The topic left over from breakfast remained stuck in Nan Zhi’s mind.
Even when the driver pulled the car up to the school gates, Nan Zhi still couldn’t pull herself out of that lingering emotional vortex.
Just what kind of matter could possibly make Fu Ci fly into such a towering rage?
And then there was Fu Minglin’s gaze.
Nan Zhi always felt that Fu Minglin’s emotions weren’t quite right, yet she didn’t dare to make any wild conjectures.
“Eldest Miss,” the driver’s voice broke through her thoughts, “you may get out now.”
Coming back to her senses, Nan Zhi looked out the window. The car had already stopped right below the teaching building. After politely thanking him, she opened the door and stepped out.
The weather at that moment was just right.
The newly risen sun wasn’t as scorching as it would be at noon, nor did it carry the thin, chilly breeze of the evening’s residual warmth.
A just-right, comforting warmth spilled over the lawn outside the teaching building. Passing university students, bustling by, all wore expressions of deep, loathsome resentment toward their 8:00 AM classes—a very authentic slice of the mortal world.
“Hoo—”
Confirming that she had completely shaken off the dreamscape, Nan Zhi relaxed a bit and began to greedily breathe in the fresh air.
The school was one of the few places she genuinely liked.
Back when she was poor, the school was the only place where she couldn’t hear the debt collectors shouting.
Nan Zhi loved studying more than anyone else, knowing full well that her opportunities to learn did not come easily.
Thus, she was frequently the first to arrive at school and the last to leave.
Now that she had grown wealthy, she still loved this atmosphere—an environment where the air was mixed with all sorts of scents, yet brimming with vitality and youthful vigor.
Nan Zhi called this scent “the breath of the living.”
No matter how gloomy or repressed her emotions might be, as long as she came into contact with sunlight and living people, everything would get better.
Having finished a mental set of stretches, Nan Zhi pulled her earphones out of her pocket.
That song on endless repeat, Black Sky, began to play softly.
Having skipped grades all the way up, Nan Zhi was already a senior this semester. Her final tasks had wrapped up entirely after she submitted her thesis report and secured her graduate school recommendation quota.
Right now, her class schedule was cleaner than her own face, but Nan Zhi was still accustomed to waking up early, planning to head straight to the library.
The new season of the National Uniform Legal Profession Qualification Examination was coming up on the twelfth and thirteenth of next month. Although she had already thoroughly reviewed the relevant material, no one dared to claim 100% success before actually sitting for the exam.
Nan Zhi was no exception.
Right in the three-second gap between one song ending and the next repeating, her ears finally caught a brief snippet of the outside world.
“You reckless little brat!”
It was a very imposing and intimidating roar.
Right now, the campus was at its liveliest, with campus broadcasts mixing with human voices and car horns to create a chaotic din.
A nameless sense of familiarity washed over her.
Yet Nan Zhi only paused for a few seconds; without looking back or stopping, she continued walking forward.
Jiangcheng University, where she studied, was extremely diverse.
Because the campus was built on a mountain, it wasn’t just lined with endless cherry blossoms; it was also occasionally paid visits by stray wildlife.
Remembering the campus wall posts complaining about packs of wild boars, Nan Zhi naturally chose to ignore that roar.
However, reality was not as ideal as Nan Zhi hoped.
“Hey—!”
A sharp, whistling palm wind cleaved downward. Before the shock arrived, a piercing pain hit her first.
Nan Zhi’s pupils dilated in sudden horror. That slap had easily been delivered with full force, but the rich scent of roses that instantly flooded her nostrils cut right through her confusion.
Her earphones were snatched away, and the barrier isolating her from the outside world finally shattered.
“You bastard!”
A woman’s voice, carrying a resentful, spoiled petulance, smashed through the air. Not only did it intercept Nan Zhi, but it also attracted passing pedestrians to stop and stare repeatedly.
