THE door to the classroom opened. Because they were in the middle of class, the sound of the door opening was pretty harsh. Everyone turned and saw a tall girl with big glasses entering.

  "I-I’m sorry for being late, Sir," said the student who just entered the classroom.

  Wu Hai frowned. But when he saw that the late student was Yu Jiao, the crease on his brows loosened. The other was a good student. If she’s late, then she probably had a good reason why. Especially since this was the first time the other was late to homeroom.

  "It’s alright, Yu Jiao," he said. "You can take your seat."

  Yu Jiao sighed with relief and quickly went to her seat.

  Luo Yan also had a frown when he saw Yu Jiao. Not just because she’s late but more so because of her state when she walked in. Her hair was messier than usual, even her uniform was all skewed. As if someone pulled on her uniform.

  Just what happened?

  He tried to catch Yu Jiao’s gaze and it just so happened that she also looked at his direction. He looked at her with inquiry. She only smiled at him, as if reassuring him that everything was okay. But Luo Yan still didn’t feel relieved. In fact, he even became more worried.

  He couldn’t ask her what the problem was right now because it’s still time for class. But there were a few minutes of break after homeroom. He’d just ask her about it after this.

  He couldn’t concentrate in class because he just wanted it to end. But there was still about half an hour left before it finished. He sighed. There’s no use being impatient.

  Soon, 30 minutes had passed and the class finally ended. The moment their teacher left, Luo Yan stood up and walked to Yu Jiao’s seat. He didn’t care that their classmates were looking in his direction.

  The only reason he hadn’t interacted actively with Yu Jiao in class was because she didn’t want to attract too much attention. But Yu Jiao had already gotten over that. She even went back with them from that small restaurant last time.

  "Jiao Jiao, are you alright?" he asked when he finally arrived beside Yu Jiao’s seat.

  Yu Jiao was startled to suddenly see Luo Yan standing beside her seat. But when she heard him asking if she’s alright with that worried tone, she understood immediately why he was here. He must have been worried seeing her state. She smiled helplessly. But at the same time, she also felt warm. She didn’t know that having a friend worry about you would actually feel this heartwarming.

  "I’m fine, Yan Yan, really," she said. "I’ll tell you what happened later."

  Luo Yan observed Yu Jiao’s expression. Seeing that she was indeed okay, he no longer tried to pursue the topic. "Okay."

  The door opened and the teacher for the next subject came in. And Luo Yan had to go back to his seat.

  Yu Jiao looked at Luo Yan’s back and then sighed. Although she told him that she would tell him later what happened, she really wasn’t sure what she should say.

  She couldn’t help but remember what happened just before she left her dorm room this morning.

  =====

  Yu Jiao checked her bag. When she saw that everything was in place, she planned to go out of her dorm room. But before she could do that, someone knocked on her door. She wondered who could it be. But she still walked forward and opened it. It might be the dorm manager, planning to tell him some announcement or something.

  But when she opened the door, the one standing in front of her was not the dorm manager but someone she’d rather not deal with. A girl with long black hair and a pair of big brown eyes.

  "Good morning, Sister," the girl smiled, she said the word ’sister’ full of mockery.

  "Mo Jian?"

  Before Yu Jiao could fully react, Mo Jian had already pushed her way inside her dorm room.

  Yu Jiao turned around and saw Mo Jian looking around her room. This girl was the daughter of the man her mother married. In short, her stepsister. The same stepsister who made it unbearable for her to live with the same house as them. The one who couldn’t seem to stand her existence.

  The few months she had stayed at that house was like a nightmare. And this girl was the main cause of that. It’s like everything she had experience just came back to her as if hitting her straight on the face. Her body just started trembling. As if a switch just turned on and she couldn’t stop it.

  She gripped her skirt, trying to bring a semblance of calm to herself. "W-what do you need?"

  "Sister, you’re stuttering again. Are you actually afraid right now?" Mo Jian chuckled. "Don’t be. I’m just here to ask you something. There’s been a rumor going around that you became quite close to second young master of the Luo family. You’re even seen going to lunch with him and the third young master. How lucky."

  Yu Jiao had a bad feeling on where this conversation was leading. Because she already had an idea on why this girl came to talk to her right now.

  "How could you not inform me about this? You know how much I like young master Luo Jin. Although I know that there’s no way that he’d be interested in you, but you’re still get to spend time with him. How could you not think of me? Aren’t we sisters? Mother would surely be sad if she knew how selfish you have been," Mo Jian continued, looking all saddened. "So, to make amends, why don’t you let me join during your lunch with the Luo brothers?"

  Yu Jiao stared at the girl’s sudden bright smile. She only felt chills. Because this girl certainly had some problems in the head. How could she not see it before when it was this obvious?

  All because she was so immersed in her own fear and suffering that she couldn’t even see what was in front of her. But the fact that she could see it now, did that mean that, even just a little, she gained courage?

  Yes, courage. That’s what she needed right now.

  She took a deep breath and then noticed that she was no longer trembling. She raised her head and said;

  "No."