Chapter 3: Seeing Wu Jingyi Again

What on earth was going on, how could the bead just disappear without explanation, and how did her wound disappear?

Huo Sining took quite a while to come back to her senses, feeling a sense of panic deep inside.

She was a bit confused, but one thing she could be certain of was that the strange bead had clearly burrowed into her body.

"My God, what on earth is going on?!"

How could the bead, out of nowhere, have burrowed into her body? Could it be because of that drop of blood?

Unable to figure it out and worried that the bead might cause other problems if it stayed inside her body, Huo Sining visibly paled at the thought.

"Ningning, are you at home?" Suddenly, a voice called out from outside the door.

"I'm here."

Hearing someone calling her and worried about being discovered in her bizarre state, Huo Sining quickly composed herself and replied without thinking.

Yet, when she turned around to see who had come in, her expression involuntarily stiffened.

Hatred and rage surged in an instant, and Huo Sining quickly lowered her head to hide the emotions in her eyes.

The simple green cotton dress, almost washed white, and her shoulder-length bob cut neatly draped over her shoulders, her skin delicate and fair, and a pair of bright, beautiful eyes.

Wu Jingyi, seven years ago, was just an ordinary and unremarkable orphan in the orphanage. Life was not kind to her, but she had grown into an elegant and lovely girl, clearly a beauty in the making.

"Ningning, I was just outside and heard your aunt scolding you. I didn't dare come over until I saw your aunt leave."

Wu Jingyi, oblivious to Huo Sining's odd behavior and seeing that Huo Sining kept her head down, assumed Huo Sining was too upset to look up.

A gleam of schadenfreude flashed through her eyes as Wu Jingyi inquired in a low voice, feigning concern.

"Are you okay? Oh, why is your hand covered in blood, did your aunt hit you again?"

If it had been the Huo Sining of her previous life, she would have been deeply moved by these words and thought of Wu Jingyi as a close sister.

But now, knowing the truth about the past, Huo Sining could only feel a deep malice when she carefully considered Wu Jingyi's words.

Huo Sining couldn't understand it. She had known Wu Jingyi for many years. It was true that Wu Jingyi had a tough life, but although Huo Sining was raised by someone, she was after all dependent on the mercy of the Huo family, and her circumstances might not necessarily be better than Wu Jingyi's.

Why was Wu Jingyi so begrudging of her success, to the point of maliciously wanting to destroy her?

Huo Sining took several deep breaths to calm her inner rage before lifting her head and forcing a stiff smile.

"It's nothing, why are you here?"

They say you'd rather offend a gentleman than a petty person.

To avoid the petty person's resentment, Huo Sining didn't plan to fall out with Wu Jingyi just yet, so she had to hide her emotions well.

"Have you forgotten? Today we have to go to the school to fill out our college application forms. How could you forget such an important thing? Don't tell me it's because you didn't do well on the exams, so you're not planning to fill them out at all?"

Wu Jingyi glanced at Huo Sining, puzzled, then suddenly remembered that since coming out of the exam room yesterday, Huo Sining had been in a low spirit and looked totally disheartened.

Could it be because she hadn't performed well in the exam?

The thought brought a secret pleasure to Wu Jingyi's heart.

Hearing Wu Jingyi's words, Huo Sining was startled and then remembered that she had been reborn on the second day after the college entrance examination.

From the fragmented memories in her mind, indeed that was the day to return to school to submit college preferences.

However, the mention of college entrance preferences involuntarily brought to Huo Sining's mind her stolen admission notice, and Wu Jingyi's proud smile from her memories couldn't be brushed aside.

Huo Sining's fists tightened involuntarily, a cold glint in her eyes.

Given a second chance by fate, she absolutely refused to be someone else's pawn again, and she certainly wasn't going to let Wu Jingyi's scheming succeed again!

"Don't tell me I guessed right? But how can this be? After all the struggles to get this far, you finally have the chance to leave your uncle and aunt behind. How can you give that up?"

Noticing the shadowy figure of a chubby boy sneaking around outside the side room, Wu Jingyi's voice became a few decibels louder, asking with a mixture of concern and urgency.

Huo Sining had long noticed Huo Longjiang eavesdropping outside the door, and seeing Wu Jingyi suddenly raise her voice, how could she not understand what Wu Jingyi was up to?

Was this meant to let Huo Longjiang overhear her plan and then tattle on her?

Huo Sining sneered inwardly but forced a look of sadness on her face:

"I know you mean well, but I'm aware of my own grades. I didn't do well on the exams. There's no way I can get into a university in the Imperial Capital. Besides, I'm sure my aunt wouldn't be willing to pay for my college education. I'm sorry, Jingyi, I have to go back on my word; I won't be able to go to college with you."

Wu Jingyi was startled and paused. She had been around Huo Sining for such a long time and had a very clear understanding of the kind of person Huo Sining was.

