For the next week, Lin Zhenzhen stayed in her hospital room.

She visited Ning Xiong several times during her visit. He was lying in a hospital bed and looked as if he had aged ten years overnight.

"Zhenzhen, it's all Dad's fault, it's all Dad's fault." He felt guilty for dragging his daughter into danger.

"It's not Dad's fault." Lin Zhenzhen leaned obediently against the headboard of his bed.

"Thanks to Xiao Bei during this time, he's been so busy taking care of everything. He's such a good kid."

Lin Zhenzhen has heard so many compliments about Tanbei these past two days that she's practically worn out.

The doctor praised him, the caregiver liked him, and now even Ning Xiong has a much different opinion of him and speaks highly of him.

"After I'm discharged from the hospital, I plan to have Xiao Bei try to take over the company's affairs. You're a playful person, and I really should think about the future of the Ning family."

Lin Zhenzhen said unhappily, "Dad, you're being unfair!"

"Haha, silly child, Dad is thinking about this for you." All the shareholders of Ning's Group are eyeing his position. If he can keep his own family members in the market, Ning Zhen's future will be much better.

She persisted, saying a few witty remarks to coax Ning Xiong to sleep before leaving.

Lin Zhenzhen stopped in her tracks as she reached the door of the ward.

Looking through the window, Tan Bei was sitting by her window, flipping through something in his hands.

It seems the male lead has taken the bait.

Lin Zhenzhen, however, was not as optimistic. She quickly got into the mood and flung open the door: "Why are you touching my things?!"

She snatched the diary and held it protectively to her chest, confronting Tan Bei.

The other person slowly stood up, their expression a half-smile, intriguing and enigmatic.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know this was your diary.” He squinted slightly. “I never knew you had a habit of keeping a diary.”

"It's because I'm so bored." Lin Zhenzhen sat down with her back to him, annoyed. "I already told you I'm fine and I want to be discharged. Why won't you let me leave!"

"The bed here is so uncomfortable, I want to go back to my room. I need to go back to class; I've missed so much, I must have a ton of homework to do, and my participation grade for this semester has already been reduced by a lot!"

Tan Bei's voice sounded from behind: "You just want to see Bai Qingfeng, right?"

"This has nothing to do with him!" Lin Zhenzhen glanced back at him irritably.

"Think about it, how many days has it been since he last came to see you? He doesn't care about you at all."

"I told you, it has nothing to do with him!"

"Okay." Tan Bei walked around to her, squatted down, looked up at her, and his eyes shone brightly.

"Let me change the subject. You wrote in your diary that you felt Tanbei wasn't actually that bad. Was that your honest opinion?"

As soon as he said that, Lin Zhenzhen's face turned bright red. She hurriedly looked away and explained, "I didn't write it that way, you must have misread it."

She stared at the head of the bed, when suddenly a shadow fell over her.

Tan Bei opened his arms and embraced her.

Lin Zhenzhen leaned against his chest and heard his chuckling voice above her head.

“Zhenzhen, no matter what you say, I will believe you unconditionally, so I am very happy now.”

[Darkening value +2, currently 8/10. Host, why is the darkening progress bar not decreasing, but increasing instead?]

Lin Zhenzhen's heart sank further and further.

Although Tan Bei said he took it seriously, he actually thought the opposite.

He knew he was lying to him, which is why his "darkening" level increased.

[Host, it's alright. You'll get a reward as long as you reach the maximum stats in the mission.]

I know, but I don't want this reward.

[Why not? Don't you love money the most? Wait, you don't still think Tan Bei and Zhou Gan are the same person, do you?]

[Shut up!] It has nothing to do with this. No matter what, she can't just stand by and watch Tan Bei turn into a completely corrupted monster.

Whether it was to complement her performance or not, the doctor came to inform Lin Zhenzhen that she could be discharged from the hospital shortly afterward.

Upon returning to the familiar Ning family manor, Ning Zhen discovered that everyone in the house had become unfamiliar faces.

"What's going on? Where's Butler Li?"

Tan Bei slowly pointed to a kind-looking man and introduced him: "Butler Li has to go back to his hometown. This is Butler Liu, who is filling in for him during this period."

Without a doubt, like a frog being slowly boiled in lukewarm water, Tan Bei was gradually encroaching on her world and confining her to his sphere of influence.

Lin Zhenzhen did not confront him directly; instead, she took a car to Sacred Heart.

It was noon, just as the first afternoon class was ending.

The college was crowded with people. From afar, Lin Zhenzhen saw that the poster with Bai Qingfeng's photo on the bulletin board, which was covered with various posters, had been torn down.

She was about to approach when someone pulled her back.

"Zhenzhen, is that you?" It was Lan Jiaocai, her eyes were red, and she hugged Lin Zhenzhen tightly.

"You really scared me to death. Thank goodness you're alright."

Lin Zhenzhen felt a warmth in her heart. After offering a few words of comfort, she pressed for details about Bai Qingfeng.

"Haven't you heard at all? The Bai family has been embroiled in a scandal that has brought to light a case from over a decade ago."

"I don't know the specifics, but I heard from others that Bai has been removed from the list of candidates for student council president by the school committee."

Lin Zhenzhen recalled her bet with Tan Bei and muttered to herself, "Was it really necessary to go through all this trouble?"

"Zhenzhen, are you alright?" Everyone in the school knew how much Lin Zhenzhen protected Bai Qingfeng, and Lan Jiaocai was genuinely worried that she might do something rash and clash with the school committee.

Lin Zhenzhen shook her head.

When the two arrived at the large classroom for general education classes, the two or three hundred people inside all focused their attention on Lin Zhenzhen as they appeared at the classroom door.

"Look, Ning Zhen is back. The Bai family has suffered such a huge incident, yet she acts as if nothing happened. She's truly heartless."

"Have you heard? The Ning family is also involved in this matter. But then again, they've been business partners for decades, they must have been colluding behind the scenes. I think Ning Zhen's good days are numbered."

"Shh, keep your voice down. Have you forgotten what happened to Ji Leng?"

The man immediately fell silent.

Lin Zhenzhen casually tossed her schoolbag onto her seat, and immediately glared back whenever someone looked at her.

Gradually, no one dared to look at her anymore.

"What happened to Ji Leng?"

Lan Jiaocai looked around and lowered her voice: "They arrested me while I was in class." She found it hard to believe. "Zhenzhen, is Ji Leng really related to your kidnapping? People at school say she was kidnapped because she offended you... Of course, I believe you."

"I don't know either, let's wait for the investigation." Lin Zhenzhen gave a vague answer, then lowered her head and began to copy her homework seriously.

Suddenly, the classroom erupted in noise again.

Following the gazes of the others, Lin Zhenzhen saw Bai Qingfeng standing at the door, waving to her.

"Zhenzhen, I have something to tell you."