Tuesday morning at Wolven High began with a stir in Class 9.
The morning reading session had just ended when a courier in a yellow and red DHL international uniform appeared at the classroom door, looking breathless. He held a package that was visibly taped with multiple layers of security seals.
"Excuse me," the courier called out. "Is there a Miss Ren here? I have a Priority Express international shipment that requires a biometric signature."
Ren stood up from the back row. She pulled her cap down, hiding her eyes, and walked slowly to the door. She pressed her thumb against the courier's scanner.
*Beep. Verified.*
She took the package. It wasn't large, but it was heavy. The box was plastered with warning labels in German and English: **[FRAGILE]**, **[TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED]**.
Ren returned to her seat and tossed the package onto her desk.
Luke, who had just come back from the cafeteria with two cartons of soy milk, leaned over immediately. "Sister Ren, what did you buy? It looks serious. Is it a new gaming console? Or maybe some limited-edition contraband?"
Ren ignored him. She took a pair of scissors and sliced through the heavy-duty tape.
She opened the box. Inside, nestled in protective foam, was a vacuum-sealed bag containing a stack of yellowed, fraying parchment paper.
Ren carefully removed the papers. They smelled of old dust and history. The pages were covered in dense, scribbled handwriting, complex mathematical formulas, and German annotations. The edges were burnt in places, survivors of a long-ago war.
Luke stared at the pile. "Paper? You bought a pile of old scrap paper?" He looked closer, squinting at the illegible scrawl. "Is this... homework from the 1940s? Ren, please tell me you didn't get scammed."
Ren picked up the top sheet. Her fingers traced the ink lightly, her eyes gleaming with a rare, intense focus.
To the uneducated eye, it was trash. To a physicist, it was the Holy Grail.
These were the original, handwritten field notes of Heisenberg regarding Matrix Mechanics, a manuscript that had been lost for decades until it surfaced on the black market in Berlin yesterday.
"It's not scrap paper," Ren said, her voice soft with satisfaction. She carefully placed the page back into the protective sleeve.
"How much?" Luke asked, taking a sip of his soy milk. "Fifty bucks?"
Ren leaned back in her chair, putting her feet up on the desk support. "Five million."
*Pfffff—!*
Luke sprayed soy milk all over the floor.
He choked, coughing violently as he stared at her. "How much?! Five million?! US Dollars?!"
"Yeah," Ren said nonchalantly. "It was a fair price."
Luke looked at the "trash" on the desk, then at Ren. He felt his world view crumbling. He knew Juan spoiled her, but spending five million dollars on a stack of old paper? That wasn't just being rich; that was insanity.
***
While Ren was admiring her multi-million dollar "trash," a different kind of preparation was happening in Class 1.
Faye was in the restroom, checking her reflection in the mirror. She had changed her look today, wearing gold-rimmed glasses to appear more scholarly. Her uniform was pressed to perfection.
Just ten minutes ago, Xavier had brought her good news. Through his father's connections, he had managed to secure a ten-minute meeting with Lawyer Charles—Qi Chengjun.
Charles was in the Principal's office this morning to review some legal contracts for the school. It was a rare opportunity.
"Faye, remember," Xavier had warned her. "Lawyer Charles has a very eccentric temper. He hates people who waste his time. When you go in, be direct."
"I know," Faye practiced her most humble smile. "I just need a recommendation letter. If I can get into the Youth Leadership Summit in the Capital, the humiliation from the violin audition will be wiped clean."
She held a thick folder in her hand—her resume. It detailed every award she had won since kindergarten. She was ready.
***
In the Principal's Office.
The room was filled with the aroma of expensive tea. Principal Shaw sat behind his desk, looking slightly stressed. Across from him, on the leather sofa, sat Charles.
The Gold Medal Lawyer of the Capital was not smiling. He wore a three-piece suit that cost more than a car, and his posture was one of arrogant relaxation. He flipped through a stack of construction contracts, his brow furrowed in disdain.
"Old Shaw," Charles said, tossing the contract onto the coffee table. "This agreement for the new library is garbage. The liability clauses are full of holes."
Principal Shaw wiped sweat from his forehead. "That's why I asked you to look at it."
There was a knock at the door. Xavier walked in, followed closely by Faye.
"Uncle Qi," Xavier greeted respectfully.
Charles glanced up. His sharp, hawk-like eyes swept over Xavier, then landed on Faye.
He didn't speak. He just stared. It was the look he gave hostile witnesses in court before destroying their lives.
Faye felt her carefully constructed confidence crack. Her hands shook slightly.
"Hello... Lawyer Qi," Faye stammered. "I am Faye Lane. I am Xavier's classmate. I... I have admired you for a long time."
Charles didn't respond. He picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and set it down.
The silence stretched for ten agonizing seconds.
Xavier stepped in to break the ice. "Uncle Qi, Faye is the top student in our grade. She is hoping to attend the Youth Leadership Summit in the Capital next month. She was wondering if... if she could ask for a recommendation letter from you."
"A top student?" Charles finally spoke. His voice was smooth, baritone, and dripping with mockery.
