Probably one of the most unbelievable things that happened for quite a while was Gu Mochou not doing anything malicious to Fan Zheng and that Zhang boy. At most, she only made herself known to them. The worst was already frequently setting up seemingly coincidental encounters with them and sometimes ruining some dates or plans. Just like what Jiang Li did who made sure to show his face to the villainess from time to time as to not be forgotten. Months pa.s.sed like this in peace.
It was hard not to wonder whether Gu Mochou was brewing something behind the scenes, given her temperament and tendencies. But really just like that, a semester approached its end as the examination week concluded. All that was left before another short vacation was the announcement of grades and rankings.
Since exam results together with extracurricular points could take some while to process, the students took advantage of that window of time to host events that could uplift the moods of everyone.
"Remember your invitations, okay? And don"t forget to bring a partner."
The PR officer of the department"s exclusive club announced through an uploaded video clip on the forum. Thankfully, everyone was alert to online notifications since many professors loved to use the forum or other university SNS pages to surprise students with a.s.signments.
"Simply semi-formal, huh?"
"How lazy are they to come up with a decent theme or motif?" A female student complained.
"Forget that. The movie"s starting soon. Let"s buy some tickets."
Arriving on the fifth floor of a nearby mall, Gu Mochou urged her friends to not pay much attention to the announcement and simply enjoy the day as a celebration on surviving an exam.
"Hmm. Right. Let"s enter the cinema. By the way, do you have a partner in mind already? You don"t look worried."
The villainess laughed joyfully, making her charming eyes looked more dazzling than usual. "I can just come alone, or hold a lottery among the ones pursuing me. It"s that simple."
The ladies who came with her looked at her with both disdain and envy. One openly chastised her for being a show-off, another openly stated how jealous she was of Gu Mochou"s face and popularity.
Gu Mochou had the looks and the skills to sway people to the direction she wanted so she managed to deceive everyone about her real personality. As a result, she became a very stellar figure in the university, somebody very popular with students and professors, with a bevy of fans among her peers. It was a result very outstanding for a transferee. When the news about her reached Fan Zheng and even Zhao Ai who was at the senior high school division, they likened her to a protagonist that mostly appeared in novels and teen dramas.
A campus belle that conquered everyone with both beauty and a carefree personality. A beauty deemed to be admirable and refres.h.i.+ng by many because she appeared more approachable and unpretentious.
Gu Mochou was a reborn girl so if not for her excessive desire to kill some people, perhaps she would have been the proper female lead that people talked about.
It was a Sat.u.r.day evening and the multipurpose hall of the university was decorated lavishly since it was the venue for the yearly celebration of the Finance department, the same event announced by the PR two days ago. All courses had this kind of celebration, albeit the dates and venues differed from one another.
Gu Mochou entered the lively and noisy place with a confident smile on her face. Due to her popularity, a lot of students dressed in stylish attires eagerly came forward to welcome her and brief her about the guest speakers and attendants.
"h.e.l.lo, Miss Gu. It"s a pleasure to see you here. You look very fabulous tonight." A guy called An Ming said, not hiding the admiration dancing in his eyes as he gave the villainess a measuring glance.
"Hi, Senior An. I have once seen you in Miss Fan"s blog posts and heard about the project you"re starting with Senior Fan Zheng. How are you?"
"I"m good."
When the beautiful transferee raised her gla.s.s for a toast and did it so elegantly, An Ming, one of Fan Zheng"s friends couldn"t help but sigh in his heart.
"This chick really deserves attention. Face value alone is comparable to Fan Lan. No wonder her rascal brother has a deep impression of her."
The two talked for a while before parting as more acquaintances arrive.
Gu Mochou mingled with everyone until the MC walked onto the stage to officially start the program.
"Mochou, look who"s here."
When she followed everyone"s eyes, a hint of annoyance flickered across her face seeing Fan Zheng, the emcee, giving Zhao Ai, his partner, a smile before facing the crowd.
"Such an eyesore."
In the eyes of some imaginative people who saw her expression just now, it was out of jealousy. Her numerous attempts to get close to Fan Zheng and Zhang Jiang were no secret to everyone on the campus. Those who tried to place themselves on her shoes thought it would be a challenge not to feel resentful at someone who could easily do what she had been working hard for months. Only Gu Mochou knew that it was out of indignance.
"It"s that senior high schooler again. Is she really an item with Senior Fan Zheng?"
Discussions whispered in tones dripping with jealousy made way into her ears and she had no idea whether the girls surrounding her were doing it in purpose.
"How is that possible?" someone asked.
"I think the rumors are exaggerated. What if Fan Zheng is just being as nice as usual? I"m quite sure that Zhao Ai is not with a prominent background." There was a hint of disgust in the girl"s face as if she remembered something sickening. "I saw her meeting an ugly middle-aged man and handing him money. Only stupid people would like someone like her who definitely has a messy family."
"Then what"s with the scene just now? You saw it. They exchanged sticky glances and wide smiles. They might be with each other before the program."
"So Senior Fan likes such a person?"
Somebody wore a discontented face and replied, "Maybe not. Which of us don"t understand that one should make relations.h.i.+ps based on status?"
If Jiang Li was around to hear their statements, he would definitely make face and complain why in every story, the fans of the leads were either so many or had so much time in their hands to chat about other people"s lives.
"I"m sure the good guys in this university know not to play like princes to Cinderella. When the time comes, the ones they will marry are girls with backgrounds and bankgrounds."
They gave Gu Mochou a quick glance. She only laughed and gestured them to listen to the speakers attentively even though inwardly, she was actually not pleased seeing Zhao Ai sitting below the stage, looking infatuatedly at Fan Zheng as if all she had to worry about in life was their love life.
Her focus went back to the stage, or rather, to the subject of the discussion.
A daughter of a monster was allowed to experience all the niceties of love and life? Was she worthy?
As she recalled her past life, all the warmth in Gu Mochou"s eyes completely faded away, replaced by a chilling glimmer. She found it unacceptable that such a sp.a.w.n from the den of devils could lead a good life outside the forest. She found it unacceptable that such a person who was birthed by a demon and turned a blind eye to the suffering of her fellow women could live carefreely outside the village.
She felt jealous... and angry. Before she knew it, her chest was heaving like she was out of breath, her eyes were bulging out and the sounds filling the place temporarily turned chaotic.
It took minutes for everything to normalize again.
An absurd thought crossed her mind and a grin tug at her mouth.
"If one"s existence is unacceptable to others, she should die… right?"
Tonight, Gu Mochou was seized by a sudden impulse. She suddenly no longer wanted to suppress her desire to destroy.
"Come out." When the almost inaudible words escaped her mouth, spoken so softly that it was drowned out by the loud music and the voices of the female attendees around her, the temperature in the place lowered for a split second.
"... Your... command... master?"
Gu Mochou, seemingly not bothered by the supernatural presence, smilingly looked at Fan Zheng. Her gaze did not move away even when Zhao Ai stood up and walked towards the hallway to the left of the stage.
However, a few minutes before the program ended, the female lead was suddenly found in a restroom unconscious, showing signs of a drug overdose.