"Tomorrow, have Huo Yuxi take you around the school. Your class schedules basically overlap. I'll let her know," Huo Zhenyan added, "Be prepared. Don't make her wait."
"Understood," Ji Jie assured him, quite savvy. "I'll get up early to go find her."
"Anything else?"
"No."
Huo Zhenyan nodded slightly. "Go ahead."
"Okay." Ji Jie stood up, smiled at him, pocketed the fifty thousand yuan she'd just received, and left the study happily.
She still had no idea which floor Huo Yuxi lived on. But that was a minor matter—she planned to ask Auntie Ping.
Questions for the big boss had to be concise and careful. Otherwise, too many questions would make her seem fussy and foolish.
The second floor had the master bedroom and guest rooms; the third floor was Huo Zhenyan's territory. She guessed Huo Yuxi either lived on the first floor or the top floor. Surely she couldn't be living in the basement.
It turned out Auntie Ping said Huo Yuxi lived in the building next door.
"It was built the year Little Feng and his mother moved in. Yuxi threw a tantrum, said she didn't like having strangers in the house, and wanted to live on her own."
Auntie Ping said with a smile, "How could we let a girl live outside by herself? Anyway, the land was just sitting empty, so the eldest said if she liked living alone, we'd just build her another one."
No wonder there was a three-story standalone villa next to the main house. When Ji Jie first arrived, she hadn't known what it was for—turns out it was the female lead's exclusive residence.
"Actually, the two kids played together quite well at first. They were young, after all—grown-up matters had nothing to do with children. But after they started high school, you know, adolescence—kids' minds are always more sensitive and changeable. Recently they've stopped talking much again."
Auntie Ping looked at her and praised, "You seem like a steady girl, not much like your mother's personality."
Ji Jie nodded calmly. "I'm probably just precocious."
The third floor had two large suites—one was where Huo Yuxi lived as a child, the other was Huo Zhenyan's.
Their parents were both rather unreliable, so Huo Yuxi could be said to have been raised by her brother from a young age. Auntie Ping, getting into the storytelling mood, even flipped through her phone album to show old photos.
In the photo, Huo Zhenyan was still wearing his middle school uniform. Young as he was, he was already strikingly handsome—cool and stoic yet endearing. He was carefully holding a baby.
"This is Yuxi just after she was born." Auntie Ping sighed softly. "Her mother had an amniotic fluid embolism at the time and was gone very quickly, leaving her so tiny…"
"The brother and sister must be very close?" Ji Jie said.
"They were! During the years the eldest was studying abroad, she'd call looking for her brother every other day."
Auntie Ping covered her mouth and laughed. "Later on too—but as she grew up, she stopped wanting to bother with him. Complained he was too controlling, too strict."
"By the way, you're about the same age as those two younger ones. What month were you born?"
Ji Jie gave the number on her current ID. Auntie Ping said, "Then you're the youngest."
Ji Jie obediently accepted the label.
She'd have liked to be the eldest, though.
At dinner, the table originally had just her and Huo Zhenyan. They'd barely sat down for a few minutes when He Lingfeng also came down. His uniform had been swapped for a short-sleeved T-shirt, playing the obedient son. "Brother Yan."
Huo Zhenyan gave a grunt of acknowledgment.
He Lingfeng was only thinking about eating and hadn't originally noticed her. It was only when he pulled out his chair that he saw her sitting across from him, and by second nature, he let out a cold sneer.
Ji Jie tilted her chin toward him, figuring she should at least offer a greeting to be polite. He took it as a provocation, rolled his eyes, pushed his chair back, and walked off again.
"…"
Not eating then?
What a temper. Ji Jie watched him leave the dining hall in surprise, then glanced at the man across from her.
Huo Zhenyan was eating his own meal, not even lifting his eyelids, showing no intention of mediating for either side.
To him, these were probably just childish squabbles between kids.
There was still plenty to deal with in the evening. Ji Jie didn't take it too seriously either. She went back to her room, hurried through her washing up, and took Duan Feihong's call.
She'd brought her daughter into the new home just yesterday, and today she was already off on her honeymoon—a true master of multitasking. In the evening, she still had to squeeze in time to ask about her daughter's new school. Ji Jie answered with trivial details.
Noticing her distraction, Duan Feihong wasn't annoyed either. She just patiently urged, "Make more friends and fewer enemies. Sweetheart, if anything comes up, you tell your big brother—he'll arrange everything for you. Be good."
Ji Jie agreed readily, and she meant it.
She had always been obedient.
Her distraction was because her classes today hadn't gone well—she was clearly falling behind.
She'd graduated from a top-10 domestic university, so her learning ability wasn't lacking. But it had been too long since graduation. Back then, she'd skipped grad school to start earning money and become independent sooner. Now her English reading speed couldn't even keep up with these high schoolers.
The sophomore schedule was already packed. She'd chosen eight courses this semester, most of them taught in English, and her outdated undergraduate foundation was nowhere near enough.
As she was frantically familiarizing herself with the coursework, her phone buzzed again. She glanced at it—a message from the class group.