He looked at Faye. "When you walked into this room, your eyes spent three seconds on my watch, four seconds on my cufflinks, and eight seconds scanning the antique vase in the corner. You didn't look at the books on the shelf. You didn't look at the legal briefs."
Faye's face turned the color of a ripe tomato.
"You aren't here to learn," Charles said, leaning back and crossing his long legs. "You are here to appraise. You want my signature because it has a market value, not because you respect the law."
He pointed a slender finger at the thick folder in her hand.
"And that resume. If you were a true genius, you wouldn't need fifty pages of paper to prove it. A real diamond shines without a certificate. You need my recommendation because you know, deep down, that you aren't good enough to get in on your own."
It was a verbal slaughter.
Faye felt tears welling up in her eyes. She had expected him to be difficult, but she hadn't expected him to be this cruel. He had dismantled her pride in three sentences.
"I... I didn't mean..." Faye choked out.
"My name is expensive," Charles said coldly. "I only invest in value. I don't see any value here."
***
The atmosphere in the office was frozen solid. Xavier looked uncomfortable, regretting that he had brought Faye here. Faye looked like she wanted to sink into the floor and die.
Just then, the heavy oak door of the office was kicked open.
*BANG.*
There was no knock. No request for permission. Someone just kicked it.
Principal Shaw jumped. Faye and Xavier turned around in shock.
Ren walked in.
She was wearing her school uniform, but the jacket was unzipped, and her cap was pulled low. She looked annoyed. In her hand was a crumpled piece of paper.
"Old Man," Ren said, ignoring everyone else and walking straight to Principal Shaw's desk. She slapped the paper down. "Sign this. I'm skipping physics class to go to the library. The teacher won't let me leave without your signature."
Faye stared at her, her eyes widening.
*Is she crazy?*
Lawyer Charles—the man who just destroyed Faye for glancing at his watch—was sitting right there! Ren had just barged in like a hooligan. Charles would definitely have her expelled. He hated rude people the most.
Faye held her breath, waiting for Charles to unleash his venom on Ren.
But then, the world turned upside down.
Charles, who had been looking at Faye like she was a bug, saw Ren.
His eyes lit up. The ice melted instantly.
He jumped up from the sofa—actually jumped—and rushed over to Ren with a smile that could only be described as fawning.
"Miss Ren!" Charles exclaimed, his voice rising in delight. "What a surprise! I was just thinking about you! Why are you here? Do you need a lawyer? Did someone bully you? Just give me a name, and I'll sue them into bankruptcy for free!"
Faye's jaw dropped.
Xavier looked like he had seen a ghost.
Ren looked at the enthusiastic lawyer and took a step back, pinching her nose.
"Stay away," she said, her voice full of disgust. "Your cologne is too strong. It smells like a peacock."
"Okay, okay! I'll stand back!" Charles retreated two steps, still grinning like a fool. "Is the smell bothering you? I'll go wash it off! Oh, by the way, about the crabs last night—were they okay? If you liked them, I can have a chef flown in from the Capital to cook for you personally. Just say the word!"
Faye felt dizzy.
*Crabs?*
*Chef from the Capital?*
This was the same man who just told her that his name was "expensive"? Why was he acting like Ren's servant?
Ren ignored his offer. She tapped the desk, waiting for the Principal to sign.
"No need," she said coldly. "You're too cheap. You complain about a five-million-dollar order; I don't trust you to hire a good chef."
Charles's smile faltered for a second. He wiped sweat from his forehead.
"Oh, come on, Little Ancestor," he whispered, leaning in. "That was company money! And didn't the five million go through instantly?"
Ren snatched the signed slip from the stunned Principal Shaw.
"Whatever," she said.
She turned to leave. As she passed Faye, she didn't even look at her. It wasn't an act of deliberate ignoring; it was genuine indifference. To Ren, Faye was as significant as the office furniture.
Charles followed Ren to the door, waving like a proud parent. "Walk slowly, Miss Ren! Watch your step! If you need help with the Physics competition, call me! I know the judges!"
"Don't need it," Ren called back without turning around.
The door closed.
Charles stood there for a moment, the smile lingering on his face.
Then, he turned back to the room.
The smile vanished instantly. The warmth evaporated. The "Demon Lawyer" returned.
He looked at the stunned Faye and Xavier, his eyes cold and impatient.
"Why are you two still here?" Charles asked, checking his watch. "The meeting is over. No recommendation letter. Get out."
Faye stumbled out of the office, her legs feeling like lead.
She walked down the hallway, her mind a chaotic mess.
Why?
Why did the Mayor treat Ren like a daughter?
Why did Maestro Weiss chase her car?
And now, why did the arrogant Lawyer Charles act like her lapdog?
What did Ren have that she didn't?
*Five million dollar order?*
Faye recalled the conversation she overheard. A dark thought took root in Faye's mind.
*She must be selling herself.*
*That's the only explanation. She's dealing with these men in ways I can't imagine.*
It was a comforting lie, but deep down, the crack in Faye's reality was widening. She was starting to realize that the gap between her and Ren wasn't just a gap of effort—it was a gap of dimension.
**[Chapter 59 End]**