Chapter 1

January, midwinter.

It has been snowing in Beicheng for several days recently, and the temperature is close to minus 20 degrees.

The No. 1 Middle School in the city just rang the bell for lunch break, and many students ran out of the teaching building.

Most of the students in Class 6 of Senior 3 had left by now. Zhong Jiajia stood up and looked out the window, touching Su Tao next to her.

"Weve been bored in the classroom all morning, why dont we go out for a walk?"

In fact, they should go to the cafeteria for lunch break, but the two girls were a little full after breakfast, and they still felt full until now, so they decided not to eat at noon.

Su Tao lay on the table, her chin resting on her left arm, holding a white ballpoint pen in one hand and doing questions.

There was a rabbit on the ballpoint pen, which was cute and well-behaved, a white ball, and looked very much like its owner.

After hearing what Zhong Jiajia said, Su Tao shook her head and said slowly: "Its too cold outside, I dont want to go out."

Zhong Jiajia glanced at the light snow outside again, but didnt force it. She sat back on the chair and took out her mobile phone and swiped it from time to time.

After a while, she seemed to suddenly think of something and asked Su Tao again: "No, its Friday today. I remember you said before that your fathers old friend wants to take you to live with her. Is it today?"

Zhong Jiajia and Su Tao are childhood friends. They have been in the same class since elementary school and have a very good relationship.

So Zhong Jiajia will know a lot of things about Su Tao first.

This time, because the nanny Li who has been taking care of Su Tao suddenly fell seriously ill and could not continue to take care of Su Tao.

She has been in the Su family for many years, so this departure did cause a lot of trouble for Su Taos father Su Guowei.

He was sent abroad by the station a few years ago and became a foreign correspondent. He could not go home many times a year.

There were almost no relatives in the family, and Sus grandparents died a few years ago.

Su Guowei was very anxious abroad at the time. He was afraid that his daughter would panic and be scared when she was alone at home, so he took the risk of being punished and booked a flight to return to China the next day overnight.

Su Tao was actually very happy when she heard the news that her father was coming back. She generously invited Zhong Jiajia to have a meal outside the school that day.

At the dinner table, Su Tao held a cup of milk tea and said to Zhong Jiajia with a smile: "Dad is coming back."

But this joy only lasted until the afternoon. During the break, Su Tao received a call from Su Guoweis colleague abroad.

The uncle on the phone told Su Tao how Su Guowei was scolded by his leader abroad, and emphasized the importance of Su Guoweis work.

Finally, the uncle said to Su Tao earnestly: "Little Su Tao, uncle knows that it is difficult for you, but it is not easy for your father either. If you can still hold on, how about waiting for him? Uncle promises that he will definitely return to China to accompany you after a while."

Su Tao didnt say much, but not long after hanging up the phone, she called her father again.

At that time, Su Guowei had already arrived at the airport with his suitcase. Su Tao listened to the airport broadcast and spoke softly:

"Dad, I know your current work situation is very difficult. You dont have to worry about me. I will apply to the teacher to move into the school dormitory after school tomorrow."

At this point, she seemed to be afraid that Su Guowei would not believe it, so she added a few words in a soft voice: "The school conditions are very good, and the food in the cafeteria is also very delicious, not worse than that made by Grandma Li. Dont worry about me, I can take care of myself."

Su Guowei held the suitcase handle at the airport, his eyes were red, and after a while, he replied in a muffled voice: "Okay."

They thought that the matter would end like this, but who knew that just a few months after moving into the senior high school dormitory, Su Guowei suddenly called her again and said that he had an old friend who liked Su Tao very much when she was very young. After hearing about her situation this time, he stood up immediately to take care of little Su Tao.

"That grandma is very nice. She often visited you when you were a child. You can live with her for a few months. When your dad comes back, he will pick you up. How about that?"

When Su Guowei called, his tone was tentative and cautious, as if he was taking care of Su Taos emotions. She was also distressed, so she didnt say much and nodded obediently.

Su Guowei, who was far away abroad, was very happy. After hanging up the phone with his daughter, he contacted the other side immediately to confirm the meeting time.

And Zhong Jiajia remembered very clearly that Su Tao said that someone would come to pick her up on Friday, but wasnt it today?

Su Tao was still lying on the table, spitting out a vague "hmm", looking a little listless and in low spirits.

Zhong Jiajia suddenly realized and instantly thought of why her good friend was abnormal today.

Yes, she would definitely feel uncomfortable if she suddenly went to live in a strangers house.

"Why dont you tell your dad that you dont want to go there and still live in the dormitory?"

Su Tao lowered her eyes and shook her head after hearing what Zhong Jiajia said.

"If I refuse, my dad will definitely respect my opinion, but he will definitely be worried."

Su Taos voice was soft, "I dont want him to worry about me abroad."

Zhong Jiajia was a little speechless. She felt that Su Tao was good in every way, but she was too obedient.

She had thought countless times from Su Taos perspective, what would her reaction be if her parents divorced and no one took care of her.

She should be very angry, right?

But Su Tao has been obedient since she was a child. Not only did she not worry Su Guowei at all, but even without adult supervision and care, her academic performance was still among the best in the grade, and she never fell out of the top three on the list.

Alas, it turns out that the gap between people is still quite large.

Zhong Jiajias thoughts were so divergent that she quickly stopped and asked the person next to her...

"Have you asked your father about the situation?"

