14
The change in the way I addressed them happened more quietly than I’d imagined, as if calling them Mom and Dad had always been the most natural thing in the world.
No one knew that it was the result of thousands of times practicing by myself. The turmoil in all three of our hearts had turned into a gentle stream by the time we sat down to eat.
When Mom heard what had happened at school, she was so angry she nearly snapped her chopsticks. Dad hurried to step in and soothe her.
“No pounding the table.”
Once Mom had calmed down, she said she’d transfer me to the school where she taught, no matter how difficult it was. I shook my head and refused.
I wasn’t the one who’d done anything wrong. If I ran away, everyone would only suspect me even more. Dad praised me for having a mind of my own, and Mom said nothing more.
They both tried to act calm during dinner, but after I went to my room to study, I could still hear them chuckling in the kitchen.
“Our daughter called Dad first and Mom second. I’m still one step ahead of you.”
“Showing off! If I’d been there, she would’ve called Mom first.”
“Oh, come on. So what if she likes me more?”
“Keep bragging and I’ll hit you.”
…
The matter was settled with an apology from Trương Chí Soái. Before leaving the office that day, Dad Trịnh said he would file a report with the Education Bureau.
A teacher who showed that kind of favoritism deserved to be disciplined. And the missing class funds?
They were found in a pile of Trương Chí Soái’s used toilet paper.
The whole class found out. Pictures of Trương Chí Soái sniveling and snot-nosed spread throughout the grade, and he was too embarrassed to keep being class president.
The position went to a quiet girl with thick glasses. On the day she took office, she secretly handed me a note.
I looked at her, and she hurriedly blushed and turned away.
I opened the note and read:
[I'll help you study if you teach me martial arts. Deal?]
From then on, I had my first close friend in middle school.
15
With a new class president, my schoolwork gave my parents less to worry about.
I got into the best high school in the city with a surprisingly high score. It had high standards and an astonishingly high college acceptance rate.
Any parent who could afford it wanted to get their child into that school.
So, on my first day, I ran into someone I knew from before—Trình Vân.
No, I should call her Trần Vân now.
I heard she’d missed the cutoff by a few dozen points, but the Trần family had paid a large sum to get her in.
Fate is a talented writer, spinning things around until we ended up in the same class. Trần Vân was astonished when she saw me.
She bit her lip, came over, and whispered:
“Why are you here?”
I’d picked up the Northeastern accent at home, and the words slipped out:
“Wait, is this your family’s school or something? Other people who pass the entrance exam can’t come here?”
Trần Vân froze, apparently unable to believe what I’d said. But when the teacher assigned seats according to exam scores, I sat in the front row while she sat in the back. All her doubts vanished.
Trần Vân steeled herself and started working on problems as soon as the first class ended.
Who knew what she was doing—maybe practicing her signature.
The comments appeared again:
[Vân Vân is working so hard. She’ll definitely beat Tiểu Ngũ on the college entrance exams one day.]
[Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. One day, Vân Vân’s boyfriend and career will both be better than hers.]
[Speaking of boyfriends, isn’t the male lead about to show up?]
[Sigh, Tiểu Ngũ’s about to fight Vân Vân over the male lead again. But whatever, she’s just there to spice up the main couple’s romance.]
In this world, only money earns people’s love. I hope you all understand. I flipped a book over my face and dozed off.
16
The male lead’s entrance was exactly as rumored—ridiculously cool. He dared to chew gum during class, kicked the door open, wore his uniform draped over his shoulder, and stood with his pelvis tilted like his bones were out of alignment.
He wore a cold expression. “Sorry I’m late. Am I interrupting, teach?”
As my dad would put it, this was a sapling that would grow crooked if you didn’t straighten it.
The comments went wild again:
[Ahhh, I love this delinquent-schoolboy type of male lead.]
[So cool, so handsome.]
I glanced over. I didn’t see what was so handsome about him. Looks-wise, he didn’t even measure up to my dad.
His disrespect toward the teacher irritated me to no end. The teacher didn’t bother with him, and he swaggered straight to the seat beside Trần Vân at the back of the classroom.
The male lead, Tề Thừa Tiêu, was a rich kid whose family was even wealthier than the Trần family. His entrance exam score was so low that he’d had to donate an entire science building just to get admitted.
They’d both gotten in through connections. No wonder they made such a perfect match.
17
I didn’t have time to get caught up in this painful story of young love. To get early admission to my dream university, I had to start preparing for the exams in tenth grade.
While Trần Vân and Tề Thừa Tiêu hated each other, I studied. When they became the kind of pair who were always running into each other, I studied.
When their feelings warmed and they started testing the waters, I kept studying. When they fought and got mad at each other, I kept studying.
Tề Thừa Tiêu got angry with Trần Vân and declared he’d pursue every pretty girl in the grade… At that point, I couldn’t concentrate on studying anymore.
Because that night, I learned from the comments that I’d become one of his targets too.
The next morning, I found a frog-shaped folded note on my desk. I picked it up and shrieked:
“Good grief, who’s cruel enough to put an ugly toad on my desk?”
