Chapter Summaries

Hesta reunited with Molly, her former Order Officer, who warned her to behave responsibly at the school and not betray Ava’s trust. Afterward, Hesta searched the conference rooms for Ksenia, then returned to her dormitory and slept until late at night.

• Hesta recognized Molly as her former Order Officer, and he invited her into the Principal’s Office.
• Molly said he had once suspected Hesta was connected to the assassin but now trusted Ava’s decision to declare her innocent.
• Molly warned Hesta that Chiba could not protect her at the school and urged her not to repeat her past mistakes or betray Ava’s trust.
• Hesta left puzzled by Molly’s distrust and his repeated references to Ava.
• Hesta searched classrooms in Wenhui Building for Ksenia but could not find her, then bought bread and returned to her dormitory.
• Hesta slept fitfully until eleven at night.

After learning that Eleven had caused extensive trouble at the Hope Center, Hesta and Eucali went there to meet with Teacher Xing and find out what had changed. Teacher Xing was absent, so they took Eleven out for a walk, where Eleven appeared cheerful and led them onward.

• Hesta received Teacher Xing's messages detailing Eleven's destructive behavior and arranged to meet her at the Hope Center.
• Eucali read the messages on the way and wondered whether something had happened to Eleven.
• Hesta and Eucali arrived at the Hope Center and saw Eleven wave to them from an upstairs window before someone pulled her away.
• An elderly teacher told Hesta that Teacher Xing was out until noon, and Hesta agreed to wait.
• Eleven made a face at children watching from the activity room, then took Hesta and Eucali by the hands and asked where they were going to play.

Hesta and Eucali took Eleven out for food and asked about the trouble she had caused at school. Eleven explained that she had fought back against students who bullied her, and said they were still giving her trouble.

• Eleven ate a large meal while Hesta and Eucali asked how school had gone.
• Eleven said she had pushed a girl down the stairs after the girl tried to make her pretend to be a kitty and lick her fingers.
• Eleven explained that the girl and her lackeys had been bullying her after she refused to play along.
• Eleven said she had shouted for a teacher, scratched the bullies, and bitten a boy who tried to snatch her things.
• Eleven told Hesta and Eucali that the students were still bothering her and that she had been going to the infirmary to get her injuries treated.

Eleven told Eucali and Hesta how Xiao Bai and the other children had bullied and isolated her at school, and admitted she had retaliated by ruining their meals. As they returned to Hope Center, Eleven questioned why the others followed Xiao Bai instead of her, then waited nervously while Eucali spoke with Teacher Xing.

• Eleven explained that Xiao Bai's followers harassed her after she refused to play kitty and that nobody at school had helped her.
• Eleven described how the other children kept her from finding a seat at mealtimes, then confessed she had dumped food on someone and overturned the trays.
• Eleven cried as she told Hesta and Eucali that the children had bullied her, and Hesta carried her back toward Hope Center.
• Eleven asked Hesta if she could go to school with her, then wondered why the other children listened to Xiao Bai instead of her.
• Eucali and Eleven waited outside Teacher Xing's office while Eucali spoke with the teacher, and Eleven watched the door nervously.

Eucali and Eleven waited outside Teacher Xing’s office, where Xiao Bai entered despite Eucali’s warning. Inside, Hesta challenged Teacher Xing’s view of Eleven’s behavior and the conflict among the students, leaving them at odds over whether Eleven was being bullied.

• Eucali wondered where Eleven’s confidence came from as Eleven noticed Xiao Bai approaching the office.
• Xiao Bai entered Teacher Xing’s office with documents, and Eleven identified her as the student whose front teeth she had knocked out.
• After Xiao Bai left, Teacher Xing told Hesta that Xiao Bai had cared for Eleven and was soon leaving for boarding middle school.
• Hesta said Xiao Bai had forced Eleven to play a pet cat and suggested that Eleven was facing bullying from the other students.
• Teacher Xing rejected Hesta’s description of the situation as bullying and said she had forgotten what childhood relationships were like.

