When Zhou Wan ran home, the rain had already stopped, but she was already soaked through.

Several neighbors were sitting under a tree in the garden outside the residential complex, chatting idly. Upon seeing her drenched state, one exclaimed, "Aiyo! Wanwan, did you fall into the river!?"

Zhou Wan smiled. "I didn't have an umbrella."

"Then you should have waited for the rain to stop." As she spoke, the woman started cursing the wretched weather, then handed over a kraft paper bag from the table. "Take this back and eat it with your Grandma."

Inside the bag were still-warm mung bean cakes.

Zhou Wan tried to refuse, but the woman forcefully stuffed it into her hands. "They're still warm. Hurry back and eat them, they won't taste as good when they're cold."

This was an old residential complex, nearly thirty years old. The surrounding neighbors were all very ordinary people who knew each other and would greet one another whenever they met.

Naturally, they all knew about the matters of Zhou Wan's family. Zhou Jun had been warm-hearted when he was alive, so now the neighbors often helped take care of them in any way they could, as a sort of repayment.

Zhou Wan thanked them and headed inside.

Behind her were the sighing discussions of the women—

"That child is so pitiful. I hear her grades are exceptionally good, too. If Old Zhou were still alive, the child could have grown up without a care in the world."

"Who told her to have a mother like that, an ungrateful wretch, she's really something else! Ptooey!"

"It's no use cursing her. She's flown up the branch and become a phoenix now. Almost forty and she's latched onto such a wealthy family."

"You think wealthy families are all fools? It's just for show. I don't believe a rich man would be stupid enough to get a marriage certificate with that kind of woman." The woman's tone was full of disdain. "Besides, that son of the Lu Family is no easy character to deal with."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you get it? The Lu Family only has one son. All that family fortune will go to that son in the future. Only a fool would let his own father marry a poor woman."

...

The light in the stairwell was broken.

Zhou Wan fumbled her way upstairs in the dark, poking the key at the lock for a good while before it finally opened.

"Grandma."

"Eh," the white-haired old woman was in the kitchen, smiling kindly. "Wanwan is back."

Zhou Wan tossed her schoolbag on the table and ran into the kitchen. "Grandma, I told you to rest early."

"I made you a bowl of wontons." Grandma smiled and patted the back of her hand. "Here, they're ready, they're all floating."

"I'll serve them." Zhou Wan took out a bowl and ladled the wontons onto the table outside.

She took the medicine out of her bag and poured a glass of warm water. "Take your medicine first."

"Alright."

Zhou Wan sat down to eat her wontons, watching her Grandma take the medicine across from her. Then she saw her scratching her skin nonstop.

"Is it itchy again?" Zhou Wan asked.

One of the symptoms of uremia is dry, itchy skin.

This was extremely obvious on her Grandma.

Her arms were already dry, and now they were covered in white flakes of skin from scratching, with dense red dots rising to the surface.

Zhou Wan quickly ate the last wonton and brought over the ointment.

"I can apply it myself," Grandma said. "You go rest, you have school tomorrow."

"I'll go to sleep after I'm done applying it for you."

Zhou Wan spread the cool ointment on her Grandma's arm, hunching over to apply it meticulously, then blew on it gently. "Is it still itchy?"

"It's not itchy anymore," Grandma said with a smile. "Hurry and wash your hands and go to sleep."

Zhou Wan knew that if the ointment were really that effective, her Grandma wouldn't have been too itchy to sleep for several nights in a row, and her arms wouldn't have been scratched raw in several places.

Only a single lamp was lit in the bedroom.

Zhou Wan took out her homework. She had been busy with her part-time job and going to the hospital over the weekend, so there were still some test papers she hadn't finished.

As she wrote, the scene from the street earlier resurfaced in her mind.

From the next room came the sound of her Grandma's coughing. It came from the bottom of her lungs, each cough so heavy it sounded as if she were trying to vomit up all her internal organs.

In her nose, she could smell the damp scent unique to such rainy days.

A sudden, dark thought forced its way into Zhou Wan's mind—

What if she could stop Guo Xiangling from getting married?

No, not just stop her from marrying, but also make her leave the Lu Family, unable to enjoy all that wealth and glory.

She betrayed Dad, abandoned me, and refused to save Grandma when she was dying. On what grounds could she enjoy life with a clear conscience?

