Shi Cheng bought an instant camera.
Right after her morning class, she couldn’t resist taking it out for photos, even sneakily snapping one of Xie Tao when she wasn’t paying attention.
In the evening, Xie Tao returned home, and while eating instant noodles, she took out the photo Shi Cheng had given her for a look.
When Shi Cheng took her photo, she was sitting on a bench in the school garden, daydreaming with her mouth slightly open, looking a bit dazed.
Xie Tao carefully stored the photo away and then focused on eating her instant noodles.
That night, she had a very peculiar dream.
In the dream were the long streets and alleys of Qizhen, and a magical light screen hanging in mid-air, within which seemed to be a clearly jointed hand crushing something.
The fragments were like crystal droplets, which at the moment they flew out, pierced through the entire dream, instantly turning the bluestone slabs under her feet into flowing sand.
She fell into an endless darkness, seeing no light whatsoever.
Xie Tao was deeply asleep in this inexplicable dream, unaware that outside her window hung a cluster of faint blue light.
“BI BI BI BI~ Boss, can you hear me? Target locked!”
Below the old apartment building, a man dressed in black was furtively handling a small transparent glass sphere, muttering under his breath.
Dressed in black, his face hidden under a baseball cap, was indistinct under the dim streetlight, but he spoke in a standard Youzhou accent.
Two middle-aged men, who usually enjoyed drinking together, passed by him without noticing his presence or the cluster of faint blue light above his head.
It seemed they could not see the man or the mysterious light at all.
Suddenly, electricity flashed within the glass sphere he held, and a female voice came from it: “Now that you’ve found it, get on with the job. Why are you standing there like an idiot?”
The female voice seemed slightly contemptuous.
Hesitating for a moment, the man asked, “Boss… are we really going to do this? She seems like just an ordinary girl. Isn’t this a bit too much?”
“Enough, do you think I want to do this? We have no other choice,” the female voice paused for a moment before the glass sphere lit up again, “AM670, I order you to execute the command immediately.”
Hearing her call his code name so formally, he could no longer argue, performing a salute followed by an at-ease stance, then responded energetically, “Yes!”
“Keep it down at night; don’t wake people up!” the female voice hissed.
“Don’t worry, boss, they can’t hear us anyway.”
Though he said this, he still instinctively lowered his voice and even looked around a few times.
The cluster of faint blue light turned into a very thin line, piercing through the glass window, directly tying around the right wrist of the girl sleeping in the bed in the pitch-dark room, shining briefly before disappearing without a trace.
All of this was unbeknownst to Xie Tao.
The next morning when she woke up, she felt a slight headache.
After hurriedly washing up, having a bowl of porridge and two buns at a breakfast shop outside, Xie Tao went to the bus stop to take the bus to school.
After the second morning class ended, Xie Tao looked up to see Zhao Yixuan, who arrived late outside the classroom.
There was a band-aid on the edge of her eyelid, and her mouth corners were slightly blue.
“She must have been in a fight, right?” Shi Cheng moved closer to Xie Tao and whispered.
When their eyes met, Xie Tao clearly saw Zhao Yixuan glare at her.
As she walked past Xie Tao, the pungent smell of smoke from Zhao Yixuan reminded her of the cigarette burns on Zhou Xinyue’s wrist.
Her grip on the pen tightened involuntarily.
Zhao Yixuan’s method of tormenting her had escalated from pulling her hair to pouring a cup of hot water that had just been filled on her back this time.
The scalding water spilled over her neck, and if not for the school uniform shirt and coat’s collars providing protection, it might have blistered her skin directly.
Her neck turned red from the scald, and the burning pain stimulated Xie Tao’s senses amidst Shi Cheng’s gasps. She turned around to see Zhao Yixuan’s mocking smile again, casually chewing gum.
Xie Tao’s hand tightened then loosened; the surging anger inside her could no longer be suppressed. She snatched the cup from Zhao Yixuan’s hand and splashed it on her face.
Zhao Yixuan, perhaps not expecting Xie Tao to do this, cried out when the still somewhat hot water splashed on her face.
Her meticulously applied mascara smeared, creating a look reminiscent of panda eyes.
A classmate couldn’t help but laugh, causing Zhao Yixuan to turn and glare fiercely at that girl.
