Chapter 1

Dark clouds loomed low in the sky, as if they were about to crush the rooftops. Though it was only two or three in the afternoon, the heavy gloom made it seem like night had fallen early.

Classes had long since started, but Zhong Yao was just now dragging her feet toward the school gates.

Had it been anyone else, the security guard would’ve stopped them to ask for their name, class, and register their tardiness. But when the old guard looked up and saw a girl in full black with a mourning band on her arm, the words in his throat turned from reprimand into sympathy.

“Yaoyao, you’re here. Go on to class—spend some time with your classmates. Don’t be too sad.”

Everyone in Yunshui Town knew that the prettiest girl in town had just lost her mother and become an orphan.

She was a sensible child—she even came to school in mourning clothes. Naturally, the guard wouldn’t make things harder for her.

She’d heard these kinds of sympathetic comments from countless adults over the past few days. Zhong Yao only gave a stiff nod and headed toward her classroom.

The spark in her usually bright eyes had faded, like an autumn rose drained of its vitality.

The guard sighed as he watched her back retreat.
“Sigh… orphaned at such a young age, and such a delicate little thing too… what a fate…”

Teacher’s Day was coming up, and that afternoon, many classes were holding study periods to discuss celebration plans. The students—restless at that age—made a ruckus that could be heard from the hallway.

But the moment Zhong Yao pushed open the door to Class 3, Grade 8, dozens of pairs of eyes whipped toward her. It was as if someone had hit pause on the whole room—the noise instantly fell to a pin-drop silence.

Pity, shock, sympathy, suspicion—complex emotions rushed toward her. Zhong Yao pressed her lips together; her blank expression faded slightly.

All the students stared wide-eyed, but not a single one came forward to speak to her.

Zhong Yao straightened her back and stiffly made her way to the center seat in the front row. She pulled out a book at random, and soon her gaze turned vacant again, lost in thought.

“Hey, Tan Xiao,” a girl at the back elbowed her desk mate. “Are we still gonna search Zhong Yao’s stuff? I mean, look at her. She’s probably not in the mood—”

“Hmph! Of course we are.”

Before the other girl could finish, Tan Xiao was already striding down the aisle toward Zhong Yao.

She flicked her heavy bangs and whipped her twin ponytails, her tone harsh and unfriendly:
“Zhong Yao, take out your backpack. I’m going to search it.”

Tomorrow was Teacher’s Day, and just that morning the class had raised 520 yuan for a gift. Now the money had vanished—and Zhong Yao’s bag was the only one left unsearched.

Even though her mom had just died, Tan Xiao didn’t think that cleared her of suspicion. Besides, the two of them had never gotten along. Tan Xiao had no intention of treating her with kid gloves.

Zhong Yao, still lost in thought, hadn’t even noticed someone approaching, let alone heard what was said.

Being ignored like thin air made Tan Xiao even angrier.

“Playing dumb? Fine. I’ll just do a ‘forced inspection’ then.” With that, she reached for Zhong Yao’s bag.

Her elbow brushed Zhong Yao’s waist, and Zhong Yao snapped back to awareness, grabbing Tan Xiao’s wrist in one quick motion.
“What do you think you’re doing?”

Tan Xiao snapped, “Acting guilty, are you? Must’ve stolen it!”

“Enough!”

A boy from the row behind finally had enough. He pulled Tan Xiao away and shielded Zhong Yao behind him.
“Tan Xiao, don’t go too far! Zhong Yao just lost her—”

Zhong Yao’s expression changed abruptly. Her brows knit tightly, and the boy’s words choked off in his throat.

Tan Xiao sneered.
“Yes, her mom just died and she’s feeling sad. But does that mean she didn’t steal the class money? She wasn’t around at lunch, and we agreed we’d search her bag once she came back. What, you white knights planning to weasel out now?”

The boy turned red with frustration.
“You’re talking nonsense! Zhong Yao would never do something like that!”

“Oh yeah? Why not?” Tan Xiao shot him a glare, arguing sharply.
“Just because someone’s pretty doesn’t mean they can’t be a thief. Even TV says so—tons of good-looking people are psychos. Some even turn out to be murderers!”

“Zhang Jun, do you really think if you protect her, she’ll fall for you? Ha! People who like her could line up all the way to the edge of Yunshui Town. Just last week, both the class heartthrob and the school hunk fought over her and had to write self-reflection essays. And you? You’re just some pathetic weed. Get out of the way!”

Tan Xiao’s barrage of verbal bullets left the boy riddled with holes—Zhang Jun’s face was flushed deep red, yet he still stood his ground with his neck stiffened.

