Chapter 13: Public Opinion

“Do you need something?”

She stepped out of the classroom and saw the person who had been blocked by the wall—Sheng Qiaoxi.

Sun Shiyao smiled and introduced himself, “We’re all tight buddies with Pei Jinyang. We heard he has a little sister now, so we wanted to invite you to hang out with us. There’s a get-together this Saturday. Wanna come?”

Jiang Mingzhi gave a faint smile. “I have enrichment classes on Saturday, so I probably won’t have time.”

Chen Zhanbei added, “The party’s at night.”

Jiang Mingzhi replied, “My classes are at night too.”

Sheng Qiaoxi, who had been silently sizing her up, finally spoke. “Forget it, forget it. This little sister’s clearly got a packed schedule.”

Jiang Mingzhi met her gaze.

That kind of look—how to describe it?

On the surface, it seemed friendly and kind, but there was an extremely subtle sting underneath. To outsiders, Sheng Qiaoxi looked like she was smiling warmly, but Jiang Mingzhi could clearly sense the mockery in her tone.

It was deeply uncomfortable.

Sheng Qiaoxi had always been like this. In her past life, after Jiang Mingzhi and Pei Jinyang started dating, Sheng Qiaoxi once said privately that she didn’t like Jiang Mingzhi.

But when others tested her about it, she flat-out denied ever saying such a thing and still acted all sisterly around Jiang Mingzhi.

Very two-faced.

Jiang Mingzhi responded with the same kind of gaze—half probing, half mocking—and looked her up and down. Then she curled her lips into an ambiguous smile and lightly brushed past her, heading for the restroom.

She wasn’t some pushover. Playing mind games behind a smiling face? She was more than adept at that. She’d handled shrewd businesspeople with countless tricks up their sleeves—why would she fear a brat who still smelled like milk?

Sheng Qiaoxi felt stifled by Jiang Mingzhi’s look and grumbled to Sun Shiyao, “She’s so rude. No wonder Jinyang doesn’t like her! Why’d you even invite her?”

“Huh? How was that rude?” Sun Shiyao looked confused. “What’s wrong with wanting to hang out with a pretty girl?”

—

After evening self-study, Jiang Mingzhi got in the car first and waited about five minutes before Pei Jinyang strolled out of the school gates.

When he got in, Jiang Mingzhi was leaning against the back seat with her eyes closed, resting.

As the car started moving, she sat still with her arms folded, eyes remaining shut.

A clear message: Don’t talk to me. The world has nothing to do with me.

Pei Jinyang turned his head and glanced at her, seeing through her fake nap instantly. He said blandly, “Don’t help me collect love letters anymore.”

Two seconds later, Jiang Mingzhi responded with her eyes still closed, “You think I wanted to?”

He sneered, “Didn’t think of that when you were spreading the word about our relationship at school? Or do you just enjoy playing the messenger?”

In Pei Jinyang’s eyes, Jiang Mingzhi’s eagerness to associate with him reeked of vanity.

Jiang Mingzhi opened her eyes, and her bright pupils carried a trace of weariness.

“You sound so proud, like a pile of crap surrounded by flies. Don’t be so narcissistic.”

Did he really think she wanted to be linked to him?

In their previous life, people didn’t even know they were siblings and were out there shipping them as a couple.

In this life, she just wanted to kill off any chance of that nonsense happening again. It made her skin crawl.

The car fell into a strange silence. Pei Jinyang seemed stunned by Jiang Mingzhi’s blunt insult. He stared at her, mouth open but unable to speak.

After a moment, he finally retorted, “You’re not much better, crap girl.”

Although Jiang Mingzhi hadn’t received any physical love letters, her face showed up daily on the school gossip wall.

Eating in the cafeteria? Snapped and posted. On the track? Snapped and posted. Just walking around? Someone would sneak a shot of her back.

Some curious student even asked under the gossip post who the transfer student was that skipped grades. Once the face and name matched, people were even more amazed. A beautiful and academically brilliant transfer student? Talk of the school.

Jiang Mingzhi had been enjoying quite the spotlight lately.

She snorted coldly. “I don’t chase attention. The attention chases me.”

Double standards? She knew how to play that game flawlessly.

After their routine bickering, the two fell into silence again.

They didn’t say another word until they got home and finished supper.

Qiu Tang, knowing her daughter and Pei Jinyang didn’t get along, said nothing about it. In fact, she thought it was for the best.

If the two of them got too close, then she’d start to worry.

—

Class 6 and Class 9 had their overlapping PE period on Thursday afternoons.

Jiang Mingzhi changed into her sports uniform and, during the break, sat alone in a small octagonal pavilion just outside the school field. In springtime, this pavilion would be covered in wisteria blooms.

The campus had many scenic spots, including one or two buildings with that nostalgic, vintage charm.

Jiang Mingzhi loved using breaks to enjoy these rare moments of peace.

