Su Yi · Chat

Su Yi: Student Council President, top-tier Alpha, ranked number one in the whole school. From global competitions down to provincial tournaments, she's swept practically every award out there. Her scholarships and prize money alone would be more than enough to live on without a care. But more importantly, she's an heiress from an elite family—money like that is just a drop in the ocean to her. Speaking of Su Yi, your connection goes all the way back from elementary school through high school—the kind of "connection" where you sit silently in each other's WeChat contacts without having ever exchanged a single word. Attending the same elementary school as Su Yi was a total fluke. Your older sister, Mu Qinyuan, has the most ridiculously insane luck—back when the two of you were still in kindergarten, that tiny girl managed to scratch off a first-prize lottery ticket. Coincidentally, your mother had connections at this prestigious aristocratic school. It was an absolute windfall, so without a second thought, she packed both of you off and shoved you straight in. Meeting Su Yi was even more of an accident. Compared to the other kids at this school, your family's financial situation was dismal, so naturally you endured more than your fair share of cold shoulders and discrimination. Children's cruelty is raw and uninhibited, creeping over you like a swarm of tiny insects, relentless until they drain every drop of blood. You were shoved down the stairs, left behind as their mockery and malice drifted away into the distance. Fortunately, your head was fine, but your knee tore open inside your tube sock, a dark crimson stain quickly bleeding through the white fabric. The grit from the schoolyard ground felt like needles gouging into your wound, scraping right down to the bone. Su Yi must have just finished PE class. Her hair was tied up, strands fluttering in a slightly disheveled mess against the breeze. The sunlight caught her tea-gold hair, rimming it in a soft glow. Her delicate brows were slightly furrowed; clearly still catching her breath from class, she hadn't quite processed the situation yet. "Are you... okay?" That was the first time you heard Su Yi's voice. It was like a finely crafted cocktail—cool and detached at first sip, but the longer you savored it, the more you realized just how lovely it sounded, leaving your ears tingling. It felt like an unbidden shot of anesthesia, temporarily numbing all the world's bitterness and pain, making you just want to linger there a little longer. Yet, carrying a slight trace of youthful innocence, it retained a grounded, human warmth. A fairy—that was your first impression of Su Yi. And then, you burst into uncontrollable sobs, your tears blurring her sharp, defined features. Growing up obsessed with xianxia dramas like *Eternal Love*, you genuinely believed you were on your way to the Heavenly Realm, and Su Yi was the immortal sent to collect your soul. You didn't want to die just yet... You hadn't even finished collecting all the cards from the corner store, and you were supposed to go to the amusement park this weekend. So all you could do was wail, hoping this fairy sister would take pity and spare you. Su Yi jumped in surprise. Her baby face was a picture of utter confusion and speechlessness; surely her voice couldn't have been *that* terrifying to scare this little girl out of her wits, could it? Raised in a prominent clan, Su Yi didn't need to ask to know you'd likely been bullied, leading to this miserable scene. "Can you walk? Wait here for a moment, I'll go fetch a teacher." Before she could even take a single step, a tiny hand clamped down hard on her hem. No matter how Su Yi tried to pull away, it was useless. You were sobbing so hard you couldn't catch your breath, but your grip remained iron-clad. Helpless, Su Yi patted down her pockets, only to find a single White Rabbit creamy candy—a reward she'd received for answering a question. Su Yi wasn't fond of sweets, mostly because brushing her teeth afterward was a chore, so she'd left it uneaten until now. Who knew it would come in handy? Peeling open the wrapper, Su Yi dropped down on one knee in front of you. Speaking in soft, gentle whispers to coax you, she popped the milky-sweet candy into your mouth. That was probably the most patient Su Yi had ever been in her entire life. "Once you finish the candy, I'll be right back. Big sister is going to find a doctor for you, okay?" So you weren't dying after all. Su Yi looked at your face, hair plastered everywhere with only one big, round eye peeking out, nodding earnestly at her. Only then did she let out a sigh of relief. The next morning, the moment Su Yi stepped through the school gate, you grabbed hold of her. Your eyes darted everywhere but at her as your foot kicked at a small pebble. You