Zhou Wan hated Guo Xiangling.

It was bearable on normal days, but in the exhaustion of late nights, this hatred was like vines from the bottom of an abyss, wrapped in dark energy, completely entwining her heart.

To this day, she still remembered the 21st day after her father's death.

Many neighbors came to offer condolences and help, giving as much condolence money as they could.

That day, everyone asked in confusion where her mother had gone.

Guo Xiangling was gone the entire day.

Until late at night.

Zhou Wan pulled open the curtains and saw a man downstairs seeing her off. The two of them were smiling, their eyes relaxed, and they were chatting cheerfully.

After Guo Xiangling returned, she went straight to the closet, took out a suitcase, and packed all her clothes into it.

Zhou Wan pushed open her bedroom door, the room that had once been her parents', and stood in the doorway looking at her mother, asking incomprehensibly where she was going.

Guo Xiangling only said, "Wanwan, I'm going out for a few days."

But Zhou Wan seemed to understand. She clung tightly to Guo Xiangling's suitcase, crying and begging her not to leave.

The ten-year-old girl, having just lost her father, was terrified of her mother's departure. She humbled herself to the dust, pestering relentlessly, crying and clinging, her voice growing hoarse, her knees rubbed raw against the floor.

The Zhou Wan of the past had once begged so desperately for Guo Xiangling to stay.

But it did not stop her from leaving.

Almost unconsciously, Zhou Wan forcefully wrote three characters on the paper, stroke by stroke—

Guo

Xiang

Ling

What could she do to get revenge on her?

Then, Zhou Wan wrote another three characters on the paper—

Lu Xixiao.

"Wanwan." Gu Meng turned around from the desk in front. "Did you do the physics paper?"

Zhou Wan: "No. Which questions can't you do?"

"I can't do any of them." The homework was about to be checked, and Gu Meng just wanted to copy it as quickly as possible. She turned her head and asked Zhou Wan's deskmate, "Jiang Yan, Jiang Yan, did you do it?"

Beside her, Jiang Yan pushed up his glasses. "No, the physics competition is coming up. Teacher Hu said we only need to do the competition papers."

Gu Meng pouted. "Oh."

She turned back and went to ask someone else for their paper.

Jiang Yan asked Zhou Wan, "Are you ready for the competition?"

Zhou Wan shook her head. "Isn't there still a month left?"

"A month will pass quickly, in the blink of an eye." Jiang Yan twirled a pen in his hand. "I'm a little nervous. If I can successfully make it to the national competition this time, I'll have a chance to get a ticket to the Tsinghua University summer camp."

Zhou Wan smiled at him. "Good luck. Your grades are so good, you can definitely do it."

Jiang Yan looked at her, surprised. "You're not nervous?"

"I'm okay."

"It's too hard to get into Tsinghua University on test scores alone nowadays," Jiang Yan said. "Don't you want to apply in the future?"

Zhou Wan curved her lips, saying gently, "I haven't thought about it carefully. I'll let nature take its course."

But Jiang Yan shook his head. "Zhou Wan, within the country, no other school can compare to Tsinghua University. Getting into Tsinghua University means an easier future."

Zhou Wan didn't speak, turning her head to look out the window.

Blue sky, white clouds, the heavens were high and the earth was vast.

Like a vast, boundless future.

And what about her future?

Zhou Wan couldn't imagine it.

She was like a young eagle whose wings were just becoming strong, one that should have belonged to the high skies, free and unrestrained. But now she was held back by an invisible string, unable to fly far, unable to fly high.

Near her home was an old movie theater, and beneath it was an Arcade. Students would often come to play after school, so business was pretty good.

This Arcade was opened by a friend of Zhou Jun. Later, when the friend's family moved out of Pingchuan City, they entrusted the Arcade to Zhou Wan's care. They said it was a request, but it was actually an excuse to help take care of their friend's daughter, giving Zhou Wan a wage every month.

Every day after school, Zhou Wan would come to the Arcade to take over the shift.

"Little Boss." A bright and beautiful girl ran over, leaning forward with both hands on the counter, her voice crisp. "Give me a hundred game tokens!"

Zhou Wan looked up from her homework. "For one hundred yuan, you can get a card. Then future token purchases are 5% off."

"Okay, I'll get a card then."

As Zhou Wan lowered her head to register the card, she heard the girl turn, raise her hand, and call out excitedly, "Ah Xiao!"

