Chapter 25: Heart Moves: Day 5

“By the way, do you have any favorite flowers? I could grab a bouquet from the flower shop for you sometime,” Jiang Wan said thoughtfully, flashing a bright smile.

“What flowers do you like?” Bei Huai asked in return.

“Me?”

“Yeah… I don’t really have a favorite, but if I had to choose, I think baby’s breath is pretty special.”

“I like the name. Anything with stars in it just sounds so wonderful.”

Jiang Wan grew animated as she spoke. She fetched a photo album from her room, settled beside Bei Huai, and flipped it open for her to see.

Every page was filled with starry skies captured from different angles—each one stunningly beautiful, profoundly moving.

Bei Huai gazed down at the album, her expression shadowed.

She had never realized before that something so often overlooked could stir the soul so deeply.

“A lot of these I took myself,” Jiang Wan explained eagerly. “Others are pictures I found online. They were so gorgeous that I reached out to the photographers. Once they gave permission, I had them printed to make this album just for me.”

The girl bubbled with enthusiasm, oblivious to how she seemed to glow in that moment—her eyes alight with a pure, radiant spark that was almost too dazzling to meet.

Bei Huai could feel the thrill and delight radiating from her, even from the sidelines.

She had sensed it for a while now: Jiang Wan’s world brimmed with beauty and joy.

The young woman had loving, harmonious parents and tight-knit girlfriends. She excelled in her studies, got along with everyone, pursued her passion for ballet, marveled at the vast night skies, and always spotted the good in everyday life.

Her path in life ought to be this smooth and joyful.

Bei Huai could even picture her future unfolding.

She’d ace the college entrance exams and attend a top university, meet the love of her life, land her dream job after graduation.

Build a career, start a family.

Perhaps even have a child as lovely and bright as herself.

But none of it would have anything to do with Bei Huai.

In Jiang Wan’s life, she was probably just a fleeting visitor.

That was perfectly normal. Yet the thought soured her heart like biting into a lemon—the ache spreading all the way to her fingertips.

A wave of disappointment and anxiety crashed over her, tightening her chest until breathing felt labored.

In that instant, the truth hit her with piercing clarity.

