While Bei Ze and Ji Xiaoyu were having a bonding session, Shi Sheng went off to go do something else.
Ji Xiaoyu only had her father ever since her mother died when she was young. However, this father of hers was always busy working and often neglected her. Ji Xiaoyu was a bit estranged from him because of her motherâs death, so their relationship wasnât that strong.
Papa Ji liked to buy lottery tickets. He was carrying out his daily routine of purchasing one after he got off from work when he bumped into a girl at the entrance of the shop, and the ticket which he hadnât been holding onto tightly dropped to the floor.
âAre you blind?! Canât you see thereâs someone walking here?!â Papa Ji scolded.
âIâm sorry! Iâm sorry!â The girl hurriedly picked the ticket up and handed it over to him.
âBe more careful next time!â Papa Ji roughly tugged it back. âYoungsters these days are so clumsy.â
âIâm sorry. I wonât do it again.â The girl apologised continuously before running off.
After turning the corner, the girl headed for a coffee shop and sat down in front of a young woman, whose expression didnât change at all.
This young woman was Shi Sheng.
âHere.â The girl pushed the lottery ticket to Shi Sheng. âThe money?â
Shi Sheng took out a few banknotes from her bag and passed them to her. The girl left after receiving the money.
Shi Sheng smiled, a bit sinisterly, as she looked at the lottery ticket on the table. âOvernight fortunes ah!â
âŚâŚ
On the day of the celebration, everything had already been prepared. Only the person fetching the costumes hadnât arrived yet.
âHow come she still hasnât returned? Hurry up and call her! And why isnât Bei-shao here?â
âBei Zhi, have you seen Bei-shao?â Lin Yin walked over with an anxious expression.
Shi Sheng looked up before shaking her head. âI donât know. I didnât see him last night.â
âPresident, President, weâre going up next!â
âPresident, Ji Xiaoyu and Bei-shao arenât picking up their phones!â
âOf course their phones arenât being picked up! Theyâre busy cultivating feelings so their phones would be off!â
The group of people got more and more distressed as the time to go on stage drew closer and closer.
Ji Xiaoyu and Bei Ze were surrounded upon turning up backstage.
âJi Xiaoyu, where are the costumes?â
âBei-shao, hurry up and put on your makeup.â
People kept chattering but the two didnât move at all.
Only now did the babble halt, for everyone noticed the two of them looked very dishevelled.
âIâm sorryâŚâ Ji Xiaoyu suddenly spoke, breaking the silence. âI lost the clothes.â
âŚâŚ
âJi Xiaoyu, this isnât the time to be cracking jokes.â Someone spoke.
âIâm not joking.â Ji Xiaoyu found herself unable to meet the eyes of so many and subconsciously hid behind Bei Ze, who blocked her with his body. His actions proved that the costumes had really been lost.
Everyone looked at each other. Time hadnât been the only thing they had put into this play, yet now all of their efforts would go to waste.
âI already told you not to go but you insisted! Ji Xiaoyu, you have a grudge with us, right?!â A girl couldnât take it and broke down crying.
Lin Yinâs eyes were a bit red and she was feeling a bit stuffy inside. This was her last year. This play had been her final one. She had wanted it to be a good ending to her high school life. But now, everything was ruined.
âIâm sorry.â Ji Xiaoyu apologised in a small voice.
âWhat can being sorry do?! Now that our costumes are gone, all of our efforts are flushed down the drain!â
âIâm sorry. Iâm so sorry.â Ji Xiaoyu continued apologising.
âArenât you guys going to change? Youâre up next, you know.â Shi Sheng entered from outside and spoke in a melodious voice.
âChange into what? We donât even have the costumes.â
âEn?â Shi Sheng deliberately had a questioning look on her face.
Tears streamed down her face as the girl spoke, âJi Xiaoyu lost the costumes. How are we going to go onstage without them?â
Shi Sheng looked at Ji Xiaoyu, who withdrew even further behind Bei Zeâs back. Her face was pale, as if she had received too much stimulation.
âI was the one who lost the clothes.â Bei Ze immediately spoke upon receiving Shi Shengâs gaze.
âBei ZeâŚâ Ji Xiaoyuâs eyes reddened, clearly moved.
Shi Sheng gave a mocking laugh. âDonât volunteer for stuff if you donât have the ability.â
âIt was clearly not her task yet she insisted on doing it. Whatâs more, she didnât even do it well. Yet in the male leadâs eyes, I bet heâd just find her adorable in a stupid kind of way and speak up for herâŚ
We live in an age of female leads ah!â
âBei Zhi!â Bei Ze yelled at her.
âWhat? Can yelling at me make costumes appear?!â
âFuck your mom! I didnât even do anything! What are you yelling at me for?!â
Bei Ze glared angrily, his eyes seemed to be filled with frosty ice.
âHey Drama Club, you guys are up next!â Someone called out from afar.
Lin Yin took a deep breath. âIâll go tell the teacher weâre cancelling our programme. All of youâŚâ
âCanât we find another way?â Some people were unwilling to give up. After all, they had invested so much into this performance; were they going to give it up, just like that?
Lin Yinâs eyes were red as she shook her head at them. Even if they wanted to rent outfits, it was already too late.
In the end, the school celebration programme could only be called off. Though Ji Xiaoyu was the main culprit, with Bei Ze protecting her, no one in the Drama Club dared to cause trouble for her. Quite a few people had also quit the club.
After all, if they couldnât afford to provoke her, they could still hide, couldnât they?
Ji Xiaoyu was even more ostracised than before. Stuff like her bag disappearing and people giving her the wrong time schedule for events became common.
âŚâŚ
âJi Xiaoyu, thereâs someone looking for you at the gates.â The student who had come over to deliver the message wore an expression of contempt. âDonât know where this upstart came from.â
Ji Xiaoyu didnât really understand. She lowered her head as she passed by but that student suddenly stretched out a leg to trip her up, then laughed and walked off after seeing her fall onto the ground.
She glared angrily at the direction the student left. In the end she picked herself up and, with a dark expression, headed towards the school gates.
From far away, she saw someone standing by the school gates. Wearing a suit, a golden watch, and a gold chain as thick as a thumb around his neck. The man looked very strange, as if he were a worker who stole his bossâs suit.
âXiaoyu,â the man waved at her. Ji Xiaoyu had still been a bit uncertain before but with his call, she knew without a doubt that this person was her father.
Ji Xiaoyu ran out and dragged him to the side. âWhy are you here? And why are you dressed up like this?â
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âNo wonder that person called him an upstart. He looks like some nouveau riche1Â so to them I guess heâs like one?â
âIâve got money now!â Papa Ji was very excited. âLook, your dadâs a rich person now! From now on, I wonât have to neglect you because of work! Xiaoyu, what do you want to buy? Dad will go and buy it!â
âWhere did you get so much money?â Ji Xiaoyuâs first reaction was to frown.
âWould I not know what kind of person my dad is? For the sake of his career he could even miss his wifeâs death. He only found out 2 days after mom was gone.â
It was also from then that Ji Xiaoyu and her fatherâs relationship had soured. She had always felt that her father had been the cause of her motherâs death.