“By Huang the Fourth’s house, flowers fill the path. Thousands upon thousands weigh down the branches low. Lingering butterflies dance constantly, carefree orioles chirp just right.”

Early spring in April arrived, stepping on the tail end of late March.

Peach blossoms bloomed all over the branches. Spring’s willow branches were slender, emerald green and verdant, swaying gently when the breeze brushed past. Along the small road, peach blossoms bloomed all the way, petals continuously falling. Bei Yao lifted her small face, and petals landed in her hair.

When Bei Yao left home this morning, she had washed her hair. Now her soft hair was still loose. She stood in front of her classmates, raising her hand to brush through her hair and tie up the already-dry strands.

Class One of Sixth Grade was divided into two lines—one line of boys, one line of girls.

Hua Ting wasn’t very happy the whole way. She was short and stood first in the girls’ line. Behind her was Fang Mingjun, and Bei Yao stood third.

Fang Mingjun and Bei Yao were the two youngest children in Sixth Grade Class One, so being shorter was understandable. But Hua Ting wasn’t that young. She had advanced at the average age, yet her height just wouldn’t grow. However, while her height didn’t grow, other places were growing. She had developed earlier than the other children, and now her chest already had girlish curves.

Early development wasn’t a good thing. Hua Ting felt that the curious gazes from boys and girls in class looking at her were extremely shameful. She tried to hunch her chest, not letting people put their gaze on her full chest.

Hua Ting walked with her head down, exceptionally dejected.

In 2002, Hong Kong star Chang Xue’s comedy film became popular throughout the country. The beauty carved from ice and snow became a household name, which also brought the reputation of “Little Jade Girl” Fang Mingjun to its peak.

Eleven-year-old Fang Mingjun’s face carried a young girl’s pride. Wearing a white dress, many in the boys’ line were secretly looking at her.

Hua Ting stood next to Fang Mingjun, feeling extremely uncomfortable. She always felt that those appreciative, amazed gazes, after shifting to her, became curiosity about her prematurely developed chest. Hua Ting gathered her courage: “Fang Mingjun, can I switch places with you?” She wanted to chat with her good friend Bei Yao.

“No, it’s by height—the teacher arranged it.” Fang Mingjun refused flatly. She didn’t want to go stand at the very front.

So Hua Ting walked the entire way in great discomfort. It wasn’t until they finally reached the peach blossom forest and classmates could move freely and eat their lunch boxes that she breathed a sigh of relief and sat down beside Bei Yao.

“I don’t like Fang Mingjun at all.” Hua Ting sighed. “What ‘Little Jade Girl’—in the end, she’s not Chang Xue herself.”

Bei Yao nodded with a comforting smile and shared candy with her.

She was now also eleven years old, with a white bra strap tied at the back of her neck, but her development wasn’t as early as Hua Ting’s. Right now, she only had a slightly different curve.

“You should walk with your back straight.” Bei Yao said softly in Hua Ting’s ear. “My mom says hunching your back won’t look good. It’s normal for girls to develop—don’t feel ashamed.”

Hua Ting nodded with a red face, her mood finally relaxing. The two girls shared their food and finished eating. Hua Ting leaned very close to Bei Yao. She suddenly said in surprise: “Eh? Bei Yao.”

Hua Ting reached out and gently pinched Bei Yao’s cheek: “I just discovered your features are very pretty!”

Bei Yao was stunned.

Hua Ting half-squinted her eyes, examining carefully. Eleven-year-old Bei Yao had bright, clear eyes, a pert, upturned nose, pink cherry lips with a round, plump cupid’s bow that conveyed a sort of adorably dazed quality.

Bei Yao hadn’t yet “shot up.” Her cheeks still had slight baby fat—not the kind of beauty that stunned at first glance, but rather a cuteness that made people want to pinch her. However, because Class One had a renowned “Little Jade Girl,” no other girl, no matter how cute and well-behaved, could shine.

Hua Ting’s eyes were very bright: “Looking carefully, you’re even prettier than Fang Mingjun! Could it be that when you grow up, you’ll be even prettier than Chang Xue?”

Bei Yao’s heart skipped a beat. In a certain sense, Hua Ting had hit upon the truth.

The more Bei Yao grew, the more her memories slowly returned. Now her memories had expanded to the third year of middle school. Bei Yao knew that Fang Mingjun would gradually lose her radiance in the second year of middle school, no longer resembling Chang Xue so much. When she grew up, she would instead look more like her mother, Zhao Xiu—high cheekbones, an overly thin face.

Growth was wondrous. During the summer vacation of second year middle school, Bei Yao would suddenly slim down. In her memory, she herself would become very beautiful—like a pearl that, after being covered in dust for years, suddenly burst forth with dazzling brilliance. The young girl would be bright and charming.

However, she couldn’t tell Hua Ting these things. Bei Yao could only give a vague response: “Thank you for the compliment.”

Bei Yao’s gaze looked into the distance.

The young boy sat alone on a stone bench. Pei Chuan had brought a black lunch box. After finishing his meal, he was reading.

Everyone had brought a schoolbag. The only person whose bag probably contained books was Pei Chuan. Elementary school was almost over, yet this aloof teenager still didn’t have a single friend.

Now his walking speed was normal. If you looked carefully at his posture, it was slightly different from normal people.

He didn’t like to smile, didn’t show much expression, and spoke even less.

