When Meng Ting heard the two words “Jiang Ren”, her entire body froze.
Time seemed to slow down, and she could feel the scorching breath around her.
Frightened, she hastily opened her eyes, not caring about the water droplets on her eyelashes.
It was dusk, with the setting sun casting slanted rays on the Huicui Building, leaving a silhouette.
In the warm yellow light, he cupped her face as she opened her eyes.
Jiang Ren found it difficult to describe what he felt at that moment.
For the first time in his life, he felt like a slow-witted fool. The fingertips touching her cheek tingled. That tingling sensation converged into a thin stream, rushing to his heart, leaving his whole body powerless. It was as if he were drowning in this numbness.
The delicate girl from the photograph he had seen in the past came to life.
Her grown-up appearance had become the Meng Ting before him now.
Her tea-colored eyes reflected his current state – dazed, amazed, and imperceptibly infatuated.
All the past mockery about her eyes suddenly became a joke.
She had a pair of beautiful eyes, pure and bright, always containing starlight whether she smiled or not. Just like that night in the small port city when he jokingly stared at her for ten seconds, catching a glimpse of beauty through the hazy curtain.
His mind was almost blank. When Meng Ting suddenly pushed him away in embarrassment, only one frustrating fact remained in his mind.
Damn it, he was done for.
His heart was pounding unbearably, just like when he had an attack, but he didn’t feel any violent impulses. Even the fingertips that had touched her exuded an indescribable pleasure.
Meng Ting had never wanted to drag the disheveled Shu Lan over and beat her up so badly.
She hurriedly crouched down to pick up her glasses, the blind person’s glasses that had accompanied her for three years, now reduced to a pitiful frame with shattered lenses. She felt utterly helpless.
The group of aggressive girls stared blankly at Meng Ting.
Meng Ting picked up the frame and stood up, knowing this thing was beyond repair.
Shu Lan met her gaze with a hint of bewilderment and shallow hatred. At that moment, Meng Ting suddenly realized that this stepsister had disliked her for a long time.
Meng Ting didn’t dare to look at Jiang Ren’s eyes at this moment.
She pursed her lips, no longer thinking about seeking justice or anything like that.
Jiang Ren would become a murderer in the future!
The thought made her feel like breaking down and crying.
No matter how much she tried to avoid it, fate seemed to be playing a joke on her, bringing everything back to square one.
As she walked towards Licai School’s gate without a word, she encountered Hejun Ming, Fang Tan, and the others who had followed.
After she had walked several steps, He Jun Ming widened his eyes, his gaze firmly fixed on her. After a while, he swallowed hard: “That beauty looks somewhat familiar.” She was truly gorgeous, the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life.
He Han initially wanted to tease him, saying that he always found pretty girls familiar, but when he saw Meng Ting, he was also stunned: “She’s the one from the gold medal.”
It was the girl they all thought was truly beautiful, stunningly beautiful! Both pure and pretty.
However, it wasn’t just this kind of familiarity.
He Jun Ming stuttered in disbelief: “She looks a bit like… like that Meng Ting from Seventh High.”
Fang Tan glanced at Jiang Ren and nodded: “It is her.”
Holy shit!
He Jun Ming was nearly driven mad by the shock. No way! That unremarkable little blind girl, the top student from Seventh High with nothing special except good grades, was the same person as the little beauty in the photo!
It was like pointing at a small hill and saying it was taller than Mount Everest.
Yet, this damn small hill had indeed, unbelievably, become taller than Mount Everest!
He Han’s face couldn’t help but turn red as he took a few more looks.
By then, the basketball game had ended, and the campus was quite quiet, with only students cleaning up the trash left on the basketball court.
Jiang Ren finally came to his senses and suddenly chased after her in the direction she had left.
To exit the school, Meng Ting had to pass through Licai’s willow tree path. In this season, the willow branches were bare, with only brown twigs swaying in the cool breeze.
She had only walked halfway when someone suddenly pulled her over.
He was panting, his forehead covered in sweat, his eyes incredibly dark.
Meng Ting leaned against the bare branches, looking at Jiang Ren with some annoyance.
What was he going crazy about?
“What are you doing?”
The wind, mixed with her scent, forcefully entered his lungs. His hand pressed against the willow tree behind her, trapping her in a small space. He stared at her without blinking, not saying a word.
This posture, in the year she died, would have been considered quite shameful. However, in this conservative era, few people did such things.
Meng Ting reached out to pry his arm away.
The young man’s arm, wearing black and white wristbands, was sturdy. She didn’t hold back, both fearing and disliking him, so she used all her strength to push. But even though her face turned red from the effort, his arm didn’t move at all.
