The morning exam had dampened my joy of returning to campus. The day slipped by in a blur.

My sudden rise didn’t stir the class for long. After the initial shock and confusion faded, everyone settled back into their quiet routines.

Except now, I’d inexplicably gained several "friends."

Yi Yao’s original personality made friendships hard here. Poor grades and a reluctance to speak first had confined her to a lonely bubble.

After the English test, even those barely acquainted with "me" began using "asking questions" or "discussing academics" as excuses to chat.

Aside from Tan Lijiang and his lackeys stubbornly refusing to apologize to Azure Excellence, I was slowly weaving myself into this class.

Another surprise: the ID "bee" had gone viral on Skyfire Forum.

Seemingly, I’d accidentally solved a problem even national-level computer engineers couldn’t crack—saving a major corporation and sparking a wave of debate about tech reform on the forum.

…

"Remember to keep it secret tomorrow," Azure Excellence said as we headed to the bike shed.

"You’re seriously going to Paris alone?" I stared, incredulous.

Azure Excellence turned his head under the setting sun. The light stretched his shadow long across the pavement. "If I don’t go now… it’ll be too late."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. Ah, just help me out. I’ll bring back local snacks when I return."

He hopped on his bike, laughing it off, and sped toward the school gates with a wave.

*You’ll get caught by city inspectors like that.*

I unlocked my own bike from the little black cat backpack, joining the shuffling crowd leaving campus.

What I never expected: a luxury car worth over a million yuan parked right outside Third High’s gates.

I recognized it. This same car had picked "me"—Yi Yao—up from school countless times. Thanks to it, nearly the whole school knew "my" boyfriend attended Second High. The juicier rumor? Long Fei had multiple girlfriends there. Yi Yao’s reputation had never recovered.

Yes. The driver was Long Fei. My nominal boyfriend.

"Get in."

In full suit and tie, Long Fei stepped out before the entire student body and opened the car door for me.

I pointed at my bicycle. "No need. I can ride home."

At sixteen, Long Fei looked nothing like a minor. His prematurely aged face matched his unnaturally mature demeanor. Even after a year as his "girlfriend," Yi Yao had never truly known him. He’d silently accompany her anywhere, rarely smiling, never showing anger—just that inscrutable poker face.

"Put your bike in the trunk. I need to talk."

Was it my imagination, or did his gaze hold a trace of sorrow?

"It won’t take long. I’ll drive you home. We can talk on the way."

I suddenly remembered yesterday’s hack into Skyfire Corp.

"Fine."

What was coming would come. And under all those curious stares, I *was* getting uncomfortable. I folded my bike slightly and shoved it into the trunk before sliding into the plush leather seat.

"Starlight Garden Community," Long Fei stated flatly to the driver. He turned from the passenger seat and handed me a juice bottle.

"Thanks."

Mimicking Yi Yao’s usual tone, I took it, twisted the cap open, and took a sip.

"You always made me open it for you before."

His words nearly made me choke mid-swallow.

"Heh. It’s fine. Honestly? Seeing you like this… actually puts my mind at ease."

He turned back, fastening his seatbelt. Through the rearview mirror, I saw exhaustion etching his face.

"I’m leaving."

Though I’d guessed the reason, I feigned surprise. "Where to?"

"Tian…du City."

Tian Du lay over five thousand kilometers from Shangjing City—a tech hub with fierce job competition.

"Why there? A business trip?"

The car sped silently down sun-baked asphalt.

"No. My father wants me to study there. I won’t be back for five years."

"Oh…"

I lowered my head, licking stray pulp from the bottle’s rim.

"Will you come with me?"

His voice was calm, as if discussing someone else’s life.

"I…" I hesitated. "My mom’s sick…"

"I know. Leukemia. It takes a lot of money."

Silence fell. His family was wealthy—not just from Skyfire Network. Behind Longteng Group lurked something far more powerful. My "girl’s" sixth sense screamed it.

"Yi Yao…"

After half a minute, his voice came again from the front seat. "What is love?"

"Love?"

