No. 12 Wishes Are Flowers That Have Fallen from the Branch
The morning’s test had dampened my initial excitement about returning to school. The day passed in a blur.
My sudden rise to the top didn’t cause much of a stir. After the initial shock and confusion, everyone returned to their usual indifference.
Except, I had somehow gained a few “friends.”
With Yi Yao’s original personality, making friends in this class would have been impossible. With her poor grades and quiet nature, she was destined to be a loner.
But after the English test, those who had barely acknowledged my existence before suddenly discovered the art of conversation, approaching me with questions and requests for academic advice.
Apart from Tan Lijiang and his cronies, who refused to apologize to Lan Zhuoyue out of pride, I seemed to be finally integrating into the class.
Another unexpected development was the sudden popularity of my online persona, “bee,” on the Heavenly Fire Forum.
Apparently, I had inadvertently solved a problem that had stumped even national-level computer engineers, helping a large company avert a crisis and sparking a heated discussion about computer security reform on the forum.
…
“Remember to cover for me tomorrow!”
Lan Zhuoyue reminded me as we walked towards the bike shed.
“Seriously? You’re really going to Paris alone?”
I couldn’t believe it.
He turned to me, his figure elongated by the setting sun. “If I don’t go now, it’ll be too late…”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing. Just do me this favor, okay? I’ll bring you back some souvenirs.”
He hopped onto his bike, laughed awkwardly, and sped towards the school gate.
You’re going to get caught by the urban management officers one of these days.
I retrieved my keys from my black cat backpack, unlocked my bike, and joined the stream of students leaving the school.
To my surprise, a car was parked at the school gate, a luxury car worth over a million yuan.
I recognized it. It had picked me up… picked Yi Yao up from school countless times. It was because of this car that the entire school knew “I” had a boyfriend at No. 2 Middle School. To make matters worse, rumor had it that Long Fei had more than one girlfriend at No. 2 Middle School, further tarnishing Yi Yao’s reputation.
Yes, the driver was Long Fei, my “boyfriend.”
“Get in.”
He stepped out of the car, dressed in a suit, and opened the door for me, attracting the attention of everyone nearby.
I pointed at my bike. “It’s okay. I can ride home myself.”
Long Fei was sixteen, but few would mistake him for a minor. He not only looked older than his age, but he also possessed a maturity that belied his years. Even as his girlfriend, Yi Yao had never been able to truly understand him. He was always calm and composed, rarely smiling or showing any emotion. His poker face was unreadable, making him a constant mystery.
“Put your bike in the trunk. I need to talk to you.”
His gaze seemed tinged with sadness. Or perhaps it was just my imagination.
“It won’t take long. I’ll drop you off. We can talk on the way.”
I suddenly remembered hacking into his father’s company yesterday.
“Alright.”
I couldn’t avoid this forever. Besides, I was starting to feel self-conscious under the curious gazes of my classmates. I folded my bike and stuffed it into the trunk, then got into the car and closed the door.
“Star Flower Garden Residential Complex.”
I told the driver, my voice flat and emotionless. Long Fei, who was sitting in the passenger seat, turned to me and handed me a bottle of juice.
“Thanks.”
I mimicked Yi Yao’s usual tone, took the juice, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.
“You usually ask me to open it for you.”
His words made me choke on my juice.
“Heh, it’s fine. Honestly, I’m relieved to see you like this.”
He turned back, fastened his seatbelt, and I caught a glimpse of his face in the rearview mirror. He looked exhausted.
“I’m leaving.”
Although I already knew what was coming, I feigned surprise. “Leaving? Where to?”
“To… The Heavenly Capital City.”
The Heavenly Capital City was a large metropolis over five thousand kilometers away from the Upper Capital City. It was a hub for the internet industry, but the competition was fierce.
“Why? Is it for work?”
The car sped along the sun-baked asphalt road.
“No, my dad is sending me there to study. I won’t be back for five years.”
“Oh…”
I looked down and licked the fruit pulp from the bottle’s rim.
“Do you want to come with me?”
His voice was calm, as if he were discussing something trivial.
“I…” I hesitated. “My mother is sick…”
“I know. Leukemia. It requires a lot of money.”
He fell silent.
His family was wealthy. It wasn’t just the Heavenly Fire Network Technology. There was definitely something more, a hidden power backing Long Teng. My sixth sense, heightened by my new female body, told me so.
“Yi Yao…”
After a long silence, he spoke again. “What do you think love is?”