On a grueling early-morning commute, a romantic entanglement like this was simply an Easter egg blooming in a boring life.
However, Nan Zhi—sitting right in the center of the Easter egg—wasn’t feeling all that joyful.
“Ancestor,” Nan Zhi didn’t have time to worry about the sharp pain in her shoulder; she grimaced in agony, almost revealing her true form, “that palm of yours is going to send me straight to the afterlife.”
Looking at the pale, hurting face right before her, the person who had struck her simply grinned, staring down at her own equally red and tingling palm with a smug look. “That’s right, your grandmother here specifically enrolled in a combat class.”
Puffed up with pride, she placed her hands on her hips. “That slap only used one percent of my true power.”
Nan Zhi took several huge gasps of air before she could laboriously recover her composure. “Heh, is that so, Ms. Shen Xitang? You’d better hope your hand doesn’t hurt.”
Challenged like that, Shen Xitang’s expression didn’t change at all.
She merely silently tucked the hand she had just used to greet Nan Zhi behind her back.
“Reckless little brat, it’s all because you were ignoring me,” Shen Xitang was hurting too, but she could endure it. “Wearing earphones, acting all deep and profound—you become an ‘Eldest Miss’ and suddenly you don’t recognize your own mother anymore!”
Listening to this familiar, noisy clamor, Nan Zhi sighed wearily. “How could I dare, Ancestor.”
“Hmph, you’d better not.” Shen Xitang tossed her handbag over and briskly turned around. “I’m hungry, let’s go to the cafeteria.”
Looking at the back before her, Nan Zhi couldn’t help but chuckle.
Although Shen Xitang’s tone sounded like she was issuing imperial decrees, Nan Zhi knew that the moment she turned around, she was definitely wincing in pain too.
After all, action and reaction are equal and opposite forces.
If she, someone accustomed to doing heavy physical labor all year round, was in pain, let alone someone as pampered and precious as Shen Xitang.
Catching her bag, Nan Zhi abandoned her original plan to return to the library and quickened her pace to follow.
Even though she had already eaten at home, Nan Zhi still felt a bit hungry once they reached the cafeteria.
She swiped her card, served two portions of breakfast, and then was surprised to find that her balance had reverted to a five-figure sum.
Meanwhile, the “culprit” was already sitting by the table, holding chopsticks in one hand and a spoon in the other, gazing eagerly.
“Why did you load money onto my card again?” Nan Zhi asked helplessly, handing over the portion with more meat. “I’m a senior this year.”
Taking her tray, Shen Xitang didn’t look up. “So what if you’re a senior? Does the school ban seniors from eating?”
Stunned into silence by the retort, Nan Zhi knew she couldn’t win an argument against her and decided not to waste her breath.
Ever since she met Shen Xitang, Nan Zhi had never won a verbal sparring match.
Speaking of their origins, it traced back ten years.
At that time, Nan Zhi’s adoptive mother was still alive, but their family conditions were no better than they were now.
Being a street cleaner was the most exhausting and grueling job, yet the reward they got in their hands was pitifully small.
When tuition fees were due, the sensible Nan Zhi ran out early in the morning to collect plastic bottles because she didn’t dare face her mother’s apologetic gaze.
Yet her mother, as if guessing her thoughts, caught up with her on the street.
“I don’t want to go to school,” nine-year-old Nan Zhi, still with unthinned baby fat on her face, clutched a woven snake-skin bag tightly. “I saw the receipts in the room! You went to sell your blood again!”
“Nonsense!”
Nan Ling frowned and interrupted her, her face darkening rarely. “That was a blood donation; they give a nutrition allowance.”
Just like Nan Zhi, Nan Ling made a living by selling her own blood.
The difference was that Nan Ling’s rare blood type couldn’t turn her fortunes around, let alone buy a luxury mansion; it only yielded a meager bit of hard-earned cash when it was drained away.