Class monitor Chu Yao had added her as a friend.
Ji Jie remembered him—from the novel.
After accepting, Chu Yao told her quite a bit about school life.
Just as the novel described, he was gentle and patient with everyone, witty and charming too.
He didn't fight or compete for anything in his dealings with others, yet he was well-liked for it, and currently had a good reputation among his classmates.
Ji Jie chatted with him a bit more and learned that even rich kids had to attend tutoring.
Over eighty percent of Huading students signed up for independent study courses outside of school, and Huo Yuxi and Wei Chao were no exception.
Chu Yao sent her contact information for several well-known institutions, saying these were the ones everyone signed up for, and she could pick from them.
She replied, "Thanks, class monitor," and sent a bowing thank-you sticker.
Chu Yao sent a voice message. She tapped it to play—a mellow voice carrying youthful exuberance, laughing softly and warmly. "Don't be so formal. We're classmates now. If you ever need help with anything, you can always come to me."
Ji Jie listened to it twice, smiled a little, then set down her phone and went back to her homework.
The diary filled with plot notes lay at her side. She placed her palm on it, gently caressing the cover as she thought. The feeling was strange.
An entire world rested in her palm.
And she was truly, physically inside it.
Later that evening, Huo Yuxi also added her as a friend through the class group.
Unlike the class monitor's warm conversation, the two of them simply agreed on a time to walk to school together the next morning.
Ji Jie had originally planned to knock on her door, but a few words in, she sensed that Huo Yuxi didn't want to be disturbed. That little villa was her own private territory.
So she did as she was told. The next morning, the nanny van picked her up first, then drove to Huo Yuxi's front door. When the car door opened, she cleared her throat and spoke, "Jiejie."
She put on a sweet tone—quite sweet, actually.
Huo Yuxi got into the car. Hearing this, her movements paused slightly. She put on her earphones and said, "Just call me by my name."
She left one earphone out—the side next to Ji Jie. Because of what her brother had told her, even though she found it troublesome, she planned to endure it patiently.
But Ji Jie was quiet the whole way, not asking questions left and right like she'd imagined.
She carried a faint, cool fragrance—like skincare products mixed with natural body scent. It smelled nice, Ji Jie thought silently.
Female lead vibes.
Before lunch break, Huo Yuxi took her to see all the classrooms. She didn't talk much either, only asking the most essential questions. The last stop was the school radio station.
Huo Yuxi worked as a broadcaster at the school radio station.
Ji Jie had an impression of this place. She remembered that a notable supporting character in the novel was also at the radio station. She took the opportunity to look around but didn't spot any girl matching that description.
"You go eat. I'm on shift today." Huo Yuxi took a script from her backpack and placed it on the radio desk. "We don't have any classes together this afternoon. You're on your own."
"Okay." She said sincerely, "Thank you so much."
"…No need."
Ji Jie ate lunch alone and heard a gentle voice coming from the broadcast. It was her and another girl, discussing current events and art, switching between two languages, both with pleasant pronunciation.
She felt a little envious. While eating, she looked at messages Chu Yao had sent her on her phone—about school, about the tutoring center.
He Lingfeng also came to the cafeteria with friends. He saw her sitting alone in the corner, staring at her phone so intently that her chopsticks hovered in mid-air, not falling for a long time.
Remembering last night, he let out a cold snort internally. But driven by curiosity, he walked past behind her with calculated nonchalance, wanting to know what she was reading so seriously.
She was actually reading the school rules.
These days, people still seriously studied the school rules?
He Lingfeng suspected she was plotting something. He simply waved at his friends and plopped down beside her. "What are you looking at?"
Ji Jie was startled. Seeing it was him, she didn't put on any attitude and said calmly, "The school requires uniforms and unified hair color. But I see plenty of people with dyed hair."
"Unified hair color means only one color allowed per head. As for what color—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, take your pick."
Ji Jie looked at him. "Then why can you have highlighted bangs?"
He Lingfeng said, "Because following school rules is boring."
"…Okay." Respect for individual rebellion.
She ignored He Lingfeng and continued looking at what she wanted.
Some well-established institutions would come directly to negotiate partnerships with the school. Chu Yao had recommended Lin's to her—a tutoring center that half the students at this school attended. Their classmate Lin Shu's father was one of the partners.
Lin Shu was a character with only a few brief mentions in the novel. Ji Jie only knew he had excellent grades, second only to the perpetually first-ranked male lead, Wei Chao. The second and third places in total rankings were often swapped between him and Chu Yao.
He Lingfeng saw her thoughtful expression: "You want to go to Lin Shu's family's tutoring center?"
He didn't remember this person being fond of studying.
If her grades were excellent, she could take the gifted student track—no need for his Brother Yan to spend such a huge sum to get her in.
"I'm considering it," Ji Jie said. "Do you know which class Lin Shu is in? I want to ask him."
"Tsk. You're not even close with him. Do you think he'd give you a discount?" He Lingfeng said. "I take classes there. You might as well ask me instead of him."
