The school infirmary was the building furthest from the sports field on campus. As Shen Shuyu walked there, spring flowers bloomed along her entire path.
The spring blossoms were magnificent, the garden full of delicate fragrance.
But Shen Shuyu’s footsteps were hurried. She had no mind to appreciate the scenery.
Arriving at the infirmary, Shen Shuyu followed the address Li Qingqing had sent her long ago to the third floor.
After straightening her attire, and steadying her breath,
Shen Shuyu stopped before the door of Ward 305. Just as she was about to push it open, she heard the loud sounds of an argument coming from inside.
An unfamiliar, shrill female voice was kicking up a fuss aggressively inside the ward. “Why should I apologize to a Lower City person? Has the school officially stated it was my fault yet? If the school hasn’t reached a conclusion, don’t be so quick to pin the blame on me!”
“It was clearly you who suddenly barged in! So many eyes saw it! When you do something wrong, you apologize!” Li Qingqing’s voice was equally loud, questioning her right back.
“We already said we’ll cover the medical expenses! Don’t push your luck like this, okay?”
“Who’s pushing their luck?! If you injure someone, you apologize! It’s your responsibility, okay? I have the video right here!”
“Just a Lower City person, really thinking they’re so precious? I haven’t even mentioned that she knocked me over and demanded compensation and an apology from her!”
……
Shen Shuyu’s brow furrowed slightly. Without knocking, she pushed the door and entered the ward.
There weren’t many people gathered in the ward. Besides Li Qingqing and Wei Lai, there were only the companions of the girl who had just suddenly barged onto the runway.
The girl responsible for the accident was leaning against the sickbed, her eyes full of arrogance.
Shen Shuyu recognized this girl. It was Sun Qi, the daughter of the Sun family, who were in the mid-to-high-end clothing business.
The Sun family had been on the rise recently. This year, they intended to transition into a luxury brand and wanted to enter several high-end shopping malls under the Shen family’s umbrella. They had just held a cocktail party a few days ago, inviting Shen Lin. Shen Shuyu had attended as well.
During the banquet, Shen Shuyu could tell at a glance that Sun Qi was not easy to get along with.
Arrogant and domineering, fawning over the powerful and trampling the weak.
“Miss Sun seems to have forgotten—going back three generations, wasn’t the Sun family also from the Lower City?”
Shen Shuyu wore a cold expression. Her eyes, tinged with silver, held a chill that even sunlight couldn’t melt.
A wind from nowhere blew in, silently suppressing the agitation that filled the room.
Everyone’s gaze fell on Shen Shuyu, including Yu Mo’s.
Sun Qi hadn’t expected someone to dare publicly bring up the Sun family’s not-so-glorious past in this situation. Her brow furrowed, a fierce glint flashing in her eyes.
But upon seeing that the newcomer was Shen Shuyu of the Shen family, the ferocity instantly dissipated, replaced by a mix of bewilderment and indignation. Her voice softened considerably. “Miss Shen? Do you know what you’re saying?”
“I’m simply reminding Miss Sun not to forget her roots,” Shen Shuyu replied calmly.
Sun Qi laughed in disbelief. “Forget our roots? That’s the Lower City—cheap, shoddy. Everything they wear reeks of poverty. What roots are worth remembering?”
Sun Qi’s contemptuous tone made Yu Mo involuntarily clench her fists. She shot back, “Miss Sun says we Lower City people are cheap. Then what are you, wearing the same school uniform as me, studying at the same high school? Just as cheap and shoddy as I am?”
Sun Qi feared Shen Shuyu, but she had no qualms about Yu Mo.
She looked at Yu Mo with disdain, not holding back any sarcasm. “You should be thanking that school uniform you’re wearing for giving you a tiny bit of status. Don’t think that just because your outer skin is the same as ours, you’re noble. In your bones, you’re still a lowly Lower City person, you hear? Just because you came to the Upper City to study, you think you’ve become an Upper City resident? Comparing yourself to me? Are you even worthy? A Lower City person!”
