Yu He let out a small sigh of relief after leaving the dean's office.
Professor Qin... was it really him?!
The Qin family, who appeared friendly and harmonious on the surface but were like wolves in sheep's clothing...
"Classmate, I'll take you to the exam room."
A warm, magnetic voice came from behind, pulling Yu He's thoughts back.
Yu He stopped and looked back.
In the long corridor, the man was tall and slender, his handsome face adorned with a faint smile, bathed in the autumn sun, exuding an elegant demeanor.
"No need..."
Before she could finish her refusal, Qin Beiting strode over with his long legs and stood beside her.
"You're welcome, it's on my way."
His tone was irrefutable.
Yu He: "..."
Chen Dong, who was waiting in the corridor, heard this and couldn't help but call out to Qin Beiting, "Ting Ge..."
You're not going that way, the dean is waiting for you!
Qin Beiting glanced at him, his sharp phoenix eyes beneath his gold-rimmed glasses, piercing.
"The weather is really nice today, hehe." Chen Dong quickly changed his words, scratching his head and looking around.
"Let's go, classmate." Qin Beiting looked at Yu He.
His handsome face, with its sculpted features and the faint smile on his lips, made it seem as if the piercing gaze from moments ago was Chen Dong's hallucination.
Chen Dong: "..."
Boss, can't you be any more obvious with your favoritism?!
But this girl is really beautiful...
Yu He, unaware of their thoughts, followed Qin Beiting.
The handsome man and beautiful woman walking down the corridor were a beautiful sight.
At a turn in the stairs, Qin Beiting, who was ahead, suddenly stopped. Yu He immediately braked, narrowly avoiding a collision.
"Classmate, have we met somewhere before?" Qin Beiting turned around, his gaze deep as he looked at Yu He.
Yu He's heart skipped a beat, but she maintained a neutral expression and took a step back. "Professor, this way of hitting on someone is a bit outdated."
Qin Beiting: "..."
He took a step forward, his gaze fixed on Yu He, becoming increasingly complex.
Did she really not recognize him anymore?
Or did she not want to recognize him anymore?
Qin Beiting, with his imposing height of nearly 1.9 meters, cast an almost suffocating pressure on the 1.68-meter Yu He.
The man before her was a completely different person from the gentle and refined one moments ago.
Yu He couldn't help but take two steps back. Qin Beiting stared at her intently and took two steps closer. As Yu He tried to retreat further, her back hit the wall.
"You really don't remember me? Qin, Xin, Shu!"
Qin Beiting propped one hand on the wall, looking down at her with a complex expression in his eyes.
The name sent a tremor through Yu He's heart. She knew she had been recognized.
Seventeen years ago, she was mistakenly swapped at birth and lived as a Qin family daughter for six years.
Eleven years ago, the Qin family patriarch passed away, naming the third young master as his successor before his death. However, on the night before the third young master was to take over, he was suddenly murdered.
All evidence at the scene pointed to her adoptive father, the sixth young master Qin Yongyi, as the killer.
Everyone accused Qin Yongyi of fratricide for power. He was subsequently imprisoned.
Her adoptive mother, unable to believe her husband would kill his brother, investigated for months and finally found a clue. But on her way back to the Qin family, she died in a car accident, with the driver also perishing at the scene.
If it weren't for her maternal grandmother sensing that something was amiss and, to protect the bloodline of the sixth branch, setting fire to the house and faking their deaths, then escaping to the countryside with Yu He, she might not have grown up safely...
Recalling the events of that year, Yu He's heart began to churn.
Now, although she knew that the Qin family's sixth young master and his wife were not her biological parents, she could never repay their nurturing kindness.
She had returned to North City precisely to build her influence, gather enough evidence, and then go to the capital to exonerate her adoptive father and avenge her deceased adoptive mother!
Until the real culprit was found, she would not easily trust anyone from the Qin family.
Even the man before her, whom she had once been closest to!
"My name is not Qin Xinshu, my surname is Yu, my given name is He." Yu He suppressed the lingering fear in her heart and looked up, meeting the man's blood-red eyes.
"No, you should be surnamed Ye, the Ye family's daughter!" Qin Beiting said through gritted teeth.
Yu He's thick eyelashes fluttered. However, she thought that anyone who put in a little effort to investigate wouldn't find this too difficult to uncover.
"Since you already know, you should also understand that we have no relationship now. Please let me pass."
"You..."
Qin Beiting's blood-red eyes reflected her cold, distant face. He couldn't understand why the girl who was once so close to him was now so indifferent.
Something in his mind seemed to be fracturing. His brow furrowed, and his handsome face began to show painful cracks.
Yu He frowned slightly, her beautiful eyes shifting. She saw his hand on the wall, veins bulging, as if he were struggling to restrain himself.
Is he sick? Is he having an episode?!
"You're sick... uh..."
As soon as Yu He spoke, the next second, her throat was gripped by a powerful hand.
Qin Beiting's eyes grew increasingly bloodshot, his breathing heavy, his expression contorted with pain. "Why... did you leave... me..."
He didn't loosen his grip, and Yu He struggled to breathe.
Her attempts to pry his hand off were futile. Her small face gradually turned red...
Chen Dong, having just rounded the corner, saw his boss choking Yu He and rushed down in a few steps.
"Holy crap, Ting Ge! Let go! You're going to choke her to death!"
The air grew thinner, and Yu He's face turned a dark shade of purple.
If this continued, she would suffocate.