The girl immediately fell silent and even stepped back two steps.
“Remember this, Xie Tao.”
Knowing there were surveillance cameras in the classroom, Zhao Yixuan ultimately did nothing outrageous, just stared at Xie Tao and sneered.
Such a look was enough to send chills down one’s spine.
Xie Tao was never very brave; on the contrary, she was gentle and often timid.
If not for this, she wouldn’t have been bullied as a child.
But Zhou Xinyue taught her to confront.
Even now, as she faced Zhao Yixuan’s gaze, she couldn’t help but sweat nervously.
But just the thought of Zhou Xinyue.
All her timidity turned into unspeakable anger in an instant.
After Zhao Yixuan left the classroom, Shi Cheng came over, “Are you okay, Xie Tao? Let me accompany you to the infirmary to apply some ice.”
“How could you provoke her, Xie Tao? She’s definitely going to…”
Shi Cheng didn’t say any more.
But Xie Tao understood very clearly what she meant.
Zhao Yixuan would not let her go.
After applying some ice and burn ointment in the school’s infirmary, Xie Tao felt the pain in the back of her neck lessen.
At noon, Xie Tao and Shi Cheng went to the cafeteria. After queuing up for their meals, they found a table and sat down.
Not far away, Zhao Yixuan, holding two meal trays, lifted her chin and looked at Xie Tao, who was sitting with her back to them, “Man Man, Sister Hui, that’s Xie Tao.”
At this moment, she didn’t carry the arrogant air she had with others; instead, she seemed to be deliberately ingratiating.
A girl with long curly hair looked over with her arms crossed.
Zhao Yixuan’s face still hurt from the hot water splash, so she told Song Shiman, “Man Man, I asked her what her relationship with Zheng Hejia was, but this girl is obviously too proud to say anything. I think she…”
“This is just like a family…”
She was interrupted by Song Shiman’s laughter before she could finish.
Zhao Yixuan was a bit stunned.
Song Shiman took her meal tray from her hands, straightened her back, and walked towards Xie Tao.
Zhao Yixuan watched in astonishment as Song Shiman sat down opposite Xie Tao. She turned her head in shock towards Xu Hui.
Xu Hui glanced at her casually, smiling, “Man Man asked Xiao Ling. That Xie Tao, she’s Zheng Hejia’s younger sister.”
Xiao Ling was a friend of Zheng Hejia’s.
Zhao Yixuan had met him when she went out with Song Shiman before.
Song Shiman’s inquiries about Zheng Hejia were mostly through Xiao Ling.
So… was what Xiao Ling said true?
Zhao Yixuan stared in disbelief at Xie Tao’s back.
How could she be Zheng Hejia’s sister?
“Do you have a grudge against her?” Seeing her expression, Xu Hui felt there was a story.
Zhao Yixuan muttered, “Not really, I just initially thought she had something to do with Zheng Hejia. I did it for Man Man…”
“You’re more loyal than I am.” Xu Hui laughed, her tone a bit cold and somewhat sarcastic.
Zhao Yixuan hurriedly explained, “Sister Hui, it’s not like that…”
Xu Hui interrupted her, “Alright, my dad relies on her dad for investment to save his life, and you rely on her for money… We’re no different.”
Pleasing this princess syndrome is just something the two of us have to do, right?
Xu Hui curled her lips, “But still, leave that Xie Tao alone.”
“…I know.”
Zhao Yixuan hadn’t felt this frustrated in a long time.
But there was nothing she could do; she was still relying on Song Shiman’s money.
When Xie Tao faced the sudden appearance of Song Shiman, she gripped her chopsticks tightly, staring at her steadily, her expression turbulent and hard to settle.
Shi Cheng had already silently taken her plate and sat at another table.
And Xie Tao was being scrutinized by Song Shiman sitting across from her.
“Indeed,”
She heard Song Shiman say, “Your brother is so handsome, and his sister is not bad either. Your family has good genes.”
Xie Tao was confused.
She furrowed her brow, forcing herself to appear calm enough, “Is there something you want?”
“Hello,”
Song Shiman suddenly extended her hand towards her, her bright face smiling more warmly, “I am your brother’s future girlfriend, Song Shiman.”
Brother?
Future girlfriend?
