Chapter 1: Car Accident

On November 8, 2012, the day Ji Fanling died, a rare heavy rain fell in Beiwan City.

In the morning, Ji Fanling was abruptly awakened from her sleep by something heavy crashing down on her head.

She raised her arm to shield her face and rolled over to dodge. “Are you out of your mind?!”

Ji Guoliang was standing at the foot of the bed, holding her backpack upside down, shaking its contents out.

The papers, textbooks, and stationery from the backpack hit her all over the head and face. Ji Guoliang threw the now-empty backpack onto her face, grabbed her by the collar, and dragged her out of bed, furious: “Where’s my money? Where did you hide it?!”

“Did you eat too much crap and ruin your brain?” Ji Fanling cursed. “What does it have to do with me if you lost your money?”

“Get out of the way!” Ji Guoliang swept her blanket and pillow to the floor, lifted the mattress to search underneath, cursing all the while, “A thief in your own house, you’re just an ungrateful wretch, just like your mother, nothing but a worthless burden!”

Ji Fanling grabbed the coat and pants hanging on the back of the chair, threw them on hastily, and rushed into the living room.

The cramped living room was filled with the lingering smell of smoke from Ji Guoliang and his group of card-playing friends, who had played through the night. The card table was in disarray, the floor was a mess, and empty beer bottles and snack wrappers left no place to step.

Ji Guoliang was still going wild in her room.

He had lost all night, and now the money he had set aside to win back his losses had disappeared. Frustrated and furious, he turned Ji Fanling’s room upside down.

The girl was used to it. She swiftly searched through the men’s jackets and trousers hanging on the coat rack with practiced ease.

From the jacket pocket, she found a fifty-yuan note and two twenties, and from the pants pocket, she fished out three coins. She also grabbed the half-pack of cigarettes from the table and stuffed everything into her pocket.

After taking the money, Ji Fanling kicked over the coat rack and, wearing her sneakers, stomped hard on his clothes several times, leaving shoe prints all over them.

Hearing the commotion, Ji Guoliang stormed out of the bedroom. After seeing the scene, he cursed furiously, “You damn brat! Stop right there…” He grabbed an empty beer bottle from the corner of the room and hurled it at her with force.

Ji Fanling swiftly ducked, and the beer bottle smashed against the wall behind her with a loud crash, shattering into pieces.

The girl raised her eyes coldly, gave him a straight middle finger, and then dashed out the door. In a few quick strides, she flew down the stairs, leaving his curses far behind her.

…

When Ji Fanling arrived at Beiwan High School, it was only 6:30, a rare occurrence for her not to be late.

She quickly washed her face and rinsed her mouth in the bathroom, put on her hood, and slumped over her desk, falling into a deep sleep.

It wasn’t until before the morning reading session that her deskmate arrived and gently nudged her. “Ji Fanling.”

Ji Fanling groggily rubbed her eyes, murmured in response, and got up to make room.

“The money you left with me, I brought it all.” Zhou Sui sat down, discreetly handing over a neatly tied black plastic bag as if they were part of an underground handoff.

“I kept track of it. There’s a total of 930 here.”

Ji Fanling, still half-asleep, mumbled a thank you without even checking the contents, and casually stuffing the bag into her pocket.

The truth was, Ji Guoliang’s money had indeed been stolen by her.

The reason he couldn’t find it was that she hadn’t hidden any of it at home. Whatever amount she took, she had her deskmate, Zhou Sui, take it all to her house.

After the first class, Ji Fanling, with the money in hand, walked into the office of the senior year department.

Their homeroom teacher, Old Tang, was speaking to another student, who was standing with their back to the door. The tall figure faced away from the entrance, silhouetted in the dim, gloomy autumn morning light, giving off an inexplicably sharp and chilly aura.

Just by looking at the back of their head, it was obvious that this was the top student in their grade.

“You can head back now, don’t dwell too much on this matter,” Old Tang’s tone was somewhat overly flattering. “In the teachers’ eyes, you’re like a white lotus, unsullied by the mud around you.”

Fu Yingcheng turned around, and Ji Fanling brushed past him.

She tried to hold it in but couldn’t resist gagging at the words “white lotus.”

“Ji Fanling, stop making faces behind my back, I saw you!” Old Tang slammed the desk in anger.

“You must really dislike him, comparing him to a white lotus^[1]She commented that because there is another meaning in “white lotus”. In Chinese internet slang, a “white lotus” (白莲花) refers to someone who appears pure, innocent, and … Continue reading,” she quipped.

Ji Fanling curled her lips, placed the black plastic bag on the desk, added the money she had just received that morning, and pushed it all over.

“One thousand and twenty-one, for tuition and book fees,” Ji Fanling said. “Count it.”

“Sigh, I told you there was no rush to pay the tuition…”

“It was due two months ago.”

“I covered it for you, didn’t I? The teacher’s not in a hurry to use the money. I know about your family’s situation… You could even pay me next semester,”

Old Tang shifted his tone, then frowned. “But just now, during the Chinese class, were you sleeping again? I saw you through the window! Sleeping during the first period? How are you tired so early in the morning? Even if you’re tired, you can’t sleep during a main subject! And coming to school without even bringing your backpack—what are you here for?”

