"You're angry."
What was she mumbling about? Huo Zhenyan let out an exasperated laugh, grabbed the school uniform jacket, and tossed it onto her head. "Go to sleep already."
"Oh, oh." She walked toward her room unsteadily, the jacket draped over her head. She looked quite happy.
There's no adolescent who doesn't love to have fun. Huo Zhenyan returned to the couch, picked up his book, and looked outside through the side casement window. The small villa was pitch-black and silent.
Huo Yuxi still hadn't come home.
It wasn't until the next morning when she woke up and was about to leave for school that Ji Jie realized the name tag on her jacket was gone.
She didn't know if she'd lost it at home or outside. She asked Auntie Ping first—it wasn't at home—so she'd have to ask Cheng Yunqiao once she got to school.
She grabbed her spare name tag and went downstairs for breakfast.
Though she didn't eat much, she didn't cut corners. After all, psychologically she'd already reached the age where she actively cared about wellness.
Only she and Huo Zhenyan ate breakfast in the whole house. She called out a good morning, got a response as usual, and sat down to eat her congee with peace of mind.
Last night she'd come home in the middle of the night and, on a whim, teased her older brother. But he hadn't reacted much—seemed like he didn't take it to heart.
"Are you going to the tutoring center after school today?" was all Huo Zhenyan said.
"Yes." She dutifully checked in. "I'll come home for dinner after class."
Different courses, different extracurricular classes, and social circles that didn't overlap at all. Three adolescents in the house, three separate trajectories.
Huo Zhenyan had never asked why they didn't go to school together. It seemed this was how it had always been—everyone doing their own thing.
Because of that, Ji Jie didn't need to wait for anyone. She finished eating and went to school on her own.
Cheng Yunqiao had said something that was quite right: keep up appearances and just get by. Whether it was the original Duan Baoni or the current her, neither could ever truly fit into this family that had been reconstituted over and over again.
Survival was her only bottom line. Everything else—friendships that were just playing a part, ethereal romances, or family bonds that simply didn't exist if you weren't born with them—
It was impossible not to care at all. Anyone would have emotions. But she only cared faintly—the kind of caring where you glance over as you pass by.
The life she truly considered her own was after the plot ended. So as long as she maintained the status quo, and everyone went their separate ways smoothly at graduation, she'd be perfectly satisfied.
"The name tag? I haven't seen it." At school, Cheng Yunqiao dragged her to find Chu Yao, but they didn't get any useful leads. "I'll ask Little Pig Boss for you."
"Actually, there's no need to go through all that trouble…" Ji Jie felt a bit embarrassed. She'd only thought maybe she'd dropped it in Cheng Yunqiao's car when she drove her home. "If we can't find it, it's fine. I have a spare."
"What trouble? You're saying this to me?" Cheng Yunqiao clung to one of her arms. The two walked pressed together, appearing very close.
"Hey, I just realized—we have swimming class together this afternoon? Heh. Your figure is way too good. I'm so jealous."
Though she knew Cheng Yunqiao was no saint, Ji Jie didn't avoid interacting with her.
Having one more person to talk to at school at least made her seem, on the surface, less eccentric. To a certain extent, this really could save her some trouble.
Though she was a detached person, she wasn't a loner. Whether her friends were genuine or not was beside the point—simple socializing was completely fine.
But when Cheng Yunqiao invited her out again on Friday, she declined.
"Why do you always go to the tutoring center? You can just sign in and slip away—no one will notice. Just say hi to the teacher, and worst case, gift them a bag as hush money."
Cheng Yunqiao tried to persuade her, but seeing how insistent she was, she had to back off. "Alright then, how about you come watch a match with me after school today? The school volleyball team has a friendly match against Hande."
Ji Jie thought it over before agreeing. "Sure."
There wasn't much of a major plotline in the volleyball club, but if she could farm some daily interactions and rack up a few points, that was fine. Small tasks didn't have to be too embarrassing.
She began to consciously use the rules. If avoiding the plot was feasible, maybe she could also create opportunities to actively earn points.
What Ji Jie hadn't expected was how captivating a match could be. The gymnasium after school was packed to the brim, standing room only, with dedicated cheerleaders in the stands holding up colorful banners.
Cheng Yunqiao had asked a friend to save two front-row seats in advance, so they weren't squeezed out.
Volleyball is a sport that demands intense focus and coordinated team strategy. Men's volleyball places even more emphasis on explosive physical power, a spectacle that could be called the aesthetic of violence.
Ji Jie was swept up in the tense atmosphere of the match, eyes wide as she watched the ball hurtle back and forth across the court. It felt like the kind of force that could crush a person.
Wei Chao played setter on the team—the brain of the operation—with He Lingfeng as his middle blocker. Both had exceptional physiques, sharp reflexes, and seamless coordination, creating overwhelming pressure on both offense and defense at the front line.
"Hey, Little Pig is here too." Cheng Yunqiao pointed at a boy running on the other side of the court. "He's a setter now too. Back in middle school, he was at the same school as Wei Chao. He was Wei Chao's middle blocker back then—they worked together really well."
Having your best partner become someone else's—no wonder Zhu Yixun and He Lingfeng had a grudge.
Ji Jie had to admire it. Truly the center of the universe—not only was there fierce competition among the girls, but even the boys' conflicts revolved around Wei Chao as the catalyst.
