There were many pedestrians at the school gate, and quite a few people glanced over, but not a single one stepped forward—no one wanted to meddle in other people’s business.
Lan Hui frowned. These two had deliberately blocked her just outside the school gate, perfectly avoiding the security guard. Even if she wanted to call for help, it was impossible.
Besides, the school guard was just an old uncle. Even if she called him, it probably wouldn’t help.
Lan Hui wasn’t the type to be afraid either:
“You two should have some self-respect. If you keep blocking my way, don’t blame me for not considering our classmate relationship—I’ll call the police and report you for harassment.”
The two men’s faces turned a little ugly. Quite a few people were watching, waiting to see the drama, and they felt embarrassed.
“Hey, beauty, do you really think we’re that easy to scare?”
One of them lowered his voice, “So many people are watching. Just add us as a contact for show, don’t make us lose face.”
“We still have two years as classmates—you’ll see us whether you want to or not. Don’t make things so ugly, or you’ll regret it when it’s too late!”
The meaning of these words was obvious, and there was already a hint of threat in them.
They were sure that a young girl like Lan Hui would be frightened.
Lan Hui was just about to speak when suddenly a cold voice came from behind her: “What are you two doing?”
Lan Hui turned her head at the sound, only to see Peng Kai striding quickly toward her, coming to stand shoulder to shoulder with her.
Lan Hui was surprised. Didn’t he leave long ago?
Under the dim yellow streetlamp, she could see his face clearly. He’d left school in a hurry—he must have gone to the restroom to wash his face.
He’d also gone there during the break earlier; maybe there were too many people, so he’d rushed and hadn’t washed off all the black oil stains.
Now, the grime on his face was gone, revealing a sharp, handsome face. With those cold eyes of his, he looked both cool and a little gloomy.
He looked pretty intimidating.
The two men were truly startled, especially when Peng Kai came forward, standing less than fifty centimeters away, and barked again:
“You two—”
The two men were truly startled, especially when Peng Kai came forward, standing less than fifty centimeters away, and barked again:
“You two—”
“What are you doing blocking this young lady?”
The two instantly shrank back, forcing an awkward smile:
“Bro, we just wanted to make friends with this beauty, that’s all—no other intentions.”
Peng Kai slowly rolled up his sleeves, his gaze sweeping lazily over them, his voice low:
“Come on, make friends with me. I’m Peng Kai.”
Hearing his voice, the two already felt a chill down their backs.
And seeing him roll up his sleeves—was he getting ready to fight?
Their faces changed completely.
“Brother Peng, it’s a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding! We didn’t know you and this beauty were… Sorry to bother you.”
If he was willing to stick up for her, they clearly weren’t just ordinary classmates.
The two hurriedly slunk away, tails between their legs.
They were all classmates, but usually never interacted with Peng Kai. Peng Kai always looked gloomy, like he wasn’t a good guy—no one wanted to mess with him.
Peng Kai watched them walk off into the distance before turning to Lan Hui. “They’re gone. You should head home soon, too.”
Lan Hui nodded. “Thank you for your help today.”
Peng Kai gave a slight nod and walked away.
Lan Hui watched his solitary, desolate figure fade into the distance. He seemed completely out of place on that bustling sidewalk.
He had an aura that kept people at arm’s length, making it hard for anyone to approach.
But Lan Hui wasn’t afraid; in fact, she had a pretty good impression of him.
The sense of defeat she’d felt from being ignored in class was swept away.
He wasn’t as cold as he looked—he was the classic cold-on-the-outside, warm-on-the-inside type.
By the time Lan Hui got home, it was already close to ten o’clock, and she was so tired she couldn’t even speak.
She put down her bag and hurried to grab some clothes for a shower. Just as she opened the door to head to the bathroom, her roommate from next door went in ahead of her.
Lan Hui was exasperated.
She’d have to wait.