Nan Zhi understood everything. She stubbornly refused to let go, letting Nan Ling swing the broom and dustpan against her body.
It was precisely at that moment that Shen Xitang appeared.
She didn’t rescue Nan Zhi from the beating; instead, she waited until Nan Ling finished her discipline before placing the money she had brought down on the table.
“Big Sister, from now on…” Shen Xitang couldn’t bear to watch, her voice choking slightly, “this little girl’s tuition and living expenses will be sponsored by me.”
Sponsored.
Two very decent-sounding words.
The goodwill of one female easily rescued another young girl from the depths of poverty.
From then on, Nan Ling never went to sell blood again, and Nan Zhi never said she didn’t like studying.
As for Shen Xitang, she was like a homing pigeon released in the town square every Sunday at the exact same hour, flying into Nan Zhi’s home.
Sometimes she brought plenty of meat to share a meal; other times, new clothes and new notebooks.
Little Nan Zhi’s favorite pastime transformed from watching the pigeons to waiting for Shen Xitang to arrive.
It wasn’t until they grew up and became close that Nan Zhi heard Shen Xitang say, after a night of heavy drinking:
“Actually, when I saw your mother on the street back then, I was only planning to give a thousand yuan,” her eyes shining brightly, laced with the haze of alcohol, “but when I saw you, I couldn’t help it. You were just too damn pitiful—even though you were beaten black and blue, you still refused to yield or admit defeat. I knew right then, you’ll definitely accomplish great things in the future! You’re a fierce woman!”
That sentence used a lot of foul language.
Although a sober Shen Xitang wouldn’t let Nan Zhi say those words, nor would she admit she had ever uttered them, Nan Zhi always remembered.
Shen Xitang had said that when she first began sponsoring Nan Zhi, she had just graduated from college, handing out flyers and doing dog-awful jobs. It was seeing Nan Zhi that made Shen Xitang decide she would no longer bow her head and eat out of someone else’s bowl.
“Why shouldn’t we sit at the table?” Still drunk, Shen Xitang had been full of high spirits. “Old lady here is going to pull up a chair and eat!”
Those words were quietly chewed and swallowed by Nan Zhi along with the rice in her bowl.
“Hiccup—”
A somewhat abrupt hiccup interrupted Nan Zhi’s impassioned trip down memory lane.
She raised her head and looked at Shen Xitang, who had already swept through and devoured a large bowl of noodles.
Just like the image in her memory: eating large mouthfuls, drinking large gulps, and earning money in massive bundles.
“Your school noodles really are delicious,” Shen Xitang opened her bag to take out some mouthwash and began applying makeup. “I just love coming to see you.”
Red lips, black hair, big waves.
After spitting out the mouthwash, Shen Xitang transformed back into that bright, dazzling big boss in front of people.
Nan Zhi couldn’t help but smile. “Get real, you’re just craving these noodles.”
Even though she was smiling, Nan Zhi knew Shen Xitang had come simply because she couldn’t set her mind at ease regarding her.
Ever since she was taken back into the Fu family, Shen Xitang had always worried that she would be treated poorly.
She had even threatened to use her own company to bring down the Fu family.
Oh right, the company.
“Did your adult novelty shop run into any trouble recently?” Nan Zhi swallowed the noodles in her mouth and looked up. “I’m preparing for the bar exam next month, and I’m practically set. Once I get my license, I’ll come hang my credentials at your place.”
“Hey!”
With a snap, Shen Xitang closed her bag and frowned. “My place is called an adult lifestyle company, and it’s completely legal.”
“I didn’t say you were illegal, Big Boss Shen,” Nan Zhi chuckled again.
Hearing that latter title, Shen Xitang finally hummed twice, her mood improving.
“Good to know.”
Carefully looking the person in front of her up and down, Shen Xitang sighed. “The Fu family’s food must be good; you’ve grown taller. How is that Fu Miss treating you? She hasn’t been bullying you, has she…”
Bullying…
Her dream from the previous night untimely surfaced in her mind.
