The divorce comeback system arrived right after I was born.

The black Maybach drove into the villa's underground garage, and motion-sensor lights lit up one by one, illuminating the marble floor.

Pei Ningxue pushed open the car door, feeling the chill of the night. She subconsciously pulled her school uniform jacket tighter; the faint smell of barbecue from the roadside stall still lingered on the collar, making it feel out of place in this home.

With a "bang".

Liu Yi slammed the car door shut, her high heels clicking rapidly on the ground.

The villa gate opened, and a small figure happily rushed out.

"Sister! Mom! You're back!"

Pei Jiming was wearing pajamas, and his round face was beaming with a pure smile rarely seen in the house.

Liu Yi didn't even glance at her son, simply walking past him. She even impatiently nudged Pei Jiming aside with her bag because he was blocking her way.

"Go play somewhere else."

Pei Jiming's smile froze. He looked helplessly at his sister, then at his mother, whose face was ashen.

Pei Ningxue stopped and reached out to rub Pei Jiming's head. Her fingertips touched the soft hair, and the chill that Liu Yi had stirred in her heart dissipated slightly.

"Go back to your room," she said softly.

Liu Yi had already gone upstairs in her high heels and headed straight for the study.

The study door was ajar, letting in warm yellow light. Pei Dongcheng sat behind the huge mahogany desk, his brow furrowed as he stared at the documents before him.

"Pei Dongcheng!"

Liu Yi pushed open the door and entered, throwing her bag heavily onto the sofa, her chest heaving violently.

Pei Dongcheng looked up, took off his gold-rimmed glasses, rubbed his temples, and said with a hint of weariness and displeasure, "Why are you so angry? You're scaring the child."

"Scared the child? Your precious daughter is about to be led astray, and you're still sitting there calmly!"

Liu Yi walked a few steps to the desk and placed her hands on the tabletop.

"Ningxue can't stay in this middle school for even a day longer. She has to transfer! Immediately! Right now!"

Pei Dongcheng placed his cigar on the crystal ashtray, leaned back, and scrutinized his wife, who was on the verge of exploding: "What's wrong now? Ningxue has always been obedient and her grades have been stable. Why did she suddenly switch schools?"

"Obedience? That was before!"

Liu Yi sneered, took out her phone from her pocket, pulled up the call log, and practically shoved the screen into Pei Dongcheng's face.

"Look at this for yourself! I called her over a dozen times all afternoon and she wouldn't answer, then she turned off her phone! I went to the school gate to wait for her, and guess what I saw?"

Pei Dongcheng glanced at the string of red missed calls on the screen, his brows furrowing even deeper.

"She's hanging out with some shady hoodlum! That guy's dressed in cheap clothes, talks a slick, flippant tune, and looks like some kind of lowlife with no manners. What good can Ningxue learn from hanging out with someone like that?"

Liu Yi grew angrier as she spoke, the image of Chen Zhi's ambiguous smile and his audacity to mock her in public flashing through her mind, making her liver ache with anger.

"Impossible." Pei Dongcheng put his glasses back on, his tone firm. "I know Ningxue's personality; she doesn't make friends indiscriminately."

"Why would I lie to you? I saw that boy grab her hand with my own eyes! He even called the police to arrest me!" Liu Yi raised her voice. "Pei Dongcheng, if you don't believe me, call your daughter over for a face-to-face confrontation!"

At this moment, in the room at the end of the corridor on the second floor.

Pei Ningxue sat at her desk without turning on the light. Moonlight streamed in through the French windows, casting a frosty shadow at her feet.

The door was gently pushed open a crack.

Pei Jiming leaned in halfway, holding a crumpled exam paper in his hand.

"Sister..." he said timidly, as if afraid of disturbing something.

Pei Ningxue turned her head and looked at her half-brother.

Seeing that his sister didn't chase him away, Pei Jiming cautiously sidled in and laid out the test paper on the table like a precious treasure.

"Look, sister! I got a perfect score on my math test!"

On the exam paper, the bright red "100" was very eye-catching.

Pei Ningxue vaguely recalled that when she was in elementary school, her mother would smile and pat her head every time she got a perfect score on a test, and then take her to buy lots of delicious food.

"Great job," Pei Ningxue said softly, tapping the "100" mark with her fingertip.

Pei Jiming's eyes were sparkling, and he was about to speak when heavy footsteps suddenly came from the doorway.

Pei Dongcheng and Liu Yi walked in one after the other.

"Ji Ming, go back to your room," Liu Yi coldly ordered, without even glancing at the exam paper.

Pei Jiming flinched, grabbed the exam paper, glanced at his sister, then at his parents with their gloomy faces, lowered his head and silently retreated, thoughtfully closing the door behind him.

Only three people remained in the room.

The air seemed to freeze, so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

Pei Dongcheng pulled up a chair and sat down, looking calmly at his daughter. Liu Yi stood to the side with her arms crossed, her eyes sharp.

"Ningxue, your Aunt Liu said you were hanging out with some shady people today," Pei Dongcheng said, his tone calm.

Pei Ningxue's hands, resting on her knees, tightened slightly.

She raised her head and looked directly into her father's eyes. Those clear, cold eyes held an unwavering resolve.

"He's my classmate." The girl's voice wasn't loud, but it was unusually clear. "He's not some shady character."