The original owner’s life had been tough after dropping out and coming to S City. The apartment she rented was way out in the suburbs, far from both school and work. Just the bus ride took nearly an hour.
To save on rent, she shared the place with others. The seventy-something square meter apartment had been divided into four tiny rooms.
The bathroom and kitchen were communal.
Her own room had been carved out of the living room, no more than fifteen square meters, and still cost a thousand yuan a month.
Mainly, the original owner’s salary wasn’t high. Being a Breastfeeding Consultant, her pay was a base salary plus commission, and the base was just the Minimum Wage of S City—just over 2,100 yuan.
As for commission, it was pitifully little. The original owner didn’t have a sweet tongue, couldn’t say nice things, and her product recommendations were stiff.
If the customers didn’t spend money, she could only earn a bit of commission through hard work.
For example, a back massage—forty minutes a session, she’d get twenty yuan commission.
For breastfeeding massages—forty minutes a session, she’d get thirty yuan commission.
After a month of exhausting labor, she could only earn a little over four thousand yuan, five thousand at best.
Life was tough.
Lan Hui looked around the whole room. The sheets and bedding were all cheap stuff bought online.
There wasn’t a single good-quality piece of clothing in the wardrobe.
As for cosmetics, she just bought the thirty-odd yuan bottles from the supermarket.
She suddenly remembered she still didn’t know what this body actually looked like, so she quickly dragged out the full-length mirror from the corner.
The original owner was a bit superstitious, believing the mirror shouldn’t face the bed at night, so she’d hidden it in the corner with its back turned.
Lan Hui looked at the beauty in the mirror, briefly stunned.
Her skin was snow-white, her eyes glimmering like autumn water.
When she smiled, it was as if there were stars in her eyes.
She was about 1.65 meters tall, with a slender, well-proportioned figure, and her long, straight black hair hung naturally.
Without any deliberate styling, she was like a lotus out of clear water—astonishingly beautiful.
No wonder those two at the school gate wouldn’t let it go. She really did have the looks to back it up.
By the time Lan Hui finished washing up, it was nearly midnight. She lay down and fell asleep almost instantly.
***
The next morning, as soon as the alarm went off, Lan Hui rushed to work.
She had the original owner’s memories, so although she was a bit inexperienced at breastfeeding massage, by adding an extra twenty minutes to help, the customers were still quite satisfied.
During her free time, she didn’t idle around either—she went to help out the Old Master, picking up more massage experience.
She listened in on how they chatted with clients and how they recommended products.
The Breastfeeding Consultant profession was part of postpartum recovery, which included pelvic floor recovery, slimming the waist, bladder meridian, back, hips, and so on.
When a customer bought a package, it included ten massages, the cheapest costing over three thousand, and the most expensive—slimming the waist—costing over ten thousand.
If a deal was made, the technician would get a commission, from four or five hundred to over a thousand.
Compared to the paltry commissions for labor-intensive massages, selling products was clearly the most lucrative route.
But you couldn’t just push products randomly—it had to be something suitable for the client.
Lan Hui discovered that the Old Masters all had their own tricks. They’d only pitch products when the client was almost done with their ten sessions. The rest of the time, they’d just chat and build rapport.
Once the relationship was good and they’d earned the client’s trust, repeat business would come naturally. Otherwise, pushing too often would just annoy people.
Time flies when you’re working hard. In the blink of an eye, it was five thirty in the afternoon.
After work, Lan Hui took the bus to school as usual.
When she went to the store to buy bread, she picked up an extra bottle of water—for Peng Kai.
Peng Kai had helped her last night, and she had to show her gratitude somehow.
She’d thought about buying him bread too, but wasn’t sure if he’d had dinner, so she just bought water.
Water wasn’t expensive, and hardly anyone would refuse it.
Lan Hui arrived early to save a seat in the classroom, thinking it’d be easier for Peng Kai to sit when he arrived.
