Country S, City C, C University.
September sunlight filtered through the gaps in the plane tree leaves, dappling the stone pathway of the campus as Song Qingyi dragged her suitcase to the main gate and took a deep breath.
Four years. She had finally returned to this soil.
Behind her dark sunglasses, her eyes narrowed slightly as she surveyed the city that had once almost cost her life.
"Hey there, need any help?" a volunteer asked warmly, stepping forward.
Song Qingyi took off her sunglasses, revealing a pair of autumn-pool-clear yet sharply edged eyes. "Thank you. Where is the registration desk?"
The volunteer froze, momentarily intimidated by the girl's aura—she wore a simple white shirt and jeans, yet exuded an unassailable chill.
The sunlight illuminated her porcelain-white skin, making it look as though it were edged in gold.
"It's, it's at the plaza in front of the library," the volunteer stammered.
Song Qingyi nodded in gratitude, dragging her suitcase toward the registration area.
Her left leg had been injured in that car accident four years ago. Although it had healed, it still ached dully after prolonged walking, forcing her to slow her pace.
Only she knew this detail; to outsiders, her gait remained elegant and unhurried.
A long queue had already formed at the registration desk.
Song Qingyi stood quietly at the tail end of the line, taking out her admission notice and passport from her bag.
"Whoa! Look!"
A sudden commotion broke out in the crowd.
Song Qingyi looked up and saw three luxury cars slowly enter the campus, stopping near the registration area.
From the first car emerged a figure she knew all too well—Song Yueyue, arm in arm with Xia Beiji, her smile sweet as honey.
Song Qingyi's fingers tightened involuntarily, creasing the corner of her admission notice.
Four years had passed, and Song Yueyue had grown even more beautiful. A pink dress made her skin look like cream, while Xia Beiji remained tall and handsome, though his brow carried a few more worldly traces.
It seemed the past four years had treated them well.
Two young men stepped out of the following cars respectively.
One wore a casual suit with wire-rimmed glasses, exuding aristocracy in every gesture.
The other was dressed in trendy designer streetwear, an earring glittering in the sunlight as he impatiently made a phone call.
"It's Gu Li, the young master of the Gu family, and Qiu Situ, the Qiu family's second young master who just returned from abroad!" people around them whispered in awe.
The moment these four appeared, they instantly became the center of attention.
The staff at the registration desk dropped what they were doing and hurried over to greet them obsequiously.
The students originally waiting in line automatically cleared a path, their eyes filled with envy.
Song Qingyi sneered.
Talk about a small world; she hadn't expected it to be so difficult to avoid running into Song Yueyue and Xia Beiji upon her return.
To think they had all tested into the same university.
Song Qingyi didn't want to draw attention on her first day, especially in front of those two.
Yet fate rarely aligned with one's wishes—the very things she wanted to avoid seemed bound to happen.
"Hey, you!" a sharp female voice suddenly rang out. "Didn't you see someone needs priority processing? Move aside!"
Song Qingyi looked up and saw a girl wearing a staff badge pointing right at her, impatience written all over her face.
"I'm in line," Song Qingyi said calmly.
"Huh?" The girl arched her brows exaggeratedly. "Do you know who they are? The daughter of the Song Group and the young master of the Xia family! Who do you think you are, keeping them waiting?"
Such a snobbish piece of work?
Song Qingyi's gaze turned cold.
She had her limits.
While she wanted to keep a low profile, that didn't mean she would let herself be bullied.
Besides, during her four years in Country M, she was no longer the discarded daughter of the Song family who could be pushed around at will.
Song Qingyi looked the girl straight in the eye. "First come, first served—that's the basic rule. If they have privileges, please show the official school documentation."
The surrounding area fell silent for a few seconds.
The girl's face flushed red. "What—what kind of attitude is that? Don't think I can't keep you from enrolling today!"
The argument caught the attention of the four people not far away.
Xia Beiji glanced over casually, but froze the moment he caught sight of Song Qingyi's profile.
"Qingyi?" he blurted out, disbelief heavy in his voice.
The name detonated like a bomb in the crowd.
Song Yueyue's smile froze on her face. She jerked her head around, fixing a hard stare on the figure standing in the queue.
Song Qingyi sighed inwardly, knowing she couldn't avoid it now.
She slowly turned around to face her former "family" and "lover."
Xia Beiji stared directly at Song Qingyi.
The sunlight fell upon her, outlining her slender yet upright silhouette.
Four years of time had carved her into an even more refined version of herself—her once slightly naive face now possessed distinct angles, and her eyes, which used to brim with tears, were now as calm and bottomless as an ancient well.
Song Qingyi's transformation left Xia Beiji somewhat dazed.
She had grown even prettier, looking surpassing even Song Yueyue...
"It really is Elder Sister!" Song Yueyue exclaimed, her eyes instantly turning red. "Elder Sister, where have you been these past four years? Father, Older Brother, and I have searched everywhere for you!"
Song Yueyue trotted forward, attempting to link arms with Song Qingyi, but the latter deftly sidestepped her.
Song Yueyue's hand hung awkwardly in mid-air, a flash of malice crossing her eyes before she quickly replaced it with a pitiful expression.
"Are you still angry with me, Elder Sister?" she asked, her voice choking up. "I know you blame me because of Xie Wan, but I was genuinely terrified back then... and besides, you're fine now, aren't you?"
At the mention of the name "Xie Wan," a wave of whispers rippled through the crowd.
"Is she that Song Qingyi who killed her own sister-in-law?"
"Oh my god, a murderer is allowed into C University?"
"I heard she only served three years because of her family connections..."
"..."
Listening to the chatter, Song Qingyi curved the corner of her lips into a cold smile.
She looked at Song Yueyue. "I am indeed fine now, but the true murderer has been roaming free all this time."
Song Yueyue's expression shifted slightly before she assumed an even more aggrieved look. "What does Elder Sister mean by that? Could you possibly think that I..."
"Song Qingyi," Xia Beiji suddenly interrupted, stepping forward to block the space between them. "Where on earth have you been for the past four years? Why didn't you leave any word?"
His gaze swept complexly over Song Qingyi's face, as if searching for a trace of the girl who had once loved him deeply.
Yet Song Qingyi's gaze made him feel entirely a stranger—there was no love, no hatred, not even the slightest ripple, as if she were looking at an irrelevant passerby.
Xia Beiji's heart tightened.
"Where I was is none of your business," Song Qingyi said flatly, turning back to the staff member. "Please process my admission."
The difficult staff member, driven by some inexplicable impulse, snatched the admission notice right out of Song Qingyi's hand and read aloud, "Song Qingyi, Department of Biomedical Engineering graduate student..."
She let out a scoff. "Are you kidding me? Someone who didn't even take the national college entrance exams is coming straight in as a C University grad student?"
Song Yueyue chimed in right on cue, her voice gentle yet loud enough for everyone around to hear clearly. "Elder Sister, I know you've always been smart, but C University graduate programs aren't that easy to get into... Were you tricked by someone?"
She furrowed her brow worriedly. "Or... is this notice..."
Song Yueyue purposefully left the sentence unfinished, but the implication was more than clear enough.
Someone in the crowd immediately shouted, "It's definitely fake! A murderer trying to sneak into C University?"
"Call the police! Someone like this is too dangerous!"
"I've already called the admissions office; just wait till she gets exposed!"
"..."