“Love?”
I was taken aback. I chuckled self-deprecatingly. “Love… Calling her ‘wife’ is affection. Calling her ‘dear’ is love.”
I had never experienced love.
In my past life, I was already nearing thirty by the time I paid off my debts. Just as I was ready to embrace love, fate played a cruel joke on me.
Love was different for girls and boys.
If there was true love between Yi Yao and Long Fei, I wouldn’t be here now. With Long Fei’s wealth, he could easily support Yi Yao. She wouldn’t have to worry about her future, and she wouldn’t have sought solace in her “brother.”
But if Yi Yao were a boy, even if she had stayed up all night at the internet cafe that night, she wouldn’t have caught Long Fei’s attention. None of this would have happened. That was the difference between love for a girl and love for a boy.
“Affection and love… Your answer is so like you.”
He sighed deeply. His voice, for the first time, sounded weary. “We’ve been together for almost a year now… Or perhaps we were never truly together. I’ve met many girls, Yi Yao, but you’re the only one who wouldn’t even let me hold your hand. Perhaps, it’s for the best that we part ways.”
Yes, yes, for the best.
I almost blurted it out.
“Long Ge.”
The car passed by my father’s fruit shop. The driver, who was familiar with my situation with Long Fei, spoke up, noticing the commotion outside.
Long Fei glanced out the window and immediately ordered, “Stop!”
The car screeched to a halt.
“What’s going on?”
We got out of the car and saw a crowd of menacing-looking men gathered outside my father’s usually deserted fruit shop. I rushed over, pushing my way through the crowd.
“You’re not leaving until you give us an explanation!”
I entered the familiar shop and saw my father, his face flushed, arguing with a burly man.
“Brother, we didn’t take anything! You’ve already searched the entire place!”
Apples, grapes, dragon fruits were scattered across the floor, some crushed beyond recognition. The stench of sweat and dirty shoes filled the air, making me gag.
“What happened?”
I pulled aside one of the employees.
“That guy over there,” he pointed at the burly man, “bought a bag of fruit, then came back a few minutes later with all these guys, claiming we stole his wallet.”
The employee was clearly angry but didn’t dare speak up, intimidated by the crowd.
“And then?”
“They trashed the place and said they wouldn’t leave until we returned his money.”
“Why didn’t you call the police?”
“We did! Half an hour ago! But they haven’t arrived yet. What can we do?”
Half an hour?
I scanned the shop, my gaze finally settling on the burly man.
There were over ten of them, all men, all looking like they could handle themselves in a fight. They might even be carrying weapons. I couldn’t fight them head-on.
The question was, who sent them?
Dad had been at the hospital taking care of Mom. The shop had been closed for days and had just reopened today. It was too much of a coincidence, unless…
The Jiang Nan Gang?
I spotted a few familiar faces among the crowd, reminding me of the incident at the food stall.
This kind of thing wasn’t unheard of in the Upper Capital City. People would pay thugs or homeless people to harass their enemies as a form of intimidation.
If that was the case, for the safety of my family, I needed to deal with this Qinghao character sooner rather than later…
“Move!”
An impatient voice cut through the commotion, drawing everyone’s attention.
Long Fei, still in his suit, walked through the crowd, one hand in his pocket, the other covered in a white glove. Whether it was his imposing aura or his unknown background, everyone instinctively stepped aside as he approached.
“Who the hell are you?”
The burly man turned around and pulled out a knife. “Do you know who…”
Before he could finish his sentence, his feet left the ground.
No one saw how Long Fei, who had been several meters away, suddenly appeared beside the burly man and lifted him off the ground. By the time everyone reacted, Long Fei’s gloved hand was already clamped around the man’s carotid artery.
“I… Cough… Cough…”
The man struggled violently, dropping his knife.
“Tell me, who sent you.”
“Brothers… What are you waiting for…”
He choked out, urging his companions to attack.
“If any of you come any closer, he’ll be dead before tomorrow.”
Long Fei held the man up with one hand and glanced coldly at the others. “I can afford to pay for a life, but I doubt this gentleman can say the same for his wife and children.”
“Don’t… Don’t… We’ll talk… It was a guy named Huang Qinghao. He paid us to do this…”
One of the men, holding a steel pipe, finally cracked under pressure, his voice trembling.
Long Fei snorted and tossed the burly man aside like a piece of trash.
“Get out of here. If you need money, go to the Heavenly Fire Network Technology. We’ll pay you double what your previous employer offered.”
