Chapter 2 – Was This Supposed to Encourage Her to Study Hard?

While lost in her chaotic thoughts, Lin Chuge endured until the end of afternoon classes.

After packing her things, she declined Xu Luoluo’s invitation to go shopping and walked out of the classroom with her schoolbag slung over her shoulder.

As soon as she stepped out, she saw Song Bonian waiting outside.

Seventeen years old, with a gentle temperament, long legs, and refined features, he was a sight to behold just standing there.

And yet—

The moment she saw him, Lin Chuge immediately recalled the dream of him doting on Shen Xueyao with endless care and warmth.

Handsome enough to draw stares from girls every day, excellent enough to rank at the top in every exam, and even gentle and considerate in personality… a person like this—of all things—was destined to become someone else’s hopeless lapdog.

The kind of lapdog who, in the end, ended up with nothing.

It was too pitiful.

Of course, in her dream, the one who suffered most miserably was herself.

Although Song Bonian never won love, the one who truly lost everything was her alone.

“I’ll go home by myself.”

As she passed by him, a gloomy Lin Chuge tossed out the words and walked ahead without waiting for him.

Song Bonian froze.

He could clearly see that she was upset.

But normally, she had never just walked off like this.

If something was wrong, wasn’t she supposed to vent at him while demanding he treat her to a big meal?

Xu Luoluo came out behind Lin Chuge.

Knowing they were close, Song Bonian quickly called out to her. When she turned, he asked, “What’s wrong with Chuchu?”

“I’d like to know that too.”

Xu Luoluo gave him a glance, sighed, and said, “Maybe our little princess is growing up. She’s got her own worries now.”

Song Bonian lifted his brows slightly at her words.

Seeing he had nothing else to say, Xu Luoluo bid him goodbye and left first.

Lin Chuge reached the school gates.

Beside a white Porsche, her family’s driver was, as always, already waiting for her.

The thought that this extravagant life of luxury might disappear any day filled her with sudden sadness. Pursing her lips, she walked over. Just as she was about to get in, the roar of an engine sounded behind her. She instinctively turned her head.

A global limited-edition black sports car stopped at the school gate, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.

An attractive boy in Yinghua’s school uniform, holding his bag carelessly, walked over to the car and slipped inside with ease.

The next moment, the black sports car sped off, leaving behind only a trail of exhaust before anyone could react.

It was Pei Zhou, a student in the same grade as her.

Lin Chuge remembered he was in the same class as Song Bonian.

But Pei Zhou was far more notorious at school for his countless fights. He was known to “rule his turf” within the school, and outside he was equally arrogant and unruly. Once, she had “the misfortune” of witnessing him in a fight.

That scene remained one of the shadows of her life.

But it had nothing to do with her.

It was already enough for her to manage her own affairs.

Lin Chuge turned away, climbed into the back seat of her car, and said, “Uncle Wu, let’s go home.”

·

By the time she got home, the sunset glow was spilling across the sky.

As the car drove into the courtyard, Lin Chuge saw her mother, Chi Haiyin, watering flowers through the car window.

When Uncle Wu parked the car, Lin Chuge jumped out and ran straight to her mother. She wrapped her arms around the still-elegant woman with a well-maintained figure from behind, pressing her cheek against her back. “Mom, I’m home!”

“Our precious girl is back.”

Chi Haiyin smiled as she glanced over her shoulder. “What’s with the sudden clinginess? And in broad daylight?”

Not wanting her mother to worry, Lin Chuge hid her troubled emotions and grinned, letting go. She pouted mischievously. “What do you mean ‘like this’? I just missed you after a whole day apart!” As she spoke, she took the hose from her mother’s hand.

Chi Haiyin let her take over and stepped aside, smiling as she watched her daughter water the plants quietly for a while.

Then Lin Chuge spoke again.

“Mom, there’s something I want to say…”

“Hm?” Chi Haiyin responded gently. “What is it, Chuchu?”

“I want to study seriously. Starting today… or tomorrow would be fine too. So I might need to hire a tutor.”

Chi Haiyin: “!”

Her daughter’s words shocked her so much she quickly shut off the valve and pulled Lin Chuge aside.

“Chuchu, what happened? Did someone bully you? Why else would you suddenly want to study?”

Lin Chuge: “…”

“Mom, no one bullied me. I just realized I can’t keep going on like this.”

She dredged up all the motivational sayings she could find in her mind and spoke earnestly: “Every time I take an exam, my scores are so low. It must embarrass you and Dad. But if I do well, you’ll have something to be proud of!”

Chi Haiyin shook her head. “We’re already proud of you.”

“…But wouldn’t you be even prouder if I did well in school?”

“But studying is so exhausting, Chuchu.” Her mother gently patted her head. “All your dad and I want is for you to be happy every day. We’re well-off—there’s no need to put pressure on yourself.”

Lin Chuge almost let herself be swayed.

At that moment, she once again understood why she was such a hopeless slacker.

“I know you and Dad don’t want me to feel pressured. You want me to do what I love.”

She hugged her mother’s arm and wheedled, “But I want to study. Shouldn’t you support me? What kind of parents don’t let their daughter study when she wants to?”

