HBWMA -Chapter 303 A Letter from a Friend

The electronic notification tone rang at the same moment Jiang Huashan pulled the trigger.

Bang—

A gunshot echoed as the bullet pierced the target and hit the seventh ring.

Jiang Huashan removed her goggles and stared at the silver pistol in her hand.

“Wanted person Zhou Qishan?”

As expected, once the first hurdle was blocked, Zhou Qishan would be able to walk the rest of the road on her own.

【Inferiority, sensitivity, resilience, fearlessness, integrity.】

Among the five of them, only Zhou Qishan possessed three positive tags at once. This meant that, comparatively, her behavior was the easiest to change.

The cage had already been broken. If Zhou Qishan could hold on and get through it, then the “Whale Harbor Massacre” incident two years later might still have a turning point.

Previously, she had worked so hard to shift the storyline by 10%, but Zhou Qishan alone changing her trajectory had already caused an 18% deviation. It seemed her earlier guess was indeed correct—there truly was some kind of causal link between the five of them.

In other words, her efforts alone were far from enough. Only if all five threads were twisted into one rope—if five butterflies flapped their wings at the same time—could they stir up a storm strong enough to tear this damned script apart.

Fu Sui’er was already free, and a change in her trajectory was only a matter of time. As for Shen Mianzhi, only one precarious tag remained—[love-brained]—and there was currently no breakthrough in her storyline.

So…

That left Su Miao.

The current plot was the “true and fake heiress” arc. If Su Miao’s choice remained the same as in her previous life, her tragedy would play out all over again.

Just as she was thinking, her phone suddenly began vibrating violently. Such a frantic barrage—no need to guess who it was.

[My Life Is So Hard: !!!!!!!!!!]

[My Life Is So Hard: Genius! Jiang Huashan, you’re seriously a genius!!!]

[My Life Is So Hard: You actually did it!!! Qianqian got admitted to 313!! The Zhou family agreed to let her enlist!!!!]

[My Life Is So Hard: Vocal! You’re too amazing!!!]

Jiang Huashan curled her lips slightly. Where did Su Miao even learn these strange internet phrases?

She replied coolly:

[Guan Ni Peace: fair exchange.]

Zhou Qishan’s enlistment was not something glorious for the Zhou family.

In aristocratic families, even if a girl joined the military, she would usually enter a military academy, earn credits through study, and be formally recruited through examinations. And most of them would serve in logistics or other non-combat positions.

But Zhou Qishan was different. She joined the 313 Reserve Camp, which was equivalent to exchanging flesh and blood for honor. For the current Zhou family, such an extreme decision was no different from openly humiliating themselves in public.

The enlistment notice allowed only one day of preparation. According to 313 regulations, anyone who received an acceptance letter had to report to the South Bay naval fleet the next day and board ship for training.

The Zhou family deeply resented Zhou Qishan’s decision. On the eve of her departure, only Su Miao came to see her off.

The two stood together at the harbor, looking out at the sea.

The ocean surface was calm, yet waves of emotion surged in Zhou Qishan’s heart.

“Miao Miao, I might be gone for a very long time. You must take good care of yourself.”

She had defied her family’s wishes. Even during leave, she would not be allowed to return.

So this farewell—had no certain return date.

Su Miao’s eyes were red, but she still smiled.

“Don’t worry. You know me, right? After you leave, I’ll immediately go make new friends. I definitely won’t be bored.”

Zhou Qishan laughed along.

“Alright. When I come back, I’ll introduce them to you.”

Su Miao nodded and took off the backpack behind her, handing it to Zhou Qishan.

“Take this.”

Zhou Qishan looked at her.

“What are you looking at me for? Take it! I knew those heartless people wouldn’t send you off, so I prepared this for a long time. You’re not allowed to refuse it.”

“Thank you,” Zhou Qishan said hoarsely, taking the backpack with both hands.

Beep—

A long naval horn sounded from the sea.

The long coastline, the endless sea, and the grey, hazy sky together formed the scene of this parting.

Following the crowd, Zhou Qishan boarded the ship, occasionally turning back to wave at Su Miao.

“Go back,” she said.

Su Miao smiled. The tears she had been holding back finally fell from her eyes.

The sea at night was unusually calm, and the moon above the ocean seemed especially gentle.

Zhou Qishan looked at the frost-like moonlight on the windowsill, quietly enjoying this moment of freedom.

A girl sharing her cabin came out after washing up. After hesitating for a moment, she took the initiative to speak.

“Are you homesick?”

Zhou Qishan paused and turned to look at her.

The girl seemed friendly. She took a few jars of pickled vegetables out of her luggage.

“My mom made these for me. She said I should eat them if I miss home. Do you want some? They smell really good.”

Zhou Qishan shook her head. “No, thank you.”

The girl didn’t insist and placed the jars neatly on the bedside.

Zhou Qishan turned her gaze toward the backpack at the head of the bed, her thoughts stirring slightly.

The backpack was large, filled with clothes, shoes, toiletries, and even many expensive snacks.

Amused, Zhou Qishan carefully sorted everything inside. When she reached the very bottom, she found a small box—only about the size of a palm.

What could it be?

Curious, she opened it.

Inside was a letter and a bank card.

—[A-Shan: Are you happy now? Is the sea breeze free?

There’s something I shouldn’t have hidden from you. Maybe you’ve already guessed it, but I still want to tell you personally. Your letter was sent by Jiang Huashan. She’s really amazing. But! It wasn’t entirely her credit—there’s also me! I gave her ten million! She’s truly a miserly “flower carp”.

You must be wondering where I got so much money, right? Hahaha. I robbed Grandpa’s vault. The password was my birthday. When I was little, I once saw it by accident while he was holding me in his study. At that time, I thought: if they ever treat me badly in the future, I’ll take the little vault and run away from home.

Hahahaha!

Pretty childish, right?

Do you know why I stole the money? Because Jiang Huashan said ten million could buy a chance to change fate. Strangely enough, I actually believed such arrogant nonsense, so I ended up taking twenty million.

My original plan was: ten million to buy your freedom to dress however you want, and ten million to make myself a real rich young lady.]

Zhou Qishan’s gaze froze slightly. Her mind went completely blank in an instant.

—[By the time you read this, you must be terrified, right?

I also wish it were just a joke, but it isn’t.

A-Shan, I’m not the Su family’s daughter. I was switched into the Su family maliciously. My biological mother came to find me. She’s a very bad woman—she threatened me and scared me. I was afraid. I didn’t want to lose everything I have now, so I wanted Jiang Huashan to help me maintain the status quo.

But that day, I met the real daughter of the Su family. The moment I looked at her, I suddenly wasn’t afraid anymore.

A-Shan, when you come back, I might not be me anymore. I might be living in a very poor house, bullied every day.

So you must come back. Come back alive. Come back strong—very, very strong.

Come back and back me up!]

After finishing the letter, Zhou Qishan’s hands shook so badly she could no longer hold the thin sheet of paper.

Tears soaked the letter, the bank card, and the metal box.

If she had known the truth earlier, she would never have left. She would have stayed to accompany her through the hardest time.

She said she was scared—but she gave her everything she stole to survive. Ten million bought her freedom, and the other ten million was now in her hands.

“Uhh… sob…”

Zhou Qishan broke down completely, crying like a helpless wounded animal, letting out a painful, trembling sob.

The girl in the same cabin carefully placed a box of tissues nearby, then quietly and gently left the room.