Dazzling

Xing Wu didn't head home after leaving school. It was evening when Qing Ye heard the sound of motorcycles—more than one. She was sitting by the second-floor window doing practice problems when she glanced downstairs and spotted Quan Ya, whom she'd seen at Shunyi, riding a motorcycle with another man standing beside him. This man looked noticeably older, like someone from the working world.

With them was a woman with smoky ash-gray hair in loose waves, wearing sexy short shorts and a tight tank top, her figure striking. The group didn't enter the barbershop but stood outside smoking, waiting for Xing Wu. Qing Ye noticed the bold woman also holding a cigarette, looking pretty cool.

Xing Wu didn't come upstairs; it was unclear why he'd returned. Soon, he came out carrying a small box, and they exchanged a few words at the entrance. Xing Wu placed the box on the motorcycle's footrest, and the woman walked over to say something to him. Xing Wu looked up and smiled at her. Though it was just an ordinary interaction, Qing Ye had never seen Xing Wu show such an unguarded smile to anyone before.

Quickly, they tossed their cigarette butts, and the two motorcycles disappeared from the entrance of Dazzle Island.

The room's air conditioning breeze still gently brushed over Qing Ye, yet she felt a restless heat inside. She set down her pen, closed her eyes, and pinched the bridge of her nose, muttering disdainfully under her breath, "Jerk." Then she calmed herself and picked up the pen again.

Xing Wu still didn't return that night. The next day, Qing Ye didn't go downstairs, spending the whole day in her room doing practice problems. Li Lanfang finally acted a bit more like an aunt, washing an apple and bringing it up to Qing Ye, telling her to rest. Qing Ye took the apple and bit into it. Rest?

She gazed out the window at the gloomy, gray sky and sighed. She didn't dare rest; she was afraid that if she stopped, she'd be swallowed by the overwhelming dust of this place. Her parents had nurtured her for eighteen years—she couldn't let herself fade away in this dump. She couldn't be submerged.

That evening, Meng Ruihang transferred the second installment of money to her. It wasn't much, just a few thousand dollars, but it was enough to last her quite a while now.

He also informed her that he had sent her all the application deadlines and admission requirements for next year's intakes at universities like Toronto, McGill, and Montreal. Qing Ye opened her computer, saw Meng Ruihang's email, and replied: "Received, thanks."

About half an hour later, Meng Ruihang sent her a photo of a box neatly packed with Qing Ye's belongings from school.

That day, after finishing her exam, she had been picked up directly by Sun Hai. The following days were filled with chaos and breakdowns; she hadn't even had a chance to say a final goodbye to her familiar classmates before leaving Beijing, and naturally, she never returned to school.

Meng Ruihang told her he had gathered all her school things for her—nothing missing—and they were now with him. He asked for her address to mail them over.

Actually, they were just stationery, study materials, a water bottle, and various miscellaneous items she could live without. But Qing Ye remembered there was an electronic dictionary among them, containing all the licensed dictionaries for studying abroad prep. She really needed it now—her dad had specially bought it for her. At a cost of several thousand, it wasn't something she could just discard lightly, especially with no income. Plus, buying a new one would be troublesome at the moment. So she ran downstairs to ask Li Lanfang for the address of Dazzle Island and sent it to Meng Ruihang, telling him to mail the items there.On the first day of formal classes, Li Lanfang surprisingly woke up early and boiled two eggs for Qing Ye, telling her to put them in her pocket. Qing Ye stared at the eggs with a troubled expression, unsure how to explain that she didn’t like boiled eggs.

In the end, Li Lanfang stuffed them into her bag and said, "Your mother and I may not be blood sisters, but I grew up in her family and always saw her as my own sister. Now that she’s gone and entrusted you to me, I’ll take good care of you. I’ve noticed how hard high school seniors work—I can’t control Xing Wu anymore, but you need to keep up your nutrition. Seeing you shut in your room studying all day, I worry you’ll wear yourself out."

Qing Ye had intended to take the eggs out and return them, but hearing Li Lanfang’s sudden, uncharacteristic concern, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse the gesture.

Instead, she casually asked, "Where’s Xing Wu? I haven’t seen him for days."