Zhong Yao wasn’t just “pretty”—she was strikingly beautiful.

While the other middle schoolers were still awkward and gangly, she had already blossomed into graceful maturity.

At 1.6 meters tall, she stood out in her southern small-town school. Her elegant figure drew even passing tourists to stop and stare. Her inward-curving, outward-tilting fox-like eyes were mesmerizing, and just above her brows sat a small red beauty mark. But her eyebrows were shaped with a distinct sharpness, adding a touch of boldness that tempered the allure of her gaze.

Radiant, but never vulgar.

Zhong Yao had been the most beautiful girl in Yunshui Town since she was little. Back in kindergarten, boys were already giving her handmade cards as love notes. By middle school, when adolescence bloomed, she had become the constant focus of gossip.

Boys adored her. Girls resented her.

Since fourth grade, when a boy her deskmate liked confessed to her instead, Zhong Yao’s days of being ostracized by other girls began.

Yunshui Town was tiny, and the students attending the local school were always the same bunch cycling through. Zhong Yao had virtually no friends. Whenever conflict arose, it was always boys defending her—fueling even more hatred from the girls.

She had paid her contribution for the Teacher’s Day gift that morning like everyone else. Though her family wasn’t wealthy, they weren’t so poor she’d resort to theft.

“You can search it.”

Zhong Yao gently pushed Zhang Jun aside and looked calmly at Tan Xiao. “But if you don’t find anything, I want an apology.”

“An apology?” Tan Xiao snorted as if she’d just heard a joke. “The whole class got searched—why should we apologize just to you?”

“Because she’s the school beauty, the town belle?”

“Because her mom died, she’s pitiful, and we’re supposed to let her have her way?”

“Because her family’s poor, so we should be charitable?”

Kids that age had the sharpest tongues and cruelest words—they always knew just where to hurt the most.

Normally, Zhong Yao would ignore them. But today, her expression turned cold.

“All of you,” she said slowly and firmly, “owe me an apology.”

“My mother’s death is not something you’re allowed to mock. And I’m not a thief. You owe me—and my mother—an apology.”

“What, are you crazy? Her mom died and now we can’t even talk about it?”

“You think you’re above suspicion? Until your bag’s checked, you’re a suspect like everyone else!”

The girls’ voices grew louder and meaner.

Zhang Jun and the boys couldn’t stand it any longer:

“Shut up, all of you! She said you can check, what the hell are you still yapping about?!”

“Picking on Zhong Yao now? What’s wrong with you girls?!”

And just like that, the fire was lit and the fight erupted.

Tan Xiao abandoned the bag check and jumped into the shouting match.

“You boys are idiots!”

“You only know how to fight for her without thinking!”

“Every year, tourists come and ask for her number—every single one of them is richer and better looking than you! The adults in town say it all the time—she’s just like her mom, bound to end up clinging to some rich tourist sooner or later!”

SMACK—!

A loud slap cut through the chaos, freezing the scene in place.

Zhong Yao withdrew her hand, her face cold as ice, her voice trembling with rage.

“You can slander me, but not my mother,” she said.

Tan Xiao had never been hit before—especially not by the girl she clashed with most. The sudden slap turned her eyes bloodshot with fury.

“Zhong Yao, you bitch! I’ll kill you!”

Fourteen years of silent endurance—all of it unraveled now that her mother was gone and no one else cared for her. For the first time, Zhong Yao fought back.

The two girls were soon tangled in a full-blown brawl. Boys tried to pull them apart, while some girls took the chance to vent their own frustrations. The classroom descended into chaos.

Desks and chairs were knocked over in all directions. By the time the homeroom teacher arrived at the doorway, she was so enraged by the scene she nearly exploded. She kicked the door hard and bellowed:

“You little brats! CUT IT OUT RIGHT NOW!!!”

Zhong Yao froze mid-motion. Tan Xiao, in a fit of fury, grabbed the backpack and slammed it down—

Crash—

Red and green bills scattered across the floor.

All small bills.

And the backpack belonged to Zhong Yao.

——

By dusk, thick clouds blanketed the entire Yunshui Town. A steady drizzle fell from the sky.

As soon as the final bell rang, the campus came to life. Students flooded out in groups, stepping into the rain. Children didn’t mind getting wet—many didn’t bother with umbrellas, donning raincoats and boots, splashing gleefully in the mud.

But in the hallway outside Class 3, Grade 8, seven or eight students could only crane their necks and watch longingly out the window.

Wham—!

