Chapter 2

“Zhong Yao stole money. We couldn’t call her parents earlier, but since you’re here now, you can deal with her!”

Tan Xiao’s words made Zhong Yao’s heart clench—not because she had actually stolen anything, but because she was afraid the beautiful woman would misunderstand.

The truth was, Zhong Yao did have a father. Her mother had only told her this shortly before she passed.

Knowing her time was short, her mother had contacted her father in advance. Before she died, she made Zhong Yao promise that she would leave Yunshui Town and live with her father until adulthood.

The woman in front of her clearly came from a big city. Her mother had mentioned that her father’s identity was somewhat special. Zhong Yao instinctively sensed this was the person sent to fetch her.

And so, instinctively, she didn’t want to be misunderstood. More than anything, she couldn’t bear for her long-lost father to think she was a thief. That would be a disgrace to her—and to her mother.

But her pride made her stubborn. She refused to speak, simply staring hard at the woman, as if using her silence to express rejection.

The woman didn’t even glance at Tan Xiao. She looked Zhong Yao straight in the eye, her own gaze now more complicated—partly displeased, yet also tinged with sympathy.

“Tan Xiao! This is a class matter.”

The homeroom teacher finally broke the uncomfortable silence. She yanked Tan Xiao back and reprimanded her sternly:
“How many times have I told you not to talk to strangers? We don’t even know who this woman is. Get back to your place and start doing frog jumps!”

Faced with suspicion, the woman finally spoke.

“Ms. Zhang, I’m a friend of Zhong Yao’s father. I’m here today to handle her transfer paperwork.”

As she spoke, she pulled out her phone, dialed a number, and said,
“Hello, Principal.”
Then she handed the phone directly to the teacher.
“The principal will explain the situation to you.”

Ms. Zhang hesitated, but took the phone. As she spoke, her demeanor shifted into that of a subordinate addressing a superior.
“Hello, Principal. Yes, this is Ms. Zhang…”

As she continued the call, Zhong Yao and her classmates watched her repeatedly glance in astonishment at the woman—whose name, they soon learned, was She Rui.

When she finally hung up, her gaze toward She Rui carried a mix of curiosity and surprise.

“I apologize for the confusion, Ms. She. This all happened so suddenly—I hadn’t received any prior notice from the principal. About the alleged class fund theft…”

She briefly explained what had transpired and concluded:
“Zhong Yao has always been a well-behaved student. She follows the rules and her grades are excellent. If she really did this, there must be some explanation…”

Zhong Yao felt increasingly wronged the more she heard. Just as she opened her mouth to explain, She Rui cut in first.

“Ms. Zhang, please hold on a moment.”
She turned her sharp gaze to Zhong Yao.

“Zhong Yao, did you do it?”

“Of course not!”
The woman’s question made Zhong Yao flare up instantly.
“My mom told me way back in kindergarten that stealing is wrong! I’ve never stolen anything in my life!”

“Alright.” She Rui nodded.
“I believe you.”

The instant trust startled Zhong Yao more than any doubt would have.

Then She Rui turned to Tan Xiao.
“Miss, may I ask—how much money was in the class fund?”

“There are 52 students, 10 yuan each, so 520 yuan total,” Tan Xiao replied. Then, realizing something was off, she frowned and asked,
“Wait, why are you asking? The money was found in Zhong Yao’s bag. Her mom may have taught her not to steal, but my mom taught me not to wrongly accuse people either!”

She Rui ignored the little girl’s blustering and pressed on.
“Then tell me—how much money exactly fell out of Zhong Yao’s bag?”

The hallway fell silent again.

In truth, no one had counted how much money had spilled from Zhong Yao’s bag. The whole class had come up empty-handed during the earlier search, and with Zhong Yao behaving so strangely, and that pile of scattered loose bills tumbling out, even the teacher had been too busy scolding them over the group fight to check the amount.

“Obviously we can’t be sure!” Tan Xiao’s mind worked quickly.
“What if she already spent part of it after stealing it? Zhong Yao’s never had that much pocket money before!”

She Rui let out a cold laugh, her tone even more severe than before.
“You haven’t even confirmed the total amount—on what grounds are you accusing her? If having money suddenly makes her a thief, then if you come into money one day, should we assume you stole it too?”

