Forced to date a big shot.....

Chapter 1:She Is Really Intelligent.

It was August. The sun was scorching hot while the air was humid and stuffy.

At the orphanage’s entrance was a well-maintained middle-aged lady whose eyes were red from crying. She could hardly stand on her own as her husband, Xue Sheng, supported her delicate body. “So this is our pitiful daughter?”

The man’s eyes reddened too and he nodded. “Yes.”

Xue Sheng and his wife, Ye Li, were playmates when they were young and had since become a loving couple. However, after getting married, they lost their daughter accidentally. He had lost hope after searching for her for 18 years, but a surprise came unexpectedly and they found her in the orphanage.

He looked at the two people walking toward him, and his eyes fell on the girl who followed obediently behind the director of the orphanage.

She wore a white cap and donned a clean set of blue sports attire. Her black hair was neatly pulled into a ponytail, and she had exquisite facial features on her pale and porcelain-like face. She looked at them silently with her beautiful upturned eyes. Her eyes looked lost and misty.

In contrast to the other two who were agitated, she appeared a little… too calm.

Xue Sheng was slightly taken aback.

The two approached the couple, and the director pushed the girl in front of them. “Mr. Xue, Mrs. Xue, this is Xue Xi.”

She then spoke to the girl. “Xixi, they are your parents and are here to bring you home.”

Upon hearing the words, she finally focused her eyes on Ye Li.

The woman was agitated and tried to hold back as she looked longingly at the girl. Her lips trembled because she wanted to reunite with the girl, but she was careful, fearing that the latter would resist.

After some time, Xue Xi finally said, “Hello.”

She sounded distant and apathetic.

Ye Li, nonetheless, did not sense that something was off. Unable to control herself, she hugged her daughter tightly and cried out loud, “My daughter, I’ve finally found you! You’ve suffered all these years!”

As the gentle and warm body leaned closed to her, Xue Xi froze as she was not used to such intimacy.

Yet she could not bear to push the woman away.

While stuck in a dilemma, from the corner of her eye, she saw the man signaling the director and they both walked away. Xue Sheng asked really softly, thinking that the girl would not be able to hear him, “Director, is Xixi not well here…?”

He pointed at his head.

The director hurriedly explained, “No, Xue Xi is really smart, super intelligent. She is a well-known genius in our orphanage, and since she is very engrossed in studying, she is slightly slower in social interactions.”

Genius?

Xue Sheng did not take it seriously and wished only that the girl was not dumb.

He took a deep breath, and when Ye Li had collected herself, they got inside the car and headed home.

Xue Xi looked out of the window in silence. Those messy streets and the orphanage’s old gates slowly passed by her as the car moved. When the car took a turn, all those were no longer seen and the faint sadness of parting started to sink in.

They did not notice that after they had left, a black, low-profile land rover slowly came to a stop at the orphanage’s entrance.

There were two people in the car.

The chauffeur turned around and said, “General Xiang, we’re one step behind.”

The man on the backseat was sitting upright. His lower jaw appeared firm. The faint light in the car caused his near-perfect features to be covered with a layer of thin mist.

His shrewd eyes made others terrified from the depths of their hearts, and they dared not to look at him in the eye.

Xiang Huai’s well-defined, long fingers gently knocked against the handle twice. He coldly reminded the chauffeur, “Address me differently while we’re outside.”

The chauffeur quickly changed his way of addressing. “Yes, Boss.”

He could not fathom the man’s thoughts and asked, “Do we just go to the Xue family and snatch the person?”

Although the Xue family had a high status in Bin City and was influential there, its status could not hold a candle to this man.

Unexpectedly, the man paused for a moment and replied, “No need to rush.”

The chauffeur was in a daze. They finally found the girl after searching for a long time, so why is the Boss not anxious?

While he was deep in his thoughts, he heard the man’s orders. “I’ll personally follow-up on her matters.”

Chapter 2:Does Being Good in Studies Mean Being Eligible to Stay in a Better Place?

A few hours passed, and the car finally arrived at Bin City as it headed to the Xue family’s home.

Xue Xi looked curiously at the exquisitely-renovated mansion. As Ye Li held her hand and walked through the entrance, the strange surrounding caused her to be at a loss.

Just as they entered, a pungent alcoholic spray blew against their faces.

The helper, Auntie Sun, was holding a can and spraying Xue Xi any which way while a gray-haired old lady instructed from the side, “Her hair, shoes, don’t miss out any spot…”

Xue Xi instinctively covered her eyes, and Ye Li quickly covered her from the front as she exclaimed, “Mom, what are you doing?”

Old Lady Xue’s eyelids were drooping as she said harshly, “God knows what kind of wild children the orphanage takes in. What if viruses and bacteria are brought in?”

Feeling both heartache and anger, Ye Li shouted, “Mom!”

Old Lady Xue then sized up Xue Xi.

The girl looked obedient, and as she lowered her eyes, her long lashes cast a shadow on her cheeks. Although she was beautiful, she seemed stupefied as though she did not hear her sarcasm.

The old lady’s eyes harboured intense disdain. “Look at her pudding-headed look. Could she be dumb? Did you guys check clearly? You couldn’t find her for 18 years, and now you’re simply confirming it with a strange email?”

Xue Sheng replied sternly, “Mom, I checked the DNA and she is indeed my daughter. Don’t say such things ever again! Also, she isn’t dumb.”

After saying so, he pointed at the old lady and introduced her to Xue Xi. “Xixi, this is your grandma.”

He then pointed to a delicate and charming girl beside the old lady, who was around the same age as Xue Xi, and said, “This is your Second Uncle’s daughter, your younger cousin, Xue Yao.”

Completely different from the hostile attitude she had toward Xue Xi, Old Lady Xue dotingly patted Xue Yao’s hand and said, “yaoyao, stay away from her. There is something wrong with her brain. Don’t let her spread it to you.”

Xue Yao smiled in an appropriate manner and said, “Grandma, you really know how to joke around.”

However, she took a step back and pinched her nose. “Big Auntie, quickly bring cousin for a shower.”

Her look of disdain was clearly evident.

Ye Li quickly turned to face Xue Xi. She thought the girl would be sad, yet the latter appeared calm as if she did not hear their conversations.

Her heart ached as she brought the girl upstairs. “Xixi, your father has to complete the procedures for your school transfer. I’ll bring you upstairs to rest first. I personally decorated your room for you, but it was really rushed and I don’t know what you like. Have a look first. If you don’t like it, we’ll change it afterward.”

The woman’s actions were like a warm current injected into Xue Xi’s dry, well-like, and cold heart. Opening the room’s door and seeing what was going on inside, Ye Li was taken aback. “What’s happening?”

The helper was busy tidying up the beautiful, spacious room. There was a pile of clothes on the bed, but Xue Xi clearly had only just arrived.

At this moment, Xue Yao entered. “Big Auntie, Grandma said you should let me have this room. You guys can choose other rooms.”

She then shot Xue Xi a provoking look.

Her original room was not bad, but when she saw the princess-like room that Ye Li had prepared for Xue Xi, she was jealous!

They were both daughters of the Xue family, so why should this country bumpkin live in a good room like this?

