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After registering and picking up their uniforms, the two of them found the nearby Bus Stop to catch a ride home. As Feng Ning stepped out onto Rain River Alley, she was immediately tangled up by the Big Yellow Dog that came rushing out.
Shuang Yao turned around and jumped up the steps in fright, her face pale as she shouted, "Quick, get your dog away from me!"
"Oh my dear Beibei, my little sweetheart," Feng Ning said as she squatted down and gave the dog a good rub. "Let’s go home."
The Big Yellow Dog joyfully bounced on its hind legs, eager to leap onto her.
Feng Ning quickly stood up and pushed Beibei away with her foot. "Hey, don’t dirty my clothes."
"Shuang Yao, Sister Ning—"
They both looked up to see Zhao Weichen leaning over from the second-floor balcony. "Did you finish registering?"
Feng Ning shouted back at him, "Yeah, classes start tomorrow. Did you get your birthday gift from me?"
"Of course! Thanks, Sister Ning!" he replied.
"You're such a fool," Shuang Yao teased quietly from the side. "If Xiao Zhao knew that the clothes were just given to you..."
"Shh! Don’t say that," Feng Ning made a shushing gesture. "What if that unlucky kid jumps down from the second floor with his eyes closed?"
The two burst into laughter.
All three of them lived in Rain River Alley and had grown up together. Zhao Weichen admired Feng Ning greatly. According to him, she was the most special girl he had ever met. When asked what made her special, he couldn’t quite explain it; it was just her sparkling eyes and her slightly arrogant demeanor. "You’ll understand once you spend more time with her; my Sister Ning is truly extraordinary!"
Shuang Yao relayed the message to Feng Ning, and the quirky girl laughed heartily.
As noon approached, the aroma of stir-fried pork with green peppers wafted from somewhere in the alley, accompanied by the loud voice of a community aunt echoing from the courtyard.
Shuang Yao turned and asked, "By the way, are you still selling alcohol at Cousin Zhao's? School has started; you should quit."
Feng Ning didn't care at all. "I'll keep it up for a few more months; it's just on weekends, pretty easy, and it doesn't affect my studies."
"At your young age, are you obsessed with money? Are you the daughter of a miser? You'd be stingy to death."
"I need to save some money to support my mom." Feng Ning avoided her serious expression. "Her health has never been good; who knows when her previous illness might flare up again."
Shuang Yao was momentarily taken aback. Feng Ning had been mature since childhood, not innocent or romantic, often self-centered, yet she was the most sensible and determined among them.
Looking up again, she saw Feng Ning already running ahead with a big yellow dog, bouncing and waving. "Tomorrow morning at seven, let’s go to school together!"
Back home, Aunt Li, who helped with cooking at the Mahjong Parlor, was washing fish in the yard. Upon seeing Feng Ning, she greeted her, "Ning Ning, you're back! Today Auntie is making fish head tofu soup for you with fresh wild fish!"
"Great! Where's my mom?"
"Making dumplings."
Gently kicking aside the big dog that was circling her feet, Feng Ning tossed her backpack aside and strolled into the kitchen. "Ms. Qi, what made you want to cook today?"
Qilan stopped her actions and sighed slightly with a hint of melancholy, "My daughter is going to school tomorrow, and I'll be the only one at home."
"You're probably secretly happy about it," Feng Ning said as she tied her hair up, reached into the sink to rinse her hands, and picked up a rolling pin to start flattening the dough. "Shuang Yao's mom, Xiao Zhao's aunt, and the women from the street next door come here regularly every day."
The water boiling on the stove bubbled away as Qilan looked at her with concern. "If you run out of money, remember to call me. Don't cause trouble at school, be nice to your teachers, and make sure to wash your underwear every day. Also, when are you moving your luggage?"
The television outside was playing Chibi Maruko-chan, where the short-haired Maruko was saying, "I thought this summer was still far away." Feng Ning watched intently, responding with a couple of "mm-hmms." "I'm not a child anymore; I can take care of myself. Mo Ge and the others will help me move my luggage this afternoon."
"What?!" Qilan turned around and glared at her. In a fit of anger, she shouted, "Are you ignoring my words by hanging out with those people from East Street?"
Feng Ning quickly took a small step back, fearing that her mother would get even more upset. "I'm not hanging out with them; I'm just playing with Mo Ge—Meng Hanmo. You’ve watched him grow up since he was little."
"Don't think I don't know anything." Qilan scolded her daughter but couldn't help feeling sad again. "I didn't have time to take care of you before, but thankfully you listened and didn't learn anything bad from anyone. Otherwise, if something happened to me, I wouldn't have any explanation for your father."
"Mom, please don't say that; it makes me feel uncomfortable."
Although Feng Ning sometimes acted rebelliously, she was always a good child in front of her mother.
Aunt Li came in carrying a basin of shrimp and smiled at the scene. "What's going on? Are you two arguing again?"
Qilan shook her head repeatedly.
Feng Ning spent quite some time comforting Qilan until she finally calmed down.
Seeing that her mother was still in a low mood, Feng Ning put down the rolling pin and seriously raised three fingers. "I swear, I will study hard at school and get into the best university in three years, bringing honor to our family."
Nancheng High School is a prestigious boarding school that stands out among its peers, undoubtedly the top school in the area. Due to limited enrollment each year, most students are directly promoted from the Junior High School section of the same institution. However, to attract the best talent and ensure high graduation rates, the school offers a few selected students free tuition each year.
Feng Ning is one of them.
On the day before school starts, shiny luxury cars lined up extravagantly at the school gate, mostly helping children move in.
