Chapter 12: On a Rainy Night

After the rain, the air was filled with a fresh, raw scent of earth, and a sticky, humid breeze carried a certain cloying heaviness.

Lin Yiwei walked along the camphor-lined path leading to the dormitory building, carrying a gift box. As she passed a trash can, she felt a sudden urge to throw the item Xie Bo had given her—box and all—right into it.

However, she felt it would be a waste. She was a frugal girl; from childhood, she had always made one thing serve the purpose of two. She couldn't even bear to discard worn-out shoes, preferring to patch them up and keep wearing them. Unable to bring herself to be so wasteful, Lin Yiwei brought the box back to her dorm. After drawing the curtains, she took several photos of the packaging and the beret from different angles and listed them for sale on the campus network.

When it came to setting a price, Lin Yiwei hesitated. There was no price tag on the item. That was easily solved, however; she logged onto the brand’s official website and quickly found the retail price. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

Price: 84,000.

Lin Yiwei could hardly believe it. It was just a hat! How could it possibly sell for over eighty thousand? Indeed, the poor could never imagine the world of the wealthy. A girl in her position would never, even in death, spend eighty thousand yuan on a "useless" beret that provided neither warmth nor shade. The website indicated that this style was a limited-edition seasonal release and was no longer in production.

Lin Yiwei listed the hat in the second-hand trading section of the campus forum, TalkTok. Mentally calculating her living expenses for the semester, she set the price at ten thousand yuan.

Barely had the listing been uploaded and the page refreshed when several comments appeared:

Meow-Monster: "For real?"
Cappuccino: "This style is completely sold out everywhere. I can't believe I'm seeing one in the second-hand section!"
aa: "It looks brand new!"
Little Mango: "How could it be this cheap? Could it be a high-end replica? Can we see the tag?"

Lin Yiwei immediately added a photo of the tag in the comments section. Before long, however, a reply appeared beneath the tag photo:

"Checked it. It's real. But wait, isn't this the one Young Master Xie gave away?"
"Holy crap!"
"Yeah, go check for yourselves. You can look up the purchaser's surname on the official site for this brand."

Lin Yiwei: "..."

She hurriedly logged into the official site and entered the code from the tag. Sure enough, the purchaser was listed as: Mr. Xie.

In an instant, the entire second-hand section exploded, and posts about the incident even began appearing on the main discussion forum:

"Oh my god, some girl is selling the gift Xie Bo gave her on the second-hand market!"
"Hahahaha, who is so heartless?"
"Wait, am I the only one whose focus is on the fact that Xie Bo actually gave a girl a gift?! Haven't girls always been the ones giving him gifts before?"

Unexpectedly exposed, Lin Yiwei was terrified, but fortunately, she had used a brand-new account with a random string of letters for a username, making it difficult to trace her identity. Luckily, the hat was snatched up by girls across the forum, and she soon sold it and received the payment. Using the campus parcel locker to send the hat was also safe, as it required no face-to-face interaction.

As for the card with the little fox drawing, Lin Yiwei thought for a moment and decided not to include it in the locker. She kept it and tucked it into a pocket in her schoolbag.

The next day at the class meeting, the group of girls around Chi Xiyu sat in the back row of the classroom, discussing the beret incident on the forum.

"I wonder who it was, selling the hat Xie Bo gave her."
"It's probably fake. Since when has Xie Bo ever given a girl a gift?"

Xu Qianxi said with absolute certainty, "It's real. I checked the tag number on the official site; it was him."

Chi Xiyu was wearing the neat little shirt of the Feige Academy of Arts, a pleated school-style skirt, and a dark red plaid blazer. A large bow of the same color was tied in her hair. Her makeup was exquisite, though it couldn't hide the dark circles under her eyes. "Perhaps it's a coincidence. He isn't the only person with the surname Xie who can afford Uni."

With that, she turned to Lin Yiwei. "What do you think?"

"I don't think so. It must be a coincidence," Lin Yiwei replied cautiously.

"Could it be Ye Anning?" Xu Qianxi asked. "Hasn't she been close to Xie Bo lately?"

Chi Xiyu looked at Lin Yiwei. "Could it be Ye Anning?"

Lin Yiwei shook her head. "She is infatuated with Xie Bo; she wouldn't sell a gift he gave her. Besides, she has plenty of money."

"Never mind Ye Anning. If it really were a gift from Xie Bo, who would have the heart to sell it?" Chi Xiyu became even more convinced that the hat definitely wasn't bought by Xie Bo and that it was just a misunderstanding. "Yiwei and I think the same."

Xu Qianxi curled her lip, looking down on Lin Yiwei and feeling that she only knew how to say things that pleased Chi Xiyu. A sycophant.

During the meeting, the counselor announced the group mentor system for the freshmen. It was a tradition at the Feige Academy of Arts: incoming freshmen were assigned mentors to form groups, and all coursework was to be completed in these groups—a system that would last until their junior year.

Over the coming week, students were to complete their best piece of artwork. After grading, based on their scores, students would choose their mentors in order. It was a system with a high degree of freedom.

As they walked out of the classroom, Chi Xiyu caught up with Lin Yiwei. "Yiwei, I’ve flipped through your sketchbook. Your style is actually quite similar to mine."

