After Ruoxi and Qiao An officially got together, my life should have returned to peace.
But it didn't.
Because of Gao Yi.
Ever since he labeled Ruoxi and me as gold diggers, he had treated me like an eyesore. No matter where I went, his cold, sharp gaze seemed to follow me, filled with undisguised disgust.
I couldn't understand it.
I never took the initiative to approach him, never tried to get close to his wealth, and never even spoke more than a few words to him.
Yet he targeted me the most.
During lunch break, Ruoxi dragged me to the cafeteria to meet Qiao An. As soon as we sat down, Gao Yi appeared right beside his friend. His eyes swept over me, cold and sharp.
"Qiao An, let's go," he said in a low voice, ignoring everyone else at the table. "Some people here are annoying."
Everyone knew who he was talking about.
My fingers tightened slightly around my fork. Ruoxi's face turned angry, but I held her hand under the table and shook my head slightly.
There was no need to argue with someone blinded by prejudice.
Qiao An smiled awkwardly and tried to smooth things over. "Yi, don't be like that. Ruoxi is my girlfriend, and Rose is her best friend."
Gao Yi just frowned and didn't back down. "I don't like them."
Those three words were like ice, stabbing directly at me.
I stood up, my expression calm. "Let's go, Ruoxi. We won't disturb them."
I turned and left, my back straight and proud. I would never beg for the approval of someone who looked down on me.
But as I walked away, I didn't see the complicated flash of emotion in Gao Yi's eyes.
He watched my back disappear at the cafeteria door, his jaw tightening unconsciously.
He told himself that I was just a scheming girl trying to climb the social ladder. That I was not worth his attention.
But he couldn't look away.
Unlike other girls who screamed or blushed when they saw him, I was always calm, quiet, and full of invisible pride. When I played the piano in the music room, my eyes were focused and gentle, completely different from the greedy girls he hated.
Gao Yi hated this strange feeling.
So he chose to use coldness and hostility to cover up his confusion.
The days passed one by one.
Gao Yi continued to make things difficult for me.
He would take the seat I usually sat in during class. He would accidentally block my way in the hallway. He would even ask the teacher difficult questions right after I answered, as if trying to embarrass me.
But I never lost my temper.
Born to a strategist father, I learned to stay calm and observe early on. I knew that Gao Yi's hostility was just his shallow misunderstanding.
One afternoon, I stayed alone in the music room practicing the piano. The beautiful melody flowed from my fingertips, filling the entire room.
I was so focused that I didn't notice someone standing at the door.
Gao Yi stood there silently, his cold eyes softening for the first time. He watched me play the piano, my profile quiet and elegant, like a real rose blooming quietly.
His heart skipped a beat.
He quickly looked away, his face turning cold again.
It was just an illusion.
I was still the gold digger he hated.
But deep in his heart, a tiny seed had quietly fallen into the soil—unknowingly, slowly beginning to grow.
At that moment, neither of us knew.
This ridiculous misunderstanding, this unreasonable hostility, and this unexpected heartbeat would eventually turn into the most intense love in his life.
And soon, a new storm would come to St. Valorian Academy.
Gao Yi's cousin—who had been raised to believe she would marry him—was about to arrive.
And I would become her first target.