Ye Li frowned and said, “This can’t work…”

Before she could finish speaking, Old Lady Xue’s haughty voice was heard. “Why not? Isn’t it just a room? What’s wrong with giving it to the younger sister?”

Ye Li was shocked.

She knew that the old lady looked down on her as a daughter-in-law. Therefore, she would compromise out of consideration for the general interest and because she wanted to lead her life peacefully. However, this matter concerned Xixi…

She mustered all her courage and countered, “Mom, I prepared this room especially for Xixi. You can’t be so biased…”

Old Lady Xue once again interrupted her. “I’m biased? Yaoyao is good at her studies and she is smart. When school reopens this year, she’ll be in her last year of high school and it’s the most important period for her national exams. This room has ample sunlight and great noise cancellation. It’s called ‘putting it to good use’ by letting her stay here. As for this dumb girl who came from the countryside, isn’t it the same if you let her stay anywhere? Just find her a random room.”

Ye Li wanted to insist, but the old lady’s face darkened and she raised her voice. “Who is in charge of this house?!”

Ye Li could not argue further.

The person in charge of the Xue family was the Old Master, who was also in charge of the company. Although Xue Sheng had been taking over some of the Old Master’s work, Old Lady Xue still had the absolute say over family matters.

Defeated, Ye Li balled up her fists with a grievance. “Xixi, I’ll bring you to the other room.”

Xue Xi nodded.

Staying anywhere was the same to her.

Except…

She looked nonchalantly at Old Lady Xue and said, “Does being good in studies mean being eligible to stay in a better place?”

Her voice was exactly like her person—apathetic to the core.

Old Lady Xue was taken aback. “What?”

Xue Xi retracted her gaze and was apathetic once more. Two seconds later, she replied, “Nothing much.”

By the time she and Ye Li had gone to the other rooms, Old Lady Xue still had not returned to her senses. What did she mean by that earlier?

Chapter 3: She Turns Out to Be a Top Student.

The second day.

A group of students was gathering and looking on at Bin City International School’s Senior Year, Experimental Class One.

“Is she the transfer student?”

“I heard it’s the Xue family’s long-lost daughter who’d been missing for 18 years and was eventually found in an orphanage in the countryside.”

“Country bumpkin? Would she be able to understand our classes taught by foreign teachers?”

“Would she be able to cope with our dance classes? Also, we have piano classes, but has she ever touched a piano before?”

Amid the taunting was an exclamation that did not fit in: “But she’s pretty beautiful.”

“…”

Everyone turned to look at the last row of the classroom where the girl was reading a book.

She sat there obediently as she held on to a set of assessment books. Her beautiful dark hair was pulled into a ponytail, exposing her fair and full forehead. Wearing the black and white school uniform, she exuded a scholarly aura, and though she was expressionless, her eyes were silently focused on the assessment books as mist lingered in her eyes.

A few boys could not take their eyes off of her.

Those who were studying in the international school were scions of wealthy families. Even though they were used to seeing beautiful ladies and celebrities, it was rare to find someone as beautiful as Xue Xi.

Seeing the boys’ good-for-nothing reactions, a girl suddenly said in a sharp voice, “Xue Yao, why is your cousin ignoring others? Is she always so arrogant?”

Upon hearing that, Xue Yao shot a glance at a good-looking boy as her eyes fluttered. “Don’t say that, my cousin only reacts slower. Since she’s new here, I hope that everyone can help her in her studies.”

“Reacts slower? I think she’s just dumb.”

“No wonder she looks slow-witted.”

The class monitor was unhappy as well. “If she’s dumb, she shouldn’t come to our experimental class. There’s a pre-test today. What if she pulls down the class’ average score?”

Class One was the entire school’s elite class. Everyone who could get into the class was very arrogant.

“If she’s like this, why did she come to our class?”

Suddenly someone speculated, “Could it be for Fan Han?”

The moment this was said, everyone turned to look at the school hunk, Fan Han.

Everyone in the social circle knew that there was infant matrimony between the Xue family and the Fan family. It was a classic marriage alliance between the rich and powerful. Since the Xue family’s eldest young mistress was lost, the marriage arrangement fell onto Xue Yao.

Now that Xue Xi was back, could she be snatching Fan Han back?

Someone jabbed Fan Han’s shoulder and asked, “Are you really going to marry a dumb girl?”

Fan Han became more irritable as he clenched his jaw. Although he did not point it out, he sarcastically remarked, “How is it possible for me to like a slow-witted vase?”

That person became excited instantly. “Are you going to break off the engagement?”

“Bang!”

All of a sudden, the teacher, Old Liu, entered the classroom and slammed the papers on the desk, interrupting them. The man, who was in his forties, was frowning as he lectured them, “Look how a vacation made you guys so naughty! Are you done speaking? Let’s put this across clearly first, the last ten ranking students for this pre-test will have to clean the classroom for a week! Right now, tidy your desks. Class monitor, give out the papers!”

The shuffling sound of the papers instantly filled the classroom.

The class monitor divided the papers into different stacks and passed down from the first row.

The student who was sitting in front of Xue Xi passed the paper to her. “Hey!”

She only lifted her head two seconds later. She calmly took the paper and answered the questions as though she did not hear everyone’s discussion earlier.

Holding on to the question paper, Fan Han could not read a single word.

He frowned vexedly and turned around.

This was a mathematics paper, and everybody was frivolously writing on the answer paper except for Xue Xi, who stared at the questions. She wrote down an answer every ten seconds and was very disciplined. Within ten minutes, she was already on the third page…

Thirty minutes later, she actually stood up to hand in the paper.

A look of disdain surfaced in Fan Han’s eyes.

Did she write her answers any which way?

Heh.

The Xue family had sent her to the senior year merely to buy a graduate certificate with a high price and send her overseas later on. After making a round, it would appear as though she was really great.

This tactic was usually saved for those good-for-nothing scions.

And he really hated worthless people like this.

At the rostrum, Mr. Liu was invigilating, but his head hurt.

According to hearsay, the Xue family’s eldest young mistress learnt the high school syllabus on her own and there was something wrong with her head as well. Why did the school assign a bottom-of-the-barrel student to my class? However, I could neither hit nor scold her, which is really vexing!

Now that she had handed in the paper in thirty minutes, did it mean she gave up completely?

He sighed, and since it was boring to invigilate, he might as well mark the paper. Lowering his head, he found the answer sheet to be very clean, and the answers for the fill-in-the-blank questions had been written on it straight away. He wondered how many correct answers she could get…

She chose “C” for the first question and it was correct.

The answer for the second question was “B” and she was correct again. Could she be so lucky?

The third question… the fourth question…

As Mr. Liu looked on, he went into a daze.

…

…

Xue Xi went downstairs slowly.

She’d had an extraordinarily retentive memory since she was young and was deeply engrossed in learning different kinds of knowledge and skills. Everyone has his shortcomings and merits. Hence, she was slightly slower in social interactions.

However, she was not dumb.

She could sense the hostility coming from her classmates, so she left the classroom after finishing the paper, which was easy in her opinion.

After leaving the school building, she felt the scorching heat outside. She paused in her footsteps and slightly regretted handing in the paper so early.

