Stay away from him.

The Chen family's physician was a gentle woman in her early thirties. Upon receiving a text from Chen Ruowen, she immediately packed her medical bag and drove to First High School. Chen Ruowen waited with Guo Jingyuan outside the school gates for about ten minutes before Doctor He arrived.

He Wanqin greeted Chen Ruowen with a smile, then turned her gaze to Guo Jingyuan, who kept her head lowered, covering her face. When He finally saw the injuries on Guo Jingyuan's face, a flicker of pity crossed her expression. Yet He Wanqin was a consummate professional—Chen Ruowen had simply asked her to treat the wounds, and she did so without a single unnecessary question.

After tending to the injuries and changing the bandages, He Wanqin reminded Guo Jingyuan not to let the wounds get wet or to eat spicy, irritating foods. At Chen Ruowen's suggestion, she handed Guo Jingyuan a week's supply of medication and carefully instructed her on how to change the dressings herself before leaving.

Once He Wanqin had departed, Guo Jingyuan stood in place for a long while, gently touching the gauze on her face, finally mustering the courage to thank Chen Ruowen.

"I... I know you don't need anyone's thanks, but I... I just don't know... I... thank you."

Chen Ruowen gave her a glance, said nothing, and strode toward the school. Guo Jingyuan quickly gathered her medicine boxes and ran after her.

As they reached the bottom of the teaching building, they encountered Bai Jinyan, who seemed to have been waiting for quite some time.

Guo Jingyuan looked to Chen Ruowen for guidance, but saw that she didn't even blink, eyes fixed straight ahead as she prepared to ascend the stairs. As Chen Ruowen brushed past, Bai Jinyan caught her wrist with uncanny precision and nodded to Guo Jingyuan.

"Would you mind going up first?"

Guo Jingyuan nodded hurriedly. "Of course—"

"—No," Chen Ruowen interrupted loudly, refusing to meet the eyes of Bai Jinyan, Guo Jingyuan, or anyone else, her gaze locked stubbornly on the bare wall before her, as if it had somehow wronged her.

Bai Jinyan gestured politely to Guo Jingyuan and spoke in a low voice, "Thank you."

Only after Guo Jingyuan's silhouette had vanished up the stairs did Bai Jinyan, with one hand firmly holding Chen Ruowen's wrist and the other braced against the wall beside her shoulder, forcibly attempt to make her face him.

"Still angry?" he asked softly. Seeing that Chen Ruowen neither replied nor looked at him, he sighed again, his voice gentle. "If anyone should be angry, it's me. Your temper always comes out of nowhere—could you maybe warn me next time?"

Chen Ruowen glared at Bai Jinyan, voice full of resentment. "There won't be a next time. I'm never going out with you again."

Bai Jinyan chuckled softly, looking down at Chen Ruowen's angry face, his gaze tender. "There will be," he said.

Chen Ruowen shot him another furious look, her tone nearly an oath sworn to the heavens.

"I said there won't be, and there won't. I don't want to see you. Move aside, don't block me."

"You don't want to see me..." Bai Jinyan repeated, then, as if soothing a child, ruffled her hair. "But I want to see you."

Chen Ruowen felt the anger she had been harboring for days dissipate instantly—gone without a trace, not even a wisp of smoke left behind.

"Don't think saying that will stop me from being angry. I remember everything you said to me on Sunday, clear as day. You can't just gloss over it."

"Which words are you referring to?" Bai Jinyan asked.

"You said I brought it on myself!"

"...That must be your imagination," Bai Jinyan replied, speechless. He looked at Chen Ruowen's expression—her silent accusation, her eyes saying "that's exactly what you meant, don't bother explaining"—and met her gaze with sincerity.

"Ruowen, I've never insisted you must like what I like. I just... hope you might."

To be frank, Bai Jinyan's looks weren't as dazzling as Gao Tang's—his beauty didn't make people lose themselves and forget their own names. Bai Jinyan's appeal was more subtle, his features less exquisite than clean. He wasn't stunning, and if you glimpsed him in a crowd, you might forget his face in a heartbeat. Yet years later, recalling it would still leave your heart restless, as if scratched by a cat.

Chen Ruowen was unmoved by Gao Tang's calculated charm, but before Bai Jinyan's earnestness and gentleness, she could only surrender.

She gave up resisting, didn't ask Bai Jinyan why he hoped she'd like his interests, but simply threw her arms around him, burying herself in his embrace.

"Why didn't you say so before? You made me angry for so long."

"It seems I barely had time to speak before someone chased me away," he replied, his eyes darkening where she couldn't see.

Just an hour ago, he had witnessed Gao Tang hugging Chen Ruowen. Though the embrace lasted barely a second—perhaps unnoticed by Chen Ruowen herself—it lingered in his mind. Man Hao, Song Yunhui, Geng Jiaojiao, they all greeted her with hugs, but Bai Jinyan knew Gao Tang was different.

He had appeared so briefly, yet within a few encounters had grasped Chen Ruowen's preferences, enough for her to reluctantly consider him a friend. Without Gao Tang's deliberate guidance, who would believe it?

Whatever Gao Tang's intentions, a hug was a hug. The thought made Bai Jinyan unconsciously tighten his arm around Chen Ruowen's waist.

Chen Ruowen twisted his arm in return. "So you're blaming me, then?"

"No, it's my fault."

Chen Ruowen was a little baffled; had the sun risen in the west today? Though Bai Jinyan had sought her out after disagreements before, he usually reasoned with her, never yielded like this.

She felt as if Bai Jinyan had vanquished her several times in just a few minutes, using all her self-control to merely hold him with restraint.

"Then I'll reluctantly forgive you," she said.

Her words sounded grudging, but the joy in her eyes betrayed her entirely. Hearing her usual stubbornness, Bai Jinyan's gaze softened even further.

"There's one more thing," he added while her mood was still bright. "That Gao Tang... you should keep your distance."

"Why?" Chen Ruowen asked, puzzled.

Why? Did she really need to ask?

Bai Jinyan hesitated, then said tactfully, "I've heard stories about the Prince of the World—he changes girlfriends very quickly..."

"That's all?"

Chen Ruowen pursed her lips in displeasure. From their first meeting, she knew Gao Tang was a playboy. Bai Jinyan's sudden warning puzzled her—she had almost thought...

"I thought you were jealous."

Bai Jinyan said nothing.

"If you're not jealous... why should I listen to you? I won't, I won't."

He still didn't speak, but as Chen Ruowen tried to push him away and go upstairs, he held her tightly, refusing to let go.

She finally laughed, "Alright, I'll stop teasing you. He's not my type, don't worry."

Bai Jinyan raised his brows, clearly skeptical.

Chen Ruowen asked, "Hey? Aren't you going to ask what my type is?"

Bai Jinyan released her, looking at her with a blank expression.

"You like good-looking people."