Dazzling

Thus, on Qing Ye's very first day of school, a massive brawl erupted that shook the entire campus. However, it wouldn't be entirely accurate to say she caused it, because everyone from the dean down to Lao Yang personally reassured her, advising her to focus on her studies and not be influenced by those female classmates. They all believed Qing Ye was merely a victim caught in the conflict between the girls of the two classes.

Initially, the school even considered issuing her another math textbook. But when they learned that the torn book was actually Xing Wu's, which she had mistakenly taken, the teachers seemed to drop the matter of replacing it.

Then the narrative shifted: Cao Fan from Class Four had torn up a book belonging to Xing Wu from Class Two. The girls in Class Two couldn't stand it and got into a fight with the girls from Class Four. When Cao Fan found out that the book he tore that day belonged to Xing Wu, he avoided passing by Class Two's door for a whole week. If he accidentally ran into Xing Wu at school, he'd bolt, terrified of being questioned by him.

But for Xing Wu, having a math book or not made absolutely no difference. Throughout the entire semester, if he even opened it ten times, it'd be a miracle—like the sun rising from the west.

He didn't come to school every day; being late and leaving early were his norm. He was always riding his wind fire wheels, appearing and disappearing like a phantom.

In class, he never spoke to Qing Ye. Usually, he'd be gone before school ended, and he certainly wouldn't go home.

These past few days, even Huang Mao only glanced at Qing Ye from afar when they crossed paths at school, acting as if they didn't know each other.

Qing Ye felt somewhat annoyed. After all, they'd shared a meal together—weren't they supposed to have some camaraderie? Yet they were all acting like ungrateful jerks.

So, a few days later at noon, just as Huang Mao returned from smoking with his buddies on the playground, he spotted Qing Ye leaning against a distant pillar, staring right at him. One of his friends casually waved at her with a smirk, only to get smacked on the head by Huang Mao. The group moved on, but Huang Mao made an excuse to buy a lighter from the convenience store and circled back.

Qing Ye was still waiting there. He glanced around before approaching her, scratching his head as he said, "Cousin."

Qing Ye shot him a cold look. "Who's your cousin? Ever since school started, you've all been putting on this aloof act. Spill it—what did Xing Wu tell you guys?"

Huang Mao put on an innocent face. "Brother Wu didn't say anything."

Qing Ye didn't buy it and scoffed. "Not talking, huh? Fine. From now on, don't expect me to acknowledge you when you speak to me."

She turned to leave, but Huang Mao, growing anxious, blurted out at her retreating back, "Brother Wu said you should focus on your studies."

Qing Ye stopped and looked back at him. Huang Mao sighed helplessly. "You know we're not exactly good guys. The school's full of gossip, with teachers and classmates watching everything. Brother Wu just doesn't want to cause you trouble."

Qing Ye lifted her eyes, giving Huang Mao a deep, silent look before turning and walking away without another word.

That evening, back home, she heard Li Lanfang mention that Wu Lao Er had recovered from his injuries and gone off to work elsewhere. Qing Ye casually asked where he'd gone.

Li Lanfang told her that a couple of days ago, Xing Wu mentioned an old buddy of his was short on workers. It was far away, but they provided room and board. At the time, Wu's mother was standing in the yard shelling sunflower seeds and must have overheard. That afternoon, she showed up with eggs, asking Li Lanfang if she could help get her second son the job.

Li Lanfang, considering how badly Xing Wu had beaten up Wu Lao Er last time, was hesitant and worried he might refuse. She accepted the eggs but said she'd have to ask her son. To her surprise, Xing Wu agreed without any fuss.So the old couple finally managed to send their good-for-nothing second son off to work.

Qing Ye listened to Li Lanfang talk about this while eating, and suddenly remembered Xing Wu's words: "I won't give him another chance. If I say I can guarantee it, I definitely have my methods."

