Pu Yu stood frozen for a moment, unable to process what had just happened. “What… what did you say?”
The shopkeeper impatiently tossed the hundred-yuan bill back onto the counter.
The note fluttered down onto a pile of snacks, looking particularly glaring.
“I said this money is fake! The texture feels wrong, and the watermark is blurry!”
The shopkeeper looked her up and down, his eyes filled with disdain. “You look quiet and well-behaved—how could you do something like this? Get out of here, don’t hold up my business!”
Other students were waiting in line to pay.
Hearing the word “fake,” almost all of them turned to look.
“Fake?” Pu Yu’s mind went blank, a buzzing sound ringing in her ears.
This was the money she had exchanged for her dignity and her future.
It was her only chance to survive in this unfamiliar town.
With trembling hands, Pu Yu frantically picked up the bill the shopkeeper had thrown away.
Although she hadn’t handled large bills often, she could now see clearly in the light streaming through the window—
The paper was rough, the colors dull, clearly a shoddy counterfeit.
All of it was fake.
All two thousand yuan—completely fake.
A bone-chilling cold instantly spread through her limbs.
Pu Yu remembered her stepmother’s cheerful expression as she handed over the money, her father’s silence as he turned away, and that strange look in his eyes.
So that was it.
They didn’t just want to drive her away—they didn’t even want her to survive.
Or perhaps they were waiting for her to reach a dead end, to come crawling back on her knees, apologizing, and obediently agree to marry.
Xu Suiran, standing beside her, was also stunned.
But she reacted quickly, her tone filled with frustration. “Oh no! I told you that guy who stopped you on the road to exchange change was a scammer!”
She grabbed Pu Yu’s arm and explained to the shopkeeper and the surrounding students:
“On our way here, a man stopped Xiaoyu, saying he had an emergency and wanted to exchange small bills for a large one. Xiaoyu was just trying to be kind and swapped with him! Who knew it was fake money? How despicable!”
After saying this, she tugged hard on Pu Yu’s arm. “What are you still standing around for? Let’s go look for him—the scammer might not have gone far yet!”
“Boss, we’ll leave these things for now—catching the scammer is more important! Let’s go!”
Before Pu Yu could react, Xu Suiran had already pulled her through the crowd in the small shop, away from the center of that humiliating scene.
They ran to a relatively quiet corner behind the teaching building.
Only then did Xu Suiran let go, panting as she looked at Pu Yu, whose face was still pale. “Are you okay, Xiaoyu?”
Pu Yu looked at this girl she had only known for half a day but who had shown her kindness again and again. Her throat tightened, and she shook her head gently. “…Thank you, Sui Sui.”
Xu Suiran waved her hand dismissively. “What’s there to thank? In that situation, it was obvious someone was trying to trick you.”
She paused, looking at Pu Yu’s still-furrowed brow, and asked cautiously:
“That money… did your family give it to you?”
Pu Yu nodded silently, saying nothing more.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Xu Suiran—she just didn’t know how to explain.
The people who should have been closest to her wished for her to die silently in this unfamiliar place.
“Ding ling ling—!”
The sharp bell signaling the start of afternoon classes rang out.
Xu Suiran held her cold hand as they walked toward the classroom, her tone comforting. “It’s okay, maybe your family was tricked too. Go home and tell your parents. How come there are so many scammers these days?”
Pu Yu forced a smile. “Yeah.”
But the truth was.
She no longer had parents.
The first class in the afternoon was Chinese, taught by their homeroom teacher, Teacher Cheng.
“Everyone, quiet down.” Cheng Siyi stood at the podium, holding a stack of payment slips. “For those who haven’t paid this semester’s tuition and textbook fees yet, please do so as soon as possible. The total is eight hundred and sixty yuan. It’s best to pay by tomorrow afternoon so the school can process everything uniformly.”
Eight hundred and sixty yuan.
The number weighed heavily on Pu Yu’s heart.
She instinctively clenched her fist, her knuckles turning white.
If it were yesterday, this amount wouldn’t have been a problem for her.
But now, she didn’t even have a single yuan for the bus fare.
How could she pay?
Ask Grandma? Or… muster the courage to go back to the city and find them…
Teacher Cheng’s gaze swept gently across the class, finally settling on Pu Yu.
She smiled and reminded her, “Pu Yu, you’re a new transfer student, so you weren’t in the system before. Come to my office after school to get the payment slip. Remember to remind your parents to transfer the money or pay in cash as soon as possible.”
“…Okay, teacher.”
Pu Yu heard her own voice, floating as if suspended in mid-air.
She numbly opened her textbook, unable to focus at all.
Teacher Cheng was teaching Li Mi’s “Petition to Decline Official Appointment” from the Western Jin Dynasty. One line read, “When I was six months old, my kind father passed away.”
To her, the father who handed her counterfeit money.
Was no different from dead.
Or even worse.
For the rest of the afternoon classes, she didn’t hear a single word the teachers said or what the classmates around her were taking notes on.
Finally, the bell rang for the end of evening self-study, and the classroom instantly erupted into noise.
Xu Suiran packed her bag while turning around to ask, “Xiao Yu, where do you live? If it’s on the way, let’s go back together?”
“You go ahead, Sui Sui,” Pu Yu tried to make her voice sound lighter. “I need to go to Teacher Cheng’s office first. Let’s walk together another day, okay?”
Xu Suiran was a bit disappointed but didn’t insist. “Alright, then be careful on your way home. See you tomorrow!”
“See you tomorrow.”
Pu Yu quietly packed her bag, moving much slower than usual.
She had even fantasized that there might have been some sincerity mixed into those two thousand yuan, but reality proved that fantasies were just fantasies.
After sitting still for a few seconds, she slowly stood up and headed toward the teachers’ office.
The office door was slightly ajar, and faint voices of teachers talking could be heard inside.
Pu Yu gently knocked on the door.
“Come in,” came Teacher Cheng’s gentle voice.
“Teacher Cheng,” Pu Yu said softly.
Cheng Siyi looked up and saw it was her, immediately smiling as she pulled a slip from the folder beside her. “Here, Pu Yu. Remember to give the payment slip to your parents and take care of it as soon as possible.”
A thin piece of paper, printed with clear tables and numbers.
Eight Hundred and Sixty Yuan.
She took the slip, its edges curling slightly under her fingertips.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Pu Yu looked up, her voice somewhat dry. “Teacher Cheng, when is the latest I can pay this fee?”
Cheng Siyi stopped writing, her eyes filled with concern. “Are you having some difficulties?”
Pu Yu took a deep breath, lowered his head, stared at the edge of the payment slip, and struggled to continue: “My family… might need some time. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get the money smoothly when I go back…”