…Praying was useless.
Zhu Shuiwen stood nervously at the bank entrance, head down, hopping from one marble tile seam to another, left foot, right foot, back and forth.
She tried to make it look casual.
He Xueqi had gone to the ATM to deposit money; she was waiting outside.
Hop one square, glance at the “offset value.”
Fifty percent. Still fifty percent.
—Of course, such an optimistic number had nothing to do with her.
It was Zhu Feifei’s.
It hadn’t risen or fallen. Zhu Shuiwen wondered if that meant her sister’s part of the story hadn’t started yet.
She couldn’t figure it out.
She glanced at the parallel bright red number beside it—good, eighty-seven percent—so bright it made her eyes ache.
…Why was the villain so angry?
Thinking that, her sneakers paused twice on the grid lines, then turned toward the glass display.
From her angle, she could see the boy operating the machine in a precise, orderly manner, tapping the screen decisively.
He looked much more youthful than she remembered, soft black hair framing his ears, eyebrows lowered, appearing utterly harmless.
Watching him for a moment, her heart began racing. A subtle fear pressed against every inch of her chest, her hands and feet turning cold.
“Calm down… calm down… deep breaths…”
She whispered to herself.
Keep looking… don’t take your eyes away.
According to the system, this was called desensitization therapy.
“Nothing to be afraid of…”
Nothing had happened yet. Everything hadn’t even started.
The system explained that the villain’s descent into darkness didn’t happen all at once, but was a gradual process.
Right now, he was still a perfectly good, model student. She just needed to stay calm and treat him like an ordinary classmate…
Before she could mentally prepare herself, the villain suddenly turned around.
“Classmate Zhu.”
He Xueqi’s expression was unnervingly calm. If it weren’t for the faint redness at his ear tips, Zhu Shuiwen might have thought his emotions matched his tone—completely still.
He seemed to be choosing his words carefully. After a long pause, he said, “I’m not used to being watched while I work. Sorry.”
Zhu Shuiwen froze for a few seconds. When she realized what he meant, her face instantly turned tomato-red.
“I… I’m sorry! I wasn’t peeking at your PIN, really!”
Flustered, she took two hurried steps back. To prove her honesty, she turned around, squatted, and covered her face with her hands.
Beneath her tightly shut eyelids, her eyes trembled in panic.
After a while, she suddenly realized—
Her sister wouldn’t have reacted like this.
Apart from a single “oh,” Zhu Feifei wouldn’t say another word, let alone apologize.
…Crap. Had she just stepped on a landmine?
She didn’t know how long she’d been crouched there, only hearing the ATM intermittently clinking as it accepted deposits.
Just as she wondered how long the silence would last, she heard the boy’s clear voice.
“Classmate Zhu.”
She instinctively opened her eyes, stunned.
The boy was bent slightly, eyes lowered, looking at her.
Under thick lashes, his eyes seemed like a pure, bottomless black.
She had never looked at him this closely. Her heart jolted, and she almost fell backward.
“Careful.”
His reflexes were fast; he grabbed her in time, which only made her scream.
“No…”
She swallowed the word “no” and replaced it with “thank you.”
The desensitization therapy was actually working—at least at that moment, she wasn’t trembling.
The boy’s palm was cool to the touch, his wrist brushing against hers like a piece of lightly chilled ice.
Despite his restrained posture, there was an unyielding, almost aggressive pressure that left her nowhere to hide.
Luckily, he released her before she could feel frozen from the contact—the shiver that had invaded her like a current of cold water slipped away.
She clenched her hands behind her back.
Unsure if her instant, instinctive resistance had been noticed, she nervously repeated her thanks.
He Xueqi’s deep voice replied, “You’re welcome.”
From his tone, she could not gauge his true thoughts.
She instinctively looked at the number on the panel—still eighty-seven percent.
—No change.
Zhu Shuiwen exhaled in relief.
But then her gaze caught the obviously sagging plastic bag in He Xueqi’s hand, and a sudden, serious realization struck her.
What now…?
