Stella.
She wasn't single.
In fact, she was Kelvin's girlfriend—another standout in their class, both in looks and popularity. And Wang Hao knew it.
That's what made that drunken night with her all the more thrilling for him. The rush of sleeping with someone else's girl—NTR-style—had made him feel powerful, like he'd taken something forbidden.
But what he didn't know was that, at that very same time, he was the one being played for a fool. His own girlfriend, Xueyin, had been tangled up in a passionate night with another guy—Lin Wei.
Now, back in class, Lin Wei sat calmly, his gaze shifting between the two girls and their respective boyfriends. Stella leaned into Kelvin's shoulder, laughing lightly. Xueyin sat beside Wang Hao, her posture stiff, her smile restrained.
But none of that fazed Lin Wei.
After all, there was a side of Xueyin only he had seen. That vulnerable, breathless version of her from last night—the memory alone was enough to send a thrill through him.
He grinned to himself, lowering his gaze to the floor. Casually, he opened the NTR Application on his phone again. While scrolling through its familiar layout, he noticed a tab he'd somehow overlooked before. Curiosity piqued, he tapped it.
A list of strange, pixelated items appeared on screen—blurry, their names unreadable. All of them were locked, inaccessible at his current level.
Level: 1--EXP Required for Level 2: (80/100).
'So these are unlockable,' Lin Wei mused, 'most likely NTR-related items. Whatever they are, they'll probably give me some kind of edge.'
He smirked as he closed the app and looked around the classroom, now bustling with students taking their seats. The teacher had arrived, signaling the start of the day's lesson.
Four hours later, Lin Wei was mentally drained—but he'd managed to follow the material. He even took decent notes. Despite his low Intelligence stat, he was determined to keep up.
'If I get more points soon, I should put a couple into Intelligence,' he thought. 'The faster I learn, the easier it'll be to stay ahead… in class, and in the game.'
Lin Wei watched Kelvin and Stella leave the classroom, laughing like nothing was out of place.
He packed his things quietly and made his way to the clubroom. There was still that matter of confirming the participants for the upcoming social work trip—something he was supposed to organize.
But when he arrived, the paperwork had already been handled.
By Kelvin.
"I'll be taking the social work," Kelvin said, leaning back casually in the chair opposite the club leader. "Just show up for the labor part—I'll put your name down for payment, but the recognition will go to me. That cool with you?"
It sounded like a question.
But the tone was unmistakably a command.
Lin Wei felt his jaw tighten, but he kept his expression smooth and neutral. Kelvin's smugness grated on his nerves, but it wasn't worth reacting—yet.
"Of course," Lin Wei replied with a calm smile. "You're more than welcome."
"Great." Kelvin clapped his hands lightly. "Then I'll be putting my name down for the next round of social work too."
The club supervisor, a portly man with a greasy grin, chimed in without hesitation. "Hmm! Good thinking, Kelvin. I'll make the changes right now."
Lin Wei watched silently as the man literally erased his name from the file and scribbled Kelvin's in its place—like it was nothing.
"Here. Take this as thanks," Kelvin said, flicking a thousand-credit bill in Lin Wei's direction like it was pocket change.
The bill landed near his face.
Something in Lin Wei snapped—not visibly, but the coil tightened inside his chest.
That same voice of arrogance. That same tone of superiority. He wasn't just being replaced; he was being bought off like some disposable lackey.
"Shameless. He can actually say that with a straight face..."
"Damn, throwing around a thousand like it's nothing..."
Whispers echoed from a couple of other students nearby. In today's economy, a family making 100,000 credits a year would be considered upper-middle class. To throw 1,000 credits like a tissue? That made Kelvin look like a young master of a powerful family.
What none of them knew was that Lin Wei's current balance could buy out Kelvin's father's entire company—and he wouldn't even notice the dent.
Just as the room began to settle into silent discomfort, a sharp voice cut through.
"What's going on here?"
Li Xueyin entered the clubroom with her usual grace, but her face was clearly agitated. "I just saw Lin Wei's name being removed from that file. Sir, that was his work. Are you seriously letting someone steal credit like that?"
The teacher flinched. Before he could respond, another voice joined her.
