Ban Ye

Hesta sat down wearily. Beside her, Cheng Xiaoshu folded her arms. "Why did you insist on making me come with you?"

"I already told you why," Hesta replied. "I think your judgment is sharper."

"What are you worried about?"

"...I don't know. That's why I needed you to come with me."

Cheng Xiaoshu stared into Hesta's eyes for quite a while before finally looking away. "I've realized you really are rich. Just to accompany Eucali while she picks someone up, you were willing to sponsor the poetry club's book budget for an entire year—"

"That was the condition you set," Hesta said, looking at her. "You said, 'If you want me to come, you'll have to pay out of your own pocket and cover next year's book budget for the poetry club.'"

"My mistake." Cheng Xiaoshu nodded. "I should have said, 'If you want me to come, you'll have to pay out of your own pocket and cover next year's tuition and living expenses for every member of the poetry club.'"

Hesta laughed.

The two chatted now and then. Whenever they fell silent, each checked the time and looked toward the direction Eucali was supposed to arrive from.

Hesta felt somewhat nervous. Even though Yu Xuekun and Cheng Xiaoshu had both warned her that Eucali's mother was probably not a pleasant person, she still held an inexplicable expectation toward her. Before leaving that morning, she had even deliberately changed into her most formal uniform jacket.

What would a middle-aged Hesta woman look like? She had never thought much about that before, but after coming to District 14, she had begun to wonder.

A pair of old black leather boots stopped in front of Hesta.

She looked up and met the gaze of a weathered middle-aged woman.

The woman took off