Standing Next To You-Chapter 265: Villains can change?

Her hand went empty, and the chance was lost.

Bei Sangyun whipped her head to the person who disturbed their special moment.

She saw Lin Sunji, with disheveled hair, torn uniform, and scratches on her face.

The angry words that Bei Sangyun was about to say got stuck in her throat. Even Fei Chuan was stunned to see the disheveled Lin Sunji.

"...What happened to you?" Bei Sangyun asked, baffled. The Lin Sunji she knew would never allow herself to look so pitiful and miserable.

"...I fell," Lin Sunji lied. "Anyway, let me borrow your coat. My uniform is torn." All the buttons on her uniform and jacket had been ripped apart, and there were obvious tears on the shoulder and collar.

Bei Sangyun: "...." This obviously did not come from a fall.

Bei Sangyun hugged her coat and declined without hesitation, "You can’t borrow this."

"I’ll make sure to return it later. I just need something to cover myself until I get to the parking lot." Lin Sunji was desperate. She had been fighting with Wang Jia when lunch break suddenly ended.

A lot of students appeared in the hall where they were, causing them to break apart. Afraid of other people seeing them, they immediately ran away and hid for a while.

For the first time, Lin Sunji skipped class. She hid in the art room while trying to fix herself. However, she couldn’t cover the scratches on her face and her torn uniform.

Fortunately, while she was dodging the students, she found Bei Sangyun.

Although she did not want to ask for help from Bei Sangyun, she had no choice. She would rather have Bei Sangyun see her like this than have the whole school capture this unsightly appearance of hers and post it on the forum.

"Not this coat. I won’t let anyone wear this other than me," Bei Sangyun was as ruthless as ever, rejecting her once again.

Lin Sunji: "...."

She had swallowed her pride and asked Bei Sangyun because she thought Bei Sangyun would help her. After all, she and Bei Sangyun were on the same side now.

Lin Sunji gritted her teeth, "You’re not really going to help me? My reputation is at risk."

"So?" Bei Sangyun adjusted the coat around her and went closer to Fei Chuan. "I don’t mind if your reputation gets ruined."

Lin Sunji: "!"

Lin Sunji was baffled. She opened her mouth to speak straight words but stuttered, "...B-but aren’t we...on the same side now? If I get ruined...the fourth branch will be ruined as well! You will be ruining the deal you made with my parents."

"Let me get this straight with you, Lin Sunji. The reason I made a deal with the fourth branch is because of your brother. If not for him, I would destroy the fourth branch without hesitation. As for you, I think the fourth branch will be able to manage even if you have a bad reputation. They can marry you off to someone else who fits the reputation of the ruined daughter, and call it a day."

Lin Sunji despised hearing these words from Bei Sangyun. The agreement her family struck with Bei Sangyun was already tearing her apart inside. But being told that her family would manage without her was a bitter pill to swallow. She didn’t believe it for a moment.

Lin Sunji was convinced that she was the center of her family’s world and their most cherished possession.

"You’re wrong. If it weren’t for me, my parents wouldn’t have made that deal with you. They made that decision for my sake."

"You’re correct. Your parents set aside their pride for the sake of their children’s future. Because the fourth branch would rely on both of you. However, without the heir title in your name, do you think the fourth branch stands a chance? Don’t forget that you lost that title, and now it’s your brother who can continue the competition. He is the sole hope of the fourth branch. And also your only hope."

Bei Sangyun could have left then and there and not bothered about Lin Sunji. But she couldn’t resist saying more.

"Consider your situation, Lin Sunji. Your brother is a better leader than you, and I’m pretty sure your parents will see that. What you couldn’t do before, Lin Sanju will be able to do it. So if I were you, I’d be incredibly nervous and do everything I could for my family to recognize my worth. After all, you’re useless now."

Lin Sunji paled at Bei Sangyun’s words.

Lin Sunji’s family treated her preciously and protected her at all costs. She believed that if the fourth branch remained strong, so would she. If she was ruined, so was the fourth branch. Her life and the fourth branch coexisted together.

That’s why when she lost the heir title, the fourth branch received losses on all sides and almost got swallowed by other branches. That’s also why Lin Sunji was enduring this humiliation for the fourth branch—because if the fourth branch was doing well, she would be too.

However, Bei Sangyun just slapped reality onto her.

After the incident, her parents would have learned the lesson that they could not entirely put their hope on her. Like Bei Sangyun said, she was just a daughter who could no longer contribute to the family except for the connections she could make through her good marriage. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

The fourth branch no longer revolved around her. She was no longer the center of their world.

Lin Sunji’s body shook. "....Y-you’re lying...it can’t be...."

Once the rose-tinted glasses were broken down, the reality that Lin Sunji had never thought of appeared in her mind clearly. She wasn’t naive and a fool. She knew the cruel reality of life when a person lost their value.

Although her parents loved her, that love might change.

Bei Sangyun knew that her message got across. She pulled Fei Chuan’s arm and dragged him away, leaving Lin Sunji panicking inside.

When they were at a sufficient distance, Bei Sangyun took out her phone and called Zhong Cheng.

"Your student is in Building X. Bring a coat." After that short instruction, she ended the call.

On the side, Fei Chuan was staring curiously at her.

Bei Sangyun noticed his gaze and turned to him with a teasing smile, "What? Does my side profile look good?"

Fei Chuan immediately looked away. That conversation made Fei Chuan guess a lot about the current situation of the Lin family. It turned out Bei Sangyun was so formidable that she managed to have the fourth branch under her control.

Good. Bei Sangyun wasn’t being abused like he originally thought. She was fighting back...like him.

"Why did you tell her that?" Fei Chuan asked. "I thought you two didn’t have a good relationship. You could have just let her ruin herself and embark on the path of no return. Your words just woke her up."

Bei Sangyun glanced back and saw that Lin Sunji was still standing still. She seemed to be shocked by the reality thrown at her.

"....I don’t know," Bei Sangyun answered honestly. She did not know why she bothered advising Lin Sunji. She knew that with Lin Sunji’s personality, she would hold a grudge against her and continue to believe that the fourth branch would revolve around her.

Lin Sunji might be thinking that once the fourth branch returned to its peak, she could exact revenge.

However, it would be too late by then. The fourth branch would be fully integrated into Lin Sanju’s hands. And if Lin Sunji continued to seek revenge against Bei Sangyun stubbornly, she would only be shooting herself in the foot.

If Lin Sunji continued to destroy herself and ruin the fourth branch, they would have no choice but to cut her off. Perhaps by marrying her off somewhere far away.

No matter how Bei Sangyun saw it, if Lin Sunji did not change, she would meet a bad end. Just like in the previous life.

Bei Sangyun wouldn’t care if Lin Sunji lived a bad life or not. But... she found herself speaking up.

Bei Sangyun glanced at Fei Chuan, "Maybe because you’re with me? I want to act kind and earn good points from you."

Fei Chuan: "...."

Bei Sangyun chuckled, seeing the expression on his face.

There was one thing she didn’t tell him.

A part of her was wishing that villains could change, and that their change would lead to a different ending.

After all, she too was a villain. And she would like to see how her life would change with different choices she made in this life from her previous life.