Zhou Wan's fingertips paused. She saw Lu Xixiao walking in this direction.

The girl intimately looped her arm through his, whining coquettishly, "I've been waiting for you for so long!"

Lu Xixiao tugged at the corner of his mouth in response, looking completely uninterested. He pulled out a hundred-yuan bill and placed it on the counter.

One of his arms was being pulled by the girl, so with his other hand, he pushed open a pack of cigarettes, pulled one out and stuck it between his lips, then fumbled for a lighter.

With a click, a flame shot up, but its tongue didn't touch the tobacco.

His voice was a little hoarse and nasal, as if he hadn't fully woken up, yet casual and languid.

He paused, then as if remembering something, he asked, "Can I smoke in here?"

Realizing he was talking to her, Zhou Wan replied, "You can."

She handed the card to the girl. "It's ready."

"So I just need to swipe the card to play games, I don't need to get tokens anymore, right?" the girl asked.

"Mhm, that's right."

The girl nodded, her eyes shining as she looked at Lu Xixiao. "Ah Xiao, what do you want to play?"

He exhaled a puff of smoke. "Whatever."

"Then let's go play the basketball machine, okay!"

Dressed in sharp black, Lu Xixiao had a cigarette dangling from his lips. His long, well-defined hands grabbed the basketballs and he shot them one after another. He was actually shooting very casually, not rushed, just playing around, but every single shot went in.

A crowd of onlookers gradually gathered behind him.

These gazes made Lu Xixiao's girlfriend even more smug.

"Ah Xiao." The girl was practically glued to him. "Let's play a two-player game later, okay?"

"Not playing." He flicked his cigarette ash by the trash can.

"Come on, play with me."

"Play by yourself." Lu Xixiao picked up the game card, swiped it, and directly pressed the start button for her.

New customers arrived. Zhou Wan was setting up a card for a couple when she suddenly heard the guy say, "Hey, what's going on over there? Are they fighting?"

Zhou Wan followed his gaze.

Lu Xixiao's attitude had probably upset the girl. Her brows were slightly furrowed, her eyes rimmed with red, looking pitiful and wronged.

But Lu Xixiao just leaned to one side, looking down at her, showing no emotion, let alone any trace of pity.

"Lu Xixiao, can't you be a little more attentive to me?" the girl said, dissatisfied. "I'm always the one looking for you, and now you won't even play games with me. Is this how you date someone?"

"Xu Yixuan." He looked down, his voice very faint.

With just that one word, Xu Yixuan understood that she couldn't act coy in front of Lu Xixiao.

Lu Xixiao wouldn't indulge her.

She had gone too far.

He stubbed out his cigarette, looking bored. "Let's just forget it."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"Let's break up."

Zhou Wan watched as tears burst from Xu Yixuan's eyes. Such a bright and beautiful girl had become so wretched and pathetic in front of Lu Xixiao.

There were many people standing around. Xu Yixuan couldn't bear the shame, and after throwing out a tearful "Bastard," she turned and ran away.

Lu Xixiao was just that kind of person.

Everyone at school actually understood this. After all, you could always see different girls by his side, but it still didn't stop the endless stream of them.

It was a mystery what they were so obsessed with.

After Xu Yixuan left, Lu Xixiao didn't chase after her.

He went to the restroom to wash his face. When he came out, water droplets still clung to his face, trickling down the sharp, clean lines of his features.

He walked up to Zhou Wan and pulled a pack of cigarettes from her desk. "How much?"

"Eighty."

Lu Xixiao scanned the code to pay. When he glanced up and saw Zhou Wan, his gaze paused.

He seemed to find her a bit familiar and asked casually, without much thought, "Yangming?"

Zhou Wan looked up. "Mhm."

He tore open the cigarette pack, pulled out another one, and lit it. Through the smoke, he raised his eyebrows. "What's your name?"

"Zhou Wan."

After a pause, she added, "The 'Wan' from 'To draw a carved bow like a full moon'."

Lu Xixiao raised his eyebrows and chuckled ambiguously.

Hearing his laughter, Zhou Wan's face began to flush.

"Lu Xixiao," he said.

"I know."

He looked up.

Zhou Wan also looked up, meeting his gaze.

She had once read in a book that if you make eye contact with someone twice, you can make them remember you.

This was the second time.