“You—!” Tan Xiao flushed bright red, unable to argue back. All she could do was shout,
“You’re twisting things! You’re just covering for her and slandering me! You’re not being fair!”

But She Rui was even more intimidating than Tan Xiao’s own father. Feeling the pressure, Tan Xiao instinctively hid behind the teacher, hoping for backup.
“Ms. Zhang, Zhong Yao’s guardian is being unreasonable!”

Ms. Zhang prided herself on knowing both girls. In her eyes, Tan Xiao just had a sharp tongue but wasn’t a bad kid. Besides, She Rui’s forceful presence and relentless questioning were making even her feel cornered. Without meaning to, she leaned toward defending her own student.

“Ms. She, this might just be a misunderstanding,” she tried to smooth things over.
“I really don’t think Tan Xiao meant to falsely accuse anyone. As for the money found in Zhong Yao’s bag, there could be another explanation. Why don’t we move past this and focus on the transfer paperwork?”

“No.”

To everyone’s surprise, She Rui firmly refused.

“Accusing someone of theft is a serious charge for anyone,” she said gravely.
“I may only be a friend of Zhong Yao’s father, but I won’t allow anyone to slander her. Since so many people are saying she stole the class fund, and she told me she didn’t, then I’m going to clear her name.”

Her reasoning was sharp and precise:
“Check the surveillance footage. Confirm the total amount of money. If it’s not exactly 520 yuan, find out how much is missing and review the spending records of every student today. Even if there’s no CCTV, Yunshui Town is small—we can ask around. Getting to the bottom of this shouldn’t be difficult.”

It sounded more like a police investigation than a parent’s intervention.

Most parents would either scold their child or try to smooth things over. Ms. Zhang had never dealt with someone this tough. She found herself at a loss.

Let alone Tan Xiao—who had absolutely no evidence to back her claim.

No one said a word.

She Rui looked over at Zhong Yao, whose eyes were still red. The girl was beautiful, quiet, and radiated a kind of lonely grace. For someone so dazzling to be living in this forgotten town, and considering what she’d just been through, it wasn’t hard to imagine how difficult her life had been.

She Rui had initially disliked this illegitimate daughter of her friend. But now, looking at that face—so like her father’s—and those proud, stubborn eyes, and seeing her being wronged like this… She couldn’t help wanting to stand up for her.

She let out a quiet sigh in her heart, but her expression grew colder and sharper.

She stared straight at Tan Xiao and said, word by word:
“Still no one wants to take responsibility? Fine. Then I’ll call the police and let them investigate. Zhong Yao’s mother just passed away—there’s no way she had time to put that money in her bag. I think someone set her up.”

“That’s a lie!” Tan Xiao was the first to object.
“You’re falsely accusing me! Lots of people don’t like Zhong Yao—why assume it was me who framed her?!”

But She Rui suddenly smiled.
“Little girl, have you ever heard the story of the thief crying out ‘Stop thief’?”
“Did I ever say it was you who framed her?”

“I didn’t!” Tan Xiao burst into frustrated tears.
“Whoever framed her is a jerk! May they fail all their exams and step in dog poop every day!”

They were just a bunch of kids. She Rui never really intended to go after them—she only wanted to clear Zhong Yao’s name and stand up for her.

“Since no one has a better idea, we’ll do it my way,” she declared.
“First, verify the total amount of money. Then, if necessary, call the police to investigate. If it turns out Zhong Yao didn’t steal anything, then everyone who accused her owes her a proper apology.”

She Rui turned to look at the teacher.

Faced with such a determined and logical guardian, Ms. Zhang felt a headache coming on. But she had no rebuttal. After some thought, she decided to proceed with counting the money.

After all, Zhong Yao was a good student. It wouldn’t be right to wrong her.

Unexpectedly—

The amount matched exactly. The total of the loose bills from Zhong Yao’s bag was precisely 520 yuan.

She Rui immediately frowned.

But then Ms. Zhang said,
“Something’s not right with this money. Look—there’s a green 2-yuan bill, and the 1-yuan notes are from the older red-toned series. Even the 0.5 yuan coin is outdated. No one really uses 2-jiao or 1-jiao coins anymore.”

She Rui’s expression shifted.
“These are from the fourth series of renminbi. They’re no longer in circulation—redemption period’s already passed.”

