Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  Upon hearing the young man’s name, Qiao Nan’s fingers sank deeper into the schoolbag she was clutching.

  That’s right. The helpful young man standing before Qiao Nan was none other than Chen Jun, the scum whom she was on marriage talks with, but betrayed her and made Qiao Zijin pregnant in the previous life.

  At the thought of Chen Jun’s betrayal, Qiao Nan gritted her teeth.

  Before the two of them got together, Chen Jun was the one who made the first move. Qiao Nan knew about Chen Jun’s wealthy family background and felt that their relationship would not work. The two families were grossly incompatible in terms of social status. She had thus rejected Chen Jun numerous times.

  However, Chen Jun persisted and repeatedly proved to Qiao Nan with his actions that he would not give up—that he was determined in his love for Qiao Nan. Eventually, Qiao Nan was moved by Chen Jun’s unwavering attitude and finally relented.

  In her previous life, till her death, Qiao Nan had one romantic relationship and only loved one man. However, in the end, she was utterly hurt and covered in emotional scars when she eventually withdrew from the relationship.

  Qiao Nan had always known that she remained single until she was forty years old not only because of her mother, who eyed her income and objected to her marrying, but also Chen Jun. She was fearful of marriage, fearful of meeting a scum like Chen Jun again.

  “How are you?” Seeing that Qiao Nan seemed to be shivering, Chen Jun thought that she was affected by the incident. “Why don’t I send you to the school first?”

  “No need!” Qiao Nan declined as if it was a natural reflex. She then said, “I’m fine. You can send robber to the police station. Thank you for your help today. See you.”

  Qiao Nan bowed to Chen Jun sincerely to express her gratitude. After thanking him, without waiting for Chen Jun’s reaction, she grabbed her bag and ran toward Ping Cheng High School at a speed faster than that of the robber. It was as if there was a ghost chasing her.

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  “What a strange young lady.” Chen Jun smiled. He found Qiao Nan interesting. He had seen so many young ladies. This was the first time he met with one who did not bother about him.

  He had often been pestered by girls who initiated the first move. As such, Chen Jun felt that Qiao Nan was quite special. “Aren’t you leaving?”

  “Aye, my brother. Softer, please. You asked me to put up an act but you’re too much. Your kick nearly made me vomit yellow bile,” the robber shouted. His previously fearsome demeanor changed, and he seemed to know Chen Jun well.

  “Alright, cut your pretense. How could I not know how much strength I used? This is for you. Consider it as the remuneration for your effort.” Chen Jun took out a ten yuan note and threw it at the robber.

  “Brother, you’re really my biological brother. If you have similar requests in the future, you can look for me. Brother, I’m leaving.” After receiving the money, the ‘robber’ stopped wailing and left happily instead.

  When Qiao Nan and the ‘robber’ left, Chen Jun leaned on the wall and took out a stick of cigarette. He placed it in his mouth and lighted it, taking a deep breath and exhaling a ring of white smoke.

  It was only when he had finished smoking the cigarette that he threw the cigarette bud on the ground, stepping on it to extinguish it before leaving.

  Qiao Nan, who had left earlier, did not know about all this. However, in this life, even if she knew, she would not be affected.

  “What happened?” When Qiao Nan reached the school, the first thing she did was to report to the sick bay. The teacher on duty was shocked when she saw the pitiful state Qiao Nan was in.

  Qiao Nan, who usually looked prim and clean, was in a messy state. Both her hands were stiff and covered with dirt and blood. Bits of sand could be seen on the tiny cuts and bruises. The teacher’s heart ached for Qiao Nan. “Did anyone from the school bully you?”

  “No, it has nothing to do with the schoolmates. I met a robber near the school. He bumped into me and I fell.” When Qiao Nan arrived at the school, she finally awoke from her hatred and fury toward Chen Jun. The nerves in her hands had long since transmitted the feeling of pain to her brain, but she could only feel the unbearable pain now.

  “There’s a robber near the school? So bold and lawless.” The teacher in the sick bay was stunned. “We’ll have to reflect on this in case other students encounter the same situation. Your hand injury is not serious, but it’s quite cumbersome. I’ll wash and disinfect your wound first. It’ll be quite painful, so please bear with it. I’m not sure if you’ll be able to write for the next two weeks.”

  The teacher held Qiao Nan’s hands, washed them, and removed the sands. She then used iodine to disinfect the wound and bandage the parts that were more seriously injured. “Take extra care these two days. As a precautionary measure, don’t let any water get into your hands as there are cuts on your palms and they’re quite deep.”

  “I will, teacher. Thank you. I’ll return to my dormitory first.”

  At the sight of her hands being wrapped like a dumpling, Qiao Nan did not know whether to laugh or cry. Chen Jun was her jinx. Nothing good would happen whenever she met him.

  Due to the incident, it was rather late when Qiao Nan reached the dormitory. The other five dormitory mates had already gone to the classroom. They only discovered about Qiao Nan’s condition when the latter reached the classroom.

  “Xiao Qiao, what happened to your hand? Was it your mother?!” Zhu Baoguo had a fierce and determined look. He clearly heard that Xiao Qiao’s mother created a din but did not hurt her physically. That old woman must have made things difficult for Xiao Qiao when they were at home!

  Qiao Nan shrugged her shoulders while she put her schoolbag down. She dared not move too much and both her palms were facing up. “I don’t wish to talk about it. This matter did not have anything to do with my mom. I’m down on my luck. Blame it on my bad luck.”

  “I’ll help you.” Seeing that Qiao Nan was having difficulty with her movements, Zhu Baoguo took her schoolbag and put away some of the books into the desk’s book box as per what Qiao Nan usually did. He then placed the remaining books on the table. “What happened?”

  “I met a robber on my way here. He pushed me, and the rest is history.” Qiao Nan looked helpless as she raised her hands that were now bandaged like a dumpling.

  “Nan Nan, are you alright?” Zheng Lingling came over. “How could there be a robber? Is your money still with you?”

  “Yes, I kept it with me all along. The schoolbag was nearly snatched away. Fortunately, someone helped me, so I only suffered light injuries.” Qiao Nan had little to no money at all, so she never had the habit of putting money in the schoolbag. She always carried it with her instead.

  “It’s too scary. Nan Nan, do you want to let Teacher Liu know about this?” Tang Mengran covered her face with both hands. She looked frightened.

  Qiao Nan shook her head. “There is no need to. The teacher in the sick bay will bring this matter up to the school.”

  “I’ve not heard about anyone who encountered the same situation, have you?” He Yun knitted her brows.

  “What do you mean? Are you saying that Xiao Qiao is lying?! Are you asking for a beating?”