Qing Ye never expected that Xing Wu's method would be to directly get Wu Lao Er out of town. Thinking about it, Xing Wu could be quite ruthless—he hadn't held back at all when beating Wu Lao Er. But on the other hand, he also had a humane side, at least he managed to find a job for the Wu family's useless second son, solving the old couple's biggest worry and finally allowing Qing Ye to breathe a sigh of relief.

When she went inside after finishing her meal, Xing Wu happened to return, wearing a black baseball cap and a tight black T-shirt, exuding an air of sharp efficiency.

Ever since Xing Wu blocked her, Qing Ye had been treating him like air whenever they crossed paths at home these past few days. Even when Xing Wu occasionally tried to talk to her, she would act as if she didn't hear him, her eyes looking past him as if he weren't there. The two were in a state of semi-cold war.

Xing Wu had realized that this young lady wasn't someone to be trifled with—she held grudges. Over the past couple of days, she had started piling her study materials on his bed, almost as if she didn't want him to enter the room.

So today, when he returned, Xing Wu didn't expect her to be friendly. He glanced at her briefly and headed straight for the backyard.

Unexpectedly, Qing Ye suddenly and unusually blocked his path. When he stepped to the left, she moved left; when he stepped to the right, she also shifted right.

Xing Wu revealed his sharp eyes from under the brim of his cap and stared at her. Qing Ye crossed her arms and asked casually, "Where are your wind fire wheels?"

Xing Wu raised an eyebrow, realizing she meant the balance board, and replied flatly, "At Shunyi. Why?"

"Let me try it someday."

Xing Wu asked expressionlessly, "Do you know how?"

"You can teach me."

Looking at her confident demeanor, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly. "I'll bring it back another day."

But Qing Ye tilted her head and looked at him skeptically. "Why not teach me at school? Wouldn't bringing it back be troublesome?" Her bright eyes held a hint of inquiry.

Xing Wu's dark lashes lowered slightly, his gaze narrowing. Qing Ye lifted her chin, a faint mockery in her eyes. Their eyes locked, and neither spoke. Xing Wu averted his gaze and walked toward the backyard. Qing Ye turned and watched his retreating figure, a slight smile playing on her lips.

...

Fang Lei nearly received a warning from the school because of the incident and had toned down her temper recently, no longer bossing people around in class. Moreover, since she had recently borrowed homework from Qing Ye, who lent it without hesitation, Fang Lei suddenly felt that this transfer student wasn't so hard to get along with. Sometimes, she would even deliberately strike up a conversation with Qing Ye during breaks.

One day, when the girls in class noticed that the lamb leather shoes with pearls that Qing Ye wore were from Chanel, it caused quite a stir.

Qing Ye never considered these things as luxury items—she had worn such brands since childhood, and none of her former classmates wore cheap stuff either. In the past, she basically wore whatever her mother bought for her. Later, when her mother's health declined and her high school studies became demanding, her father's female secretary would regularly purchase a batch of clothes for her.

Qing Ye once suspected that the secretary was having an affair with her father, but she had to admit the woman had good taste—everything she bought fit Qing Ye perfectly.Although Qing Ye had never placed much importance on brand-name goods, in this shabby county town that didn't even have a Chanel counter, the other girls looked at her with admiration in their eyes.

Later, for some inexplicable reason, the girls from Class Two who had previously sported messy, non-mainstream hairstyles all started tying their hair up over the past few days. They even copied Qing Ye by wearing a light blue hair clip on the right side. Qing Ye's small, delicate hair clip used to hold stray hairs in place was from ALEXANDRE DE PARIS, while the other girls had bought theirs from various night market stalls. Their clumsy imitations had a distinct "blind imitation with ludicrous effect" quality, with even girls who had broad foreheads like door panels and faces full of acne boldly sweeping their bangs back.

