Redemption - Chapter 2 - Jia Ying

The girl shrugged her shoulders with an innocent look. This seemingly cute action was enough to make most men forget the dangerous signals she was giving off-or even their own names. Unfortunately, it had no effect on the increasingly impatient boy in front of her. His frown deepened as he said, “If you don’t tell me the truth, I might as well spend the entire morning sleeping.”

The girl replied softly, “Actually, I tried calling you on the intercom, but it wasn’t working. Then I knocked on the door, but you didn’t hear me…”

The boy, still composed, interrupted, “No one asked about that. I’m asking how you got up here. Keep it short and simple.”

The girl shrugged her shoulders again and casually said, “I climbed up the drainpipe from the window on the floor below.”

And she did say it just like that-using the same tone a typical girl would use to casually say, “I saw this cute dress yesterday.”

The boy made every effort to stay calm, one of his many virtues being his ability to maintain his composure under any circumstance. He took a deep breath and, with “calmness,” asked, “Just to confirm, which floor is this?”

The girl tilted her head in confusion, an expression that, admittedly, was quite cute. “The twelfth floor. Why?”

When she said “twelfth floor,” her tone remained as natural as if she were saying, “I saw this cute dress yesterday.”

The boy clutched his head in agony and collapsed back onto the bed. If some poor soul out on a morning jog had happened to see a high school girl dressed in a school uniform climbing up twelve stories on a drainpipe, they’d definitely wonder if they were losing their mind…

At this point, the girl grew a little annoyed. Her pouty expression was, again, nothing short of adorable. She huffed, “Don’t go back to sleep! We’re on duty at the school gate today-you didn’t forget, did you?”

The boy turned over, closed his eyes, and said, “My head hurts. I’m not going to school today. Can you tell the homeroom teacher for me that I have a headache, a fever, a migraine, and a sudden brain hemorrhage? Thanks. That’s it.”

The girl exclaimed, “That’s not okay! Today’s classes are really important! And don’t forget, today there’s also…”

Before she could finish her sentence, the boy interrupted her brusquely, “You’re so annoying, you nagging old hag! I already said I’m not going. Not going means not going!”

The girl’s expression froze at once. After a moment, her expression gradually softened. Then, a chilling smile filled with dangerous intent slowly appeared on her face. “Oh, really? Is that so? It seems I’ve been too nice to you lately.”

The moment the last word left her mouth, the girl bent down, grabbed the edge of the boy’s bedsheet, and yanked it with strength several times that of an ordinary girl. Both the sheet and the boy-wrapped snugly in his blanket-were wrenched off the bed and onto the floor. Caught completely off guard, the boy landed heavily on the hard surface and let out an indecipherable cry of pain. The girl, now like a completely different person, spoke coldly: “You have three minutes to clean up, brush your teeth, and get down to the living room. If not…”

As expected, the boy appeared in the living room exactly three minutes later.

He sat at the dining table, eating breakfast with the girl as usual. While they ate, he turned on the TV to catch the city’s morning news. Today’s morning news in Nanhai City was just as interesting as ever.

April 3, 2012, 7:00 AM

Time until the disaster: 32.5 hours

It was truly a beautiful spring day! A gentle spring breeze, carrying the pleasant aroma of blooming flowers, silently swept through the picturesque city. It was early April, the loveliest season for this charming little town. Delicate peach blossoms danced in the wind, some landing on the sidewalk, others falling softly onto the passersby.

The boy leisurely pedaled his beloved bicycle, with the girl riding on the back, down a road lined with peach and apricot trees. They were surrounded by a sea of blossoms and the sweet scent of spring. Petals floated down gently with the breeze, landing on his hair, his shoulders.

The city they lived in was truly beautiful. It was bordered on three sides by mountains and opened out to the sea on the fourth. In spring, the hillsides were blanketed with endless fields of flowers, and the fresh sea air carried a rejuvenating quality that uplifted the spirit.

The boy lifted his head and gazed ahead. A vision of springtime splendor greeted him. Trees trembling under the weight of blooming flowers, vibrantly colored butterflies and humming bees dancing through the blossoms, and the fresh green hues of spring growth-all of it created a breathtaking scene. Just imagining this, even with eyes closed, was enough to make one’s heart feel light. And if you could inhale a lungful of that intoxicating, refreshing floral fragrance right now-ah, paradise. This must be paradise.

The boy, named Zong Rui, was riding his bicycle with a girl who shared the same home as him, on their way to school. Ah, speaking of living together, don’t misunderstand-the two were not dating. At most, they could be described as childhood friends. After all, Zong Rui’s father was the Deputy Director of the Public Security Bureau in this city. He had an old friend, a military police sniper, who had won the national sniper championship four consecutive times and had taken down countless criminals in his career. Saying that he was one of the best snipers in Country Z would not be an exaggeration. Tragically, however, on the day before he was set to compete for his fifth championship…

He was ambushed and killed by a sniper on the road.

The incident made headlines across Country Z, but to this day, the culprit was never caught. The man had tragically lost his wife years before, so when he was killed, he left behind an eight-year-old daughter. Out of deep friendship for his old comrade, Zong Rui’s father took it upon himself to sponsor the girl’s living and education expenses. By now, you’ve probably guessed-yes, that girl was none other than Jia Ying, the beautiful young lady who now lived downstairs in Zong Rui’s home and had grown into a graceful and strikingly lovely teenager.