In the second semester of her first year of high school, Wen Yao returned home after school.

It took less than half an hour to get from school to the somewhat dilapidated old building where she lived now.

Every day, as she silently walked into the alley, she still felt a bit out of place.

The hallway was dark today as well.

Wen Yao walked up the stairs without making a sound.

When she first moved here with her father, she hesitated because the hallway didn't have a light bulb.

At first, she even used her saved lunch money to buy a light bulb to replace it.

However, she later discovered that in this place, a new light bulb would be stolen by some unknown household the very next day.

Wen Yao didn't have the energy or the financial means to engage in a tug-of-war over light bulbs with the people living here.

So, she gradually got used to walking through the pitch-black hallway at night.

At first, she felt a bit uneasy, but gradually she realized that darkness wasn't so terrifying, she wasn't afraid of the dark, just of the unknown.

She arrived at her current home and, somewhat unfamiliar with surroundings, used her key to open the door.

The house was pitch black, and her father hadn't returned yet.

In fact, she didn't like the feeling of returning to a dark place.

Wen Yao couldn't help but think back to the past when, no matter the time, the light at the entrance of her home was always on.

That light had been her sense of security.

But there was no point in thinking about it, those days were long gone, she thought.

Wen Yao reached out and slowly fumbled for the light switch on the wall.

The light suddenly turned on, and Wen Yao quietly placed her backpack on the table.

Though the room was shabby, she had cleaned it thoroughly. As soon as her backpack hit the table, a piece of paper fluttered up and fell to the ground.

Wen Yao paused and walked over.

The paper lay face down on the floor.

She sensed that the note contained unpleasant words, which added a feeling of heaviness in her heart.

Yet she still reached out to pick it up.

—Wen Yao, I'm sorry.

Looking at the hastily scrawled handwriting of her father on the note, Wen Yao stood in the cramped room in silence for a full ten minutes.

In fact, she had thought that moving into such a small room with her father was already the worst situation, but she didn't expect that the world could become even worse.

". . ."

Wen Yao closed her eyes for a moment, silently folded the note, and threw it into the trash can.

She didn't want to cry, she just felt as if a knife had entered her stomach, stirring and cutting her repeatedly.

After a while, she hurried into the bathroom and vomited for a long time before coming out.

She squatted by the sink, slowly washing away the unpleasant stomach acid.

Watching the water splashing from the faucet, Wen Yao contemplated for a long time whether to drop out of school.

After all, what she needed to think about now wasn't how to live, but how to survive.

She was someone who weighed pros and cons very well. After realizing that it was best not to drop out, she calmly turned off the faucet and did two sets of practice problems before going to bed.

The next day, she, as usual, expressionlessly slung her backpack over her shoulder and continued to school, then calmly walked into the office to ask the homeroom teacher how to apply for a higher subsidy.

The homeroom teacher seemed a bit shocked by her personal situation, and an unconscious look of pity appeared in her eyes.

Wen Yao felt somewhat resistant to the homeroom teacher's pity because she always believed she didn't need anyone's sympathy.

This kind of pity felt like a knife cutting into her heart, making her feel worse than the moment she discovered her father had run away the night before.

It turned out that she had already become someone who needed pity.

She clearly realized this at that moment.

---

Life must go on.

In fact, such a life, if it continues for a long time, doesn't really count for much, people can gradually get used to everything.

And she just happened to have the corresponding adaptability and endurance.

Wen Yao thought numbly while studying.

It was just that occasionally, when filling out forms that indicated her secondary gender as Omega, she would still hesitate.

Omegas were supposed to differentiate between the ages of fourteen and sixteen, but for some reason, she hadn't differentiated yet.

It might be due to malnutrition or psychological pressure, but she didn't pay much attention to it.

She felt a sense of relief that she hadn't differentiated into an Omega because of her poor health.

After all, suppressants also cost money.

Saving where she could.

However, one day after the October break in her senior year, she finally differentiated.

The worst part was that she hadn't expected to differentiate at school, nor did she expect to be locked in with an Alpha at that moment.

That Alpha, named Jiang Shuyi, seemed to be a troublemaker and a school bully.

Trapped in the cleaning room, Wen Yao calmly looked at the somewhat dazed Alpha.

Wen Yao let Jiang Shuyi marked her.

She actually didn't want to be marked by anyone.

But according to common sense, if Jiang Shuyi didn't mark her, things would definitely get worse.

Faced with an Alpha, she felt utterly powerless.