She was about to die from anger! Was he mentally ill or something?
The “mentally ill” silently watched her struggle in vain, then suddenly smiled. Jiang Ren forbade her to move: “Meng Ting.”
She looked up, her eyes red with anger.
The tip of her eyes was dotted with brilliant March peach blossoms, beautiful beyond words.
“Why did you lie to me?”
She looked at him in confusion, her clean eyes directly expressing her thoughts – When did I lie to you?
Jiang Ren chuckled lowly: “Your student ID, are you playing with me?” He examined her with a somewhat unrestrained and mischievous gaze, “You’re so pretty, were you afraid I’d do something to you?”
Meng Ting finally remembered that she had indeed lied to him. She had said her eyes were injured and looked scary, just like on her student ID. Jiang Ren had believed it to some extent at that time.
Embarrassed at having her lie exposed, she ducked under the young man’s sturdy arm.
Her cheeks burning red, she said: “Jiang Ren, can you talk properly without getting physical?”
There was a hint of amusement in his eyes: “I haven’t done anything yet, have I?”
Meng Ting didn’t want to deal with him. Her mood was complex and terrible, and she wanted to run away without a word.
Seeing the water in her arms, he smiled somewhat mischievously: “F*ck, are you running off with my money? Where’s the 100 yuan change?”
Meng Ting suddenly remembered this matter. Her mind was in chaos, and she quickly felt in her pocket, finding 86 yuan left. She neatly folded it and placed it in the young man’s palm.
Meng Ting explained seriously: “The water was two yuan, the towel twelve yuan.”
She was afraid he wouldn’t believe her, as prices were far lower in this era than in the future. That poor-quality towel was worth at most three or four yuan. However, the basketball game had allowed vendors to inflate prices and make a fortune.
He looked at that fair and soft hand.
The money she had touched seemed to carry that captivating scent of a girl.
Meng Ting gave him the water, which he accepted.
Then she said softly: “The towel…” The towel had been soiled by her, and Jiang Ren had used it to wipe her water droplets and hair. She had been clutching it tightly in her hand.
“I’ll compensate you for the towel another day.”
He couldn’t help but curve his lips: “No need, just give me that one.”
She thought that it was indeed his property after all, and hesitantly handed it to him.
Meng Ting breathed a sigh of relief, finally having no more entanglements with him.
She turned and walked towards the school gate. The willow branches swayed flexibly in the autumn wind, and her figure quickly disappeared into the campus.
Jiang Ren leaned against the tree, watching her back, unscrewed the bottle cap, and took a few gulps.
His movements were unrestrained, the mineral water flowing down his chin, past his Adam’s apple, wetting his collar.
When He Jun Ming and the others came over, they still hadn’t quite recovered.
The post-game heat hadn’t subsided yet, and this group hadn’t even had a chance to wipe their sweat before following Jiang Ren to find someone. He Jun Ming went to pull the towel from Jiang Ren’s hand: “I’m dying of heat, let me wipe off some sweat.”
Jiang Ren used the water bottle to block his hand: “Get lost, don’t dirty it.”
He Jun Ming was speechless. What the hell was wrong with him? It’s just a towel, isn’t it meant for wiping sweat?
He Han thought for a moment, but still couldn’t help asking: “Ren ge, was that just now Meng Ting?”
Jiang Ren grunted in affirmation.
He Jun Ming finally voiced his thoughts: “I used to think their Seventh High’s Shen Yuqing was damn pretty, but Meng Ting is even more beautiful! Are the people at their school all blind? Her grades are really good too, right? Last time even Lu Yue lost to her in a competition. Top grades, beautiful looks, this kind of good student is what my mom would call someone else’s child.”
He had completely forgotten that he too had once mocked Meng Ting’s eyes.
He Han clicked his tongue: “Forget it, she and Shen Yuqing are not the same type of person.”
He Jun Ming: “That’s true, last time in Small Port City, she was almost crying, right? No fun at all, this type can’t play along. Who knows how much she looks down on people like us.”
Fang Tan’s heart skipped a beat. He looked over and sure enough, the smile had disappeared from Jiang Ren’s face.
He had remembered too.
What they had done before, riding mountain bikes to snatch other people’s things, forcibly taking them to Small Port City. The girl who was with Meng Ting had been humiliated to tears.
It would be strange if Meng Ting liked them.
Moreover, people with good grades always had a sense of superiority, weren’t they all used to it?
He Jun Ming, this idiot, was about to say more, to exclaim how beautiful Meng Ting was, when with a “thud”, Jiang Ren threw the empty bottle into the trash can. Taking his towel, he walked away without a word.
