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She threatened Ouyang Linhao with money, not believing he could actually pay her back; she was just trying to scare him and make him obey. Even if they were in the same school and class, could Sun Wukong escape the Five Finger Mountain?

She tolerated Ouyang Linhao's flirtatious exchanges with the girl. She figured she could just beat him up if she wanted, and she couldn't control him. When she got annoyed, she'd find the girl, throw a few threats, and the girl would back down, leaving Ouyang Linhao speechless. But this time, Ye Ruru was truly enraged.

He actually wrote a love letter to Qiu Shanglin!

That's solid evidence!

Shang Lin wasn't so bored as to flaunt love letters written by others everywhere. The signature on the love letter surprised her, but she quickly tossed it into her drawer without giving it much thought. Ouyang Linhao's womanizing was common knowledge throughout the school, and besides, who knew if he was plotting something to trick her—this kid was too guarded.

Qin Zheng accidentally found it.

Qin Zheng comes from a place very close to the city, which is now considered a rural-urban fringe area. It is said that with the expansion of the city, her village will soon become part of the city.

They came up together from junior high school. They were in different classes in junior high and Shanglin. She was a good student, ranking in the top ten in her class and the top fifty in her grade. She was considered a darling of her own teacher. She was sweet-talking and knew how to get along with people. She served as the class's Youth League Secretary for three years in junior high. She often met Shanglin in the office. Occasionally, when the top students from several classes sat together for study exchange meetings, they could exchange a few words.

She and Shanglin are now in the same class in the first year of high school, sitting at adjacent desks and getting along well.

She asked Shang Lin to borrow his notes, but Shang Lin was busy going to the restroom and told her to look for them on the table herself. To be honest, the girl was silly; the notes were clearly on the table, but she assumed they were in the drawer—she was hiding them there, afraid someone would see them.

I searched and searched but couldn't find the notes. Instead, I found a letter, a letter with no postmark, no address, only the recipient's name.

Everyone has curiosity. Qin Zheng looked left and right, making sure no one was paying attention to her, and secretly pulled out the letter to browse. Years of reading romance novels had honed her ability to read ten lines at a glance; she quickly finished the two large pages, becoming increasingly alarmed with each reading, and the signature at the end made her gasp in surprise.

Fortunately, the classroom was noisy, and no one heard her exclamation.

She returned to her seat, still feeling unsettled, and remained stunned for a long while. Even when Lin asked her if she had found the notes, she was dumbfounded and didn't answer.

Qin Zheng and Ye Ruru have a past grudge.

It all happened last year. Everyone was in their final year of junior high, the most stressful time of their studies. Once, on the bus home from school, she and Ouyang Linhao sat together and chatted the whole way, finding they got along quite well. Later, when they met again at school, they laughed and talked, and from then on, they were acquainted. Ouyang Linhao deliberately approached her, and Qin Zheng half-heartedly accepted, secretly delighted. He was already a popular figure at school; even if they weren't boyfriend and girlfriend, just being ordinary friends was enough to make many people envious.

Unfortunately, Ye Ruru was in a bad mood, and someone gossiped that Ouyang Linhao was flirting with a girl from another class. Without saying a word, Ye Ruru went to her class and gave her a severe dressing-down, calling her a "bitch" and using every nasty insult imaginable. Qin Zheng felt incredibly wronged, but Ye Ruru, being the type, wouldn't listen to her explanation.

Fortunately, Ouyang Linhao later clarified that they were just acquaintances, exchanging greetings when they met, which reassured Ye Ruru that there was no need to make a fuss, and she finally let it go.

An apology? She never apologizes.

Qin Zheng suffered a great loss for nothing. Not only was he scolded, but he also became the subject of gossip. He hated not only Ye Ruru, but also Ouyang Linhao.

You struck up a conversation with me on the bus, and you were always the one who initiated the conversation at school. You would always compliment me on my looks, my liveliness, and my cuteness. But when things got serious, it all turned into a casual acquaintance where we just nod and greet each other when we met.

What do people say about me? They say Qin Zheng is shameless, throwing himself at Ouyang Linhao and he doesn't even want him!

The hatred had been brewing in his heart for over a year, and he finally found an opportunity to humiliate Ye Ruru. After much deliberation, although he felt sorry for Qiu Shanglin, but—

Flies don't land on eggs without cracks. I'm telling the truth, and I'm not making this up!

He comforted himself with this thought and secretly revealed the love letter.

Ye Ruru was so angry!

I suffered a loss in silence and really wanted to vent to someone.

But Ouyang Linhao has been giving her the cold shoulder lately. He wants to cause trouble for Qiu Shanglin just like he used to cause trouble for other girls... but he's also worried about Li Changsheng.

He's a hothead who won't listen to anything, no matter what. Everyone in school knows that messing with him might not necessarily get you into trouble, but messing with Qiu Shanglin is definitely a death sentence. He'll beat anyone, girl or girl.

Ye Ruru had suffered greatly at his hands. Without Ouyang Linhao's protection, she was nothing but a fart in front of Li Changsheng.

Besides, Qiu Shanglin has absolutely no intention of flirting with Ouyang Linhao!

Since the last fight, everyone has acted like strangers. Although they live under the same roof, they never speak to each other. When Qiu Shanglin encounters them, he lowers his head and glances away, treating them as if they are invisible. As for Ouyang Linhao, he has never given him a kind look.

After school started, Ouyang Linhao would use studying as an excuse to strike up a conversation with Qiu Shanglin. She would avoid him if she could, but if she couldn't, she would pull other classmates aside and give him a serious explanation. After the explanation, she would pretend to be a stranger again.

