HBWMA -Chapter 256 The Promise! Facing Fate Head-On

The wind on the rooftop roamed freely, carrying the blazing warmth of the sun as it drifted by. Looking out, the sky above was a clear, endless blue, with clouds lazily floating past.

The melody of the exercise break was light and rhythmic. From such a height, the people below looked tiny and insignificant.

Jiang Huashan rested both hands on the railing, her porcelain-white face bathed completely in sunlight. “Go on, what did you come to see me for?”

Shen Mianzhi stepped closer, her gaze lingering in Huashan’s bright eyes. “Thank you.”

Jiang Huashan raised a brow slightly, looking at her with a half-smile. “Thank me for what?”

Shen Mianzhi replied, “For waking me up.”

Huashan glanced at the top of her head before looking away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You once said that I’m not the only ‘mad person’ in this world. Back then, I couldn’t understand it—until later, when you said that to me.”

Shen Mianzhi paused, studying Jiang Huashan’s profile before finally voicing the question buried deep in her heart. “Shanshan… you used to be ‘one in ten thousand’ too, didn’t you?”

Jiang Huashan’s eyelids flickered slightly. She turned to meet Shen Mianzhi’s gaze, neither confirming nor denying it.

But Shen Mianzhi already had her answer. A faint mist welled up in her clear eyes. Jiang Huashan could have lied to her—but she didn’t.

In that moment, she deeply empathized with the girl before her.

If the order of the world I see is reversed, then my madness is the clearest form of sanity.

She had once stood alone against the entire world.

Having walked the path of resistance herself, Shen Mianzhi understood better than anyone how much courage that required.

She looked at Jiang Huashan gently. “Back then… did anyone reach out a hand to you?”

Jiang Huashan nodded. “Yes.”

Like a lighthouse, that love gave her direction to move forward bravely.

Shen Mianzhi could roughly guess Jiang Huashan’s story.

Just as she had imagined—Huashan must have awakened her self-awareness during the long period of control and conditioning under Fang Mei. But she was stronger, relying on her grandfather’s love to walk forward step by step.

“What about Sui’er? Is she like us too?”

Fu Sui’er had undergone a complete transformation after the age of twelve. Shen Mianzhi found it hard not to suspect.

“Sort of… but not quite.”

Fu Sui’er’s change had been gradual and subtle—not like theirs, which came with painful clarity.

Jiang Huashan’s honesty gave Shen Mianzhi hope, and she gathered her courage.

“If—just if—I can be as brave as Sui’er and break free from my restraints… would you be willing to accept me again?”

“How do you know?”

Jiang Huashan was slightly surprised—not by the request, but by the fact that Shen Mianzhi knew she hadn’t fully broken free yet.

Shen Mianzhi said, “I can feel it. Some kind of force still has influence over me. I can’t resist it for now.”

Jiang Huashan’s eyes lit up. Shen Mianzhi’s intelligence was beyond expectations.

Just as she was considering how to explain things to her, Shen Mianzhi spoke softly, “It’s related to Zhou Yanheng, right?”

Jiang Huashan smiled. At that moment, she suddenly had the urge to eat Shen Mianzhi’s brain again.

What was with this “Gate of the Script”? Did it specialize in producing genius-level brains? And yet not a single one for her!

Perhaps stimulated by Shen Mianzhi, her own brain finally kicked into gear. A flash of insight struck her.

There was still a bond between her and Shen Mianzhi.

【Sworn Sisters Mission: Scheme against each other to the point of death】

In other words, the two of them had to each set up a deadly trap to kill the other at the same time for the mission to be completed.

Earlier, just to test it, she had deliberately pushed Shen Mianzhi toward Zhou Yanheng. The “Gate of the Script” had immediately judged the progress as 1/2 complete.

And up until now, that progress hadn’t changed—meaning the deadly trap still existed.

But just now, Jiang Huashan suddenly had a bold realization—perhaps she had once again fallen into the trap of her own limited thinking.