The teacher slammed her pointer stick against the wall. Her thick black-rimmed glasses jumped up her nose as she shouted:

“What are you staring at?! You little devils! Three days without a beating and you’re climbing the roof?! Who taught you to start a brawl in class? Tan Xiao, get your butt to the front!”

Tan Xiao pouted, clearly unhappy, but didn’t dare defy the teacher.

The moment she stepped forward, the teacher’s scolding rained down like spitfire:

“This is how you lead the class as the new class monitor? Instead of setting a good example, you’re stirring up trouble like a gang leader? Call your parents tomorrow!”

Tan Xiao bit her lip, trying to protest, but before she could speak, the teacher called out again:

“And Zhong Yao! Fighting is wrong no matter what. Write a 500-word self-reflection by tomorrow. As for the rest of you who joined in—don’t think you’re off the hook. 800-word reflections. And now—50 frog jumps!”

Middle schoolers cared deeply about their pride. Tan Xiao, newly appointed class monitor, had just been publicly scolded and punished more harshly than Zhong Yao. She was fuming.

In a moment of anger, she snapped:

“Ms. Zhang, why does Zhong Yao only have to write a reflection? She used to be class monitor too—and she’s still the class academic rep! If I have to call my parents, so should she!”

The moment the words left her mouth, the hallway fell deathly silent.

Everyone, including the teacher, went stiff with shock.

Everyone knew—Zhong Yao had never had a father. And two days ago, the mother she depended on passed away from illness.

She was an orphan now. Who was there to call?

Tan Xiao’s comment was like rubbing salt in a gaping wound.

She looked up in panic, only to see Zhong Yao’s eyes, moments ago so proud and fierce, instantly flood with tears.

Tan Xiao realized she’d blurted something unforgivable in front of the teacher. Guilt flickered in her heart, but the words of apology caught in her throat.

And truthfully, no one knew what to say to comfort her.

“Hello, is this Class 3, Grade 8? I’m looking for Zhong Yao.”
At the height of the awkward and tense moment, a clear, elegant voice came from the hallway behind the students.

Everyone turned around, stunned.

The speaker was a woman who looked completely out of place in Yunshui Town—dressed in a crisp, stylish suit, her hair curled in the voluminous waves you’d see in fashion magazines, lips painted a bold red. Despite the rainy weather, she wore a pair of sunglasses perched on her nose.

She clearly didn’t belong in this quiet, remote town. All eyes were drawn to her, curious as to why someone like her would be looking for Zhong Yao.

Zhong Yao, unwilling to remain trapped in the suffocating embarrassment and anger, ignored the teacher’s ongoing scolding and stepped through the crowd toward the woman.

Blinking back her tears, she steadied her voice and asked, “I’m Zhong Yao. Who are you?”

The woman had found the person she was looking for, yet she froze on the spot.

She stared straight at Zhong Yao, seemingly stunned, unable to respond for a long moment.

The homeroom teacher quickly stepped in, protectively placing herself in front of Zhong Yao. With wary eyes, she said,
“Hello, ma’am. I’m Zhong Yao’s teacher. May I ask what business you have with her?”

Her student had just become an orphan. She couldn’t rest easy with this unfamiliar, sunglasses-wearing woman showing up out of nowhere.

The woman finally snapped out of it. She removed her sunglasses, revealing a beauty that, like Zhong Yao’s, felt entirely foreign to the small town.

Then she said something that shocked everyone.

Looking at the striking girl, she said,
“Zhong Yao, I’m here on behalf of your father. I’ve come to take you with me.”

The hallway fell into a strange, eerie silence.

Then, all at once, the students erupted:

“No way! Did she just say Zhong Yao has a dad!?”
“Huh? I thought her dad died a long time ago??”
“That can’t be right. Why didn’t he ever show up before? I remember she never had a dad even in kindergarten.”
“She’s probably lying. If she had a dad, why would he never come see her? This woman must be a fraud!”

The middle schoolers were swept up in gossip and disbelief, and even the teacher looked too stunned to speak.

But Zhong Yao didn’t care about any of it. Her spine was stiff as a board as she stared, unblinking, at the unfamiliar, beautiful woman before her.

The woman met her gaze without flinching. The two of them seemed locked in a silent standoff, a mixture of emotions swirling in their eyes.

“So… does that make you Zhong Yao’s guardian now?”

Among the chatter, a different voice suddenly rose.

It was Tan Xiao, who had pushed through her classmates to the front. She shot Zhong Yao a resentful glare and, in a smug, self-righteous tone, said,
“Zhong Yao stole money. We couldn’t call her parents earlier, but since you’re here now, you can deal with her!”