It was early March. The breeze was soft, the sun was warm.

Tiny green buds had started appearing on the trees.

And just as lively as the spring greenery—was the voice of a boy.

“Brother Jing! Brother Xu! Jing-Xu Gege! Please, come play in the league with me this weekend!”

That voice was soft and melodious, deliberately pinched to obscure its identity.

Then came a clear and magnetic voice, “I was planning to go, but you disgusted me so much I changed my mind.”

It was Guan Jingxu’s voice, tinged with a youthful charm.

Another boy wailed, “No no no, Brother Xu, I was wrong! Come on, let’s go, please!”

The boy rambled on, “This time, it’s a tri-school league. Our school’s sending two teams. Wouldn’t it be awesome to sweep both gold and silver medals?”

Guan Jingxu replied, “You think the other schools’ basketball teams are made of paper?”

The boy chuckled sheepishly.

Jiang Mingzhi closed her book and headed to the sports field. Just as she reached the small side gate, she ran into a few boys from Pei Jinyang’s class.

It was early spring, still a little chilly, but the boys were already eager to show off. They wore loose white T-shirts under unzipped school jackets, strutting like peacocks.

Jiang Mingzhi intended to ignore these juvenile show-offs, but one of them called out to her.

“Hey, Jiang Mingzhi.”

The one who spoke was tall and lanky. She didn’t recognize him.

“What is it?”

He waved his hand awkwardly. “Oh, nothing, nothing, hehe.”

Jiang Mingzhi turned and walked away. Behind her, a chorus of laughter and chatter rang out, clearly unfriendly.

“She really doesn’t have any accent, huh? Total southerner.”

“No one’s perfect. She might be smart, but…”

Jiang Mingzhi didn’t hear the rest because Meng Yuanyuan delivered some terrible news:

Today, there was an 800-meter run.

The 800 meters was every girl’s nightmare.

She could jog on a treadmill at the gym, or go for a light run outdoors—but running on a track? Completely different.

And loving exercise was something that would come later in life. Right now, at sixteen, she was still a frail little chick with pretty poor physical fitness.

The dozen or so girls in the science class looked pale as ghosts. Two who had their periods looked relieved to have dodged a bullet.

After the PE teacher led them through basic warm-ups, he herded everyone to the starting line.

The girls from Class 6 and Class 9 all lined up. The PE teacher said competition breeds motivation—just keep your eyes on the person in front of you and try to overtake them.

Whistle in mouth and stopwatch in hand, he shouted, “Ready—”

A group of girls burst forward, white uniforms blooming like small flowers against the red rubber track.

Jiang Mingzhi kept her mouth shut, slowed her breathing, and tried to maintain a steady pace.

When a goal feels hopelessly far away, your mind tends to wander.

One moment, she was thinking about the years she’d spent with Pei Jinyang. The next, she was recalling the physics problem from the previous class.

Her thoughts drifted all over the place—until she looked up and realized she’d only completed half a lap.

She thought her feet were flying as fast as her thoughts. But in the PE teacher’s eyes, she was crawling like a turtle. He couldn’t help but shout, “Pick it up in the back! If you don’t pass this test, you’re running it again next class!”

Jiang Mingzhi sped up and passed three girls.

But she accidentally gulped a mouthful of air, and it felt like her lungs were about to burst.

The finish line was in sight, but in the last 100 meters, she couldn’t keep her mouth shut anymore—she panted heavily, her throat tasting like rusted metal.

Fifty meters… thirty… ten…

At that moment, the PE teacher was distracted. The one keeping time was Guan Jingxu.

Jiang Mingzhi locked eyes with him. Closer… closer…

Just as she was about to reach the finish line, something slammed into her from behind.

Her legs were already shaky, and the impact sent her sprawling face-first to the ground, drawing gasps from the crowd.

Jiang Mingzhi felt like her soul had left her body.

Her palms stung like they were on fire. Her legs felt like jelly—she tried to stand, but couldn’t.

Chen Zhanbei glanced at Pei Jinyang. “Your sister just fell.”

Pei Jinyang looked away, expression indifferent. “Is her last name Pei?”

The physical pain helped Jiang Mingzhi regain some clarity.

Meng Yuanyuan rushed over to help, but couldn’t lift her. “Jiang Mingzhi, can you get up?”

“It hurts a little.” Jiang Mingzhi’s voice was hoarse. One hand braced against the coarse rubber track, the other held weakly by Meng Yuanyuan.

Meng Yuanyuan exclaimed, “Oh no, you’re bleeding!”

A few students gathered around. “What happened? Are you okay?”

Jiang Mingzhi really wanted to say: Can’t you see I’m still face-down on the ground? How about a few more of you actually help me?

Her legs were useless—they wouldn’t support her, and they were trembling uncontrollably.

The next second, she felt a strong arm hook under hers and lift her up.