C City, evening.

The remaining clouds on the horizon were burned into a blazing red by the setting sun’s afterglow. Layer upon layer, they covered the gradually deepening sky.

A black private car pulled out from the main gate of the “Love Care Hospital” in the city.

Inside the car.

In the passenger seat, a well-groomed woman turned towards the back seat, a smile spreading across her face.

“Miao miao, to celebrate your discharge, would you like Uncle and Auntie to take you out to dinner tonight?”

In the shadows of the back seat sat a petite girl. She wore a slightly worn gray hoodie, which seemed a few sizes too big for her, making her look like a child wearing adult clothes.

Even inside the car, the oversized hoodie’s hood still covered her head loosely, hanging down loosely to bury her face inside.

Silence filled the car for a long time.

Until the woman’s smile began to falter, there was a slight movement from the driver’s seat.

“…No need.”

The voice was very soft, with a hint of softness, but unfortunately, there was no fluctuation in tone.

It was quiet to the extreme.

The woman’s smile froze, her expression a bit awkward.

The man driving didn’t look away, smiling to diffuse the tension.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to go. Isn’t tomorrow the start of school at Sanzhong? Tonight, let your cousin Susu talk to you about school.

Upon hearing the man’s words, a hint of satisfaction flashed in the eyes of the woman in the passenger seat.

“Yes, Miao miao, Susu is in the same grade as you, she has good grades, and she’s well-liked at school. When we get back to Auntie’s house, you should have a good chat with Susu.”

The car fell silent again for a long time before a very soft “Hmm” was heard.

Seeing that saying more would be pointless, the woman in the passenger seat closed her mouth and turned away awkwardly.

The girl in the back seat silently shrugged her shoulders, burying her face deeper.

And inside the large hood, Su Miao miao lightly pursed her pale lips, quietly watching the scenery outside the car.

The brilliant clouds in the sky stretched all the way to the top of her head.

Tomorrow… It should be a decent day.

The girl quietly lowered her eyes, thinking to herself.

The private car drove through half of the small city, finally entering a villa area in the center of C City as the night fell from the sky.

The maids who received advance notice waited by the garage. When their car stopped, they approached and opened the door.

Inside the car, the girl hidden in the oversized gray hoodie hesitated for a moment before slowly turning around and getting out of the car.

The maid, seeing the girl’s outfit in the darkness, couldn’t help but be stunned.

The hoodie the girl was wearing was already long, and it was two sizes too big on her petite body, with the hem almost reaching her knees. Since it was the height of summer, she only wore shorts that barely reached her knees, so her two snow-white legs were exposed under the hoodie.

Her slender and evenly proportioned calves, illuminated by the villa area’s warm yellow streetlights, seemed to be draped in a layer of gossamer, making her skin appear even more translucent, as flawless as if there were no imperfections to be found.

It took the maid a moment to regain her composure after seeing such a delicately carved girl for the first time.

“Madam, is this Miss Miao miao from the Su family?”

“Yes.”

The maid quickly composed herself and put on a smile as she approached the girl.

“Miao miao, come, let’s go home with Auntie.”

Su Miao miao neither nodded nor spoke. The hood drooped down a little further, and she quietly followed behind the maid, slowly entering the villa.

Watching from behind, the maid couldn’t help but feel a bit of pity for the girl….

What’s the use of being born noble?

She was just like a mute, quiet and strange, an unloved sickly child.

She was nowhere near as good as Susu from her family.

After entering the villa, the maid called out, “Susu, come and greet your little sister Miao miao.”

The girl sitting on the sofa stood up.

The petite dress she wore highlighted Wen Susu’s beautiful appearance and figure, but at this moment, her expression seemed unwilling.

Wen Susu pursed her lips and walked over, mechanically saying, “Miao miao, hello, I’m Wen Susu.”

The petite girl was completely shrouded in the oversized hoodie and hood, showing no expression.

There was no response in the air either.Wen Susu turned to the maid in annoyance.

This time, the girl finally made a slight response, but it was just a very soft “Hmm.”

After dinner, Su Miao Miao followed Wen Susu upstairs. However, upon entering the room, Wen Susu insisted that she “couldn’t share a bathroom with others,” so Su Miao Miao had to take her clothes to the guest room’s bathroom. When she finished showering and returned to Wen Susu’s room wearing fresh clothes, Wen Susu was sitting on the edge of the bed with her back to the door, talking on the phone.

“Liking someone, what’s the use? I was so proactive, but Shang Yan still doesn’t pay attention to me. I can see that his heart has been taken by Shu Wei.”

“…Hmm.”

“Huh, what’s so great about the campus belle? I don’t think Shu Wei is that pretty. Besides, if it wasn’t for her being close to Shang Yan when she was elected as the campus belle, who would have voted for her?”

“…Hmm.”