"Classmate?" Liu Yi scoffed. "Smelling of smoke and swearing all the time, does someone like that deserve to be called a classmate? I told you I shouldn't have sent you to that lousy public school; it was full of lowlifes."

She walked up to Pei Ningxue and said, "If I hadn't caught you today, you might have been tricked into going somewhere! Those thugs are best at scamming naive young girls like you; they'll sell you out and you'll still be counting the money for them!"

Pei Ningxue pursed her lips and didn't speak, but her back was ramrod straight.

"If you want to make friends, there are plenty of outstanding boys in our Liu and Pei families' circle. Whether they've studied abroad or are still in international high schools, aren't they all better than that little thug?"

Liu Yi turned to Pei Dongcheng and said, "Old Pei, don't hesitate. This kind of environment will ruin her. I've already contacted the international school, and she can enroll next week."

"I'm not transferring schools."

Liu Yi froze, seemingly not having heard clearly: "What did you say?"

Pei Ningxue stood up. She was half a head shorter than Liu Yi, but her aura was in no way inferior.

I said, I'm not transferring schools.

She turned to Pei Dongcheng, no longer as obedient and compliant as before.

"I already told you, he's my classmate and my friend. He's a top student, first in his grade, and not some kind of delinquent at all."

"From childhood to adulthood, I have followed your arrangements regarding what clothes I wear, what skills I learn, and what books I read. I have never said a word of dissent."

Pei Ningxue's voice trembled slightly, and the emotions she had suppressed for more than ten years finally found an outlet.

"Now, can't I even make a friend on my own?"

This was the first time Pei Ningxue had voiced her own opinion in this home.

It was not submission, nor silence, but resistance.

Pei Dongcheng looked at his daughter, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. The little girl in his memory, who always kept her head down and was timid and hesitant, seemed to have grown up.

What kind of magic does that boy named Chen Zhi possess?

Liu Yi was so angry her face turned pale, and her hand trembled as she pointed at Pei Ningxue: "What... what kind of attitude is this! I'm doing this for your own good! And you're actually talking back to me for an outsider?"

"Alright."

Pei Dongcheng suddenly spoke, interrupting Liu Yi.

He stood up and gave Pei Ningxue a deep look.

"Since he's first in the grade, he probably isn't a bad kid."

"Old Pei!" Liu Yi looked at her husband in disbelief.

Pei Dongcheng raised his hand to stop her, his tone leaving no room for argument: "Let's put the transfer on hold for now. School starts next week, and I'll go to the school to see that boy."

After saying that, he turned and walked out. As he passed Liu Yi, he said casually, "You should also say less. It's a good thing that the child is grown up and has his own ideas."

The door closed again.

Pei Ningxue seemed to have all her strength drained away, and slumped into the chair.

She took a photo frame from the bottom of the drawer. In the photo, a gentle woman was holding her young daughter, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

"Mom..." Pei Ningxue gently stroked the photo with her fingers, her eyes welling up with tears.

After a while, the door was pushed open a crack again.

That little head poked in again.

Pei Jiming walked barefoot on the thick carpet without making a sound. He ran to Pei Ningxue's side, leaned on the edge of the table, and looked up at his sister.

"Sister, don't be angry."

Pei Ningxue placed the photo frame face down on the table and ignored him.

Pei Jiming scratched his head, seemingly organizing his thoughts.

"Actually, Mom isn't such a bad person."

Pei Ningxue remained silent, even turning her face to the other side, still ignoring him.

Seeing that his sister was ignoring him, Pei Jiming became a little anxious.

"It's true! When my mom and I went back to my grandparents' house, they scolded her just like that. They said she was useless and that all she did was spend money. My mom didn't dare to say anything then, just like you didn't dare to say anything just now."

Pei Ningxue paused for a moment.

Seeing this, Pei Jiming leaned even closer, covered his mouth with his chubby little hand, and said mysteriously, "And, last time Dad's company was short of money, he was so anxious that he couldn't sleep at night. I saw Mom secretly run to the balcony to call Grandpa to borrow money. Grandpa scolded her for a long time and made her cry, but in the end, Mom still lent the money to Dad."

"She might just be mimicking her grandparents' way of speaking. She thinks that's the right way."

Pei Jiming's voice grew softer and softer as he spoke, as if he felt his explanation was somewhat weak and ineffective.

"Mom might just be too shy to express how good she is, just like I wouldn't dare admit it if I accidentally broke a vase."

Pei Ningxue turned her head and looked at her six-year-old brother.

A child's eyes are the cleanest and most perceptive.

She recalled Liu Yi's constant tension in the family and how she painstakingly maneuvered in those social circles of wealthy women to maintain the Pei family's reputation.

So, was that seemingly arrogant and domineering woman just another pitiful person disciplined by her family of origin?

But this does not mean she can forgive Liu Yi for controlling her.

"Sister, you should go to bed early."

Pei Jiming realized that his sister's mood hadn't completely improved, so he wisely refrained from saying anything more. He folded the perfect score test paper, stuffed it into his pocket, and ran out.

The room returned to silence.

Pei Ningxue walked to the French windows and looked at the twinkling lights of the city in the distance.

"Chen Zhi"

She breathed softly on the glass and carefully wrote the two characters with her fingertips.

See you next week.