Chapter 14: An Uncontrollable Scene
A Strange Pressure
Yu Li was about to step forward to help Lan Yi when a sudden, inexplicable pressure halted her.
Her silver eyes involuntarily shifted to vertical slits.
It was as if something demanded her attention.
Frowning slightly, she looked up.
In her slit-pupil vision, the world transformed—everything seemed more vibrant, as if celebrating the birth of something new.
Faint, mysterious light flickered into existence.
The crowd remained oblivious to these changes.
Her silver eyes glowed faintly, and as she observed, a sharp pain stabbed through her, urging her to close her eyes.
But she endured, staring at the strange light.
Above Ye Sheng’s head, the light coalesced into a pure black halo.
Despite its dark hue, it radiated an odd sense of sanctity.
Lan Yi’s blue halo, usually radiant like a child of the heavens, dimmed under the black halo’s influence, as if cowed by a greater force.
“What… is that thing?”
The phenomenon subsided, leaving everything calm—except for Ye Sheng, now crowned with a black halo.
Standing before him, Lan Yi felt an unfamiliar pressure, as if the boy had changed.
She clutched her arm, her brow furrowing.
“Sorry, Ye Sheng, I’m leaving.”
No matter what had changed in him, Lan Yi’s resolve to avoid him remained firm.
“Heh, you can leave, but you’d better return every gift you took from me.”
Ye Sheng let out a cold laugh, his demeanor now eerily calm.
“What?”
Lan Yi, baffled, questioned him instinctively.
“I’m done chasing you. But you need to give back everything you took. Those are Ye family possessions—you don’t deserve them.”
His attitude had flipped completely.
His eyes glinted with disdain, as if Lan Yi were something filthy, not the blue-haired beauty before him.
“I never took anything from you.”
Though confused by his sudden shift, Lan Yi explained with a frown.
“Heh, really?”
Ye Sheng’s expression turned mocking, as if her words were laughable.
“Didn’t you use them to keep your little boy toy?”
His words sent a shockwave through the crowd, their gazes turning strange.
The implication was explosive: Ye Sheng, the obsessive suitor, chased Lan Yi relentlessly, yet she supposedly accepted his gifts while rejecting him, using them to support another man.
“What nonsense are you spouting?!”
Lan Yi could no longer maintain her gentle tone, her voice laced with anger.
“Whether it’s nonsense, we’ll soon see.”
Ye Sheng, brimming with confidence, eyed her with contempt, as if waiting for something.
As if on cue, a boy stormed into the center of the crowd, face flushed with rage, pointing at Ye Sheng.
“Ye Sheng! You dare harass Lan Yi again? Haven’t you had enough lessons?”
He stepped in front of Lan Yi, shielding her as he shouted.
“See? There he is.”
Ye Sheng ignored the boy’s challenge, his mocking tone unclear if it targeted Lan Yi or himself.
“You’re asking for it, throwing shade like that!”
The newcomer, unfazed by Ye Sheng’s status, looked ready to throw punches, escalating the tension.
Watching from the crowd, Yu Li’s brows furrowed in disbelief, her feet rooted to the spot.
She’d lost all desire to intervene.
The new boy, like Ye Sheng, bore a pure-colored halo—a fiery red one, burning with the same anger radiating from him.
Behind him, Lan Yi’s head spun.
Despite the chaos, the boy’s back gave her an inexplicable sense of safety.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she ignored the feeling and frowned at him.
“Ling Hao, why are you here?”
The boy, Ling Hao, was Lan Yi’s neighbor and childhood friend, almost like a sibling.
Perhaps that’s why she felt reassured.
Ling Hao turned, flashing her a gentle smile.
“I saw him bothering you from upstairs, so I came. Don’t worry, leave it to me.”
He reached for her hand, but Lan Yi subtly dodged.
Unfazed, Ling Hao assumed her mood was soured by Ye Sheng.
Turning back, he sneered at him.
“You stray dog. Lan Yi said she’s not interested, so stop pestering her.”
“Heh, me, the Ye family heir, chasing trash like her? You can have her.”
Ye Sheng’s expression dripped with disdain.
“What did you say?!”
Ling Hao’s temper flared, his fists clenching.
