Prince charming, your persona has collapsed!

At 9:30 in the morning, the class is split up for an exam. Zhou Yuwen arrives twenty minutes early at the lecture hall. Gradually, people trickle in. The first ones to enter are Gu Yaoyao and the other three girls from her dorm, originally hoping to find a seat near the front.

When Liu Yue sees Zhou Yuwen sitting in the classroom, she greets him openly, "Hi, class rep, long time no see. Why are you here alone?"

As she speaks, Liu Yue walks over to Zhou Yuwen's side and signals for her roommates to join her.

Zhou Yuwen says, "Maybe because I'm too handsome, I've been ostracized?"

The girls couldn't help but snicker at Zhou Yuwen's joke, all except Liu Yue who, being a bit straightforward, asked in surprise, "Really?"

"No, just kidding."

At the beginning of the school year, Liu Yue actually wanted to pursue Zhou Yuwen. She constantly chatted with him and even helped him secure a couple of campus card clients. Unfortunately, Zhou Yuwen's attitude towards her was always lukewarm.

Liu Yue then decided to give Zhou Yuwen the cold shoulder for a couple of days and stopped messaging him on WeChat, resulting in the two of them losing contact.

The classroom felt particularly empty in the early morning since the other students had not arrived yet. Liu Yue tapped her forehead in frustration, complaining about not having learned a single thing the night before.

No one knew what the exam would cover.

"Hey, by the way, class rep, how's your English?"

"Not bad," Zhou Yuwen says.

Liu Yue giggles, "My English is pretty good. If you don't understand something, just knock on the desk, and I'll sit by you."

Most of the time, it was Liu Yue initiating conversation with Zhou Yuwen. Gu Yaoyao kept her head down, busy with her own things, while the other two roommates would occasionally laugh along with their chatter.

Liu Yue was a very talkative girl and went on without end. Of course, such girls often lack a sense of boundaries, and when she learned that Zhou Yuwen had not participated in military training, she said, "I didn't expect you, class rep, to be so frail."

"You need a strong girlfriend to protect you."

Zhou Yuwen found this amusing and replied, "Are you strong enough then?"

His comment instantly made Liu Yue's face turn red. Liu Yue's blush was a sign of genuine shyness. She seemed both annoyed and amused, calling Zhou Yuwen hateful.

"Yaoyao, look at him!"

Gu Yaoyao ignored her, while the other two roommates thought Liu Yue was kind of putting on a show.

Liu Yue then asked Zhou Yuwen if he had bought a ticket home and where his hometown was.

Zhou Yuwen answers, "I'm not going home for the holiday."

This comment made Gu Yaoyao, who had been playing on her phone the whole time, pause for a moment.

"You're not going home? Neither am I." Unfortunately, before Gu Yaoyao could continue, Liu Yue had already jumped in. Liu Yue said she didn't want to go home at all, that there was nothing good at home.

"Both my mom and dad work in the Capital city, and there's nothing fun at home. I'd rather be at school. By the way, class rep, do you have any plans for where to go during the seven-day holiday?"

No matter what the topic, Liu Yue always managed to keep the conversation going with Zhou Yuwen. Thankfully, other students who had come for the exam began filling the classroom.

Among them was Chang Hao.

Upon entering, Chang Hao had a gloomy expression. Not only had he not slept well the night before, but a phone call with Zhou Yuwen that morning had also soured his mood.

When Zhou Yuwen said he was with Zheng Yanyan, Chang Hao's face changed, followed by a prolonged silence. Then Zhou Yuwen asked, "Brother Hao, is there anything else?"

"If there's nothing else, I'm going to hang up."

Right after that, Zhou Yuwen ended the call.

Chang Hao remained frozen, still holding the phone.

"Brother Hao, what's up? Who were you calling?"

Although Chang Hao wasn't on speakerphone, his use of 'Old Zhou' was a giveaway. Moreover, the voice on the other end could be heard even without speakerphone, and Li Qiang was simply feigning ignorance.

"You were on the phone with Old Zhou?"

"Is it true that Old Zhou and Zheng Yanyan are together now?"

"Did Old Zhou and Zheng Yanyan go and book a room last night!?"

That comment snapped Chang Hao awake and he became furious: "What the hell are you talking about!?"

"Hey, I'm not the one who said it. Old Zhou didn't come back to the dorm last night, anyone with eyes could see," Li Qiang jeered.

"Fuck!"

Chang Hao was infuriated and violently pushed Li Qiang, causing him to stumble back against a cabinet, almost falling over. Find more chapters on empire

To this, Li Qiang merely twisted his mouth, "Getting angry, huh."

Chang Hao warned Li Qiang not to talk nonsense.

"Old Zhou first sent Yanyan back to her dorm last night before he went out to stay somewhere else!" Chang Hao glared as he told Li Qiang.

Li Qiang scoffed at this, "You believe that? Maybe he's just playing you!"

"You…"

"Alright, alright, I'll shut up, I'll keep my mouth closed. You think whatever you want to think, I won't say another word!"

Li Qiang made a gesture of covering his mouth with his hand and snickered, thrilled with himself for learning such delightful news early in the morning. Oh man, this is just perfect!

Old Zhou and Zheng Yanyan are together?

Does that mean I have another chance with Linlin?

When Li Qiang left the dorm that morning, even the breeze outside felt sweeter. He hummed a tune as he ate and greeted anyone he knew with great enthusiasm.

Oh right, while at the cafeteria, he couldn't help but send Lu Lin a 'Good morning.'

The pain from a few days ago was already long forgotten.

Old Zhou was already taken, so why the hell was he still upset?

Back in the classroom, Chang Hao saw Zhou Yuwen surrounded by Liu Yue and the other girls. The two men only exchanged a glance, but try as he might, Chang Hao could not bring himself to greet Zhou Yuwen.