Huo Sining's personality was tough and resilient, with a particularly strong sense of conviction, like a cockroach that couldn't be squashed, never to be overwhelmed by reality.

Hearing Huo Sining say she was going to give up, Wu Jingyi felt both surprised and taken aback.

Although the sadness and loss on Huo Sining's face didn't seem feigned, Wu Jingyi always felt that something about Huo Sining was off, but she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.

"Have you really decided? You won't go to university, and you're going to give up even your dreams?" Wu Jingyi asked, half-believing, unable to help herself from pressing on.

Huo Sining hung her head and said nothing, but inside, she was mocking herself:

When did I say I wasn't going to university? I only said I couldn't get into universities in Imperial Capital, and I couldn't study with you, but I never said I wasn't planning on going to university at all. If I can't get into a university in Imperial Capital, can't I attend another in a different province?

Still at the naive age of seventeen or eighteen, without a cunning heart, Wu Jingyi had already believed Huo Sining's expressions seven or eight points, seeing her ashamed to meet her eyes.

Wu Jingyi inwardly ridiculed Huo Sining, thinking that she was truly foolish; timid, easily scared, and shallow. With a university diploma in hand, how could she not rise above others?

As long as she found a job in Imperial Capital and married a rich man, Wu Jingyi didn't believe the Huo family would dare to mistreat Huo Sining. They would probably not be able to curry favor fast enough.

But this was good too, once she made a name for herself in Imperial Capital in the future, she could come back and mock Huo Sining to her heart's content. Then she would see what right Huo Sining had to pity her!

Wu Jingyi sighed with feigned regret and patted Huo Sining's shoulder.

Just as she was about to turn and leave, Wu Jingyi's gaze inadvertently fell on the desk in front of her, where the broken shards of the Jade Clean Bottle caught her attention.

"A Ning, isn't this your Jade Pendant? How did it break like this?"

Wu Jingyi was taken aback and quickly recognized what those fragments were, exclaiming in surprise.

Although she didn't understand the value of jade ornaments, in Wu Jingyi's eyes, jade was still a luxury item.

And Huo Sining's Jade Pendant looked very pretty; she always treasured it close to her body, suggesting it was something valuable.

Wu Jingyi had long coveted that pendant, thinking to herself that she should find an opportunity to probe Huo Sining's intentions and see if she could get that Jade Pendant for herself.

In Wu Jingyi's view, since Huo Sining was always so open-hearted and obedient toward her, she figured that if she pretended to be pitiful, that idiot would surely present the Jade Pendant to her with both hands.

But she had not expected that, before she could even speak, the pendant would be broken.

Wu Jingyi's eyes showed her regret and unwillingness, as if the broken piece was her own possession.

Seeing Wu Jingyi's expression, Huo Sining couldn't help but sneer internally, though she had to maintain a look of sorrow and frustration on her face:

"It broke by accident when it fell to the ground just now; I'm sorry, Jingyi. I was planning to give you this pendant as a birthday gift when you turned eighteen."

At these words, Wu Jingyi's face stiffened, and a flash of anger and annoyance passed through her eyes, barely stopping herself from grinding her teeth in frustration.

She forced a smile and said in a comforting tone, "It doesn't matter, that pendant was a keepsake from your mother, it was never meant to be mine."

Though she said this, Wu Jingyi's eyes remained fixed on the jade fragments, unwilling to move away.

She didn't know why, but seeing those fragments made her feel especially dejected.

It was as if there was a hole in her heart, as if she had lost something vitally important to her life.

Seeing Wu Jingyi lost and despondent, Huo Sining felt a surge of vindication.

She thought to herself, Without this pendant, I want to see how this Cinderella intends to return to the world of the wealthy and pretend to be Miss High and Mighty.

Wu Jingyi's interruption had caused Huo Sining to forget to check the mysterious bead that had burrowed into her forehead, and it wasn't until after Wu Jingyi had left that she suddenly remembered it.

However, seeing that there was nothing amiss with her body, she didn't detect any issues and thus pushed it aside for the time being.

The pressing issue now was to sort out the choices for her college application. The thought made Huo Sining's brow furrow.

The day after the college entrance examination was the time to fill in preferences, and Wu Jingyi, with her crafty mind, wouldn't easily forgo her schemes.

To avoid Wu Jingyi's machinations, the only way was to list an address for the admissions notice that Wu Jingyi didn't know, so she could receive it unbeknownst to anyone.

Moreover, Huo Longjiang had already sensed the issues from Wu Jingyi's words. That guy was always against her; by now, he had probably gone to Xu Lian to tattle.

Xu Lian had long since declared she wouldn't allow her to go to university and would certainly be on guard against her. Huo Yong, being a yes-man at home, didn't even dare to contradict Xu Lian's words and was absolutely unreliable.

To prevent Xu Lian from meddling, Huo Sining had to figure out her own solution.

As Huo Sining pondered over strategies, a person suddenly crossed her mind, and an idea flashed through her.