By Wednesday, the cover story had worked.
Not perfectly. Yunbei No. 1 didn't let go of a good rumor that easily.
But it changed the flavor of the attention. People stopped saying date and started saying tutoring. They stopped watching like they were waiting for a scandal and started watching like they were waiting for Jiang Yue to fail again.
Which was easier. Familiar, even.
Jiang Yue could handle people expecting him to mess up.
What he couldn't handle was the feeling that Wei had just put his own neck on the line to give Jiang Yue room to breathe.
Teacher Gao's official "plan" meant if Jiang Yue slipped, it wouldn't just be his embarrassment.
It would be Wei's.
It would be the proof everyone wanted: Look, he wasted time on that kid.
So Jiang Yue studied like his life depended on it.
He hated that he cared.
He cared anyway.
At lunch, he was halfway through rice that tasted like cardboard when Tang Ruo sat down across from him.
Xu Zhe immediately made a small sound of despair. "Not you again."
Tang Ruo smiled pleasantly. "Hello, Xu Zhe."
Xu Zhe muttered, "You're like a tax."
Tang Ruo ignored him and looked at Jiang Yue. "Teacher Gao approved the tutoring."
Jiang Yue kept his face blank. "Yeah."
Tang Ruo's eyes were sharp. "Smart."
Jiang Yue didn't answer.
She leaned in slightly, lowering her voice. "It won't be enough."
Jiang Yue's chopsticks paused. "What won't."
Tang Ruo tapped her phone screen once, then slid it across the table.
A screenshot.
Senior year group chat.
Someone had posted: Teacher Gao is covering for them. That's suspicious.
Under it, replies.
Most were just laughing emojis. A few were nasty.
Then one message stood out, from another burner account: If they're just tutoring, why does Wei look at him like that?
Jiang Yue's stomach tightened.
Xu Zhe's face darkened. "People are insane."
Tang Ruo took her phone back calmly. "People are bored."
Jiang Yue forced himself to keep his voice steady. "So what."
Tang Ruo's gaze held his. "So the cover story buys time, not safety."
Jiang Yue swallowed. "What do you want."
Tang Ruo blinked slowly, like she'd been waiting for him to ask that exact question.
"I can help," she said.
Xu Zhe snorted. "Sure."
Tang Ruo didn't look at him. "Not for free."
Jiang Yue's jaw tightened. "There it is."
Tang Ruo's smile was mild. "I'm honest. You should appreciate that."
Jiang Yue leaned back, crossing his arms. "What's your price."
Tang Ruo's eyes flicked toward the cafeteria door, then toward Wei's table where Shen sat alone today, Wei missing—probably in student council.
Tang Ruo's voice dropped. "Stop pretending you don't know who started the noodle-shop photo."
Jiang Yue froze. "You know?"
Tang Ruo shrugged. "I have guesses."
Xu Zhe leaned in despite himself. "Who."
Tang Ruo's gaze stayed on Jiang Yue. "I want your help confirming it."
Jiang Yue's chest tightened. "Why do you care."
Tang Ruo's smile thinned, just slightly. "Because if someone can do it to Wei, they can do it to anyone. Including me."
That was the most honest thing she'd ever said.
Jiang Yue stared at her. "So what's the plan."
Tang Ruo's eyes sharpened. "I need you to do something you're good at."
Xu Zhe muttered, "Starting fights?"
Tang Ruo ignored him again. "Listening. Blending in. Noticing who watches you."
Jiang Yue's mouth went dry.
Tang Ruo continued, calm as always. "There's a student in Class 6. Name: Lu Qian. He's been hovering around your orbit for weeks, laughing too loud at rumors, always nearby when screenshots appear."
Jiang Yue's fingers tightened around his chopsticks. He knew the name. Everyone knew the name. Lu Qian was the kind of boy who made cruelty look like comedy.
Tang Ruo said, "I want you to watch him."
Jiang Yue's jaw tightened. "And if it's him."
Tang Ruo's expression was flat. "Then I handle it."
