2002

In just a few days, rumors about Xu Luofu had spread throughout Yuling International School. The wealthy students were already chattering gleefully about teaching her a lesson, planning to emulate "Meteor Garden" by pinning a red card on her to isolate her from the entire school. If anyone stood by her, they were accused of siding with a mistress's daughter. It had even escalated to the point where anyone who dared speak to her was labeled as having a mother who was also a mistress.

For a time, it seemed as though everyone had to bully Xu Luofu just to prove the purity of their own pedigree.

The reason these rumors spread so quickly was linked to Tao Yuzhe, a childhood friend of Xu Menrui. Not long ago, in order to have eyes and ears on the ground to monitor the situation, Xu Menrui had forced herself to suppress her disgust and reconnect with Tao Yuzhe, who had also enrolled at Yuling International just as he had in her previous life. It was he who helped her propagate these rumors.

The group of students who loved to bully others at school could hardly pass up such a toy.

Amidst this miasma of malice, few could focus on their studies, and Li Chongjing was one of the rare exceptions. Although he was slightly surprised that the Xu Luofu mentioned in the letter had actually appeared, this proved nothing; it only suggested that the prankster knew Xu Luofu and had known in advance that she was transferring.

What was the purpose? To make him loathe this Xu Luofu and prevent him from falling for her?

How utterly boring. Someone had clearly overdosed on romance novels.

Under the eager anticipation of the students at Yuling International Middle School, the legendary Xu Luofu, who had been awaited for many days, was finally arriving at school.

"Hurry, hurry! Who knows when she’ll show up? Do you have the stuff?" At the school gate, a few boys and girls huddled together, their faces filled with excited grins.

"It's here, it's here. I spent days catching the dog, I guarantee she'll be scared to death the moment she opens it, hahahaha!" A boy pulled a gift wrapped in red paper with a bow from his backpack.

"Ew, gross, keep it away!"

"It took you days to catch something so small? What a loser. But let's let her off with this for now."

"Remember to stand back when she opens the gift, so we don't get anything on us when she starts jumping around."

"Hahahaha, just thinking about that scene makes me laugh!"

These students were either wealthy or powerful; the security guards didn't dare make a sound, only silently thinking the transfer student was unlucky. In the classroom buildings behind them facing the gate, many students were leaning over the corridors, watching with various expressions.

Li Chongjing passed through the crowded hallway, only to have his neck hooked by his friend Chu Rao, who pulled him aside.

"Chong, guess what's in that gift?"

"What is it?" Li Chongjing couldn't be bothered to waste even a fraction of his brainpower on such trivial nonsense.

"American cockroaches! I heard every single one was hand-picked—black, fat, and over five centimeters long. Tell me, isn't that terrifying? This intimidation tactic is perfect. I bet the transfer student will turn around and cry all the way home."

Li Chongjing: "..." What was so scary about cockroaches? They were just bugs—wouldn't it be satisfying to just crush one and hear it crunch?

"But if she gets scared away and doesn't dare to come back, that would be a blessing in disguise," Chu Rao sighed, rubbing his chin.

Li Chongjing glanced at the teacher, who was already in the classroom but commanding little respect, and said, "I'm going in."

"Tsk, what a good student. No wonder they all like you," Chu Rao teased, their eyes meeting in the tacit understanding of fellow troublemakers.

Li Chongjing adjusted his glasses and walked inside.

Shortly after, a stir rippled through the crowd.

"She’s here, isn't that the car?"

A black Rolls-Royce turned onto the tree-lined path outside the school and pulled up to the gate. The driver stepped out to open the door, and a pair of slender legs in small leather shoes emerged, followed by long, smooth, meticulously styled black hair. She looked up, revealing a striking and vivid face. From her brow bone to the corners of her lips, everything about her screamed arrogance—expensive and not someone to be trifled with.

Her slightly upturned, cold, and critical gaze swept over the group standing at the gate, then lifted to scan the students filling the corridors of the buildings.

Is this the new school that that bitch Xu Menrui chose for her? It was indeed far inferior to her old school. The annual tuition was a mere pittance, and the students all looked like they’d never seen the world. What were they doing? Had they never seen a transfer student before?

The group was stunned for two seconds before coming to their senses. The lead girl immediately put on an overly enthusiastic smile and approached. "Are you the transfer student, Xu Luofu?"

Xu Luofu crossed her arms, her critical gaze fixed on her without a word.

The girl's smile stiffened, but she kept it up. "I'm Yu Mingwan, the student representative sent by the school to welcome you. Welcome to the Yuling International family! Look, everyone is here to welcome you."

A different expression finally appeared on Xu Luofu's face. She raised an eyebrow, the pickiness in her expression replaced by a hint of satisfied amusement. "I didn't expect you to be so sensible. It seems this place isn't entirely without merit."

*Damn it*, what was with that look? Why did she look so smug? Yu Mingwan felt annoyed but held it in for the sake of the show, maintaining a bright smile. "Yes, yes, look, we even prepared a gift for you."

The boy holding the gift hurried forward and handed it to Xu Luofu.

Xu Luofu took it, her movements even in unwrapping it appearing condescending and arrogant. She pulled at the bow and began tearing the wrapping paper.