“But how is that possible?” Tan Xiao still couldn’t believe it.
“Even if the money’s old, how could it just happen to add up to exactly 520 yuan?”

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Zhong Yao darted back into the classroom and rummaged through her bag.

In moments, she pulled out a folded piece of stationery—neatly tucked between two books, which was why it hadn’t fallen out with the money.

She unfolded the letter.

It was written in her mother’s handwriting:

“My dearest Yaoyao,
Mama has to leave you for a little while. I don’t have much to give you, but I’ve left 520 yuan in your bag.
This was the first salary your father ever earned from a job. He exchanged it into every type of denomination and gave it to me as a gift. I’ve always carried it like a charm, and even during the hardest times, I never spent it.
Now I’m passing it on to you. I hope this love can also protect you like a charm, give you courage, and bring you the most precious love in the world.
Forever loving you, Mama.”

Just a few lines, but they made Zhong Yao’s nose sting and her eyes well with tears.

She remembered her mother, the night before she passed, saying she couldn’t do much for her anymore—not even cook—but she could at least help pack her school bag.

That must have been when she slipped the 520 yuan inside.

Zhong Yao was crying hard, and both She Rui and the homeroom teacher instinctively leaned forward. Their eyes fell on the letter, and the truth finally came to light.

The missing class fund had nothing to do with Zhong Yao.

“I’m sorry, Zhong Yao.” The homeroom teacher could find no better way to comfort her than to apologize first.
“It was my fault for wrongly accusing you. Don’t cry, okay? Your mom wouldn’t want to see you like this, would she?”

After that, she explained the origin of the money to the class and instructed them to apologize.

Now that the evidence had proven it was all a misunderstanding—no matter how coincidental the amount seemed—the students, seeing Zhong Yao’s swollen, tear-stained eyes, slowly lowered their heads and murmured apologies one after another.

The teacher said she would personally cover the Teacher’s Day class fee for now and promised to continue investigating the alleged theft. In the meantime, she would take Zhong Yao to the principal’s office.

Of course, the students who had taken part in the fight still had to write their reflections and do frog jumps as punishment. Zhong Yao, however, now about to transfer schools, was excused from it all and summoned to the principal’s office instead.

This was the first time in Zhong Yao’s fourteen years that she had ever won a battle against classmates who bullied her. Yet ironically, it wasn’t a victory she earned by herself—it had been won for her by the friend of the father she resented the most.

As she turned back to glance at Tan Xiao, who was reluctantly doing frog jumps, Zhong Yao felt a mix of emotions she couldn’t quite name.

——

By evening, the rain had grown heavier.

Sun Liuniang arrived at Yunshui Middle School’s principal’s office, shrouded in misty rain, after receiving a phone call about Zhong Yao’s fight and upcoming transfer.

“What happened? Yaoyao, are you okay?” She rushed in and hugged Zhong Yao’s shoulders, inspecting her carefully.
“Did you get hurt?”

Since Zhong Yao’s mother had passed away, Aunt Liu had been the one by her side. She was like a second mother to Zhong Yao. Unable to face her, Zhong Yao cast a glance at She Rui, then quietly shook her head.

“Liuniang, don’t worry.” The homeroom teacher stepped forward,
“I arrived just in time. The kids weren’t seriously hurt. But the fight isn’t really the biggest issue right now, the real matter is—”

“I don’t agree to Yaoyao transferring schools.” Sun Liuniang cut her off decisively.
“I don’t trust this woman or the so-called will you’re all referring to. I had already made an agreement with Zhong Wan before she passed—Zhong Yao is to be my daughter. I’m already filing for legal adoption, and I won’t allow her to be taken away.”

Sun Liuniang and Zhong Wan (Zhong Yao’s mother) had been best friends. Both were single mothers who had supported each other for years while raising their daughters. The school had contacted Sun Liuniang because Zhong Wan had stated in her will that if Zhong Yao’s father could not be reached, Liuniang was to handle all matters regarding her schooling and guardianship.

Having made her position clear, Sun Liuniang turned and smiled warmly at Zhong Yao:
“Yaoyao, go wait outside. Shiwu has come to take you home. Leave the rest to your Aunt Liu, alright?”

