But then again, why was Liu Su standing outside our classroom, staring in nonstop?

Maybe it was all in my head. I’d been lying face-down on my desk since earlier, without even turning toward the window, yet I could feel the back of my head tingling. It was obviously the feeling of someone watching me.

Could Liu Su have found out about that whole “Su Protector” thing I did before?

No way! When I secretly set up that stupid “Su Protector” thing and got into a whole back-and-forth fight that ended with me taking down that idiotic official’s kid, I stayed behind the scenes the whole time. There was no way I’d been seen.

Yeah. It had to be one of those false hunches. I kept telling myself that.

But with that prickling sensation at the back of my head urging me on, I forced myself to turn and look at Liu Su. My desk was in the very last row on the far left, right beside the window. In a top-ranked class like ours, that seat wasn’t exactly popular.

There could be distractions from outside, and sometimes the glare made it hard to see during class. Every now and then, someone would even toss trash out during break, leaving a weird smell behind. In another class, this corner seat might’ve been popular.

But ours was the best-performing class, full of people who studied like their lives depended on it, so naturally, nobody wanted the seat. I, on the other hand, was all about slacking off, so I happily accepted the original occupant’s request to switch seats.

My gaze crossed four rows of desks and met the school beauty’s eyes through the window. She really was looking at me. Our eyes met. Confusion filled my gaze as I looked at her, completely at a loss.

But there was anger in her eyes?

Then Liu Su walked away.

Three question marks popped into my mind. Had I offended her somehow? No way. That whole Su Protector thing had happened a year ago. If I’d been found out, it would’ve happened ages ago. And even if she had found out, there was no reason for Liu Su to look at me so angrily, right?

Then why? Liu Su had looked at me with a hint of anger. This was crazier than Tai Ri Tian!

“I can’t figure it out!” I scratched my head in frustration. Not being able to figure something out was a real pain, but I had a great habit: if I couldn’t figure something out, I just stopped thinking about it. That was what you called solving a problem at its root, right?

I discreetly pulled out my phone. I was going to do a ten-pull. No idea why—I just felt like pulling. Besides, my card was already close to having two million saved up. I was extremely careful with money, scrimping and saving, and I didn’t have any other expenses in my day-to-day life.

My birthday had just passed yesterday, and another hundred thousand yuan had come in. My balance had now officially broken through the 2.2-million mark. From a certain point of view, even though I’d always been an unnoticed nobody in class, I’d already won half the battle. Ha ha.

My parents had set up this bank card for me when I was one. The password was the first six digits of my birthday, and starting that year, they deposited a hundred thousand yuan into it every year on my birthday. By now, there was over two million in there.

Of course, I’d wondered more than once whether my parents were even still around. But after a few video calls, I’d confirmed that they were probably still alive…

Damn it, why was I in a situation where a child had to confirm whether their parents were still alive?

I opened the game with practiced ease and entered the payment password. All that was left was to wait for the money to arrive, and then I could buy a 648-yuan top-up and pull. I didn’t know if I’d get anything amazing this time, but I was ready. I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if every single pull was a consolation prize. I’d been professionally trained. No matter how rough things got, I could handle it!

Let’s go! I had to pull with the mindset of a lucky player who believed they could land the top prize in one shot, even in a poisoned gacha pool!

But then something shocking happened. It said I didn’t have enough money?!!!!

What?! How was that possible?! They’d just transferred a hundred thousand into my account yesterday. There was no way I could be short on funds.

This was the first time something so bizarre had happened. I was so startled I didn’t know what to do.

As Liu Su walked away, the classroom gradually grew noisy again. But to me, all of it sounded like the most irritating noise imaginable. With my face twisted into a grimace, I headed to the homeroom teacher’s office to ask for leave.

Zhou Fang was in her private office, looking at a student file. The moment she saw me come in, she looked a little startled and quickly closed the file in front of her. Then she looked at me and saw how pale I was.

“Chu Turan, are you all right?” Our homeroom teacher felt my forehead and asked with deep concern.

I didn’t know if I was all right, but I knew anyone would look as awful as I did if they suddenly realized they might not have enough money for food next year. I thought miserably.

“It’s nothing serious, Teacher. I just feel a little unwell, so I’d like to ask for some time off.” I rubbed my head. Damn, my head really hurt.

“Oh, okay. Chu Turan, your parents are often away from home, right? Take this number. If you feel unwell, call me right away.” Zhou Fang casually wrote a number on a sticky note.

I reached out and took the number. I was so shaken that my hands and feet were icy cold. Zhou Fang was startled by how cold my hand felt. She held it a few times and seemed ready to take me straight to the hospital, but after I repeatedly refused, she finally gave up on the idea.

But she insisted that I put her number in my pocket and contact her right away if anything happened.

“Xiaoran…” Watching Chu Turan stagger away, Zhou Fang felt her heart tighten. She opened the student file again. The photo on it was Chu Turan.

Looking at the address on the file, Zhou Fang hesitated over whether she should visit that evening.

After finally taking the subway home, I pulled out the bank card I’d always kept under my pillow, then rushed to the bank to check my recent transactions at an ATM.

I printed the transactions from the past few days. There were several transfers in a row last night, and I was instantly shocked. Why hadn’t I gotten a single text message on my phone?

I checked the transfer times carefully. How could they have been made at night? Wait, that account name…?

Had she been at my house last night?

With trembling hands, I took out my phone and found the name in my contacts.

The call connected. The name displayed on my screen was: Half a Person.

“Did you take my money?” I demanded without a shred of politeness. “Don’t even try to deny it—I saw the name on your account. I’m telling you, that’s robbery!”

“Aww, you found out. Sneaking off with your phone last night wasn’t easy, you know.” A soft, sweet voice came from the other end. If a complete stranger heard that voice, they probably wouldn’t feel very angry at all.

“Cut the crap. What gives you the right to take my money? How did you even know my password? And hurry up and pay me back! This is way beyond a joke!” I was used to that tone of hers, so it didn’t work on me at all. I fired off one question after another without holding back.

“So what if I took it? What are you going to do about it? Wait, you’re calling at this hour—did you take the day off? Stay home and wait for me. I’m coming back now.” Then she hung up.

“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!” I vented my fury with one swear after another, throwing righteous punches at the empty air inside the bank.

“Sir, do you need any help?” A bank security guard nearby saw how worked up I was and spoke up.

“Uh, no, thanks…” I replied, a little awkwardly.

“Then please try to keep your movements under control, sir. You’re disturbing the other customers.” The guard gave me a tactful warning and left. I looked at the people around me who’d all turned to stare, smiled, and made my exit. Wow, that was embarrassing.

The shameless person on the other end of the phone was none other than the second-ranked school beauty I mentioned earlier.

Well, you could also call her a celebrity. Ji Ruoyan had been doing commercial performances since elementary school. With the forces behind her giving her a push, she soon became famous all across the country. But even celebrities had to go to school, so she’d enrolled in both middle school and high school. Most of the time, though, she was only enrolled in name.

For Ji Ruoyan, all she had to do was come back and pick up her diploma. The school was more than happy to have a big celebrity like her bring it some positive attention.

But to me, she was just the Half a Person in my own home. I couldn’t stand her, but when we were kids, I couldn’t beat her… And I couldn’t hit her now, either…

It all started when I first met her as a kid, back in sixth grade…