Because she knew the ending of Shen Mianzhi’s previous life, she had subconsciously blamed Shen Mianzhi’s death entirely on Zhou Yanheng. But if Zhou Yanheng were replaced by any other scumbag—A, B, C, or D—would Shen Mianzhi really have escaped?

No!

She wouldn’t.

Zhou Yanheng was simply more vicious, more ruthless in his methods. But even if it had been someone else, Shen Mianzhi still wouldn’t have come out unscathed. At the root of it all was that label—a love-brained fool.

So the one who truly dragged Shen Mianzhi into a dead end wasn’t a man—it was herself.

Jiang Huashan’s expression suddenly turned serious. “Do you trust me?”

Shen Mianzhi had still been thinking about how to break free from her entanglement with Zhou Yanheng, but the question snapped her back to reality. Without hesitation, she replied, “Of course.”

Jiang Huashan said, “I can help you break all your restraints. The premise is—you have to trust me.”

A spark of determination ignited in Shen Mianzhi’s eyes, her tone firming. “I trust you.”

Jiang Huashan shook her head. “The trust I’m talking about is this—even if there’s overwhelming evidence, even if I personally admit to betraying you, you still trust me without reservation. Can you do that?”

Shen Mianzhi froze for a moment.

Jiang Huashan closed her eyes and tilted her head toward the sky. “If we lose, you’ll fall into eternal ruin. Do we make the bet?”

At first she said you, and then we. That meant two people would participate—but the wager was one person’s future.

Shen Mianzhi looked at the girl standing under the sunlight, a faint smile curling at her lips. “We bet. If we don’t bet, how can we win the future?”

Jiang Huashan slowly opened her eyes, raising a hand to shield herself from the blazing sun. “Thought it through?”

Shen Mianzhi nodded.

Jiang Huashan turned her head, her gaze calm. “Zhou Yanheng is your fate. Face him head-on.”

After the exercise session, there were still ten minutes of break time. Students from Decai rushed back to their classrooms to study, racing against time, while students from Yingcai strolled around the field in small groups.

Su Miao circled around but didn’t see Jiang Huashan. Just as she was about to head back to the classroom, her phone suddenly rang—it was Su Zhuo.

“Brother?” she answered casually.

On the other end, Su Zhuo said something that made her expression change instantly. Her voice rose in surprise. “Now?”

After hanging up, Zhou Qishan asked, “What’s wrong?”

Su Miao looked as if she’d seen a ghost. “My brother’s at the disciplinary office right now, asking me to go over. It must be about that argument I had with Fu Xiaoxiao last time. What is Shen Mianzhi up to? Did she really call for a home visit?”

Zhou Qishan felt a little guilty and grabbed her hand. “Miaomiao, I’ll go with you.”

Su Miao nodded, and the two headed toward the disciplinary office together.

Not far away, Su Yun stood among the crowd, watching Su Miao’s departing figure with a complicated expression.

Disciplinary Office.

Su Zhuo sat upright, his posture rigid. The single-star epaulettes on his shoulders were particularly eye-catching—an insignia only worn by commissioned officers from military-political academies.

The disciplinary teacher poured him a cup of hot tea, rubbing his hands nervously. “Young Master Su, please have a seat.”

Su Zhuo’s expression was gentle. “My grandfather places great importance on this home visit. But with the parliament session approaching, he couldn’t spare the time, so I came in his place. I’ll have to trouble you to explain the cause of my sister’s conflict in detail, so that we can cooperate with the school.”

“Just a moment…” The teacher turned to look for the home-visit records.

“Hello, is this the disciplinary office?”

At that moment, someone pushed open the office door from outside.

The teacher immediately dropped his fawning demeanor and looked the boy up and down. “Who are you? Why aren’t you in uniform?”

The young man scratched his head awkwardly, his smile bright and easygoing. “Hello, teacher. My name is Xia Xingchen. I’m a new transfer student—I haven’t received my uniform yet.”