Lin Yiwei's heart raced, but she remained calm on the surface. Of course it was similar; she had intentionally left that sketchbook on the desk for Chi Xiyu to find. Her painting skills had been taught to her hand-in-hand by Lin Xie. That sketchbook, in particular, contained many works that were her copies of sketches Lin Xie had left behind... If Chi Xiyu's award-winning works were indeed the handiwork of Lin Xie, then Lin Yiwei’s style and hers were, quite simply, of the same lineage.

"Yiwei, I’ve been a bit busy lately. Why don't you do the group assessment painting for me next week?" Chi Xiyu made the request quite naturally.

"You want me to paint it for you?"

"Yeah, our styles are so similar. If you paint it, the teachers definitely won't be able to tell."

"But..."

Chi Xiyu patted her on the shoulder. "No 'buts,' Yiwei. You wouldn't refuse my request, would you?"

Lin Yiwei pursed her lips. Of course she wouldn't refuse; wasn't the whole reason Chi Xiyu included her in her inner circle to make her obediently do things for her?

"Alright, I'll give it a try."

"Thanks for your hard work! I knew you were the best!"

Watching Chi Xiyu's retreating back, Lin Yiwei felt that the fishing line wrapped around her fingers could slowly be tightened. She would uncover the whole truth.

...

Xie Bo had been visibly irritable for those few days. There had been two major races in a row, and so many spectators had come specifically for him, yet the young master hadn't even shown his face. He was, of course, aware of the frenzy over the beret on the campus network.

Lin Yiwei had actually sold the hat he had given her!

At the racing club, Li Du was laughing his head off. "Young Master Bo, seriously, this is the first time you've ever given a girl a gift, isn't it!"

"Who on earth is this 'xbdashabi'? Next time, bring her to the club to play so we can all see what this lady's temper is like, hahahaha."

"Wait, her username—xbdashabi—holy crap, Young Master Bo, isn't she insulting you?"

Xie Bo's expression turned deathly cold. He kicked a bucket of paint standing in his way, splashing the custom-color paint all over the floor. Li Du quickly stifled his laughter. He could tell that Xie Bo was truly angry. He had almost never seen him get angry over a girl before. The female companions he had kept around in the past had all fawned over him and catered to his every whim... Who would ever dare to provoke him?

Xie Bo pushed a modified motorcycle upright. Li Du hurriedly signaled for someone to open the club gates. With a thunderous, reverberating roar, the man sped off on his bike. He guessed he was going to settle the score with that girl.

Li Du thought to himself that she really didn't know what was good for her. It was an honor countless girls would envy, yet this 'xbdashabi'... The name itself was hard to describe. If she truly angered Xie Bo, she wouldn't have a peaceful day ahead of her.

...

There were no customers in the convenience store at the moment. Lin Yiwei had set up a small easel and had just mixed her palette when she saw a man walk straight in. Upon seeing his face, Lin Yiwei's heart sank heavily. His features carried an inherent, menacing hostility, and the scar across his brow only made him look more fierce.

Chi Xicheng.

Lin Yiwei's hand, holding the brush, couldn't help but tremble. She hurriedly packed up the easel and rose to greet him. "Young Master Chi, why are you here?"

Chi Xicheng walked to the counter and rudely grabbed Lin Yiwei. "You’re really something, aren't you? Slippery as a slimy squid, managing to slip out from under my nose."

Lin Yiwei's wrist throbbed with pain from his grip. She whispered a reminder, "Young Master Chi, t-there is surveillance here."

Chi Xicheng glanced at the omnidirectional camera inside the convenience store, let her go, and wandered toward the shelves, casually picking up a glass. Before Lin Yiwei could scream, he swung his arm and smashed the glass hard against the security camera. The first throw missed, and the glass shattered against the wall with a loud crash. Chi Xicheng then picked up a glass ashtray and weighed it in his hand.

Lin Yiwei scrambled out from behind the counter and hid by a safe shelf, watching as Chi Xicheng went on a rampage, smashing five or six items until he finally knocked the camera down. She crouched on the floor, clutching herself tightly like a cat in a stress response, trembling lightly...

Chi Xicheng didn't care about her terror. He pulled her out roughly. "Confess. Who was the owner of the Rolls-Royce that picked you up that night?"

Lin Yiwei shook her head repeatedly, her lips pressed tight, saying nothing. Chi Xicheng dragged her behind the counter, pinned her firmly against the table, and gripped her throat with one hand. The girl's cheeks flushed crimson; she felt as if she were sinking into an endless deep sea, choking and drowning. A tear of despair and humiliation trickled from the corner of her eye...

At that very moment, the sharp screech of a motorcycle braking echoed outside. Xie Bo tossed his helmet aside, strode into the convenience store, grabbed Chi Xicheng’s clothes from behind, and threw him hard against the shelves.

Pulled away by that force, Chi Xicheng lost his balance and nearly knocked over the entire rack. "Son of a bitch!" he shouted, standing up angrily, wanting to see who had the nerve to lay a hand on him!

He looked up and saw Xie Bo, dressed in a black racing jacket, appearing like an evil god charging out of the night. Meanwhile, the terrified girl scurried behind Xie Bo like a rabbit, trembling and shaking.

"Chi Xicheng."

In Qinggang City, few dared to address Chi Xicheng by his full name, but Xie Bo was one of them. He raised his chin and looked at him. "That Rolls-Royce Phantom is mine, and Lin Yiwei... is mine, too."