Her sister’s story hadn’t started. What excuse could she use to buy more time?
Just as she was fretting, He Xueqi tilted his head and slowly said, “Classmate Zhu.”
She said, “Hmm?” and looked at him, puzzled.
Following his gaze, she saw a fried chicken shop bathed in bright lights.
Calmly, he said, “To thank you, let me buy you something to eat.”
The system remained silent.
From its backend, it could clearly see that the offset value hadn’t actually “stayed the same,” as Zhu Shuiwen thought.
It had briefly dipped—only for a few seconds.
When exactly?
The moment Zhu Shuiwen had flusteredly turned around and crouched on the ground.
When her eyes were shut, it silently slipped to eighty-six percent, then soon rose back to eighty-seven, returning to normal.
As if… nothing had happened.
…
With the constant vibration, Zhu Feifei’s phone began to slide across the glass counter in a serpentine motion.
The incoming call flashed, the contact name clearly reading “That Someone.”
Zhu Feifei leaned against the booth’s sofa. She let the phone ring until it went silent, the screen going dark.
But a few seconds later, it lit up again, stubbornly.
“Snap”—the phone was flipped face down.
“Not answering?” The girl with colorful nails leaned in, whispering in Zhu Feifei’s ear. “Parents checking in again? You’re already in high school, and they still treat you like a kid?”
She was tall and slim, slightly shorter than Zhu Feifei, with a middle-parted hairstyle.
She hadn’t cut her long bangs and had three black clips on each side of her head to keep them in place.
Under the lights, the clips gleamed, looking like six spider legs perched atop her head.
“Not at all.”
Zhu Feifei clearly didn’t want to talk, but the girl pressed on. “Come on, tell me. The note says ‘That Someone.’ You’re not… dating, are you?”
She asked softly, studying Zhu Feifei’s expression carefully.
Seeing Zhu Feifei frown in annoyance, she pouted, “Ah Fei, you’re dating and you didn’t tell me? Do you even consider me your friend?”
Before Zhu Feifei could respond, a hand pressed on the girl’s shoulder, yanking her aside.
“Yuan Xiaxian, step aside!” Deng Xujie squeezed next to Zhu Feifei.
The music in the bar was deafening. Even face-to-face, they had to shout to be heard.
“Sister Fei, what do you want to drink?!”
Seeing Zhu Feifei’s puzzled expression, Deng Xujie raised his voice: “Drink! What do you want to drink!!”
He gestured at the cups on the table, having a sudden idea.
Zhu Feifei realized and poured a cup of iced lemon water, handing it to him.
Deng Xujie protested silently: “No, I didn’t want this…”
He had no choice but to grab his phone and type quickly.
Zhu Feifei replied: “Lemon water”
…Really, Big Sis?!
You come to a bar and drink lemon water?
Zhu Feifei didn’t bother replying further, leaning back on the sofa, expressionless, eyes lowered.
She was tall and slender, her sharp features bright and striking. The lift at the corners of her eyes gave her an aggressive edge.
With her neutral expression, her slightly downturned lips added a chilling frost to her fiery presence.
In short—
Big Sis was stunningly beautiful.
But no one dared to covet her—unless their brains were about to short-circuit.
Zhu Feifei was notorious for her fighting skills; people from near and far would generally choose to steer clear of her.
So…
She absolutely had to be at tonight’s birthday party.
Left hanging on the side, Yuan Xiaxian poked Deng Xujie in the waist with her index finger, her tone a playful, non-annoying kind of complaint: “What about me? You’re only giving attention to Ah Fei? Isn’t that a little biased?”
Deng Xujie snapped impatiently: “Whatever Sister Fei drinks, you drink too. If that’s not enough, go to the bartender yourself. Why are you bothering me?”
Yuan Xiaxian froze, and before she could react, Deng Xujie stormed off.
Zhu Feifei, unable to hold back, said, “…What kind of person is this? I’m going to go scold him.”
Suddenly, her arm was grabbed.
“Forget it, Ah Fei. You’re pretty—everyone wants to say something to you. I’m different… sigh, I really don’t know how my parents ended up making me so ugly.”
