Chapter 1

My name is Ye Chen. I am 17 years old. I grew up with my grandfather in a remote village, and my life was no different from any other ordinary boy's. But everything changed after I left my grandfather's side. With no one to rely on, I had no choice but to live independently, taking on part-time jobs just to get by. Thanks to my decent grades, I was able to enroll at a school in the city to pursue a proper education.
I attended Hexing School. About three months after enrolling, I started dating a girl named Yu Ting. She had shoulder-length hair, stood around 155 centimeters tall, and had a slender figure. She wasn't the most beautiful girl in the school, but to me, she was everything.
We dated for about nine months. But after we entered our second year and were placed in different classes, Yu Ting started to change.
This is my story.
It was a Sunday, and both school and work were closed for the day. Yesterday had been Ye Chen's payday, so today he planned to invite Yu Ting out for a meal at Starbucks. It wasn't easy saving that money — every month he scraped by on his meager part-time wages, sometimes eating leftover food from the restaurant where he worked just so he could set enough aside for days like today.
But today, all his calls and messages to Yu Ting went unanswered. It made him uneasy.
"Where did Ting Ting go? Why isn't she picking up?" He had been ignored more and more often lately, and the frustration was building.
Ye Chen glanced at his phone screen — it was already noon. He decided to head out and grab something to eat.
After leaving his boarding house, he made his way to a nearby shopping area and found a small food stall to sit at.
"Uncle, one plate of fried noodles and a soda, please."
As he waited for his order, he watched the street idly. A loud engine roar cut through the air, and a sleek BMW sports car — worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — cruised past. Several nearby diners turned their heads to look.