Hesta discussed Eleven’s behavior with Teacher Xing and proposed giving Eleven responsibility for organizing bedtime activities and supervising the children. She then questioned Eleven about hitting a child during Xiao Bai’s game, leaving Eleven to reconsider why she had ignored his pleas to stop.

• Teacher Xing told Hesta that she would investigate the pet game and asked her to help address Eleven’s hitting and lack of discipline.
• Hesta suggested that Eleven organize the children’s bedtime activities and supervise their behavior after Xiao Bai left Hope Center in September.
• Hesta told Eleven that Teacher Xing might let her take charge of discipline, but worried she might bully her classmates.
• Hesta asked Eleven about hitting a child during Xiao Bai’s game, and Eleven admitted that the child had not bullied her and had asked her to stop.
• Hesta pointed out that Eleven had understood the child’s pleas and could have disregarded Xiao Bai’s rules, then asked why she had kept hitting him.

Hesta helped Eleven understand why bullying weaker children was wrong and urged her to apologize so others could trust and listen to her. After Eleven returned to the choir classroom, Hesta and Eucali left Hope Center and were approached on the bus by a schoolgirl calling to Hesta.

• Hesta explained that Eleven should not use her strength against weaker children and should defend them when they were bullied.
• Eleven admitted she wanted someone to sit with her and listen, but refused to apologize to the boy she had bullied.
• Hesta told Eleven that apologizing would set her apart from the others and help earn their respect.
• Eleven entered the choir classroom, waved goodbye to Hesta and Eucali, and they left Hope Center.
• On the bus, a schoolgirl repeatedly called out to Hesta as the red-haired big sister.

Hesta adjusted to campus life while studying in Wenhui Building, where she met Lin Jiao and heard an unknown violinist play at night. After Lin Jiao left with friends, Hesta stayed alone in the brightly lit building and felt lonely.

• A young girl offered Hesta her seat on the bus because her teacher had told her to give seats to disabled people.
• Hesta lost access to language classes at the employment center after becoming an Industrial University freshman, so she studied daily in Wenhui Building with materials from friends.
• Hesta repeatedly hoped to run into Ksenia or Teacher Chen and instead heard an unknown violinist performing in Wenhui Building on several evenings.
• Hesta met Lin Jiao, who was surprised that Hesta could not speak Southern District 14 language and taught her to write her name.
• Lin Jiao left with six friends, and Hesta stayed alone in Wenhui Building until nine-forty, feeling lonely.

Hesta learned that Hope Center kept severely disabled adults locked in a barred room while it sought another facility for them. When she returned to Building W29, she found new students had moved into her dorm, and Yu Xuekun told her to pack her things and wait to be picked up.

• Hesta visited Eleven at Hope Center and heard about two men seen behind bars in a locked room on the dormitory’s third floor.
• Teacher Xing explained that the men were former child residents with severe intellectual disabilities who could not care for themselves, and said the center hoped to transfer them elsewhere.
• Hesta visited the barred third-floor window with Eleven, then received a message from Yu Xuekun asking where she was and whether she had a place to stay.
• Hesta returned to Building W29 and found four new students cleaning her dorm room, where her bed made five occupants in a four-person dorm.
• Yu Xuekun called Hesta and told her to pack her luggage and wait outside the West District cafeteria at four o’clock for someone to pick her up.

After Hesta was told she had to leave the dorm, she went to meet the host family arranged by Industrial University. She followed Ding Jiali toward his home, still wondering about the clues from earlier and the familiar scent she noticed on him.

• Hesta packed her belongings and left West 29 after learning that a host family had been arranged for her.
• While waiting outside the western district cafeteria, Hesta remembered Ksenia and hoped she might be the person coming to meet her.
• Ding Jiali arrived late in a baseball uniform and offered to carry Hesta’s luggage.
• Hesta noticed that Ding Jiali’s perfume resembled scents she had smelled on Pierre Roger and Gopelin, but was not identical.
• Ding Jiali described his crowded family home and led Hesta toward the duplex where she would stay.
• Ding Jiali introduced himself as an Industrial University student.

Hesta followed Ding Jiali home and rescued his mother when she threatened to jump from a ninth-floor window. That night, Hesta met Ding Yuqing, who explained that her mother often staged crises during family arguments and began telling Hesta what had caused the latest fight.

