Chapter 30 Part 2

Then, Shen Shuyu clearly heard Shen Lin click her tongue. “It’s just a pity, she’s from the Lower City.”

The ripples in Shen Shuyu’s heart instantly dissipated. A flash of vigilance darted through her eyes.

She couldn’t quite grasp the meaning behind Shen Lin’s words.

“Curious how I knew?” Shen Lin raised her eyes to look at Shen Shuyu.

What Shen Shuyu saw in Shen Lin’s pupils was more intrigue than disgust.

This allowed Shen Shuyu to relax slightly. She answered, “No.”

“Remember this: to see who’s behind something, find the biggest beneficiary of the entire affair. This whole incident was about clearing the name of this child called Yu Mo. Someone even used a lot of words to rail against the idea that ‘Lower City people are lowly.’ It’s far too obvious.” Shen Lin smiled playfully. “I believe tomorrow, this Director Wang will be going to see this Yu Mo person.”

Shen Lin looked at the characters for “Yu Mo,” which appeared with high frequency on the screen.

She remembered Yu Mo—the girl for whom Shen Shuyu had once defied her, talked back.

More than once.

She had absolutely no intention of interfering in children’s squabbles.

She was more interested in watching the fire from across the river.

She wanted to see what kind of waves this Yu Mo, a Lower City person her daughter was so fixated on, could stir up at A University Affiliated Girls High School.

“Good luck to that child.”

Inside, Shen Shuyu smiled wryly.

Mom, you should be wishing Director Wang good luck.

.

The first ray of dawn pierced the long, dark night, scattering brilliant light upon the earth, dispelling the gloom.

The second day of the sports meet arrived as expected. Everyone was intensely curious about the two main characters from last night’s forum drama.

Unfortunately, just when everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of them in person, both seemed to have agreed upon it—neither one showed up.

“Now, Sun Qi being afraid to come, I can understand. But Yu Mo not coming is puzzling. Yawn—” Feng Ruoyu, resting her chin on her hand, watched the unfamiliar girls constantly looking towards their class from below the audience stands, letting out a huge yawn.

“That’s exactly the reason. That woman, using her injuries as an excuse, got leave to catch up on sleep. She’s not coming until after ten. If it weren’t for the 3000m, I doubt she’d come at all,” Wei Lai, who had also stayed up all night, yawned as well.

“Hey, with things blowing up this big, what do you think the outcome will be?” Feng Ruoyu asked curiously.

“I feel like the Principal, seeing this first thing in the morning, is going to blow his top,” Zhou Qin remarked, savoring the memory of the battlefield they five of them had conquered last night. Chin resting on her hand, she boldly hypothesized.

A morning breeze blew, carrying the music from the field’s loudspeakers toward the teaching building.

The lively music couldn’t, however, diminish the heavy, low-pressure atmosphere inside the Principal’s Office.

“Principal, regarding the chaos on the campus forum this morning, please allow me to explain. There were reasons for it. Yesterday, I clearly instructed Media Department Head Jiang Chen to strictly control the campus forum. I never imagined she would neglect her duties, leading to this mess this morning.” Director Wang watched Principal Wu Yuanyong pacing before the bookshelves, his fingers trembling slightly.

Perhaps if other teachers didn’t care about these student forums, that was one thing, but Director Wang, a man with a guilty conscience, being so careless—he truly deserved his fate.

It might also be that Director Wang had done so many bad deeds he’d become fearless, long forgetting the meaning of the word “caution.”

Despite knowing full well this matter had to be tightly contained, leaving no loose ends, he still went out drinking and partying last night.

Then, as usual, got dead drunk, slept soundly face-up.

It wasn’t until the Principal called him this morning that he learned what had happened on the campus forum.

“It seems to me, the students are quite displeased with your shielding of classmate Sun Qi,” Wu Yuanyong stopped pacing. His tone was measured and slow as he questioned Director Wang.

But Director Wang felt as if countless invisible cold arrows had pierced him, making his entire body run cold.

He knew in his heart that what Principal Wu Yuanyong was aware of might not just be the campus forum incident; there was a bigger landmine waiting for him.

The posts on the campus forum were the spark that lit the fuse.

“Director Wang, over the years, you haven’t been taking few perks from this school, have you?” Wu Yuanyong slowly sat down, beginning his interrogation.

Rotten roots, once embedded in the soil for too long, must be pulled out.

The sun slowly climbed higher in the sky. Sunlight streamed through the courtyard skylight, falling onto the desolate, silent corridor.

