Volume 1, Chapter 7: Qin Xuewei's Revenge

Jiang Yu’s playful and cunning remark about "just messing around" did not make the man before her lower his guard.

Huo Chenyuan took a step forward. His military boots landed on the damp ground without a sound, yet an overwhelming sense of oppression surged toward her. He was more than a head taller than her, and as he looked down, the shadow cast by his cap’s brim deepened the darkness in his profound eyes.

"Messing around?" He repeated the words, his voice dropping to a low, murmuring tone that carried a hidden danger. "Jiang Yu, let me give you a reminder. The Huo family threshold is high; we have no room for underhanded tricks. If I catch you using such tactics against family members again, I promise I will personally send you back to that Jiang family you look down upon."

Jiang Yu’s fingers, hanging at her sides, curled tightly, her nails digging into the soft flesh of her palms, yet her expression remained entirely fearless. She lifted her head to meet Huo Chenyuan’s gaze; there was no evasion or guilty conscience in her clear, bright eyes.

"Family?" She gave a light laugh. Under the dim streetlamp, the smile held a callousness and clarity that seemed entirely at odds with her young age. "Brother, you are joking. If they hadn't come to our door first, trying to drive me out of this house and humiliate the Huo family in front of the entire residential compound, why would I bother 'messing around' with them?"

She paused, tilting her face up, her gaze searing. "Or perhaps you think I should have opened the gates of the Huo family, let them walk in to wail and throw tantrums, and let them trample your and Father Huo’s dignity into the dirt—is that what you consider being a 'real family'?"

Huo Chenyuan fell silent. He found that he had no retort. She was like a calculating young wolf; she appeared weak and vulnerable, yet she always knew how to reveal the sharpest claws at the most critical moment.

After a long while, he squeezed a sentence from his throat: "I hope you always use this cleverness for the right path."

With that, he stopped looking at her, turned on his heels, and strode away. His tall, upright silhouette soon vanished into the night.

***

After the monthly exams, Jiang Yu’s name became the focus of everyone’s scrutiny. The more she remained silent and focused on her studies, the more it made certain people look like clowns.

Qin Xuewei had been having nightmares lately; in her dreams, the name "Jiang Yu" on the red honors board burned so brightly it woke her every night. She had privately inquired with the teachers and learned that Jiang Yu’s papers were excellent, and no teacher had been giving her special tutoring.

Qin Xuewei couldn't fathom it. How could her own academic status be so easily usurped by a tagalong from the countryside? In the eyes of her classmates, the one who was smart and beautiful should only be her, not this country bumpkin of a stepsister.

As for Huo Siye, it went without saying. It was one thing not to have good grades, but now that his stepsister was in the same class and had actually scored first, the contrast was blindingly painful. Whenever he ran into uncles and aunts from the compound, they would nag him: "The new sister is so smart; you should learn from her. Don't be so playful that you get left behind by your sister!"

His father was even more outrageous, constantly bringing up his bottom-ten ranking and even threatening to kick him out of the house if he didn't improve next time.

One afternoon, during a break, Jiang Yu was called to the office by the duty teacher to move some workbooks. On her way back, passing by the restroom, she was suddenly blocked by two girls. They were Qin Xuewei’s lackeys.

"Jiang Yu, Xuewei is looking for you. She's waiting in the girls' restroom; she says she has a few questions to ask you."

Jiang Yu glanced at them and calmly refused, "I'm busy." She wasn't an idiot. Asking for help in the girls' restroom? These lackeys were clearly not very bright.

"You!" The girl choked, then immediately put on a fake smile. "Oh, is the top student in the grade really going to be that arrogant? Xuewei has already lowered herself to ask you; just go!"

*Fine,* she thought. *I'll go see what kind of trick they're playing.*

Without another word, the group pushed Jiang Yu into the girls' restroom. The room was empty, smelling of damp mold. Just as Jiang Yu realized something was wrong, the heavy wooden door behind her slammed shut with a "bang," followed by the crisp sound of an iron latch sliding into place.

She was locked in a stall. Outside, Qin Xuewei and her friends burst into uncontrollable, vicious laughter.

"Hahaha, that'll teach her for being so arrogant! It's locked!"

"Exactly! Let her be first! Let her be smug! Today, we’ll show her what we're made of!"

"Honestly, what is there to be smug about? A country bumpkin is a country bumpkin; you can't change their nature. That stench of poverty on her—once it mixes with the smell of this toilet, it’ll be a perfect match!"

"That's right, let her rot in there!"

Outside the restroom, Huo Siye was leaning against the wall, listening to the commotion. A classmate leaned in and asked excitedly in a low voice, "Brother Ye, did you hear? Those girls are pretty ruthless."

A cruel arc formed on Huo Siye’s lips. He imagined Jiang Yu crying and begging for mercy, and half the pent-up anger in his heart finally dissipated.

Jiang Yu tapped on the door, her voice devoid of emotion: "Open the door."

In response, she heard Qin Xuewei’s shrill, gloating voice: "Jiang Yu, aren't you so capable? If you're so smart, get yourself out! Stay in there and reflect on yourself—a country bumpkin like you, what right do you have to steal first place from me?"

No sooner had she finished speaking than a rustling sound came from above the stall partition. Jiang Yu looked up sharply.

The next second, with a deafening "splash," cold, murky, foul-smelling dirty water poured down onto her head! In that instant, she felt a bone-chilling cold and humiliation. Her thin clothes were instantly soaked through, clinging tightly to her frame and outlining her slender silhouette.

The filthy water, mixed with dust and mold, dripped down from her hair and cheeks in a miserable state. The mocking laughter outside reached a crescendo.

"Hahaha! Look at that! She's a drowned rat!"

"She deserves it! Let's see how she acts arrogant from now on!"

Huo Siye was listening outside, his shoulders shaking with laughter, but as he laughed, he felt a sudden, inexplicable panic. This girl was strange; what if she went to complain to his father that he had led people to bully her? Given how biased his father had become toward her, his legs would surely be broken.

The more he thought about it, the more restless he became. Yet, the cries for mercy he had expected from Jiang Yu never came. The more he thought, the more flustered he grew. *Forget it, there’s nothing left to see.* He turned and hurried away from the scene.

Jiang Yu stood in the middle of the filth, letting the dirty water drip onto the floor. She did not cry, nor did she scream. She simply closed her eyes slowly, very slowly. The pain of having her admission letter stolen in her previous life, the helplessness and fury of being pushed to the brink by the Jiang family—at this moment, all these feelings overlapped with the humiliation before her.

A little thing like this could not break her.

The bell rang sharply for the next class, and the crowd outside laughed and scattered like birds and beasts. Qin Xuewei, having not received the reaction she wanted, kicked the door in annoyance and cursed viciously: "Country bumpkin! Just you wait!"

Huo Siye also found it boring; he spat on the ground and walked off with his friends.

Finally, everything around her fell completely silent. Jiang Yu opened her eyes; her pupils, soaked through with water, were as black as a bottomless, icy pool. She didn't bother with the locked restroom door but instead calmly examined the stall she was in.

The latch was an old-fashioned wooden bolt, secured from the outside with a small copper lock. Her gaze landed on the two rusted hinges connecting the door panel to the frame. Years of dampness had caused the wood around the hinges to become soft and decayed.

She took half a step back, set her stance, and her eyes sharpened. The next second, she lifted her leg and, using every ounce of her strength, kicked precisely at the door panel right next to the lower hinge!

"BANG!"

A massive sound echoed, accompanied by the groan of splintering wood. The seemingly sturdy wooden door was kicked clean off its frame.