Ivy should've known the day would go badly the moment she stepped into the school courtyard and every head turned.
Whispers rushed through the air like wildfire.
"Is that the girl from the video?"
"He was totally into her."
"She doesn't even look like his type."
"Who does she think she is?"
Ivy kept her eyes down, clutching her books tighter. Her stomach twisted. It hadn't even been twelve hours. How did everyone?
Then she saw Zoey.
Leaning casually against the lockers.
Phone in hand.
Perfect smile sharpened like a blade.
Their eyes met.
Zoey winked.
Ivy's blood ran cold.
Before she could react, Zoey's voice rang out, loud enough to carry through the hallway.
"Ivy! There you are!"
Every conversation froze.
Zoey strutted up to her, looping an arm around Ivy's shoulders like they were best friends.
"So," she cooed, tilting her head, "how long have you been dating a king?"
Ivy jerked away, cheeks burning. "We're not. He just"
"Ohhh," Zoey breathed, delighted. "So it's a secret romance."
Her friends giggled behind her, though even they looked slightly nervous at Zoey's mood.
"He's very… intense," Zoey continued, tapping her chin. "Hot, obviously. But dangerous. I mean, what would a guy like that want with someone like"
She paused. Smiled sweetly.
"you?"
Ivy felt the hit like a slap. The hallway seemed to tilt for a second muffled laughter, whispers, the click of phones. Her throat tightened. Every instinct screamed at her to run, but her legs felt locked to the floor.
"Zoey, stop," one of Zoey's friends said softly, glancing between them. Her voice was hesitant, uncertain. "You're being"
Zoey's head snapped sharply. "Being what? Curious?" she said, sugar-sweet, but her eyes glittered like shards of glass. "It's not my fault she's suddenly famous."
A ripple of laughter broke out nearby. Someone whispered, "Poor Ivy. The charity case got herself a prince."
Ivy flinched. The words pressed against her skin, heavy and suffocating.
"I'm not" she tried to say, but her voice cracked.
Zoey leaned closer, lowering her tone just enough for Ivy to hear.
"You should've stayed invisible, Ivy. That's what you're good at."
Something inside Ivy splintered not loudly, not visibly but deep, like a quiet fracture running through her chest.
Then, before Zoey could step back, a new voice cut through the crowd.
"Enough."
The sound was calm, deep and unmistakable.
The crowd shifted instantly, parting like water.
Qin Jingze stood at the end of the hall, coat half-buttoned, eyes fixed on Zoey with a look that made her pulse stumble. His presence changed the air steady, cold, commanding.
He didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to. He had come all the way from Japan to observe school life, not to lose his temper over a student. "I don't recall asking for an audience," he said evenly, glancing briefly at the crowd before settling his gaze on Zoey. "Yet somehow, everyone's talking about something that doesn't concern them."
The students fell silent. Phones dropped. Someone swallowed audibly.
Zoey's confident smile wavered, just for a heartbeat. "I was just"
"Spreading lies," Qin Jingze finished for her, stepping forward until the space between them vanished. His tone wasn't angry it was worse. Controlled. Precise. "And targeting someone who has done nothing to you."
The hallway seemed to shrink.
"Careful," he said softly. "You're playing with fire you can't handle."
Zoey's throat bobbed. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh?" He smiled faintly. "Then perhaps I should ask the school board how rumors about a private citizen reached public media overnight. I imagine the investigation would be… enlightening."
Zoey's face drained of color. Her fingers tightened around her phone.
Qin Jingze turned his head slightly just enough to meet Ivy's eyes.
For a moment, everything around her blurred the noise, the stares, even Zoey's silence.
His voice softened. "You don't have to listen to them."
Ivy's breath hitched. She wanted to say something, anything but all that came out was a whisper.
"You shouldn't be here."
"Maybe," he said, gaze steady. "But I'm not going anywhere."
A murmur swept through the hall. Someone whispered, "He's really protecting her."
Zoey swallowed hard, her mask cracking as the weight of his stare pressed down. Fury simmered, humiliation rising like bile.
He turned away from her without another glance, attention solely on Ivy. "Come on," he said quietly.
Ivy stopped walking, her pulse hammering in her ears. It's all your fault. If you hadn't come to our school, none of this would've happened!
Qin turned back, brows furrowed. "Ivy?"
She pulled her arm free from his grasp. "Stop acting like you're saving me! If you didn't come here, they wouldn't hate me… none of this would exist!"
The hall went deathly silent. Qin Jingze's eyes darkened unreadable for a heartbeatbut he didn't walk away. Instead, he took a single step closer.
"I didn't ask for your approval," he said quietly. "But I'm not leaving just because it hurts."
Panic coursed through her veins as she bolted, moving as fast as she could away from the noise of the crowd. She darted down empty corridors until she reached her classroom and sank into her usual seat at the back, trying to calm down.
She pressed her forehead against the cool surface of the desk, staring at the rain-spattered window.
"Calm down, Ivy. Just… breathe," she muttered under her breath.
The door creaked behind her. She looked up and froze Liam.
He was tall, six-foot-five, with messy blonde hair and glasses. He stood near her desk, uncertainty written across his face, hands awkwardly tucked into his pockets.
"I… uh… didn't know anyone else would be here," he said slowly, eyes flicking to the window, then back to her.
Ivy's shoulders tensed. "It's fine," she muttered, not trusting her voice to stay steady.
Liam shifted, floorboards creaking under his shoes. For a second, neither spoke. The sound of rain filled the silence, soft and steady against the window.
He hovered near the next desk instead of sitting, shifting his weight like he wasn't sure if he should stay or bolt.
"I saw what happened," he said finally, voice low.
Ivy stared at her hands, fingers trembling around the edges of her desk.
"If you came to laugh," she whispered, "just get it over with."
Liam blinked. "What? No I didn't" He let out a breath and scrubbed a hand over his face. "Look, I'm not… like them."
A bitter laugh crawled up Ivy's throat, barely escaping. "Everyone says that."
"Ivy," he said softly, "this morning wasn't your fault. People here… they love drama. They'll move on."
"I don't know," she whispered.
He just nodded once, awkward and quiet.
Because if Liam could see the danger around her… it meant the rest of the school would, too.
She looked up really looked and saw something in his face she hadn't expected. Not pity. Not curiosity. Just… concern.
"Then why are you here?" she finally asked.
"Uh… I, uh thought I saw you crying. Uh… not that you were crying. Uh… not that it's bad if you cry. I mean…"
Ivy blinked at him.
Liam flushed red.
"I'm gonna start over."
He inhaled dramatically, then stuck out his hand.
"Hi. I'm Liam. We don't talk in our homeroom. I'm… bad at comforting people."
It was so earnest—and so painfully awkwardthat Ivy let out a tiny, unexpected laugh.
Liam brightened immediately.
"Hey! I did it! I made you laugh! Finally, something I'm good at!"
He pumped a fist… and accidentally knocked a stack of books off her desk. They crashed to the floor.
Liam froze.
"I… meant to do that."
Ivy wiped her eyes, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"Sure you did."
She bent down to pick up the fallen books. Liam crouched beside her, careful not to knock anything else over.
"You know," he whispered, cheeks pink, "I think I'm worse at this than I thought."
Ivy glanced at him, smirking. "You're… endearingly awful."
He laughed nervously, the sound so different from the chaos in the hallway, it almost felt like a shield. For a moment, Ivy forgot about Zoey, the whispers, even Qin Jingze.