Chapter 3: The Scene at Haixin

Spring passed quickly. Leaves the intense green of spilled ink and a fierce sun announced the arrival of summer. Qianzhi had been at this new school for almost a month, but she was still struggling to get used to her classmates. Her previous school had been an all-girls academy. Aside from a few male teachers, she'd never had so much contact with boys, and she found it difficult to adapt. But it was truly a world away from the conservative, stifling atmosphere of her old school. The way boys and girls interacted here was bold and direct—a stark contrast to before, where even whispering about a crush on a male teacher felt like a secret crime, tinged with a guilty conscience.

It was now the lunch break. Outside, the scorching sun beat down on any part of the playground not shaded by leaves. In this heat, you'd be sweating just sitting still in a classroom—at least, you would have at her old school. Here at Haixin, every classroom was air-conditioned. Basking in the cool air, Qianzhi felt for the first time a real benefit of this school. No wonder the tuition was so expensive. It was no exaggeration to call it a school for the elite.

The cool air made her drowsy, and her eyelids grew heavy. Suddenly, a commotion of crying and screams erupted from the empty playground, piercing everyone's eardrums. It was followed by the chaotic sound of frantic footsteps. Startled awake, Qianzhi stared blankly as every student in the classroom surged towards the door.

Her deskmate, Tang Qiqi, pulled a bewildered Qianzhi up and ran outside, saying, "Let's go watch, too. This is a classic Haixin spectacle. It'd be a shame to miss it." A lost Qianzhi could only let herself be dragged along.

What was happening?

On the playground, the sunlight was so blinding it was hard to keep one's eyes open. A dozen or so girls were surrounding another girl, who was soaked to the bone and in a wretched state, the red imprint of a slap visible on her cheek.

The girl who appeared to be the leader threw a crumpled pink letter at the victim's body. "Just who do you think you are, confessing to our Xing Tuo looking like that!"

"Ugly freak!"

"Have you no shame?"

"Get the hell out of Haixin!"

Some in the crowd of onlookers started to hurl insults at her, but she remained silent. She bent down, picked up the crumpled pink envelope, and smoothed it out with great care, as if stroking a precious treasure. She lifted her head and looked directly at the crowd, her eyes devoid of any timid tears. She spoke, enunciating each word, "Is it a crime to like someone?"

Qianzhi was captivated by the light in her eyes. She stared at her, dazed, momentarily forgetting where she was.

"Hmph!" The lead girl sneered. "Why don't you go look in a mirror! You dare to like Xing Tuo?"

"Think you're Cinderella? You're completely out of your league!" The crowd erupted in laughter, and the girl's face flushed. Then someone shoved her, even pulling at her hair. The girl fell to the ground, desperately trying to protect her long hair. Vicious taunts and mocking laughter rose and fell, so loud that no one heard the school bell ring for the start of class.

"So damn noisy! All of you, shut up!"

A commanding voice cut through the air, and the crowd fell instantly silent.

"Ah! It's the Three Princes!" someone whispered in awe.

The sun beat down mercilessly.

Three handsome boys, like princes from a fairy tale, strode towards them through the sunlight. The one in the lead was the protagonist of this incident, Xing Tuo.

"What are you all doing? Fighting?" Shen Xinghao asked, frowning as he glanced at the girl on the ground.

No one answered.

Xing Tuo said impatiently, "It's scorching hot, and you're all still here making a racket that's pissing me off! Get back to your classrooms, all of you!"

Lei Xi, who hadn't spoken a word, bent down and picked up a pink envelope. Xing Tuo's name was on it.

"Tuo, a letter for you! Is it a love letter?" Lei Xi grinned, holding it out to him.

Without even a glance, Xing Tuo took it, tossed it into the air, and said, "Boring. Let's go, it's too damn hot." Qianzhi watched as the three of them walked through the crowd as if nothing had happened.

In an instant, the crowd dispersed, leaving only the girl sitting alone on the ground, still tightly clutching the letter Xing Tuo had thrown away. Qianzhi walked over to her, took out a pack of tissues, and handed it to her. "Here, wipe yourself off and get back to class."

The moment she took the tissues, tears began to stream down the girl's face. Qianzhi said softly, "Don't cry. You know what? You're not ugly at all. You have the bravest, most sincere heart. You have to believe in yourself." Hearing this, the girl froze, staring at her, and forgot to cry.

Tang Qiqi grabbed Qianzhi and pulled her away. "Don't get involved. Let's go back to class."

It was lunchtime again.

Qiqi said to Qianzhi, "Want to go for a walk outside? It doesn't seem as hot today."

Qianzhi looked outside and nodded. "Okay."