“Good figure? What’s that got to do with being the campus belle? It’s about looks, not figure.”

“…Hmm.”

“I didn’t say it should’ve been me in the first place, you…”

Wen Susu’s voice froze abruptly when she caught sight of the girl at the door. She quickly ended the call, her expression slightly unpleasant.

“When did you come in?”

The girl’s face was completely hidden under the oversized hood, and after a moment, a very soft voice came out.

“Just now.”

After saying these two words, the girl walked to the other side of the bed with her clothes in her arms.

The room had only a small bedside lamp on, emitting a soft yellow light. Wen Susu noticed the girl’s slender fingers occasionally peeking out from the cuffs as she folded her clothes.

In the light, her fingertips were so delicate and fair they seemed almost transparent.

Wen Susu’s complexion suddenly turned ugly.

It was only at this moment that she remembered, perhaps the only one who could easily surpass Shu Wei in terms of appearance was the girl in front of her.

She had seen the face hidden under the hood.

Two years ago, on a summer day when she went to visit the “Miss Su” who had just been admitted to the hospital with her parents, she didn’t want to go in at first glance through the narrow glass window of the hospital ward. From childhood, she had been proud of her appearance, and that was the first girl she had seen who could easily surpass her with just one glance.

It was also the first time she realized that pure cleanliness to the extreme was almost as beautiful as radiance.

And Su Miao Miao would be transferring to their class tomorrow, her position as the class flower was not guaranteed, and Shang Yan would definitely not look at her, right?

Wen Susu bit her lower lip, her gaze wandering.But then again… two years had passed, and that beauty of a girl from the Su family might have become just like everyone else now, right?

Wen Susu comforted herself anxiously, her gaze drifting over the girl until she saw the same style hoodie neatly stacked under the girl’s hands, her heart suddenly easing.

“Miao Miao, are you going to wear these clothes to school tomorrow?”

As she paused to arrange her clothes, Wen Susu heard a barely audible response.

She couldn’t help but curl up her lips in satisfaction….Yes, as long as she wasn’t noticed at the beginning, even if she was discovered later, Shang Yan would never be interested in her, having already seen Su Miao Miao’s quirky personality.

Wen Susu felt much more relieved.

Just as she was about to go to bed, she caught sight of the girl’s snow-white legs peeking out from under the hoodie.

Wen Susu’s eyes flickered, and she took out two loose-fitting jeans from the corner of the wardrobe.

“Miao Miao, the school doesn’t allow girls to wear skirts above the knees, your hoodie is definitely too long… I have a few pairs of jeans here, bought them but never wore them, take them.”

“…”

The air fell silent for a few seconds, a slender, fair hand emerged from the oversized hoodie sleeve, hesitantly taking the two somewhat baggy jeans.

“Thank you,” the girl whispered softly.

A quiet night passed.

Early the next morning, Su Miao Miao and Wen Susu rode in the Wen family’s car, driven by a driver temporarily assigned from Wen Chengzhou’s #company, heading to Sanzhong School.

As the car neared the school, Wen Susu’s unease began to surface.

After several glances, she casually spoke, “Miao Miao, are you planning to transfer to our class?”

There was no response beside her; Wen Susu was accustomed to silence being the default reaction.

She suppressed her frustration, lightly smiling through gritted teeth, “My mom asked me to look after you, so I thought I’d remind you… there’s a boy in our class named Shang Yan, remember not to provoke him.”

“…,” the girl remained silent.

Wen Susu felt a bit annoyed.

Fortunately, at this moment, the driver seemed to sense the awkwardness and took the initiative to speak, “Shang Yan from Sanzhong… I’ve heard of him, seems like he has quite a background.”

A hint of smugness flashed in Wen Susu’s eyes, but she quickly suppressed it.

She put on a stern face, “Not many people know about his background at school, but I heard that when he first entered high school, the principal personally escorted him to the classroom. And then something happened…”

Curious, the driver asked, “What happened?”

“I’m not too sure about the details, but I heard that he offended a student, and that student was beaten up at the school gate and sent directly to the hospital. He disappeared afterwards, and no one has seen him since… After that, some people in the school secretly gave him a nickname.”

“I’ve heard about that too.”

The driver smiled in the rearview mirror, but there was a hint of taboo in his gaze.

Even as an adult, it was evident that he harbored some fear towards this high school student due to certain rumors.

“Shang Yan, the Grim Reaper of Sanzhong, right?”

“…,” Wen Susu’s gaze flickered, unusually refraining from further conversation.

Outside Sanzhong School, Wen Susu got off the car to head to her classroom, while the driver led Su Miao Miao towards the administrative building to find the homeroom teacher for the second year class.

On the way, the driver asked a few questions about the girl, expecting no response, yet to his surprise, the usually aloof child from the Wen family was now engaging in conversation.

