In Jiang Nian's view, this kind of thing is perfectly normal.

Aside from close friends like Lin Ruru, Tang Qiuya, and Chi Lin, most of the people in her class were nice to her before only because they benefited from following her.

For example, as soon as she transferred to the class, everyone got a free Apple computer because of her. Later, they saw the Night Firefly Flower Sea, won first place in a charity sale, and went to Oriental Amusement Park for a great time.

But now, Joey has arrived.

Her status as a foreign tycoon's daughter meant she was even more extravagant from the start, seemingly able to bring them more benefits. She was also more easygoing, friendly, and approachable than her.

They will naturally find someone else to idolize.

Now that her rejection has upset Joey, they naturally side with Joey and criticize her.

Jiang Nian didn't care about these things.

There's no need to care about friendships based on self-interest rather than genuine feelings.

But it's all hypocritical support.

But to Jiang Nian's surprise, there were still some people in the class on her side.

For example, Wu Qiuqiu from the class came over to comfort Jiang Nian: "Jiang Nian, don't take these people's words to heart. We all know you're not that kind of person."

"Yes, forget about condescending charity; you did so much for our own good. We will always remember your help!"

"Exactly, some people are just opportunists; they fawn over others once they've gained a little benefit."

"Moreover, I feel that asking again in public after someone has already refused once is no different from moral blackmail. It feels like Joey is deliberately trying to make Jiang Nian get scolded by adopting such a humble attitude."

Seeing the people surrounding her, Jiang Nian's heart still stirred.

"I'm fine, I won't take it to heart."

The homeroom teacher quickly appeared and organized the class, and everyone headed to the auditorium.

When they lined up to enter, Jiang Nian and Qiao Yi appeared at the same time, causing a small sensation in each class.

After all, the forum has been buzzing with discussions about who is the school beauty between the two of them these past two days.

Some people, always eager for drama, even started a poll, and the two candidates were neck and neck in the votes.

…

The lights in the auditorium were dim.

The school attached great importance to this lecture, which was jointly organized by the Parents' Committee and the school. City leaders and people from the Municipal Procuratorate were also present, and all the students in the school were there.

It is said that there will also be a simultaneous online live broadcast.

The first row was reserved for city leaders, school leaders, and representatives from the five parent committees.

The audience seats at the back are on the left, center, and right, corresponding to the first, second, and third years of high school, respectively. Each class has its own assigned seating area.

When the time came, the lecture officially began.

The head of the academic affairs office at Yingzhong High School, who was the main speaker today, cleared his throat and began to speak on stage.

"Thank you to all the school leaders, city leaders and representatives of the Parents' Committee for attending our lecture today."

"I'm sure all the teachers and students here have heard about what happened at No. 2 Middle School a few days ago. This is heartbreaking and serves as a wake-up call for us."

"We must resolutely prevent school violence and bullying, and absolutely not allow such things to happen on our school..."

As the principal listed the harmful effects of school bullying, his voice became increasingly impassioned.

"I am bored."

After listening for a while, Han Xu, who was sitting next to him, got bored and leaned over to ask, "Sister Nian, wanna play games?"

"Wait."

Jiang Nian wasn't really listening to what was being said on stage; she was looking at her phone.

Shen Qinglan sent her a message, asking when MISS's first press conference was scheduled.

The company said it has almost finished preparing all the relevant matters, and now the only thing left is to finalize a spokesperson.

[Early next month, perhaps.]

Jiang Nian's slender, pale fingers tapped on the screen.

Then she looked up and asked Han Xu, "What are we playing?"

"We still need to pay attention to the lectures, so let's play something that doesn't require much brainpower, how about Candy Crush?" Han Xu suggested enthusiastically.

"This sounds even more boring than a lecture," Tang Qiuya rolled her eyes.

"How about the three of us play Dou Dizhu?" Han Xu said, "or Chi Lin and Lin Ruru can play together, and the five of us can play something together."

"If you ask me, this lecture is the least necessary thing for our school to hold," Han Xu shrugged.

“The parents’ committee keeps an eye on the students both inside and outside the school every day. If there were any incidents of school violence, they would have found out long ago.”

"That's true, but let's still listen to the lecture properly," Lin Ruru said, glancing around. "The director is going to show a legal education video in a bit and will be asking people questions in the audience. I hope he doesn't call on us."

The so-called legal education videos are just explanations of school violence cases across the country in recent years.

Because this segment involves Q&A and interaction, the homeroom teacher specifically instructed everyone to watch the video carefully beforehand.

"Now let's take a look at some of the tragic cases of school violence that have occurred in recent years—"

The auditorium's large screen is arranged in a wraparound shape, allowing everyone in the audience to clearly see the images on the screen.

The director of the academic affairs office moved the mouse.

Click on an MP4 video file on your desktop named "Case Collection".

The video then started playing.

But it was just a black screen.

—What's going on?

The director on the stage was startled.

Logically, the video should open directly with the case file, so why is it completely black? Is the video file corrupted?

He couldn't help but curse inwardly. Today was such an important occasion, with so many city leaders present. He had repeatedly told him that he absolutely could not make a mistake.

How could the people who set up these files still make a mistake!

Seeing that the screen remained black, the students below the stage began to stir, and the director of the academic affairs office could only speak with an awkward smile.

"I'm sorry, there might be a problem with the video file."

"Okay, students, take a short break. Go to the restroom if you need to. I'll find someone to check on things..."

Before the words were even finished, the black screen in the video flashed.

Suddenly, a picture appeared.

"Alright, alright, everyone, no need to go to the restroom, let's continue watching!"

The director quickly called the students in the audience to a stop.

At that moment, when everyone saw what was on the screen, they all gasped.

Is this... a science video?

The video shows what appears to be a dark alleyway in a foreign country, with torrential rain pouring down.

It looks like a candid shot; you can see the back of a tall, muscular man with curly hair. His legs, whether broken or not, are dragging on the ground, as if he's using his hands to support himself while desperately backing away.

At this moment, a little girl wearing a raincoat appears in the scene, holding a dagger that reflects a sharp, cold light.

As she approached the man, without hesitation, she plunged the knife in her hand deep into his heart.