Have you made your decision?

[L: Checked. The IP address originates from the boys' dormitory at your school. The person is Zhi Jiangwen from Class 4, Senior 3 of the science track.]

Looking at this message, Zhang Heyu tightened his grip on his phone unconsciously. The veins on his arm stood out, and the surrounding air pressure dropped to a terrifying degree.

Huo Censi and Fan Mian had just returned from outside the classroom when they saw Zhang Heyu standing in his usual spot with a gloomy expression.

"What's wrong?"

As soon as Huo Censi asked, Zhang Heyu hurled his phone into his desk drawer with a loud clatter.

Then, Huo Censi watched as Zhang Heyu abruptly marched toward the back door of the science Class 4 classroom.

Dazed for a few seconds before suddenly realizing that something was terribly wrong, Huo Censi grabbed Fan Mian and hurried to follow Zhang Heyu.

Zhang Heyu reached the back door of Class 4, drawing the gazes of many as he passed along the corridor.

Walking straight up to Zhi Jiangwen, Zhang Heyu glared at him with icy eyes, his voice low and threatening: "Get out here."

Zhi Jiangwen blinked in surprise for a moment, but quickly took off his glasses and followed Zhang Heyu out of the classroom.

However, the moment they reached an open space behind the classroom, Zhang Heyu suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Before anyone could react, Zhang Heyu clenched the fist hanging at his side, spun around abruptly, and threw a direct, heavy punch straight at Zhi Jiangwen's face.

The blow was fast and brutal, giving Zhi Jiangwen no time to dodge as he was sent crashing straight to the ground.

Huo Censi and the others reached the classroom entrance just in time to witness this scene.

They instantly guessed that Zhang Heyu must have found out who was responsible for the online post.

Zhi Jiangwen raised a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, lifted his eyes, and let out a cold laugh: "Want to fight?"

With a vicious look in his eyes, Zhang Heyu bent down, grabbed Zhi Jiangwen by the collar, and gritted out, "What kind of coward attacks a girl?"

Choking slightly from the grip, Zhi Jiangwen glared back at Zhang Heyu without the slightest hint of weakness, showing no fear of his threat.

"I was only stating the facts."

Zhang Heyu released him, his dark eyes brimming with gloom. He pressed his tongue against his back molar and casually snatched up an abandoned chair nearby.

Seeing this, Huo Censi and Fan Mian rushed over to stop him.

Zhang Heyu hurled the chair violently toward Zhi Jiangwen. It flew several meters through the air, crashing down with a resounding boom.

Not expecting Zhang Heyu to be so ruthless, Zhi Jiangwen managed to dodge the split second the chair flew at him.

"If you dare mess with Jiang Chu, I swear to God I'll kill you!"

Anyone else would have doubted the threat, but this was Zhang Heyu.

Huo Censi and Fan Mian pulled at Zhang Heyu, pleading, "Brother Yu, the teachers are coming, stop hitting him."

Hearing this, Zhi Jiangwen glanced out the window, then back at Zhang Heyu, who had lowered his guard.

Wiping the dust off his arm, Zhi Jiangwen suddenly grabbed the chair Zhang Heyu had thrown earlier, a flash of cruelty crossing his eyes.

He swung it directly at Zhang Heyu.

Zhang Heyu had just glanced at the approaching teacher when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught Zhi Jiangwen rushing toward him with the chair.

Operating purely on bodily instinct, Zhang Heyu instinctively raised an arm to block the blow.

"Damn it!" Huo Censi never expected Zhi Jiangwen to pull such a move. He looked at Zhang Heyu's arm, asking, "Brother Yu, are you alright?"

A sharp wave of pain hit instantly, and Zhang Heyu furrowed his brow tightly.

Enduring the pain, he replied calmly, "I'm fine."

A bloody scratch had been torn into his pale skin, and bright red beads of blood began to well up.

The teacher arrived and hauled both boys off to the office, while the grade director began notifying their parents.

The incident had blown up into a major affair, drawing out even Lu Qing and Zhang Shanghua. Seeing how things stood, Huo Censi decided to send a message to Jiang Chu anyway.

[Huo Censi: Chu, little sister, something has happened to Zhang Heyu, it's really bad!!]

After Lu Qing and Zhang Shanghua arrived at the school to get to the bottom of the matter and finished negotiating with Zhi Jiangwen's parents, Zhang Heyu abruptly stood up and strode outside.