The boy was radiant, leaping under the gaze of the crowd, delivering a high-altitude long-distance spike that ignited a roar of cheers from the entire arena.
Point scored.
Ji Jie's heart surged, and she found herself clapping along, letting out a soft sigh.
This was what youth was all about.
"Amazing." Cheng Yunqiao's voice was drowned out by the cheers, barely audible.
The exhibition match didn't play the full game—it ended on a timer. But everyone still compared, knowing full well which team had the better overall strength and who the MVP was.
And that was exactly why, in the aftermath of the match, when Huo Yuxi appeared on the court and handed over that bottle of water, it triggered a second wave of cheers from the stands.
Even the players couldn't bring themselves to leave too quickly, slinging arms around each other's shoulders and egging things on, shoving Wei Chao forward.
Too far away, Ji Jie couldn't hear their conversation. But with her excellent memory, she could fill in the blanks from their movements at a distance.
"Aren't you going to drink?" Wei Chao didn't take the water right away.
Huo Yuxi turned slightly, revealing a half-empty bottle peeking out of her bag. "I already drank some."
Wei Chao looked at her, then suddenly smiled with a roguish charm. "Then I'll take this one."
He deftly and quickly snatched the bottle of mineral water from her bag, and under the girl's gaze as her pupils slightly widened, he tilted his head back and gulped down a few mouthfuls. Sweat beads on his forehead sparkled along with his grin.
His teammates had the most say in this matter. After all, Wei Chao had never smiled at them so brightly before.
"Thank you." He extended an invitation. "Can you come watch the official match?"
Huo Yuxi nodded.
Perhaps it was bashfulness, or maybe she was too used to being aloof to adapt to being surrounded by such a large crowd, but she didn't agree to join the post-match dinner. After handing out the water, she left.
Ji Jie rubbed her chin thoughtfully, her peripheral vision scanning the unchanged subtitles.
If she also went to hand out water or something, would she get five points?
"Nini," Cheng Yunqiao suddenly spoke up. "Let's go to the backstage lounge."
"Huh?"
"Let's go mooch a meal off them. After the match, Piggy will definitely treat everyone to a meal—he always complains the school budget isn't enough."
Ji Jie quickly recalled—this scene didn't seem to exist in the original story. "But I'm not familiar with them…"
"That's fine, just follow me. I know more than half the people in there." Cheng Yunqiao's voice had already taken on a pleading tone. "Both teams' coaches and managers are all men. How could I go in there alone as the only girl? Let's go together."
Ji Jie agreed after all. "Alright, I'll go with you."
"You're the best!"
Cheng Yunqiao immediately stood up, tidied her hair, and smiled sweetly. "Don't worry. There'll be a lot of people at the dinner—at least twenty or so. If you don't want to run into Wei Chao, you can sit far away from him."
How interesting, Ji Jie thought.
In the original story, she had been pushed in front of the male lead by Cheng Yunqiao, making a fool of herself in every way. Now she was being pushed away instead, with the hope that she wouldn't be seen again.
The same inner intention could manifest in two completely opposite forms.
She followed Cheng Yunqiao into the backstage. With the youthful high school boys from both schools gathered here, the temperature in the entire lounge area felt several degrees higher than outside—noisy, chaotic, and brimming with liveliness.
A whistling sound cut through the air. Ji Jie had no time to dodge, instinctively freezing in place.
She only reacted when she saw He Lingfeng's malicious grin. The volleyball that had been fiercely contested on the court just moments ago flew right over her head.
"That's dangerous!" Cheng Yunqiao noticed and spoke up for her friend first.
"What's the harm in a little fun? Who told you to come back here anyway? Do you need to watch a bunch of guys take a shower too?" He Lingfeng played off his equally reckless teammate, passing the ball over her head as he laughed wildly.
Ji Jie stood still, watching him quietly without saying a word.
He Lingfeng felt deeply unsettled by that gaze. He tossed the ball a few times, found it boring, and turned to head to the showers, cursing under his breath. "Can't chase them off no matter what. Thick-skinned, these two."
"You okay, Nini?" Cheng Yunqiao only dared to approach now, looking even more anxious than Ji Jie herself. "How could he be like that! What a jerk!"
"I'm fine." Ji Jie shook her head, putting on a brave front. "Go talk to your friends first. I'll wait for you right here." She didn't specify who that friend was.
"Okay…" Cheng Yunqiao seemed somewhat startled and uneasy, as if her thoughts risked being seen through. But the opportunity was too rare to pass up. "I'll come find you in a bit and take you to dinner."
Ji Jie calmly said yes, but her body was honest. The instinctive fear of nearly getting hit in the head—that second-nature reaction—hadn't faded yet. The goosebumps on her arms still hadn't gone down.
That brat was sick. He needed to be cured.
She looked at her target from a distance, steadied herself, and turned around. A small, cool plastic card pressed against her pale cheek, carrying a faint trace of moisture, brushing lightly against her skin.
Ji Jie turned her head to look—it was her lost name tag.
"Boss Piggy." So it really was in his hands.
Zhu Yixun had already finished his shower, wearing a dry black sleeveless vest, the ends of his hair lazily curling at the nape of his neck. His eyes were no longer melancholic—they were somewhat gloomy.
Hearing her greeting, Zhu Yixun smiled, bent down to pin the name tag onto the side of Ji Jie's sleeve, and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "You're angry."
"Want me to take care of him for you?"