After school that day, Fang Zhishui got into the luxury car that picked her up every day and instructed the driver:
“Find a large pet store.”
The driver glanced at Fang Zhishui and casually asked:
“Is the Second Young Master looking to buy a pet? A kitten or a puppy?”
Although the Fang family only had two daughters, both were referred to with the masculine title of “Young Master” because they were addressed according to the A gender designation.
Although Fang Zhishui had not yet differentiated, all doctors predicted she would become an A, so she had always been raised as one.
Fang Zhishui slightly raised her eyelids and replied coolly:
“Not buying.”
The driver turned the steering wheel, entered “pet store” into the navigation, and selected the nearest one.
Fang Zhishui walked in, stayed for a while, and came out holding two bags.
The driver looked closely and saw that the bags were one large and one small, both printed with a distinct rabbit head design: one bag contained dried hay, and the other contained pellet form rabbit food.
The Fang family’s luxurious villa was cold and spotless, with servants standing respectfully on the side awaiting the Second Young Master’s return.
A servant who was relatively close to Fang Zhishui rushed forward:
“The First Young Master is home.”
Fang Zhishui frowned, intending to take her purchases straight upstairs, but she was called to a stop by someone in the downstairs dining room.
“Fang Zhishui, what are those things you bought?”
That person was the Fang family’s First Young Master, Fang Zhishui’s older sister, Fang Zhen Shan, a female A.
Fang Zhen Shan was wearing a suit, her eyes sharp, and her face, which shared about sixty percent resemblance to Fang Zhishui’s, always wore a look of arrogance.
Fang Zhishui stopped at the foot of the stairs, clenched her fists, and watched Fang Zhen Shan approach her.
Fang Zhen Shan snatched the bag of rabbit pellets from her sister’s hand, glanced at it, and snorted:
“Hmph… toys that distract from your ambition.”
She suddenly became aggressive, forcefully tearing open the larger bag of hay with her fingers, spilling the hay all over the floor.
Amidst the rustling sound, a smile crept onto Fang Zhen Shan’s lips as she spoke to her younger sister:
“Why buy these things? Aren’t you only good at studying? Why the sudden thought of raising rabbits? The rabbits, are they in your room? Bring them out, or I’ll have someone search it.”
Fang Zhishui stared at the pile of food on the floor, her entire demeanor radiating coldness. She calmly stated:
“I am not raising rabbits, and there are none in my room.”
Fang Zhen Shan pointed at the scattered hay on the floor and ground it under her high heel:
“Then why buy this? Are you planning to eat it yourself? Go ahead, eat one mouthful of this, and I won’t search your room.”
Fang Zhen Shan picked up a handful of hay from the ground and held it out to Fang Zhishui, smiling in a bizarre and wicked manner.
Fang Zhishui stared into her sister’s eyes and could not see a shred of emotion in those beautiful eyes.
But this was the sister she had been used to since childhood, and this was the family she had grown up in.
She violently swung away the hay in her sister’s hand, turned around, and headed upstairs.
Fang Zhen Shan laughed behind her:
“Since you refuse to eat it, I’ll go search your room later! You know, if Father finds out you’re keeping a pet, the consequences will be much more severe than if I found out!”
Fang Zhen Shan also instructed the cook:
“Get ready. Tonight, we’re having… hand torn roast rabbit! Hehehehe…”
Fang Zhishui strode up the stairs, entered her room, and firmly closed the door, shutting out that perverse laughter.
Fang Zhishui tightly clenched her fists, forcing herself to calm down. She took a deep breath and looked at the computer on her desk.
The Fang family, outwardly glamorous, had actually become a quagmire for Fang Zhishui. Her only path forward was to become stronger, constantly stronger.
The day after the pairing activity began, the class teacher specially rearranged the seating.
Everyone had a single desk, but for convenience, Zhang Fan seated the paired partners at desks one in front of the other.
Thus, Fang Zhishui was seated in front of Ruan Mei, and both had good spots near the window and the front, showing the teacher’s careful consideration for them.
Ruan Mei felt the teacher’s effort, but to whom could she express her own agony?
Front and back! Would she stare a hole into the back of Fang Zhishui’s neck? What a terrible activity this was, truly disruptive to studies!
Fang Zhishui, however, took the pairing activity seriously. She frequently turned around and, with her beautiful phoenix eyes, would ask Ruan Mei if there were any problems she didn’t understand.
Ruan Mei replied:
“Thank you for your concern, no.”
Fang Zhishui seemed slightly disappointed. When turning back, she would inadvertently brush her hair behind her ear; the gesture was elegant, like a lazy cat.
When the sun shone, it cast a golden rim on Fang Zhishui’s hair and clothes as the sunlight streamed in through the window. Fang Zhishui would always rest her elbow on her head, tilting her head away from the sun, her posture relaxed and leisurely, resembling a sunbathing lazy cat even more.
Ruan Mei was listening to the lesson, but her eyes frequently drifted towards Fang Zhishui. She felt like she was admiring a beautiful vase or a piece of oil painting, often struck speechless by the sheer beauty.
This woman, after all, was the female lead she looked good everywhere, every movement was beautiful.
These past few days, every day after lunch and after school, Ruan Mei would go to the back hill to check on the little rabbit.
She had mentioned it to her grandmother, who picked up a broom and “bang bang” smacked the stove:
“You little thing, you can’t even take care of yourself, and you want to raise a rabbit? Your grades have finally improved a little, and now you’re messing around again, are you? Can’t you focus on your studies? If you dare bring that darn rabbit home, I dare to make you a spicy rabbit head, just try me!”