Seeing this, Lu Qing hurried after him.

"Zhang Heyu, where are you going?"

Zhang Heyu looked back at her over his shoulder. "I have things to do."

Lu Qing froze for a second. Knowing her son as well as she did, she had never seen him so frantic, and she instantly guessed the reason: "Did you get into a fight today because of Jiang Chu?"

Zhang Heyu made no effort to hide it. "Yes."

Although Lu Qing had no idea what had transpired between the two of them, knowing it concerned Jiang Chu made her hold her tongue.

Zhang Heyu took long, rapid strides, disappearing from Lu Qing's field of vision within a few steps.

*

When Jiang Chu woke up, it was already close to four in the afternoon.

She opened her eyes hazily, her head throbbing painfully. Looking at the unfamiliar surroundings, she felt a momentary wave of confusion.

It wasn't until she saw the IV needle taped to the back of her hand and the hospital gown she was wearing that she realized she was in a hospital.

Biting her lip, Jiang Chu sat quietly by the bedside as she watched the person walk toward her.

Jiang Nanyan glanced at the IV drip—there was still more than half a bottle left—before speaking up. "You fainted last night, so I had you brought to the hospital."

Lowering her gaze, Jiang Chu gave a flat, indifferent response. "I can be discharged now."

"There's something I need to tell you." Jiang Nanyan pulled a chair over and sat down in front of her. "You know what happened to the Sun family recently."

"And?" Jiang Chu sneered. "Can you just stop showing up in my life?"

Jiang Nanyan countered, "You think this is what I wanted? Sun Nan is dead, Sun Defan is crippled, and I've been kicked out of the Sun family."

"I don't have a single penny left to my name now." Jiang Nanyan stared at her. "All that money I gave you previously that the old woman didn't use—give it all back to me. Return it to me, and I swear I will never show my face in front of you again."

Jiang Chu was stunned for a moment. "Do you expect me to believe you?"

"If I don't leave Nancheng within a week, the old madam won't let me off."

Seeing the panic in Jiang Nanyan's expression, Jiang Chu thought to herself that the money had originally been meant for her grandmother's medical treatments. Now that her grandmother was gone, keeping it only brought her unease.

"Once I'm discharged from the hospital, I'll return it all to you."

A look of elation crossed Jiang Nanyan's face, surprised at how easily Jiang Chu had been persuaded. "Alright then, I'll be waiting."

Having suddenly fainted at home yesterday, the situation had been too urgent for Jiang Chu to bring her phone.

After the remaining medication finished dripping, Jiang Chu dragged her exhausted body and left the hospital.

Walking a short distance, Jiang Chu couldn't suppress a sneeze and instinctively pulled her coat tighter around herself.

Arriving back at her residential complex, Jiang Chu sniffled and headed into the stairwell. Just as she reached the landing of the second floor, a familiar figure came into view.

The boy was leaning forward, his arms hanging limply by his sides, sitting dejectedly on the steps. With his head bowed and his slightly messy hair partially shadowing his face, his eyes lacked all light and luster.

She recognized him instantly—it was Zhang Heyu.

Jiang Chu unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes, her breathing growing heavy, her expression clearly startled.

As she approached, Zhang Heyu sensed her movement and lifted his head, locking eyes directly with her dark pupils.

She froze slightly, her gaze drifting downward to catch the shocking bloody scratch on his arm.

"You—how did you get hurt?"

Zhang Heyu looked at her, his thin lips parting slightly, but no words came out.

Her complexion was deathly pale, completely devoid of color, and her clothes were far too thin.

She looked even more haggard than she had last night.

Zhang Heyu was led inside by Jiang Chu.

Making him sit on the sofa, Jiang Chu retrieved the first aid kit from the cabinet, intending to give him a simple bandage.

Yet when she looked at the wound on his arm and saw clear evidence that it had already been treated earlier, she didn't expose the lie, opting instead to re-bandage it for him.

Silence hung heavy between them, the room unnaturally quiet.

Once she finished bandaging him, Jiang Chu packed away the medical supplies and returned the kit to the cabinet.

Watching her petite figure, a sharp ache wrung Zhang Heyu's heart.

Pouring him a glass of water, Jiang Chu handed it over. "Drink this and leave. It's getting late."