“Don’t bark yet. I’m not the one chasing her anymore—she’s the one who took my stuff and won’t return it.”
“Is that true, Lan Yi?”
Ling Hao instinctively turned to her.
“I didn’t take anything!”
Lan Yi grew more agitated, rare anger flashing in her eyes as her childhood friend doubted her.
“Uh… I didn’t mean to doubt you. Sorry.”
Realizing his mistake, Ling Hao turned back to Ye Sheng, cursing.
“Resorting to slander, huh? You lowlife!”
“Heh, slander? You’ll see soon enough.”
Ye Sheng stood with his hands behind his back, exuding control.
“My Ye family’s possessions aren’t given away for free. Every gift I gave her was marked. Did you think the sole heir of a great family would be that foolish?”
Pointing at Lan Yi with disgust, he continued.
“Everything I gave you, you passed on to him.”
Cutting off any response, Ye Sheng snapped his fingers.
A blue gem floated from Ling Hao’s pocket, landing in Ye Sheng’s hand.
“Tch, still denying it? This was a gift I gave her just a week ago.”
“You’re talking nonsense! I found that!”
Ling Hao frowned, stunned as the gem flew to Ye Sheng.
“Oh? You found a blue gem engraved with a water-enhancing array in school? What a coincidence… hahaha!”
Ye Sheng burst into laughter, tinged with sorrow.
His voice echoed across the plaza, and the students, swayed by his words, shot disgusted looks at Lan Yi and Ling Hao.
“Lan Yi’s a water-type ability user, right? So gross, using a suitor’s gifts to fund her boy toy. What a hypocrite.”
“Here I thought Lan Yi was a good person. Turns out she’s just a shameless leech.”
Whispers spread through the crowd.
“What are you all talking about…”
Ling Hao tried to speak.
“Where did you get this?”
Lan Yi tugged at his sleeve.
“I really found it…”
Ling Hao turned, but Lan Yi’s face was full of disbelief, as if confirming the gem was Ye Sheng’s gift.
“Too shameless. Making excuses just to keep it. Disgusting.”
“Lan Yi acts all high and mighty, but she takes people’s gifts and gives them the cold shoulder.”
The students’ voices grew louder, deliberately letting Lan Yi hear.
“Ye Sheng’s the real victim. High status, yet fooled by this pair.”
“If he hadn’t marked his gifts, they’d have gotten away with it.”
The crowd’s whispers turned to open insults, including the boy who’d begged Lan Yi that morning.
Unlike his earlier nervousness, his face now flushed with excitement as he loudly accused her of things she’d never done, as if venting his emotions, heedless of her breaking down.
“It’s not like that… I never took anything… Why is this happening…”
Lan Yi covered her face, sobbing quietly, unable to comprehend why this was happening.
“Shut up! I found that thing on the ground—it’s not what you think!”
Seeing Lan Yi’s breakdown, Ling Hao roared at the crowd.
But it only worsened their condemnation, their sympathy for Ye Sheng growing.
Unable to bear the atmosphere and the crowd’s shifting attitudes, Lan Yi fled, tears streaming down her face.
Seeing her run, Ling Hao shouted at Ye Sheng.
“You bullying bastard, just wait!”
He chased after Lan Yi.
“Heh, I’ll be waiting. But even if you don’t come, I’ll find you.”
Ye Sheng watched Ling Hao’s back, his soft laugh laced with hatred, as if the boy had done something unforgivable.
“Sorry, everyone, for wasting your lunch break with my mess.”
Ye Sheng’s expression softened into a kind smile as he addressed the lingering students.
“Today’s cafeteria meals are on me, as compensation for wasting your time on my trivial matter.”
With a smile, he turned and left.
“Wow, long live Young Master Ye!”
“So generous and kind. Can’t believe some people’s nerve.”
“Forget that, let’s eat!”
The students cheered Ye Sheng’s generosity, their disdain for Lan Yi and Ling Hao intensifying.
News of the incident spread like wildfire through the vibrant school.
“Wow, what a drama! Just went to a test class and caught a huge scoop!”
Chen Ya, though not joining the jeering, looked shocked.
“Yu Li, isn’t this wild? Yu—Yu Li? Where’d she go?!”
She turned to nudge Yu Li, but the girl was nowhere to be found.