Moreover, Qing Ye's self-directed behavior constantly surprised everyone. For instance, she never attended evening self-study sessions. Even students with mediocre grades like Fang Lei knew to obediently stay for evening self-study after reaching their final year of high school. Yet Qing Ye would leave promptly when the dismissal bell rang, completely contrary to how good students typically behaved.

Her deskmate Shi Min couldn't resist asking why she didn't stay for evening self-study. Qing Ye countered by asking what the purpose of evening self-study was.

Then she explained: "It's to save time and improve study efficiency. Rather than staying here and being disturbed, I can be more efficient by going home earlier." Shi Min was stunned speechless.

Qing Ye had attended evening self-study at her previous school because everyone around her was motivated and studious. That kind of learning atmosphere pushed people to stay focused. But since transferring to An High School, after just one day of classes she realized that staying for evening self-study wasn't worthwhile. Instead, the noisy environment would only hinder her study efficiency.

Obviously, others didn't understand this. In their view, only one type of person didn't attend evening self-study - marginalized, hopeless academic failures like Xing Wu and his crowd. Therefore, Qing Ye became an anomaly in the entire school.

Her appearance, academic performance, and behavior all made her stand out prominently, sparking controversy.

A tall tree inevitably attracts the wind. Where there was admiration, there was also jealousy. For example, a few days later, Cao Fan suddenly realized what had happened that day on the sports field. She had originally intended to humble this transfer student, but days had passed and Qing Ye continued doing as she pleased. Meanwhile, Cao Fan herself had been lectured by the discipline director for an entire afternoon, making it hard for her to swallow her anger.

So one afternoon a week later, just as Qing Ye was packing up, Fang Lei rushed in and said: "Qing Ye, Qing Ye, you should climb over the wall to go home."

"???" Qing Ye looked at her with a face full of question marks.

Fang Lei explained: "Cao Fan - the one from Class Four who tore up the book last time - asked her brother to bring a whole group of people to block you."

Xiao Ling Tong, sitting in front of Qing Ye, immediately turned around: "Holy shit, no way. Qing Ye, you should really climb the wall to escape. Cao Fan's brother is the top bully at An Vocational School. If they catch you, you're finished."

Shi Min listened to their conversation with a terrified expression, anxiously watching Qing Ye. But Qing Ye just turned expressionlessly toward Pang Hu's seat and asked: "Where's the class monitor?"

Xiao Ling Tong said: "He's definitely at the fried noodle stall by the back gate right now. But the class monitor won't be any help - those vocational school guys are all societal troublemakers. Besides, Fan Tong isn't close with you, so he definitely won't help you.""Noodle stall?" Qing Ye withdrew her gaze and asked Xiao Ling Tong: "What are they doing there?"

"There are two slot machines over there. They usually grab a bite before evening self-study and play for a while."

Qing Ye's eyes flickered slightly. She picked up her backpack and said to Fang Lei: "Spread the word to Cao Fan. I'm leaving through the back gate."

Fang Lei jumped in surprise: "You might not be able to get away through the back gate, and why deliberately tell them?"

But she saw Qing Ye stand up nonchalantly, sling her backpack over her shoulder, and say calmly: "To meet them, of course. I can't possibly climb over the wall to go home every day from now on. Besides, do I look like someone who can climb walls to you?"

With that, she adjusted her backpack strap and sauntered out. Everyone watched Qing Ye's unhurried retreating figure break out in a cold sweat.

Clearly, many people in the school already knew that Anzhi Vocational School students were waiting for Qing Ye at the front gate. From the moment she stepped out of the classroom, people were pointing and whispering everywhere. Many were even rushing to the school gate early to secure prime spots for a good view.

Yet Qing Ye walked straight toward the back gate without even glancing sideways. Without Fang Lei needing to spread the word, so many watching eyes instantly relayed Qing Ye's whereabouts to Cao Fan.

So when Qing Ye reached the back gate, a group of ruffians dressed in assorted styles - both male and female - were already gathered at the opposite alley entrance, their eyes gleaming like wolves'.