Chapter 7

Along with her message, He Lingli sent a link. Zhong Yao didn’t think much of it and tapped it open.

In a post titled “Qi Yu held a girl’s hand today!!!”, the focus wasn’t on Qi Yu at all—every comment was about the girl he supposedly held hands with: Zhong Yao.

“Yeah right. Qi Yu looked like he was about to lose it! That girl was totally provoking him. Clickbait title much, OP? Guess who’s failing the next test?”

“But seriously, even when that stalker fan followed him to school last year and he smashed a camera, he still didn’t lay a finger on anyone. Could it be… he knows this girl?”

“Know her? LOL, I saw her take a taxi after school. Everyone in Qi Yu’s circle has drivers. Pic for proof! [image]”

“What a fake girl. Eyes rolling to the sky. First day here and already accusing our god of hitting her with a ball. Who does she think she is, Chu Yuxun?”

“Chu Yuxun? Pfft, not even close. At least Chu had good grades. This one’s just a transfer student from a parallel class.”

“What if she’s one of those delusional fangirls sneaking into school? Honestly, she looks kinda mature—doesn’t even look like a middle schooler!”

…

The deeper into the thread, the wilder it got. By the end, the consensus among these new classmates was that Zhong Yao was some crazed out-of-school fan obsessed with Qi Yu, who staged the basketball incident just to get close to him—some deranged girl trying to live out a cringy drama fantasy.

As for the fact that Qi Yu had admitted in front of everyone, “People like you deserve to get hit,”—that part had conveniently been forgotten.

Zhong Yao thought she’d feel nothing reading it. After all, when she was surrounded by classmates asking endless questions, she had already braced herself for a rough time in this new school.

But as those malicious comments hit her eyes, she still felt overwhelmed by sadness.

She realized that she was still “different.” Still the outsider being shunned.

She turned on her front camera. The face that stared back—uncannily similar to Jin Chuan’s.

And then the thought came:
If she didn’t look like this—
If she looked more like everyone else—
Would they stop gossiping?
Would they stop pushing her away?

Click-clack—slam—

A door opened and closed downstairs. Jin Chuan must have come home.

The sound snapped her out of her thoughts. She stared blankly ahead—and her gaze landed on the red mole between her brows.

She’d noticed the same spot on Jin Chuan’s forehead last night, though his mole was a faint black.

They looked so much alike. And yet, why did everyone like Jin Chuan so much? Even Shiwu adored him.

So was it really her face that made people reject her?

Zhong Yao couldn’t figure it out. Her head buzzed with frustration. She shut off her phone and forgot to even reply to He Lingli’s message.

——

The next day at school, the curious stares and hushed gossip were even more intense than the day before.

When Zhong Yao reached the classroom door, it was clearly still noisy inside—but the moment she stepped in, it was as if the volume had suddenly been turned down. Several students nudged their seatmates, and phrases like “She’s here” floated into her ears, a constant reminder that the subject of discussion was still her.

And when she walked over to her seat, the awkward, apologetic smile from her deskmate, He Lingli, felt like a final blow.

For a split second, Zhong Yao felt like she was back at Yunshui Middle School.

Her mother had just passed away, and she was left with no one to rely on. Everyone watched her with prying, guarded eyes. The entire class had sunk into a silence more suffocating than chaos.

Zhong Yao felt breathless again. Thoughts of her mother surfaced, along with her teachings: No matter what happens, hold your head up. That’s how you walk—and that’s how you live.

So, just like that day, she pulled herself together, straightened her back, and calmly took out her books for morning reading.

No one approached her this morning. Even He Lingli was unusually quiet. Only the constant buzzing of cell phones filled her ears—along with the ever-present stares that followed her wherever she went.

To the restroom, to morning exercises, to the office to fetch supplies… Everywhere she walked, the noise would instantly die out.

But once she moved away, scattered whispers would drift back to her:

“She seems really calm—like she doesn’t even care?”