Shen Shuyu half-leaned against the corridor railing, her long lashes lowered, her eyes gazing into the distance, yet without any clear destination.

Standing there, all the sunlight seemed to gather around her.

Golden rays traced the outline of her figure. Her fair skin was so delicate it seemed a breeze could break it.

A gentle breeze blew languidly, mischievously lifting Shen Shuyu’s long hair. Her exquisite face held a beauty that wasn’t diminished by the slight disarray.

The quiet corridor was utterly empty.

As if left alone by the world.

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through the long corridor. Beneath the veil of her long hair, a refreshing, heartwarming smile bloomed on the corner of Shen Shuyu’s lips.

Within Shen Shuyu’s line of sight, Director Wang was shuffling out of the Principal’s office, head hanging low.

It seemed that even though she had interfered, the trajectory of history was still progressing on schedule.

After all, Shen Lin had been steeped in the business world for too long; she wasn’t entirely clear on how schools operated now.

She had forgotten that the biggest figure in a school was the Principal. No matter how Director Wang stirred up storms below the surface, if the matter reached the Principal’s desk,

Director Wang was dead meat.

Shen Shuyu was watching Director Wang depart for the very last time to his office when the phone in her pocket vibrated.

It was already ten o’clock. It was time to go back and watch Yu Mo’s 3000m race.

Along the way, facing the warm spring breeze, Shen Shuyu continuously received urging messages from Li Qingqing.

The area around the track was already packed with people. After last night’s uproar, Yu Mo had become quite famous in school.

That stunning photo of Yu Mo’s long jump had been circulated all over the forum.

Everyone was curious. They wondered if the girl in the photo, with her spirited brows and heroic air, would look just as dashing and awe-inspiring in real life.

Seeing this scene, Shen Shuyu was rather surprised.

The crowd was bustling; there was virtually no place for her to stand.

Just then, from the side closest to the track, Li Qingqing’s voice called out: “Shuyu, over here, quick!”

Shen Shuyu looked at the hand waving at her amidst the crowd and finally understood the meaning of the word “grateful.”

Time was tight. Disregarding her usual etiquette, Shen Shuyu reached out and gently, with a hint of roughness, parted the crowd, slowly inching her way over to Li Qingqing.

Just as Shen Shuyu steadied herself beside Li Qingqing, Bang! The starting pistol fired.

The girls in her heat all jostled towards the inner lane. Shen Shuyu, along with the numerous gazes searching for Yu Mo, looked towards the front of the pack for a moment, only to discover Yu Mo and Wei Lai running side-by-side, pacing themselves at a steady jog in the middle of the group.

Compared to the somewhat nervous Wei Lai beside her, Yu Mo was completely unaffected by the curious gazes from the crowd surrounding her.

Her focus was intense, her arm swings rhythmic.

This might be called a blessing in disguise.

The scorching stares she had often endured in the Upper City in her last life, even more intense than what she faced today, had long made Yu Mo impervious to the gazes of others.

Unrestrained sunlight above the field spilled freely onto Yu Mo’s face—clean and refreshing.

The stirring air brushed against the stray hairs at her temples, tracing freehand strokes across her profile, adding a touch of untamed spirit.

“Is that Yu Mo? Prettier than the photo, eh. So fair-skinned.”

“My heart aches for her arm wound, tsk tsk. Sun Qi is truly inhuman.”

“God, are those legs of hers actually real?”

“I can’t wait to see what Yu Mo differentiates into. She absolutely has to be an Alpha, right?”

……

Shen Shuyu’s gaze never left Yu Mo. Listening to the discussions of the several people nearby, her expression remained placid.

Only in her heart, she secretly voiced total agreement with Yu Mo’s little fangirls’ sentiments.

Her Yu Mo really was so dazzling.

Three thousand meters sounds long when spoken, but when you’re actually running, time passes much faster.

The cheering on the field grew louder and louder. By the time the first-place runner crossed the finish line for the sixth time, the teacher at the finish line struck the gong, signaling the final lap.

Long-distance running truly tests one’s endurance. It’s not about how far ahead you charge at the start that guarantees you’ll hold onto the front spots.

Over six and a half laps, Yu Mo maintained a steady pace, gradually moving from a mid-pack position to the fourth or fifth place near the front.

Wei Lai, just as in the previous life, began to lose steam, barely holding on ahead.

Yu Mo glanced at the few people ahead and let out a light breath.

Even if she conserved energy by maintaining an even pace, the lactic acid buildup in her legs after so many laps was inevitable, starting to spread.

But her goal from the beginning had been to take first place. She wouldn’t give up just like that.