Nan Zhi nearly choked on a mouthful of hot dry noodles, coughing violently.
“Eat slowly,” Shen Xitang pulled a tissue from her bag and handed it over. “I’m not going to steal it from you. Look at you acting like a dog guarding its food.”
Once coughing starts, it’s never taken seriously at first.
Once it’s noticed, it turns into a perpetual motion machine that won’t stop.
Nan Zhi coughed until the world was spinning and tears streamed down her face before finally recovering.
Her mind was full of memories; what she had done to Fu Minglin against the bookshelf in her dream—to put it politely—was called bullying.
“It’s fine,” she wiped away her tears with a tissue and steadied her breathing. “I wasn’t bullied.”
On the contrary, Fu Minglin…
Thinking of the mark on her knee, what was she doing right now? Was she going to spend the whole day doing experiments again?
With an injury like that, how could she possibly stay on her feet?
Her mood sank involuntarily.
Seeing her face fall, Shen Xitang assumed she still hadn’t fully recovered from the coughing fit and hurriedly changed the subject. “You’re done eating, right? Want me to take you to check out my new store?”
“A new store?” Coughing made her voice a bit hoarse, but Nan Zhi asked in surprise, “You opened another branch?”
“You bet.”
Shen Xitang put on airs again. “It’s in Jiangcheng’s most expensive and luxurious district, 280 square meters. It’s all sister’s territory.”
“Awesome!” Nan Zhi brightened up. Taking out her phone while standing up, she said, “Let’s go then!”
A lengthened Lincoln limousine stopped in front of the International Trade Mall.
The doorman, highly perceptive, hurried over to open the car door and welcome them.
“I really didn’t expect you to think of booking this place, Minglin,” Gu Shixu remarked with some surprise as she turned around.
The other side of the car door opened.
Stepping down slowly, Fu Minglin staggered slightly.
Her knees, which had been forced to kneel for a long time last night, throbbed with pain. Every half-step felt like a trial by torture, and a rising wave of physical discomfort was forcefully suppressed by her willpower.
“I’m very sorry about last night,” Fu Minglin put on a polite smile. “Even though you said you didn’t take it to heart, I still feel somewhat guilty.”
She was referring to that glass of wine.
Gu Shixu quickly caught on and shook her head vehemently. “You’re being way too polite, Minglin. It was clearly my mouth acting up.”
The car was driven away by the valet, and Fu Minglin had already walked to her side.
“Didn’t you ask yesterday why muscle growth is so slow?” Fu Minglin answered somewhat irrelevantly. “I also work out regularly; perhaps I can offer you some humble insights.”
Hearing the topic of fitness, Gu Shixu’s eyes instantly lit up, and even her tone grew excited. “That’s wonderful! Oh, Minglin, you’re practically an angel.”
Seeing her smile, Fu Minglin also politely curved her lips.
Not the slightest ripple stirred in the depths of those obscure eyes.
Although her handling of the situation last night had been prompt enough, gossip had still managed to reach Fu Ci’s ears.
Thus, Fu Ci, having just stepped off a plane and arrived at the banquet, hadn’t stayed long; with a cold face, she had called Fu Minglin away from the banquet hall.
The familiar study.
The familiar two-hour kneeling punishment.
After numbly completing everything, Fu Minglin still hadn’t won a single smile in return.
“Clean up your own mess,” Fu Ci’s gaze was cold, devoid of emotion. “When you meet Ms. Gu again tomorrow, remember to wear your watch. I’ll be monitoring your heart rate fluctuation chart.”
The abruptly glowing sports watch pulled Fu Minglin back from her memories.
She lowered her gaze, looking at the newly popped-up message box.
Without any content preview enabled, the dial simply indicated that a new message had arrived.
Yet Fu Minglin was in no mood to deal with it right now.
