Campus life is fleeting, especially for off-campus students like Xiaodie and me.

School rules required all students—boarding or off-campus—to return for evening study sessions after 7 PM until 10:30 PM dismissal. But recently, Yi Yao skipped them due to her packed taekwondo schedule. Her homeroom teacher approved it, probably figuring her grades were hopeless anyway.

"You should try blending in with the group," I murmured.

Riding with Huang Yingdie through bustling streets, I recalled my other self from another world. Back then, like Xiaodie now, I struggled even with basic communication beyond academics. In college, despite looser studies, I barely made close friends. After graduation, survival forced me to adapt—to mimic others like me. Truth is, no wall is too high if you’re willing to throw everything you own at it.

"Why blend in? Everyone in class acts like immature kids," Huang Yingdie grumbled over the whooshing wind.

"Will you always need me to accompany you to the bathroom like today?" I sighed softly. "I’m not your boyfriend. I can’t stay with you forever."

"I don’t want any man with me forever anymore." Her voice held a faint trace of sadness.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing… Sorry. I’ll try talking to them."

Though I couldn’t see her, I pictured Huang Yingdie’s face—just like this morning—flushed with impatience and tsundere pride.

"Were you like this at Yucai Middle School too? No friends at all?"

"Does Huang Qinghao count?"

No wonder.

"Only when you grow strong enough can you stop being pushed around." I knew Huang Qinghao’s shadow still loomed over her. "Until then, if you see me as a friend, I don’t mind helping out occasionally."

Villains aren’t scary—it’s villains with brains and power that terrify. I didn’t know why I helped this stranger. Maybe just two lost kids finding each other.

"So…" At her apartment gate, Xiaodie hopped off the bike seat, hesitating. "Are you free tonight?"

I raised an eyebrow. "More bubble tea?"

"No… Huang Qinghao’s old friends want to ‘discuss’ something. I’m worried—"

"Just skip it."

"We’ve known each other for years. It’d feel wrong not to go…" Her eyes welled up as she pleaded, "Please? Last time. I’ll cut all ties after this."

"Do you think cute acts work on girls?"

"Hmph…"

"You still owe me two favors."

"Make it three, including tonight."

"Deal."

Back home, Dad was still at the hospital with Mom. I dug out Card Brother’s gift from my desk drawer: two small knives and two playing cards. For over a week, I’d drilled Card Clan basics daily—stance, grip, slashes—sweating through every session before bed. Now, the knives felt natural in my hands. The cards? From scattering them everywhere to perfect control, I could almost be a card magician.

After dinner, I changed into shorts and a T-shirt, hid the knives in my jeans’ side seams, and checked my reflection. At Xiaodie’s place, she pointed to cake on the coffee table. "Snack there. I’ll change." She pulled clothes from her closet and stripped right in front of me.

Seriously? I’m that unthreatening to you? I sliced a tiny cake piece, forcing my eyes away. "Where’s your dad?"

"Lucky if he visits once a week." She shrugged on a denim overalls jumpsuit. "This should work."

"No skirt today?" I teased. She always wore ultra-short skirts before—I’d thought her wardrobe held nothing else.

"Gotta switch moods sometimes." After ten minutes of primping, she spun around, satisfied. "Ready?"

I pocketed my phone from chatting with Zhai Fangning. "You look like you’re going on a date."

"If it’s a date, it’s with you."

"…"

At a deserted plaza, we met Huang Qinghao’s friends. Unlike my expectations, they weren’t punk teens with dyed hair. They looked like mobsters: black gloves, sunglasses, plaid shirts, suits, and polished shoes. Bad sign. I scanned the area. Sparse pedestrians kept glancing our way, then stiffly resumed their walks.

"You’ve known these people for years?" I whispered to Xiaodie.

"Only the one in black."

Aren’t they all in black?

"Aren’t you scared of strangers?"

"Why fear them? I’ll just knock them all down if needed." Huang Yingdie radiated a chilling aura—utterly unlike her shy classroom self. Cold, just like our first meeting.

"Spit it out. What do you want?" She glared at a peer on the left, stepping forward with me beside her.

Danger prickled from all sides. These weren’t Huang Qinghao-level thugs. Not Card Brother-tier terrifying, but far from pushovers. If a fight broke out with no help nearby, escaping would be tough.

"AV Sister, believe me—Qinghao didn’t mean it…" The guy grinned nervously under her stare. "You’re so pretty, any guy’d lose control."

"So you drugged my drink? Stabbed my friend?" Huang Yingdie ignored the flattery, voice icy. "I’m done with Huang Qinghao. His life or death is none of my concern. Leave me alone. Understood?"

"Don’t! For old times’ sake, just give a statement to the cops." The man looked pained. "We’re barely containing this. Qinghao’s sixteen—if charged, his life’s ruined."

"What about my life?" Xiaodie’s voice trembled. "If Yi Yao hadn’t shown up that day, would mine be ruined too?"

I stayed silent. A girl’s golden years are brief. In school, she faces far greater risks from the opposite sex than boys do—shaping how genders view life.

"Ask him what he promised me! Respect my choices, my feelings. Now? You treat me like prey. Is that respect? No remorse, no apology—and you want me to save him?"

"Enough. How much?" A tall thug cut in, unzipping his bag to flash bundled cash. "It’s always about money, right? Name your price."

Oh no. I stole a glance at Huang Yingdie’s darkening face. Lighting a mental candle for them. As the mayor’s daughter, would she lack money? Motherless, with a workaholic father—she’d grown up lonely, comforted only by cash and broken promises like "Daddy’ll buy you the priciest doll." No wonder she despised money most of all.

"Yi Yao…" Just as I feared, the cash offer extinguished the last hope in her eyes. "Let’s go."