I'll go meet that guy next week.

The black Maybach drove into the villa's underground garage, and the sensor lights lit up one by one, shining on the marble floor.

Pei Ningxue pushed the car door open and felt the somewhat chilly night air. She subconsciously pulled her school uniform jacket closer. A faint smell of barbecue from that street stall still lingered on her collar, which seemed completely out of place in this house right now.

With a loud bang.

Liu Yi slammed her car door shut, her high heels clicking rapidly and sharply against the ground.

The front door of the villa opened, and a small figure bounded out happily.

Sister! Mom! You're back!

Pei Jiming was wearing pajamas, his chubby face beaming with a pure smile that was rarely seen in this household.

Liu Yi didn't even glance at her son. She bypassed him directly and, annoyed that he was in the way, impatiently shoved him aside with her handbag.

Go play somewhere else.

The smile on Pei Jiming's face froze. At a loss, he looked at his sister, then at his mother's frosty expression.

Pei Ningxue stopped and reached out to rub Pei Jiming's head. As her fingertips touched his soft hair, the chill in her heart stirred up by Liu Yi dissipated slightly.

Go back to your room, she said softly.

Liu Yi had already marched up to the second floor in her high heels, heading straight for the study.

The study door was ajar, letting out a warm yellow light. Pei Dongcheng was sitting behind the massive mahogany desk, his brows tightly knitted as he looked at the documents in front of him.

Pei Dongcheng!

Liu Yi pushed the door open and walked in. She threw her bag heavily onto the sofa, her chest heaving violently.

Pei Dongcheng looked up, took off his gold-rimmed glasses, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. His tone carried a trace of exhaustion and displeasure: Why are you so angry? You'll scare the children.

Scare the children? Your precious daughter is about to be led astray, and you can still sit there!

Liu Yi walked up to the desk in a few strides and leaned on it with both hands.

Ningxue cannot stay in that middle school for another day. She must transfer! Right now! Immediately!

Pei Dongcheng rested his cigar on the crystal ashtray, leaned back, and scrutinized his wife, who was on the verge of exploding: What's wrong now? Ningxue has been obedient since she was a child, and her grades are stable. Why transfer schools for no reason?

Obedient? That was in the past!

Liu Yi sneered, took her phone out of her pocket, pulled up the call log, and practically shoved the screen into Pei Dongcheng's face.

Look for yourself! I called her a dozen times this afternoon and she didn't answer, and eventually she even turned her phone off! I went to the school gate to catch her, and guess what I saw?

Pei Dongcheng glanced at the string of red missed calls on the screen, his frown deepening.

She was hanging out with some shady little delinquent! That boy was covered in cheap street stall clothes, full of glib talk, looking exactly like an uneducated bottom-feeder. What good can Ningxue learn from being with someone like that?

The more Liu Yi spoke, the angrier she got. The image of Chen Zhi's half-smile and how he dared to mock her in public flashed through her mind, making her stomach churn with rage.

Impossible. Pei Dongcheng put his glasses back on, his tone firm. I know Ningxue's temperament. She wouldn't just make friends with anyone.

Why would I lie to you? I saw with my own eyes that boy grabbing her hand! He even wanted to help her call the police on me! Liu Yi's voice rose. Pei Dongcheng, if you don't believe me, call your daughter over and confront her face to face!

Meanwhile, in the room at the end of the second-floor hallway.

Pei Ningxue sat at her desk without turning on the light. Moonlight spilled in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a patch of white frost at her feet.

The door was gently pushed open a crack.

Pei Jiming poked half his body in, clutching a crumpled test paper in his hand.

Sister... his voice was timid, as if afraid of disturbing something.

Pei Ningxue turned her head and looked at her half-brother.

Seeing that his sister didn't chase him away, Pei Jiming cautiously shuffled in and spread the test paper on the desk like he was presenting a treasure.

Look, sister, I got a hundred on my math test!

On the test paper, the bright red 100 was very conspicuous.

In a daze, Pei Ningxue remembered when she was in elementary school, every time she got a perfect score, her mother would smile and pat her head like this, then take her to buy lots of delicious food.

That's great, Pei Ningxue said softly, tapping her fingertip on the 100.

Pei Jiming's eyes sparkled. He was about to speak when heavy footsteps suddenly came from the doorway.

Pei Dongcheng and Liu Yi walked in one after the other.

Jiming, go back to your own room, Liu Yi ordered coldly, not even glancing at the test paper.

Pei Jiming shrank back, grabbed the test paper, looked at his sister, then at his gloomy-faced parents. He lowered his head, silently backed out, and thoughtfully closed the door behind him.

Only three people were left in the room.

The air seemed to freeze, so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

Pei Dongcheng pulled up a chair and sat down, looking calmly at his daughter. Liu Yi stood to the side with her arms crossed, her gaze sharp.

Ningxue, your Auntie Liu said that you were hanging out with some shady people today, Pei Dongcheng spoke, his tone steady.

Pei Ningxue's hands resting on her knees tightened slightly.

She looked up and met her father's eyes directly. Her cold eyes were now incredibly determined.

He is my classmate. The young girl's voice was not loud, but it was exceptionally clear. Not some shady person.

Classmate? Liu Yi scoffed. Covered in the smell of smoke and full of foul language, does that kind of person even deserve to be called a classmate? I said from the beginning that we shouldn't have let you go to that crappy public school, it's full of low-class trash.