“Are you going to count it or not?” the girl interrupted, her voice cold and firm. “If you don’t, I’m leaving.”

“…Hey, did I say you could leave?” Old Tang reached out to pull her back, and the girl instinctively hissed in pain.

In truth, Old Tang hadn’t used much force. But as her sleeve was slightly pulled up, a flash of deep purple bruising on her wrist became visible. Ji Fanling quickly pulled her sleeve back down, expressionless.

Old Tang couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

He knew about her family situation. Her mother had passed away early, and her father was addicted to gambling, often out of contact for long periods. No one ever attended her parent-teacher meetings.

“I know you’re going through tough times, but it’s just one more year. Hang in there, okay? Look at your last monthly exam…”

Ji Fanling stood there reluctantly, thinking to herself, “I’m not going through tough times, I’m just purely tired.”

Old Tang kept lecturing her until the bell rang for class. Only then did he reluctantly let her go. As Ji Fanling stepped out of the office and turned the corner, she spotted a young man standing in the hallway.

The students rushing to class were like a fast-moving current, pushing and shoving as they crowded the stairway, dispersing into various classrooms. Yet he stood still by the railing, his back straight, his uniform clean, standing out like a graceful crane, striking and serene.

The young man lifted his eyes and glanced at her, his gaze dark and calm.

Anyone who didn’t know better might think he was waiting for her.

Ji Fanling raised her eyebrow in confusion. “Why are you still here?”

“Just about to leave,” Fu Yingcheng replied.

Ji Fanling didn’t ask any further, and the two of them walked, one after the other, toward Senior Year Class 7.

As they were nearing the classroom door, the hallway had almost emptied.

Fu Yingcheng slowed his steps, glanced sideways at her, and began, “Do you have plans tonight…”

He didn’t finish his sentence.

From a distance, someone called out Ji Fanling’s name.

She leaned over the railing and looked down. Below, a handsome boy in a bright red jacket, holding a basketball in one hand, waved at her with the other, signaling for her to come down.

Ji Fanling immediately turned and headed for the stairs.

“Where are you going?” Fu Yingcheng asked from behind her.

“Cheng Jiali called me down.”

“And just because he calls, you go?”

“He’s my…” Ji Fanling rubbed her nose, “He’s my boyfriend.”

Fu Yingcheng paused for a moment, then said with a slightly lower voice: “Didn’t you hear the bell for class?”

He stood at the classroom door, his sharp, well-defined eyes dark and fixed on her, his tone inexplicably cold.

Ji Fanling stopped in her tracks, giving him a puzzled look, unsure why he was upset.

Maybe this is just what top students are like—high moral standards. A classmate skipping class probably fills him with deep disappointment.

“English class. I don’t understand it anyway,” Ji Fanling replied casually. “Don’t tell Old Tang, thanks, White Lotus.”

After she finished, she couldn’t help but chuckle, revealing a sharp little canine tooth. Her smile was so bright that it stood out against the gloomy sky.

She waved at Fu Yingcheng and ran down the stairs.

…

In truth, Cheng Jiali didn’t have any important reason for calling her. The boys in his class were playing basketball during PE and he just wanted his girlfriend to watch. Unfortunately, Ji Fanling had barely slept the night before due to the noise of the mahjong game, so she spent the entire time on the bleachers, drowsy, and missed his supposedly epic play where he dribbled past three opponents in a row.

When Ji Fanling returned to the classroom, the morning classes were almost over. Her deskmate, Zhou Sui, tugged at her sleeve and said, “God Fu came looking for you during the last break.”

“What did he want from me?”

“He asked if you have time tonight. If so, meet him at seven. You know where,” Zhou Sui whispered.

“How the hell would I know…” Ji Fanling trailed off, suddenly remembering something, and said slowly, “Oh, I know.”

“What do you know?” Chen Jun, sitting in the row ahead, couldn’t help but turn around. “How do you know God Fu?”

“He’s in our class, don’t you know him?” she replied.

“No… what I mean is, you actually ‘know’ him?” Chen Jun emphasized the word “know.”

Fu Yingcheng was someone everyone at Beiwan High School knew.

From the moment he entered the school, he had been ranked first in the grade, consistently outscoring the second-place student by 20 to 30 points. It was a tradition at Beiwan High School for the top student to give a speech during the flag-raising ceremony after major exams, and every time, it was him. His presence was as predictable as the song Unforgettable Tonight at the Spring Festival Gala.

If it weren’t for a Ministry of Education policy that canceled elite classes, Ji Fanling would have had no chance of being in the same class as him.

On the grade rankings, one of them led the top, while the other sat at the bottom.

Chen Jun’s question, though seemingly sincere, carried a hint of mockery.

With a loud “bang,” Ji Fanling kicked the back of his chair, sending Chen Jun stumbling forward.

“How I know him isn’t important. Say one more word,” she warned, her eyes lifting with a half-smile.

“I’ll make sure you get to know me all over again.”

*

Evening, after school.

The sky was dark as ink, with thick, lead-gray clouds piling up like mountains. Students, carrying their heavy backpacks, streamed out of the school gate one after another.

