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Yu Jianqing was not originally called Yu Jianqing.

From birth to age two, Yu Suhua and Yu Weidong called her "money-losing brat." After she turned two, the two had to register her household. Yu Weidong, who had attended primary school for three years, wrote down the name "Yu Pan'er," patted Yu Suhua's bulging belly, and said proudly, "The next baby will definitely be a boy."

Yu Pan'er finally had a name, but no one called her that. Her parents still called her "money-loser," saying things like, "Money-loser, go cook," "Money-loser, feed the chickens," and "Money-loser, take your brother out to play."

Her older and younger brothers would call her "Hey," saying things like, "Hey, get me some rice," or "Hey, help me with my homework."

But Yu Jianqing was never an obedient child.

When her parents asked her to cook, she used up the cured meat that the family had stored for half a year; when they asked her to feed the chickens, she secretly hid two eggs and ate them herself; when they asked her to take her younger brother out to play, she took him to school, tied him to a tree, and listened to the teacher's lecture from the window; when they asked her to serve rice, she filled her own bowl to the brim and gave them half a bowl.

She only doesn't refuse when they ask Yu Pan'er to do her homework.

She stared intently at the mysterious and beautiful symbols, trying hard to understand their meaning, and gripped her pencil, writing down the answer stroke by stroke.

The outcome is often that the younger brother, holding his homework with all the answers correct, says with a mixture of envy and disdain, "What's the use of writing so well if you can't go to school anyway?"

At this time, Yu Pan'er often felt lost and hopeful. She thought, "If only I could go to school too."

When I was nine years old, the opportunity came.

A responsible principal was transferred to the village primary school. He went door-to-door to investigate the children who were not attending school and found Yu Pan'er's family.

Yu Weidong naturally disagreed. Nine years old is already a grown girl. If she grows up for another two years, she can get engaged and exchange dowry. What's the point of going to that lousy school?

The principal understood these kinds of people's thinking and patiently persuaded them, "Society has progressed now. Who would want a girl who can't read a single word? If she went to school for a few years and learned to keep accounts and write, wouldn't the bride price be much higher than it is now?"

"But the tuition..."

"A few dozen yuan a semester, what's so special about that? Five years of primary school only costs a few hundred yuan, but you can ask for several thousand more in dowry later!"

Yu Weidong was tempted, and the next day he gave Yu Pan'er a tattered bag that her younger brother had used, and told her to go to school.

Yu Pan'er displayed exceptional learning talent from the moment she started school.

Back then, there were few teachers, so classes were often mixed together. Students from grades one to five sat together, and the teacher would teach that grade while the others studied and did their homework on their own.

Yu Pan'er was in first grade, and within two months she was able to understand second grade lessons. After one semester, she had caught up with the third grade's learning progress. Three years later, she took the elementary school graduation exam and ranked eighth in the whole town.

The principal was a man who valued talent. He took her report card and talked with Yu Weidong and Yu Suhua behind closed doors for an afternoon. Yu Pan'er sat at the door pulling grass, her palms covered with bloodstains from the grass blades, but she was completely unaware of it—she was waiting for her fate to pronounce its verdict.

As the sun set, the principal came out, touched Yu Pan'er's dry, yellow hair, and said with a smile, "Panpan, you can go to junior high school in town now."

Later, Yu Pan'er learned that the principal had covered half of her tuition fees for the three years of junior high school.

Once in town, she could only go home once a week. The school provided accommodation, but she had to cook her own meals. Yu Pan'er's rations were usually just a small bag of broken rice and a handful of pickled vegetables. She had to carefully plan the portions and control her appetite to ensure she had food every day.

She attended classes on an empty stomach, slept on an empty stomach, and participated in various city competitions on an empty stomach, yet she still managed to win awards and bring home one certificate and report after another. She even ranked third in the city's high school entrance exam, and people came to deliver the good news with gongs and drums.

Neighbors and villagers came one after another to offer their congratulations, which made Yu Weidong and Yu Suhua stop looking sour. Instead, they patted Yu Pan'er on the shoulder kindly and said, "Pan'er, study hard and bring honor to your parents."

Yu Pan'er naturally entered the best high school in the city, with free room and board and tuition. Finally, she no longer had to worry about what to eat tomorrow and began to study without any distractions.

When she goes home for holidays, she will visit the principal.

The principal remained at the village primary school. The dilapidated mud house had been renovated and became much brighter. There were also a few more teachers, so everyone no longer had to attend classes together.

She has never married, looks very young, and is highly respected by her teachers and villagers.

She was delighted to see Yu Pan'er, invited her to her home, served her fruit, and asked about her studies in the city.

After listening, her eyes were always filled with relief. "Panpan, the moment I saw you, I knew you were a special child and wouldn't be content to stay in the village for the rest of your life."

