The evening passed peacefully with Su Meili going to the library to buy school supplies and ironing her uniforms for the week, as school was starting the next day.
The next morning, Su Meili straightened crisp white shirt and pleated skirt, and looked at herself in the dorm's mirror.
Gone were the heavy layers of punk makeup. Only the red hair, cut into a sharp wolf cut, remained, bold against her porcelain skin. A bit unaccustomed by her bare face, she put a line of eyeliner before felling at ease. Without the her face paint, her features stood out more clearly: large, dark eyes framed by thick lashes, a small straight nose, and pouting cherry lips.
She examined herself a little more and was finally satisfied after putting on her socks and chunky platform leather ballerinas. "That's not too bad" she muttered, slinging her backpack over one shoulder and heading to the door.
Lin Qian, who had been watching her from the corner of her eye, finally spoke. "You look… really nice."
Su Meili turned, raising an eyebrow. "You think so?"
Lin Qian flushed. "Yes, you look pretty. The uniform suits you well."
"Thank you. I'm heading out."
Lin Qian hesitated, then blurted, "Do you… want to walk together?"
Su Meili paused, studying her roommate's nervous expression. Lin Qian's fingers twisted around the strap of her bag, her round glasses reflecting the morning light. There was no malice in her eyes, only curiosity and a tentative offer of companionship.
"Sure," Su Meili said, her voice neutral.
Lin Qian's face brightened, and she hurried to catch up as Su Meili strode out of the room.
The school courtyard buzzed with activity. Students clustered in groups, their laughter and chatter filling the air. Su Meili ignored the stares and whispers that followed her as she walked. She was used to being the center of attention.
"...Look! This is the delinquant girl from last year, who was lectured for fighting with Su Wanrou. Do you remember her?""No way. You know that trash always has her ghost makeup on.""I'm telling you that it is her. I saw her in the teachers' office a few days ago. I was quite surprised when I heard it was her. ""Are you saying the truth? I would never have recognized her. She looks totally different."
"Right."
Su Meili ignored the whispers, and walked calmy to her classroom.
The students already seated turned to stare at her and , their eyes flicking between Su Meili's red wolfcut and her face.
Su Meili took a seat at the back, by the window. She leaned her chin on her hand, staring outside when someone shouted her name.
"Meili!"
A familiar voice called her name. She turned and smiled faintly.Qiu Yan, her old partner in mischief, waved from the door, dragging two others behind her — Fu Tao and Yang Qiqi. All of them had bright colored haired and a very punk aesthetic.
"It's really you! I saw you outside, and told Tao that it may be you but he wouldn't believe me." Qui Yan grinned, plopping down beside her. "But it's true that you look a little different. If I hadn't see you without your makeup before, you would've fooled me as well."Qiqi added with a smile "No wonder everyone's staring. You look quite pretty like that. I like your new style."
Su Meili shrugged. "Thank you. I wanted to change my style little bit."
Their laughter broke the tension — until the door slammed open.
Their principal teacher entered — a young woman in her late twenties, with sharp eyes. Her nameplate read Ms. Wen.
"Everyone, quiet down," she said, dropping a stack of files on the desk. "This is Class 3-B. You are not here to waste time. This is your final year before the university entrance exams. You will have to make efforts and study seriously from now on."
Her gaze swept over the room, and stopped briefly on the students at the back. She then proceeded to start the class. Su Meili took notes methodically, her focus unwavering.
She didn't have the goal to become a top scorer, but she will need to go to a good college if she wanted to have a well paid job. So she had to put some work into her studies, even if it might not be very fruitful considering her more than feeble academical level. This made her think of the imposter, Meili, who came to the top of the honor class in less than a year and achieved the highest score in the town at the college entrance exam, crushing everyone and becoming a genius in people's eyes.
Su Meili's jaw tightened. She didn't need to be a genius. She just needed to survive and carve out a future for herself. Moreover, that imposter achieved this after having already finished high school in her original world. Unbeknownst to everyone, it actually was her second time taking the college entrance exam, so there was no use comparing herself to someone with such a huge cheat code.
During the break, Su Meili found herself surrounded by her old friend group. They were a motley crew of lost kids, each trying to attract their parents' attention in their own way. Few really were bad children, and she didn't mind keeping contact with them.
As they tallked, the other students couldn't resist observing them curiously, their eyes lingering on her.