“I just want to try. Maybe I’ll actually do really well. Please let me try!”

Unable to resist her pitiful pleading, Chi Haiyin pinched her daughter’s cheek indulgently and nodded. “All right. Since you want to try, then try. We’ll find you the best tutor we can. Will that do?”

“Yes!”

Lin Chuge tiptoed up to kiss her mother on the cheek. “Thanks, Mom! I’m going upstairs to study now!”

Chi Haiyin smiled warmly. “Go on, then.”

Lin Chuge cheerfully carried her schoolbag upstairs to her room.

Chi Haiyin kept her smile until her daughter disappeared from sight, then after a moment, she quickly dialed her husband’s number.

The call was picked up right away.

Hearing her husband’s familiar voice, Chi Haiyin blurted out nervously, “Yuqing, come home quickly!”

“Something big has happened!”

“Our daughter—something’s really wrong with her!”

Hearing this, Lin Yuqing’s voice immediately grew tense, though he tried to stay calm. “What happened to Chuchu? Honey, don’t panic. I’ll be home right away, just wait for me!”

“Okay, just be careful on the way,” she said, still shaken.

After hanging up, Chi Haiyin gripped her phone tightly, replaying her daughter’s words as she waited anxiously in the corridor for her husband.

·

Completely unaware, Lin Chuge had already gone up to her room. She set down her bag, laid out her textbooks on her desk, and opened her math book, determined to start from the first page. But after staring at it, though she recognized each word, strung together they made no sense at all.

Maybe she should just wait for the tutor…

She closed the book quietly and pulled out her diary from the drawer.

Reviewing the dream again, the images of herself being trampled under Shen Xueyao’s feet, surrounded and mocked by familiar and unfamiliar faces alike, became vivid in her mind. Sitting at her desk, she clenched her fists tightly.

How could she give up so easily right from the start?

If she couldn’t manage math, then she could memorize Chinese essays, memorize English vocabulary—anything!

After rebuilding her resolve, Lin Chuge pushed the math book aside and opened her Chinese textbook. She patted her cheeks, steadied her breathing, and began reciting classical poetry and prose she would never have touched before.

Her door was ajar, so her voice carried out into the hallway.

When Lin Yuqing came home, he and his wife went upstairs together to check on her. They paused outside, listening clearly to their daughter reciting.

After a moment of silence, they exchanged grave looks.

Something was definitely very wrong!

Lin Yuqing gently pulled his wife away from the door, and the couple tiptoed downstairs to the living room.

They sat together, worried, sighing heavily.

Chi Haiyin furrowed her brows. “Yuqing, what should we do about our daughter?”

Pressing his brow, Lin Yuqing tried to reflect. “Have I been too busy with the company lately? Maybe I’ve neglected her compared to before, and that’s why she’s upset? Otherwise, why would Chuchu put herself through this?”

Chi Haiyin shook her head. “Chuchu’s always been sensible. I doubt she’d resent you for that. Don’t blame yourself. Maybe it’s because…”

Lin Yuqing looked at her. “Because what?”

Chi Haiyin hesitated, then said, “Maybe… we haven’t been giving her enough allowance lately?”

Lin Yuqing: “That makes sense.”

He looked at his wife with admiration. “If our baby has money to spend, she probably won’t have time for these strange thoughts.”

The two discussed it seriously and agreed it was entirely possible.

Meanwhile, as Lin Chuge was memorizing her essay, her phone buzzed with a notification. She glanced at the screen—it was a bank message.

【Your account ending in **** has received a transfer of RMB 200,000 on September 2 at 18:52. Current balance: RMB 250,306.00. [XX Bank]】

Huh? Why did her parents suddenly transfer money to her?

She’d already gotten this month’s allowance. Sending more now… was this supposed to encourage her to study harder?

Lin Chuge’s eyes instantly welled up with tears.

Her parents were too good to her! She would definitely study hard! No more being a slacker!

With this newfound “buff,” Lin Chuge spent the entire evening diligently memorizing ancient poems and classical texts. Even before bed, fresh from her shower, she was still muttering the lines she had just learned. Soon, she drifted off into sleep.

That night, Lin Chuge dreamed again.

This time, it seemed to be of the future. The people she saw were not ones from her previous dreams, and the scene was eerie.

A gloomy sky, a desolate graveyard.

A young man in a suit placed a bouquet of white chrysanthemums before a gravestone.

On the headstone was a small photograph—not of anyone else, but of her.

The man’s deep voice sounded, speaking to her image: “If I had come back sooner, at least you wouldn’t have ended up this way. Sorry… I was too late.”

Lin Chuge struggled to widen her eyes, trying to see his face clearly.

Then he turned his head, and a familiar face entered her vision. In shock, she jolted awake.

Above her was only the dim ceiling.

Realizing it had been a dream, she gasped for breath, but the chilling dread lingered.

Was that really the future?

Why… why was it him?

Lin Chuge recalled yesterday after school—the black sports car, and that classmate even more of a slacker than she was: Pei Zhou…

She shivered instinctively.