The classroom, a gloomy classroom, a classroom with only one person.

The person sitting alone in the classroom flipped through the book in her hand, but the fingers pressed on the pages never turned, indicating she wasn't reading.

There were covert sounds from the corridor outside the window, coming from a blind spot about ten meters away from the classroom. A mix of sobbing, low curses, and the sound of a scuffle intermittently reached the room.

These sounds made the person in the classroom tremble slightly; fortunately, at this time, no one noticed her condition.

The sobs gradually turned into terrified screams, and the sound became somewhat distorted.

An hour later, it was completely dark, and the lights in the corridor and classroom automatically turned on one by one.

The windows, slightly blurred due to the nighttime mist, made it impossible to see the outlines of the people passing by.

Bang, the classroom door was pushed open.

A girl with disheveled, dirty hair, torn clothes, blood on her face, and bruises all over her arms and legs walked in.

At this moment, the girl sitting down stood up in a panic, intending to support the other girl, but was pushed away.

"Feng Xiang." She called out the other's name, but the girl seemed not to hear, sitting back in her seat like a discarded rag doll, then lying on the desk in a daze.

The time for night study slowly passed, reaching half-past nine at night, when the patrolling teacher passed by and instructed the students in the classroom to go back to rest.

"Teacher, Feng Xiang she..." The girl was about to explain something.

The teacher saw the girl lying on the desk, knocked on the table, and after seeing the girl's face covered with wounds and blood, his tone slightly changed.

"Go and wash up, take a day off tomorrow." Then he remembered something.

"Or you could rest one night in the medical room." He called a female colleague, and the two took the girl to the medical room.

"Are you Feng Xiang's friend?" Seeing the two staying in the same classroom, the teacher couldn't help but ask.

"Uh, I've known Feng Xiang since we were young, we graduated from the same elementary school."

"I see, then how about you keep her company here tonight?" Though there was staff on duty in the medical room, considering they might not have the energy to take care, the teacher suggested this.

"I will."

"Then it's settled." The two teachers then left.

Silence returned to the air, with only the smell of disinfectant and the cold light in the medical room.

Looking at Feng Xiang, who had her wounds cleaned, dressed, and treated on the bed, the girl sat beside her wanting to exchange a few words, but Feng Xiang kept looking at the ceiling light, never responding.

A peaceful night passed.

Upon waking the next day, the girl found Feng Xiang was no longer in bed, and after inquiring with the staff on duty, she learned that Feng Xiang had left early in the morning.

In the following days, the girl never saw Feng Xiang.

Two weeks later, Feng Xiang returned to class, now in the second year of junior high, many students began practicing the Transcendent Sequence, Condensing Core, and entering Sequence One.

"Feng Xiang, have you also condensed your core?" Sensing the change in her aura, the girl happily congratulated her.

Unfortunately, the greeting was once again ignored, as Feng Xiang went straight past her.

"Haha, you're really sticking a cold face on a hot butt, I bet she doesn't even care about you."

"She's aiming to be a big shot in the future, haven't you heard?"

"Heard what?"

"Last month, a teacher from Edith Academy gave a lecture at our school. Feng Xiang seized the opportunity to 'bump into' that teacher in the corridor and worked hard to showcase her talents, receiving the teacher's nod of approval, who praised her talent, saying if she studies well, she could enter Edith Academy in the future."

"You know, because of the alliance between Edith Academy and Northern High School, each year, the middle schools in northern regions can send a few outstanding students to these schools for exchange activities, of course, each school accepts a limited number of students, and the top prestigious schools are very competitive, but if you know a teacher from these schools, it's easy to get a spot."

"This kind of good thing usually benefits the top student in the grade, but Feng Xiang snatched it away this time using underhanded methods, she really has ambition." The person beside her let out a series of sarcastic remarks.

"She hasn't even been admitted yet, already jockeying for position like this."

"So scheming, had I known I'd have tried the same."

"Even if she doesn't go to Edith Academy in the future, such an experience is so glamorous, just thinking about it makes one envious."

"Who knows, she might even meet many handsome guys and geniuses there, and if she could date one of them, that would be..."

"Stop it, what if she's genuinely diligent and studious, and gets into Edith in the future, then we'd all have to butter her up."

"Forget it, Edith Academy is now Four-leaf Crystal's number one, the school where Her Highness Hexia graduated, countless talents and conglomerate scions are vying to get in, there's no way for people like us."

...

Following this, the girl didn't have the mind to listen further, because those things were too far removed from her. Their school wasn't a prestigious middle school, and having the top student in the grade enter one of the top twenty schools in Four-leaf Crystal was already rare.

In the days that followed, she tried to greet Feng Xiang again, but unfortunately was ignored each time.

Feng Xiang must be resenting me for not helping her back then, the girl thought to herself.

She wasn't such a strong person, in fact, she was particularly timid, not daring to help her friend during the bullying, only able to sit trembling in the classroom, quietly waiting for everything to end.

Another two weeks passed.

The girl often saw Feng Xiang with new injuries and bandages, frequently absent from some classes, and her grades were slipping. She wanted to advise her but feared attracting trouble herself, getting targeted by those small groups in the grade.