82: Chapter 82 Unwilling, truly unwilling.

Gu Jingshen clutched the file bag and sprinted all the way to the entrance of the Police Station. From a distance, he saw Qin Xue in her dark blue police uniform, standing on the steps with her hands on her hips. The sunlight hit the brim of her police cap, and her profile was as cold as ice, yet strangely beautiful.

"I was just about to notify you!" Qin Xue slapped the folder into his arms with a "thwack." "The cyber-supervision department just sent this over. See for yourself—the ringleader is named 'Li Jinshui,' just a manager at an internet cafe. He said he took a five-thousand-yuan deposit from a student named Pei Yunxiao; they seem to have worked together before. These are their transfer and chat records."

Gu Jingshen flipped through the chat logs, so delighted he slapped his thigh. "Five thousand yuan? They dared to attack our Singularity and try to start a public opinion war, yet they weren't even willing to spend money? No wonder the internet trolls were so pathetic. Oh, by the way, Xiaoxue, look at the breakfast I brought you. Just-bought meat buns, still warm..."

He looked down and felt the breakfast bag in his arms, his expression suddenly freezing. "Oh no! I ran too fast just now; I think I left the breakfast at the company!"

Qin Xue's gaze instantly turned cold, and she reached out to pinch his ear. "Gu Jingshen, are you missing a brain cell? You can even forget to bring breakfast when told! Hmph! Don't come to me for help anymore."

Gu Jingshen grimaced in pain but didn't dare dodge, quickly leaning in with a fawning smile. "My fault, my fault! Tonight, I'll treat you to that beef tallow hotpot in the Old Town, extra spicy. I'll order three plates of your favorite beef tripe, how about that?"

"Who wants to eat your hotpot?" Qin Xue brushed off his hand, though she wasn't truly angry. She turned to walk into the Police Station. "By the way, that Pei Yunxiao—why did he spend money to attack your company?"

Gu Jingshen hurried to keep up and was stunned by her words. "You don't know? Aren't you a police officer? Isn't it easy for you to look someone up?"

Qin Xue paused, turning to glare at him, the ferocity in her eyes nearly overflowing. "I'm a police officer, not an AI database! And I'm not in charge of household registrations! How could I know every student who hasn't committed a crime? Do you think there are only a few students in Jiangcheng?"

Gu Jingshen shrank his neck under her glare and muttered softly, "I just thought the police knew everything... You only know how to bully me."

"What did you say?" Qin Xue's voice suddenly rose, and she reached out to pinch his arm.

Gu Jingshen was so scared he scrambled back, raising both hands over his head in surrender. "Nothing, nothing, nothing! I didn't say anything! I just thought my dear wife was omnipotent!"

"Who's your wife!" Qin Xue's cheeks instantly flushed, and she gave him a push, though without much force. "Scram, stop being an eyesore here! I've already had the cyber police keep an eye on Pei Yunxiao's account. If he dares to cause trouble again, I'll bring him straight to the Police Station for a 'chat'!"

Gu Jingshen saw her reddened earlobes and secretly curled his lips into a smile. Leaning in, he added, "So, are we still on for hotpot tonight? I'll book a table in advance..."

"Yes, yes, yes! Any more nonsense and I'll make you stay at the Police Station today!" Qin Xue glared at him and turned into the station, but the moment she entered, a smile secretly tugged at the corners of her mouth.

Gu Jingshen watched her back, smiling like an idiot. He took out his phone and sent a message to Zhang Fan: "Done! The trolls are caught, and we have evidence on Pei Yunxiao. I'm going for hotpot with Xiaoxue tonight, so don't worry about things on your end! By the way, the Eldest Miss of the Song Family didn't cause any trouble for you, did she?"

Zhang Fan looked at his phone and shook his head helplessly.

Song Zhiwei was sitting on the sofa in his office, clutching her phone so hard her knuckles were white. After hanging up a call from her roommate just now, she had been silent, her expression looking very grim.

"Did something happen?" Zhang Fan handed her a glass of warm water.

Song Zhiwei took the glass, her fingertips trembling slightly. "My roommate said... registration for the CET-4 requires personal confirmation. She also said Pei Yunxiao asked about me several times at school yesterday, as if he's waiting for me to return."

Memories of her past life surged up like a tide, bringing a bone-chilling cold.

She remembered her freshman year, seeing her roommates still wrapped in faded old padded jackets in winter, their noses red from the cold. She had secretly asked the butler to pack up the brand-name coats and scarves she could no longer wear and send them over.

Knowing they couldn't scrape together their tuition fees, she had gone behind everyone's back and had her father send a letter to the school to arrange full subsidies for all three of them, even waiving their textbook fees.

She thought sincerity could be exchanged for sincerity, but in the end?

Behind her back, they crowded around Pei Yunxiao, chirping, "Young Master Pei, you're so kind, even helping us pay our tuition."

Pei Yunxiao clearly knew the subsidies were from the Song family, yet he smiled and said nothing, letting them credit him for the deed.

When Ruan Shu tore her design drafts to pieces, they stood by, arms crossed, laughing.

When Ruan Shu locked her in the restroom, causing her to miss her final exams, they didn't even offer a single "sorry." Instead, they followed others in saying, "Who told her to offend Young Master Pei? She deserves it."

"I, the dignified Eldest Miss of the Song Family, the only daughter of Jiangcheng's richest man..." Song Zhiwei's voice trembled with a grievance she hadn't even noticed herself. "To think I was bullied by a group of people who relied on my charity, and because of Pei Yunxiao's damn halo, I was manipulated like a fool..."

Was she born to be the vicious female supporting character in a short drama? Giving her heart and soul to benefit others, only to end up with her family destroyed and her life lost, all just to serve as a foil for the "divine romance" of Pei Yunxiao and Ruan Shu?

Unwilling. Truly unwilling.

She took a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions. Her roommate suddenly urging her to return to school, and Pei Yunxiao asking about her—anyone could guess they wanted to trick her into going back, then humiliate her in front of their classmates and force her to yield to Pei Yunxiao, just like in her past life.

But things were different now. She had Zhang Fan by her side, an "anchor" that could keep her lucid; she was no longer that love-struck fool trapped by an intelligence-lowering halo.

She turned to look at Zhang Fan, the fragility from before gone, replaced by a gritted-teeth determination. "President Zhang, can you come to the school with me? With you there, I'll feel more at ease."

Zhang Fan looked at her eyes and felt a bit skeptical. Confronting a group of students seemed like making a mountain out of a molehill no matter how he thought about it.

But on second thought, the system's mission was to help her get revenge. This might be Song Zhiwei's first step in breaking free from the shadows of her past life. Besides... she was paying one million in rent a month; accompanying her to school didn't seem like a bad deal.

"Fine, I'll go with you," Zhang Fan nodded. "But let's get this straight: I'm only responsible for giving you moral support. I won't get involved in any fighting or arguing."

Song Zhiwei immediately smiled, and much of her tension dissipated. Her eyes shone like a lit flame; she was no longer the Eldest Miss who needed to hide behind others, but was truly ready to settle the score with her past self and those who had hurt her.