"Like you could give me a discount?"
"…"
He Lingfeng looked at her suspiciously. "Something's off. Wei Chao isn't even there. Why are you going?"
She answered earnestly, "I want to study hard."
Couldn't have been more sincere.
Thursday was allowance day.
She'd assumed that since Huo Zhenyan had already given her money in the study that day, she'd have to wait until at least next week for more. But unexpectedly, he gave it to her again along with the other two children.
She took the opportunity to bring up wanting to enroll in a tutoring program.
From what she understood, Huading's base tuition was over three hundred thousand per semester, and Lin's institution's tutoring fees were at least half of that again.
Not a small sum. She certainly didn't want to pay that out of her own allowance.
No parent would refuse to support their child's education. Huo Zhenyan agreed readily, saying he'd have his assistant take her there over the weekend.
Going to the institution required a placement test first, then a corresponding course plan would be drawn up. The whole process would probably eat up most of the day.
Yet Ji Jie was full of anticipation, pacing around her room late at night, opening the window to let the breeze in.
It was all going too smoothly. She'd never lived a life like this. All she had to do was make a request, and resources would be delivered right to her.
Even someone like her, who didn't ride emotional highs and lows, felt that life held promise.
He Lingfeng snuck out at night to play with his car. When he got downstairs, he turned back and saw her sitting on the edge of the balcony, feet dangling in the air, looking like she might fall at any moment. His heart lurched.
Surely this person wasn't trying to extort his family.
"Hey." He couldn't help speaking up. "What are you doing up there?"
Ji Jie slowly turned to look at him, hair whipping in the night wind, her pale face expressionless. "I'm so happy."
"…"
He Lingfeng said, "You're genuinely insane."
He could never know how rare and precious it was to have pure, unburdened time to study again after years of working.
Only by being reborn could one study with such single-minded focus.
Who could resist going all out with their studies?
Ji Jie threw herself in completely, absorbing every lesson, almost forgetting how she'd come to have this life.
Friday afternoon. Before school let out, she was watching the teacher's board work intently when subtitles refreshed at the top of her vision.
【To complete — Peek into the boys' locker room】
【Countdown — 00:45:00】
【Current — 15/100】
**
Locker room…
She remembered this part from the original text. Friday after school, Duan Baoni was still busy searching for Wei Chao, but entering the boys' locker room was truly a wrong turn.
The volleyball team had just finished practice. She hadn't expected so many people inside. She accidentally saw a bunch of naked bodies, screamed, and got her face memorized by many of the boys in there.
Soon after, the school began circulating jokes about her being blinded by lust, shamelessly peeping.
Ji Jie thought it was purely a cruel twist of fate, a bit unlucky.
But the task explicitly stated it wanted her to do it on purpose. That was a bit creepy.
After class ended, everyone said their goodbyes. She told the foreign teacher she'd see him next week, but didn't leave—she stayed in the classroom to think.
Given the current situation, this deaf-mute system was most likely trying to make her follow the novel's plot. Play the role of Duan Baoni, do the things she did.
But there were plenty more terrible things Duan Baoni had done later on, all far more serious than this, and some of them crossed lines that were truly bottom-line for her. She genuinely didn't want to do all of them.
Completing tasks would earn bonus points—what would happen if she didn't complete them?
The driver called to ask. Ji Jie picked up, glancing at the ever-shrinking countdown, "Mm, I'll be right there."
Blindly obeying the tasks wouldn't let her grasp the rules.
She had room to make mistakes. She could use this opportunity to test the consequences of refusing to complete a task at a relatively low risk.
Maybe it would just mean no points.
She tried to stay optimistic, but her mood was still a bit anxious.
On the way home, she paid no attention to the scenery outside the window, keeping her eyes fixed on the countdown until it hit zero.
The subtitles refreshed.
[INCOMPLETE]
[CURRENT — 10/100]
So it was a deduction.
Ji Jie slowly let out a breath. A little bad, but within acceptable limits.
She relaxed, sinking back into the car seat to rest her eyes. She was almost home—perhaps from sitting in the car too long, she felt stifled and hot, and had to undo the tie and buttons of her school uniform shirt.
When the car stopped, her limbs felt as weak as soggy soda crackers. But even then, she hadn't connected this reaction to the "punishment." She only had one feeling.
Exhausted.
Too tired to think about anything, she just wanted to get back to her room, lie down on the bed, and sleep soundly.
Huo Zhenyan came out of the house and saw her getting out of the car. His expression suddenly shifted, and he strode forward, supporting her elbow. His deep voice carried a barely perceptible smoldering anger. "How did you end up like this?"
Her knees had gone weak too, and she barely managed not to collapse by holding onto him. Following his gaze downward, she saw blood splattered on the collar of her shirt. She raised her hand and touched her face, finding it slick and wet.
The rusty, metallic stench exploded in her nose and throat. She couldn't speak, her consciousness pierced by a sharp ringing in her ears.
The last thing she saw was Huo Zhenyan's mouth moving, as if calling her name.