“Is she really a crazy fan? Or maybe she’s just rich and aloof?”

“She’s totally faking it! Our class rep saw her records—she transferred from some place called Yunshui Town!”

…

“No wonder all her clothes look like they’re 20-yuan Taobao stuff!”

“So she’s from the countryside? And she still dared to take a cab? Total poser—such a vain show-off!”

…

No matter where she went, Zhong Yao felt like there were needles prickling at her back. The feeling was even worse than the time Tan Xiao had insulted her to her face in Yunshui.

All morning, she was like a taut wire stretched to its limit. And when lunchtime came, that wire finally snapped.

The gossip about her had spread for too long, and in the cafeteria, students seemed even more unrestrained. One girl even carried her tray straight to Zhong Yao’s table and sat down across from her.

The girl wore the blue-and-white school uniform over a red designer dress. Her dimples showed as she smiled sweetly:
“Hi there! I’m Shen Qingqing. I heard you just transferred here?”

Her tone was friendly. Zhong Yao was momentarily caught off guard and gave a small nod in response.

As if unaware of all the gossip, Shen Qingqing batted her eyes and continued,
“I’m from Class One. Which class are you in?”

Zhong Yao hesitated for a second, then replied,
“Class Nine.”

“Oh?” Shen Qingqing’s eyes curved into a smile.
“Then you must be the one everyone’s calling the ‘vain new girl,’ huh? Did you really transfer from a rural town? Do you guys even have highways out there?”

Zhong Yao froze. Her chopsticks trembled slightly in her hand. She didn’t say a word—just stared hard at Shen Qingqing.

But Shen Qingqing didn’t seem embarrassed at all. Her voice only grew more cutting:
“Taking a cab yesterday must’ve cost a lot. Did you spend your parents’ hard-earned money from doing labor jobs?”

Pfft—hahaha!

Laughter suddenly burst out all around. Turns out, plenty of students had been eavesdropping, ready to watch the show.

It was only her second day at this new school. Zhong Yao didn’t want to escalate things or make a bigger scene.

But the girl across from her had just casually mocked her parents—that hit her where it hurt.

She stood up abruptly and looked down at Shen Qingqing from above.
“Yes, I am spending my mother’s hard-earned money. Shen Qingqing, since you’re so indignant, I assume you’re incredibly capable—surely all the money you spend is earned by you, right?”

Shen Qingqing hadn’t expected a comeback. She was caught off guard—most girls would be crying from humiliation by now.

But she couldn’t say “yes,” so she bit the bullet and retorted:
“So what if I spend my parents’ money? At least my family isn’t poor. I’d never do something as fake as taking a taxi just to show off.”

“Oh, really?” Zhong Yao’s gaze turned sharp.
“So in your eyes, people from small towns taking a taxi is automatically showing off? Then maybe you, Miss Shen, should learn some basic facts—Beijing taxis start at just over ten yuan.”

No one actually knew how much Zhong Yao had paid for the ride.

Shen Qingqing was left speechless, her face turning red with anger.

A few giggles even slipped out from a nearby table—someone couldn’t hold in their laughter.

Zhong Yao swept her gaze across the cafeteria, her voice clear and firm:
“Is this funny? Between me and Shen Qingqing, it’s you—hiding behind your gossip—who are the truly fake and cowardly ones.”

A strange silence fell over the cafeteria. Students exchanged awkward glances, some of their faces turning red.

“Childish. Pathetic.” Zhong Yao threw out the last words and left the cafeteria with her head held high.

Behind her, whispers rose again. Zhong Yao’s pace quickened—she just wanted to escape those scorching, judgmental stares.

Even though she had stood up for herself, her heart still felt as fragile as dry leaves beneath her feet—ready to crumble at the slightest pressure.

Disappointment pooled quietly inside her.

She thought back to the same time yesterday, when her deskmate He Lingli had smiled so brightly. Back then, she had so many hopes for this new school life. When she heard there were already designated “school beauties and heartthrobs,” she’d even secretly felt excited.