In reality, Yuan Xiaxian’s looks had nothing to do with “ugly.” She had done her makeup carefully, and under the lighting, she was undeniably a delicate, small beauty.
Zhu Feifei said, “It’s got nothing to do with your looks. He’s just asking for a beating.”
Yuan Xiaxian choked on her words.
A moment later, she pouted, feigning tears: “Ah, Ah Fei, stop comforting me. I really do feel like I’m ugly…”
Zhu Feifei was about to get up again: “I’ll make him come over and apologize to you.”
…Zhu Feifei, how utterly clueless can you be!
Don’t you get the concept of mutual flattery? Huh??
Yuan Xiaxian was so exasperated her chest hurt, but seeing that Zhu Feifei really intended to go confront Deng Xujie, she got scared and quickly changed the subject: “By the way, Ah Fei, don’t you find it weird how Deng Xujie has so much money…? I remember his family’s conditions were just… average.”
She spoke with a kind of innocent curiosity. Even if what she said was slightly forward, it came across as genuine wonder rather than criticism.
Even though Fuhai No. 9 High School required students to wear uniforms, some sharp students saw it as a challenge. The uniform simply fueled their inner detective instincts.
Shoes, phones, the choice of dining locations—they observed every little detail.
Yuan Xiaxian’s eyes were sharp.
Before, although Deng Xujie was flashy, always saying things like “my boss” or “my big sister” and making it seem like he was a big deal just by being around them, his spending habits were just… ordinary.
At best, he was slightly above average.
Far from “throwing a grand feast at the Dark Night Rose.”
Zhu Feifei absentmindedly said, “I don’t know… maybe he won the lottery?”
The phone on the table vibrated again.
Zhu Feifei knew full well that if she flipped it over, she would see that it was still “that someone” calling.
At that thought, she unusually felt a moment of apprehension.
No need to answer. Ring it a couple more times, and the caller would give up.
That was her plan.
Yuan Xiaxian, sensing Zhu Feifei wasn’t herself, said a few words and then fell silent, sitting on the other side of the table and burying herself in her messages.
When enough time had passed, Deng Xujie waved his hand.
The long-waiting DJ understood immediately and switched the music to an electronic version of “Happy Birthday.”
A huge three-tier rose cake was pushed out, candles blazing, reflecting off Deng Xujie’s flushed, excited face.
“Wow! Boss Deng, that’s generous!”
“Impressive! Everyone, give Boss Deng a round of applause!”
Amid the cheers, Deng Xujie cut the first slice of cake and walked over to Zhu Feifei.
Zhu Feifei furrowed her brows: “What do you want me to do with this?”
Deng Xujie looked around and shouted: “Sister Fei, ever since we enrolled, you’ve taken care of me so much! She’s my sister! Giving me face means giving Sister Fei face! Got it?”
“You’re crazy,” Zhu Feifei snapped, frowning, but still took the cake.
Someone shouted, “Boss Deng, shouldn’t we pop a champagne bottle?”
“Ohhhh—yeah, open the champagne!”
In the uproar, Deng Xujie had completely lost his composure, blushing furiously: “Open it! Today we must open it!”
Just as he shouted, there was a sudden click, and all the lights in the bar came on.
The room was instantly bright. Men and women looked around, confused and panicked, as if their protective shells had been stripped away.
At the same time, the music cut off.
The cart rolled across the floor with clear rattling wheels, accompanied by the clinking of glass bottles.
The champagne tower was coming.
For some reason, the crowd instinctively parted.
The atmosphere suddenly turned tense, as if facing something terrifying.
This unusual reaction made Deng Xujie’s throat go dry. His heart, which had been suspended throughout the party, now thumped violently.
He lowered his head, eyes fixed on the slowly approaching cart.
The first thing he noticed was a pair of cold, black Martin boots.
Tightly fitted pants, a checkered jacket—luxurious, flamboyant, almost aggressive in its pride and arrogance. This was obviously not a server’s outfit.