Though her voice was still soft, it left the driver pleasantly surprised. He couldn’t help but smile and say, “I thought you didn’t like talking.”

“…,” This time the girl remained silent for a few seconds before a very soft voice came from under her hood.

“I like talking, but I don’t like talking to people who don’t like me.”

Like her parents from the Wen family, like Wen Susu, like the nurses at the sanatorium, like the people from her Su family whom she deeply resented.

The driver was stunned, his steps halted.

But the girl seemed oblivious, continuing to walk at her own pace, petite and slow, yet quiet.

The driver blinked, then regained his composure, smiling wryly as he followed along.

He never expected the seemingly dull and taciturn child to be the most insightful.

However, the driver couldn’t accompany Su Miao Miao all the way to the administrative building.

After receiving a phone call, he had to stop.

“There’s an urgent matter at the company—the red high-rise building over there is the administrative building. I’ve already asked Teacher Li Shijie to wait for you downstairs. Can you go there by yourself?”

“…”

Su Miao Miao glanced at the red building, which was still some distance away, and nodded slowly.

A few minutes later.

When only one building separated Miao Miao from the red building, she stopped in the bamboo-lined path and looked ahead.

A boy leaned against the wall in the middle of the road.

He was wearing the familiar white shirt and black pants that Miao Miao had grown accustomed to seeing on this route.

But there was something different.

Compared to before, the figure ahead was exceptionally clear and tall, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and exceptionally long legs, turning even the most ordinary shirt and pants into a flattering silhouette.

The sunlight filtering through the bamboo was exceptionally gentle, casting dappled and beautiful shadows on him.

The girl stood still for a few seconds.

In the end, she walked over slowly.

When she reached behind him, she stopped, about to speak, but saw the person in front suddenly turn and walk back.

However, it seemed that the person hadn’t noticed the presence of another person.

Then, with a muffled sound of “bang,” Miao Miao instinctively made a muted sound and raised her hand to cover her sore nose.

The boy with his hand in his pocket also stopped, furrowing his brows slightly, and his dark pupils dimmed slightly.

A hint of thin hostility flickered in his deep eyes, but it stopped abruptly when he saw the dress of the person in front of him.

The person in front was wearing an old-fashioned hoodie and loose jeans, with the hood still on.

From the narrow shoulder line, it seemed to be a girl.

And she was very short, perhaps not even five feet tall, her oversized hoodie and jeans completely concealing her appearance and figure in the shadows.

Looking down from the boy’s height, all he could see was a large hood.

“Excuse me… passing by.”

The voice under the hood unexpectedly sounded soft, and the boy raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise.

But whether it was because of the pain or not, there seemed to be a slight hesitation in the voice.

The boy squinted slightly.

A vague feeling of inexplicabilyity swept through his mind.

After Suo Miao Miao finished speaking, waiting for a few seconds, apart from hearing the hot wind blowing through the bamboo forest, making a rustling sound, there was no other movement.

Just as Miao Miao was about to speak again, a lazy laugh came from under the hood, reaching her ears.

“There’s a fight up ahead between some girls, you should take a detour.”

“… A fight?”

This was something beyond the scope of Miao Miao’s experience in the past seventeen years, making her instinctively curious.

“Why would girls… be fighting?”

The laughter above her head softened, “For someone.”

In the shadow under the hood, the girl blinked, even more surprised, “Who?”

“…”

The boy’s gaze lowered slightly.

Without him speaking, the girl, who seemed like she was wearing oversized clothes, didn’t pursue further questions. She seemed patiently waiting for his response.

After a few moments of silence, almost involuntarily, he opened his mouth, and two words slipped out from his thin lips.

“…Shang Yan.”

After saying this, a faint trace of annoyance flickered between the boy’s exceptionally attractive eyebrows.

Being lured here had already put him on guard… Perhaps he had lost his mind to come here and engage in this strange question-and-answer game with an unfamiliar girl.

As the boy lifted his foot to leave, he heard a soft “ah” from the girl in front of him.

This reaction made him pause.

“…You know him?”

“I’ve heard of him.”

Under the hood, the girl tilted her head slightly, recalling words from Wen Susu.

“Shang Yan from Sanzhong.”

“…”

In the unseen corners of the girl’s pitch-black pupils, the temperature dropped slightly.

And the next moment, in a soft voice with a hint of nasal tone, she muttered to herself as if speaking softly—

“If he really is Shang Yan, why do so many people like him?”

She had seen several already.

The two girls about to fight ahead; Wen Susu, who spoke strangely; and that Shu Wei from Wen Susu’s phone… Shang Yan from Sanzhong was actually quite popular among girls.

“So, he shouldn’t be called Sanzhong’s Shang Yan.

“What then?”

The boy scoffed lightly.

The girl thought seriously for a moment before softly speaking:

“Well… Sanzhong’s Flower?”