Messages kept popping up in the chat box.
"Damn! She looks exactly like you!"
"Seriously! I was half skeptical at first!"
"Even the eyes are identical! Who wouldn’t believe you’re Tong Yang?"
"Wow, is the world really this bizarre?"
"Feels kinda fun, like we’re in some horror game scenario!"
"So Tong Yang’s the protagonist of this horror plot?"
...
Tong Yang sighed. "You think this is funny?"
"Sorry."
"My bad."
"But it’s so weird—this never happened before."
After a moment of thought, Tong Yang said, "It’s probably the butterfly effect because I didn’t die."
"So what’re you gonna do?"
"June 7th is the college entrance exam day. Just skip it?"
"No." Tong Yang’s refusal was firm. "Any other details in the reports?"
"I searched, but there’s almost no news about the suspects or how the attack happened."
"If it’s the butterfly effect caused by you, maybe only you..."
The girl trailed off, and Tong Yang finished her sentence, "Maybe only if I die can the butterfly effect be avoided?"
The group fell silent, hesitating as they looked at Tong Yang.
If the butterfly effect caused by Tong Yang led to other students at Third High dying, weighing lives against each other was impossible—but for everyone else, it’d be an undeserved tragedy. And in the Third High terror attack, she’d be a victim too.
Tong Yang’s gaze swept over the faces on the screen, her tone calm. "First, I didn’t do anything wrong. Surviving isn’t my fault. Second, the ones at fault are the killers—both mine and the terrorists. Third, similar things are happening nationwide. The priority is figuring out the truth and solving it at the root. And no, I’m not that selfless, nor capable of fixing everything, and I sure as hell won’t sacrifice myself for others."
"Damn..."
"Damn, sis is spitting facts. She’s right."
"Yeah, the ones to blame are the perpetrators, not Tong Yang, the victim."
"Should we call the police?"
"Even if it hasn’t happened yet, the cops probably won’t ignore it."
Tong Yang shook her head. "There’ll already be police patrols during the exams. Every test center has surveillance, and all facilities are checked beforehand. No ordinary person can just walk into a school on exam day. This isn’t that simple."
"Then what do we do?"
"We can’t just wait to die, right?"
"Tong Yang, you’ve been through this before. Any way to avoid it?"
Tong Yang nodded. "Sure. If I and the other victims don’t take the exam."
"Huh? Is that even possible?"
"Of course not."
"..."
"They won’t cancel the exams, and we can’t skip them. Even if we report it, they won’t disrupt the exams over something unproven. So you’re doomed?"
"This is terrifying."
Tong Yang said, "Not necessarily. The killer isn’t a monster—just a ‘human’ like us. With police patrols around exam centers and no weapons or electronics allowed inside, pulling off a terror attack isn’t easy. There’ll be openings. We’ll take it step by step. Plus, we can use this to test the killer’s identity. I suspect they’re the same type."
"Speaking of the butterfly effect, I checked incidents in Yaocheng’s old district over the past two years. Besides the exam attack, there was a student suicide on June 3rd, 2024."
"If this were a game scenario, that one seems simpler than the terror attack. Wanna test it, Tong Yang?"
Tong Yang frowned. "Test what?"
"Someone actively seeking death isn’t worth my energy. And that suicide clearly has nothing to do with this."
"Never paid attention before. Not sure if the suicide happened in the original timeline."
Tong Yang checked the time. "Think about what I said earlier. And thanks."
After ending the call, Tong Yang grabbed a quick meal and headed to Experimental Primary School. Without notifying Tong Le in advance, she called the teacher to arrange a snack delivery, then stood by the window for a glance before leaving.
She was grateful neither incident had dragged Tong Le into it.
Instead of going home, Tong Yang stopped by the milk tea shop where she used to work part-time. The old lady downstairs had covered 450 yuan of her medical bills—she needed to earn some cash. At 13 yuan an hour, she worked until evening study sessions ended.
Back home, she washed up hastily and studied by candlelight in the dim room as usual.
Whether it was her resilience or refusal to waste energy, the recent and impending events hadn’t disrupted her routine.
The next day, Tong Yang returned to school like nothing happened.
During morning study, the class teacher pulled her aside, urging her not to stress over the exams given her grades, to take it easy, and "not do anything reckless" again—even kindly suggesting she nap if tired.
Tong Yang nodded absently, mentally reciting English vocabulary instead.
After class, she bought steamed buns and soy milk from the cafeteria. On her way back, someone blocked her path.
"Tong Yang!"
Mouth full, she looked up at a muscular idiot towering at six feet.
"Y-you okay? Heard you took two days off. I was worried..." His cheeks flushed awkwardly.
Tong Yang stared until it clicked—this fool had publicly confessed to her during the school pledge ceremony. Apparently popular for his looks, he’d only brought her trouble. To her, he was just an overbuilt, brain-dead nuisance she’d rejected multiple times.