• Ding Jiali and Hesta found neighbors gathered beneath a building where Ding Jiali’s mother sat outside a ninth-floor window, arguing with someone indoors.
• Hesta went upstairs and pushed Ding Jiali’s mother back inside through the window; police arrived afterward to handle the incident.
• Ding Jiali settled his mother in a room and showed Hesta to her bedroom, where Hesta later discovered Ding Yuqing hiding in the wardrobe.
• Ding Yuqing introduced herself and told Hesta she hid in the wardrobe whenever her parents argued.
• Ding Yuqing said her mother often threatened or hurt herself to get her way, then began explaining what had started that afternoon’s argument.

Hesta heard Ding Yuqing explain her family’s argument and her brother Ding Jiali’s habits before asking Yu Xuekun to help her leave the host family. Yu Xuekun said she would likely need to wait three months before moving back to campus, and Hesta resigned herself to enduring the arrangement.

• Ding Yuqing told Hesta how her parents argued over dinner and predicted that Ding Jiali would bring Hesta takeout using his usual scripted question.
• Ding Jiali asked Hesta to choose dinner, and she picked teriyaki chicken cutlet rice; Ding Yuqing explained that his rare perfume was a cheap imitation.
• Ding Yuqing suggested Hesta compliment Ding Jiali’s perfume to get gifts, then left the room.
• Hesta messaged Yu Xuekun to meet at the school cafeteria the next morning instead of coming to her host family.
• At breakfast, Hesta asked Yu Xuekun to find her a cheap hotel, but he explained that changing her housing could hurt her adaptability score and suggested seeking a vacant dorm room.
• Hesta said the principal disliked her and decided to endure the host family for three months before applying to move back to campus.

Hesta struggled through her first day of classes at Industrial University, understanding almost none of the lectures. While wandering Wenhui Building after class, she followed piano music to a deserted sketching room and found a young man with gray-blue eyes playing despite being visually impaired.

• Yu Xuekun gave Hesta her documents and class schedule and reminded her to meet him Wednesday afternoon.
• Hesta endured her introductory classes, understood very little, and fell asleep at her desk after the final session.
• Hesta wandered through Wenhui Building and followed piano music upstairs to the sketching room.
• Hesta saw a young man in a white silk shirt playing the piano and recognized his gray-blue eyes as a source of unease.
• Hesta entered the room and noticed a sign identifying the piano as a donation to the Visually Impaired Performers Association of District 14 Industrial University.

Hesta returned to the residential complex late at night and found a meal and blueberries left for her with notes in District 3 Language. In the kitchen, she met Xu Ruyi, the woman she had rescued, and learned that Xu taught children languages and piano; Xu invited Hesta to come home earlier the next day for dinner.

• Hesta found unfamiliar shoes, a note, and a red lunch box in the dark living room, then heated and ate the meal.
• Hesta followed the sounds of rinsing to the kitchen and recognized Xu Ruyi as the woman she had saved from a windowsill.
• Xu Ruyi confirmed she had written the notes and told Hesta she used to teach District 3 Language and Common Tongue at a school.
• Hesta learned Xu Ruyi still helped children with language lessons and piano, and Xu explained that she was preparing food for Lili's guests the next day.
• Xu Ruyi invited Hesta to return earlier the next day so she could join them for dinner.

Hesta spent her first full day of classes settling into campus life and returned to find Xu Ruyi’s family had cleaned the living room and prepared food. She saw the household bustling in the kitchen, but Xu Ruyi told her to rest.

• Hesta ate breakfast at Xu Ruyi’s home and dodged a toy gun fired by a little girl, then threw plastic rods at the child when she tried to shoot again.
• Hesta attended her classes, moved to the front rows to stay awake longer, and noticed classmates whispering about her red hair and disability.
• Hesta worked on her statistics assignment at Wenhui Building and returned home near five o’clock.
• Hesta found the living room cleaned and fruit and marinated food stocked in the refrigerator, while Xu Ruyi and an unfamiliar middle-aged woman prepared dinner.
• Hesta offered to help, but Xu Ruyi told her to go to her room and rest.