babbled a frantic string of thanks and compliments before shoving a batch of amateur homemade cookies into her arms. By the time she looked up, you had already vanished. The cookies actually looked pretty decent. On some strange impulse, Su Yi took a bite—and felt her life points plummeting at an alarming rate. Little Su Yi rushed frantically to the water cooler, gulping down cup after cup of cold water before finally reviving. Those were the only two interactions you and Su Yi ever shared—a pair of memories so utterly embarrassing they bordered on complete mortification. Middle school was an automatic progression, but running into Su Yi again in high school made you seriously suspect she had a screw loose. Why else would someone abandon prestigious private academies and top-tier magnet schools just to mess around at an ordinary high school? A person like Su Yi was essentially a walking spotlight. Wherever she went, the spotlight followed, drawing a massive influx of wealthy heirs along with her and single-handedly putting an ordinary high school on the map. You did your best to avoid her. For one, given your status, you had no real reason to approach her; for another, your childhood history was so agonizingly cringe-inducing that even a saint would want to crawl into a hole and die. At seven o'clock on a chilly morning, you trudged down the campus path radiating sheer resentment, half an unfinished donut clamped between your teeth. Spotting Mu Qinyuan and your best friend up ahead, your irritation flared. You charged forward and wedged yourself right between them. These two were carrying on their little affair behind your back. One minute they were joking about palace taboos, and the next they were treating you like an obnoxious third wheel. You had once sworn in a fit of rage that lesbians were terrifying, and that you would stay straighter than a pair of chopsticks. "Sis—" you drawled sluggishly, only to be rewarded with a swift slap to the head... "Don't call me 'sis' outside, are you trying to get me killed?" Fair enough. After all, one of you took your dad's surname while the other took your mom's. So that your sister could blatantly cover for you in the student council, your relationship was kept strictly confidential. Besides, you two didn't look alike, so nobody ever guessed you were sisters. "Good morning, President." "Morning, President Su." A chorus of respectful greetings rang out as Su Yi approached from down the path. Su Yi's uniform was always immaculate, without a single wrinkle. Her golden hair stood out even more vividly now, sunlight filtering through the canopy of leaves to drape over her frame. It was as though the sun and moon both adored her, showering her with every gift they had to give. "Eating while walking damages school decorum. Minus five points. Casual hand-holding on campus, excessive intimacy. Minus twenty points." Even before Su Yi arrived in person, her icy deduction of points hit you. Only then did you realize you were still holding your best friend's hand. Every single encounter with Su Yi seemed tailor-made to humiliate you, leading you to one inescapable conclusion: Su Yi was your absolute personal jinx! All the more reason to stay far, far away from her... On a pitch-black, windy night, you were carrying four cups of milk tea, a bag of barbecue skewers, and gripping two more cups between your teeth. The campus perimeter wall wasn't high, so scaling it took little effort. You didn't even disturb the fallen leaves, kicking up barely a speck of dust you hardly noticed. The school enforced strict discipline—students weren't even allowed to go home on Fridays. To save your and your roommates' starving stomachs, you took turns hopping the wall every week. As for the extra two cups, one was for your best friend, and the other was an offering to your sister so she'd cross your name off the infraction sheet. "What are you doing?" You didn't even need to look to know whose voice that was. Even the midnight snacks in your hands began to tremble. Su Yi stepped out from the shadows of the grove. Before you could offer an excuse, the scent of gardenia enveloped you—a rich fragrance kept at an exact, measured distance that didn't feel suffocating, yet carried an undeniable undertone of pressure. Before you could manage a single word of explanation, Su Yi spoke. Her words tumbled out in a frantic, disjointed rush, entirely devoid of logic, until her eyes turned visibly, helplessly red. "Who are you bringing that milk tea for? Mu Qinyuan? I heard you this morning... you called her 'sister.' Why her? Honestly, she isn't prettier than me at all, is she? She already has a girlfriend, so please don't like her... You're not allowed to like her. I can cross off your penalty points too. I can do anything... Can't you choose me?" You: "???"