Sun Shiwu was Liuniang’s daughter—and Zhong Yao’s only friend in Yunshui Town. She had stayed with Zhong Yao during her mother’s funeral, only missing school today because she’d fallen ill.

Zhong Yao looked at Aunt Liu, then at She Rui. After a brief internal struggle, she nodded and left.

Once her figure disappeared around the stairwell, Sun Liuniang’s voice rang out in the office:

“Has the will been authenticated? Didn’t you all say her father was dead? Now he suddenly reappears and we’re just supposed to believe it? How do we know this woman doesn’t have ulterior motives? No one—no one—can take Yaoyao away from me.”

–

As soon as Sun Shiwu saw Zhong Yao’s messy hair and the scratch marks on her face, she was furious. Grabbing her by the hand, she stormed toward the classroom:
“I skip school for one day and that idiot Tan Xiao dares lay hands on you? Let’s go! I’ll teach her a lesson!”

“Shiwu!” Zhong Yao pulled her back and calmly said,
“Don’t go. Let’s just go home, okay?”

Sun Shiwu had always been fearless—nothing scared her. But she had no defense against Zhong Yao. Seeing her friend like this, red-eyed and pleading, her anger softened.

“Fine, I’ll deal with her tomorrow.” She squeezed Zhong Yao’s hand and tugged her toward the rain.
“Entertainment World is starting soon. Let’s hurry back and watch it!”

Raindrops fell in a fine, steady curtain, soaking the girls’ hair and clothes. The fabric clung coldly to their skin.

Zhong Yao watched Shiwu’s back with a complex expression.

—

Back home, the two girls huddled under a large towel, watching the latest celebrity gossip on TV.

“Jin Chuan, who won Best Actor at Cannes for The Mountain, was recently spotted at an amusement park with a young boy. At 35, the actor faces yet another ‘illegitimate child’ scandal…”

Sun Shiwu shoved a hot water bottle into Zhong Yao’s hands and ranted indignantly:
“These gossip sites are out of control! That kid’s clearly not the same one from before—just look at his back, he’s the child actor from The Mountain! It’s like these reporters can’t survive unless they stick a secret love child on Jin Chuan!”

For the first time in days, Zhong Yao smiled.

Sun Shiwu, fiery and bold, was also a diehard fangirl.

While most girls in town liked trendy young idols, Shiwu adored Jin Chuan—an actor known for classic dramas and more popular among older generations. Lately, he had played a warm, humble father in The Mountain, a role that made the fatherless Shiwu fall head over heels.

Zhong Yao had never quite understood her longing for fatherly love.

Both of them had been raised by single mothers. Since kindergarten, Zhong Yao had never mentioned her father again—her mom had loved her deeply, and she never wanted to bring up anything that might make her sad.

To Zhong Yao, Aunt Liu and her mom were enough. Though many students at school picked on her, Shiwu always stood up for her. Not having a dad didn’t seem like such a big deal.

“Shiwu,” Zhong Yao suddenly turned and asked,
“Is having a dad really that important?”

Shiwu slapped her shoulder hard.

“Well, duh!” she said.
“My mom’s so scary, if I had a sweet, gentle dad like Jin Chuan, my life would be amazing!”

Zhong Yao glanced at the handsome man on the TV screen.
“Shiwu, Aunt Liu is great. She’s a good mom—just like mine was.”

“She’s only nice to you!” Shiwu huffed.
“The way she hits me, sometimes I wonder if I was part of a free promo with a phone contract!”

“Yaoyao, those gossip reporters keep digging and digging. Do you think Jin Chuan might actually have an illegitimate child?” Shiwu asked, starry-eyed as she stared at the male celebrity on TV.
“If only I were his secret child… Jin Chuan would definitely be a great dad…”

Zhong Yao, however, corrected her:
“If you were his illegitimate child, then he definitely wouldn’t be a good dad.”

“Why not?” Shiwu asked, unconvinced.
“Why don’t you like my idol?”

Zhong Yao stopped watching the TV and looked up at the curtain of rainwater cascading from the eaves outside.

The brief trace of ease on her face disappeared, replaced once again by the gloom that had been hanging over her for days.
“If he hasn’t come looking for you and Aunt Liu after all these years, then he’s not a good father. I’d rather my father were already dead.”

---

Author’s note: Jin-dad: Hello? I think there’s still hope for my comeback!