No one knew how badly she wanted to just be a normal kid—one of the crowd.

She thought Beijing schools would be different from her small-town past. But reality had slapped her in the face.

The September wind in Beijing stung her eyes. She ran all the way to the school’s lake—and nearly crashed into someone standing in front of her.

“S-Sorry,” Zhong Yao gasped, trying to catch her breath.

But when the person turned around, her face froze. Her emotions nearly broke loose.

Qi Yu.

He had been avoiding the cafeteria crowd and was waiting by the lake for Tang Yiming to bring him food. He was already annoyed from being bumped into, but when he turned and saw Zhong Yao’s face, his irritation peaked.

“Wow, thick-skinned much? Didn’t get enough of a lesson yesterday?”
He assumed she had followed him on purpose and didn’t bother hiding his disdain.

Zhong Yao stared at the culprit in front of her, barely resisting the urge to shove him into the lake as she demanded,
“Qi Yu, what exactly did I do to offend you?”

The girl standing before him was completely different from the last two times they’d met. Though her voice was still cold, her eyes were red and watery, like she might burst into tears at any moment.

Her anger and hurt looked almost convincing—but Qi Yu didn’t believe a word of it. Ever since he was forced on stage by his mother for the freshman performance in middle school, there wasn’t a single student at this school who didn’t know who he was.

“Heh.” Qi Yu raised an eyebrow and smirked.
“You’ve tried everything to get close to me, and now you think a few tears will fix it? If you don’t get lost, or if you dare say anything to the media, I won’t mind making things even worse for you.”

His arrogant tone made Zhong Yao scoff with rage.
“You think I want to get close to you? If I hadn’t had the misfortune of meeting you yesterday, I’d be doing just fine at this school! Big celebrity Qi, let me return the favor—stay the hell away from me!”

Fueled by anger, she gave him a hard shove. Not even sparing him another glance, she turned and ran toward the school building.

Splash—

Caught off guard, Qi Yu fell backward straight into the lake.

Luckily, it was autumn and the water wasn’t deep—just enough to soak him up to his knees and drench half his pants.

Whether fans, staff, or classmates, everyone always treated him with a smile. Even Shen Xiao, the biggest troublemaker on campus, had never laid a finger on him. So standing knee-deep in cold lake water, Qi Yu was utterly stunned.

“Holy crap, Yu-ge!”
Just then, Tang Yiming arrived with a lunchbox in hand. He stared, dumbfounded.
“Why are you in the lake?”

Qi Yu climbed out of the water, expressionless.
“That girl pushed me. Even if she gets down on her knees and begs, it’s not over.”

“Who? Which girl?” Tang Yiming was still confused. Suddenly, the lunchbox slipped from his hand.
“Wait—don’t tell me it was that pretty girl you bumped into yesterday?! What did you do to make her shove you into a lake?”

Qi Yu shot him a cold look and stayed silent.

Tang Yiming panicked.
“Dude, you didn’t hit her or something, right? She’s just a transfer student—her name’s Zhong Yao. She literally just arrived yesterday, in the class next door! No matter what you thought happened, you can’t hit a girl, man!”

Qi Yu froze, incredulous.
“What did you say? She’s a transfer student?”

“Yeah!” Tang Yiming replied.
“Everyone found out on the school forum. She’s from some little town in the south. It makes total sense that she wouldn’t know who you are…”

Suddenly, the image of Zhong Yao’s teary, furious face resurfaced in Qi Yu’s mind. Her words—meeting you was my misfortune—and the glimpse of despair when she shoved him… they burned into his thoughts, impossible to shake.

He thought of how isolated she had looked that morning… and a strange sense of irritation stirred inside him.

“Shit.”

Qi Yu cursed under his breath. Forgetting about his wet pants and his lunch, he stormed off toward the teaching building.

---

Author’s Note:Qi Yu: Haha I wanna die lol.jpg