Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The person who warned me probably felt the absurdity of their own words, so they quickly added, “But then again, it’s impossible. Who would ever choose Wei Xiaoyun over you? They’d have to be insane.”

I remained silent.

Xiao Yunzhou and I were childhood friends from families of equal social standing.

He was the golden boy, adored by everyone since he was young, while I was the School Belle-a girl from a wealthy family with top-tier grades and a perfect reputation.

In everyone’s eyes, Xiao Yunzhou and I were the ultimate power couple.

And who was Wei Xiaoyun?

She was a scholarship student from a remote, impoverished area whom Xiao Yunzhou sponsored. She was plain, with a round face and hair that was brittle from malnutrition. It was almost impossible to find a single redeeming quality about her.

In a romance novel, this might have been the start of a romantic and inspiring story. Unfortunately, this was real life.

However, Wei Xiaoyun never bothered to hide her feelings for Xiao Yunzhou.

It started with her first appearance at our school.

She had a dowdy look, wore tacky clothes, and carried two massive snakeskin bags in her hands.

Looking so completely out of place at our school, she naturally drew a lot of attention.

Especially when she lugged those two giant bags right up to Xiao Yunzhou.

When she opened them, everyone saw they were filled with a chaotic assortment of farm produce: organic eggs, peanuts, corn, melons, apples…

She looked up at Xiao Yunzhou and smiled. The way she gazed at him was as if she were looking at her own personal deity-focused and devout. She said, “Brother Yunzhou, my parents told me to bring these for you. They’re all home-grown and very fresh.”

“My mom says city produce is all sprayed with pesticides and isn’t healthy. Thank you for taking care of me all these years.”

Her words caused quite a stir.

Aside from the farm produce, it was the way she called him “Brother Yunzhou” and mentioned his “years of care.” Those vague phrases certainly left a lot to the imagination.

Everyone’s eyes flicked toward the two of them, their ears perking up.

Later, almost everyone who warned me to watch out for Wei Xiaoyun probably started hating her from that moment on.

They all thought Wei Xiaoyun was a manipulative “green tea bitch” with ulterior motives.

Even though they didn’t believe she could actually steal my man, they still felt the need to give me some heartfelt advice:

“Huaishan, you’re too kind and far too trusting. Don’t let Wei Xiaoyun’s pitiful act fool you. People like her can be incredibly wicked when they want to be.”

“Exactly. Just look at those TV dramas-there are plenty of stories where a plain-looking nanny steals the husband from the wife. You don’t have to worry about a thief, but you have to worry about the one who’s always watching.”

Each time, I would just nod with a smile, accepting their well-intentioned warnings.

That day, Xiao Yunzhou probably hadn’t expected Wei Xiaoyun to make such a grand spectacle of her “gratitude.”

His gaze moved from the bags at her feet to her face. His expression was cold and difficult to describe. Finally, he declined politely, “No thanks. I don’t eat those things. Thank you.”

Then, without another look at Wei Xiaoyun, he simply turned to me and said, “Huaishan, let’s go.”

After walking a few steps side-by-side with Xiao Yunzhou, I glanced back.

Wei Xiaoyun was looking down at the two rejected snakeskin bags. I couldn’t see her expression, and I didn’t know what she was thinking.

It was a long while before she picked up the two bags and turned to walk away, struggling under the weight.

There were people all around her, but no one stepped forward to help. The looks they gave her were filled with surprise and poorly concealed disdain.

She was so utterly out of place.

For some reason, as I watched her struggling silhouette, I suddenly felt a pang of pity for her.