They went home from school together every day, yet Pei Chuan rarely took the initiative to talk to Bei Yao.

She thought of that “secret warning” in the homework notebook, feeling somewhat troubled inside.

In her previous life, she hadn’t paid attention to adolescent Pei Chuan. In her life, he had been an insignificant figure. Bei Yao only vaguely remembered that in her second year of middle school, the year she began to become very beautiful, ninth-grade Pei Chuan completely changed into a different person.

He became a thoroughly bad student. All the children in the residential complex were warned not to get too close to him.

Including Chen Hu, who also became afraid of him. Pei Chuan had mixed with street thugs. He had gained many, many fierce and vicious friends.

Why did it turn out this way? Bei Yao looked at his silent figure reading—right now he was clearly a very good student.

Bei Yao wanted to know the truth.

Pei Chuan raised his head and met her eyes. He indifferently looked away, gazing at a spot on the ground where the peach blossom color was slightly deeper, squinting his eyes slightly.

Suddenly, a girl began to scream.

All the classmates looked over. The screaming girl’s face was pale: “There’s a snake!” She had originally been standing on tiptoe to look at flowers, not expecting that a snake that had come out to hunt after hibernating was coiled in the soft grass.

The little girl was scared out of her wits and ran toward the classmates.

That snake, as thick as two fingers, was also frightened by being disturbed by people and slithered all over the forest.

For a moment, the girls in class scattered in all directions, screaming continuously. Hua Ting tightly gripped Bei Yao, nearly scared to tears by the chaotic scene: “Bei Yao, go farther away, farther away! It’s coming over!”

Homeroom teacher Cai Qingyu’s heartbeat also accelerated dramatically. She was an elegant female teacher, naturally also afraid of this kind of cold, terrifying creature. However, to protect the children, she shouldn’t run. Suppressing her panic: “Bei Yao, Hua Ting, quickly move away.”

She didn’t recognize that type of snake, didn’t know if it was poisonous. Cai Qingyu already regretted it—she shouldn’t have brought the students on a spring outing.

The boys in class also felt their scalps tingle looking at the chaotic scene. Also afraid it might be poisonous, none dared to catch it.

Bei Yao’s legs felt weak. In two lifetimes, she feared this kind of wriggling creature. She was pulled along running by the screaming Hua Ting, her small face pale.

Until Hua Ting pulled her in panic to run right in front of Pei Chuan.

Pei Chuan pressed his lips together, bent down, and fiercely gripped the snake at its vital spot. It seemed to suddenly lose the strength to struggle. Pei Chuan picked up a stone and struck the snake’s head several times. It no longer moved.

Blood flowed out. He paused, then threw it aside. The snake wasn’t dead yet—it had just passed out.

But in that instant, the gazes from classmates looking over made Pei Chuan stop. They looked at him handling this snake with astonished, horrified gazes. Pei Chuan keenly noticed that they looked at him with the same gaze as they looked at the snake.

If it were a different boy who caught it, perhaps there would be hero-like worship.

But because he was Pei Chuan, everything was different.

He was aloof and didn’t talk, yet his actions were more ruthless than anything. Classmates looked at him as if meeting him for the first time, startled and not daring to approach. Even Teacher Cai frowned looking at the snake on the ground.

In the next second, Teacher Cai reacted and smiled to ease the atmosphere: “Student Pei Chuan is really brave, helping everyone resolve the crisis. You all should thank him.”

The peach forest was quiet. Not a single person spoke.

Pei Chuan felt like giving a cold laugh.

Hua Ting gripped Bei Yao tightly, her face hesitant.

Bei Yao looked at the young boy’s solitary figure. He and an unconscious snake stayed within that circle, and no one dared go over.

Bei Yao pulled free from Hua Ting’s hand. She rummaged through her schoolbag for boiled water and tissues. After moistening the tissues with water, she walked over. The young girl was a bit shorter than him with his prosthetics. She lifted her small face: “Thank you, Pei Chuan.”

Pei Chuan lowered his eyes. She had grown up, her voice as gentle as the spring breeze in March: “We were all scared. Thank you for catching it. Wipe your hands.”

Hua Ting also gathered her courage and said loudly: “Thank you, Pei Chuan!”

The spring breeze brushed past his black hair, bringing her unique scent, like faint lilacs.

Pei Chuan took the tissue and wiped away that cold, slippery sensation.

Classmates woke as if from a dream and began to applaud.

A girl said: “He’s really amazing—he dared to catch that thing.”

Pei Chuan kept his eyes lowered, his black lashes concealing the light in his eyes.

Chen Hu heard this and felt extremely indignant. The chubby kid hadn’t slimmed down at all these years. He snorted: “What’s the big deal? I’d dare to catch it too!”

“Chen Hu just knows how to brag. Just now I saw you—you were also scared and hid back!”

“I did not!”

“You did!”

Chen Hu’s face turned red with anger, and he began arguing with the girls in class about whether he was brave or not.

Pei Chuan’s stiff body gradually relaxed. Bei Yao curved her almond eyes and smiled at him. Compared to Fang Mingjun, she was more like a green, tender young girl. Because of the spring outing, she wore a tender yellow dress. She looked up at him, appearing very well-behaved.

Pei Chuan looked away and said indifferently: “Stand back a bit. It’s not dead.”

She stiffened, her almond eyes looking at him helplessly.

Pei Chuan was silent for two seconds, then picked up a branch and proactively used it to carry the snake away.