Chapter 27: Heart Moves: Day 7

Bei Huai hadn’t done anything too outrageous.

She’d simply had Cen Jin hack into the school’s surveillance system and back up the footage from Zhang Tianfeng’s office that day.

Then she’d given Director Qin a friendly call.

Her demands weren’t excessive.

She just wanted the school to follow its own rules and properly discipline Zhang Tianfeng.

Of course, if the administration refused, she’d package up the video and send it straight to the rival school next door.

That’s right. For all its outward prestige, No. 13 Middle School was riddled with internal strife.

Plenty of schools were just waiting for it to slip up so they could drag it off its pedestal and claim the top spot in Ning City themselves.

If that footage fell into their hands, the headlines about No. 13’s scandals would be everywhere by the next day.

Even with emergency PR damage control, the school’s reputation would take a serious hit.

Left with no choice, Director Qin agreed to Bei Huai’s terms.

When stacked against No. 13’s good name, Zhang Tianfeng was nothing.

But before hanging up, Director Qin couldn’t help asking, “Aren’t you afraid your father will find out? Bei Huai, you know if you keep acting so recklessly, Bei Rong really won’t have anything to do with you anymore.”

He wasn’t wrong. Bei Rong was one of No. 13’s major shareholders. If he learned his own daughter was using leverage to strong-arm the school, he’d be furious.

“Heh.” Bei Huai let out a cold laugh, not bothering to hide her disdain.

“I’d welcome that.”

From the very beginning, she’d never acknowledged that man as her father.

People just assumed that because she was young and uninvolved, they could shove their outdated ideas down her throat.

As for Bei Rong’s threats to wash his hands of her—please. When had he ever cared?

Was it those phony accusations of his? His rare, half-hearted visits laced with impatience? His lofty finger-wagging from on high? Or the paltry sums he had his assistant wire over like charity?

She’d never touched that money.

It was filthy.

If she could, Bei Huai would gladly return every drop of his blood running through her veins.