Fang Tan slapped He Jun Ming on the back: “Are you an idiot? Couldn’t you see Ren Ge’s face wasn’t right?”
He Jun Ming was bewildered: “Huh?”
When Meng Ting returned home on the weekend, Shu Zhitong saw that she wasn’t wearing glasses and got so excited he could barely speak clearly: “Ting Ting, are your eyes better?”
Shu Yang looked up, seemingly surprised that the early recovery hadn’t been mentioned to Dad by Meng Ting.
Meng Ting nodded.
Dad Shu spoke incoherently: “It’s good that they’re better, it’s good that they’re better.”
She suddenly felt a bit sad inside.
For two lifetimes, she had respected and loved this great father, but she could no longer truly love this family. What Shu Lan did today had almost shattered everything she wanted to change.
Not long after, a disheveled Shu Lan came back.
There was a handprint on her face, and when she saw Dad Shu and Shu Yang, tears started flowing: “Dad, Brother, I was bullied today.”
Dad Shu’s expression changed, and he pulled his daughter over to look at her injury: “Who did this?”
Shu Yang frowned, glanced at Meng Ting, but didn’t say anything.
Shu Lan suddenly turned her head, looking angrily at Meng Ting: “Dad, when I was being hit today, Meng Ting just passed by, she didn’t even try to save me! I’ll never acknowledge her as my sister again!”
Dad Shu’s first reaction upon hearing this was to rebuke Shu Lan: “What nonsense are you talking!”
Shu Lan felt extremely wronged: “It’s true! I’m not lying, you all say Meng Ting is sensible and obedient, but she has the most poisonous heart! You say sisters should love each other, how is she like a sister at all.”
Dad Shu was about to scold Shu Lan again, but Meng Ting suddenly threw the frame of her glasses at Shu Lan.
The crisp sound as it hit near Shu Lan’s feet made her instinctively fall silent.
Meng Ting had never so clearly recognized that she was an outsider in this family. Because Dad Shu wasn’t her biological father, no matter how good he was, when she suffered injustice, she could only swallow it silently. She couldn’t complain, let alone accuse his biological daughter.
But Shu Lan could, no matter how bad Shu Lan was, she could.
She could be the first to complain even when she was in the wrong, and she could call out “Dad” and “Brother” without restraint to exclude her, the outsider.
Meng Ting no longer remained silent: “I don’t know why you were hit, but you can tell Dad Shu in detail. I don’t regret not helping you, and I wouldn’t help you even if it happened a hundred times more. Shu Lan, you’re right, we were never sisters.”
Her voice felt hoarse: “I’m sorry, Dad Shu, I’ll move out soon. My grandparents…”
Shu Zhitong suddenly said: “Enough!”
He picked up the glasses from the ground and said to Shu Lan: “You go back to your room first!” His tone was severe, and Shu Lan had no choice but to obey, glancing at Meng Ting with some triumph as she left.
After Shu Lan and Shu Yang had both left.
Meng Ting clenched her fists, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Shu Zhitong sighed: “Ting Ting, what happened? Tell Dad, and I’ll believe you.”
Meng Ting’s eyes reddened. She wanted to wail and cry, to tell of the bitterness and grievances of two lifetimes combined. To say how she was disfigured, then ostracized by relatives, to say how sad she was for those years after Dad Shu’s death, to speak of Shu Lan’s ill intentions. For the first time, she even wanted to ask why her biological father had abandoned her mother, while this man who had no blood relation to her said, “Daughter, Dad will believe whatever you say.”
But the unbelievable fact of rebirth, even she still felt like a dream. The further away it got, the more that memory blurred, as if it had been a lifetime, yet it was gradually fading away, with only her current self feeling most real.
She couldn’t tell anyone.
She tried hard to swallow her sobs and recounted the afternoon’s conflict with Shu Lan.
Shu Zhitong frowned, finally understanding the seriousness of the situation, which was far beyond just a quarrel between sisters. He said: “Ting Ting, I’ve watched you and Xiao Lan grow up. When you were little, you once went to play at the neighbor’s house, and they had a big dog. When it rushed over, both you and Xiao Lan were scared, but you hugged Xiao Lan, and the dog almost bit you. You’ve always been a good sister, so Dad believes you. The reason you don’t acknowledge her as your sister now must be because she did something that hurt you deeply and is unforgivable.”
Meng Ting spoke with a nasal tone: “Dad Shu, please don’t say anymore.” If he continued, she wouldn’t be able to hold back her tears.
He was one of the best relatives she had in both lifetimes.
Shu Zhitong said, “It’s my fault for not having the time to guide you. Xiao Lan has some issues with her character, and I will educate her properly. Ting Ting, don’t say things like wanting to leave home; this is your home.”
