This chubby girl really came to ask me… Wang Haoran had told her that Chen Zishi might come to inquire about her situation, so Wen Jing wasn’t too surprised.

“Is there something you need?” Wen Jing asked, feigning ignorance.

“You seemed to have been crying earlier. Did someone bully you?”

“No, you must have seen wrong.”

“Don’t lie to me. Your eyes are still red. You must have cried. Who bullied you? Tell me!”

“It was…”

Wen Jing pretended to hesitate for a moment, then repeated what she had told Xu Muyan to Chen Zishi. After hearing it, Chen Zishi stormed out of the classroom in anger.