There was quite a distance between the school and home. The Xue family would send a chauffeur daily to fetch her and Xue Yao to and from school. Since it was a waste of time to go home and come back again in the afternoon, she decided to have lunch in the school canteen.

However, it was only 10:30 AM and the canteen was not open yet…

Looking outside, she decided to walk around the school’s vicinity in order to familiarise herself with the place.

Opposite the school and separated by the road was a row of old houses.

She crossed the road and strolled along the quiet alley.

On both sides of the alley were merchants selling all kinds of stationery and clothes. There were also some eateries, but since it was early, most were closed except for those selling breakfast.

After walking for a while, she felt a little thirsty. Scanning her surroundings, she spotted an open store ahead and walked toward it.

No matter what store it is, it should sell water, right?

Inside the store, a tall man scanned the shelves coldly. His face was terrifyingly dark as he exuded an aura as though he was going to fly into a rage soon.

Lu Chao, who was standing on one side, tried to play up to the man and said, “Boss, you’re the one who told me to set up a store here in order for you to observe closer. I know it’s inconvenient for you to be a store owner, but you can’t get mad at me…”

Xiang Huai shot him a glance.

Lu Chao continued to speak as he tried to seek merit. “I’d even surveyed the area especially. There are many stores selling clothes and food in the vicinity, so after the customers are full and satisfied, they would need to fall in love. That is when we’ll come in!”

The man tried to suppress the urge to kick him out. “So you opened a s*x toy shop?”

Lu Chao nodded. “If our business becomes prosperous, I might even earn some pocket money!”

Xiang Huai replied coldly, “Do you think a high schooler will buy such a thing?”

As he said that, the wind chime at the entrance rang, and Xue Xi, who was in uniform, entered.

“…”

Chapter 4: If You Don’t Fall in Love, You’ll Die.

The store that Xue Xi had entered appeared normal from the outside but was over 100 square meters on the inside. It was like a supermarket with several rows of shelves that were filled with goods.

However, there was no customer in the store except for two men standing at the cashier, near the entrance.

One of the men had two small canine teeth and seemed like the store assistant. He was trying to play up to the other man as though he had angered the latter.

The infuriated man was wearing black pants with a black shirt, and he lowered his head while his fringe covered his sharp eyes partially. He had one hand in his pocket and the other sleeve rolled up, exposing his skinny arms. His well-defined fingers rested on the counter, and it was obvious that he was not to be trifled with.

At this moment, both of them were staring straight at her. The “canine teeth” man’s smile froze as though he had seen a monster.

Xue Xi was stunned for a moment and thought that it was very strange.

After a full ten seconds, the odd atmosphere in the store was interrupted by the boss’ weird tone. “Are you buying something?”

His voice turned out nice-sounding.

She paused for two seconds before nodding her head. “Do you have mineral water?”

“Yes.” The man ordered the “canine teeth” man, “Go get it.”

The “canine teeth” man finally returned to his senses. He snapped his fingers and scurried to the refrigerator in the corner.

Very soon, a bottle of mineral water was placed on the counter.

Lowering her head, Xue Xi opened her wallet and asked, “How much is it?”

All of a sudden, it became dark. It turned out that the man had passed the bottle to her. His deep, charismatic voice rang. “Little kid, it’s free.”

She lifted her head in surprise.

The man was taller than she was by one head. Now that he was bending over, his arrogantly beautiful and exquisite face was only a few centimetres away from her. His deep, brown eyes were bottomless, and they made her feel apprehensive from the bottom of her heart.

This person was highly dangerous. She needed to stay far away from him.

She took a step back and, right at this moment, her mind suddenly became dazed as a warm current flowed through her heart. It was as though something had been awakened.

Her chest became painful suddenly, as if something was stabbing it and twisting!

Xue Xi bent down in pain, and a cold sweat broke out on her forehead. She could hear a faint mumbling sound by her ears, as if it was far away but near at the same time. “If you don’t fall in love, you’ll die… If you don’t fall in love, you’ll die…”

The pain was quickly intensifying, and very soon, she was in so much pain that she could not breathe.

Just as her heart felt like it was going to be crushed, she came to and realised that this was not a joke.

However, how could she fall in love in such a short period of time?

At this point, a huge hand lifted her arm. She lifted her head and saw the cold man observing her. “Are you alright?”

The world before her eyes grew dark, and right before she fainted from the pain, she grabbed the man’s hand and said,

“I have money and I can fight well.”

“Be my boyfriend and I’ll take care of you.”

…

…

The heart-wrenching pain eased slightly after she said those words.

It was indeed useful.

Xue Xi finally heaved a sigh of relief.

“Sss!” The “canine teeth” man drew a deep breath and widened his eyes in shock, the water in his hand. When he saw her looking at him, he hurriedly signaled and said, “Don’t worry about me, you guys can continue.”

There is actually someone in the world who is not fearful of death and actually confessed to our boss?

Instantly, the flames of gossip were lit in his eyes. He wanted to exclaim excitedly and fished out his phone to live-stream this scene for others to see! Who knew that something like this would happen to Boss?

Even if she is rich, is she as rich as the Boss?

Even if she fights well, is she better at fighting than the Boss?

Did this girl realise that they are monitoring her so she came to purposely embarrass them? How will Boss deal with her? Or will he just kidnap her, or… kill her?

The store had pin-drop silence momentarily.

Xue Xi could still fill the throbbing pain in her chest, but it no longer affected her thoughts.

This man right before her eyes looked just like an average, good citizen. Could his fiendish aura come from being in the underworld? Also, this store looks so pathetic and should not be making much money. Therefore, my being rich and able to fight well should be enough to attract him, right?

Xue Xi had thought it through clearly.

Although she still had no idea what the voice was, falling in love would not cause her to lose a piece of her meat. It was more important for her to save her life first.

However, this man did not respond even after some time. His eyes narrowed, and there seemed to be surprise in his peaceful eyes.

Right, who would confess when it is their first time meeting someone?

Just as she was wondering if there was enough time for her to look for another man should he not agree to it, the man finally spoke. “Xiang Huai.”

Xue Xi widened her eyes slowly.

The man continued to say, “That’s your boyfriend’s name.”

Xue Xi was left speechless…

The pain disappeared all of a sudden, and her relaxed body put her in a trance as though all that had happened earlier was her delusions.

She stood dazedly on the spot until Xiang Huai placed the bottle of mineral water in her hand. His deep voice seemed to have magic as he said, “Little kid, you should be going to school.”

After she left, the searing sun shone on her once more as she slowly turned to look at the store.

Was everything earlier just a dream? What did that man do to me? What is going on?

The school’s dismissal bell rang and interrupted her train of thoughts. It was only then that she walked back to school while feeling lost.

Inside the store, Lu Chao walked to Xiang Huai’s side and said, “Boss, although you’re a man of striking appearance and is way too good-looking, she was clearly acting weird and harbouring ill intentions. How could you agree to it? Could it be that you’re attracted by her appearance?”

The man shot him an icy stare, and Lu Chao immediately stood up straight and shut his mouth.

…

…

After having lunch in the school canteen, there was another round of examinations in the afternoon.

After the last paper, Xue Xi handed in her answers early and was staring blankly downstairs for more than an hour. They took the car back home only after Xue Yao was done with the papers.

