Chapter 4

She made a call.

A stern middle-aged man answered. “Qiaoqiao, what’s wrong?”

“Daddy, I really did yesterday’s homework myself. My fingers still hurt! If you don’t believe me, ask our class president. I’m going to get into Tsinghua or Peking University on my own score, you know.”

She shoved the phone toward me and shot me a murderous glare.

I swallowed. “Hello, Uncle. I’m Song Yao, the class president. Ji Wenqiao really did write the homework herself.”

“Is that so? When did she write it?”

My mind raced. Ji Wenqiao had been out at sea yesterday. There would be no witnesses there.

“After school, she said she wanted to study, so she stayed behind and finished it.”

Ji Wenqiao nodded, satisfied. “You hear that, Daddy? I really did it.”

“Ha! That’s my daughter. You’ve finally decided to study. I’ll add another million to your monthly allowance!”

She ended the call with a smug smile. “Smart girl. I’m the Ji Group’s only daughter. My father has no illegitimate children. The Ji fortune is already mine.”

“From now on, you’ll do my homework every day. Don’t worry, I won’t treat you badly.”

“But offend me, and you’ll regret it.”

I nodded like a pecking chicken. The hands gripping me released, and Ji Wenqiao strode away on her stilettos.

Only after she disappeared did I dare pick up my bag and hurry home, still shaken. The delay meant dusk had already fallen when I reached my dilapidated apartment building.

I was thinking about that night’s homework when my father’s terrifying voice rang out below.

“You hid for a month, but I finally found you!”

My legs turned to lead. Memories of his beatings flashed through my mind.

He ripped the backpack off me and slapped me so hard that I flew several feet. “You’ve got nerve, sneaking a hundred kilometers away to study. I raised you, fed you, and paid for you, yet you never brought a cent home. Then you dared run?”

“I already took the bride price—three hundred eighty-eight thousand yuan. They’re waiting for you to come back and get engaged.”

“You’re coming home today, whether you like it or not.”

In the sticky early-autumn heat, I could feel his spit striking my face.

Only then did I notice a battered van beside the building, its windows covered. My father waved impatiently. “Hurry up. Drag her into the van. We still have a long drive.”

Several relatives piled out. My family was not destitute, but my father had always hated the idea of me studying. My younger brother had failed the high school entrance exam the year before, forcing my parents to scrape together money for a private school. That only strengthened my father’s determination to make me quit.

I had no friends here. The only people I knew were my classmates.

As my relatives closed in, I pulled out the phone Ji Wenqiao had tossed me that afternoon—her old model, given as a reward for knowing my place. It ran smoothly.

I opened the class chat. Everyone was talking at once.

“Yachts are boring. It’s always the same stuff.”

“Look at my complete figurine collection. It cost more than three million. image.jpg”

“Miss Ji got a bigger allowance. Should we book an entire golf course tomorrow?”

“Let’s ride instead. My pony hasn’t seen me for days. It must miss me.”

Into that cheerful chatter, I sent a voice message thick with tears and panic.

“This is Song Yao. My father is trying to make me quit school and go home to get engaged. My phone has location services. Please—please come save me.”