"Thanks. I’m fine." She sidestepped him.
"If—if you need help, just ask! As classmates..."
"Stop talking to me. Please." Her tone was icy.
His face reddened further, as if begging to be insulted. "Sorry, but I—"
Restraining an eye-roll, she muttered "freak" and walked off.
"She’s so cool..." The idiot gazed after her, undeterred.
Hence why "muscular idiot" fit him perfectly.
At the classroom door, a loud crash echoed.
"Fuck... quit acting tough!"
Tong Yang stood at the doorway and glanced inside. The desk and chair that once belonged to her had been completely knocked over, textbooks and exam papers scattered across the floor. The culprits were the underlings and lackeys from the class who loved playing games like "Boss and Subordinate" or "Rich Heiress and Sycophants." These sycophants, along with the rich heiress who stood by watching, were the trouble the muscle-headed idiot boy had brought upon Tong Yang.
Tong Yang gave the scene a calm look before raising her eyes to the rich heiress. "Three hundred, and I’ll pick them up myself."
The rich heiress was a fair-skinned girl whose parents were among the wealthiest in the old district. In a school where most students came from ordinary families, she practically walked around like she owned the place, always surrounded by a flock of sycophants.
That was why, ever since the muscle-headed idiot boy confessed to Tong Yang, the rich heiress had been bringing her lackeys over to stir up trouble from time to time.
Hearing Tong Yang’s words, the sycophants burst into mocking laughter.
"Are you that desperate for money?"
"Of course she is! She still lives in Dongyang Apartments—what else could she be but a broke freeloader?"
Tong Yang asked quietly, "So, are you paying or not?"
The rich heiress turned her head away, pretending not to hear.
But since she wasn’t speaking up, the sycophants combined couldn’t even scrape together two hundred yuan.
Tong Yang didn’t waste any more words on them, silently lamenting the loss of three hundred yuan. Then she walked straight to the trash can, finished the last sip of her soy milk, tossed the carton in, and picked up the half-bucket of dirty water left behind after the classroom cleaning. Without hesitation, she strode toward the rich heiress and her lackeys.
"Ahhh!!!"
Before anyone could react, Tong Yang had already drenched one of the sycophants with the dirty water. A piercing scream instantly filled the classroom.
"Are you insane?!" The soaked girl shrieked, hopping in fury.
Tong Yang held the bucket, still two-thirds full, and gave the rich heiress an expectant look.
The rich heiress stiffened, taking an involuntary half-step back. "Wh-what are you doing?"
Tong Yang glanced at the dirty water in the bucket, then at the mess of books on the floor. "Three hundred."
"Not a chance—wait!!"
The rich heiress’s scoff turned into a panicked screech as Tong Yang lifted the bucket without hesitation.
"It’s just a knocked-over desk! That’s way too expensive!"
Tong Yang thought for a moment. "Two-fifty. Final offer."
To prevent haggling, she made sure to emphasize it.
Clearly, the rich heiress had suffered enough losses at Tong Yang’s hands before. Though her face was livid, she still pulled out three hundred yuan from her pocket and handed it over.
"Thanks for cooperating. Feel free to play again anytime."
Tong Yang set the bucket down, rummaged through her bag, and pulled out a crumpled fifty-yuan bill as change.
The rich heiress lifted her chin, signaling for one of the lackeys to take it back.
Tong Yang dutifully picked up the overturned desk, chair, and all the scattered books. Then she pulled out two tissues and handed them to the lackey she’d drenched.
"Thanks for playing. Looking forward to next time."
The lackey gritted her teeth, muttered "psycho," and stormed out of the classroom.
"Milady, watch your step—wouldn’t want your clothes getting dirty." Only after finishing her cleanup did Tong Yang return the bucket to its spot by the trash can. As she passed the rich heiress, she made sure to remind her.
Honestly, though the rich heiress and her lackeys often gave her trouble, the girl was generous with her money. If Tong Yang had the time, she’d have gladly become one of her sycophants too.
The rich heiress’s face twisted in frustration. She’d long suspected Tong Yang wasn’t right in the head. Bullying her brought no satisfaction—if anything, it just made her feel like she was losing something. Yet every time, Tong Yang led her by the nose, to the point where it almost felt like she was doing charity work.
Who even found bullying fun? It was just plain miserable!
Tong Yang returned to her seat, pocketing her hard-earned tip with satisfaction. Then, as if remembering something, she took out her phone and opened the "Gossip Squad 007" group chat, carefully scrolling through the victim list from the June 7th terrorist attack at Third High School.
Starting from the first photo, she scanned down until—there, in the first row, seventh from the left—was a familiar face. The very same beautiful, wealthy, and inexplicably charitable rich heiress!
The rich heiress was still sulking when she suddenly noticed Tong Yang turning around from the seat in front, staring at her with blazing intensity.
Almost… as if she were looking at a walking wallet?!
