Chapter 5

As soon as Yun Zhuoqing made it back to the main hall, just like Jiang Nuan promised, her parents had already finished their formal thanks. Now, it was time for the birthday girl herself to hand out cake.
Jiang Nuan spotted Yun Zhuoqing instantly and waved her over. Since people were looking, Yun Zhuoqing had no choice but to approach.
But Jiang Nuan didn’t insist Yun Zhuoqing stand right by her side; she was just relieved to see Yun Zhuoqing wasn’t off hiding in a corner anymore and got ready to begin the cake-cutting.
Standing amid the crowd, Jiang Nuan was beaming, anyone could see she’d grown up spoiled and adored. Her family hadn’t just given her money, but also taught her to be gracious. Even when faced with less-than-kind people, she never lost her patience.
Bai Jiajia had been utterly consumed by anxiety over Xiaoxue, but now Xiaoxue had vanished in the blink of an eye. Bai Jiajia worried Xiaoxue might’ve started trouble, and also panicked over how she’d ever explain things if Chen Huo came looking for someone and found nobody. Fortunately, Chen Huo seemed to have already forgotten about the earlier drama, Bai Jiajia saw him come in, never sparing her a glance. Instead, he went right to hang out with Yue Hao and the others, eyes glued to his phone. That let her breathe a little easier.
The moment she relaxed, Bai Jiajia’s mind started spinning again. This time, though, she found herself thinking about someone new.
She’d always known there was a world of difference between her and Jiang Nuan, as far apart as clouds and mud.
But... what about Yun Zhuoqing? Did she feel the same way?
Bai Jiajia knew her own thoughts were ugly, petty and mean, but she still couldn’t help glancing toward Yun Zhuoqing.
Yun Zhuoqing stood a careful distance from Jiang Nuan, not too close, not too far. Out of respect, she kept her gaze on the birthday girl, like everyone else, and watched as Jiang Nuan took a knife, on a cake so gorgeous even Bai Jiajia had never dreamt of something that fancy, and, with effortless grace, sliced into it. Instantly, the beautiful work of art morphed into just another dessert, barely any different from the ones selling for a couple hundred at the bakery downtown.
Watching all this, Yun Zhuoqing drifted off for a moment.
The cake knife is way too small, she thought.
Why not make it bigger? It would save half the time, and the slices would be even.
Nobody ever gave Yun Zhuoqing a birthday before, but she knew there was supposed to be cake. Yun Yanqing got a piece every year, her parents would always pick a day Yun Zhuoqing wasn’t home, find some excuse to take Yun Yanqing out, and throw a little birthday for just the three of them.
She’d never paid attention to the cake-slicing process before, so she never wondered about any of this, until now.
Bai Jiajia, for some reason, didn’t care at all what Jiang Nuan’s cake looked like. She just desperately wanted to catch a flicker of emotion on Yun Zhuoqing’s face.
But before she could, her view was blocked by someone stepping forward.
“I heard you’re the new transfer in our class?” Huo Jing appeared in front of Yun Zhuoqing, watching her take a step back, then suddenly flashed a crooked grin.
Huo Jing was famous for one thing above all else, his face. People whispered, not even trying to keep it a secret: even if Huo Jing was stripped of his family’s fortune, just that face would have girls lining up to throw themselves at him, literally fighting for a chance to be his girlfriend.
When he smiles, it’s like every flower in the world bursts into bloom. Sure, it’s a weird thing to say about a guy, but honestly, nothing else fits.
Huo Jing, relaxed and cocky, waited for Yun Zhuoqing to give some kind of satisfying reaction. But instead, Yun Zhuoqing just looked blank, and after a beat, she asked him a genuine question:
“Who are you?”
Huo Jing’s confident smirk froze on his lips.
“You don’t know who I am?” He was so surprised, he forgot to keep up the act, his smile dropped clean off his face.
Yun Zhuoqing stayed quiet. She still hadn’t realized that this was the same guy whose love confession she’d interrupted a minute ago, she was just working with what he’d just said.
“Of course I do.” Yun Zhuoqing knew denying it would only make things more awkward, and awkward moments had a nasty way of getting remembered forever. So she quickly replied, “We’re classmates, aren’t we?”
She put a pointed emphasis on “classmates,” as if to say: see, I’m treating you like someone a bit more important than the random extras.
Huo Jing almost laughed out of sheer frustration. He didn’t need to ask, she definitely hadn’t recognized him as the guy whose confession she’d just overheard. Apparently, when she’d walked by earlier without even a glance, she really hadn’t spared him a single second of attention.
And as for knowing they were classmates, would she have even known if he hadn’t said so himself just now?
Huo Jing decided: this transfer student was hiding something deep.
Pretending not to care, he glanced over his shoulder, and in his peripheral vision, spotted Xiaoxue. Then he suddenly leaned in, dropping his voice close to Yun Zhuoqing’s ear: “Watch your back.”
He smirked and strolled away like nothing had happened.
Following Huo Jing’s line of sight, Yun Zhuoqing saw someone very familiar.
Xiaoxue had appeared out of nowhere and was standing next to Bai Jiajia, glaring at Yun Zhuoqing like she wished her dead.
Yun Zhuoqing’s brow furrowed. She had a feeling she’d just figured out who this “classmate” really was.
Was this girl radiating so much resentment just because she’d interrupted them?
As Yun Zhuoqing mulled it over, plus Huo Jing’s cryptic warning, her guess solidified.
Otherwise, why would Huo Jing have come over just to personally stir the pot?
Unbeknownst to him, everything Huo Jing had said now sounded like a taunt in Yun Zhuoqing’s ears, meanwhile, he was still waiting gleefully for drama to unfold.