In the college entrance examination, Yu Pan'er ranked 17th in the province. She chose to study law at A University, the best university in the province, and began her four years of study.

During those four years, she maintained the highest GPA in the entire department and successfully gained admission to the same university for postgraduate studies. When she told her parents the good news, they were shocked and incredulous.

Yu Suhua screamed, "What?! You're not allowed to get a guaranteed postgraduate admission! We've already made arrangements with the Liu family in the next town for our engagement next month!"

Yu Weidong also said, "Your brother has taken a fancy to a girl and wants a dowry of 30,000 yuan and a new house to be built. Our family really doesn't have the money, so we're just waiting for the Liu family's dowry."

Yu Pan'er said, "Why should I? I don't want to get married, I want to study!"

Yu Suhua slapped her, "Just because we're your parents! We've supported your education for so many years, and you're still not satisfied? It's time to pay back the money we spent on you."

Yu Pan'er covered her face, glaring at them hatefully, "Besides the tuition for elementary and middle school, have you ever spent a single penny on me?!"

"You took all the bonuses from the middle school and college entrance exams, and I supported myself through part-time jobs during college. I don't owe you anything!"

Her resistance was fruitless. Yu Weidong locked her in the house to reflect on her mistakes. She escaped through the window at night and stood at the door, feeling lost and having nowhere to go. Finally, she went to the principal's house.

She only intended to stand outside the principal's door for a short while, but the principal noticed her, let her in, and asked her what had happened.

Yu Pan'er recounted what had happened, her eyes stinging as she looked at the principal's gentle expression. "Why? I don't want to marry that person. I just want to study. Is that wrong?"

The principal patted her head and said, "Panpan, you've never been wrong."

Yu Pan'er burst into tears for the first time in twenty-two years.

She didn't cry when Yu Suhua whipped her with willow branches and left her covered in blood when she was six; she didn't cry when her younger brother falsely accused her of stealing money and Yu Weidong beat her until her teeth fell out when she was eight; she didn't cry when she was hungry and couldn't sleep at school and lay in bed reciting her lessons by moonlight when she was twelve; she didn't cry when she was mocked as a country bumpkin and ostracized by her classmates when she first entered high school; she didn't cry when Yu Suhua slapped her tonight, but now, feeling the warmth on her head, she can no longer bear it.

She cried uncontrollably, “They don’t like me… Why did they bring me into this world? They could have just aborted me, killed me, or let me starve to death… They raised me just to sell me for a good price… Even my name is for their son… I hate this name, it makes me want to vomit every time I hear it!”

The principal wiped away Yu Pan'er's tears, cupped her face, and said seriously, "Panpan, you must remember, you are not living for anyone else, you are living for yourself."

"Do what you want to do, and don't care what others say."

"If you don't like your name, then we'll change it."

The principal took out a pen and wrote three bold characters on the manuscript paper.

Yu Jianqing

She said, "Xin Qiji has a poem that says, 'I see the green hills as charming, and I suppose the green hills see me the same way.' How about you name yourself Yu Jianqing?"

Yu Jianqing nodded vigorously, "I like this name."

She stole her family's household registration book, moved her household registration out, and went to the police station to change the name "Yu Pan'er" that had been with her for twenty-two years.

When she happily went to find the principal with her new ID card, she saw the whole village dressed in white and heard cries coming from the principal's house.

A teacher from the school told Yu Jianqing that the principal had been suffering from lung cancer for many years but had kept it a secret until a few days before his death, when he called several teachers over to make his final arrangements.

The teacher wiped away her tears and said to her, "Before Teacher Jiang left, she asked me to pass on a message to you."

She said, "Jianqing, the most important thing in life is not to let yourself down."

Yu Jianqing burst into tears, knelt before the mourning hall, and solemnly kowtowed three times. After that, she never returned to this place.

-

Yu Jianqing had just started her postgraduate studies. Because of her intelligence and diligence, she was well-liked by her supervisor. Knowing that she was in financial difficulty, her supervisor often introduced her to jobs such as document writing and legal consultation.

This time, she received a strange job.

The mentor said, "Hmm... This customer lost his game data because he bought a counterfeit hard drive, so he decided to sue the seller. However, no lawyer was willing to take the case, so he decided to come in on his own. Jianqing, you are responsible for answering his questions."

Although it was a strange job, Yu Jianqing had no objections as long as the pay was good.

The client's home was in an older neighborhood in the city center. After finding the floor, she knocked on the door, and a clear voice came from inside, "Come in, the door isn't locked."

She opened the door and went in. The living room was messy and empty. Strange noises came from the depths of the room. She followed the sound to the study and looked inside. The computer screen facing the door was flashing with colorful lights. A person was sitting in a chair with their back to her, typing furiously on the keyboard.

She knocked lightly on the door. "Hello?"