Her social circle was restricted to a very narrow band. Apart from researchers, the only person who could send messages to this contact account was the person Fu Ci had introduced to her.
Which meant, if Gu Shixu failed…
Gu Shixu would simply be the next test subject she had to handle.
“You flatter me.”
Compared to that message, Fu Minglin was much more willing to deal with Gu Shixu. “On the contrary, Shixu, your fitness level is something I envy.”
Mentioning a topic she was interested in, Gu Shixu completely opened the floodgates.
She was a spoiled young person with zero guard against anyone who showed her goodwill.
Hence, she began recounting how she had once aspired to be a wrestler, how her mother’s single throw had shattered that dream, and how she had subsequently fallen madly in love with fitness.
Fu Minglin found the story somewhat boring.
Out of politeness, she still responded with proper decorum.
There were many shops inside the International Trade Mall, and the gym Gu Shixu frequented was on the top floor. At this peak hour, the elevators were packed to the brim, and since her exclusive VIP card hadn’t reached its activation time yet, they had no choice but to take the stairs.
Gu Shixu was in high spirits, though, her topics constantly expanding outward.
“Hey, when did a new store open over there? And it’s purple too—my lucky color!” Stopping at the sixth-floor transfer lobby as if discovering a new continent, Gu Shixu read aloud happily: “Understand You—Adult Products Specially Developed for Women…”
Her voice abruptly choked in her throat.
That pale purple shade before her instantly flooded Gu Shixu’s face with a deep, blushing red.
Fu Minglin glanced over and read the rest of the words that Gu Shixu had failed to finish out loud.
It was a toy store, catering exclusively to adults.
Her gaze fell back on Gu Shixu. The other girl didn’t seem to have experienced many winds and waves in life, which was why just those few short characters had caused her to short-circuit.
“Watch your step,” Fu Minglin spoke up, nonchalantly changing the subject. “Your shoes look a bit dangerous; will you be changing them before training later?”
“Of course!” Her attention successfully recaptured, Gu Shixu replied, “I’ll have my manager coach get you a set too—brand new, don’t mind it.”
“Alright.”
The conversation smoothly drifted back to fitness.
Gu Shixu’s attention was successfully diverted, but Fu Minglin suddenly turned her head back.
She cast one more contemplative look at that purple shop.
Ding—
The elevator stopped.
The new wave of peak pedestrian traffic had ended.
Nan Zhi finally squeezed out behind Shen Xitang.
“Big Boss Shen, how come you don’t have a private elevator!” Nan Zhi felt like she had been rattled apart by the squeeze, but her gaze was quickly drawn away. “Wow, as expected of Boss Shen, this scale is certainly grand!”
It occupied nearly half of the sixth floor.
A gentle, tranquil purple claimed the sight of every passerby.
“Of course,” Shen Xitang said proudly. “Look, these are the new products launched by my company.”
Nan Zhi, still clicking her tongue in wonder, had her gaze directed toward the giant poster displaying Shen Xitang’s new product launch.
——[Zhi]
An adult lifestyle product themed around gardenia flowers, with a slogan reading: [A gardenia flower falling on your pillow.]
“It’s very fitting,” Shen Xitang pressed her palms together, looking blissful. “Smug little brat, you’re turning twenty in the second half of the year. This is my coming-of-age gift to you.”
Having known each other for over a decade, Nan Zhi thought she understood Shen Xitang well enough.
Yet she was still utterly shocked by this surprise.
“Don’t talk about sex like it’s a taboo,” Shen Xitang said earnestly. “Desire is also a part of your body; it should be valued.”
Although her heart understood the good intentions behind it,
having just experienced that kind of dream last night, only for Shen Xitang to gift her an adult toy today,
made Nan Zhi feel as though the world was running on one massive butterfly effect.
Just as her brain went blank, Shen Xitang had already briskly summoned a store clerk.