Feng Ning wore a cartoon T-shirt she found at a street stall and black denim shorts. She moved her belongings up and down alone in the dormitory building, stopping to rest on the steps and patting her waist when tired. Chibi Maruko-chan smiled innocently on her shirt.
Passing by were several pampered young ladies dressed head to toe in designer brands, surrounded by a group of people. She felt as if she had accidentally blended into high society like a Filipino maid.
There are four people in a dormitory, but two have not yet arrived. Meng Hanmo and the others were still waiting. She casually tidied up her things, closed her suitcase with a snap, and pushed it into a corner. Just as she let out a sigh of relief, a weak voice suddenly spoke up, "Hello."
Feng Ning looked up to see a thin, pale girl standing awkwardly by the door, holding two cups of milk tea.
"Hello, what’s up?"
The girl observed for a moment before stepping inside and tentatively saying, "I live here too. Are you in Class Nine?"
"Yes, I’m in Class Nine." Feng Ning noticed that the girl seemed quite shy. She was sweating on her face, so she stood up and confidently extended her hand. "I’m Feng Ning, your roommate."
"I, I am Meng Taoyu," she said, feeling even more flustered as she handed her a cup of milk tea. "Do you want this? I just bought it."
Feng Ning took a sip and flashed her signature smile. "Yes, please! I'm just a bit thirsty. But I have to go do something now. Thanks for the milk tea! I'll bring you a bottle of AD Calcium Milk tomorrow."
As Feng Ning went downstairs, she spotted a large group of people in the distance. The boy at the front was over six feet tall, wearing a black short-sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his shoulders and a baseball cap that obscured his face.
She jogged over and cheerfully called out, "Brother!"
"Ningzi, you're quick on your feet," one of them said as he put his arm around her shoulder. "Come on, let's go eat. What do you want? It's on me."
Feng Ning shrugged off his arm. "I only have one brother, so don't go calling yourself my brother."
The group walked out of the school, their arms slung around each other like a gang on the prowl, turning heads as they passed by.
Feng Ning snatched Meng Hanmo's hat and placed it on her own head to shield her eyes.
Meng Hanmo had a neat, short haircut and slightly more pronounced features than others, with clear contours and faint scars near his nose. He looked at her impatiently and said in a low voice, "What are you doing?"
"You all look too intimidating," Feng Ning replied, lowering her head. "For the sake of my image, I need to keep a low profile."
They all arrived on motorcycles, parking them in a nearby alley. Just as they turned into it, a flashy sports car was parked haphazardly at the entrance.
"Who the hell parked this car? What an idiot," Crew Cut fumed, ready to kick the tire in anger until someone nearby quickly stopped him. "Did you even see what kind of car this is before you kick it?"
"What's so great about Ferrari?"
Though the words were spoken, seeing the shiny prancing horse emblem on the front of the car made them angrily give it the middle finger, yet they didn't dare to take further action.
This was a dead end with only one exit, which was currently blocked. A group of people had squeezed in with difficulty and could only stare at each other, waiting for the car owner to arrive.
"Calm down, come here." Feng Ning took out Pavilion of Blue and distributed it to everyone one by one.
As they waited in boredom, someone suddenly remembered something and asked Feng Ning to sing a song for them. "Ningzi, they say your love song at the bar a few days ago was quite impressive. Show us what you've got."
Feng Ning replied irritably, "Dream on! Do you think everyone deserves to hear my love songs?"
The chubby guy asked, "Then what do we deserve?"
"Nursery rhymes! Listen closely." She placed her hand on Meng Hanmo's shoulder, cleared her throat, and began, "Under the big bridge in front, a duck swam by, two four six seven eight, quack quack quack quack."
Meng Hanmo lowered his head, biting his cigarette and chuckling, "People are just a bunch of ducks."
Feng Ning stubbornly retorted, "You mind your own business; I only saw one."
"Are you counting its feathers with your two four six seven eight?"
The two continued their banter, and several others joined in laughter. Amidst the playful chatter, the bright red taillights of a Ferrari suddenly lit up. With two beeps, they stopped laughing and all looked up in unison.
Jiang Yuyun leaned in to take a look at the situation, then opened the car door and said to them, "Sorry everyone, there were no parking spots available just now. I'll move it right away."
Seeing such a glamorous beauty, Crew Cut had already lost his temper. He waved his hand and said, "It's fine, just hurry up."
Jiang Wen was already sitting in the passenger seat. In front of him was a steady stream of cars passing by. His dark eyes scanned the rearview mirror and unexpectedly spotted that person.
He had only seen her twice, but recognized her immediately. She was finally not wearing anything strange; one leg casually bent on the car, a straw from her milk tea held in her mouth, leaning closely against another boy.
She was focused on talking and didn’t glance this way at all. The four or five people around her didn’t look like students; some stood while others sat, leaning back and smoking.
In the narrow alley, the dim brick walls were cluttered with motorcycles and dirty white sneakers. Her ponytail fell over her shoulder, tied up with a rubber band. A thin red string wrapped around her delicate wrist, hanging down to her knee.
He watched coldly.
The buttons on the center console lit up, and the roof automatically retracted from front to back while all the windows rolled down. The air mixed with smoke and sweat rushed in from all directions.
The commotion attracted the attention of those behind them.
Jiang Yuyun was preparing to reverse, glancing at him for a few seconds with a mix of curiosity and amusement. "Aren't you the one who hates the smell of smoke the most?"
Jiang Wen remained silent, slowly leaning back. He stared out the window at the Clematis climbing around the corner of the alley, feeling an unexpected surge of irritation rise within him.
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