The Haixin campus was beautiful. The school paths were lined with tall plane trees and phoenix trees, their dense leaves creating a vast canopy. In the rose garden, roses of every color bloomed in profusion. It was the first time Qianzhi had ever seen black and green roses. But Qiqi said, "This is nothing. The real beauty is when winter turns to spring. That's when the plum blossoms in the Plum Garden to the north are in full bloom, and the cherry blossoms to the east are just beginning to open. With the white snow, it's practically a paradise on earth."

"There's also a whole maple forest on the back hill. We should go see it in a month, it's beautiful then too."

Qianzhi said, "But how can such terrible things happen in such a beautiful school?"

"You mean what happened yesterday?" Qiqi asked.

Qianzhi nodded.

"That was nothing. Far worse things happen here. You just haven't seen them yet."

Qianzhi couldn't believe her ears. "You mean to say... incidents like yesterday's happen often?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"Doesn't the school do anything about it?"

Tang Qiqi gave a cold laugh. "What can the school do? I heard the fathers of the Three Princes are all on the school's board of directors. Plus, with their families being so rich and powerful, the school just turns a blind eye. At Haixin, no one dares to defy the Three Princes. Getting on their bad side is no joke. If you piss them off, you become the public enemy of the entire school."

"You don't seem to think much of them," Qianzhi remarked.

"I don't! 'The Three Princes'? More like the Three Frogs, if you ask me! Just pretty faces! I can't believe so many girls are obsessed with them, even willing to take a beating for them! That's why I said that girl from yesterday deserves no pity. She brought it all on herself!"

*I wonder what she'd do if she knew one of the 'frogs' she's mocking is my brother,* Qianzhi thought to herself, watching her friend's indignant expression.

She had always thought Xing Tuo was just spoiled, a bit arrogant and willful. She never imagined he could be so domineering and cruel at school. If she hadn't witnessed yesterday's incident with her own eyes, she would have found it hard to believe.

"That's why I'm telling you, don't you dare be fooled by their looks, you hear?" Tang Qiqi urged, repeating her warning.

Qianzhi replied with an amused smile, "Do I look like that kind of girl to you?"

Tang Qiqi studied her seriously for a long moment before finally saying, "Even though I haven't known you for long, I can tell you're not that shallow. So, that's it. I've decided you're going to be my friend."

Qianzhi was slightly taken aback by her words. *A friend?* She liked this straightforward girl, too, but no one had ever been so direct about wanting to be her friend before. A friend… that must be a relationship closer than just a classmate, right?

As they passed the basketball court, Qianzhi, lost in her thoughts, was completely unaware of the danger hurtling toward her.

"Watch out!" A cry of alarm rang out as a basketball came flying straight at her head. Everything went black, and Qianzhi collapsed.

"Qianzhi! Qianzhi!" It was Qiqi's frantic voice.

"Hey, are you all right?" This time, it was a deep, slightly husky male voice.

"You idiot! Can't you see she's passed out? Hurry up and get her to the infirmary!" That was Qiqi again, her voice sharp with anger.

Then, she felt her body being lifted, a sensation of floating in the air, warm and comfortable, before she lost consciousness completely.

When Qianzhi awoke, she found herself lying on a white bed with an IV drip attached to her wrist. Beside her was Qiqi's worried face.

"Ah, you're awake! You have no idea how worried I was!" Qiqi cried out in relief.

"What happened to me?" she asked, dazed, as she surveyed her surroundings. "Am I in a hospital?"

"This is the infirmary. You got hit by a basketball and fainted. Don't you remember?" Qiqi asked, her concern deepening.

She shook her head. "I don't remember."

"What! Don't tell me you have amnesia?" Qiqi shrieked. She then spun around to face a strange boy. "This is all your fault! You'd better take responsibility if anything happens to our Qianzhi!"

Only then did Qianzhi notice a tall boy standing beside Qiqi.

"Qiqi, who is he?"

"He's the one who brought you to the infirmary. But don't you bother thanking him—he's the one who hit you with the basketball in the first place!" Tang Qiqi shot the boy a glare, her tone hostile.

The boy gave a strained smile. "I'm really sorry."

That deep, slightly husky voice… it felt familiar, like she had heard it somewhere before.

"It's all right," Qianzhi said.

"I'm Zhong Mingjie from Year 3, Class 5. Hello," he introduced himself.

"Uh, we're from Year 3, Class 7. I'm Xia Qianzhi, and this is Tang Qiqi." It was Qianzhi's first time interacting with an unfamiliar boy, and she felt a little awkward.

Zhong Mingjie smiled. "Shall we shake on it, then?"

Looking at his bright smile, Qianzhi unconsciously extended her hand. Qiqi, though reluctant, shook his hand as well.