The chauffeur, Uncle Li, had been working with Xue Sheng for many years; as such, he was fond of Xue Xi as well. When he saw her keeping quiet once she got in the car, he asked in a concerned tone , “Eldest Young Mistress, how was school today?”

Xue Xi slowly turned her head to face outside and replied, “It’s fine.”

“Pfft!” Xue Yao, who was beside her, could not help but dip her head and laugh. She then indirectly hinted, “Cousin, the grades and rankings will be out tomorrow!”

After saying that, she sized up Xue Xi from the corner of her eye.

The girl looked out of the window, and her eyes had a layer of mist over them. She was especially quiet as though she did not hear the other girl’s words. This irritated Xue Yao.

When the car passed by that same street, she suddenly realised that the store that she had visited in the afternoon had a sign that said “Ye Lai Xiang.”

A question arose in her mind. What does that store sell?

The car drove and passed by the store quickly. Pondering over the question, Xue Xi did not see that Xiang Huai, who was sitting lazily at the counter, seemed to have sensed her as he looked out. His sharp eyes were glowing.

Chapter 5:Leave It Like This.

On the way home, Xue Xi kept thinking about the strange happening today.

Her pale fingers gently pressed against her chest. She was usually expressionless, but now, she had a look of confusion. Her body had been feeling fine since the afternoon when she was at school.

However, the thought of the pain that she felt in the morning was still terrifying.

‘If you don’t fall in love, you’ll die’… Why did this happen?

Even when she arrived at home, she still could not make sense out of it. Just as she was absent-mindedly heading upstairs, she heard Xue Yao’s surprised voice coming from behind. “Uncle Fan, Auntie Fan!”

She paused in her footsteps and realised that there were guests at home.

The old lady smiled as she sat on the sofa in the living room while Ye Li sat beside her. The latter appeared to be battered out of her senses and her eyes were red. It was obvious that she had just cried.

Opposite the three people were a middle-aged man and woman. The woman smiled at Xue Yao before turning to look at Xue Xi. After sizing her up from head to toe, she pouted and made a flippant remark. “This is Xixi? She looks quite beautiful…”

Xue Xi was stunned, and before she could reply, the old lady shouted. “That’s right, she grew up in the orphanage since she was young and has had no upbringing. She doesn’t even know how to greet people and is slow-witted. She is unlike our family’s Yaoyao who has been sensible and hardworking since she was a child.”

“…”

Instantly, Xue Xi shut her mouth.

Xue Yao, on the other hand, smiled sweetly before running to sit beside her grandmother. She acted cutesy and hugged her grandmother’s hand before fawning on and asking, “Uncle and Auntie, what brings you guys here?”

The two immediately turned awkward and remained silent.

Instead, the old lady said casually, “They’re here to discuss the marriage arrangement between the two families! You’re turning 18 years old soon, and once your birthday is over, I’ll let you and the Fan family’s boy…”

“Mom!” Ye Li suddenly cut her off. “This marriage arrangement is for Xixi, you can’t do this!”

Old Lady Xue drooped her eyelids and said sternly, “The Fan family and ours are best friends. We’d set this marriage arrangement back then to ensure that both families can work together and get closer. If you insist on Xue Xi, aren’t you harming the Fan family? We won’t become united but will breed enmity then!”

Ye Li stood up all of a sudden and shouted with grievances, “Why will we be breeding enmity if Xixi marries him?”

She was upset that the daughter whom she’d recovered painstakingly was detested by others.

The old lady, however, did not think she went overboard. “Since you’re asking, let me put it across clearly. We all know how outstanding Fan Han is. He has always been the best at everything and has a promising future. But what about Xue Xi? How can a dimwit like her be worthy of Fan Han? Do they have a common language?

“Will she be able to answer when Fan Han discusses academic matters with her? When Fan Han attends banquets, can she dance? Does she know how to play the piano? She knows nothing at all! If they get together, they will be the butt of jokes!

“But our Yaoyao has always been excellent. Yaoyao and Fan Han being together will be a perfect match.”

Ye Li could no longer argue. She tried to open her mouth, but before she could say anything, the old lady left her with no chance. She turned to look at Xue Xi. “Xue Xi, what do you think?”

When the question was asked, everyone in the living room turned to look at her.

Looking at them sizing her up, feeling conceited or being worried, Xue Xi furrowed her brows.

Although she’d been back for only one day, she understood the situation of this family well.

A biased grandmother, a powerless yet sincere mother, that evil younger cousin, and the Fan parents who obviously looked down on her… How vexing are they?

As for that Fan Han, she noticed him during class today. However, he was nothing as outstanding as they said. Just his looks alone were way inferior compared to that of the man in the store.

A look of impatience flashed across her beautiful eyes and she said slowly, “Leave it like this.”

After saying that, she looked away aloofly and headed upstairs, leaving them staring at each other speechlessly in the living room.

Why does her attitude make it seem as though she couldn’t care less about Fan Han?

Madam Fan frowned and was slightly upset deep down.

After a while, the old lady laughed and said, “Since Xue Xi knows her own place, this matter is set! Let’s discuss the children’s engagement.”

The atmosphere lightened up instantly.

It was unsuitable for Xue Yao to stay on, so she stood up. “Please continue to chat. Cousin probably didn’t do too well in her papers today as she handed them in only after half an hour. I’ll go see if she needs help.”

Before heading upstairs shyly, she did not forget to tell tales about Xue Xi.

Ye Li gritted her teeth and shot a glance at Madam Fan. Indeed, there was a look of disdain in the latter’s eyes. She quickly explained, “The orphanage has only nine years of mandatory education and Xixi hasn’t attended high school. It’s normal if she doesn’t know things. I’m thinking of getting her a home tutor…”

Old Lady Xue sneered and cut her off. “Is there any use in hiring a home tutor? I think that’s just a waste of money and you should just spend it on getting Yaoyao more clothes… Our Xue family’s children are all very intelligent. This child is so slow-witted, and coupled with your family’s genes, she might even become mentally unsound in the future!”

Ye Li’s face turned crimson red from the embarrassment.

She balled up her fists as anger flashed across her eyes.

My family… My father was originally a university professor, but he suddenly had a mental disorder a few years back. Ever since then, the old lady, who is not fond of me to begin with, keeps being sarcastic to me.

Now that she is cursing my daughter…

She jumped out of her seat. “Mom, it doesn’t matter what you say about me, but you can’t speak of Xixi like this!”

Pak!

Although the old lady was old, she was not slow at all. She gave Ye Li a tight slap and interrupted her. “You’re revolting now! How dare you talk back to me in front of outsiders! We’re going to discuss Yaoyao’s marriage now and it’s none of your business. Scram and head upstairs, stop being an embarrassment here!”

Ye Li’s face burned as she looked at the old lady in disbelief.

Momentarily, she covered her face and ran upstairs.

…

Although the room that Xue Xi was staying in was not as beautifully renovated as the room that Ye Li had prepared, it was still spacious and bright.

She threw her school bag on the desk in a slipshod manner and lay on the bed. With her hands behind her head, she stared blankly at the purple curtains moving with the wind.