The person paused the game, turned their chair around, and looked over.

He had deep green eyes and long golden hair, and an earring that shone brightly in the dim room. He grinned and said, "You must be Yu Jianqing. My name is Lu Ye."

-

Lu Ye is a very strange person.

This is the conclusion Yu Jianqing reached after spending a month with him.

He was addicted to online games, spending at least twelve hours a day in front of the computer. However, after finishing the game, he was still full of energy and could immediately engage in discussions with Yu Jianqing without any fatigue.

Once, when Yu Jianqing was working part-time as a waitress at a restaurant, she saw Lu Ye having dinner with some people.

They drank bottle after bottle, got drunk, said goodbye to Lu Ye, and finally, he was the only one left, slumped over the table and fast asleep.

As closing time approached, Yu Jianqing couldn't help but wake him up.

"Mr. Lu, we're closing up shop."

Lu Ye regained consciousness and staggered out the door.

Half an hour later, Yu Jianqing got off work, turned a corner, and saw Lu Ye sitting by the flower bed.

She shouldn't have been meddling in his affairs time and time again, but at that moment, she inexplicably walked over to him and asked, "Mr. Lu, aren't you going home?"

Lu Ye yawned. "It doesn't matter where you sleep."

"You'll get sick if you do that. Do you have a friend? Have him come pick you up."

Lu Ye shook his head. "No."

"...What about that family?"

Lu Ye chuckled softly, his green eyes vacant. For some reason, Yu Jianqing felt that there was a deep sorrow in that smile. "No family."

In the end, Yu Jianqing took him home.

Three months later, the strange case went to trial, and Lu Ye, who was well-prepared, won the lawsuit, with the merchant ordered to pay damages.

The mentor was puzzled, "The money spent on legal consultation alone exceeded the compensation amount by several times. I don't know what this person is after."

Yu Jianqing smiled and said, "For some people, money is not the point; the most important thing is to get revenge."

The next time they met was a month later. Yu Jianqing was delivering follow-up materials for the case to Lu Ye. She knocked on the door for a long time but received no response. After hesitating for a moment, she pressed the handle and found that it was indeed unlocked.

As soon as she entered the room, she was startled by Lu Ye's blood-soaked body on the floor.

She took the person to the hospital and was about to call the police, but Lu Ye refused.

Yu Jianqing said, "No, we must call the police. You've been seriously injured; we can't let the murderer get away with it."

Lu Ye asked, "What if the murderer was more seriously injured than me? What would the sentence be?"

Yu Jianqing remained silent.

This counts as mutual fighting.

After a moment, she whispered, "Then I won't apply."

Lu Ye couldn't help but laugh.

He said, "I need to be hospitalized for a while. Can you come and take care of me?"

Yu Jianqing hesitated for a moment, "I'm very busy with my studies."

Lu Ye held up five fingers. "I'll give you fifty yuan a day."

Yu Jianqing immediately grasped his hand, "Deal!"

During the two weeks Lu Ye was hospitalized, she ran back and forth between the school, Lu Ye's home, and the hospital every day to bring him meals. She didn't see anyone visiting him and realized that he wasn't joking when he said he had no family or friends.

She was puzzled, "You're not that old, how come you don't have any relatives?"

Lu Ye quickly finished a bowl of rice, wiped his mouth, and said in a deliberately weathered manner, "Young lady, I'm older than your great-grandmother."

Yu Jianqing pounced on him, "Nonsense, you're taking advantage of me! You look about the same size as me!"

On the day of his discharge, Yu Jianqing helped Lu Ye home, and as soon as they stepped out of the hospital gate, they were blocked by a group of people.

The leader was Yu Suhua. She rushed up and slapped Yu Jianqing, then sat on the ground, slapping her thigh and wailing, "Everyone, be the judge! I worked so hard to get my daughter into A University and arranged a good marriage for her, but she turned around and fooled around with some other man! Where do we parents put our faces now!"

The onlookers whispered among themselves, pointing and whispering about Yu Jianqing and Lu Ye.

Lu Ye turned to look at Yu Jianqing. Her face was calm, but her hands were clenched into fists.

"Hey," he said, "what's wrong? Do you need my help?"

"Need not."

Yu Jianqing said coldly, stepped forward, grabbed Yu Suhua by the collar, lifted her up, and stared at her without fear.

"You said you supported my university education, but besides the few hundred yuan for elementary and middle school tuition, what else did you do to help? The 20,000 yuan prize money I received for my college entrance exam should be enough to pay it back, right?"

"And that good marriage, is it with Old Liu's son with cerebral palsy from the next town?"

"Whether it's for my own good or just to exchange me for the bride price, you know perfectly well in your heart!"

Her voice was loud and clear enough for those around her to hear, and the discussion gradually shifted.