I paused, then gave a self-deprecating chuckle. "Love? You call her ‘wife’—that’s affection. Call her ‘old lady’… *that’s* love."

I’d never truly known love.

In my past life, I’d cleared my debts only to hit thirty. Just as I’d readied myself for romance, fate played a cruel joke.

A girl’s love and a boy’s love aren’t the same.

If Yi Yao and Long Fei had shared real love, I wouldn’t exist here now. With his wealth, supporting a girl like Yi Yao would’ve been effortless. She’d never have worried about the future—or sought out a "brother" like me.

But if Yi Yao had been a boy? Even if she’d pulled an all-nighter at the internet cafe that night, Long Fei wouldn’t have glanced twice. None of this would’ve happened. That’s the difference love makes between genders.

"Affection and love…" Long Fei sighed deeply in the car, his voice uncharacteristically weary. "We’ve been ‘together’ almost a year… though maybe it wasn’t really together at all. I’ve met many girls, Yi Yao. Only you never let me hold your hand. Maybe… parting is best for both of us."

*Yes, yes, absolutely best.*

I nearly blurted it out.

"Boss Long!"

The driver’s warning cut in as we passed my neighborhood. My father’s fruit shop was swarmed by a shouting, packed-tight crowd.

Long Fei barely glanced out the window before snapping, "Stop!"

The car screeched to a halt.

"What’s happening?"

We stepped out together. Outside my family’s usually quiet shop, thugs with menacing faces loitered. I pushed through the crowd without hesitation.

"If you don’t settle this today, we’re not leaving!"

Inside, my father stood red-faced atop a pile of fruit crates, facing off against a burly man.

"Brother, we didn’t take anything! You’ve ransacked this place twice already!"

Apples, grapes, and dragon fruit littered the floor, some crushed underfoot. The stench of sweat, shoes, and rotting fruit made me cover my nose.

"What happened?" I grabbed a part-time worker who usually helped at the shop.

"Tch. That guy up front bought fruit, came back minutes later with this mob, claiming we stole his wallet."

The worker’s jaw tightened with anger but kept his voice low—outnumbered.

"And then?"

"Then they trashed the place. Said they’d stay until we ‘paid up.’"

"Why not call the police?"

"We did! Half an hour ago. No one came. What could we do?"

*Half an hour?*

I scanned the shop, my eyes locking onto the leader.

*No. Ten-plus thugs. All men. Tough-looking. Possibly armed. Can’t fight head-on.*

But where did they come from?

Dad had been at the hospital with Mom for days. The shop just reopened today. This couldn’t be coincidence. Unless…

*Jiangnan Gang?*

Familiar faces near the entrance triggered a memory—Huang Qinghao’s threat from two afternoons ago.

In Shangjing’s underworld, paying street thugs to harass rivals was an old tactic.

If so… for my family’s safety, Huang Qinghao needed dealing with. Soon.

"Move!"

An impatient shout drew every eye.

Long Fei strode through the crowd, one hand in his suit pocket, the other gloved in white. Whether from his aura or their uncertainty, a path cleared before him.

"Who the hell are you?" The muscle-bound leader spun around, pulling a knife from his pocket. "You know who we—"

His feet left the ground before he finished.

No one saw Long Fei cross the distance. One moment he was meters away; the next, he’d hoisted the 6-foot-tall man up, his white-gloved hand clamped on the thug’s carotid artery.

"I—*cough*—!"

Survival instinct made the man thrash wildly. The knife clattered to the floor.

"Who sent you?" Long Fei’s voice was ice.

"Broth—*gurgle*—ers! What’re you waiting for?!" the thug choked out to his frozen crew.

"Step closer," Long Fei warned, not even turning his head, "and tomorrow’s his memorial day. I can afford one life. But this man? He should think of his wife. His children."

"Don’t—! We’ll talk! Huang Qinghao paid us! He told us to do this!"

A man with an iron pipe finally raised a trembling hand as his boss’s struggles weakened.

Long Fei snorted. He dropped the thug like trash.

"Get lost. If you’re short on cash, go to Skyfire Corp. We’ll pay double whatever your employer offered."