Perhaps because she grew up in an orphanage, she’d had no wild ambitions ever since she was young.

Her only hobby was studying.

She had a terrifying hunger for knowledge as though it had become a disease. However, all that she came across usually were too simple, and only advanced schools had more profound knowledge.

Therefore, her goal was to get into the best university.

Yet she still had to wait for another year.

Just as she was deep in her thoughts, she heard the commotion downstairs.

Realising that Ye Li was still downstairs, she stood up and opened the door. It so happened that she saw Ye Li heading up.

Ye Li paused in her footsteps and instinctively turned her head away. She did not want her daughter to see her like this. However, when she walked past Xue Xi, the latter grabbed her hand. Her eyes looked sharp and her voice was icy. “What’s wrong with your face?”

Chapter 6: Must Fall in Love Every Day.

Ye Li’s heart squeezed and she nearly cried.

Nonetheless, she quickly dipped her head and covered her swollen cheek. Trying to suppress her tears, she said, “Nothing much, Xixi. I put on too much blush today. Y-You go back to your room.”

Xue Xi looked at her in silence and, after a while, calmly replied, “Oh.”

Just as Ye Li was about to feel relieved, the girl walked past her and headed downstairs.

Her pupils constricted and she hurriedly ran up to the girl. “Xixi, Xixi…”

Upon hearing the commotion, the people in the living room turned to look at them.

Xue Xi walked right up to Old Lady Xue and remained expressionless. Her huge eyes appeared slightly slow-witted, but her voice was really icy. “Why did you hit her?”

Old Lady Xue was taken aback. For a split second, she found this girl’s aura to be startling, but she quickly returned to her senses.

She was merely a girl who was of the same age as Yaoyao. That must have been her illusion.

She sat comfortably on the sofa and lifted her head slightly before smirking. “She gave birth to a dimwit for our family and has embarrassed the Xue family thoroughly. I merely gave her a slap and that’s lenient enough!”

By then, Ye Li had caught up to Xue Xi and blocked her from the front. “Mom, Xixi isn’t a dimwit!”

“Not a dimwit?” Old Lady Xue sneered. “If she’s not a dimwit, why is she like this? Ye Li, don’t feel aggrieved. I don’t expect Xue Xi to be as outstanding as Yaoyao. As long as her grades are about the same as Yaoyao’s, I’ll definitely be courteous to you and treat you like my ancestors!”

Ye Li’s lips trembled and she could not say a single word.

At this moment…

“No need.”

Xue Xi had spoken all of a sudden. She looked determinedly at Old Lady Xue as she shot a quick glance at the Fan couple before saying icily, “If my results are better than Xue Yao’s, you just have to apologize to my mother.”

After saying that, she brought Ye Li upstairs.

It was only when they had disappeared at the staircase that Old Lady Xue returned to her senses. When her eyes met Madam Fan’s observing eyes, she sneered. “How can her grades be better than Yaoyao’s? Wait until her next life!”

…

Xue Xi brought Ye Li back to her own room.

Closing the door, she turned around and saw Ye Li’s watery eyes. Feeling touched, the latter held her hand and said, “Xixi, are you finally calling me ‘Mom’?”

Xue Xi froze and replied without much expression, “Mhm.” Her voice had a hint of distance and awkwardness.

She knew that her parents did not abandon her on purpose and she had no complaints about Ye Li, but they did not meet for 18 years, after all. She felt uneasy when her mother appeared all of a sudden.

Seeing her like this, Ye Li did not push her further. She merely dipped her head and began repeating over and over again, “Xixi, I’m the one who let you down. I didn’t take good care of you when I gave birth to you, causing you to be stolen.”

She choked. “Your father and I looked for you for so many years. When you’re finally back home, you have to suffer through these grievances with me because I’m useless.”

Xue Xi was uncomfortable seeing her cry. She anxiously took out her tissue paper and passed it to Ye Li before standing there in a daze.

After some time, Ye Li had finally had enough of crying and felt a little abashed when she calmed down.

Placing the tissue paper down, she tried to force a smile with those red eyes.

Her daughter’s defense warmed her heart, but thinking of what had happened, she was fearful that the pressure on her would be too much. She then comforted Xue Xi. “Xixi, don’t feel pressured and don’t listen to your grandma’s words. A person’s grades don’t represent if he or she is outstanding, do you understand?”

Xue Xi nodded while feeling lost.

Ye Li continued to console her. “In Mom’s eyes, you’re the best no matter what you do. I just hope that you can be safe and spend the rest of your life happily. Xixi, for your sake, I’ll slowly grow stronger, so don’t worry!”

Xue Xi replied, “…Oh.”

Old Lady Xue’s slap was not too hard and the swelling on Ye Li’s cheek had subsided. Xue Sheng neither noticed it nor did she mention it.

After having dinner and lying down to rest, Xue Sheng sighed. “It’s all my fault for not knowing how to make Mom happy like the second child that you guys have to suffer through the grievances. Wait for a while more and we’ll move out with Xixi.”

Ye Li suddenly said, “I’m going to start painting again.”

She used to be a painter, but after losing the child, she became wasted and did not touch the brushes for years. Now that Xixi was back, she had become a strong mother and needed to get back up again.

The only reason that the old lady bullied them was simply that her parents were professors and she had no income.

…

The next morning…

Xue Xi, who did not get a wink of sleep, felt her chest feeling tight. However, she did not take it to heart. After washing up and having breakfast, she got in the car and headed to school.

The nearer she got to school, the more evident the discomfort became. It was as though her heart was being squeezed by an invisible hand that was slowly tightening…

When the car passed by Ye Lai Xiang store slowly, the pain in her chest intensified.

She instinctively shouted, “Uncle Li, stop!”

Chh! The car came to a halt suddenly. Xue Yao wobbled, and, after sitting down securely again, she could not help but say, “Sister, today is the day of results release, don’t tell me you’re trying to skip school to avoid it?”

Xue Xi could not be bothered with her at all as she quickly headed down.

Stumbling, she walked toward Ye Lai Xiang.

Thinking while she still could, she suddenly had a thought. Could it be that she had to fall in love with that man for it to work? She could not switch to another man?

With this thought in mind, she stopped in her tracks and randomly grabbed a male student in uniform who was walking past her. His hair was dyed red, and without even looking at how the boy looked, she asked straight away, “Hey, do you wanna fall in love?”

The boy: “?”

Upon her saying that, the pain did not lessen but intensified further.

It was useless.

She quickened her steps and opened the door to Ye Lai Xiang store. There she saw that tall man sitting behind the counter, and the pain quickly lessened once again.

This meant that she had to fall in love with Xiang Huai.

Supporting the door-frame, she looked steadily ahead.

So, this issue indeed had something to do with Xiang Huai? Could she have been drugged by him? Could he have casted a spell on her? Why was there such a bizarre thing in the world?

Just as she was in a daze, Xiang Huai gradually looked up.

The store’s air conditioner was strong, and the man was, once again, donning an all-black ensemble. He held a book in his hand as he sat there relaxing. There was no expression on his face, and his eyes slowly landed on Xue Xi as he asked, “Little kid, why are you here?”

Xue Xi kept silent for a moment. “…To fall in love with you.”