"It's happening!"

"Record it, quick!"

Students in the building scrambled to take out their phones.

Yu Mingwan and the boy exchanged wicked grins and quietly stepped back.

Xu Luofu tore off most of the paper, looked at the box, and suddenly stopped.

Yu Mingwan and the others froze.

Xu Luofu stared at the box, her face turning ugly, her fingers tightening around it.

*Damn, did she figure it out?* That wasn't right—the box was intact; she would only see the cockroaches crawling inside once she lifted the lid. There was no way she could have known!

Xu Luofu suddenly looked up at them, her beautiful eyes burning with rage as if she had been insulted, her voice rising to a sharp, high pitch. "You dare present a gift wrapped in such shoddy packaging? Who do you think I am? Get lost!"

With that, she viciously slammed the box at them, looking truly enraged.

Everything happened too fast; no one could react, and the box smashed directly into Yu Mingwan's head.

"Ahhh!" Yu Mingwan screamed, jumping away while waving her hands, and the others scattered in terror.

Xu Luofu was furious, convinced that this group had been incited by Xu Menrui to humiliate her. After shouting and throwing the box, she didn't even spare them a glance and stormed into the school.

Behind her, Yu Mingwan, having failed her scheme, was frantically jumping and swatting at her hair, knocking off the cockroaches that had been crawling on her head.

The students watching from the buildings were dumbfounded.

"Holy crap!" Chu Rao rushed into the classroom and slammed his hands on Li Chongjing’s desk. "I'm dying of laughter! Chong, you really missed a great show, hahahaha..."

...

Xu Luofu had been bottling up anger for a long time. First, she had suffered a crushing defeat in the struggle against Xu Menrui and her mother, only to be thrown out and sent to this unfamiliar second-tier southern city. Even her school had been dictated by that bitch Xu Menrui. Her father, who had once called her his princess, threatened to cut off her allowance if she didn't attend this school, forcing her to submit.

In just two months, her world had been turned upside down, and everything she had was nearly snatched away.

Did Xu Menrui think she couldn't guess what she wanted her to experience at this school? If Xu Menrui thought it would be that easy, she was far too naive.

Back in the capital, Xu Menrui had long known about the "welcome gift" waiting for Xu Luofu through her informant, Tao Yuzhe. She was eagerly waiting for him to send her the video.

Yu Mingwan and her gang were devils. Relying on their family wealth and Yu Mingwan’s status as the principal's daughter, no one from teachers to students dared to defy them; even when they committed public violence, no one dared to intervene. In her previous life, she had been unlucky enough to be chosen as their toy and had suffered immensely. Now that Xu Luofu had become their target, she wanted to see what it would look like when a villain like Xu Luofu was dealt with by other villains.

However, by the time the morning classes ended, Xu Menrui still hadn't received the video, so she took the initiative to send a question mark.

It took a while for Tao Yuzhe to send a video.

The scene of Xu Luofu making a fool of herself, which Xu Menrui had imagined, did not exist. Instead, she watched as Yu Mingwan and her group were hit in the head and berated by Xu Luofu.

Xu Menrui’s hand tightened around her phone.

Tao Yuzhe sent another message: [Didn't you say they were kicked out with nothing? Why can she still afford a Rolls-Royce? Some classmates are starting to doubt whether the previous rumors are true. Don't set me up; I can't afford to offend rich people...]

*Can't afford to offend rich people, so you chose to be an accomplice when I was being bullied?*

Xu Menrui felt disgusted just seeing Tao Yuzhe’s name, but she endured it; she still needed him.

The so-called "kicked out with nothing" didn't mean they were given absolutely zero money—otherwise, how could she have manipulated that mother and daughter into obediently going to Z City, and how could she have made Xu Luofu comply with enrolling in Yuling International?

But it certainly wasn't much—just twenty million. To ordinary people, that was a lot, but for the Xu family, it wouldn't cover half a year's expenses. In Z City, given the mother and daughter’s habit of spending money like water, it would be gone in less than a month. Her mother had signed a prenuptial agreement when she married her father, and she hadn't worked since, living entirely off a man. Plus, that woman came from a poor background; there was no way she had any savings or foundation.

Even if they had support from friends and secret handouts from those two old fools, how much could that be, and how long could it last?

So what if they had a Rolls-Royce? It was all just a facade to save face. Fine—gold on the outside, rot on the inside. They were only enjoying themselves for a moment. She had already deeply offended Yu Mingwan and her group; she would have plenty to suffer later.

She turned her attention to another more important matter.

Xu Menrui: Does Li Chongjing have any special reaction?

Tao Yuzhe: No reaction.

Xu Menrui: Do you have his WeChat?

Tao Yuzhe: No, do you want it? I’ll find a way to get it.

Xu Menrui looked at the message and bit her lip. Should she add Li Chongjing on WeChat? And if she did, what would she do? The person she loved was undoubtedly Mo Yu, and she would definitely marry Mo Yu. But Li Chongjing... if she could become friends with him, it would be good to have him on her side.

Just as he had stood by Xu Luofu until the very end in her previous life.