Tề Thừa Tiêu strode in through the front door, his face black as a scorched pillar, and slapped his hand down on the desk:
“What toad? That’s a love letter from me. Open it and read it properly.”
It was a crucial time in eleventh grade. Winning an award could open the door to college.
A love letter?
What was that?
Was it as important as an early-admission letter?
I grabbed the compass beside me and jabbed it hard toward his hand:
“Didn’t your parents teach you that if you pound on a desk, you’re liable to get hit?”
Tề Thừa Tiêu jumped and pulled his hand back. I shot him a look, picked up the “love letter,” and went to report him to the teachers:
“Excuse me, teacher. Someone’s keeping me from studying.”
18
The Tề family had a lot of influence, so the teachers didn’t dare punish him too severely. They only gave him a few words of criticism.
The more Tề Thừa Tiêu was rejected, the more persistent he became. One day it was a love letter; the next, breakfast.
The day after that, he barged into the school radio station and made a spectacle of me in front of the whole school.
His actions grew more and more outrageous, interfering with my life.
Seeing Tề Thừa Tiêu pursue me so relentlessly, the commenters couldn’t sit still:
[She knows the whole “the more you’re rejected, the more you want it” trick. She realized chasing him wasn’t working, so now she’s pretending not to care to get his attention.]
[My Vân Vân has been green with jealousy these past few days.]
[Tề Thừa Tiêu, you’re going to regret this before long. Stop messing around!]
I’d lived with the comments for years and treated them like passing wind, but Trần Vân couldn’t take it and came to find me herself.
She stammered:
“Do you and Thừa Tiêu really like each other?”
I snapped, “Who wants that plaything? Don’t make things up.”
My Northeastern accent made Trần Vân think I was yelling at her, so she grew even more timid.
“Back at the orphanage, I took away your chance to be adopted. You must hate me and want revenge.”
“If it weren’t for me, you’d be the Trần family’s young miss now. This time, I’ll let you have him.”
Trần Vân spoke with such tragic solemnity that I thought she was about to jump off a building, so I backed away a few steps:
“Don’t put words in my mouth. I never said you owed me anything. I’m doing just fine.”
No matter how many times I had to choose, I’d still cling to Mom. It was the best decision I’d ever made.
Trần Vân didn’t seem to think so.
“Do you really not resent me?”
“Then why are you so close with Thừa Tiêu?”
I sighed helplessly. “Girl, wake up. Am I the one getting close to him, or is he clinging to me?”
“There are plenty of men like him around. Why treat him like he’s some treasure?”
“If he really cared about you, why would he hurt you just to make you jealous?”
Trần Vân wasn’t convinced.
“You don’t understand. Thừa Tiêu is a good person.”
“He’s just young and doesn’t know how to love someone properly yet.”
19
As it turned out, Trần Vân’s judgment was truly terrible.
Two days later, Tề Thừa Tiêu rounded up some people to corner me. Four or five guys surrounded me in an alley.
Tề Thừa Tiêu sneered.
“Trịnh Hảo, I’ve been chasing you for days, and you don’t know what’s good for you.”
“Think you’re some precious little princess?”
I quietly glanced at the camera at the corner of the alley. It could capture everything that happened.
I raised my voice.
“Tề Thừa Tiêu, what do you want?”
“What do I want?” He grinned at his lackeys. “Isn’t it obvious?”
I took a deep breath and held back the fist I wanted to plant in his face. Now wasn’t the time.
“I heard you’re planning to take the entrance exam. You want to get in through a special recommendation?”
“You don’t need to. Stick with me, and I’ll take care of it.”
He put a hand on my shoulder.
“But if you keep being stubborn, don’t blame me for ruining you.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Getting in through a special recommendation depends on your exam scores. Can you really pull strings?”
To show off in front of his lackeys, he nodded.
“Of course. Don’t you know who my parents are?”
What an idiot. He was so easy to fool.
I smiled coldly.
“Poor Tề Thừa Tiêu. Your family has all that clout, but no one wants to be around you.”
“Maybe it’s because you look like… that toad you gave me.”
20
The air grew tense. Tề Thừa Tiêu glared at me, his hand tightening around my shoulder, but my body was as hard as steel; he couldn’t squeeze me.
Furious, he raised a hand to slap me.
“You dare talk to me like that?”
I took the slap. My face swelled up badly. Once a man starts hitting someone, it’s hard to make him stop.
Even with people trying to stop him, he raised his hand again. I smiled coldly and grabbed his wrist.
“I’m nobody. I’ve just learned a little martial arts.”
It’s self-defense. How is that assault?
I twisted his wrist hard. Tề Thừa Tiêu let out a shriek, and dust filled the alley.
In less than ten minutes, all five of them were sprawled on the ground.
Tề Thừa Tiêu had it worst. His face was swollen like a pig’s. I might have gone a little too far.
I scratched my head and called the police.
“Hello, four or five people cornered me, but I’ve subdued them all. Please come over.”
The police arrived quickly. My dad was leading them. He frantically checked me over, and when he saw the slap mark on my face, his eyes blazed with fury.
“Who hit you?”
I pointed to Tề Thừa Tiêu, who was groaning.
“Him.”
“I also want to report his family for interfering with the exams.”