"Impossible?! Only a fool like you would believe that. Wan Donglin’s mistress has no money? Who are you trying to fool? She plainly doesn’t want to lend it to you."
"She’s not a mistress! She’s Wan Donglin’s girlfriend."
Zhong Minghui sneered. "Girlfriend? She actually dares to call herself that? A man like Wan Donglin would have her as his girlfriend? At most, she’s just a plaything he’ll discard when he’s done. Forget it. What rotten luck. I should have known: actors are faithless, and whores are disloyal..."
Xu Xiaoya never thought her boyfriend would utter such vulgar words. She got angry. "Zhong Minghui, what nonsense are you spouting? You’re not allowed to speak of Yan Xixi like that!"
"What’s the matter? Did I hit a nerve? Are you afraid of people finding out your dirty secrets? You know best what kind of person Yan Xixi is, and you know your own secrets too. You’re all cut from the same cloth!"
Xu Xiaoya’s face turned blood red. "Zhong Minghui, what dirt do you have on me? Tell me, what dirt do you have on me?"
"Do I still need to spell it out? Xu Xiaoya, I’m trying to spare your feelings here. It’ll be pointless if I lay it all bare. You know best yourself."
Zhong Minghui turned and walked away. Xu Xiaoya chased him for a few steps but couldn’t catch up, so she had to stop. She leaned against the roadside railing, tears streaming down her face.
「After the first snowfall of winter, C City enjoyed several sunny days in a row.」
After Yan Xixi finished her last exam, she checked the time and saw it was still early. Just as she was about to leave, a male student ran over, panting, and stopped her. He stammered, "Classmate... there’s a class dinner tonight. Are you going?"
She shook her head. She didn’t even know his name.
"Please come, the whole class is going..."
"Thank you, but I don’t have time."
The guy was at a loss. He scratched his head. Yan Xixi had already walked away.
Across from her, Wan Donglin was approaching. He had been observing her from a quiet spot for quite some time. She wore jeans and a thick coat. Her jet-black hair was tousled, covering half her face and almost completely obscuring her features.
On her first day back in class, her attire had been much the same: remarkably plain, low-key, and inconspicuous. Despite a wardrobe full of designer clothes, she rarely wore any of them. She had gotten through the entire winter with just two pairs of jeans and a single gray coat.
Yan Xixi was surprised to see him. She stood where she was, her backpack on, and just gave a small laugh.
He chuckled. "Are you surprised?"
He lowered his voice. "I came for a surprise inspection, to see if you were studying diligently."
She chuckled. But she knew it was the truth.
Wan Donglin wasn’t home often. Sometimes, there would be no word from him for ten days or even half a month. However, he would often return unexpectedly late at night or suddenly on a weekend morning.
Yet, he was never disappointed. Every time he returned, Yan Xixi was always at home.
Whenever she was supposed to be home, she invariably was. There were no exceptions.
Wan Donglin was very pleased with this. He looked her up and down. "Xixi, why don’t you wear those other clothes? Look at you, you look like such a slob. You should at least wear something decent."
She was unfazed. "I’m here to study, not to put on a fashion show."
"You have a point. Actually, if you always wore new clothes, it might keep those damn brats from getting any ideas about you."
By then, they had reached the school gate. Yan Xixi looked around but didn’t see his outrageously flashy car or the two conspicuous bodyguards. Only then did she feel a slight sense of relief.
Nearby, only a relatively more discreet car was parked.
Wan Donglin reached out to take her hand. She wanted to refuse but instinctively held back. Instead, she silently pulled up the hood of her winter coat, completely concealing her face.
Thankfully, none of the passing students paid any extra attention to an ordinary-looking girl with an obscured face.