Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  The counselor alone spent around 40 minutes talking and introducing the school.

  The young male counselor was a second-year student at the university. He was humorous, so the 40 minute-long introduction wasn’t a bore.

  A class lesson immediately followed their introduction, and then it was lunchtime.

  During lunch, Su Yue dragged Bai Jing out of school to a relatively high-end Chinese restaurant nearby. They left after a full meal.

  Su Yue glanced over the sidewalk and had an idea. She smiled and pulled Bai Jing’s arm. “We have no lessons in the afternoon, so let’s go get a gift for your sister.”


  Bai Jing shook her head. “You don’t need to get a gift. Your presence is good enough.”


  “No, I have to bring a gift,” Su Yue said with determination in her voice.

  There were many shops selling birthday gifts for girls near the school. Su Yue randomly picked one and used her preference as a reference for her gift, and so she bought a small guitar.

  The main reason was that the small guitar came with a box, and it was easier to carry as compared to a huge stuffed toy.

  Both of them bought a pile of snacks. When they reached the school entrance, Bai Jing’s phone rang. She took it out and when she saw the caller, her expression turned hostile.

  “Hello,” she answered as she put the phone to her ear. She suddenly increased her pace and left Su Yue behind.

  Su Yue carried her textbooks on one hand and the guitar in the other. She chased after Bai Jing.

  When she finally caught up, Bai Jing had just ended her call.

  “Su Yue, my—my second brother has sent someone to pick us up,” Bai Jing said, looking at Su Yue. She sounded very forced and unwilling to call him

  Su Yue didn’t think into it and nodded. “Okay, I’ll just grab my phone from the dormitory. I left it there.”


  “Sure, you can bring back your textbooks, too.”


  When they returned to the dormitory, Su Yue unplugged her phone and turned it on. Countless messages and WeChat messages greeted her, and all of them were from Xuxu.

  She read Xuxu’s message—it said that she should not go to Bai Jing’s house.

  All her messages forbade her from going. It confused Su Yue because she didn’t know why. Hence, she called Xuxu.

  “Hello, Third sister-in-law.”


  When Xuxu heard Su Yue’s voice, she worriedly chided, “I’ve been trying to reach you the entire morning. Why did you turn your phone off?”


  This was the first time she raised her voice at Su Yue.

  Su Yue froze for a moment before explaining. “I went for lessons in the morning. My phone was flat.”


  Her third sister-in-law must have been worried sick because she could not contact her.

  “I’m already outside your school. Do you have lessons in the afternoon?” Xuxu asked, her tone milder than before.

  “Today’s the first day of lessons, so I have none in the afternoon,” Su Yue replied. Then it finally registered in her brain and she asked in shock, “Did you say that you’re outside our school right now?”


  Xuxu answered, “I couldn’t reach you and I was worried sick. Come over quickly. I’m in the school’s parking lot.”


  “Oh,” Su Yue answered before ending the call.

  She looked at Bai Jing and said, “My third sister-in-law is here at the carpark. She asked me to go over.”


  Bai Jing nodded. “Let’s go together.”


  “Mm.” Su Yue nodded. She turned around and retrieved her bag from the bed. “Let’s go,” she said to Bai Jing.

  Xuxu saw Su Yue and Bai Jing walking over in the distance. She hurriedly walked over. “Yueyue.”


  She then looked at Bai Jing. “Bai Jing.”


  “Third sister-in-law,” Bai Jing greeted, nodding slightly.

  Xuxu observed her face and smiled with concern. “The past few days of military training must’ve been tough on you.”