Yu Mo began to slowly pick up speed, overtaking the third and second-place runners on the outside lane.

Under everyone’s tense gazes, she gradually closed in on the girl who had just become first.

But what was frustrating was, every time Yu Mo accelerated, she always fell just short of overtaking the lead runner.

More than half the lap was done. Yu Mo was breathing down the leader’s neck; the two were locked in a stalemate.

The names of the students competing from various classes intermingled, and the cheers thundered like crashing waves.

Li Qingqing was stationed at the front, frantically screaming encouragement for Wei Lai.

Shen Shuyu watched Li Qingqing, her eyes holding a mix of envy and admiration.

She didn’t dare.

Such unrestrained shouting and screaming—within the upbringing Shen Shuyu had received, it was not something she was supposed to do.

Very quickly, Yu Mo and the first-place runner rounded the final bend of the race, locked in their tense duel. Before them lay only the final hundred-meter sprint.

Shen Shuyu felt her surroundings suddenly boil over. Everyone was cheering frantically at the top of their lungs.

Trapped within this frenzy, her eyes locked tightly onto Yu Mo, who was straining desperately to overtake the lead runner. Unconsciously, her five fingers clenched tightly.

Yu Mo accelerated again.

Shen Shuyu knew this was also her last chance.

But the lead runner simultaneously picked up speed.

Yu Mo was still just that tiny bit behind her.

Watching this minuscule gap, Shen Shuyu’s entire body tensed with anxiety.

The cheering around her grew louder and louder, pounding against her eardrums, making her heart race wildly along with the noise.

Shen Shuyu looked at the students around her going crazy, her fingers curling tighter and tighter.

How she wished, so intensely, to also shout out that cheer, that encouragement, belonging to her, for Yu Mo…

She really, really wanted to…

Finally, Shen Shuyu’s desire shattered the chains of restraint surrounding her.

Her eyes flashing with pent-up excitement, she recklessly shouted at the top of her lungs towards Yu Mo, who was about to run past: “Yu Mo! Go for it! Just a little bit more!!”

This single cheer cut through the cacophony of mixed sounds, piercing straight through Yu Mo’s eardrums.

It was Shen Shuyu’s cheer.

This voice, carrying the force of two lifetimes, slammed heavily into Yu Mo.

Yu Mo, already at the brink of exhaustion, felt her heart abruptly seize, then begin pounding even more wildly.

It was as if a force that had been trapped within her was finally released. Yu Mo’s speed increased faster and faster, faster and faster.

Finally, under Shen Shuyu’s tightly fixed gaze, Yu Mo surpassed the other girl, who had also been accelerating all along.

She charged straight for that stretched red silk ribbon.

Bright sunlight fell on Shen Shuyu’s face, her eyes brimming with overflowing joy.

Shen Shuyu had never been this ecstatic.

She actually jumped up amidst the crowd of thousands of spectators.

Delight and excitement scattered from her like beads, falling noisily to the ground with pili pala sounds.

Li Qingqing saw that flower, which bloomed so wildly on Shen Shuyu’s face, once again.

A flower that bloomed only for Yu Mo.

Li Qingqing realized something then.

So what if Shen Shuyu was the only daughter of the Shen Group’s boss? So what if she was the precious Eldest Miss Shen of the Upper City?

Shen Shuyu was, like herself, just one among the thousands and millions of girls in this world.

She, too, should have a girl’s brightness, liveliness, and vivid color.

The red ribbon, symbolizing victory, draped around Yu Mo. Beads of sweat trickled down along her smooth jawline, sliding into her neck and shoulders.

The cheers around her erupted, but Yu Mo had no mind to bask in this applause meant solely for her.

Her legs felt heavy as if filled with lead. Stumbling, she let Zhou Qin and Feng Ruoyu support her as she walked slowly to cool down.

Yu Mo’s mind was a chaotic blur. She felt enveloped by the sunlight. A seven-colored solar halo shimmered in her vision.

And within that halo was Shen Shuyu’s face—wearing an expression of sheer excitement she had never seen before. Was it for me she was this thrilled?

Yu Mo shook her head, certain she must be seeing things. This was Shen Shuyu, after all—the Shen Shuyu whose facial expression hadn’t even faltered at her own death.

How could she possibly be this excited over her winning the 3000m dash?

Just as Yu Mo was catching her breath in this brief pause, a figure, wearing a mask and a hat to avoid all eyes, walked up to her.

“Yu Mo, can we talk?”

Sun Qi removed her hat, revealing dark, un-coverable shadows under her eyes.