Xu Zhe blinked. "How."
Tang Ruo smiled again, sweet. "Gossip is a currency. I'm good with money."
Jiang Yue didn't like any of this.
He didn't like being part of Tang Ruo's schemes, because schemes always had collateral damage.
But he also didn't like watching Wei swallow humiliation with a straight face.
He looked at Tang Ruo. "And what do I get."
Tang Ruo's eyes didn't move. "You get fewer eyes on Wei's mother. You get fewer eyes on you. You get peace to study."
Xu Zhe leaned back, arms crossed. "This is blackmail."
Tang Ruo said calmly, "This is negotiation."
Jiang Yue stared at her for a long moment.
Then he said, voice low, "Fine."
Tang Ruo's gaze softened by half a degree—rare enough to be unsettling. "Good."
She stood up, smoothed her skirt, and looked down at Jiang Yue like she was delivering a final warning.
"Don't tell Wei," Tang Ruo said.
Jiang Yue's chest tightened. "Why."
Tang Ruo's voice was gentle and merciless. "Because he'll try to solve it the clean way. And the clean way doesn't work against people like Lu Qian."
Then she walked away like she hadn't just recruited Jiang Yue into a quiet war.
Xu Zhe stared after her, disgusted. "She scares me."
Jiang Yue's throat felt tight. "Me too."
Xu Zhe looked at him. "Are you really going to do it."
Jiang Yue stared at his tray, appetite gone. "I don't know."
Xu Zhe's gaze was steady. "Yes you do."
Jiang Yue exhaled slowly.
He did.
After school, Jiang Yue found himself noticing things he usually ignored.
Who watched him when he walked past.
Who lifted their phone and lowered it quickly.
Who laughed when the word "mom" came up in any conversation.
And yes—Lu Qian.
Lu Qian had that exact look Tang Ruo described: eyes too bright, smile too casual, hovering at the edge of groups like he was waiting to throw a match.
When Jiang Yue passed him in the hallway, Lu Qian's gaze flicked to him, then to Wei's classroom door, then back.
A small triangle of attention.
A tell.
Jiang Yue's hands curled.
He kept walking.
At home, the tutoring schedule was brutal.
Wei drilled him like a machine.
Jiang Yue actually kept up.
At nine, Wei closed his book and looked at Jiang Yue. "You're distracted."
Jiang Yue's heart kicked.
Wei's eyes narrowed slightly. "What happened."
Jiang Yue forced a shrug. "Nothing."
Wei stared at him for a long moment.
Then he said, quiet, controlled, "Don't lie to me."
The words landed hard.
Jiang Yue's throat tightened.
He couldn't tell Wei about Tang Ruo. He couldn't.
It would turn into a fight. Wei would take responsibility. Wei would do something clean and official and it would backfire.
So Jiang Yue did what he'd gotten good at lately.
He told a truth that wasn't the whole truth.
"I'm just… tired," Jiang Yue said quietly. "And people are still talking."
Wei's gaze softened by a fraction.
"I know," Wei said.
Jiang Yue stared at him. "Does it bother you."
Wei's jaw tightened. "Yes."
The honesty hit.
Wei added, voice lower, "But not enough to stop."
Jiang Yue's chest tightened. "Stop what."
Wei's gaze held his for a beat too long.
Then he looked down at the schedule, pen tapping once. "This."
Tutoring.
Studying.
Being near.
Jiang Yue swallowed, heat rising behind his eyes.
He nodded once, sharp.
"Okay," Jiang Yue said.
Wei nodded back.
And Jiang Yue realized something with a cold clarity as he walked to his room later.
He was lying to Wei.
Not about caring. That part was obvious.
He was lying by omission.
By keeping a war out of Wei's hands.
And Jiang Yue didn't know yet if that made him loyal or reckless.
Probably both.
But if Tang Ruo was right—if the clean way didn't work—then Jiang Yue would do it the only way he knew.
He would watch.
He would wait.
And when he was sure who was lighting matches, he would put the fire out.
Quietly.
Before it reached Wei again.