Li Lanfang told her, "Wu Zi took on a job out of town."

Out of town? And he’s not even attending school?

Qing Ye was baffled the whole way. Were high school students here so casual, free to come and go as they pleased? The key point was, Li Lanfang didn’t seem to mind Xing Wu’s absence at all—as if it were perfectly normal for someone his age to skip school and go earn money.

Qing Ye headed out wearing her matcha-green outfit, but as soon as she entered the classroom, she noticed the looks from her classmates were… somewhat unfriendly. There was an indescribable sense of hostility, similar to the glares she used to get from the top fifty students after exam rankings were posted back in her old school.

Long accustomed to envious yet powerless stares, Qing Ye maintained her composure and walked to her seat. She glanced at the empty desk behind her, sat down, and organized her books.

Xing Wu really hadn’t come to school—skipping on the very first day. Qing Ye couldn’t help but admire his "dedication" to his studies. Even the most irresponsible rich kids in her previous class would never dare to skip so blatantly. What was more exaggerated was that the teachers seemed to have selective amnesia, acting as if Xing Wu didn’t exist at all.

Qing Ye’s deskmate was a girl named Shi Min, who, over the course of the morning, had earned Qing Ye’s admiration. This Shi girl was the most focused student Qing Ye had encountered since arriving at this school—sitting upright through four consecutive classes, never glancing away, fully absorbed, not even leaving to use the restroom. Even Qing Ye, who rarely lost focus in class, felt she paled in comparison.

Quietly, Qing Ye reflected that Anzhong High did have diligent, motivated students after all, and she felt fortunate that such a student was her deskmate. She’d much rather sit with someone who took their studies seriously than with an academic slacker.

After lunch, Qing Ye dozed off at her desk. Perhaps because the environment was too unfamiliar or simply too noisy, she couldn’t fall asleep properly. When she groggily sat up, she saw that two desks to her left had been pushed together, with several boys lounging and playing cards, their legs propped up, occasionally cursing without pause. A few girls in front were huddled around a phone, watching some series, while others secretly applied makeup under their desks. Students wandered back and forth near the lectern, and the whole classroom was in chaos—like a slaughterhouse.

Turning her head, Qing Ye noticed Shi Min still copying English vocabulary. Truly, a lotus blooming unstained from the mud in this class. Qing Ye couldn’t help but feel another wave of respect for her and quickly opened her book, blocking out the clamor to focus her mind.Before long, a group of boys and girls suddenly gathered outside the window, shouting, "Which one is Qing Ye?"

Qing Ye didn't even lift her head, merely raising her eyelids slightly. The group outside continued yelling, "What? Too ugly to show your face?"

Shi Min nervously glanced at Qing Ye but didn't dare speak, sitting rigidly upright.

A dyed-haired girl from the group laughed mockingly, "Probably pretty ugly. How many top students are actually good-looking?" The boys beside her chuckled.

Qing Ye slowly straightened up, setting down her pen. Shi Min propped up her textbook to hide her face and whispered to Qing Ye, "Don't go out. They're from Class Four—troublemakers."

Qing Ye glanced at the group of Scenester youths, curled her lips disdainfully, bookmarked her page, and stood up.

The boys playing cards to her left stopped their game. The girls binge-watching dramas in front paused their shows. Even the girl with only one eyebrow done looked up, staring at Qing Ye.

The crowd outside the window quickly locked eyes on the girl who had just risen. Her matcha-green uniform caught the eye, the drooping bow at her collar fluttering in the breeze as she walked. She exuded an unflustered elegance, stepping out of the classroom to face the group. Lifting her head, she slowly raised her eyelids and asked, "What do you want?"

Just then, Qing Ye spotted Xing Wu emerging from the stairwell behind the group. His tall frame carried a black sports bag, sleeves rolled up, radiating a sharp, eye-catching aura. He quickly noticed the commotion in the hallway, his jaw tightening as his cold gaze swept over.

A boy in front of Qing Ye stared intently and remarked, "Hey, didn't you say she was hideous?"