Xiang Huai: “…”

Their eyes met and there was complete silence.

The store was oddly silent for half a minute.

“Pua!” Xiang Huai laughed in a deep voice. That laughter was so low that it seemed to be lingering in Xue Xi’s ears magically. This made her cheeks flushed.

Having nothing to say, she tried to start a conversation. “What does your store sell?”

After saying that, she looked at the shelves.

The man lowered his eyes and replied, “This is a provision store.”

Last night, he got Lu Chao to change everything in the store last minute.

But—

Xue Xi was curious. “When I came here yesterday, the shelves were full of small boxes. What were they?”

“…”

Xiang Huai slowly put down his book and leaned forward before saying in a serious tone, “Balloons.”

Chapter 7: Come Again Tomorrow?

In Xue Xi’s mind, a question mark was slowly drawn out: “?”

Why would a provision shop have that many balloons?

She did not question further, though. She simply had a nagging feeling that this provision shop was different from the rest she had seen before. Even its name was unique: Ye Lai Xiang… Provision Shop?

She did not speak further on this.

She did not even know Xiang Huai and this was only their second meeting. More importantly, she did not even know how relationships worked.

However, if she did not speak, the dull pain in her heart would increase in intensity. Seeing that Xiang Huai was reading his book and did not have any intention of speaking, she fought with herself internally before asking again, “Where is Canine Teeth?”

Canine Teeth?

Xiang Huai cocked an eyebrow. Is she referring to Lu Chao?

This little kid has a unique way of giving nicknames.

Xiang Huai knocked his knuckles against the counter. “He went to buy breakfast.”

At this moment, Lu Chao walked in with breakfast. “Boss, time to eat!”

He first paused for a moment when he saw Xue Xi, greeted her with a “Hey,” then proceeded to lay out the breakfast he’d just bought onto the table beside.

Xiang Huai stood up and, instantly, his 180-centimeter-tall stature towered over everything else making the entire room feel slightly constrained and cramped.

He walked to the dining table and casually asked, “Join us?”

Xue Xi blinked.

She felt a little ill when she woke up this morning and hence did not have much for breakfast. Moreover, the Xue family ate Western food with bread and milk in the morning. She grew up eating buns and congee at the orphanage, so she was not used to it and did not have much.

She thought for a little then nodded. “Alright.”

Lu Chao watched in a daze as the young lady took a seat opposite his boss, reached for a bun, and started eating in a relaxed manner.

Since when had anyone been this carefree and at ease in front of his boss? This little girl is not your average joe!

Xue Xi ate while surreptitiously sizing up the person opposite her.

The man ate fast, but was not uncouth. Instead, he was elegant even. In the time it took for her to finish one bun, he had already gobbled up three…

Xue Xi ate faster, and when she was done, the pain she felt in her heart had totally vanished. She picked up a napkin to wipe her mouth, then asked, “May I leave now?”

Xiang Huai unhurriedly looked up. His dark brown eyes were glinting with a suppressed sharpness. “You can leave anytime.”

Xue Xi paused.

This man emanated a dangerous and mysterious air, making one unable to see through him nor guess his intentions. Still, for now at least, he did not seem to be ill-intentioned.

Many thoughts had sprouted in her mind the past two days.

She considered making a police report.

But what would she tell them? This man did something to me and forced me to date him? Never mind the police, she herself would not! She might even be treated as a looney!

After playing with many ideas, she finally decided on taking no action to see what this man was up to.

Everything had been fine from yesterday afternoon, until her chest started hurting this morning. Could this mean that she had to meet him every day to “be in love and date” him?

“I’ll come again tomorrow, okay?” she said questioningly.

Xiang Huai raised an eyebrow and his lips turned up slightly. “Up to you.”

…

Xue Xi walked out of the shop and toward the school.

The classroom was in a mess. Despite being tortured by the examinations yesterday, the students who just came back from summer vacation were all still very boisterous.

“The paper yesterday was so hard! I actually couldn’t do quite a few math questions!”

“Isn’t the question not in the syllabus? Fan Han, did you find it hard?”

Fan Han, who was already sitting in the first row, straightened his spine and replied in an arrogant manner, “It’s still manageable.”

“Looks like you did pretty well. As expected, a curve wrecker is different!”

Xue Xi walked into the classroom amid the lamenting.

The sun’s backlight illuminated the girl’s tall stature. Her hair was cleanly tied behind her head, and on her fair-skinned face, her large and beautiful eyes were slightly misted.

Girls who were pretty naturally attracted the eyes and attention of all others. Even Fan Han could not resist sneaking a few peeks.

This furtive act was caught by Xue Yao, who suppressed the disdain she felt and blabbered loudly, “Xue Xi, how were the exams for you yesterday?”

Xue Xi paused in her tracks and looked toward her cousin.

Although she did not express any emotion, her apathetic attitude made the latter feel as though her thoughts were seen through. Xue Yao could not help but shift her eyes away in guilt.

Xue Xi retracted her gaze and moved for her seat, leaving only two words behind: “It’s manageable.”

Manageable?

Fan Han sneered. He raised his chin when everyone looked over and said, “The Chinese language is truly deep and profound.”

When he claimed it was manageable, it was with humbleness and certainty.

As for someone else’s “manageable,” heh…

Everyone could understand the underlying meaning of his words and instantly burst out laughing. “That’s true. Fan Han would claim it manageable if he can’t get full marks, but in Xue Xi’s case, manageable would be just getting a 60. Isn’t her standard for herself a little too low? Ha ha ha…”

Administrative building— Senior Year Mathematics Office.

Following the ring of the bell, Class One’s civic tutor, Old Liu, picked up the mathematics papers and moved to leave. At this moment, the rest of his colleagues teaching other classes asked, “Old Liu, I heard that there is someone from your class who scored full marks?”

Old Liu paused in his footsteps and smiled so widely that his wrinkles appeared. “Yes.”

Someone lamented, “This exam tested something out of the syllabus just to give these rascals a blow in order to make them settle down and properly start studying. That mathematics paper is very challenging. Your class’s Fan Han is truly impressive! Looks like your class is going to be the first in the level on average again, isn’t it?”

Just as Old Liu moved to speak, Class Two’s civic tutor, Ms. Li, spoke. “Class One is indeed very smart, but it can’t be helped that there are laggards dragging the rest behind!”

Ms. Li was a woman in her thirties. She smiled. “Mr. Liu, how did the transfer student in your class fare?”

Old Liu stopped when he heard this. “Ms. Li, I heard that the headmaster originally intended to put Xue Xi in your class?”

Ms. Li gloated when this was mentioned.

There were two experimental classes in the senior year: Class One and Class Two. The top hundred students in the level were randomly allocated to each class and, hence, the competition was stiff.

When Xue Xi first transferred over, the Xue family only requested for her to be in an experimental class. The headmaster had originally planned to put the girl in her class. After all, the girl had issues and it was easier for a female teacher to communicate with her.

However, Ms. Li had firmly rejected it and pushed the responsibility to Old Liu.

How could she possibly accept the yearly number one student being given to Old Liu but only the problematic young girl given to her?

Moreover, with Xue Xi, she could pull down Class One’s average score and that will allow Class Two to be the first, right?

