I expertly selected the books I needed—Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Math... One by one, a small hill of books quickly piled up by my feet.

Just as I was buried in picking out an English vocabulary manual, my phone vibrated.

Taking it out, I saw a WeChat message from my high school deskmate, a girl named Lin Feifei. She had gotten into the same university as me, though in a different department.

"Nina, are you okay? I heard... you withdrew?"

A second message followed immediately.

"The school forum is exploding; everyone is talking about the welcome gala. Seth has been acting like a soul-less ghost for days, and Sonia’s group is everywhere saying you were making a fuss out of nothing, that you couldn't take a joke and intentionally blew things out of proportion to ruin Seth’s reputation. Don't listen to their ghost talk; a lot of us students support you and think Seth went way too far!"

Seeing the message from Lin Feifei, a trace of warmth flowed through my heart.

But regarding Seth and Sonia, whom she mentioned, my heart was already devoid of ripples.

Their world, their struggles, and their justifications were, to me, stories from another dimension—noisy and remote.

I didn't want to participate, and I didn't care to pay attention.

My battlefield was the books in front of me; my goal was the exam next June.

I replied to Lin Feifei: "I’m fine, don't worry. I’m preparing to repeat a year and am currently buying materials at the bookstore. Let's not chat for now; wish you a pleasant university life."

After sending the message, I didn't wait for her reply, turned my phone to silent mode, and put it back in my pocket.

I picked up the heavy pile of books and headed to the checkout.

Paid and packed. The bag was stuffed full, the straps digging into my shoulders, a solid weight.

Walking out of the bookstore, the afternoon sun was warm but not blinding. Carrying a bag full of hope and the future, I stood on the busy street and took a deep breath.

The air was filled with mundane clamor—car horns, pedestrians talking and laughing, the distant broadcast from a shopping mall...

Everything was so real. I was no longer the little girl living in an ivory tower, spinning around a single person.

My name is Nina, eighteen years old, a glorious "Senior Four" repeater.

My new life, starting from today, starting from here, officially begins.

10

After my father threw Seth out like trash, the world didn't immediately find peace.

Our two families lived in different units of the same old complex, with a straight-line distance of no more than a hundred meters. This "fate" that was once praised by the neighbors had now become the greatest awkwardness and trouble.

Chapter 2

Seth did not leave immediately. He lingered downstairs at our building, hoping for a one-in-a-million chance that I might soften my heart. I pulled the curtains shut; out of sight, out of mind. After a while, he likely received a call from his father, Mr. Miller, and slunk away home in disgrace.

A much larger domestic storm was unfolding at the Miller residence. "You still have the nerve to come back? What did I tell you to do? I told you to go and convince Nina to come back, and what did you do? You knelt down, and she didn't even want to spare you a second glance! You’ve thrown away our family’s reputation right at the doorstep of the Xu family!" Mr. Miller’s roar nearly penetrated the thick security door of their home.

The moment Seth stepped inside, he was met with his father’s monstrous rage. Mrs. Miller tried to step forward to shield her son but was forced back by a single glare from Mr. Miller.

"Dad, I knelt, I begged, but she wouldn't listen! Her parents chased me out too, what else could I do?" Seth clutched his still-swollen face, feeling both aggrieved and terrified. "She’s dead set on going against me, on watching me suffer!"

"She’s going against you?" Mr. Miller was so infuriated by this unrepentant remark that he started to laugh, his laughter filled with disappointment and sorrow. "Even now, you still think others are making things difficult for you? Seth, look up and look at yourself! You’ve done such a scumbag thing, trampling on someone else’s dignity, and you expect them to forgive you in a few words? Who do you think you are? Does the whole world have to revolve around you?"

Mrs. Miller chimed in softly from the side: "Old Miller, don't talk to our son like that. He was just momentarily confused, bewitched by that little vixen Sonia..."

"Shut your mouth!" Mr. Miller turned on her fiercely, his eyes sharp. "It’s you! You’re the one who’s indulged him like this since he was a child! Every time he makes a mistake, you’re always there to make excuses for him, always claiming it’s someone else’s fault! That’s why he’s grown up to be this selfish, ungrateful creature! He didn't just ruin a strand of Nina’s hair; he destroyed the decades of friendship between our two families, and he’s ruined my old face!"

Mr. Miller grew more agitated as he spoke. He walked to the window, pointing in the direction of our home not far away, his voice trembling: "Do you know who Nina’s father, Xu Zhiqiang, is? He is the most skilled master technician in our factory! Last month, that massive order from the south—a job worth hundreds of thousands—when the machines broke down, no one in the entire factory could fix it. Who worked two sleepless nights to get it running again? It was him! Without him, our little factory would have been bankrupt ages ago! I’ve been calling him brother for years, partly out of friendship, but partly because we rely on him! And you? You did the opposite. You stepped on his most precious treasure and humiliated her! How can I face him from now on? How can I even hold my head up in the factory?"

These words hit Seth and Mrs. Miller like a bucket of ice water.

They had only thought about their son’s future and maintaining face in the neighborhood, never once considering the very real practical interests tied to this.

Seth was completely dumbfounded. He had always believed that our two families' relationship was one where his family carried ours, that he was high above and I was dependent on him. It never crossed his mind that his father’s business relied so heavily on mine.

"Dad... I... I didn't know it would be like this..." His voice finally carried genuine fear.

"There's a lot you don't know!" Mr. Miller pointed at him, issuing his final ultimatum. "I don't care what method you use—go find Sonia, go to the school and find the teachers—do whatever it takes to make Nina withdraw her application to leave and return to school! If you can't resolve this, don't even think about continuing your own education. Get out of this house! The Miller family doesn't need a useless coward like you who won't take responsibility!"

With that, Mr. Miller slammed the door to his study, leaving the massive panic and the insurmountable problem to the mother and son who were now collapsed on the floor.

Mrs. Miller held her son, sobbing uncontrollably: "Son, what should we do now... your father is really angry this time... why don't... why don't I go and beg your Auntie Xu? I’ll go kneel to her..."

Seth sat blankly on the floor, his eyes hollow. He knew that begging anyone now was useless. Nina’s calmness, Uncle Xu’s rage, and his own father’s words were all like towering mountains, leaving him unable to breathe.

For the first time, he realized that Nina—the girl he had always viewed as an accessory, someone he could easily manipulate—could trigger such a terrifying avalanche the moment she decided to leave, enough to completely bury him and the world he had assumed was his.

He picked up his phone, his hands trembling, and found Sonia’s WeChat.

"Sonia, something happened. Nina has withdrawn from school, and my dad is going to kick me out of the house. You have to help me..."

The message was sent, and it was a long time before she replied with a cold, icy sentence.

"What do your family problems have to do with me? How boring."

Followed by a bright red exclamation mark. She had blocked him.

11

While my home was busy with preparations for my repeat year, and the Miller household was in chaos over my withdrawal, I welcomed my first day as a "Senior Four" repeater.

My father used some old connections to successfully get me into the repeat class at my alma mater. This class was specifically set up for students who had failed the college entrance exam but were determined to get into a good university. The management was extremely strict, and the learning atmosphere was dense to the point of being oppressive.