The lanky, dyed-haired girl shot him a glare, then turned to Qing Ye's calm expression and suddenly flared up, "Think you're so composed? Proud of being both smart and pretty?"

Qing Ye tilted her head and retorted, "Shouldn't I be?"

"..." No one expected this transfer student to lack any humility, instead radiating an unshakable confidence.

The dyed-haired girl grabbed the bow at Qing Ye's collar, the smooth ribbon immediately loosening. She snarled, "Keep acting tough."

Qing Ye's eyes flickered, noticing Xing Wu brushing past her shoulder into the classroom without a second glance. He just... walked in?

A surge of fury ignited in her chest. She lifted her cold gaze to the dyed-haired girl and ordered, "Let go."

The girl raised her hand, but before the slap could land, Qing Ye suddenly roared, "Go ahead, hit me!"

Instantly, students from every classroom on the third floor leaned out to watch. No one from Class Two stepped forward, only staring nervously at the scene. Xing Wu acted as if he hadn't seen anything, returning to his seat and dropping his bag.

As soon as he sat down, Pang Hu rushed over anxiously, "Brother Wu..."

Xing Wu shot him a look, and Pang Hu swallowed his words. Xing Wu pulled out his phone, propped his feet on the desk, and started playing a game.

Meanwhile, the dyed-haired girl, startled by Qing Ye's yell, froze mid-swing. In those two seconds of hesitation, Qing Ye grabbed her wrist, flung it away forcefully, and turned to reenter the classroom.The two girls beside the dyed-hair girl stepped in front of her, blocking the entrance to Class Two, and said in an unfriendly tone, "You think you can just walk into class before we're done talking? Do you really think just because you have good grades, you can strut around Anzhong High like you own the place? Today, we're going to teach you a lesson."

Qing Ye glanced at Pang Hu and raised her voice to say to him, "Class monitor, aren't you going to do something about them blocking me from entering the class?"

Pang Hu wore a constipated expression, looking at Qing Ye and then at Xing Wu. Qing Ye immediately understood from his look that he wasn’t going to intervene. Clenching her fists, she pulled out her phone and dialed a number directly: "Hello, is this the dean’s office?"

The surrounding students immediately exchanged glances, their expressions turning angry. No matter how brazen they were, they were still students at school, and none of them wanted to be dragged to the dean’s office for a scolding. Pushing and shoving each other, they returned to their class. As she left, the dyed-hair girl shoved Qing Ye hard, and Qing Ye’s arm slammed against the doorframe, sending a sharp pain straight to her core.

Gritting her teeth, she lowered her head to look at her arm, covered it with her hand, took a deep breath, and glanced sideways at the tall, lean figure. The light in her eyes turned cold.

Two seconds later, she walked into the classroom as if nothing had happened. Wherever she passed, whispers broke out.

Qing Ye ignored everyone’s gazes and walked to her seat. She pulled out her chair and slammed it hard against the desk behind her. The loud noise startled the entire class, and everyone turned to see Xing Wu’s desk knocked askew.

If the earlier scene had only been met with a sense of curiosity, now everyone held their breath, not daring to make a sound. The previously chaotic classroom fell silent in an instant.

Xing Wu merely slowly lowered his feet, casually straightened his desk, and went back to playing his game as if nothing had happened.

It wasn’t until Qing Ye sat down that she finally let go of her arm and took a look. The skin was broken, and it was bleeding. Shi Min gasped softly, and the sound made Xing Wu lift his eyelids. His gaze fell on Qing Ye’s arm, and suddenly, the light in his eyes darkened.

Shi Min hurriedly rummaged through her bag, pulled out a bandage, and peeled it open. As she helped Qing Ye apply it to the wound on her arm, she said to her, "Next time, don’t provoke anyone from Class Four."

Qing Ye asked, "What’s wrong with Class Four?"

"Class Four..."

Before Shi Min could finish, someone suddenly burst into Class Two from outside. Everyone tensed up again, and Shi Min stammered, "Class Four is the most unruly class in our school, and the fiercest one is that person."

Qing Ye looked up at the student who had just barged into their class, reputedly the fiercest in Class Four, and immediately let out a cold laugh. Huang Mao.