My Adorable Little Rascal

A shy female student walks up, her voice hesitant:"Um… Classmate Jiang… This is… my seat."

Julian turns his head toward her and replies: "Oh, really? Sorry about that. But… could I borrow it for a while?"

Her face flushes bright red: "O-Of course! You can sit here! No need to be so polite!"

Julian offers her a small smile: "Thanks."

The girl turns and practically dashes away, hands clutched to her chest:H-He talked to me! He actually talked to me!!

After she leaves, Julian turns to Skylar. She's still absorbed in her worksheet, but her mouth doesn't miss a beat.

"Scholar Jiang," she says with a smirk: "how long did it take you to perfect that smile? Planning to trademark it or something?"

Julian sighs, already weary: "Do you have to stab me with words every single day to sleep well at night?"

Skylar's pen halts for a second. She mumbles under her breath:"I never… eat dinner or sleep well anyway…"

Julian freezes. He hears something in her voice—something not meant to be said out loud. Alarmed, he slaps the desk and leans closer:"What did you say? You don't—"

Skylar instantly covers his mouth with her hand. Her eyes go razor-sharp, dangerous."Did you forget what I told you already?"

Julian blinks, then nods slowly, signaling he remembers.

Skylar pulls her hand back. Julian straightens his posture as if this is a formal negotiation."Back to what I was saying—"

"One minute," Skylar cuts in, eyes cold.

Julian scowls: "Hey! Stop cutting me off!"

"Fifty-five seconds left," she replies calmly, legs crossed, waiting.Let's see how he plans to get back at me.

Julian grits his teeth. His face flushes red, but he says nothing. He simply pulls out his phone and pushes it toward her:"Help me with this game."

Skylar blinks: "Huh?"

Then she bursts out laughing. It's not a joyful laugh—it's sarcastic:"Ha! Sorry! I'm not as free as someone who does meaningless stuff all day yet still ranks first. Scholar Jiang, care to share your secret? Or should I say… you cheat?"

Julian's tone sharpens: "Do you have any proof for that claim?"

Skylar shrugs, smile cool: "It's just a guess. Unless… you feel guilty?"

Julian clicks his tongue: "Can't think of any other explanation, huh? Why do you always assume the worst about me?"But inside, he feels genuinely irritated: What did I ever do to her?

The irritation bubbles into a competitive spark. He sneers:"And you think you deserve to be ranked second with that kind of brain?"

She nods with a straight face—but her words are brutal:"Yeah… I'm only second, so of course I'm not as 'open-minded' as the great Scholar Jiang. But if you're that smart, why are you asking me for help with this game?"

The air in the classroom turns icy. For a moment, the entire room falls into silence. Even students gossiping in the hallway seem to shiver.

Just then, Sunny Hoan returns with snacks in hand.

"Little Angel, I'm ba—" she freezes.

Something's wrong. The atmosphere feels like walking into a freezer.

She whispers to a classmate nearby: "Hey, Niry, do you know what's going on?"

Niry shakes her head: "No idea. But you should stay away from those two."

Sunny's face turns serious:No way I'm leaving my Little Angel alone with that guy! Just look at her face—he must've said something awful again! I have to help her!

With the energy of a knight charging into battle, Sunny strides toward them. Her hands tremble, but her heart screams:So scary!!!Yet she marches on, shouting to summon her courage:"Hey! You nasty Jiang bastard! What are you doing to my Little Angel?!"

Julian turns at the yell and sees a furious brown-haired girl storming toward him. He waves his hands frantically:"Wait! Hang on! It's not what you—"

Too late.

Sunny grabs his head and slams it down onto the desk:"STAY AWAY FROM HER, YOU DEMON!"

Julian's mind short-circuits:What?! First Skylar, now this one?! Why is everyone jumping down my throat mid-sentence?! Do I have some kind of cursed fate?! Am I destined to be cut off forever?!

The class erupts into chaos. Students gather around like spectators at a wrestling match.

Sunny, despite struggling to hold Julian down, shouts back toward her friend:"Little Angel! Back away! I'll protect you!"

Skylar is stunned. Never in her life has anyone defended her like this. Especially not a new friend.

She… did that for me?

Skylar mutters: "Uh… okay…" but a tiny grin creeps onto her lips.Watching Julian get manhandled is… kinda fun.

Julian, still pinned, explodes:"You lunatic! Get your hands off me before I—"

Sunny tightens her grip:"Oh! So now you wanna play the victim? You think just because you're rich, you can scare us?!"

Julian struggles, but fails miserably:"Ow ow ow! Trinh Skylar! Tell your friend to stop! I know you're laughing back there!"

Skylar jumps: "I-I'm not laughing!"

"Don't lie! You're so obviously lying!" Julian yells.

Skylar smirks internally:Wow. He caught that?

She walks up to Sunny and gently places a hand on her shoulder:"Hoan Hoan…"

"Don't stop me! He needs to learn some manners!"

Skylar's voice drops a few octaves—calm, cold:"Sunny Hoan."

Sunny freezes. Despite no physical force, that voice alone terrifies her. Skylar's rage isn't loud. It chills the room.

"You'll listen to me now?"

Sunny hesitates. Her grip loosens. Not because she's tired—but because she's scared.

"He didn't do anything," Skylar says softly.

Sunny blinks: "Huh? Really?"

Julian, still pressed to the desk, groans:"Now can you let me go?"

Sunny finally lets him go and hops off.

The crowd disperses. Julian stretches, bones cracking audibly.