Ye Ruru saw it all.

She wasn't stupid; Qiu Shanglin was different from them. She wouldn't do anything like flirting—besides, in terms of family background and personal qualities, in what way was Ji Yunwen inferior to Ouyang Linhao?

Why should Qiu Shanglin give in to Ouyang Linhao when Ji Yunwen is still devoted to her?

But this anger was bottled up inside, which was really frustrating, and I didn't know when it would explode.

She felt stifled, and so did Shanglin.

She was inexplicably made the subject of other people's gossip, and even got involved with Ouyang Linhao, which made her unhappy; being betrayed by Qin Zheng made her unhappy; Ouyang Linhao's constant fawning made him unhappy; and Ji Yunwen's occasional jealousy also made her unhappy.

There are tons of rumors about her, and one of them is correct.

She did indeed have a relationship with Ji Yunwen when they were young.

When did it start?

Perhaps it was during the summer vacation of the second year of junior high school, when other boys were scrambling to eat roasted corn, Ji Yunwen quietly handed over a burnt piece of corn.

Perhaps it was when they went hiking, while everyone else was running wildly ahead, Ji Yunwen walked silently behind her, pretending to be exhausted.

Or, on their way to and from school in the third year of junior high, Li Changsheng and Qiu Xialin were racing each other on their bicycles. In the rush of bicycles heading home, his bicycle always stood on the outside, and no matter how loudly the bicycle bells of the people behind him rang, he didn't even flinch.

She never considered finding a younger boyfriend—at least not at this stage. Having been reborn, her mindset had changed, and her experience had aged as if she had witnessed countless changes in the world. Although she retained a childlike heart, it was by no means a childlike heart in the real sense.

One day I will fall in love with someone, marry him, and enjoy the happiness of family life as a wife and mother.

Qiu Shanglin never expected that love would come so suddenly, catching him completely off guard.

She admired Ji Yunwen's naiveté, which was all the more precious in contrast to Li Changsheng's dark psychology and Qiu Xialin's reckless and silly playfulness.

He was also very persistent. He adhered to his principles, being polite and courteous without being pedantic.

The boys he knew in Shanglin were all different from him.

Yin Yeyao was incomparable; he was a terrifying figure shaped by his large family. Changsheng had suffered too much hardship from a young age and didn't believe in humanity at all. All these years of subtle influence had only taught him a little restraint and how to get along with others. Gu Zhiyuan had a strong scholarly air, but wasn't rigid. Having witnessed the turbulent power struggles of officialdom from a young age, how could a child from such a family truly believe in a peaceful and stable world?

Ji Yunwen is unique. His parents have stable jobs, a harmonious relationship, and dote on him without spoiling him. He has a good upbringing, works hard, knows what he wants in the future, knows what he can achieve through hard work, is not afraid of hardship, and disdains using underhanded methods. This kind of boy will not be ordinary in the future, but he is also destined not to achieve great success and wealth.

Like many boys from well-off families, they listen to the praise of teachers and classmates all the way, sit on the halo of outstanding students, enter university, find a job after graduation, make achievements in their positions, and enjoy a brilliant life in their own little corner of the world.

She had always thought that her relationship with him was just that of ordinary friends. Fate played a cruel trick; in high school, she wasn't in the same class as Changsheng and Xia Lin, but instead was assigned to sit next to Ji Yunwen, their seats even close together. She didn't know when it started, but they made it a habit to pass notes during evening self-study sessions. At first, they talked about anecdotes about Changsheng and Xia Lin, then about studying, and later about pointless nonsense… what they ate, drank, and thought about, the spittle spray from the Chinese teacher, the English teacher's pronunciation of English…

Xia Lin and Chang Sheng each have their own social circles and can't always hang out with her. Shang Lin's personality also means she can't easily form a close bond with a group of girls who are constantly at odds with each other. Counting on her fingers, she has very few close friends, and they are all scattered across different classes.

Suddenly, of all his former friends, only Ji Yunwen remained by his side.

They lined up together for meals and got hot water together. After PE class, covered in sweat, Ji Yunwen came to her to get toiletries and a towel... When Ji Yunwen secretly took her hand, Shang Lin was startled and hesitated whether to pull away.

Seeing Ji Yunwen's uneasy expression, she felt a pang of sympathy and sighed: "That's how it is. I'm an old cow eating young grass, and I'm getting worse and worse. Who can condemn me?"

Liking someone is a very subtle thing.

Before, I never said anything, and I never thought about anything. But once that unspoken understanding was broken, I started to like him more and more. Only then did it dawn on me: Ah, so I liked him... I've always liked him...

No one in this world knows my background. Does that mean I can date younger women?

Although I am mentally mature, I have been assimilated by hanging out with a bunch of kids for many years. Does that mean we have the potential to grow?

Women in love are blind. Qiu Shanglin felt that she might not have fallen in love with Ji Yunwen, but her mind was already clouded and unclear.

I enjoy being with him, I admire his simplicity, persistence, and hard work, and I like the feeling of ease. Why should I resist my own feelings?

She always acts on impulse and can be considered a selfish person. Once she understands this, early romance doesn't seem so bad anymore.

To reiterate, falling in love is a wonderful thing.

Qiu Shanglin was never distracted in class and disliked whispering. However, during geography class, as the teacher enthusiastically lectured at the front, she couldn't help but turn her head, her gaze meeting Ji Yunwen's. Both were startled, then exchanged knowing smiles. Ji Yunwen silently asked, "What are you doing?"

Shang Lin pointed to the podium and mouthed, "Listen to the lesson, and don't look around!"