She and Jiang Wan belonged to two entirely different worlds.

~~~

In a twist no one saw coming, Jiang Wan and Guanguan’s Friday night escapade—climbing the wall to ditch class—had been reported.

Come Monday morning, Jiang Wan was summoned straight to the grade director’s office upon arriving at school.

By the time she got there, a line of students already stood in the room.

Guanguan and the others wore crestfallen expressions, but Bei Huai alone remained utterly composed, which only stoked Director Zhang’s fury.

Director Zhang was balding with a pinched, sour face.

To make matters worse—or better, depending—he was also Guanguan’s homeroom teacher.

Guanguan looked on the verge of despair. With Bei Huai drawing the director’s ire, at least his attention hadn’t turned to her yet.

“Report,” Jiang Wan announced softly. She was the last to arrive.

Her voice pulled every eye in the office toward her.

“Well, well, the VIP has finally wrapped up her busy schedule? Honored us with your presence at last?” Director Zhang sneered from his chair, shooting Jiang Wan a sidelong glance laced with sarcasm.

Bei Huai’s eyelids flickered. She tilted her head ever so slightly, stealing a discreet glance at the girl before looking away.

Jiang Wan said nothing. She simply moved to stand beside Guanguan in silence.

“You lot again! Always you delinquents wrecking the school’s discipline—like a single rat turd spoiling a whole pot of porridge!” Director Zhang slammed his fist on the desk, his voice booming with rage.

“If you don’t want to learn, then get the hell out of No. 13 Middle School! I’d like to see another school stupid enough to take you misfits! With attitudes like yours, you’ll be scrubbing toilets for life—never amount to a damn thing!”

“Look at yourselves! No better than street thugs! Wasting your time fooling around instead of studying, dragging your parents’ names through the mud! If I were them, I’d be too ashamed to show my face—might as well drop dead!”

Director Zhang’s tirade grew uglier by the word. Guanguan’s eyes welled up, red-rimmed.

“Director Zhang,” Jiang Wan said at last, after holding back as long as she could.

She drew a steadying breath, forcing down her temper. “Director Zhang, I admit skipping class was wrong on our part. Per the school rules, whatever punishment you deem fit, I’ll take it without a peep. But!”

Her voice sharpened.

“No matter the circumstances, I won’t stand for you insulting my parents or speculating about what they’d do! And I refuse to accept that one skipped class seals someone’s fate for life. As I understand it, Ning City’s wealthiest man didn’t even finish high school—and look what he accomplished.”

“So, wasn’t Director Zhang being too hasty? Besides, I don’t think there’s anything shameful about being a cleaner. They earn their living through their own hard work, with their own two hands, and they deserve our respect just as much!”

Jiang Wan’s words were well-reasoned and logically airtight, a perfect takedown of Director Zhang.

Everyone present was left stunned.

The other troublemakers were all repeat offenders, long since numb to Director Zhang’s tired old lecture. It went in one ear and out the other—they didn’t take it seriously at all.

Guanguan had a fiery temper, but she didn’t dare act out in front of a teacher. More precisely, she was terrified her mom would find out. If Aunt Guan learned she’d skipped class, she’d be lucky to escape with her skin intact.

So no matter how ugly Director Zhang’s words got, she could only grit her teeth and bear it, afraid he’d pick up the phone and snitch to her mom.

As for Bei Huai, she didn’t put Director Zhang in her eyes at all. In fact, she almost hoped he’d have the guts to actually expel her.

Too bad it was always a lot of noise with no follow-through. She was sick of it.

Jiang Wan’s speech, on the other hand, was a total breath of fresh air.

One of the boys even burst into applause.

“What’s so great about it? All of you, shut your mouths! This isn’t some playground for you to run wild!” Director Zhang’s face flushed beet red, veins bulging in his neck.

“Keep it up, and I’ll slap you all with major demerits!”

That shut the applauding boy up fast.

No joke—a major demerit was serious business. He wasn’t like Bei Huai, with her rich dad to bail her out and let her run wild.

“You’re Jiang Wan, right?” Director Zhang fixed her with a glare, his voice sharp.

Guanguan’s face filled with worry as she gave the hem of Jiang Wan’s clothes a subtle tug.

“Yes.” Jiang Wan stood ramrod straight, her expression calm and unflappable.

She had the unshakable poise of a mountain collapsing in front of her without so much as batting an eye.

No one could connect this version of her to the trembling girl from that night, perched on the wall with wobbly legs, too scared to climb down.

Bei Huai watched her for a few seconds before lowering her head slightly, a glint of amusement flashing in her eyes.

“Got quite the silver tongue on you, huh? Daring to challenge me like that?” Director Zhang’s expression grew uglier by the second. The calmer Jiang Wan stayed, the more it felt like an assault on his authority.

His rage boiled over, and without thinking, the words tumbled out.

“What, did I strike a nerve? What were you doing climbing over the wall Friday night? Sneaking off for a rendezvous, I’ll bet!”

“Disgraceful at such a young age!”