With practiced efficiency, she unzipped Nan Zhi’s backpack and instructed, “The manuals and tutorials are all inside. These are from the first batch of products—remember to give me feedback after you use them.”
“I won’t—”
Nan Zhi struggled backward repeatedly. “Get away! Go use it yourself!”
Clearly she was an adult now, yet Shen Xitang, ten years her senior, easily subdued her.
With the sound of a final zipper closing, Shen Xitang clapped her hands together. “Go play, kid, but your physical strength really is a bit weak.”
Forced to accept a gift, she even received a sarcastic parting shot.
Nan Zhi felt a bit annoyed.
Pouting, she continuously kicked the air with the tip of her shoe in small, rapid motions.
“Let’s go,” Shen Xitang didn’t care about her protests; she reached out and wrapped an arm around her. “There’s a gym upstairs that sister frequently visits. I’ll get you a membership card so you can come work out every week and keep me company along the way.”
The generous big boss waved her hand and arranged Nan Zhi’s vacation schedule in one stroke.
“Do I even need to work out?” Nan Zhi laughed. “I couldn’t beat you only because I didn’t want to hurt you.”
Hearing the kid’s arrogant remark, Shen Xitang nodded repeatedly. “Right, right, our Eldest Miss Nan Zhi can carry sandbags up top and mix cement down below. But kid, the strength it takes to scrape by in life and the muscles built from training are two completely different things.”
The former was being beaten black and blue by life out of sheer necessity, whereas the latter was purely for self-pleasure.
Understanding the underlying meaning of her words, Nan Zhi stopped acting stubborn and obediently followed her upstairs.
The gym occupied the entire top floor.
Looking at the people inside the transparent glass house, Nan Zhi felt a bit dazed.
Back when she handed out flyers in commercial buildings, she had seen people training, but she had never stepped foot into such a place herself.
She had even subconsciously found it strange: Clearly, my dreams are all about avoiding heavy physical labor, so why on earth would people pay money to expend physical energy?
Yet looking at it again with a changed state of mind,
Nan Zhi’s lingering doubts were pressed down.
“Shen.”
Giving her family name concisely, Shen Xitang, having finished processing the registration, handed a set of clothes to Nan Zhi.
“Go on, there are fitting rooms over there where you can store your bags.”
Shooing Nan Zhi away, Shen Xitang filled out her check-in schedule, then suddenly said in surprise, “My workout buddy is here too?”
The clerk nodded respectfully. “Yes, it seems she brought a newcomer as well.”
“Interesting,” handing the tablet back, Shen Xitang urged, “Go on. Or do you want me to undress you?”
Hearing this threat, Nan Zhi, who had still been spacing out, quickly clutched her clothes and ran off.
The surroundings grew quiet.
She couldn’t help but take out her phone again.
The message she had sent had sunk into the sea without a trace. Ever since they parted ways at home this morning, she hadn’t received a single message from Fu Minglin.
Was she still busy today?
Was it another entire day of experiments?
Nan Zhi felt rather worried. How could that wound possibly handle all that?
Distractedly changing into her training clothes, Nan Zhi was led by an attendant waiting at the door to find Shen Xitang.
She had originally assumed everyone trained out in front of the glass windows.
It wasn’t until they turned a corner into the inner area that Nan Zhi realized high-end VIPs were truly worlds apart from ordinary people.
Not only were there individual shower rooms, but there were also private training spaces.
“Ms. Nan,” the receptionist politely raised a hand to swipe a card and said softly, “this is Ms. Shen’s private suite. Your trial class today will be taken together with her.”
After politely expressing her gratitude, Nan Zhi drew in a gentle breath.
She raised her hand and pushed the door open.
The people inside, who had been conversing, had their attention drawn and turned around simultaneously.
At that exact instant,
Nan Zhi half-suspected she was hallucinating.
Why were there so many familiar faces here?
Especially the one standing against the backlight, it was precisely Fu Minglin.