She walked up to Pei Ningxue. If I hadn't bumped into you today, who knows where you would have been tricked into going! Those little delinquents are best at deceiving naive little girls like you. You'd still be helping them count the money after they sold you off!

Pei Ningxue pursed her lips and said nothing, but her back was perfectly straight.

If you want to make friends, there are plenty of excellent boys in our Liu and Pei family circles. Whether they are returning from studying abroad or still attending international high schools, which one of them isn't better than that little thug?

Liu Yi turned around and said to Pei Dongcheng: Old Pei, don't hesitate anymore. This kind of environment will ruin her. I've already contacted the international school, and she can enroll next week.

I'm not transferring schools.

Liu Yi froze, as if she hadn't heard clearly: What did you say?

Pei Ningxue stood up. She was half a head shorter than Liu Yi, but her imposing manner at this moment was not inferior in the slightest.

I said, I am not transferring schools.

She turned to Pei Dongcheng, no longer obedient and submissive like before.

I already told you, he is my classmate, my friend. He has very good grades, he's ranked first in our grade, and he is absolutely not some little delinquent.

From childhood to now, what clothes to wear, what talents to learn, what books to read, I have always followed your arrangements. I have never said a single word of no.

Pei Ningxue's voice trembled slightly. The emotions suppressed for over ten years finally found an outlet at this moment.

Now, I just want to make a friend myself, is that not allowed?

This was the first time Pei Ningxue had voiced her own thoughts in this house.

Not submissive, not silent, but rebellious.

Pei Dongcheng looked at his daughter, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes. The timid little girl in his memory, the one who always kept her head bowed, seemed to have finally grown up.

Just what kind of magic did that boy named Chen Zhi possess?

Liu Yi was pale with anger, her finger trembling as she pointed at Pei Ningxue. "You... what kind of attitude is that?! I'm doing this for your own good! And you dare to talk back to me for the sake of some outsider?"

"Enough."

Pei Dongcheng spoke up suddenly, cutting Liu Yi off.

He stood up and gave Pei Ningxue a long, deep look.

"Since he's ranked first in his grade, he shouldn't be a bad kid."

"Old Pei!" Liu Yi looked at her husband in disbelief.

Pei Dongcheng raised a hand to stop her, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Let's put the transfer on hold for now. School starts next week; I'll go there and meet this boy myself."

With that, he turned and walked out. As he passed by Liu Yi, he said mildly, "You should say less, too. The child is growing up. It's a good thing she has her own thoughts."

The door clicked shut again.

As if drained of all her strength, Pei Ningxue slumped back into her chair.

She took out a picture frame from the very bottom of her drawer. In the photograph, a gentle and elegant woman was holding a younger version of her, smiling so brightly her eyes curved into crescents.

"Mom..." Pei Ningxue gently rubbed the photograph with her fingertips, her eyes growing hot.

A moment later, the door was pushed open a crack once more.

That little head poked in again.

Barefoot, Pei Jiming stepped onto the thick carpet without making a sound. He ran over to Pei Ningxue, leaned against the edge of the desk, and looked up at his sister.

"Sister, please don't be mad anymore."

Pei Ningxue placed the picture frame face down on the desk and ignored him.

Pei Jiming scratched his head, seeming to organize his words.

"Actually... actually, Mom isn't such a bad person."

Pei Ningxue remained silent. She even turned her face away, continuing to ignore him.

Seeing that his sister was ignoring him, Pei Jiming grew a little anxious.

"It's true! When Mom and I went back to Grandpa's house, Grandpa and Grandma were just as fierce to her. They said she was useless and only knew how to spend money. Mom didn't even dare to speak back then, just like how you didn't dare to speak earlier."

Pei Ningxue's movements paused for a second.

Seeing this, Pei Jiming leaned in closer. Cupping his chubby little hands over his mouth, he whispered mysteriously, "And you know what? Last time when Dad's company was short on money and he was so worried he couldn't sleep at night, I saw Mom sneak out to the balcony to call Grandpa to borrow money. Grandpa scolded her for a long time and even made her cry, but in the end, she still got the money for Dad."

"She might... she might just be copying how Grandpa and Grandma talk. She probably thinks that's the right way to do things."

Pei Jiming's voice grew quieter as he spoke, as if he too felt his explanation was a bit feeble.

"Mom might just be too embarrassed to show her good side, just like how I didn't dare admit it when I accidentally broke the vase."

Pei Ningxue turned her head and looked at her six-year-old brother.

A child's eyes are the purest, and also the most perceptive.

She thought about how Liu Yi was always in a constant state of tension in this house, and how she struggled to maintain the Pei family's dignity among the circles of wealthy socialites.

So, was that seemingly arrogant and domineering woman just another pitiful soul disciplined by her family of origin?

But that didn't mean she could forgive Liu Yi for trying to control her.

"Sister, go to sleep early, okay?"

Sensing that his sister's mood hadn't completely improved, Pei Jiming tactfully decided not to say anything more. He folded the perfect-score test paper, stuffed it into his pocket, and ran out.

Silence returned to the room once more.

Pei Ningxue walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window and gazed at the scattered city lights in the distance.

"Chen Zhi."

She breathed softly onto the glass and used her fingertip to trace the letters of his name, stroke by stroke.

See you next week.