Reborn in 2006, I met Mr. Zhou from the past.

After leaving Ning Xiaojun's house, the group went their separate ways home. Su Fengnan had originally planned to go to Xinhua Bookstore, but because she stayed for lunch, she didn't have enough time and couldn't go.

Halfway there, Ye Hua called her back. Ye Hua walked up to her hesitantly.

"Ye Hua, is there something you want to say?" Su Fengnan asked.

Ye Hua's expression was indifferent, but her tone was accusatory: "Have you heard the rumors circulating at school?"

"What rumors?" Su Fengnan looked completely bewildered, as if she knew nothing about it.

Aside from studying, she spent her days writing at home and had virtually no contact with other students. Mainly because she always arrived at and left school on time, she didn't give other students a chance to interact with her, so she was completely unaware of the rumors circulating about her at school.

Seeing Ye Hua hesitate and remain silent, Su Fengnan lost her patience: "If you have nothing to say, then I'm leaving."

With that, Su Fengnan turned and left. She didn't care about the rumors at all; all she wanted was to study hard and prepare for the college entrance exam. As for these classmates, whether or not she wanted to keep in touch with them was up to fate.

Seeing her turn and leave without even asking a question, Ye Hua felt a lump in his throat, unable to calm down, and he called out in a low voice, "Su Fengnan, you really don't know?"

Su Fengnan stopped in her tracks, turned to look at Ye Hua, her expression calm and expressionless: "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Ye Hua approached her again and lowered his voice: "Let's talk somewhere else."

Su Fengnan looked around; it was indeed not a suitable place to talk on the street.

She followed Ye Hua, turning a corner to the playground of the county's No. 1 primary school. Only a few primary school students were playing basketball on the playground. Ye Hua walked to the edge of the flower bed and plopped down, staring at Su Fengnan, trying to observe whether she was really that kind of person.

After a long silence, he finally stammered, "There are rumors among my classmates at school... that you're being kept by a rich man, is that true?"

Ye Hua pronounced the word "sugar baby" very softly; if the environment hadn't been quiet enough, Su Fengnan probably wouldn't have been able to hear it.

Su Fengnan's mouth gaped open in shock, her mind going blank for a moment. In both her lives, this was the first time she had been falsely accused of being a kept woman.

She took a deep breath, trying to make her voice sound calm: "Kept? Who told you that?"

"I've heard a lot of people talking about it privately, so is it true?"

"No. Also, if I find out who spread it, I will report her to the police for defamation and damaging someone's reputation," Su Fengnan replied seriously and without hesitation.

Ye Hua simply wanted an answer; otherwise, his frustration wouldn't subside. Now that he knew it was a lie, his frustration naturally dissipated considerably. However, he still asked the question he had always wanted to ask but hadn't dared to:

Do you have a boyfriend? Or... do you have someone you like?

Su Fengnan looked at Ye Hua, a bold guess forming in her mind: Could Ye Hua like her? But she hadn't seen him show it before.

However, to be on the safe side, she still refused all close relationships between classmates of the opposite sex, mainly because she found it troublesome.

After a moment of surprise, Su Fengnan said in a calm tone, "This question is beyond my scope, I refuse to answer it. If there's nothing else, I'll go home, I have things to do there."

Ye Hua wanted to ask her what her relationship was with that handsome man, but the words stuck in his throat as if something was blocking them, and he couldn't bring himself to ask.

When he finally came to his senses, Su Fengnan was nowhere to be seen. She had long since gone.

Deep down, he knew better than anyone that while Su Fengnan was always gentle and kind to everyone, and he'd never seen her argue with anyone, she possessed an underlying aloofness that kept people at arm's length. It was precisely this cool and aloof demeanor that had kept him silently watching her for the past two years. Until the end of last semester, he suddenly noticed that the grown-up Su Fengnan seemed somewhat different, and at that moment, he finally understood his own feelings—he liked her and didn't want to let go.

But he also felt that Su Fengnan had changed too much. Her grades had improved by leaps and bounds, and she no longer walked with her head down like before, but became confident and cheerful; her clothes and appearance had also been completely renewed, and she exuded youthful vigor from head to toe.

He dared not confess his feelings, fearing that if he opened his mouth, he would lose his classmate; yet he was also anxious and worried that if he was not careful, this light would be snatched away by someone else.

Ye Hua returned home with a heavy heart, collapsing heavily onto the sofa. Suddenly, as if he had figured something out, he grabbed his keys and rushed out the door. He hopped on his motorcycle, the engine roared to life, and the bike sped off like an arrow.

Ye Hua's mother had just chased after her when she called out twice, "Hua'er! Hua'er! Where are you running off to?"

The only response she received was the gradually dissipating exhaust fumes from the motorcycle.

Meanwhile, back home, Su Fengnan collapsed onto her bed, a slight pang of sadness inevitably rising in her heart. However, an adult's soul is mature after all, and she quickly processed her emotions.

She didn't have time to bother with those petty people. Those who commit verbal offenses are nothing but clowns, not worth mentioning at all. Besides, there's no internet at the school now, so it's difficult to catch them spreading rumors privately, and it's indeed hard to deal with. Let them be.

"Sister, you're back."

Her younger sister, Su Fengxia, entered the bedroom, interrupting her thoughts. "Do you have any clothes that need washing? Bring them over and wash them with mine."

"Okay." Su Fengnan got up and picked out two dirty clothes and handed them over.

Su Fengxia took the clothes into the bathroom, threw them into the washing machine, pressed the button, and the machine immediately started humming.

A little while later, she came back and stood at the door, asking, "Sis, I'm thinking of going to the supermarket after I finish washing the clothes. Is there anything you want to buy? I can bring it back with me."

Su Fengnan stood in front of the wardrobe, tidying up clothes, and thought for a moment. She hadn't bought much since moving here, and some household items needed replacing, so she said, "Never mind, let's go together in a bit."

"Okay, then I'll make a shopping list." Su Fengxia readily agreed and turned to go back to her room.

After washing and drying the clothes, the two sisters went out together.

Hongfu Supermarket is the largest supermarket in the county, with a wide variety of goods. When the two of them reached the daily necessities section, they noticed two girls with permed, afro-like haircuts browsing nearby. They were wearing matching white T-shirts and jeans, and were exactly the same height and build; anyone who didn't know them would mistake them for twins.

Su Fengxia leaned close to Su Fengnan's ear and whispered, "Sis, those two non-mainstream people look familiar."

Su Fengnan looked up and saw that the profile did look somewhat familiar, but most of the face was hidden by fluffy hair, making it difficult to see clearly. The two sisters took a few steps forward in unison, pretending to browse the merchandise.

One of the girls with the afro noticed someone approaching and turned her head to look.

"swallow!"

"Sister Nan!"

The two shouted at the same time, clearly not expecting to run into each other here.