She didn’t expect Peng Kai to show up so early—by the time she entered, he was already there, fully focused on reviewing last night’s lesson.
Today, he wore a black cotton jacket. It looked a bit worn, but at least it was clean.
From her angle, she could see his side profile—smooth lines, a nose like a mountain peak, long fingers, and the way he turned the pages was pleasing to the eye.
No doubt, Peng Kai looked handsome today, but he still gave off that perennial iceberg vibe.
The seat next to him was empty—still, no one wanted to sit with him.
Lan Hui walked right over and sat down next to him with a big smile. “Hey, classmate, you’re here early today.”
She handed him the drink. “Thanks for helping me out last night—please have some water.”
Peng Kai glanced at Lan Hui with a blank expression, utterly baffled by how this girl could be so forward.
“Drink it yourself. I don’t want it.”
Most people in the classroom were watching them—one was too cold, the other too pretty. Both were eye-catching in their class.
Someone couldn’t help but curse under their breath, “What’s wrong with that beauty’s taste? She actually likes that cold-faced guy—must be blind.”
“Yeah, that guy doesn’t look easy to get along with.”
“If they really got married, I bet he’d be abusive.”
Of course, Peng Kai heard these comments, but he didn’t react at all.
Lan Hui was even calmer, simply ignoring them.
Through two whole periods, Lan Hui and Peng Kai barely spoke.
After class, Lan Hui stuffed the water bottle into Peng Kai’s hand. “Classmate, this is my thank you—please accept it.” With that, she grabbed her bag and dashed off, catching Peng Kai off guard.
***
The next night, when Lan Hui arrived at school, she was looking for Peng Kai when she saw him wave her over.
Lan Hui was stunned. Could giving him water last night have improved their relationship that much?
He was actually inviting her to sit with him?
Thinking this, Lan Hui’s eyes curved into a smile, and she walked over briskly, stuffing her bag under the desk. “Good evening, classmate.”
Seeing the girl’s radiant smile, Peng Kai was a little dazed. He felt a waft of her scent, then realized she was already sitting beside him.
“Good evening.” Peng Kai felt a mix of emotions. How long had it been since someone smiled at him like that? Or smiled so genuinely?
He fixed cars every day, and while customers smiled at him, it was all on the surface—nothing like this girl’s pure smile.
Peng Kai said again, “Open your payment code—I’ll transfer you the money for yesterday’s water.”
He wasn’t used to accepting things from others. Last night, she ran off too fast for him to return it, but today, he had to pay her back.
Lan Hui felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on her—her excitement instantly vanished.
So he’d called her over just for this.
Still smiling, Lan Hui took out her phone and opened the QR code. “Here, classmate, scan me.”
Peng Kai frowned at the code. “That’s your Friend Add Code.”
Lan Hui replied, “Just add me as a friend, then transfer it. The police uncle told us not to accept money from strangers—it could be a scam.”
Peng Kai had no choice but to add her as a friend.
He really had to admit defeat with her.
Lan Hui, on the other hand, was quite pleased. Now that they’d added each other as friends, that was some progress at least.
After class that night, it started to pour outside. Lan Hui and a bunch of others stood under the teaching building, worrying.
She hadn’t known it would rain today and forgot to bring an umbrella.
It was at least a seven-minute walk from the school to the bus stop—five if you ran. Without an umbrella, she’d be soaked to the bone.
And it was winter now. If she got drenched, she’d catch a cold, have to take time off and get her pay docked, plus spend money on medicine.
She’d checked the original owner’s account before—there was only a little over a thousand yuan left.
She couldn’t even afford to get sick right now.
Just then, a cool male voice sounded behind her: “I’ll walk you to the bus stop.”
Lan Hui turned to see Peng Kai holding an umbrella over her head.
Lan Hui beamed. “Classmate, thank you so much.” She didn’t fuss, just moved closer to Peng Kai, and together the two of them stepped out of the teaching building.
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