Nan Zhi had originally come to help the Chinese class representative deliver homework to the office, never expecting to overhear Feng Sinian’s words.
Holding the stack of notebooks, she leaned against the wall by the doorway and looked up at the sky.
The winter sunset was warm, yet not a single ray could penetrate the chill in her heart.
The conversation in the office naturally ended unhappily. When Zhou Ya stepped out and saw the figure by the wall, she paused. “Zhi Zhi?”
Feng Sinian, who was helping Bai Wei to her feet, froze for a moment before following her out in disbelief, only to discover Nan Zhi standing there with a pale, expressionless face.
Nan Zhi lifted her eyes, her clear gaze tinged with coldness. “Feng Sinian, was everything you just said true?”
Feng Sinian stammered, wanting to explain, but Bai Wei, who had rushed out after him, subtly wrapped her arm around his. He glanced sideways, and when he saw her slightly reddened eyes, he steeled himself and replied, “Yes.”
Nan Zhi’s hands trembled, nearly dropping the notebooks. She blinked rapidly, suppressing the tears that threatened to spill, and nodded firmly. “Fine, Feng Sinian, we’re done.”
She entered the office first to place the notebooks on the desk. As she passed Feng Sinian, she left only one sentence: “Return the sixteenth birthday gift I gave you two years ago.”
His hand, hanging by his side, suddenly clenched.
The birthday gift Nan Zhi had given him was a jade pendant.
What Feng Sinian didn’t know was that it was a family heirloom of the Nan family, passed down only to those considered part of the family.
By giving him the pendant, she had acknowledged him as her future partner.
At the time, their relationship was strong, and Nan Zhi’s parents had tacitly approved of their future together. Though they were still young, they hadn’t objected when she gave him such an important gift.
Zhou Ya no longer had the energy to scold her rebellious son. With a sigh, she wiped her tears and left.
Seeing that even the parents couldn’t handle Feng Sinian, the homeroom teacher decided not to intervene further. After all, studying wasn’t something done for others—if the student himself was giving up, persuasion would be futile.
Only Feng Sinian and Bai Wei remained in the hallway. She gently tugged at his sleeve and tentatively asked, “Why don’t you apologize to Nan Zhi? You’ve known each other for over a decade, after all.”
“No. I’ve had enough of her,” Feng Sinian sneered. “She took my mother’s words seriously and thought she could become her daughter-in-law. And that awful tea she prepared for me every day—I’ve long grown tired of it.”
Hearing this, Bai Wei felt a flicker of satisfaction.
Nan Zhi was a favored child of heaven, with loving parents. The confidence and self-assurance she carried were things Bai Wei could only envy.
Bai Wei had lost her parents and was placed under the care of her aunt, who only knew how to play mahjong. She was beaten daily, and even the tuition she had painstakingly saved was stolen by her aunt for gambling.
That day, when Bai Wei saw Nan Zhi’s parents dropping her off and picking her up from school, the happy family of three filled her with overwhelming resentment.
Just thinking about how Feng Sinian, whom Nan Zhi had liked for so long, was now devoted to her made Bai Wei feel much better. She smiled and asked Feng Sinian what they should have for dinner.
“I need to go home first to return Nan Zhi’s jade pendant.”
“Are you really going to give it back?” Bai Wei suddenly had an idea. “She was the one who ended things, and now she wants the gift back. Are you just going to hand it over like a fool? If you’re cutting ties, you should do it properly.”
Feng Sinian took her hand, as if making a firm decision. “Alright.”
After the first evening self-study session ended, Tang Yuan ran into Feng Sinian on her way back from the restroom. He only said one sentence: “Tell Nan Zhi for me—if she wants her things back, come to Anming Lake.”
Anming Lake was the largest lake on the campus of Anhe No. 1 High School, located in front of the back hill, where almost no one ever went.
After hearing Tang Yuan’s words, Nan Zhi stood up.
Tang Yuan asked nervously, “Zhi Zhi, he’s asking you to go to the lake at night—is he planning to push you in?”
“Even though Anming Lake is remote, there are surveillance cameras. He wouldn’t dare.”