Hesta let Ding Yuqing remain hidden in her wardrobe and arranged a small signal to learn when she visited. Later, Xu Ruyi’s husband returned home furious and made insulting remarks about disabled people, then awkwardly claimed he respected Hesta as a veteran.

• Ding Yuqing explained that she had returned from school early for its anniversary and wanted to stay in Hesta’s wardrobe because she liked its scent.
• Hesta agreed to keep Ding Yuqing’s visits secret and told her to move a wooden bird to the center of the desk whenever she visited.
• Ding Jiali called Xu Ruyi to ask about dinner preparations and said he would bring a friend home in half an hour.
• Xu Ruyi’s husband returned in a rage after waiting in line at City Hall and complained about blind and disabled people gathering in public.
• The husband told Hesta he respected veterans, and Xu Ruyi falsely translated his earlier remarks as thanks for Hesta’s help.

Hesta joined Ding Jiali’s family for dinner and spoke with his wife and daughter while waiting for their friend to arrive. She questioned Ding Jiali about his District 3 perfume and accepted a registration form for a Citrus Town welcome event.

• Ding Jiali returned home with his wife and daughter, while Xu Ruyi welcomed them and asked after the others.
• Hesta greeted Ding Jiali’s wife, but the woman left with her daughter before their conversation could continue.
• Ding Jiali offered Hesta a drink, and Hesta recognized the distinctive perfume he was wearing as a scent she had encountered in District 3.
• Ding Jiali told Hesta the perfume was called Thorn Cross, advised her to improve her fashion sense, and suggested she shop with Xiaoqing.
• Ding Jiali gave Hesta a registration form for a welcome event for new residents at City Hall.

Hesta attended a family dinner at Ding Jiali’s home and came face-to-face with Mei Sinan, the man who had pretended not to see her at Wenhui Building. The meal turned tense when the little girl declared that her pregnant mother was having a daughter, leaving Xu Ruyi frowning.

• Ding Yuqing teased Ding Jiali about wearing perfume while Hesta waited in the living room.
• Mei Sinan arrived, recognized Hesta, and struggled to speak before asking where the bathroom was.
• The family gathered for dinner, and Mei Sinan explained his name and his family background.
• Xu Ruyi’s husband asked about his daughter’s pregnancy, and Mei Sinan learned she was twelve weeks along.
• The little girl announced that the baby was a sister, and Xu Ruyi rebuked her for claiming to know.

Over dinner, Hesta and Ding Yuqing discussed the meanings and stories behind the family’s names, including the name of Ding Yuqing’s niece, Shi Yimiao. The conversation then turned to Mei Sinan’s year away from school, which he spent visiting his seriously ill friend in Songxueyuan and traveling around Orange Town.

• A little girl began telling the table about a dream of her unborn sister, but her father stopped her and told her to eat properly.
• Ding Yuqing explained the origins and meanings of several family names to Hesta, including Shi Lihe, Pingchuan, Ding Yuqing, and Shi Yimiao.
• Ding Guisheng asked Mei Sinan why he had come to Orange Town and learned that he had taken a year off from school.
• Ding Jiali explained that Mei Sinan’s friend was seriously ill and hospitalized in Songxueyuan, and Mei Sinan said he visited once a week.
• Shi Pingchuan suggested that Mei Sinan’s time away from school was like a gap year.

At a family dinner, Mei Sinan described his distant upbringing and revealed that he owned land near Tobol Mountain, including land sold to Robogriye of the Ascending Bright. The family learned that all of his family's land was legally in Mei Sinan's name.

• Ding Guisheng questioned Mei Sinan about his family and why he had traveled far from home.
• Mei Sinan explained that his father had died when he was young and his mother had passed away the year before last.
• Mei Sinan said his mother and private tutors had educated him, and he had not enrolled at a Northern District university.
• Ding Jiali revealed that Mei Sinan sold land, including half his holdings to Robogriye from the Ascending Bright.
• Ding Jiali told the family that all the land owned by Mei Sinan's family was in Mei Sinan's name.