His words were firm, and Meng Ting’s eyes turned red. Ultimately, she couldn’t bear to hurt the feelings of the man who had raised her, so she nodded.
Shu Zhitong sighed and went to scold Shu Lan.
Shu Lan hadn’t expected her father to side with Meng Ting. She started to shout and make a scene, which nearly made Shu Zhitong lose his temper and hit her. It was only when Shu Yang suddenly said, “Are you done making a fuss? Didn’t Meng Ting say you should explain why you were hit? If you don’t say, I’ll go ask them myself. I’ll get your justice, alright?”
Only then did Shu Lan stop her commotion, reluctantly saying, “They just look down on me,” but she didn’t dare mention that she had stolen someone else’s boyfriend.
This matter came to a close.
However, everyone believed that from that day on, Meng Ting was no longer Shu Lan’s sister.
On Monday, when Meng Ting went to school, Dad Shu routinely checked her eyes.
After a long while, he smiled gently: “Ting Ting has grown up to be the most beautiful girl.”
Children from single-parent families, who are obedient and sensible from a young age, are like angels sent from heaven, yet they are not treated well.
He encouraged her: “Now that your eyes are better, live a little more courageously!”
Meng Ting nodded and eventually revealed a smile.
There was nothing to be afraid of; it was all up to her. Since she had been given a second chance, she would live well.
She left for school earlier than Shu Lan and Shu Yang, and as she walked out of the community, she felt as if she were embracing the world anew.
That dazzling and bright girl from fourteen years ago had always been her!
The morning bus was not crowded. As soon as Meng Ting got on, she began to memorize vocabulary. The people on the bus couldn’t help but glance at this beautiful and ethereal girl.
She was no stranger to such attention. Initially, it had been admiration and awe, later it had turned into pity for the blind girl.
Now, it had transformed back into appreciative gazes.
Meng Ting looked out the window, repeating the words in her mind. The world was colorful, and she took a gentle breath.
She had arrived early; it was only seven o’clock.
The security guard at the entrance was yawning.
Meng Ting planned to take out her student ID from her bag but caught sight of the eye-catching mountain bike parked next to the school gate.
Jiang Ren leaned against the bike, with several cigarette butts at his feet.
On this chilly morning, he wore a black jacket. His silver hair was tousled by the wind, giving him a somewhat flamboyant charm.
However, no matter how one looked at it, he was an undeniable troublemaker.
Meng Ting lowered her eyes, feeling an uneasy premonition in her heart.
Just as she was about to sneak past him, he cursed under his breath but couldn’t help but smile: “Hey, Meng Ting, I’ve been waiting for you here since six. You dare to go in and try?”
She could only reply, “I need to go to class.”
Jiang Ren threw away his cigarette: “Who are you trying to fool? The class starts at eight.”
Fearing that she might go in, he said, “Can I ask you a few questions?”
At that moment, students began to arrive one after another.
Jiang Ren was already eye-catching, and she had no choice but to nod: “Go ahead and ask.”
He leaned closer to her, carrying the scent of morning dew and faint smoke: “Are you afraid of me?”
Meng Ting awkwardly shook her head, her face turning slightly red from lying.
“Then look at me.”
She hesitated for a moment before looking at him.
His light tea-colored pupils were beautifully transparent. He lost his train of thought for a moment, and his heart began to race.
He forgot what he wanted to ask; it seemed that nothing else mattered.
That stunning glimpse from yesterday was truly not a dream.
He took out a box from the bike and pressed it into her hand.
It felt heavy.
For the first time, he realized the gap between them.
She was still wearing that school uniform, which he thought looked outdated, tied up in a high ponytail, her soft long hair cascading down, exuding an indescribable charm and youthful beauty. Her entire demeanor marked her as a “good student” who was out of his league, someone he couldn’t approach.
The top student from the neighboring school.
He wanted to get closer to her but suddenly recalled He Jun Ming’s words from yesterday. She was different from Shen Yuqing; who knew how much she looked down on a good-for-nothing like him?
“Take care, I’m leaving.”
After saying that, he got on the bike.
He swiftly put on his helmet. Jiang Ren didn’t go to class; it was only after he left her that he felt he had gone mad.
He hadn’t slept all night, searching all over the city for that thing. It was difficult to find at this time of year; he had only returned at six and waited for her at the gate of Seventh High.
The night wind was cold, and he had braved the city’s wind all night, yet he felt no clarity, only growing madness. After searching all night, he finally found that thing in the planting area.
He had never intended to bully her.
After Meng Ting saw him leave, she opened the slightly heavy box in her hand.
Inside was a basket, neatly filled with a bunch of small strawberries still glistening with morning dew.