It was a blatant smear job on Jiang Wan.

“You done yet, you asshole?”

“No, it was me—I begged Jiang Wan to come with me to the concert!”

Two voices rang out at once.

Jiang Wan froze for a split second, her eyes instinctively flicking to Bei Huai.

The girl’s brows were sharp and fierce, a storm gathering in her eyes, her whole demeanor chilling to the bone.

“Did you slather laxative on your mouth or what? You just won’t shut up. Listening to you is like hearing a dog bark—pure noise.”

The jab was ruthless, no mercy spared.

Director Zhang opened his mouth several times, only to have Bei Huai’s overwhelming presence force the words back down his throat.

“Listen up. I wanted to go to the concert, and I dragged them into it. Clear enough?”

“Bei Huai…” Jiang Wan frowned and shook her head, clearly against the idea.

She was trying to shoulder all the blame herself.

“Director Zhang, leave Bei Huai out of this. I went on my own.”

“Exactly, it was our choice.” Guanguan recovered from her shock and jumped in to back her up.

She never imagined Bei Huai had the guts to mock the director to his face.

And so arrogantly, too.

Director Zhang glared daggers, his voice shaking with fury.

“You’ve all lost your minds, thinking you can walk all over me! Concerts? What a load of crap—excuses!”

“Oh, I see how it is. Bei Huai, you’re defending them so fiercely… afraid their little rendezvous partner was you?”

Bang!

Bei Huai surged forward and kicked over the chair Director Zhang had been sitting in, sending him sprawling face-first onto the floor.

The move was so swift, no one saw it coming. The other students there for their scoldings stared at Bei Huai in open awe.

Arms crossed, she loomed over the man, her gaze dripping with contempt.

“Still running that filthy mouth? I wouldn’t mind scrubbing your brain clean for you.”

“Bei Huai, you dared kick me? Have you no respect for your teachers and elders? I’ll report this to the Principal—I’ll have you expelled!” Director Zhang writhed in pain, unable to get up right away.

He was the only teacher in the office, and the door was shut tight.

It left him utterly humiliated in front of these very students he usually sneered at.

“Heh, knock yourself out.” Bei Huai let out a scoff, utterly dismissive of his threats.

“You blockheads, hurry up and help me to my feet!” Director Zhang’s face had turned the color of pig liver with rage, so he vented his fury on the others instead.

When he saw them hesitating and glancing at Bei Huai’s expression, Director Zhang felt like his heart was about to burst.

“What are you all standing around for? Do you want me to give you major demerits?”

Those words snapped the students out of it. They didn’t dare delay any longer and rushed forward to help Director Zhang up.

The trouble they’d caused would probably just earn them a warning at worst. But a major demerit? That would be so unfair.

“You… you just wait.” Director Zhang jabbed a finger at Bei Huai, his face twisted in fury as he tried to spit out a vicious threat. But when his eyes met the girl’s gaze—dark and bottomless as black holes—his hand shook, and he dropped it without thinking.

He couldn’t explain it. He was a grown man facing down a teenage girl, yet he felt a coward’s chill.

Worse, he had the gut feeling that if it came to blows, she’d wipe the floor with him.

With a furious flick of his hand, Director Zhang stormed out the door. It was clear he was off to tattle to the principal.

“Little Bei, you shouldn’t have hit him. He’s a teacher, no matter how badly he behaved. Striking first puts you in the wrong.” Jiang Wan’s eyes brimmed with worry.

She wasn’t scolding Bei Huai for the kick. She was afraid the girl would face even harsher consequences because of it.

Truth be told, she’d started recording well before Director Zhang had begun hurling insults at her.

Even if the school tried to cover for him, that audio would force the Education Bureau’s hand.

“Sigh, now it’s really hit the fan. Mom’s bound to find out. I’m done for, wuwuwu.” Guanguan buried her face in her hands and sobbed in despair.

“Hey, come on. Think of it this way: one beating for a memory no one else will ever have. Not a total loss.” Jiang Wan patted her shoulder, scraping together what optimism she could.

She knew Aunt Guan all too well. The woman valued face above all else. Guanguan was in for a brutal reckoning.

Bei Huai glanced at the two girls, then lowered her eyes and spoke softly. “When the time comes, just pin it all on me. They won’t touch me.”

“Really?” Guanguan looked up, hope flickering in her eyes.

It wasn’t that she wanted to dodge responsibility. She was just terrified of her mother finding out.

“No way. This has nothing to do with you.” Jiang Wan shot it down flat.

“I know you mean well, Little Bei. But we started this. We’ll take the good with the bad.” Her voice softened.

“I won’t duck the punishment we’ve earned. But I won’t bow to trumped-up charges, either.”

The girl’s gaze was clear and unyielding, infused with a conviction as unshakable as faith itself. It was impossible not to be moved.

Bei Huai’s lashes fluttered. She stared at Jiang Wan for a long moment before letting out a quiet laugh.

“Got it.”

She couldn’t help thinking: if the old her had possessed even half of Jiang Wan’s resolve, she never would have let herself stew in misery for so long.

If only…

She’d met Jiang Wan sooner.