Pain, excruciating pain.

When Shen Zhi was helped to his feet, even with his strong personality, he couldn’t help but furrow his brows. Although the scaffolding was hollow, getting hit in the lower back hurt terribly.

At this moment, beads of sweat formed on his forehead due to the pain.

Ji Ran noticed his tightly knit brows and immediately said, “Why don’t we go to the hospital?”

“Yeah, Zhi-ge, let’s go to the hospital.” Xia Jiangming, standing nearby, was also anxious. They were watching from a distance, feeling horrified. Some girls even screamed in fear.

Getting hit by that thing was not pleasant at all.

Shen Zhi didn’t mind at all and shook his head. “No need.”

He wasn’t that fragile.

Xu Yihang glanced at Ji Ran and took the opportunity to speak. “You should still go get it checked out. It hit your lower back; a man’s back is very important. If something really happened…”

Shen Zhi stared at him expressionlessly, and Xu Yihang fell silent.

You deserve to be single. Right now, you’re the wounded hero, so why not take the chance to impress the girl and increase your favorability? If Xu Yihang were in his shoes, he’d probably rope Ji Ran into taking responsibility for him for the rest of his life.

After glaring at Xu Yihang, Shen Zhi turned to leave. He had only impulsively followed Ji Ran and didn’t have much to say to her. After blocking the attack for her, he found himself with even less to say, so he simply turned and walked away.

Ji Ran stood behind him, biting her lip. Finally, she couldn’t hold back and raised her hand, initially intending to tap Shen Zhi’s clothes.

But in the end, her fingers grabbed his shirt hem.

He was wearing a loose black t-shirt today. Ji Ran realized he had a penchant for black attire. When they first met at the airport, he was wearing all black.

When Shen Zhi turned around, Ji Ran looked up at him.

It was only when the young man’s teasing voice asked, “Reluctant to let me go?” that Ji Ran felt like her fingers had been scorched, and she quickly let go.

“Shen Zhi, I’ll accompany you to the hospital.”

Even though Ji Ran had made up her mind to keep her distance from him deep down, in the current situation, she couldn’t pretend that it had nothing to do with her and let him leave without a care.

Seeing her conflicted and worried expression, with her fair face crumpling like a dishcloth, Shen Zhi chuckled lightly and said, “It’s fine. This thing won’t cripple me.”

“If it really did, then you can think about how to compensate me,” Shen Zhi said lightly, causing Ji Ran to suddenly raise her head and look at him, a hint of confusion on her face.

Shen Zhi wouldn’t hold her responsible for this, would he?

After the student council checked the cleanliness of each class, all the students left the school. Ji Ran and Wen Qianxia walked to the bus stop not far from the school gate.

Wen Qianxia was trying to persuade Ji Ran, “Ji Ran, are you sure you won’t come with us to hang out?”

“I won’t go. You go and have fun,” Ji Ran replied softly.

Wen Qianxia had also been invited to Xu Yihang’s birthday party, and they hadn’t interacted much with the students in their class. Most of the attendees were from their previous classes.

Wen Qianxia had assumed Ji Ran would go, so she agreed without thinking. It was only today that she found out Ji Ran wasn’t attending.

Wen Qianxia pouted, “But it’ll be so boring by myself.”

Ji Ran tried to console her, “It won’t be. You said it’s a lot of fun there.”

Wen Qianxia had previously told Ji Ran about “Sky Realm” near their school, which was like a sanctuary for students of their school. However, it was quite expensive, and only those from wealthy families who didn’t care about money went there.

Now, in 2009, things hadn’t grown as rapidly as they would a decade later, and high school students had at most a few hundred yuan as their monthly allowance.

While they were waiting at the bus stop, Jiang Yi happened to come out with a group of close friends.

Today, for some reason, Cai Jie followed Jiang Yi when leaving school. Normally, Jiang Yi wouldn’t mind, but today she had to take the bus home, and there was no driver waiting for her outside.

She couldn’t let her classmates see her taking the bus, could she?

Cai Jie looked around, then covered her mouth and giggled. “Jiang Yi, where’s your Bentley today? Why didn’t it come to pick you up?”

Jiang Yi replied, “My mom needed the car today.”

“But didn’t you say that car was specifically for your use?” Cai Jie innocently asked.

Jiang Yi’s bragging—she couldn’t quite remember it herself, but Cai Jie seemed to recall it clearly.

Jiang Yi frowned, saying, “My mom took the car for maintenance, Cai Jie. You don’t have a car at home, do you? You wouldn’t know that cars need maintenance.”

