Chapter 18

The He Family and the Fu Family have been close for generations.

It’s said that He Wei and Fu Ziyi have known each other since they were old enough to wear split-crotch pants.

Even the first time I met Fu Ziyi, it was as He Wei’s good friend.

That was about half a year after I’d returned to the He Family, and it happened to be my birthday.

He Yu’s friends still disliked me.

They started making a fuss, saying, “How about a talent show? Jiang Yu, you should join too.”

Of course, I didn’t want to.

Even though life had gotten a little better after I started living with my mom, we still didn’t have the extra money for art lessons.

I felt inferior by comparison.

At that age, it was easy to overthink things, and I truly felt embarrassed.

While they were making a scene, He Wei just stood off to the side.

But he didn’t say anything-he tacitly allowed it to happen.

Fu Ziyi was the only one who stepped forward. With one hand in his pocket, looking completely nonchalant, he said, “Count me in.”

He chose to play the piano. And then I heard the worst piano piece I’d ever heard in my life.

But I still thought he looked cool playing the piano.

Because after he calmly accepted all their laughter, no one came to pester me about performing anymore.

When he finished playing, he somehow appeared with a plate of little cakes and handed one to me. “Those rich kids are really something else, huh.”

I nodded in agreement.

Then I whispered to him, “Thank you.”

I knew he was helping me out of a tight spot.

He seemed amused by how serious I was. Propping his head up with one hand, he leaned in and whispered back, “Honestly, I don’t like them either.”

And that’s how I made my first friend in Nancheng.

Later, I learned that his family was steeped in scholarly tradition. For some reason, though, he seemed to lack his family’s scholarly air-instead, he had a bit of a roguish streak.

Then came my falling out with the He Family.

I stubbornly returned to Nancheng.

I never expected that not long after, I’d run into Fu Ziyi again in Nancheng.

He hadn’t followed his family’s plan to study abroad. Instead, he got into a university in Nancheng and enrolled in the Psychology Department.

And, unsurprisingly, he became my psychologist.

When I asked him again about his relationship with He Wei, he just brushed it off: “We’re not friends anymore.”

The sunlight was just right that day. He rested his hand on my shoulder and grinned brightly. “Don’t worry, I’ll always be on the side of justice.”