His heart nearly stopped.
Some people had already recognized the young man and began whispering.
“Isn’t that the young master?”
“Why is Gu Jinyan here?”
Deng Xujie felt dizzy, with only one thought left in his mind—
He’s here?
“Interesting.”
Gu Jinyan walked up to him, face unreadable, and grabbed him by the collar, sneering mockingly:
“You punk, you know this is my reserved table, right?”
“…Y-yeah,” Deng Xujie stammered, trying to explain. “L-listen, let me explain…”
“You know, yet you used my name to throw a birthday party here? Huh? Do you think I’m a fool?” Gu Jinyan cut him off, raising his voice.
Deng Xujie was already terrified, only able to push the blame outward: “It was Brother Wang… I’m just following Brother Wang’s orders…”
“Brother Wang? Fine. We’ll talk about Brother Wang later… if you even have the energy to speak,” Gu Jinyan said, turning to signal his two followers, who immediately grabbed Deng Xujie.
Seeing Gu Jinyan pick up a bottle of champagne, Deng Xujie swallowed and screamed pitifully:
“Sister Fei, help me—!”
Gu Jinyan loosened the wire tie, thumb pressing the soft cork, tilting his head: “Who’s she calling for?”
One follower replied smartly: “Class Six’s Zhu Feifei.”
Gu Jinyan snorted: “Even calling someone won’t help. Today, you’ll drink all the champagne here—otherwise, don’t even think about leaving!”
Looking at the champagne tower piled almost to the ceiling, Deng Xujie couldn’t even scream, his face went pale, and his legs gave out.
Someone nearby egged him on: “Young Master Gu, you don’t know, Zhu Feifei… she’s not easy to mess with.”
Gu Jinyan impatiently repeated: “Who?”
Before anyone could boast about Zhu Feifei’s reputation, another tried to be clever: “She’s the sister of the country bumpkin girl.”
Gu Jinyan rolled his eyes. “Country bumpkin who?”
“That one—the new transfer student in Class Six… what’s her name again? I think it’s ‘Zhu Shuiwen.’”
A glasses-wearing guy spat as he began embellishing the story: “She dresses so ridiculously. I heard she’s been studying in the countryside all this time. On the first day of school, she even wore some coarse linen outfit—dirty white fabric—paired with an ugly, rag-colored skirt. Who knows, maybe it was cloth she grew herself in the countryside, then spun, wove, and cut herself…”
In reality, anyone who had actually seen the transfer student knew all of this was pure nonsense.
Otherwise, when Zhu Shuiwen came to register, why would a group of people crowd around the office door, coming up with every excuse to ask questions? What were they even trying to do?
If they really loved learning that much, why wait for her to be there to show up?
In fact, the glasses-wearing guy even had a photo saved on his phone—someone had secretly taken it.
In the photo, Zhu Shuiwen was holding a book, sunlight falling on her fair skin like it was on a display of jewels. The vintage frog buttons on her outfit exuded a quiet, timeless serenity.
Of course, he would never admit that.
All he ever said was, “Country bumpkin girl—so ugly and tacky.”
Gu Jinyan had no idea what he was thinking. Just as he was about to say, “Why should I care about this girl? If it’s useless, you don’t have to talk,” the glasses-wearing guy, who had been chattering nonstop, suddenly let out a sharp, “Ah!”
With a sudden burst of strength, he was lifted off the ground.
Immediately, the glasses-wearing guy did a complete 180 in attitude: “N-No, Sister Fei, I didn’t mean that! I… I just wanted to say, the country bumpkin girl is definitely not as pretty as you—!”
The girl shook the bottle in her hand, sneering with a face full of anger.
“Your mouth’s so foul… I’m feeling generous today. Let me rinse it out for you.”
With her phone buzzing relentlessly in her pocket, the cold alcohol poured like a flood straight into his mouth, right there in front of everyone.
Gu Jinyan: “Whoa.”
He squinted, and just then, the girl turned her head.
Crimson flames burned in her eyes.
“Gu Jinyan, control your dog.”