Ruan Mei:
“…”
She could only keep the little rabbit temporarily in the back hill. Fortunately, the weather was getting colder, and very few people went to the secluded parts of the back hill to study, so the little rabbit grew contentedly in its small territory.
Ruan Mei picked grass herself to feed the rabbit. She had read various breeding books thoroughly and even used her newly bought cheapest smartphone to search online for all sorts of rabbit raising precautions, memorizing them until they were ingrained. She felt like she had become a junior botanist.
Under her care, the little rabbit was indeed getting fatter and fatter; it was almost too big for the cardboard box it was in.
Ruan Mei squatted down next to the little rabbit and often had one sided conversations with it, saying all sorts of meaningless nonsense to relieve her study pressure.
“The teacher is really silly. People who want to study will study naturally. What’s with this pairing? If the study pace and habits of the two people don’t match, won’t it delay both of them?”
“That girl asked me again today if I had any problems I didn’t know how to solve. Doesn’t she have any idea? I don’t want to talk to her! I heard getting hit by a car hurts a lot, and the soul isn’t even accepted by the underworld.”
“Little rabbit, little rabbit, what major do you think I should study in college? Should I choose one that leads to good employment or one that I’m interested in? I’m actually thinking about studying botany right now…”
The little rabbit ate the grass absentmindedly, not seeming hungry at all. Ruan Mei thought she was raising the rabbit very well and couldn’t help but take a picture with her phone to show her grandmother when she got home.
Her grandmother just said after looking at it:
“A rabbit that only eats grass can’t possibly get this fat.”
Ruan Mei’s eyes widened:
“How is that possible? I’m the only one feeding this rabbit, and no one goes to the back hill anymore.”
Her grandmother let out a chuckle, giving Ruan Mei a look that implied she knew better:
“How do you know no one goes to the back hill? Are you the gatekeeper of the back hill? I’m telling you, your grandma used to raise animals for the co-op when she was little. Herbivores like this absolutely won’t get this fat just eating grass; they must have been getting extra food. Hmm, this rabbit looks quite plump. When it’s time to eat, catch it and I’ll cook it for us, okay?”
Ruan Mei:
“No.”
Ruan Mei even specifically bought a portion of spicy rabbit meat from a restaurant over the weekend to take home for her grandmother to eat, not taking a single bite herself, hoping that once the grandmother finished this portion, she would give up her designs on her rabbit.
At school, the other paired students were excited at first, but after a few days of novelty, most of them had given up, except for Fang Zhishui, who remained persistent:
“Are there any problems you don’t know how to solve? Was there anything in class today you didn’t understand?”
Although Ruan Mei answered “no” every time, she couldn’t hide much from the other girl since they sat one in front of the other. Often, while staring blankly at her practice book, Fang Zhishui’s pen would reach over.
“Look, you should solve this problem this way the idea is to first break it down into three triangles…”
Since Fang Zhishui was so proactive, Ruan Mei couldn’t refuse. The two leaned their heads close together, staring at the practice book.
Fang Zhi Shui drew diagrams on a scratch paper with her pen, and as Ruan Mei watched, she found herself getting distracted, turning her head to look at Fang Zhishui’s side profile with its fine, downy fuzz.
“The answer is this, do you understand?”
Ruan Mei looked dazed.
Fang Zhishui gently tapped her head with her mechanical pencil, a faint smile in her voice:
“Stop spacing out.”
Ruan Mei said “Oh,” touched the spot where she had been tapped, which felt tingly, not painful.
After Fang Zhishui turned back, Ruan Mei touched her head again, smiled slightly, and quickly composed her expression.
The pairing period lasted for two weeks, and the little rabbit had gained two inches in size. Then, one day, Fang Zhishui was absent.
Ruan Mei looked at the empty chair in front of her desk and the neatly organized books Fang Zhishui had left behind, feeling restless throughout the class.
After class, she asked the class monitor, Chu Wan Ji:
“Why didn’t Fang Zhishui come in today? Did she ask for leave?”
Chu Wanji seemed a little flustered when facing Ruan Mei, constantly adjusting her glasses. After checking the records, she said:
“There’s no record of leave, so she must be absent, or perhaps seriously ill.”
Ruan Mei thanked the monitor and returned to her seat, burying her head in her work, thinking that perhaps the wealthy family had taken her to attend a banquet. She didn’t understand the world of the rich.
However, Fang Zhishui’s absence extended for a full two days.
The afternoon of the second day after school, Zhang Fan specifically called Ruan Mei aside:
“Do you know where Fang Zhishui went? She didn’t ask for leave, and there’s no news at all. I texted her, but she didn’t reply, and I can’t reach her by phone. You’re her study partner, try to contact her and ask what’s going on?”
Ruan Mei froze:
“That sounds serious.”
Zhang Fan looked worried:
“I know! She’s always kept to herself in class. I see you two have gotten a bit closer recently, so try calling her when you get home and ask about the situation!”
Recently got a bit closer to me… Really?
Ruan Mei agreed. A small flame of joy briefly burned in her heart.
After finishing her part-time job, she returned home around nine o’clock. Standing under the streetlamp outside her house, she dialed Fang Zhishui’s number.
“Beep”
Ruan Mei expected no one to answer, but unexpectedly, the call was picked up after only one ring.
“…Hello?”
It was Fang Zhishui on the other end, her voice extremely hoarse, sending a shiver down Ruan Mei’s spine.
Ruan Mei didn’t know what to say, so she tentatively said:
“I… I’m Ruan Mei.”
Fang Zhishui’s voice was slow and full of magnetism:
“Mm, I know. I specifically made a note of it.”
Specifically… Ruan Mei’s cheeks and ears began to slowly turn red.