"Yeah! Sir, I don't think this kind of thing should slide," Wang Hao said as he stepped in. "I saw Lin Wei working his ass off. If this goes on, I'll have to bring it up with my dad. He's tight with some folks who fund our club, after all."
He casually threw an arm around Lin Wei's shoulder, offering a sly smile.
'I've got your back today, bro.'
But Lin Wei saw it for what it was. Not support—posturing. Wang Hao was trying to build influence by playing the "good guy" after pulling his own stunts with Stella and scrambling to keep Xueyin.
Lin Wei gave a polite smile, but inside, his thoughts were sharp.
'I see you. All of you. And you're making this way easier for me.'
"This has nothing to do with you, does it?" Kelvin's voice cut sharp as he glared at Li Xueyin.
His expression darkened—not just from being called out, but because it was Xueyin who had done it. Her family wasn't just on par with his—they might even be better off. And unlike Kelvin, born from one of many concubines in a bloated lineage, Li Xueyin was the only daughter of her mother and thus held actual weight in her household.
Wang Hao, now standing in clear support of Lin Wei, only made it worse.
Kelvin clenched his jaw. If this had happened a day ago, Lin Wei would've backed off immediately. But something had changed. Lin Wei didn't flinch under his gaze—instead, he met it head-on, calm and unbothered.
That subtle defiance made Kelvin's blood boil.
'Who does he think he is now…?'
But Lin Wei wasn't worried anymore. The old Lin Wei would've been crushed under this kind of pressure. Now, he had his own leverage, a secret weapon quietly growing stronger behind the scenes.
He didn't need to speak. His silent confidence said enough.
Just as the room felt like it might explode, the door clicked open and Stella stepped in.
"Kelvin!" Her voice rang out with clear authority. "I only called you here to help out—not to cause trouble."
She held up her phone, flashing a message she'd just received from one of the club members: "Things are getting tense—come now." Her eyes swept the room, locking briefly on Lin Wei before narrowing at Kelvin.
Stella's timing was no accident.
She knew exactly how to rein Kelvin in—because she was the only one in the room who could.
Kelvin's jaw tightened, but he backed down. Just a little. Enough to keep his pride intact.
Stella had grown up surrounded by glamour and shadows.
Her mother owned a successful undergarment brand—one that thrived across major platforms and catered to a high-profile clientele.
Models came and went, photo shoots filled her weekends, and whispers of backroom deals and transactional relationships were part of her childhood soundtrack. Raised in this world, Stella learned early on that beauty was currency and most smiles were masks.
**Casual love, fleeting flings, hidden scandals, forced sex for status—**she'd seen it all.
That's why she was unfazed by things that might rattle others. Her sex life? Private, but unashamed. She'd had her share of lovers, both abroad and here in the Federation, but none of them ever lingered long enough to matter. Kelvin was no different.
To her, he was just another boy trying too hard to be more than he was.
Lately, though, she'd been keeping her distance—not letting him touch her like before. It wasn't about teasing. She simply didn't feel like handing him that access anymore.
But Kelvin didn't take rejection well. Especially not from someone like her.
And when she invited him to join the beach trip—not for him, but to help someone else—he saw it as a betrayal. His anger festered, and instead of confronting Stella, he turned his frustration toward the easiest target in the room:
Lin Wei.
"Hmm. My dad asked for it—so back off."
Kelvin's voice was low and taut with frustration. He wanted to lash out, to assert control, but Stella's presence changed the air around him. She wasn't just another girl—she was someone he couldn't shout down.
She stepped forward, calm but visibly cold. "Are you going to drop this or not?" Her voice was quiet but sharp. "You know this isn't right, Kelvin. And you're better than this... or at least, I thought you were."
That hit harder than yelling. Kelvin flinched, his defiance crumbling. He didn't respond. Just turned and walked out—defeated, detached, and humiliated.
Stella exhaled softly, her expression softening as she turned to Lin Wei. "I'm sorry. I'll make sure he apologizes properly."
"It's alright," Lin Wei replied, shaking his head with a faint smile. "Let's just meet up tomorrow for the trip."
"Hmm... I'll bring a couple of my friends. That guy's completely useless anyway." Stella's voice carried annoyance—not just disappointment in Kelvin, but indifference. She was already done with him.
"Good," Lin Wei nodded.
He watched her walk away, a confident smile forming at the corner of his lips.
'She might just be my second target…'