Yu Mo lowered her head and let out a derisive snort. “Yeah, I can’t compare to you, Miss Sun. But Miss Sun, have you ever thought about it—how are you any different from the ‘Lower City people’ in the eyes of those with even higher status than the Sun family?”
With that, Yu Mo looked at Sun Qi, her eyes full of mockery.
She had never thought Upper City people were so noble.
Above Upper City residents, there were always other, higher Upper City residents. While trampling others’ dignity with laughter and mockery, they were also trampled upon by others.
The social ladder was infinite. No one was truly, inherently noble.
The arrogance on Sun Qi’s face froze instantly. She stared at Yu Mo, her narrow, slanted eyes widening to their limit. “You! You’re talking nonsense!!”
“Am I?” Yu Mo countered.
“You dare mock me?!” Sun Qi flew into a rage out of humiliation. She raised her hand, intending to slap Yu Mo to vent her anger—just as she habitually bullied the servants at home.
As Sun Qi’s hand rose, Shen Shuyu rushed forward with a quick step and grabbed her wrist firmly, stopping her.
Shen Shuyu’s face darkened. Her voice was low as she challenged Sun Qi, “What is Miss Sun doing?”
“Miss Shen, don’t stop me. I’ll teach this clueless little bastard a lesson for you today!” Sun Qi pretended as if she were doing this for Shen Shuyu.
But Shen Shuyu wasn’t buying any of it. She just looked at Sun Qi without a word.
Sun Qi, restrained by Shen Shuyu, writhed like a maggot, twisting her body and wrist, trying to break free from Shen Shuyu’s grip.
“Miss Shen, what are you doing!” Sun Qi looked at Shen Shuyu with urgency and anger.
“Miss Sun, you don’t need to use my name as a pretense to vent your personal fury. I don’t feel that anything Yu Mo said offended me,” Shen Shuyu stated bluntly, showing no regard for Sun Qi’s pride.
Sun Qi looked at Shen Shuyu in disbelief. She could hardly trust her own ears.
After all, her family had just recently established ties with the Shen family. Even if Shen Shuyu didn’t care about her, shouldn’t she at least consider the partnership between the Shen and Sun families?
Sun Qi questioned, “Shen Shuyu, you and I are both Upper City residents, and you’re actually speaking up for a Lower City person? Are you favoring her?”
Shen Shuyu: “Yes.”
Shen Shuyu admitted it frankly.
This was exactly what she wanted to do.
She would openly, blatantly show favoritism to Yu Mo just this once.
And furthermore, not only this once.
Li Qingqing, watching Sun Qi bring humiliation upon herself, couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
That laugh made Sun Qi’s face flush a deep, embarrassed red.
Sun Qi simply couldn’t believe her ears.
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t understand why Shen Shuyu, who was known to be reasonable and tactful, would publicly embarrass her like this.
Yu Mo was even more stunned. She doubted her own ears.
That “Yes” had indeed come from Shen Shuyu’s voice, but it was also something Shen Shuyu shouldn’t have said.
Shen Shuyu stood right there at the door of the hospital ward, arguing for her against that foul-mouthed Upper City resident.
She even openly admitted to showing favoritism, just as she’d confessed.
A tiny crack seemed to appear on Yu Mo’s originally hardened, stony heart.
A sour ache filled the bridge of her nose.
If only, in the last life, Shen Shuyu had also stood up for her like this, arguing against those who spread gossip and slander about her… how wonderful that would have been.
Shen Shuyu paused, then continued, addressing Sun Qi, “Miss Sun, you made a mistake first. When you make a mistake, you must admit it. Is this how Uncle Sun usually teaches you? To know your mistakes and refuse to correct them?”
“No!” Sun Qi hastily defended herself.
“Then apologize,” Shen Shuyu’s voice was cold and stern, delivering the final conclusion with an air of indisputable authority.