Ms. Li thought about this and replied, “Yes. Our class was full.”

Old Liu’s worry when he first received Xue Xi had been instantly swept away, and he grinned. “Then I shall thank you!”

With that, he walked past Ms. Li while humming a tune under his breath.

Ms. Li was stunned.

Beside her, someone else had already run to Old Liu’s desk to look at the summarized result slip. A gush ensued. “The person who scored full marks this time is actually not Fan Han?”

An ominous feeling rose in Ms. Li’s heart when she heard this. “Who is it?”

Chapter 8: First in the Level

When Old Liu stepped into the classroom, the bell for the first class had yet to ring.

He placed the thick stack of papers on the rostrum and said, “Subject rep, come distribute the papers!”

The entire classroom instantly fell silent. Xue Xi sat in the last row and watched as her classmates all stretched out their necks. As the subject representative distributed the examination scripts, intermittent sounds of gasp and sighs could be heard from every corner of the room.

The subject representative, Zhou Zhen, was studious and frail-looking. He wore a pair of thick glasses. He moved toward Xue Yao’s table and passed her script over.

Someone asked curiously, “How many marks?”

Checking her score, Xue Yao answered in a light-hearted and proud tone, “127 marks.”

“The questions were so hard, yet you actually scored so highly?”

She feigned humbleness. “Nah. I’m still lacking when compared to Fan Han.”

“How can you compare yourself to Fan Han? He has been receiving uncountable awards from mathematics competitions since he was young! Still, you and he are truly a match made in heaven. Both of you have such good grades…”

Xue Yao seemed accustomed to the surrounding gasps and praises. She lifted her chin and subconsciously peered at the last row.

She asked hypocritically, “Zhou Zhen, hurry and see how my cousin scored, alright?”

Zhou Zhen flipped through the papers and did not spot Xue Xi’s. Instead, he saw Fan Han’s first and hurriedly picked it out. He was about to pass it to Fan Han when…

On the rostrum, Old Liu said, “For this mathematics paper, the only full-marks student in the entire level is in our class!”

“Wow!”

“Isn’t Fan Han too incredible?”

While everyone was gushing, Fan Han silently heaved a sigh of relief.

During the examination yesterday, there were quite a few that he was unsure about. Looks like I did it all correctly…

“Congratulations, Fan Han! You are amazing!”

Xue Yao’s voice rang beside him.

He looked up at her with a smile.

When he returned home yesterday and was informed that his arranged marriage partner had been changed to Xue Yao, he had let out a breath of relief. For a person like him, only the best and most outstanding girl could be matched!

127 marks… Mhm, it hits the passing mark!

At this moment, Zhou Zhen landed his paper on his table right in front of him.

He instinctively looked at the scores and his smile froze. 138? What’s wrong? Did I receive the wrong paper?

While everyone was still confused, Old Liu sucked in a deep breath and said the following, “Let us congratulate student Xue Xi! Her foundations in mathematics are very solid. Even though the questions this time around were exceptionally hard, her results are also totally unexpected! It is a whole 12 marks higher than the second place, Fan Han!”

In the next instant, it felt as if a pause button had been pressed on the entire classroom. A perfect silence prevailed!

After a full two seconds, everyone then turned to look at the girl in the last row in unison.

Fan Han widened his eyes in shock and disbelief. When he turned back to look at the girl, he saw her slowly look up. Her eyes started to focus on him. A meaningful smile slowly crept up her lips as she silently mouthed the words, “Still manageable.”

Fan Han’s cheeks instantly blazed, as though someone had given him a tight slap!

Similarly, Xue Yao also froze and all she could think of was: How can this be?! How can it be?!

…

“End of class!”

Old Liu finished reviewing the examination paper right at the ring of the bell that signified the end of class, and he promptly exited the classroom.

In the next moment, the classroom instantly exploded with noise.

Screech!

It was the sound of a chair being dragged against the floor. The person seated in front of Xue Xi turned around and leaned against her table as though she had no bones. “Hey, Xue Xi, right? I’m Qin Shuang!”

The girl had a head of pink hair and her makeup was exaggerated, as though she came from a 2D world. She was chewing gum and even blew out a bubble right after saying this.

Xue Xi looked at her curiously, then replied, “Hello.”

Qin Shuang whipped out her phone when she received a reply and babbled loudly, “Everyone in our school’s forum is now debating whether Fan Han can keep his Number One position! Ha ha, I have always disliked Fan Han and Xue Yao, those two. They always act so arrogantly. What is there to be proud of when all they have are slightly better grades?”

Xue Xi: “…Oh.”

An overly familiar and talkative person—this was her first impression of Qin Shuang.

Qin Shuang did not mind her uninterested reply and continued on her own, “I heard that the Fan family reneged on your arranged marriage because they felt that your results were terrible? Then, can you clinch Number One in overall results? That way, you can give him a tight slap on his face!”

“…” And a gossipy one.

The next class was Literature. As she was the subject representative, Xue Yao’s first instinct when she received the papers was to look at Xue Xi’s marks. When she saw the marks written on top, she immediately let out a breath of relief.

She intentionally walked over to pass the paper to Xue Xi and coincidentally heard Qin Shuang say this.

Hence, she said, “Fan Han excels not only in mathematics. He excels in every subject.”

With that, she passed Xue Xi’s paper over to her. “102 marks. Cousin, looks like your grades are severely imbalanced. You already have a 30-mark difference from Fan Han in one subject and you still have a pipedream of being first? Stop dreaming!’

Pak!

Qin Shuang’s chewing gum bubble burst. She cocked her head at Xue Yao. “I don’t know if Xue Xi will score better than Fan Han, but it will definitely be higher than yours. Where does your pride come from?”

Rendered speechless, Xue Yao only retorted back after a short pause, “As the first from the bottom, you would, of course, not feel any pride.”

“No.” Qin Shuang grinned. “I’m proud to be the first from the bottom.”

Xue Yao: “…”

She turned around and left proudly.

The teachers had burned the midnight oil last night marking the papers and individually collated them today. The ranking and scores were finally out when afternoon classes ended.

After the grade reports were pasted on the wall in front, everyone squeezed to take a look the moment classes ended.

Xue Xi did not partake in this, though. To her, things such as grades were not important. Hence, she picked up her bag and walked out the door.

In the classroom, Fan Han and Xue Yao had not left. They were packing their bags as they eyed the front of the class. While both of them held themselves in high regard and deigned to squeeze with the crowd, they were still extremely curious about the ranking this time around.

When most of the crowd had dispersed, Fan Han finally walked over. His gaze landed on the utmost left column of the first row. Alas, he, who had hogged the first spot usually, was currently in a different spot.

He was stunned.

Beside him, Xue Yao was going bonkers…

…

…

At 6:30 PM, the car slowly drove through the Xue family’s gates.

Xue Xi moved to open the door the moment the car stopped, but a piercing voice sounded. “Are you very happy?”

She paused, only to see that Xue Yao’s eyes were red and brimming with tears. The latter shouted, “You pretended to be a dimwit to see me and Fan Han make a fool out of ourselves. Are you satisfied now?”

Xue Xi was taken aback.

Is this person’s brain fine?

