As Lu Zhi and Xia Lan stepped into the school hallway, their footsteps echoed faintly against the polished floor. The two walked side by side, chatting casually on their way to class.
When they entered the classroom and took their seats, the door slid open again.
A tall, elegant girl walked in, her presence instantly drawing attention.
The class fell into a hush, followed by a ripple of excited whispers.
"Wait... isn't that Shen Li? Didn't she transfer abroad?"
"She's back? I thought she was living in Europe."
"I heard her parents are returning to the country too."
"Her family's insanely rich, right? Her dad's some big-shot tycoon, and her mom's an award-winning designer."
"Don't forget her three older brothers—each one more amazing than the last. Top of their fields, every one of them."
"Ugh, she really lives like a princess... I'm so jealous."
Xia Lan listened quietly, her eyes following the girl as she moved gracefully toward her seat. Shen Li didn't seem fazed by the attention—she simply offered a polite nod to the teacher and sat down with practiced poise.
Lu Zhi leaned over and whispered, "Shen Li's like... the definition of perfect. I remember when she was here before—super smart, crazy good at piano, and never even bragged about it."
Xia Lan didn't respond right away.
Instead, she watched Shen Li closely.
There was something... different behind those calm eyes.
Like she wasn't here just to study.
Xia Lan was about to turn away when she noticed something odd.
Shen Li was staring at her.
Not just a glance—a sharp, lingering stare, laced with something unmistakable.
Jealousy.
Xia Lan's brows knit slightly in confusion.
That look... I've seen it before, she thought. It's how people look when they want what you have. But... why?
She held Shen Li's gaze for a moment longer before turning back in her seat, pretending not to notice.
I don't even know her, Xia Lan thought, puzzled. We've never spoken. Why would she look at me like that?
The feeling lingered.
And Xia Lan, trained by experience, didn't dismiss things like that easily.
Something was off.
Meanwhile, at the local police station...
Officer Hua sat across from Lawyer Mei, a seasoned legal expert with sharp eyes and a reputation for digging deep.
He slid a stack of documents across the table.
"Check these for me. The house—transfer it to Xia Lan's name. It rightfully belongs to her."
Lawyer Mei flipped through the paperwork, her gaze narrowing as she scanned the property deed and adoption records. Her fingers froze midway, and her brows furrowed.
"Hua-ge…" she said, her voice low. "Whose property did you say this was?"
Hua leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.
"The house belonged to a girl. Her parents left it to her. Her aunt took control of it after the parents passed."
Mei frowned deeper. She opened her laptop, began typing rapidly, and cross-referenced the property records with national archives. After a moment, she looked up.
"That's not what the real records say."
Hua's face darkened. "What do you mean?"
"This property doesn't belong to any Chinese citizen," Mei said slowly. "It's owned by someone named James Cartwright. A foreign investor. He transferred it to Xia Lan's name years ago—right around the time her aunt officially adopted her."
"Adopted?" Hua echoed, frowning. "That's not what our case file says. It states that Xia Lan's parents died in a car accident when she was two, and she was placed with her aunt afterward. No mention of formal adoption. No orphanage either."
Mei sat back, her expression serious.
"Then something's wrong. The system lists her as having been adopted from an international orphanage. That's how the foreign transfer was justified."
The room fell into a heavy silence.
Hua's jaw tightened. "Someone's lying."
Mei nodded. "Or hiding something very big."
Officer Hua's boots echoed sharply against the concrete floor as he made his way toward the detention area. The air grew colder, heavier, with each step.
He stopped in front of the barred cell where Xia Lan's aunt sat, pale and visibly tense.
She looked up, startled, as Officer Hua's shadow loomed over her.
He folded his arms, his voice calm but cutting.
"Who is Xia Lan's real family?" he asked. "And why did you adopt her?"
Her eyes widened. Cold sweat broke across her forehead.
"W-what… what do you mean by that?" she stammered, voice trembling. "She's… she's my sister's daughter, of course!"
Officer Hua narrowed his gaze.
"You sure?"
Her face twitched. "Yes! I—I raised her since she was two. I've always been her guardian."
He watched her carefully, his silence more intimidating than any shout.
Then, quietly, he said, "Don't worry. We'll find out the truth soon enough."
With that, he turned on his heel and began walking away, his back straight, his pace slow but certain.
Behind him, panic set in.
"I'm telling the truth!" the woman cried out, her voice echoing down the corridor. "You have to believe me!"
But Officer Hua didn't respond.
He had already seen enough to know she was lying.
Xia Lan sat at her desk, chin propped on her hand as the teacher droned on at the front of the class. Her eyes were on the board, but her mind was far away.
Why is she explaining these basic-level problems like it's rocket science... Ugh.
She barely held back a sigh.
The bell finally rang, marking the end of class. The teacher clapped her hands to get the class's attention before they could bolt.
"Alright, class, one last announcement! The monthly exams will begin next week, so be sure to study hard!"
Groans echoed across the room.
As the teacher left, the tension in the classroom thickened. Conversations shifted from gossip to complaints about revision and last-minute cramming.
Lu Zhi leaned in, whispering to Xia Lan, who looked like she was seconds away from falling asleep on her desk.
"Hey, Xia Lan… did you really mean what you said this morning?"
Xia Lan blinked and turned to her, confused. "You mean the part about being tired of being scared?"
Lu Zhi shook her head. "No, I mean what you said about reporting your aunt."
Xia Lan shrugged with a nonchalant expression. "Yeah. I thought about what you always told me… and I realized you were right. So I reported her."
Lu Zhi stared at her for a moment, then suddenly beamed with a grin that lit up her whole face. She clapped her hands softly.
"See? I told you! If you hadn't always stopped me from calling the cops myself, that woman would've been behind bars years ago. Hmph!"
Xia Lan chuckled quietly.
In this life… she had allies from the start.