Zhao Yiran, seated near the front, felt jealousy twist her chest. She had always been the center of attention in this classroom as she came from an important family and was among the top 5 of the class in terms of scores. She should be the one everyone admired. But now, all eyes were on this trash Su Meili, just of her face.
When a few curious classmates came to her, asking, "I remember Su Meili is your cousin, right?" Yiran's voice cliked her tongue and said:
"Cousin? Oh no, she's not a Zhao at all. It is just that her mother married into the family, after my aunt passed away, and she brought Su Meili with her. We don't have any ties to her and I would prefer if we were not associated with her delinquent's habits. I'm sorry to say but someone who smokes, skips class, even—"She lowered her voice dramatically, pretending to look embarrassed. "Well, let's just say our family is not close with her."
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"Even what? What more could she possibly do?"
"Yiran, you have to let us know. After all, we're in the same class, and we can't let her corrupt the rest of us."
Yiran smiled behind her hand, while pretenting to have nothing more to add to the subject, but after a while, she sighed and added:
"I didn't want to say it to protect her reputation, but it would be great if you could also help me persuade her. It's been days since she hasn't slept at my uncle's house, and she's not with her father either. We have no idea where she spends her nights. It could be really dangerous if she continues. So, please try to convince her to go back home with me."
A girl with a high ponytail, always running behind Zhao Yiran, exclaimed:
"Are you kidding me? Why would a girl from a good family sleep outside of her house? She is definitely up to no good."
She talked so loudly that she was heard by the whole class, that was now buzzed with whispers.
A boy from the front cleared his throat awkwardly and asked. "Uh… Su Meili, is it true you don't live with your family anymore?"
The room fell silent.
Su Meili blinked once, then slowly smiled as she turned her head to meet Zhao Yiran's eyes.
Yiran pretended to look surprised. "Cousin, please don't misunderstand. Everyone was just worried about you."
"Worried?" Su Meili echoed softly, walking toward her desk. "That's funny, because the last time you were worried about me, I ended up getting beaten."
Zhao Yiran's smile faltered. "It was because what you did was so ridiculous.."
"But since you brought it up," Su Meili interrupted, standing up to address the whole class. "Yes, I don't live there anymore, and if you weren't so dirty minded, and was actually worried about me, you would have known that I live in the dormitary of the school, where no one can bully me anymore, or make up false stories about me in order to ruin my reputation. "
A few students exchanged awkward looks.
"Also," Su Meili added, tilting her head with a faint smile, "you might want to check your facts before spreading rumors. This kind of behavior is called defamation and I will report it to the teacher so you kwonw better nest time."
Her calm tone made the words even sharper.
Zhao Yiran's expression stiffened, her hand clenching on her skirt."It's not that serious. Why are you exaggerating like that? I just didn't know, as you didn't say it to the family."
"When you don't know something, you shut up. Weren't you taugh that in your so very distinguished family?"
The room burst into low chuckles.
Ms. Wen, who had just entered the classroom again, raised an eyebrow at the noise and said curtly, "If you have time to laugh, you have time to revise your physics notes."
Everyone immediately scattered back to their seats.
Su Meili sat down calmly, flipping open her notebook, her face serene.
Qiu Yan leaned in and whispered: "Damn, you burned her alive."
Su Meili smiled faintly, eyes still on her notes. "She should have known better than to play with fire."
At the end of classes, she went out of the school building with numerous stares accompanying her as usual. She adjusted her backpack and started walking toward the bus stop, her steps calm, deliberate.
Behind her, Zhao Haoran exited the building as well. For a fleeting second, their eyes met. She looked away almost immediately and simply brushed past him, her gaze fixed ahead, her expression as still as a mirror, leaving him behind with an unreadable expression.
Not far from there, across the street, a sleek black car with tinted windows idled in the shade of a tree. The kind of man whose every gesture seemed measured, deliberate. Yet at this moment, his composure was fractured and his sharp and dark eyes were fixed on a girl, with a deep frown in his eyebrows.
The girl walking down the sidewalk had red hair and piercings, her expression cool. She looked completely different from what he remembered but he would never mistake her face. It was her.
His frown deepened. Something was off. She should look pure and soft, with long black hair and innocent eyes, and not like a wild delinquent.
He hesitated a moment before ordering the driver to start the car and follow her from a distance.