Ji Fanling calculated the time and realized she still had time for dinner before meeting Fu Yingcheng, so she took a detour to “Jiang Family Noodles” in the alley behind the school.

The noodle shop was small, with only two narrow tables and a few blue plastic stools.

The place was run by a married couple: the wife handled the customers and the cash register, while the husband cooked and washed dishes. Their elementary school-aged son sat at the narrow table in the back, engrossed in his homework.

Hearing Ji Fanling’s footsteps, the little boy looked up and cheerfully called out, “Sister.”

Ji Fanling was a regular here, so she casually put her money into the bucket and called out to the kitchen, “Aunt Jiang, two liang^[2]Liang (两) is a traditional Chinese unit of weight. One liang is equivalent to approximately 50 grams, so two liang would be around 100 grams. In the context of food, especially noodles, it’s … Continue reading of plain noodles, no peanuts.”

“Fanling, you’re here!” The apron-clad woman lifted the curtain and greeted her warmly. “Just now, little Xingxing said he had a question he couldn’t figure out, and I told him to save it for you.”

“What question? Let me take a look.” Ji Fanling sat down, striking a boss-like pose as she took the problem from the boy’s hand. She stared at it in silence for a long time.

“…What grade are you in?” Ji Fanling asked.

“First grade.”

“You’re learning functions in first grade?”

“This isn’t homework from the teacher, it’s from elementary school math competitions.”

Xingxing closed his notebook, revealing the cover of a math competition book, and looked at her innocently. “And it’s not a function, it’s the acceleration graph of a running rabbit.”

Ji Fanling: “…”

“Sister, did you figure it out?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Huh?”

“This problem is so simple, I saw the answer at a glance.” Ji Fanling kept a straight face. “But, as your sister, I can’t encourage this kind of ‘fear of difficulty’ mentality in you.”

Ji Fanling ruffled his hair, “Figure it out yourself.”

Xingxing obediently buried his head in thought. After a while, Aunt Jiang mentioned that they were out of scallions and cilantro. It was a busy time in the evening, and she couldn’t leave the shop, so Xingxing eagerly volunteered to go to the nearby market.

Just as Ji Fanling’s noodles were served, a few muffled rolls of thunder echoed through the sky.

“Is it going to rain?” Aunt Jiang asked, worried. “The weather forecast didn’t mention anything.”

Ji Fanling picked up her chopsticks, stirred the noodles, and looked up. “Aunt Jiang, you added an egg again. I only paid for plain noodles.”

“It’s just one egg. If I don’t sell it by the end of the night, it’ll go to waste. You’re so skinny; you can’t keep eating just plain noodles every day.”

In just the short time of this exchange, the raindrops became heavier, and the wind rattled the glass door back and forth. The sudden downpour arrived with full force.

Ji Fanling glanced outside and stood up. “Xingxing didn’t bring an umbrella. I’ll go pick him up.”

“Oh, little boys aren’t afraid of getting wet, and it’s so close…” The sound of the rain grew louder, and Aunt Jiang’s hesitation became more apparent. “You’re a customer; it’s really too much trouble for you…”

“My noodles are too hot anyway.” Ji Fanling walked out, picking up the straight-handled umbrella leaning against the wall. “I’m taking the umbrella.”

“Be careful on the way!”

Ji Fanling opened the umbrella and stepped into the rain, the heavy raindrops drumming loudly against its surface.

It was only six o’clock, but the surroundings were unusually dark, as if it were late at night. The deafening sound of rain filled the air, and the road, quickly flooded by the downpour, became a patchwork of glimmering reflections.

Ji Fanling walked all the way to the alley entrance before spotting Xingxing across the street. The boy was struggling to shield the vegetables with his body, completely soaked by the heavy rain.

The traffic light turned green, and Xingxing ran toward her through the rain, shouting, “Sister, why did you come?”

In that instant, two blindingly white headlights suddenly swung toward them. The car broke through the curtain of rain, heading straight for the boy’s small figure.

A speeding car, a sharp horn, a loss of control, skidding wheels, and widening eyes.

The words “watch out” stuck in Ji Fanling’s throat as she lunged forward, shoving Xingxing out of the way.

Then, everything around her plunged into a dark, deathly silence.

…

Ji Fanling abruptly opened her eyes, gasping for breath.

The expected pain never came. She wiped her face in the rain and looked around in confusion.

The car was gone. Xingxing was gone. Even the umbrella she had dropped was gone.

The alley and street had become unfamiliar.

But the sky remained dark, and the rain continued to pour down in torrents.

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Author’s Note:

Someone, who didn’t get to wait for his wife in the rain, gently shattered for ten years (x).

I’m here, babies! Chi Chi (The Author) is back again with her 300,000-word draft!! If you’re passing by, don’t forget to add this to your collection!

Once again, it’s my favorite genre: the “widower man” story. The female lead had a boyfriend ten years ago, but he’s not the second male lead. The second male lead is the elementary school kid who quickly grows up into a passionate “puppy” boy, all about repaying his sister, our main character, Little Xingxing!

Red envelopes in the comments section! Mwah mwah mwah!

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