For a moment, Xie Tao suddenly remembered the question Zhao Yixuan had cornered her in the bathroom to ask:
“What is your relationship with Zheng Hejia?”
Could it be…
Xie Tao suddenly looked up again at the girl smiling at her.
She likes Zheng Hejia?
Because of Song Shiman’s sudden friendly gesture, Xie Tao instantly became the subject of private gossip in the past few days.
Because everyone knows, Song Shiman, Xu Hui, and Zhao Yixuan, the three of them, have always been a solid trio, and no one dares to provoke them. Those who are targeted by them usually end up very badly.
Xie Tao had splashed Zhao Yixuan’s face with hot water, and this incident was wildly spread among everyone.
But she wasn’t targeted by Zhao Yixuan, and some even saw Song Shiman repeatedly bringing food and water to Xie Tao.
It’s said that she also brought some brand-name bracelets and necklaces, but all were refused by Xie Tao.
This sounds like a tactic for pursuing someone?
Some even began to suspect if this Miss Song, the “school tyrant,” had issues with her sexual orientation.
Things seemed to be moving in a strange direction.
Xie Tao tossed and turned at night, unable to sleep.
Finally, she picked up her phone, opened WeChat, found the blank avatar, and entered the chat interface.
She typed and asked:
“What are you doing?”
The other party’s reply was still sparing with words:
“Reading books.”
Xie Tao was a bit curious:
“What book?”
“《Zhi Lun》”
What is 《Zhi Lun》? Xie Tao thought about it and opened her browser to search.
Without searching, she wouldn’t have known, and the search was quite a shock.
It turned out to be an ancient book from over twelve hundred years ago, according to the encyclopedia, recording various topics such as astronomy, geography, local customs, architectural aesthetics, culinary discussions… and so on, akin to an encyclopedia from a thousand years ago.
Most importantly, it also has a high value for literary research, with scholars of various 《Zhi Lun》 factions still studying it to this day.
From this introduction, Xie Tao knew this was not just any book.
Her language skills were not good to begin with, and such a seemingly profound book, coupled with the addition of classical Chinese, would surely be hypnotic for her.
So she exclaimed sincerely, “That’s amazing.”
“Aren’t you bored?” she had just barely read a few pages of the modern Chinese translated version of 《Zhi Lun》 and felt even more that such ancient books were simply made to induce sleep.
The other party didn’t reply to her, obviously not quite understanding her sudden exclamation, or perhaps not wanting to engage with her.
When Xie Tao chatted with him, he would occasionally reply with a word or two, but it did not diminish her enthusiasm for talking.
Later, she mentioned the incident when Zhao Yixuan splashed her with hot water.
“She splashed me that day, and I splashed her back. Do you think I’m awesome? I thought I was pretty awesome at the time, but I was actually a bit scared… mainly afraid of the pain.”
At that time, Wei Yun was sitting behind his desk, and when he saw the content on the golden paper in front of him, he chuckled, his wide sleeves fluttering slightly as he brought the paper close to the candle flame, allowing it to instantly turn into fine specks of light and disappear without a trace.
Xie Tao was completely unaware of all this, especially puzzled when she talked about Song Shiman’s deliberate approach.
“What do you think I should do?”
She finally asked like this.
As if after five or six minutes had passed, the other party finally replied:
“Isn’t this good?”
Xie Tao didn’t understand his meaning and quickly typed:
“Good how?”
“Take this opportunity to get closer to them.”
Get closer to them?
Xie Tao frowned and thought about it seriously for a while.
“Rather than being an outsider, it’s better to go with the flow and find out what you want to know. By then, everything will become much easier.”
His words were always brief, but they were enough for Xie Tao to understand the underlying reason.
At that moment, Xie Tao finally had an epiphany.
“I understand now!” she replied hurriedly.
“Stupid”
That’s how the other person responded to her.
“…”
When she saw these two words, Xie Tao choked up a bit, but she wasn’t angry.
Maybe that’s just how big shots are??
After all, he’s someone who can enjoy reading ancient and obscure texts like “Zhi Lun.”
At that time, Wei Yun rubbed his brow with some irritation.
Despite having a pile of codes yet to be deciphered at hand.
He had prioritized this foolish girl’s matter.
Since when did he need to strategize for the conflicts among women in the inner courts?