Cai Jie was actually quite well-off, with a hint of arrogance. However, ever since she joined the same class as Jiang Yi, she felt overshadowed by her and was the only girl in the class who didn’t flatter Jiang Yi. In fact, she was secretly hoping for Jiang Yi’s misfortune.

After Jiang Yi’s retort, the other girls laughed.

Cai Jie’s face turned red, and she said, “You said you’d outdo Xue Yirou at Xu Yihang’s birthday party. Don’t let us down.”

Jiang Yi was already annoyed by this matter and replied, “Of course, I’ll do what I said.”

“We can look forward to seeing Xiaoyi in a high-end dress.”

“Yeah, I haven’t even seen a high-end dress, let alone worn one.”

The group of girls started discussing, and suddenly, one of them pointed across the street and said, “Jiang Yi, isn’t that the driver’s daughter over there?”

Ji Ran and Wen Qianxia were standing on the opposite platform, and while they couldn’t hear what was being discussed, it was clear that Jiang Yi and her group were talking about Ji Ran.

Wen Qianxia rolled her eyes and said, “These girls are so boring.”

She knew these girls were probably discussing the fact that Ji Ran was the driver’s daughter. Wen Qianxia felt particularly sorry for Ji Ran. Ji Ran was undeniably beautiful and had a good personality, but she had been constantly slandered behind her back due to her background.

Xu Yihang’s birthday fell on a weekend, and Jiang Yi wasn’t at home in the afternoon.

Ji Ran went to her wardrobe, and sure enough, her long dress was missing. Not only the dress but also a necklace and bracelet were gone.

She touched the empty hanger with her fingers, realizing that Jiang Yi couldn’t escape her own greed.

She knew that Ji Qingli would be back later in the evening, so she was waiting for Jiang Yi to return from the birthday party.

However, at around eight o’clock, Xia Jiangming suddenly called her.

When Ji Ran answered, she heard his somewhat helpless voice: “Ji Ran, can you come over right now?”

“What’s going on?”

Normally, Xia Jiangming should have been at Xu Yihang’s birthday party. So why was he suddenly calling her? Xia Jiangming explained with some helplessness, “It’s Wen Qianxia. She’s in a really bad mood right now, and I was wondering if you could come over and comfort her.”

Wen Qianxia was Ji Ran’s only friend, so anything related to her mattered a lot to Ji Ran.

She immediately spoke softly, “Can you tell me what’s wrong with Qianxia?”

“It seems like she got into an argument with some other girls at the birthday party, but she won’t tell me the reason. She’s crying now, and I’m worried that something might happen. I didn’t let her leave; I brought her downstairs to rest for a while, but she’s still crying.”

Ji Ran checked the time and said, “I’ll come over right away. Please watch over Qianxia for me.”

After Xia Jiangming hung up the phone, he looked over at Wen Qianxia, who had stopped crying and was now eating ice cream not far away. Finally, he turned to the person beside him and said, “Zhi-ge, is it a bad idea to deceive Ji Ran like this?”

Wen Qianxia did indeed have a conflict with someone at the birthday party, but she was easily comforted. Two scoops of Haagen-Dazs ice cream quickly stopped her from crying. Xia Jiangming hadn’t expected Shen Zhi to have him call Ji Ran.

Shen Zhi smiled, showing a lazy grin, and playfully kicked him, saying, “Why so much nonsense?”

Xia Jiangming felt wronged and didn’t say another word.

Shen Zhi stood by the window, gazing down below, eagerly waiting for Ji Ran to arrive. He wanted to see her as soon as she came.

He actually wanted to call her, but he knew she wouldn’t come if he did.

Shen Zhi chuckled self-deprecatingly.

In the past, it was other girls who had to go to great lengths to get his attention, using all sorts of tactics. No wonder they said you’d have to pay back what you owed sooner or later. Now, in order to see her, he was resorting to such tricks for the first time in his life.

If Ji Ran found out that it was his idea to have Xia Jiangming deceive her, she would surely be angry.

Thinking about the possible expression on her fair and beautiful face, he suddenly laughed again and leaned against the window to light a cigarette.

Ji Ran took a taxi to the location, and as she was about to call Xia Jiangming, she was surprised to find him waiting downstairs.

“Ji Ran, over here.” Xia Jiangming waved at her with a mischievous smile.

Ji Ran followed Xia Jiangming to the second floor. The second floor was the dining area. As soon as she arrived, she not only saw Wen Qianxia, who was sitting there with a dejected look, but also a crushed, defeated appearance.

She walked straight to Wen Qianxia, and once she was close, Wen Qianxia looked up and asked in pleasant surprise, “Ji Ran, how come you’re here?”

“How are you?” Ji Ran saw that Wen Qianxia’s eyes were red and slightly swollen, knowing that she had indeed been crying.

