Xia Zhaoyun tilted her head in confusion. It was a regular workday, not a holiday or a weekend. Besides people commuting for work or visiting relatives, there usually weren’t many people heading into the city.

But today, the bus was nearly full, with only two seats in the middle of the back row left empty. That wasn’t the main thing, though. The main thing was that they had run into several familiar faces!

Tong Yuanbin, Song Zhenbao, and the two guys and one girl who were close with Tong Yuanbin.

They had just come from lunch at the state-owned restaurant and were sitting in the last two rows.

Song Zhenbao was sitting by the window with Tong Yuanbin beside her. They were leaning in close, whispering and laughing intimately, affection radiating from their faces. When a sudden silence fell over the bus, she couldn’t help but look up toward the entrance, her eyes meeting Xia Zhaoyun’s unreadable smirk.

Guilt-ridden, Tong Yuanbin immediately stood up and strode forward, leaving behind Song Zhenbao, who, after a fleeting flash of jealousy, resumed her gentle and virtuous facade.

Before university, he had spent nearly every day with "Song Ruoyun." He had watched her grow from a delicate, porcelain-skinned baby into a stunningly beautiful and graceful young woman.

Logically, he should have been immune to her looks by now. But in truth, aside from yesterday when her face was beaten and swollen like a pig’s head, he couldn’t control the sense of awe and delight he felt every time he saw her.

This intense feeling fueled his possessiveness, driving him to eliminate any rivals, overt or covert, and cementing his reputation as a young tyrant among his peers.

She was practically his for the taking. Even if she was no longer the Song Family’s biological daughter, that fact wouldn’t change!

But perhaps it was because she no longer had her family’s backing, or because he had seen her at her ugliest the night before, or maybe his attention had shifted and his horizons had broadened since starting university. Whatever the reason, his mindset had changed.

Tong Yuanbin’s eager steps faltered as he remembered that she had been the one to break up with him. The male chauvinism that Song Zhenbao had been cultivating in him was now surging.

For the first time ever, he didn’t rush to placate her. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he said coldly:

"Comrade Song Ruoyun, if you’re feeling well enough, why aren’t you at work?"

"What are you doing following me here?"

"Do you think a person’s looks are that important? Is that why you use them as a weapon to attack others?"

"I can’t believe it took me over ten years with you to realize how manipulative you are!"

"Zhenbao is the Song Family’s real daughter. Isn’t it enough that you stole eighteen years of her happiness? Do you have to keep scheming and hurting her at every turn?"

About half the people on the bus were familiar faces from around town. They all watched the drama unfold in silence, their expressions showing varying degrees of contempt for Xia Zhaoyun.

Xia Zhaoyun scoffed, pulled He Qingran to a good spot, and stood straight, holding onto a plastic hand ring.

She complained in a soft, light voice, "Ranran, why is it that everywhere we go, there’s some self-important moron trying to make a scene?"

"I know I’m pretty. Does it need to be pointed out again and again? It’s not like anyone is blind!"

He Qingran giggled with delight. Her friend’s skill at using narcissism as a comeback was getting better and better. Seeing the hypocrite Tong Yuanbin’s face turn livid with anger was more satisfying than she could have imagined.

Tong Yuanbin gritted his teeth. "Song Ruoyun, what’s the meaning of you wearing the same dress as Zhenbao?"

Xia Zhaoyun paused, her foxy eyes sweeping over the back row. Then, a look of realization dawned on her face.

Both she and Song Zhenbao were wearing red dresses with square necklines and puff sleeves. The waists were gathered with a circle of beautiful pleats, and the soft, smooth fabric was perfect for accentuating a young woman’s curves.

However, even though the Song matriarch had been stingy with her food, leaving her only sixty or seventy percent full at every meal, Xia Zhaoyun was blessed with a good constitution. Every bite she ate went to all the right places, with nothing wasted. Combined with her years of dancing, she was naturally slender and graceful. Her exquisite figure, paired with her bright and captivating features, was the very picture of radiant beauty.

Looking at Song Zhenbao, on the other hand... she was pretty, in a delicate way, but her skin wasn’t particularly fair. Without Xia Zhaoyun for comparison, the red dress might have been eye-catching. But now, not only did her looks fail to stand out, but her figure had also grown plump over the past month or two. Even though she also danced, the dress only made her look a bit tacky and... well, stout.

Xia Zhaoyun and He Qingran exchanged a look, and the two girls burst into unrestrained laughter.

"Haha, Ranran, where did you buy this dress? How could you let me end up wearing the same thing as someone else?"

He Qingran shook her head, also laughing. "How should I know? It was a new arrival at the supply and marketing co-op. They only had two—one small and one large. I took the small one."