Yu Suhua's wailing gradually subsided, but she still refused to leave, saying, "You are my daughter, it's only right for me to marry you off to whomever I want!"

With a wave of her hand, several strong men from her clan stepped forward and reached out to grab Yu Jianqing.

Lu Ye stood in front of Yu Jianqing, grabbed the man's neck, and shoved him to the side, causing him to fall to the ground. He punched one man after another, and soon, a circle of people lay around him groaning in pain.

Yu Suhua cried again, this time from fear. "Help! Murder! Murder!"

Lu Ye grabbed Yu Jianqing's wrist, "Let's go!" and led her out of the hospital.

The two ran all the way home before stopping, and Yu Jianqing said, "I didn't expect you to be so amazing."

Lu Ye unwrapped the blood-stained gauze from his hand. "Likewise, you're quite something too, leaving her speechless."

Yu Jianqing laughed, "After all, you're studying law."

Then, she lowered her head and covered her face. After a long while, her voice trembled with sobs: "I thought I had escaped."

"What are you afraid of?"

Yu Jianqing's hands were pulled down, and Lu Ye wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. His usual nonchalant expression turned serious, and his green eyes stared intently at her.

“Every time they come, you just curse them out. If things get really bad, I'm here for you. I'll fight them back for you.”

Yu Jianqing's lips trembled, but she managed a smile and said, "Okay."

-

Lu Ye kept his word.

Yu Suhua brought her relatives many more times afterward, and when Yu Jianqing berated her so much that she lost face, she wanted to fight. He gave each of them a big slap, sparing none of them.

Lu Ye's injuries had healed long ago, but Yu Jianqing still frequently visited his home. When asked why, he would confidently reply, "I'm afraid you'll get drunk and die on the street one day!"

Lu Ye then provided Yu Jianqing with another computer and taught him how to play Red Alert, Counter-Strike, StarCraft, and Diablo.

Yu Jianqing excelled at everything he learned, and soon he completely defeated Lu Ye, who vowed never to touch computer games again. However, just a few days later, he was back to PK with Yu Jianqing.

Yu Jianqing once carefully examined Lu Ye's hair, asking, "Where did you dye your hair? Why does it never fade?"

Lu Ye said, "It's innate, including my eyes."

He tossed his golden hair and said smugly, "Envious, aren't you?"

Yu Jianqing scoffed, "Show-off."

After graduating with a master's degree, Yu Jianqing quickly found a job at a well-known law firm, thanks to her excellent academic qualifications and internship experience.

The night she received the offer, she treated Lu Ye to dinner. After a few rounds of drinks, she got quite drunk.

It was pouring rain outside. Lu Ye took her home, but she grabbed his sleeve, not letting him leave. She didn't say anything, just blinked her bright eyes at him.

Lu Ye's face flushed as she stared at him, and he turned his head away uncomfortably. "What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?"

Yu Jianqing smiled and said, "You're beautiful."

Lu Ye's face turned even redder. "Even if it's beautiful, I can't keep looking at it."

"I'll watch!"

She stared intently at Lu Ye and brought up an unrelated topic.

"Yesterday, a junior student confessed his feelings to me, but I rejected him. Do you know why?"

Lu Ye's heart suddenly started racing, as if he were sitting in a speeding car with a cliff in front of him. He should have stepped on the brakes, but for some reason, he let it continue forward.

"……Why?"

Yu Jianqing said softly, "Because I already have someone I like."

"Guess who it is?"

Lu Ye hurriedly stood up. "Xiao Qing, you're drunk. Get some rest. I'm leaving now."

Yu Jianqing refused to let go, saying, "You know who I'm talking about!"

Lu Ye cruelly pried her hands off, not daring to turn around, and pushed the door open to leave.

But as soon as they got downstairs, they heard hurried footsteps behind them. Turning around, they saw Yu Jianqing rushing into the rain and hugging Lu Ye tightly.

Why don't you answer!

"I can feel that you like me too!"

Lu Ye stiffly opened his arms, not returning the embrace, his voice hoarse, "You don't understand, I can't be with you."

"Xiaoqing, you have a bright future ahead of you. You should find someone more outstanding and more worthy of you. I am not worthy of you."

Yu Jianqing looked up at him, her eyes red.

"You're not allowed to say things like that again!"

"I don't want someone more outstanding or more worthy of me, I just want you. In my heart, you are the best!"

After saying that, she stood on tiptoe and resolutely kissed him.

The kiss contained the saltiness of tears, the coolness of rain, and the acrid taste of blood.

Lu Ye closed his eyes, slowly embraced Yu Jianqing, and let himself sink into the kiss.

I'm sorry, Xiaoqing. I should have firmly rejected you, disappeared, and never appeared again, but four hundred years of life is just too lonely.

Please forgive my selfishness.