As long as it meant she was no longer his daughter.

~~~

It was Saturday.

The weather was perfect.

Jiang Wan had asked Bei Huai out to finally make good on that meal she owed her.

Today’s spot was the same as their first outing: Sheng Rong Plaza.

In Jiang Wan’s words, you fall down somewhere, you get back up there too.

They’d agreed on three in the afternoon.

Bei Huai arrived half an hour early.

The moment she stepped into the plaza, she spotted Jiang Wan standing right in the center.

The girl was dressed in a soft beige knit sweater with a crossbody bag slung over her shoulder, making her look petite and slender.

Her jet-black hair fell over her shoulders in two loose braids, topped off with a khaki beret.

It all made her look even sweeter and more adorable, utterly charming.

The instant Bei Huai saw Jiang Wan, Jiang Wan saw her too.

A brilliant smile bloomed on the girl’s face. She waved enthusiastically, signaling her location.

“Why are you here so early?” Jiang Wan hurried over a few steps, gazing up at Bei Huai with a beaming smile.

“Aren’t you even earlier?” Bei Huai shot back, hands in her pockets as she arched a brow.

Jiang Wan explained, “I had a follow-up at the hospital for my arm. Time was just about right, so I came straight here.”

Mid-explanation, she seemed to notice something and trailed off. Under Bei Huai’s puzzled gaze, she burst out laughing.

“Hey, have you noticed? Our outfits kinda match.”

Bei Huai was tall and leggy in her khaki trench coat, exuding effortless style.

Taken separately, they were total opposites.

But together in the frame, they somehow harmonized perfectly.

“Little Bei, your hair’s gotten longer,” Jiang Wan said, tilting her head as she eyed Bei Huai’s red locks.

Bei Huai touched her hair. Yeah, it had grown out quite a bit, almost covering her ears.

“It has. I’ll get it cut in a few days,” she said casually.

“Does Little Bei not like long hair?”

She froze. She hadn’t expected Jiang Wan to ask that.

In her memory, after she’d chopped it into a super short cut, some people had expressed regret, others had called her unfeminine, and plenty had just ignored it.

But no one had ever asked if she disliked long hair.

“Not really.” She paused, then shrugged it off lightly. “Short hair’s just easier. No fussing with it.”

“I’d love to see what Little Bei looks like with long hair,” Jiang Wan said with a lip-biting smile, her eyes sparkling.

Long hair…

The memories were so distant that Bei Huai had almost forgotten what she looked like back then.

Her deepest recollection was Yun Manzhu’s endless nagging.

—”A girl should look like a girl.”

—”You’re a girl, so you have to act ladylike. You can’t go wild like the boys or hang out with them.”

—”…”

And so Bei Huai had cut her hair into a short style that Yun Manzhu found utterly mismatched and improper, and she started hanging out with a crowd that Yun Manzhu deemed shady and disreputable.

Whatever image Yun Manzhu wanted her to embody, Bei Huai was determined to do the exact opposite.

She would never be a marionette dancing on Yun Manzhu’s strings.

“Little Bei, Little Bei! What are you thinking about?” Seeing Bei Huai with her eyes downcast and silent for a long time, Jiang Wan stepped forward and gently shook her arm.

“Nothing. Let’s go,” Bei Huai replied, snapping back to the present.

Knowing the girl just didn’t want to talk about it, Jiang Wan gave her a few glances but didn’t press further.

“So, where are we going now?”

Bei Huai had never really gone out for casual fun like this. When she hung out with others, it was always at high-energy spots.

KTV, parties, bars.

But those clearly weren’t suitable for Jiang Wan.

“Want to check out the mall?” Jiang Wan asked hesitantly.

Normally, when she went out with Guanguan, they’d browse clothes, pick up cute accessories, and grab all sorts of food and drinks.

But Bei Huai didn’t seem like the type for that pace. Jiang Wan worried she’d have a great time shopping while leaving Bei Huai bored out of her mind.

Bei Huai had no objections.

The two of them wandered into an accessories store filled with a dazzling array of goods that left Jiang Wan’s eyes sparkling.

She began browsing row by row, while Bei Huai trailed behind her, hands tucked in her pockets, strolling leisurely. She didn’t spare a single glance at the glittering trinkets around them, her gaze fixed solely on the girl’s back.

Jiang Wan tried on a necklace and turned around excitedly, showing it off to Bei Huai. “Little Bei, what do you think of this one?”

“Looks good,” Bei Huai nodded.

The girl tried on a few more.

Bei Huai’s response remained the same unchanging verdict.

“Looks good.”

“Be honest—are you just humoring me?” Jiang Wan couldn’t hold back any longer. She set down the necklace, puffed out her cheeks, and accused Bei Huai of not meaning it.

“I’m not. I’m being totally honest here,” Bei Huai said, spreading her hands in innocence.

Seeing the girl’s skeptical look, Bei Huai’s lips curved into a smile. She reached out and straightened the beret on the girl’s head.

“I’m serious. Every single one looks great on you.”

Jiang Wan clutched her hat, eyeing Bei Huai suspiciously. “Have you been swapped out? You’re nothing like the old Bei Huai.” She was actually this smooth with words now.

“You’re not happy even when I compliment you? What’s wrong with you?” Bei Huai laughed in exasperation, tempted to flick the girl on the forehead.

The girl stuck out her tongue in a silly face and darted off to browse the hair accessories.

“Little Bei, try this on.” Before long, Jiang Wan was back with a pair of cat-ear headbands, eagerly holding them up to Bei Huai’s head.

Bei Huai kept her cool expression. “No.”

“Just try it once! Please, just once!” Jiang Wan pleaded softly.

“Pass.”

“Little Bei~ come on~ pretty please~” The girl’s voice was sweet and soft, utterly adorable when she wheedled.

Bei Huai struggled to keep her face straight, but her ear tips had already turned bright red.

Meeting the girl’s sparkling, expectant eyes, she let out a helpless sigh. Even she herself might not have realized how gently she was looking at Jiang Wan now, the sharp edges in her eyes and brows softening completely.

“Just this once.”

Her voice was low as she leaned down slightly in front of the girl.

In the past, Bei Huai never could have imagined it.

That one day in the future, she would bend her head willingly.

All because of a single sentence from this girl.