Chapter 3

I truly loved Zhien.

I had held that pink little bundle since the day she was born. She always clutched the corner of my clothes and toddled after me, calling “Sis” in her baby voice. Mom often said, “Your sister is little. She’ll depend on you to care for her.” I never protested. Secretly, I was delighted. I wanted my sister to depend on me.

Whenever I had time, I took her to see wildflowers on the field ridges or gather pebbles by the river. She seldom played with other children; she only had eyes for me. So when Uncle Li’s car stopped outside and Mom took her away, Zhien wept as if her heart were tearing apart.

“Sis—I want my sister!” She clung desperately to the doorframe, her face slick with tears. “Why can’t Sis come too? Let Sis come… Please let Sis come!”

She cried so hard she could barely breathe, her small body struggling frantically in Mom’s arms. But she was only eight. In the end, they half carried and half dragged her into the car.

As the car started, she pressed her entire face to the window and beat the glass with her little hands. Her red-rimmed eyes swept the crowd, desperately searching for me.

I stood a short distance away and waved gently.

“Goodbye, Zhien.”

At eight, Zhien was still the sister I loved.

But our bond ended there.

Uncle Li ran a prosperous wholesale shop in the county town. He had liked Mom many years ago, but they had both been married then. Now he was divorced and Mom was widowed. He was determined to have her, while he was the regret she had carried for decades.

The car slowly vanished beyond the village. I remained where I was and said to the empty air, “Congratulations, Mom. You finally got what you wanted.”

Yu Jinnian could not understand how I had announced before the entire village that I did not want Mom and Zhien dragging me down and wanted to study in the city instead.

He could not believe I was that kind of person.

Yet everyone had heard me that day. My voice had been clear and my eyes calm. Even while people pointed and whispered, I had not wavered in the least.

Afterward, he asked me countless times, “Zhiya, what happened to you?”

The most heated of these exchanges took place in front of the village chief and his parents. He blocked my path, anger and confusion straining his voice. “You think you’re going there to enjoy yourself? Do you know how few students from No. 20 get into top-tier universities each year? It can’t compare with County No. 1!”

Of course I knew.

I knew No. 20 had lax discipline and had even been nicknamed the dating school.

So what?

What road in this world came without a price?

No. 20’s offer was generous: free room and board, a monthly stipend, and an additional reward if I scored above six hundred on the national college entrance exam.

Its reputation had declined in recent years, and it desperately needed excellent students to restore its prestige. It was recruiting everywhere.

As the top scorer in the county, I was a prize in its eyes.

I was grateful the school existed, allowing me to trade my own value for survival.

As for Yu Jinnian—I had hated him in my previous life, hated him enough to wish him dead. But once he truly was gone, I remembered his goodness too, especially the pure affection of his youth.

I met his anxious gaze and laid out reality. “Yu Jinnian, you saw what happened. Mom won’t support me. If I choose County No. 1 instead of No. 20, will you pay my expenses?”

In the early nineties, our county had no jobs for high school students. There were hardly any restaurants, and any work that existed had long been taken by adults.

To find work, people had to travel south to the factories. Students depended on their parents. So I asked again, “Could your parents support me? I promise I’ll repay them in the future—tenfold, a hundredfold.”

As I spoke, I watched Yu Jinnian’s eyes visibly dim.

All three sons in his family were students. Before every new term, his parents went everywhere borrowing money, and their ledgers were stacked high. He could not make his family’s burden heavier because of me.

His parents stood beside him, pity and sorrow in their eyes, but neither said a word.

The village chief patted his shoulder and said gravely, “Jinnian, Zhiya is right… Everyone has their own road. This is her fate. Other than No. 20, no school wants her.”

Yu Jinnian lowered his head and bit his lip. His eyes reddened.

At last, he understood that No. 20 was my only road.