Chapter 8: Overturning the Narrative

His roommates replied in quick succession.

[Bullshit, I took those photos myself-how could they be wrong? You've got a thing for ugly girls, don't you? You don't

think she's ugly?]

[I've seen her in person too! Damn, she's ugly enough to be a criminal offense.]

[One look at her and you won't eat for three days. barf]

The guy stole another glance at Mi Ke beside him. Seeing that she wasn't paying him any attention, he went back to

hammering out messages.

[I'm in Row 9, Seat 8. Turn around and see for yourselves! The girl to my left!]

Several guys in the front rows seized the moment while the professor was writing on the board, turning to look in Mi

Ke's direction.

The dorm group chat exploded.

[Holy shit, that's Mi Ke? Mi Ke's huge- that girl looks nothing like her!]

[Just similar features, maybe?]

[That girl's better-looking than our dorm leader's girlfriend. No way that's the ugly girl.]

The guy next to Mi Ke immediately fired back:

[I called her Mi Ke and she answered!]

It turned out the reason Mi Ke hadn't drawn attention walking into the classroom wasn't because people didn't care about

her transformation.

It was because no one had recognized her.

Within the same department, many students had each other's contact info. The gossip spread like wildfire. More and more

classmates turned to look at Mi Ke-so many that the professor finally lost his patience.

"What is going on back there?! One by one, all of you turning around-is the blackboard behind you now?"

The classroom finally settled down.

Mi Ke kept her head down, looking at the board the entire time, then lowering her gaze to quietly take notes.

She had certainly noticed the curious stares. But she didn't find them bothersome. In fact, she welcomed them.

Having read this world's entire script, Mi Ke understood that the malice she'd suffered hadn't come solely from her

appearance. It had come from the author's character design for her.
A universally despised, mocked ugly girl-that was the only kind of person who would feel gratitude for the smallest

scrap of kindness from the heroine.

Simply because the author needed to give Song Jingyi a handmaiden, Mi Ke had been burdened with stigma that should never

have been hers.

This little commotion rippling through her department classmates was well within her expectations.

After all, on a university campus, many people had only heard her name. That was why they'd barely reacted when they

passed her on the street.

But her department classmates-many of them had actually seen her in person. They'd been so reluctant to sit near her in

class, as though she carried some kind of virus.

In the past, she'd always dutifully sat alone in the back corner of the classroom.

But today, she'd deliberately chosen a seat in the middle-to-back rows, specifically to stir up this little storm.

From today onward, she would dismantle, piece by piece, the crushing "ugly girl" label that had been forced on her.

This was merely the beginning.

-

After class, Mi Ke stepped out of the lecture hall. The rain had stopped.

Normally, she'd go back to the dorm to wait for Song Jingyi. But today, she took a detour to the university sports

field.

Since she was in the Sports Science department, the students on the field more or less knew of Mi Ke. When she showed

up, many noticed her-but uncertain, they only dared to sneak glances.

Mi Ke accepted the curious scrutiny without flinching. She found the field manager, borrowed pen and paper and a small

folding stool, then plopped herself down by the edge of the track, head bowed, writing something on an A4 sheet.

Jiang Muye had just finished swim training and was walking out of the aquatics center with his teammates.

His teammates were chattering in his ear. A thread of irritation colored his expression.

"Hey, is it true you're with that ugly girl? Seriously?"

"Hahahaha! Jiang Muye, what are you thinking? You skip the feast and go straight for the slop, huh?"

Hearing his teammates' teasing, the disgust and aversion Jiang Muye felt toward Mi Ke surged up again, uncontrolled.

Even though his fake relationship with Mi Ke was solely to get closer to Song Jingyi, having the news reach his friends'

ears still felt humiliating.

And right at that moment, one of his teammates stared at a particular spot near the greenery at the edge of the field

for a few seconds, then laughed and shoved Jiang Muye's shoulder.

"Yo, your girlfriend's here to see you. Go on, Jiang Muye!"

Jiang Muye spotted Mi Ke's familiar figure from afar. His brows drew together instinctively.

A flush of shameful irritation rose in his chest.