Chapter 1: The Beginning of Senior Year

September's heat was still intense. The scorching sun beat down on the people on the street, who hurried along, sweating profusely and unwilling to spend another second outside.

书趣楼()

But for Ji Feng, this season was colder than winter!

……

"Let's break up!"

……

"Huihui, you, what did you just say?" Ji Feng asked in a voice.

"I'm breaking up with you!" Ming HuHui said coldly. "And from now on, please don't call me Ming HuHui. My name is now Hu XueHui!"

"Why?" Ji Feng asked, his face ashen. "Hui Hui, why is this?"

Ji Feng's heart ached, almost to the point of collapse.

Just two months ago, the two had made solemn promises to each other, vowing to never be apart. However, after just one summer vacation, he heard the final words of a breakup. How could he possibly accept this?

Ji Feng stared blankly at the beautiful child before him, his heart aching with pain.

Hu Xuehui and Ji Feng were both senior students in their third year of high school at Mangshi County No. 2 Middle School, and they were classmates.

Ji Feng was a sincere person and didn't talk much. Although his home was in the county town, he wasn't as flamboyant as other students from the county town. His grades were just slightly below average, and in class, he could only be considered middle-of-the-pack.

While Hu Xuehui was lively, beautiful, and enjoyed talking to people, she was also the class vice-monitor. Therefore, she was very popular with the male students, and several even fought over her.

But ultimately, the still taciturn Ji Feng won the affections of the child.

Because they were deskmates, over time they developed feelings for each other and secretly started a relationship.

However, Ji Feng hadn't expected that as soon as high school started for his senior year, he heard from Hu Xuehui that she wanted to break up.

"Why? Do you even have the decency to ask me why?" Hu Xuehui's voice involuntarily rose, attracting the attention of several students who happened to be passing by and glanced over.

"Have I done something wrong?" Ji Feng asked, his face pale and his voice laced with a hint of pleading.

"Qi Feng, we can't continue this. Our paths in life are different!" Hu Xuehui said coldly and arrogantly. "Do you think your family background allows you to go to university? With your grades, can you even get into university? I'm going to university and will live in the city afterward. Being with you would only ruin my future!"

"Family?" Ji Feng's face instantly turned as pale as a sheet. He still asked stubbornly, "Didn't I tell you a long time ago that my family is very poor? Why are you only bringing this up now to break up with me?"

"Why?" Hu Xuehui sneered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Ji Feng, do you know that during the summer vacation I went to my sister's house in Jiangzhou? Do you know how much their house is worth? Even if you worked your entire life, you couldn't afford even a toilet. And do you know how much my sister's car is worth?"

Ji Feng shook his head with difficulty and said, "I will try my best to make money!"

Ji Feng listened to Hu Xuehui talking about her older sister, who was said to be working in Jiangzhou. How could she suddenly become wealthy now?

"Hmph, 'work hard'?" Hu Xuehui sneered and said, "Work hard for years? Ten years, twenty years? Or fifty years? I don't want to follow you until we're almost dead before we can afford a house in the big city and drive a car. Qi Feng, please don't bother me anymore. I'm definitely going to Jiangzhou to go to university. By then, we won't be in the same world!"

Ji Feng stared blankly, his eyes fixed on her. Her beautiful face, which always wore the most radiant smile for him, now wore an expression of pride. Her eyes, once filled with warmth and affection, were now cold and distant.

"Okay, let's break up!" Ji Feng finally nodded. Hu Xuehui had already shown a cold indifference that kept people at arm's length. His efforts to get back together were all in vain.

In this situation, the self-deprecating Ji Feng chose to preserve a sliver of dignity for himself!

"Also, I've already asked the teacher to change my seat. From now on, we won't be desk mates anymore and won't have any relationship!" Hu Xuehui said coldly, then turned away proudly without even glancing at Ji Feng again.

A man who had been waiting nearby for Hu Xuehui saw that the conversation between the two was over, so he walked over and accompanied her as she gradually left.

"Xuehui, what you just said seems a bit too harsh, doesn't it?" A gentle voice echoed from afar.

"Hmph, I'm being polite saying it like this!" Hu Xuehui was clearly furious. "He claims to be from the city, but his family is so poor! He doesn't even buy me a single gift normally. I really went blind before, how could I have fallen for him?!"

"Xuehui, be quieter, don't let Jifeng hear you!" The being seemed to feel that this was not a good idea and dissuaded.

"What are you afraid of? He's just a bastard son of a poor man..." Hu Xuehui said disdainfully.

BOOM!

<>

bastard... bastard... wild breed...

Ji Feng's teeth were grinding together in anger, his temples bulging with veins. He felt like he was suffocating. His fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly...

Not until Hu Xuehui and that man walked away did Ji Feng finally manage to calm down. He let out a wry smile: "Illegitimate son… bastard… Ha…"

You are right, Ji Feng is a bastard. To put it bluntly, he's a wild child!

This, he had never told anyone except Hu Xuehui. Because Ji Feng was an illegitimate child, his mother was driven out of the house by his grandparents. If it weren't for the help of kind people, they would have been street beggars, or even died on the streets.

The three words "illegitimate son" were the best laughingstock that other children used to mock him when he was a child, accompanying him throughout his years.

It is because of his illegitimate son that Ji Feng became inferior, even if someone just gave him a scornful look, he could feel ashamed to death.

Not until he met Hu Xuehui did Ji Feng's disposition become more open. Because of this, he told Hu Xuehui about his family and his situation.

But he could never have imagined that his impoverished family would be the reason Hu Xuehui broke up with him, and that his illegitimate child's share would meet only ridicule and disdain!

"Enough, enough..."

Ji Feng shook his head, walking listlessly out of the school with a forlorn smile. "Bastard son," he murmured, "I'm just a bastard son laughed at by everyone. Even the people closest to me dare to mock me..."

In the scorching September, there were almost no pedestrians on the street, making Qi Feng feel even more lonely. Only the TV in the nearby store playing music and TV programs made this summer less desolate.

"Latest report, scientists recently observed a crab nebula in outer space ten billion light-years away from our solar system. This nebula released surprisingly gamma-ray flares, marking the first time gamma-ray flares have been observed in cosmic nebulae. According to scientists, the distance of the gamma-ray flares is so far that they will not affect human life..."

The news anchor presenting this story is unaware, but just outside the atmosphere, a gamma-ray burst is hurtling towards Earth.

……

Ji Feng walked aimlessly down the street, heartbroken and lost. The cruel taunts of some children pierced his soul, shattering him like glass. He felt as if he had lost his very spirit.

At that moment, the sky seemed to flicker, a barely perceptible beam of light struck Ji Feng's head, causing him to collapse instantly, losing consciousness.