The last class before lunch was dragging on forever. In the back row, Shen Yelan's chin rested on her palm, her eyelids growing heavier with each passing second.
Suddenly, the door of the classroom burst open, and a boy entered, panting hard.
"Brother Yang is again fighting with Ma Xin," He had just said this when some students ran out of the class, including the girl who sat in front of her. A few others followed just to enjoy the show.
The teacher standing at the front of the class stared at their disappearing backs and sighed, but didn't try to stop them. It was quite clear this was a common occurrence here. Lucky for her, the bell rang right then, signaling the end of class. At least she didn't have to teach to an empty room.
Shen Yelan had a thoughtful look on her face while she saw all of this.
The surname Yang was rather common. But after meeting Yang Yifan here, she still could not help but be curious. In her mind, the image of a little boy appeared who would always follow her around, calling her little aunt. Now that she thought about it, he should be the same age as the 'her' now.
Intrigued, Shen Yelan followed along with the other students to the football ground. A large crowd was already gathered there, circling someone. Every few seconds, the crowd would erupt in excited shouts and gasps.
From where she stood, Shen Yelan could not see anything that was happening inside.
Shen Yelan joined the crowd and easily pushed forward. When she arrived at the front, she saw two boys locked in a physical fight. The crowd around was divided into two groups, each cheering for one of the boys. There were a few, though, who were simply here for the show and did not seem to care who would win.
Staring at one of the figures involved, the corner of Shen Yelan's eye twitched. Sure enough, it was him.
Yang Guiye. Yang Yifan's grandson.
In ten years, he had grown quite a lot and looked no longer like the little boy with messy hair and an oversized superhero cape, trailing after her everywhere, saying he was protecting her.
He was now tall, with dark, messy hair that fell over his forehead. His lips were curved into this cocky smirk, and there was blood smeared at the corner of his mouth.
There was no teacher to stop them, and based on what she'd seen of this school so far, she seriously doubted any would even bother showing up. She was beginning to wonder if this was actually a high school or some kind of camp for delinquents.
The fight did not last long before the other boy was knocked out cold by Yang Guiye. Yang Guiye looked down at him, scoffed, and delivered one last kick to his side before turning to walk away. The crowd immediately parted to clear a path for him. The short-haired girl who'd been sitting in front of Shen Yelan in class ran up to him along with two other boys, and they left together.
The crowd began to disperse now that the entertainment was over. A few students stayed behind to help the boy who was still lying unconscious.
Shen Yelan stood there for another moment before she turned and left.
.
.
The rest of the school went by in a blur. There was no one from the Shen family waiting to pick her up. Not that she expected anyone to show up.
She got into the same taxi from the morning and was greeted by Zhao Zhan.
"Go to Emerald Lake Residences." She told him.
She pulled out her phone and started searching for information about No. 17 High School.
What came up didn't surprise her at all. The school was basically famous for being a dumping ground for problematic students, which earned it the name of a school for troublemakers. The students had a reputation for constant fights, skipping class, vandalism, and breaking every rule in the book.
A couple of years ago, the situation was so bad that no principal or teacher lasted there for more than a year. It was only after the current principal, Yang Yifan, took his position five years ago that things had calmed down a little. But petty fights inside the school ground still happened occasionally, just like today. Because of this, the other schools always avoided them, and even parents used them as an example to warn their children.
Shen Yelan wanted to find out why Yang Yifan came to this school, but she did not dare to dig into him. She knew the second she started poking around in his business, an alarm would be raised notifying him and the rest. She could easily bypass the alarm, but it would leave traces of her, which, if someone might recognize as her style.
She was not ready to reveal her existence to them right now. Heck, she was not sure if she was ever ready to reveal herself to them. Li Mei was dead.
She put her phone away and looked out of the window.
The taxi drove to the outskirts of the city before it entered a secluded neighbourhood. It was stopped at the checkpost, and a guard stepped up to the driver's side window. The words "Emerald Lake Residences" were embroidered on his uniform pocket.
Zhao Zhan rolled down his window, and when the guard saw him, he immeditly gave him a salute and allowed the taxi to enter.
The Emerald Lake Residences was located on a hill and was one of the most prestigious and secure neighborhoods in South City. To own land here, you didn't only need money but significant influence, and even then, you might not be able to buy it. Nobody really knew who owned the place or what the actual criteria were for purchasing land here.
There were rumors, of course. Some said it was owned by a powerful family with connections to the government. Others claimed it was foreign investors. Whatever the truth was, one thing was certain: if you lived in Emerald Lake Residences, you were someone important.
The taxi wound its way up the hill, passing several beautiful villas. They drove until they reached the very top and stopped before the iron gates with the number 01 engraved on them.
.
.
Across the street, in the villa directly opposite, a man stood at a second-floor window.
Huo Ziyan had his phone pressed to his ear, but he wasn't paying attention to the voice on the other end. His eyes were fixed on the girl in a school uniform who had gotten out of the taxi and was greeted by an older woman, before they disappeared inside the villa.
"Ziyan? Are you even listening to me?"
"Yes, Mom, I am listening. And as I said earlier, I've already increased the offer. But she says she's busy. I can't force her to accept."
"This useless son of mine. I knew everyone was exaggerating while praising you, saying how capable you were. You can't even fulfil my one wish." Cao Jiayi sobbed at the end.
Huo Ziyan pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. "Mom, I will contact her again."
"Don't just contact her. Get her to agree. I don't care how much you have to pay her. I want Siren to sing the theme song for my movie. I won't accept anyone else!"
"I know, Mom. I know." He walked away from the window and sat down on the couch, resigned to this taking a while.
He spent another few minutes trying to reason with his mother. In the end, he just gave up and promised her that he would get Siren to agree.
"I'll hold you to that," his mother said before finally hanging up.
Then, he called his secretary.
"Contact Siren again and double the offer."
"But Boss, we're already offering her significantly more than any current popular singer would charge."
"Just do what I say,"
"Yes, Boss. I'll send the new offer right away."
Huo Ziyan ended the call and tossed his phone onto the couch cushion beside him, and leaned back, staring at the ceiling. Then his gaze drifted back to the window, toward the villa across the street. Something flickered in his eyes as he thought back to the girl he had met a while ago in that village.
A moment later, turned away from the window and focused on the files before him instead.