We jogged to the cafeteria, Zeng Xin weaving through students like a slippery eel.

Her face was flushed, slightly out of breath.

I pulled out my meal card: “Here.”

“I won’t hold back then.”

A cafeteria meal cost six yuan, more than enough to fill us up.
As Zeng Xin swiped my card, we both gasped at the balance.
Zeng Xin shouted, “Holy crap!” and my jaw dropped.

The maid had loaded the card with 100,000 yuan!

The crowd around us was equally shocked: “My God, a 100,000-yuan balance!”

They eyed me, the “rich heiress.”
My hands trembled as I tucked the shiny new card into my shirt pocket, unable to look at it anymore.

Most students had balances of a few dozen or hundred yuan.
This was 100,000—my legs wobbled.
What if I lost it?

“Your brother’s that good to you?”

“Can you come back to eat after graduation?”

We asked at the same time, then laughed.
Zeng Xin patted my shoulder: “Rich lady Ye, you can use this card at the school store. If you lose it, tell a teacher right away.”

We grabbed trays, picking dishes that looked decent.
Zeng Xin warned me about ones to avoid next time.

I laughed and cried inside—edible and filling was enough for me.

Sitting with our trays, Zeng Xin pointed to her plate: “Want anything from mine, just take it.”

She nabbed a rib from my plate.
I reached for hers, grabbing a vegetable and popping it in my mouth: “Tasty.”

This was school life—kind of fun, and I’d made a friend.

As we ate, a group of boys sat at our table.

I glanced over—they looked sleazy, grinning at me with toothy smirks.

Chen Ming flashed a smile he thought was charming: “You’re Ye Zhixia, right?”

I nodded politely: “Hello.”

“Got a boyfriend?”

I pursed my lips: “No, school doesn’t allow dating.”

The boys snickered.
Chen Ming rested his hand on my wrist: “Now you do.”

I yanked my hand back: “I’m not dating.”

He smirked, amused: “I like good girls. Add me as a friend, give me your number, and we’ll catch a movie later.”

His words sent chills down my spine.
I scooted toward Zeng Xin: “I don’t have a phone.”

Chen Ming raised a brow, sneering: “Don’t believe you. Let me search you—if I find one, you’re my girlfriend. If not, I’ll buy you one.”

His grimy hand reached for my waist.
Panicked, I hugged myself, shrinking back, accidentally pushing Zeng Xin aside.

Chen Ming kept closing in, his sour stench hitting me.
His leering face, nose hair sticking out, and greasy, unwashed hair gleaming, was filthier than I’d ever been.

Goosebumps covered me: “Get lost!”

His face darkened, wiping the oily sheen off it.
At first, he held his temper, but feeling humiliated, he grew angrier, roaring: “I gave you a chance, and you don’t take it?!”

I flinched, trembling, face pale, tears streaming, chest aching faintly.

What now? Was he going to hit me?

Chen Ming spat: “Crying for what? You yelled at me, and I’m not crying!”

“Little fairy!”

Gao Yang, He Zhi, and their group approached—familiar faces from those who planned to shelter me, plus some I didn’t know.
Fresh from PE, sweaty and muscular, they looked imposing.

Liu Yu, hands behind his head, strolled with Yu Hao and other classmates, saying lazily: “Senior, bullying my deskmate in broad daylight? Pretty bold.”

Chen Ming’s face soured, standing quickly.
The two groups surrounded our table.
Zeng Xin, using all her strength, pulled me up, quietly leading me behind our classmates, out of the crowd.

She stroked my hair, soothing: “Zhixia, it’s okay. You’re safe now.”

I calmed slightly, taking a deep breath.
Watching the group about to fight, I recalled the pain of injury and worried: “We should stop them.”

“Someone will get a teacher,” Zeng Xin said, guiding me to a table of girls.
“That guy’s Chen Ming. He’s always forming cliques, saying he can get people into the Greedy Wolf Gang.”

Greedy Wolf? Wolf?
I wiped my tears, the wolf’s image flashing in my mind.
Could it be that coincidental?

A girl behind me chimed in: “I heard the Greedy Wolf Gang’s taking over all the city’s gangs.”

I swallowed hard.
That powerful?

“Stop slacking and eat!”

Several instructors burst in.
Both groups glanced at me, then silently dispersed.

Zeng Xin, seeing it was over, took my hand: “Zhixia, let’s go.”

“Zhixia?”
A girl at the table looked at me, blinking: “Wait, you’re not Little Pitiful, are you?”

I turned, delighted: “Sister Chen Wei!”