Yun Yi was currently right outside the villa’s gates.
The moment he heard the voice on the phone, he strode inside.
Though he was several years older than Ye Shaohua, interacting with her made it clear she didn’t act her age.
Restrained, detached—almost unnaturally so.
This was the first time she had spoken to him in such a soft tone.
The security guard immediately called out, “Wait, who are you? You need to register first—”
Yun Yi, tall and straight as bamboo, simply raised a hand. “Handle it.”
The driver following closely behind promptly engaged in a “friendly” discussion with the guard.
Who had time for formalities like registration?
The neighborhood’s security was usually efficient. The moment Grandma Ye mentioned calling the police, sirens could be heard within minutes.
Despite wearing casual sportswear, Yun Yi’s icy demeanor and unsmiling face made the Ye family’s servants hesitate to stop him. They assumed he was a friend of one of the Ye daughters.
By the time he entered the villa, Yun Yi was still holding his phone.
The girl on the other end hadn’t hung up either.
The moment he stepped inside and caught the scent of blood, his steady composure faltered.
But his eyes quickly found the girl standing on the staircase. Only after confirming she was unharmed did he survey the scene in the living room.
Chaos.
Ye Yun was half-kneeling beside Yang Qin, checking on her. Grandma Ye was cursing nonstop, hurling obscenities at Ye Shaohua. The other servants stood frozen, not daring to make a sound.
The girl before him was nothing like the voice on the phone. Leaning lazily against the staircase railing, she had one arm crossed over her chest, the other holding a pencil case.
Her hair was tied up in a loose ponytail, stray strands framing her face. She tapped the metal railing impatiently with her foot, her expression cold. Despite her seemingly harmless posture, no one in the room dared to approach her.
Yun Yi paused briefly before walking toward her.
“Time’s up,” he said, checking his watch. It was already 7:00.
He ignored everyone else and headed straight for Ye Shaohua.
Maybe it was his imposing aura, or maybe it was his striking looks—either way, no one tried to stop him.
It wasn’t until Ye Shaohua descended the stairs, ready to leave with Yun Yi, that Ye Yun and the others snapped out of it.
Though she hadn’t gotten a clear look that day, Ye Yun vaguely recognized the young man in sportswear. Frowning, she said, “Sir, this is a private family matter. The police haven’t even arrived yet—”
Other members of the Ye family were present too.
None recognized Yun Yi with his jacket zipper casually undone, but his commanding presence and striking features were impossible to ignore.
Grandma Ye, who had never encountered a young man so indifferent to her authority, sneered. “Just as Yun said—spending all her time with delinquents instead of studying. Someone, throw him out!”
She reached for Ye Shaohua.
Earlier, she hadn’t dared to climb the stairs after her. Now that Ye Shaohua was within reach, her courage returned.
Yun Yi intercepted Grandma Ye’s outstretched hand, pulling Ye Shaohua to his other side. His voice was frosty. “Don’t touch her.”
Grandma Ye blinked. “What?”
In the few minutes since arriving, Yun Yi had already pieced together fragments of the situation. The thought of what might have happened if he hadn’t come made his expression darken further.
He repeated, slowly and clearly, “I said, don’t touch her.”
One hand held Ye Shaohua’s wrist; the other was already typing rapidly on his phone.
Ye Yun knew that if she let this chance slip, once Ye Guofu returned, things would only get harder.
She needed to strike now, while Ye Shaohua was vulnerable.
She hadn’t recognized Yun Yi. If anything, his presence only reassured her.
Tch. The Ye family’s precious daughter, reduced to running around with a hoodlum.
She wondered what expression Ye Shaohua would make if she knew Meng Ze had always loved her, Ye Yun, instead.
This plan had been carefully set in motion—timed for when Ye Guofu was away, leaving Ye Shaohua defenseless.
But she hadn’t accounted for Ye Shaohua having capable allies.
“Our lawyer is here,” Yun Yi’s secretary announced smoothly, unfazed by the Ye family’s hostility. “If you wish to press charges against my client, you’ll need to provide evidence. Though I’m sure upstanding citizens like yourselves would never make baseless accusations…”
Yun Yi had no intention of settling this today.
Right now, the priority was the kid’s college entrance exam.
He’d skipped grades as a child, later getting fast-tracked into B University without ever experiencing the gaokao himself.
But he knew how important it was for most people.
“Do your best,” he said, double-checking her exam supplies—ID, admission ticket, pens. “No pressure. Whether you’re the top scorer or not doesn’t matter.”
“Mm.” Ye Shaohua sent a final reminder to her Class 13 group chat before looking up. “I know. You can go. Come back at 11:00—I’ll be done by then.”
She’d taken this exam countless times. The routine was second nature now, devoid of any nerves.
Her classmates, though, were a different story. They’d talked big before the exam, but now that it was time, they were trembling.
She typed one last message in the group before powering off her phone.
Yun Yi had researched “how to support someone during gaokao” the night before. The internet said not to add pressure.
After one last check, he handed her the pencil case.
A student from No. 1 High’s elite class overheard Yun Yi’s remark about “not needing to be the top scorer” and nearly choked.
He turned to see who this arrogant genius was—only to lock eyes with the school’s most infamous delinquent.
“Holy shit!” he blurted.
His parents and sister panicked. “What’s wrong? Did you forget something? Are you feeling sick?”
The boy stared as the “school bully” took the pencil case, her sleeves rolled up to reveal slender, jade-like wrists. When her cold gaze flicked toward him, he shuddered.
He remembered when she first transferred to No. 1 High. The school forum had been flooded with candid photos of her from every angle.
The undisputed school beauty.
That didn’t last.
After she beat up a group of boys who kept loitering outside her classroom to gawk at her, the title “school beauty” vanished overnight. Every post about her was scrubbed from the forum.
“That girl…” The boy’s sister frowned, studying Ye Shaohua. “I know her.”
The boy blinked. “You know our school bully?”
“School bully?” The sister repeated, listening as her brother listed Ye Shaohua’s notorious reputation—skipping class, fighting, turning in blank exams.
“That’s because you’re a year below,” the sister said, almost wistful. “Back in junior high, she was the campus goddess. During the high school entrance exam—the one with the insanely difficult papers—she was the only one in the city to score full marks.”
“Full marks?!” The boy gaped. “But she—she never takes exams seriously! She just doodles on them!”
“You wouldn’t know,” his sister murmured. “Back then, from No. 1 High to No. 14 High, everyone knew her name.”
Ye Shaohua had been legendary.
Her performance of an advanced piano piece during the opening ceremony had broken the school forum.
For the first half of the semester, upperclassmen crowded outside her classroom daily.
On weekends, delinquents from rival schools would wait at the gates on their motorcycles.
But then—
After whatever happened at home, she changed. She vanished from No. 1 High for a year.
When she reappeared, she’d been held back a grade. Gone was the untouchable genius, replaced by a girl who skipped class, fought, and didn’t care about anything.
Ye Shaohua had repeated a year. The seniors who remembered her brilliance had graduated.
Now, the current juniors and below only knew her as the school’s problem child.
The sister sighed.
What a waste.
Yun Yi watched until Ye Shaohua disappeared into the crowd.
He meant to leave.
But after overhearing that girl’s words, he couldn’t bring himself to go.
Instead, he lit a cigarette and leaned against a nearby tree, slowly exhaling smoke.
So this was what her school days had been like.
Yun Yi flicked ash from his cigarette, the rising haze softening his sharp features.
He hated to admit it, but he envied those who’d been there for her highs and lows.