Wen Qianxia was a little embarrassed and said, “I’m fine.”

She hadn’t fought with anyone before and was crying out of frustration.

Ji Ran asked, “Did someone bully you?”

Wen Qianxia looked at her and shook her head, saying, “It’s not a big deal.”

Ji Ran, looking at her expression, had a hunch that the reason for the argument might be related to her. Otherwise, given Wen Qianxia’s personality, she wouldn’t keep it to herself when she saw Ji Ran. Ji Ran asked, “Is it because of me?”

It turned out that Wen Qianxia had come to attend the birthday party, and unexpectedly, she ran into Jiang Yi’s friends in the restroom. They not only mocked Wen Qianxia for her shabby clothing but also were close with the driver’s daughter.

As Wen Qianxia was always seen with Ji Ran at school, many people knew they were close friends.

Wen Qianxia had been annoyed by these girls making fun of Ji Ran as the driver’s daughter. Now she had confronted them, but instead of standing up for Ji Ran, she ended up insulting herself and crying.

Feeling embarrassed, she looked at Ji Ran and said, “I’m sorry, Ji Ran. I couldn’t win the argument.”

She felt very ashamed.

Ji Ran looked at her with a compassionate smile, and with a chuckle, she lowered her head and asked, “Are you feeling better now?”

Wen Qianxia nodded.

Ji Ran said, “Then, let’s get up.”

Wen Qianxia asked, “Are we going home?”

Ji Ran replied with a soft voice but a steady tone, “You were bullied, but I’ll help you regain your pride.”

Wen Qianxia didn’t expect her to say this and blinked in surprise, then obediently got up.

As Ji Ran was about to turn around, she suddenly heard a very low chuckle behind her.

When she turned her head, Shen Zhi was standing not too far away, lightly leaning against a nearby pillar with a relaxed and contented air.

His face was partially hidden in the dimly lit corner, and only a faint expression could be seen.

He was smiling.

Ji Ran showed a slight look of surprise; her big, dark eyes widened a bit.

Shen Zhi looked at her small, doll-like face, which was so pretty, yet her tough talk was so adorable, making him feel a bit itchy.

The distance between them wasn’t far, and Ji Ran didn’t know if Shen Zhi had heard what she said just now.

Now, as they locked eyes, she suddenly felt a bit helpless.

Her image in front of Shen Zhi was probably on the verge of crumbling.

While Ji Ran was lost in thought, Shen Zhi strolled over, his eyes fixed on her, and he lightly raised his chin and said, “Let’s go. We’re not looking for your lost face; I’m here to support you.”

“I’ve got your back.”

After they went upstairs and stepped out of the elevator, they heard loud voices from inside, and surprisingly, more people had arrived.

When Ji Ran reached the door, she immediately spotted Jiang Yi, or more precisely, the Jiang Yi wearing that dress.

Speaking of which, this dress was actually custom-made for Ji Ran by Pei Yuan. However, by the time Ji Ran received it, she was already here.

Pei Yuan had a good eye for fashion, and the dress she chose was perfect for Ji Ran.

Unfortunately, the dress was now being worn by Jiang Yi. However, Jiang Yi was shorter than Ji Ran, and the dress didn’t fit her well. Especially since the dress had a slightly exposed back design, Jiang Yi’s skin wasn’t particularly fair; it had a slight yellowish tone. The lighting on her back didn’t give off that icy, translucent feeling.

But even so, this dress made everyone unable to look away, and it truly made her the center of attention in the room.

After all, people rely on their clothing, and this principle never goes out of style.

As Ji Ran walked over, because Shen Zhi was right behind her, the crowd unconsciously cleared a path for them.

Until she stood in front of Jiang Yi, Jiang Yi turned around.

Even though she had just been the center of attention, enjoying the adulation of the crowd, at this moment, her face turned deathly pale.

Ji Ran slowly looked her up and down, and gradually, everyone around them fell silent, staring at them. This was because, more or less, they had heard about Jiang Yi’s and Ji Ran’s relationship.

There were rumors that Ji Ran was the driver’s daughter for Jiang Yi’s family.

Finally, Ji Ran gently spoke, “Jiang Yi, before you put on my clothes, should you have told me first? Do you know the principle of not taking things without asking?”

Ji Ran’s tone was not confrontational, and her words were gentle, but they made everyone in the room gasp.

What was going on here? Weren’t they saying that Ji Ran was the driver’s daughter for Jiang Yi’s family? How did it turn into Jiang Yi stealing Ji Ran’s clothes?

Until the end, Ji Ran tilted her head slightly, chuckled softly, and said, “My last name is Ji. And who might you be?”