Suddenly, Xiaoxue grabbed Bai Jiajia’s arm, squeezing so tightly Bai Jiajia nearly yelped.
“What… what are you doing?” Bai Jiajia looked at her, then went pale at the twisted look on Xiaoxue’s face.
Just thinking of the humiliation she’d suffered, Xiaoxue’s whole body burned with fury, she wanted nothing more than to storm over and slap Yun Zhuoqing’s face swollen, just to teach her a lesson. As for Huo Jing, the guy who’d embarrassed her with those words, sure, she was angry, but she knew she was nothing more than an ant to him. There was no way she could get revenge; even hating him just reminded her how powerless she really was. So she dumped all her hatred on Yun Zhuoqing, even though Yun Zhuoqing had never even spoken to her.
Suddenly, she released her grip on Bai Jiajia, and before Bai Jiajia could even catch her breath, Xiaoxue muttered, “I saw a pool in the back garden. Get that hayseed over there.”
Bai Jiajia froze, a chill running all the way down to her bones. She stared at Xiaoxue in disbelief: “You’re crazy! There’s no way I’m doing that!”
Before coming, a friend had warned her about Xiaoxue’s reputation. Xiaoxue and her crew didn’t just brag to each other about snagging rich boyfriends and showing off gifts, they enjoyed bullying anyone, especially pretty girls. If someone was even a little attractive, they’d trick her into some hidden corner with some excuse, “You’re flirting with my boyfriend!”, and then gang up on her. Knowing Bai Jiajia was soft and timid, her friend had stressed: “Stay away from Xiaoxue. Piss her off and you’re done.”
Now Xiaoxue was targeting Yun Zhuoqing. Bai Jiajia didn’t know why, but she definitely wasn’t going to help her.
Even terrified, Bai Jiajia bit the bullet and said no again: “…I’m not helping you. There are people everywhere, don’t you dare…”
Xiaoxue’s gaze sharpened. In that instant, she tore off every trace of her innocent mask and let all her malice show. “You don’t want to?” She sneered, lips curling.
Bai Jiajia shrank away, too scared to meet her eyes, but still didn’t give in completely.
Xiaoxue rolled her eyes. “Fine, I won’t force you.”
But her words just made Bai Jiajia even more uneasy, some terrible premonition was clawing at her gut.
Sure enough, Xiaoxue went in for the kill: “Of course, if you refuse, I guess all your classmates will find out about your parents selling noodles outside the school gates to pay your tuition.”
Bai Jiajia froze.
“Your classmates all dress the part, forget about stall vendors, they’d probably avoid getting within ten feet of a dirty street market. What do you think will happen if they hear you grew up like that? That before getting into this school, you were out there selling food too? Will they pinch their noses and run away from you?”
Bai Jiajia was shaking with anger. “Don’t drag my parents into this! Their food is clean…”
“Of course, everyone here cares about their image. Maybe they wouldn’t literally hold their noses. But trust me, you’ll never fit in with them.” Xiaoxue couldn’t care less about Bai Jiajia’s protests.
Finally, she played her trump card: “If you refuse, I’ll make sure your parents’ business never gets another customer.”
“……”
With her weakness ruthlessly exploited, Bai Jiajia caved at last.
She perched uneasily on her seat, anxiously scanning for a good moment to approach Yun Zhuoqing.
Actually, it wouldn’t be that hard, there were only two people close enough to Yun Zhuoqing to hold a conversation: Jiang Nuan and Yuan Xin. But Jiang Nuan was busy helping her parents host, and Yuan Xin was off with her other friends. With Jiang Nuan gone, Bai Jiajia was too nervous to approach Yun Zhuoqing alone.
All in all, Bai Jiajia could go up to Yun Zhuoqing anytime, but she sat there, stiff as a statue.
Maybe her stare was too obvious, because Yun Zhuoqing, head bent over her phone, suddenly looked up and met Bai Jiajia’s eyes.
Bai Jiajia’s pulse jumped. Xiaoxue, without moving or changing her face, pinched her hard. Bai Jiajia went pale but finally forced herself to walk over to Yun Zhuoqing.
This wasn’t Yun Zhuoqing’s first one-on-one chat with Bai Jiajia. On her second day after transferring, Bai Jiajia had tried to ask her to have lunch together, but Yun Zhuoqing had turned her down.
Bai Jiajia’s mood was visibly off, but Yun Zhuoqing didn’t ask. She just waited for her to speak.
Bai Jiajia hesitated for a while, then, voice tight from nerves, blurted out, “Um… Yun Zhuoqing… do… do you think you could come to the pool out back with me…?”
She looked about ready to burst into tears, completely out of excuses.
Would Yun Zhuoqing agree? If she refused, Bai Jiajia was done for…
Yun Zhuoqing waited until it was clear Bai Jiajia had nothing else to say, then flatly refused: “Nope.”
Bai Jiajia blinked as if she’d never even considered being turned down. “But, but… Please, just go with me, I’m begging you…” She looked at Yun Zhuoqing like she was her only lifeline.
Anyone with half a brain could see Bai Jiajia was being coerced. Yun Zhuoqing could have chosen to call for security and ask them to scope out the pool with her.
And Bai Jiajia clearly hoped for the same, she muttered, “You could bring someone with you…”
Yun Zhuoqing studied her, not judging or interrogating, but Bai Jiajia felt cold sweat breaking out all over her body.
At last, Yun Zhuoqing said, “If you need help, find security, their system is solid.” For stuff like this, pros were always a better bet than herself, she reasoned.
Bai Jiajia didn’t really get what she meant; all she could hear was Yun Zhuoqing refusing her again.