Zhang Heyu stared at the cup she offered, hesitating just as he reached for it upon hearing her words.

"You need to go back for evening self-study, don't you?" Jiang Chu forced a weak smile. "If Mo catches you skipping self-study, you'll have to write a self-criticism letter."

Her tone carried an imperceptible sense of alienation.

Zhang Heyu spoke in a low voice: "And you? Aren't you coming back to school with me?"

Shaking her head, Jiang Chu placed the untouched glass of water onto the coffee table, her body still heavy with fatigue. "Never mind, I'll go back in a few days."

Zhang Heyu looked up into the girl's eyes. The gaze that should have been clear was now clouded and dim.

"Jiang Chu."

Reaching out to grab the girl's hand, Zhang Heyu felt his eye rims turn red with a helpless sorrow, a bitter taste spreading through his chest. "Can I hug you one last time?"

Can we not break up, please?

Looking at the red-rimmed eyes of the boy, Jiang Chu's last line of defense instantly collapsed.

"You shouldn't be like this, Zhang Heyu."

Her nose stinging, Jiang Chu fought back her tears. "I'm so tired. I don't want to date anymore."

"Have you made up your mind?" Zhang Heyu refused to let go of her hand, terrified that loosening his grip meant losing her forever.

Lowering her gaze, Jiang Chu felt a sudden, sharp wrench in her heart, making it hard to breathe. "Yes."

"Why?" Zhang Heyu didn't dare look at her.

After a long pause, she spoke in a soft voice, uttering cruel words against her true feelings: "Zhang Heyu, I don't like you. You can't compare to the person I had a crush on."

The light, effortless words struck like a sharp blade piercing straight through his heart.

"Jiang Chu." Pain flickered deep within Zhang Heyu's dark eyes as he gritted his teeth. "You really know how to play games."

"I can't beat your games, Jiang Chu," he said. "You have no heart."

The hand held by Zhang Heyu slipped away, his warm palm withdrawing from hers. He brushed past her, followed immediately by the sound of the door closing.

Jiang Chu stood frozen, unable to turn and look. With her head bowed, her tears fell one by one onto the floor.

I'm sorry, Zhang Heyu.

After composing herself slightly, Jiang Chu checked her phone.

There were many messages waiting for her, the most recent one sent by Zhang Heyu an hour ago.

[Zhang Heyu: It's my fault, I'm sorry, baby.]

Wiping the tears haphazardly from her face, Jiang Chu transferred the money to Jiang Nanyan.

Scrolling down a bit further, she spotted the message from Huo Censi.

[Jiang Chu: What's wrong with him?]

[Huo Censi: Did Brother Yu go find you? He and Zhi Jiangwen got into a fight today. Zhi Jiangwen was the one who posted that thing online.]

The wound on Zhang Heyu's arm flashed back into Jiang Chu's mind.

[Jiang Chu: I know.]

Exiting the chat with Huo Censi, Jiang Chu switched to her chat with Zhang Heyu and drafted a message to him.

She deleted and re-typed in the text box repeatedly, but in the end, the message was never sent.

Jiang Chu asked Mo Bingyou for a week of leave.

Her body had fallen into some inexplicable state where she ran a fever every other day.

On this particular morning, two strangers suddenly appeared outside her door.

Opening the door, Jiang Chu coughed a few times. "Who are you?"

"You must be Jiang Chu?" the woman asked with an amiable smile. "Your mother had us come tell you that this apartment has already been sold to us, and we wanted to ask when you plan to move out?"

Staring at them in absolute disbelief, Jiang Chu blurted out, "What did you say?"

"Didn't Jiang Nanyan tell you?" the man standing beside the woman chimed in. "Your mother put this place up for sale last week, and we completed the transfer of ownership the day before yesterday."

Fearing Jiang Chu wouldn't believe them, the woman even produced the property ownership certificate and other documents to prove it.

She raised her head. "I understand. This place holds the final memories I have of my grandmother. Packing everything up might take some time—would it be alright if I stayed a little longer?"

Having no objections, the woman and man gave Jiang Chu ample time to move out.

Closing the door, Jiang Chu picked up her phone and dialed Jiang Nanyan's number.

Biting her lip as she looked around the apartment, all the moments she had shared with her grandmother flashed vividly before her eyes.

Right at that moment, Jiang Chu suddenly received a call from an unknown number.