Sun Qi glanced at her companions, who shrank back and didn’t speak up for her. Then she looked at Yu Mo, surrounded by Wei Lai and Li Qingqing.
Her fragile, pitiful pride couldn’t accept admitting fault to this Lower City person, let alone apologizing.
But Shen Shuyu was standing right beside her—someone she couldn’t afford to offend.
Sun Qi’s lips struggled several times. Seizing a moment when Shen Shuyu relaxed her guard, she quickly turned and bolted out the door.
“Hey! She ran!! Get back here!!” Wei Lai, seeing this, was about to chase after her.
Yu Mo, however, reached out and pulled Wei Lai back. “Just leave it.”
“She hasn’t apologized yet!” Wei Lai was persistent.
“Too noisy,” Yu Mo tossed a word at Wei Lai and leaned back against the soft pillow at the head of the bed.
She raised her hand and rubbed her temples, her brow tightly furrowed, looking uncomfortable.
From the moment she was hit until now, after the ruckus Sun Qi had caused in the hospital,
Yu Mo hadn’t gotten a single second of peace and quiet.
Her head felt heavy and bloated, somewhat uncomfortable.
“Then Wei Lai and I will go call the doctor to come take a look at you.” Li Qingqing looked at Shen Shuyu, giving her a signal.
Then, she quickly grabbed Wei Lai’s hand and led her out of the ward.
Shen Shuyu understood Li Qingqing’s intention. Watching the ward door close, she proactively walked to Yu Mo’s bedside and poured her a glass of water. “Want some water?” she asked softly.
Yu Mo hadn’t had a chance to hydrate all morning. Being asked by Shen Shuyu now, her lips did feel a bit dry.
She reached out and took the cup from Shen Shuyu’s hand, saying a flat, “Thanks.”
The hospital ward was very quiet. Sunlight streamed through the transparent glass windows, filling the room with light.
Yu Mo’s crimson lips, moistened by the water, were plump and glossy, looking as beautiful as a rose with layered petals under the sunlight.
Watching this, Shen Shuyu unconsciously pursed her own lips.
Perhaps because it was too quiet, Shen Shuyu felt her own breathing was especially audible.
She needed to find a topic of conversation—either to cover, or to divert her desire.
“Are you angry?” Shen Shuyu took the initiative to ask.
Yu Mo placed the cup back on the bedside table and answered frankly, “Not angry. What’s there to be angry about? I’ve heard much worse in the past.”
The speaker had no particular intention, but the listener took it to heart.
Shen Shuyu’s heart was fiercely clenched.
Indeed, how many similar insults had she heard in the past?
Yet only in this life had she finally stepped forward to offer the protection that should have been given all along.
Yu Mo thought her conversation with Shen Shuyu would end there. Unexpectedly, Shen Shuyu looked up again.
Her eyes were calm, yet seemed to conceal undercurrents.
Shen Shuyu parted her lips and said, “Actually, classmate Yu Mo doesn’t need to care so much about being from the Lower City. Although the school has many Upper City students, most of them are kind.”
Yu Mo was stunned. Was Shen Shuyu… comforting her?
She looked at the person before her—youthful features, the sixteen-year-old Shen Shuyu whose face she had once carved into her memory.
She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was different about her, but Yu Mo truly felt this Shen Shuyu had some discrepancies from the Shen Shuyu in her memories.
“And that includes you?” In a daze, Yu Mo asked.
“Yes,” Shen Shuyu answered affirmatively.
Unfortunately, Yu Mo only believed this affirmation for one second.
Countless memories surged forth, as if intentionally reminding Yu Mo.
She remembered Shen Shuyu had given her the word “Yes” on many matters.
Including the wedding vow: “In wealth or poverty, in sickness and in health… do you love her?”
Shen Shuyu was a sophisticated emotional fraud.
She’d given her one promise after another, only to betray that certainty again and again.
Yu Mo wouldn’t be fooled again. She averted her gaze from Shen Shuyu’s profile and replied icily, “I don’t feel that way.”