Still uneasy, Tang Yuan followed her. “I’ll go with you.”
By the moonlit lakeside, Feng Sinian and Bai Wei stood hand in hand, facing Nan Zhi and Tang Yuan.
“Holy crap, Feng Sinian, did you bring Bai Wei here on purpose to provoke Zhi Zhi?” Even though Tang Yuan had long known about their relationship, seeing this scene still made her furious enough to curse.
Feng Sinian ignored her and took out the jade pendant from his pocket.
Under the moonlight, the jade pendant glowed with an emerald-green luster, its pattern depicting a pair of mandarin ducks.
“Nan Zhi, do you want it?” Feng Sinian smirked maliciously, twirling the red cord of the pendant around his fingertip. “Then go fish it out of the lake.”
Under Nan Zhi’s stunned gaze, he threw the jade pendant into the lake.
The splash as it hit the water was especially distinct in the quiet atmosphere.
When Feng Sinian first stood up for Bai Wei, she hadn’t cried. When she heard him say she wasn’t as important as Bai Wei, she still hadn’t cried. But watching the Nan family’s most treasured possession fall into the lake, tears poured out uncontrollably.
Just like her sincere feelings, it too had been discarded by Feng Sinian.
Feng Sinian had seen Nan Zhi cry countless times since they were children—she was a crybaby. She’d cry if she lost something, and she’d cry if he ignored her for half an hour. Every time, he was the one who comforted her.
But now, watching her cry silently, something in his chest seemed to collapse.
Bai Wei tightened her grip on his hand. “Sinian, you two have nothing to do with each other now. Let’s go.”
Feng Sinian opened his mouth but ultimately left with her.
Tang Yuan cursed at their retreating figures for two whole minutes, only stopping when they were out of sight, then turned to comfort Nan Zhi with a pained heart.
“Zhi Zhi, don’t cry over a scumbag like him. He’s not worth it!”
“There are plenty of fish in the sea—lots of guys better than Feng Sinian!”
Nan Zhi wiped her face. “I’m not crying over him. I’m crying over my family’s heirloom jade pendant.”
Tang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s okay. Rainfall has been low in Anhe these past two years, so the lake’s water level isn’t high. We can hire someone to retrieve it tomorrow.”
Nan Zhi took a few steps forward, standing exactly where Feng Sinian had been moments before. “Based on his strength, I can roughly calculate where the pendant fell. Luckily, this lake isn’t flowing. We can still get someone to retrieve it now.”
Tang Yuan gave her a thumbs-up. “Only a top student could do that.”
On the first day of school after winter break, Feng Sinian realized Bai Wei was gone.
Feng Sinian frantically asked the students around him about Bai Wei’s whereabouts, but they all shook their heads, saying they didn’t know.
The homeroom teacher told him that Bai Wei had completed the procedures to leave the school, and no one knew whether she had dropped out or transferred.
Without Bai Wei, everything seemed to return to how it was before.
But Feng Sinian pretended as if Bai Wei had never existed, treating Nan Zhi with the same care and attention he had since they were children.
Her attitude toward him remained cold and indifferent, yet he acted as if it didn’t bother him at all, asking after her well-being every day.
Only Nan Zhi knew that she and Feng Sinian could never go back to how they were.
After the new semester began, Feng Sinian threw himself back into his studies, and his grades quickly returned to their previous level. Although Nan Zhi had firmly secured the top spot, he was eventually admitted to Jing University, just like her.
“Zhi Zhi, the sink is overflowing! What are you daydreaming about?”
Wan Xiaoshan’s voice pulled Nan Zhi out of her distant thoughts. She lowered her gaze and saw that the water in the sink had already overflowed.
She turned off the faucet and wiped the water droplets from her face.
“I won’t be joining you for dinner in the cafeteria tonight.”
“Oh, Zhi Zhi, are you going to see Feng Sinian?” Geng Tiantian leaned out with a mischievous grin. “He’s planning to confess to you—do you want to pretend you don’t know?”
“I’m not going to see him. I’m just heading to the piano room to practice. Besides, Feng Sinian and I are just neighbors—I’m not close to him at all.”