Fortunately, this Alpha only kissed the mole on her neck and didn't make any further moves after marking her.

Wen Yao was grateful for that.

She could tolerate having a slight reaction to this person's pheromones for a few days.

---

After school, Wen Yao went to the pharmacy to buy suppressants.

It was her first time dealing with suppressants.

Being cautious by nature, she asked the store clerk many questions, such as how to inject the suppressants, which type would take effect the fastest, and which had the best cost-effectiveness.

Wen Yao didn't particularly like injections, but when she heard that the injectable suppressants were the cheapest and worked the fastest, she chose the injectable option.

Since there were many precautions to take with injectable suppressants, she diligently inquired about how to inject them.

The clerk patiently explained everything, but her serious and cautious inquiries seemed to annoy them, leading the clerk to respond somewhat impatiently:

"Your adult at home should know how to use this. If they've forgotten, just ask your mom to teach you."

"Really, it's nothing to worry about, just use it."

Wen Yao momentarily froze.

"...Okay."

She instinctively nodded, "I will."

What she thought was that she must not forget how to use the suppressants.

After all, her mother was no longer by her side.

Later, Wen Yao learned how to inject the suppressants in a short time.

Occasionally, when she recalled her first experience buying suppressants, she felt that these were indeed small matters, nothing to worry about.

---

Wen Yao was a very cautious person and rarely regretted the things she had done.

Because she deeply understood that what had happened had already occurred, and regret was futile.

Her living environment also left her with few choices, which reduced her chances of regret, every step she took felt more like a point of no return.

Wen Yao often dreamed of times when she desperately needed someone, only for that person to inexplicably vanish, leaving no trace in her life yet creating lingering reminders everywhere.

It seemed that everyone in this world had the shadow of a man who disappared after leaving a note.

To avoid being abandoned in a panic, she should have avoided starting anything in the first place.

But when it came to feelings, this was her first experience, and she had no idea when it had begun.

Was it too late by the time she realized it?

She might have regretted letting Jiang Shuyi easily enter her life.

Yet, it wasn't a deep regret.

Jiang Shuyi was a person who loved life.

She enjoyed conversing with many different people, excelled in sports, and was also skilled in music and painting.

She had many ways of expressing her love for the world.

Wen Yao knew that this person could achieve anything with just a little effort.

And even without trying hard, she already had a lot.

Jiang Shuyi was clean and pure, but what about herself?

—She was despicable.

Wen Yao thought this as she looked at the clothes of Jiang Shuyi that she had secretly hidden away.

Countless times, Wen Yao felt ashamed of her despicable thoughts as she secretly infiltrated Jiang Shuyi's home.

She went to great lengths to find excuses to get closer to this person, only to constantly realize that Jiang Shuyi didn't need her at all.

While resisting these feelings, she unknowingly became deeply entangled in them.

And now, Jiang Shuyi was gradually improving herself, becoming capable of doing everything on her own.

She had long known that this person would get better and better one day, but in a world where Jiang Shuyi could do everything by herself, she no longer felt needed.

Jiang Shuyi's inner world was becoming richer, powerful and heartfelt, much like the piece she had just played.

Such a person should be able to enjoy her ordinary yet joyful life with ease.

Just like being with Yan Jingshu.

The two of them together seemed like the perfect match.

Yan Jingshu could effortlessly and generously do everything she wanted.

While she was just someone who had to think every day about where her father had run off to and whether that debt collector would come knocking next month, threatening her with a knife.

Wen Yao took a deep breath and decided not to care about Jiang Shuyi and Yan Jingshu anymore.

After the school anniversary ended and the committee meeting was over, Wen Yao walked out of the auditorium.

As she moved forward, she heard a series of footsteps behind her.

From the sound of the footsteps, she could tell that the person behind her was Jiang Shuyi.

She had become so familiar with Jiang Shuyi that she could recognize her presence this easily.

Wen Yao couldn't help but frown in annoyance.

". . ."

Pretending not to notice that someone was following her, she quietly continued walking.

The person behind her also followed in silence.

After a long while, she sighed, "What do you want, Jiang Shuyi?"

Seeing her stop, Jiang Shuyi walked up beside her.

"Wen Yao, are you going home?"

". . ."

Going home?

Jiang Shuyi had been using this phrase so often lately that she almost forgot where her real home was.

Jiang Shuyi's home would never be her home.

". . ." Wen Yao paused for a moment and quietly sighed.

"Jiang Shuyi, the glass in my house has actually been fixed."

"I think I should move out of your house."

---

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