Look down on someone

  Dai Lin stayed in the bathroom until Zou Xiaohan came over and knocked on the door, only then did she realize that Teng Rui Zhe had left.

  "Dai Lin, I brought some classmates over, come out and meet them." Secretary Zhou Xiaohan twisted the doorknob, her bright voice filled with enthusiasm, sounding exceptionally cheerful: "Today we just attended the graduation ceremony, drank a lot of wine, hugged and cried several times, so let's have them sit down at home. Unexpectedly, on the way, Ye Rong Auntie called me and said that Brother Rui Zhe had arrived, which shocked me awake from my drunkenness... Dai Lin, have you met Brother Rui Zhe? He often appears in Jin City's Financial Weekly now, his personal assets are already on the Forbes Global Rich List..."

  Dai Lin sat on the toilet with her head down, clutching the sanitary products in her hand tightly.

  Her face had turned pale, and it was painful to see her like this. Her mouth was bitter, her hands and feet were cold, and she was curled up into a ball. She had originally been using a hot water bottle to warm her lower abdomen, but Ye Rong Auntie, also known as Zhang Auntie, kept pacing back and forth outside the door, saying that she wanted to "serve" this mayor's daughter, so that no one would smash things in their house again, fight with their little treasure, or treat her like a thief.

  She stayed in the bathroom, changed into sanitary products and sat quietly.

  She used to come here often, when the mayor's father and Secretary Uncle were discussing official business, she would play with Xiaohan, talk about Rui Zhe brother with Xiaohan, and try to please Yuan Nainai. At that time, Yuan Nainai looked at them with a loving face and said, let these two girls be sisters, and call her grandmother together.

  But Zhang Ayi, who had served Grandma Yuan for many years, didn't like her. Whenever she fought with Xiaohan, Zhang Ayi would go to Grandma Yuan and tattle on her, no matter who was right or wrong, it was always Su Daiyu's fault.

  Even if Xiaohan makes the first move to fight with Rui Zhe, Zhang Ayi will slowly say: Old lady, just now Ye Rong went upstairs to see the two little ancestors, and saw that Dai Lian was throwing things, and Xiaohan was crying beside her. You go and take care of it.

  Later, Grandma Yuan did not scold her, but Zhang Aunt always gave her a bad face, pretending in front of people, and scolding her behind her back as an uneducated mayor's daughter, not comparable to their family's Xiaohan.

  That's also why Zhang Ayi asked her if she was the daughter of Mayor Su earlier, because in their eyes, she is someone who has been to prison for what she did and is now even more inferior, no longer worthy of entering the Secretary's home.

  "Dai Lin, these classmates are also acquaintances of yours. In our freshman year, we took classes together and they still remember you. Now they've all gone to work in their fathers' government agencies or companies, preparing to take over the family business... After this, we'll rarely have time to gather again..." Zou Xiaohan's cheerful voice continued to come from outside the door, pouring into Dai Lin's ears: "Dai Lin, say something! Ye Rong Auntie said you've been in there for a long time, is everything okay?"

  Dai Lin slowly got up, opened the bathroom door and walked out.

  Zou Xiaohan's hand, which was about to slap the door panel, froze in mid-air as she stared at Dai Yun's appearance after her release from prison. In the past, the two of them were always competing with each other, and Dai Yun's delicate porcelain doll-like face had always overshadowed hers. Now, however, Zou Xiaohan was indeed more beautiful than Dai Yun.

  ——

  Outside the door, the sky had already darkened, but the secretary's home was brightly lit. The rich young ladies and official sons' classmates that Xiaohan brought along were sitting together chatting and laughing, eating watermelon, making Yuan Nainai laugh so hard she was holding her belly, while some of them followed behind Secretary's wife flattering her.

  As Dai Lin walked down from upstairs, the large living room suddenly fell silent, with pair after pair of eyes turning to look at her.

  Dai Lin looked at their disdainful eyes and knew that these former classmates, who had been in the same class for a semester, were no longer the friends who used to follow her around, trying to please her as the mayor's daughter. Instead, they were now like her, having gone through three years of baptism and becoming more adept at observing people's words and expressions.