Su Tao replied: "No, he just said that there was a grandmother I met when I was very young, and he didnt say much more."

"Hmm..."

The two girls chatted about this for a while until Zhong Jiajias phone made a "ding" sound, as if something was pushed to the homepage.

The next second, Zhong Jiajias scream rang in the classroom, scaring Su Tao and other students who stayed in the classroom.

"What the hell! How did my goddess get involved with that young master Ning who was full of gossip! Whats wrong with this marketing account! Fuck!"

Su Tao quickly looked around and pulled the sleeve of Zhong Jiajias school uniform.

"Jiajia, keep your voice down."

Zhong Jiajia has always been impetuous. Although she suppressed her voice at this moment, she couldnt help wanting to complain.

She pulled Su Tao and kept mumbling.

"This Mr. Ning has so many gossips that he needs a calculator to count them. There are so many gossips all over the place, and they are often on the hot search list!"

"Its over, my backyard is on fire."

"No! This must be a marketing account that posted it randomly! Wait, the goddess studio will definitely issue a lawyers letter to refute the rumor tonight!"

Zhong Jiajias goddess is a little flower who has become popular in recent years. She is quite good at acting. When she talked about it in front of Su Tao before, Su Tao would accompany her to discuss it briefly.

But today she really couldnt muster any energy, so she let Zhong Jiajia mutter beside her without saying much.

Just as she was thinking about it, her mobile phone suddenly rang.

Su Tao didnt care too much, she took it out and took a look, and found that it was an unread text message.

After opening it for a while, her beautiful almond eyes slowly widened, and her body slowly sat up straight.

Seeing that she was not in a good state, Zhong Jiajia stopped mumbling and leaned over.

"Whats the matter?"

She looked at Su Taos phone while talking.

Waiting at the school gate after school.

The words were concise, without even a superfluous punctuation mark.

Zhong Jiajia was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Su Tao.

"Is this the person who is coming to pick you up?"

"I dont know."

Su Tao stared at the text message for a while, then typed a line to reply.

May I ask who you are?

But unfortunately, the phone remained silent and never rang again.

This little episode directly caused Su Tao to be distracted the whole afternoon. After being called by the teacher twice in a daze during class, she slowly stabilized her thoughts.

Later, time finally made it to the evening.

After school, Su Tao went back to the dormitory to get her luggage, and Zhong Jiajia bought two cups of milk tea and waited for her at the school gate.

A few minutes later, she was seen walking over from a distance.

Su Tao took off her loose school uniform and put on a short skirt and white warm tights that she rarely wore.

She wore a pink and white cotton coat on her upper body. Her short hair, which was originally flat on her scalp, was now half tied up and tied in a small bun on top of her head.

From a distance, she looked like a moving marshmallow, and she felt soft and sweet just by looking at it.

There were many classmates following Su Tao towards the school gate. At this moment, their eyes were glued to her and they couldnt move away.

Zhong Jiajia jumped to her side and handed over the two cups of milk tea in her hand.

"I bought vanilla and red bean, choose one."

Su Tao chose the red bean flavor, and thanked Zhong Jiajia after taking it.

"Why did you change your clothes on purpose?"

Zhong Jiajia was very surprised. Her little sister didnt pay much attention to her appearance. These days, she only had two sets of school uniforms to change back and forth when she lived in the school.

This sudden change of clothes not only made her eyes brighter, but also made her curious.

Su Tao drank a sip of milk tea politely, and the warm and sweet taste spread on her tongue. Her eyebrows, which had been dull all day, finally opened up a little, and her almond eyes also brightened a lot.

"My father asked me to give my photo to the people over there, saying that I was wearing this outfit."

Zhong Jiajia said "Oh" and walked out of the school with Su Tao.

There were many parents who came to pick up their children outside the No. 1 Middle School, and several private cars were parked.

At this time, a sudden brake sound broke through the dull sky.

The black sports car arrogantly crashed into everyones sight, and the wheels scratched the heavy snow and stopped on the street outside the school gate.

Zhong Jiajias father was obsessed with cars. He knew most of the luxury cars, and she followed her father every day and knew a little bit.

Seeing this, Lian Lian excitedly pulled Su Taos clothes and said, "I saw this car in the magazine my dad bought! Limited to 20 units worldwide! Expensive and hard to buy!"

Su Tao had no interest in the car and didnt say much.

She stood there and waited for a few seconds. Seeing that no one came to find her, she dragged her suitcase and took Zhong Jiajia to the street, wondering whether she should call the number that sent a text message before.

When passing by the sports car, Zhong Jiajia looked curious and excited, and kept looking at the car.

As a result, the next second, a slightly piercing horn sounded, successfully stopping the two girls from moving forward.

Su Tao was really startled. Before she could react, the window on the drivers side of the sports car slowly lowered.

There was a man sitting inside.

He was lighting a cigarette at this moment. From Su Taos perspective, she could only see the mans well-defined profile and tight and delicate jawline.

After a moment, the cigarette in his mouth was lit, and the man threw the lighter to the side and turned his head lazily.

After their eyes met, Su Tao saw an extremely flamboyant and handsome face.

The skin was very white, the nose was also high, and the peach blossom eyes were the kind of face that looked a little frivolous and heartless when smiling.

But unfortunately, this will The man didnt smile much, and his expression looked very indifferent.

The man looked at her and asked directly...

"Su Tao?"