Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The first time I met He Zhi was on a rainy day. She was wearing a school uniform that was a bit too short, her hair tied back into a ponytail with a black hair tie.

I had just graduated at the time and started working at a law firm, renting an apartment nearby.

I often worked overtime, and it was already eleven o’clock at night by the time I headed home. As I walked up to the building, I happened to see He Zhi loitering by the entrance.

Thinking she couldn’t get in because she didn’t have an access card, I opened the door for her. “Coming in?”

She looked up at me hesitantly. Before she could respond, a glass crashed down behind her with a sudden bang.

That couple named He on the seventh floor was fighting again.

I was already used to it and swiped my phone open, preparing to call property management.

Instead, she folded her umbrella and walked toward me. “Can I stay at your place for a while?”

A senior in high school, eighteen years old, yet her face was etched with misery, her eyes clouded with gloom.

I caught a glimpse of the name tag on her uniform: He Zhi. Only then did it click that she was the daughter of that couple on the seventh floor.