Before Xue Xi could reply, Xue Yao had already alighted from the car and ran into the mansion.

When Xue Xi alighted and followed her path into the living room, she immediately heard Old Lady Xue’s anxious voice. “Yaoyao, what’s the matter?”

Not speaking a word, Xue Yao ran upstairs and locked herself in her room.

Old Lady Xue was anxiously and worriedly circling outside her door. “What happened? Why are you suddenly crying…”

“Oh, right. The results are out today. Did Xue Xi bully you out of jealousy because you scored better than she did?”

Xue Xi, who had just walked in: “…”

Chapter 9: Time for Your Apology

Xue Xi changed her slippers and was about to go back to her room when Ye Li walked out from the kitchen, dressed in a purple dress. Looking every bit like a cultured and sophisticated person, she smiled gently at Xue Xi and waved her over.

When the latter reached the dining area, she then passed a small and exquisite-looking bowl over to her and said in a soft voice, “Xixi, are you hungry? This bird’s nest soup is fresh out of the pot. I have added honey and milk inside. Have some.”

Her attitude made Xue Xi feel warm as she received the food and took a mouthful. It was a little fishy, but the milky scent and honey resulted in a sweet aftertaste.

She was planning to finish it when a bellow erupted from the staircase. “Eat, eat, eat! All you know is to eat! Didn’t you see how much Yaoyao is crying?”

Ye Li was startled as she tensed up. She then pacified the old lady, “Mom, she’s a child. It’s normal for there to be things that upset her. I’ll accompany you to appease Yaoyao…”

She circled past Xue Xi after saying this and was just about to go upstairs. However, Old Lady Xue suddenly stopped and swept her gaze past Xue Xi with hostility. When she spotted the bowl in the latter’s hands, her eyes widened as she roared, “Who gave her bird’s nest soup? That is specially made for Yaoyao!”

Ye Li hurriedly explained, “Mom, I know. Yaoyao’s is still being kept warm in the pot. I made two portions today and will give the other portion to Yaoyao soon…”

Xue Yao had a portion of bird’s nest every day. This was her habit.

Since both were daughters of the Xue family, Ye Li felt that it was Xue Xi’s right to have one portion every day too. Yet what she did not expect was Old Lady Xue’s following rampage. “Yaoyao has bird’s nest every day because she studies so diligently every day and needs proper nourishment. With Xue Xi’s pea brain, giving her some is simply wasteful! You will not make it for her again!”

Ye Li was totally dumbstruck.

To the Xue family, bird’s nest was a very average expense. They would even let the servants at home have some when they had leftovers.

Still, she never expected in her entire life that the old lady would be this stingy toward Xue Xi!

Xue Xi eyed the bird’s nest soup in her hands. She never craved any of such things in her life. After all, at the orphanage, all she asked for was to have a full tummy.

She put the bowl down on the dining table and moved to go upstairs.

At this moment, the old lady blocked her path again. “Also, tell me, did you bully Yaoyao and make her cry?”

Ye Li flailed her arms. “How can that be? Xixi is—”

Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by a hum. She turned to look at Xue Xi together with Old Lady Xue.

Xue Xi decidedly abandoned her plan to go upstairs. Her eyes, which always seemed shrouded in mist, turned to the old lady. “Looks like I really did.”

With a vicious look, Old Lady Xue berated, “I knew it was you! You lunatic! Tell me, what the hell did you do to Yaoyao?! Why is she crying?!”

The girl paused for two seconds. “Perhaps it’s because… I got better grades than she did?”

“…What?”

Old Lady Xue was stunned. She even suspected her hearing of being faulty… Her grades are better than Yaoyao’s? That’s not possible!

Xue Xi flung the bag she was carrying to the front, retrieved the final grade report, and passed it to Old Lady Xue.

The old lady instinctively reached for it. On it were the results of every subject.

Mathematics: 150 marks.

Science Aggregate: 288 marks.

English: 140 marks.

Literature: 102 marks.

Old Lady Xue, who frequently flaunted Xue Yao’s results to everyone else, naturally knew what these grades meant. She stared at the “dimwit and dumb” granddaughter in disbelief.

Xue Xi gently and suavely hooked the dining chair over with her foot. The chair rocked a little and stopped before her. She then pressed down on Ye Li’s shoulders, asking her to sit down before she turned to the old lady. “Now, it’s time for your apology.”

Apology…

Old Lady Xue instantly recalled the girl’s words from yesterday:

“No need…

“If my results are better than Xue Yao’s, you just have to apologize to my mother.”

Old Lady Xue’s face turned red with anger as her entire body trembled.

Apologize to this useless daughter-in-law? Especially in front of the servants? Impossible!

The old lady frowned and suddenly clutched her chest. “Aiyo, aiyo…”

Beside her, Auntie Sun instantly got her hint and moved forward. “Old Madam, is your angina acting up again? I’ll help you back to your room to rest.”

“Yes…”

With Auntie Sun supporting her, Old Lady Xue escaped the dining area in dismay.

Xue Xi: “…”

It was only when dinnertime arrived that the old lady and Xue Yao came down again.

Today, the old patriarch, Xue Shengqiang, had finally finished dealing with an acquisition project and returned home for dinner. Hence, the dining table was filled for today.

Xue Xi sat beside Ye Li. It was her first meeting with her supposed paternal grandfather.

Xue Shengqiang was a conservative elder. Despite being 70 years old, he was still a stern person. He first sized up Xue Xi, then nodded with an ambiguous attitude. “It’s good as long as you’re back.”

After which, he swept his gaze across the rest of the house. He spotted Xue Yao’s reddened eyes but did not point it out. Instead, he turned toward Old Lady Xue and asked blandly, “Did anything happen at home in the past few days?”

The old lady answered, “No.”

“Are you sure?”

The old lady was taken aback, unsure what he was referring to.

Xue Shengqiang continued staring at her. “Did you forget to apologize to Ye Li?”

This one sentence made the old lady tense up, as though she would flip the table in the next instant.

How did Xue Shengqiang know about this?

She balled up her fists, feeling a severe sense of shame looming over her. She did not dare to go against the old patriarch and could only look at Ye Li in a disgruntled manner, saying, “I should not have hit you for that day’s events.”

Ye Li was frightened when she spotted the anger and condemnation in the old lady’s eyes.

She knew that this time, she had thoroughly offended the old lady.

Still, she could not back down now. She had conceded in every way she could in the past only because she did not want to make things difficult for Xue Sheng. However, now, she had Xue Xi, and so she had to protect her.

…

…

The next morning, when Xue Xi woke up, Ye Li came over happily and knocked on the door. “Xixi, your maternal grandmother is here!”

The two of them descended down the stairs. Xue Xi quickly spotted an old lady with a head of white hair sitting on the sofa in the living room cautiously. She was donning a traditional-looking Chinese-style jacket and had a kind smile on her face.

Old Lady Xue was seated opposite her. Her eyes were droopy, and she clearly looked down upon the former.

Granny Ye, whose name was Song Wenman, stood up in agitation when she spotted Xue Xi. Her frail and wrinkled hands tightly held on to the latter’s hands as she said with reddened eyes, “My good child. We finally found you!”

Ye Li introduced her to Xue Xi. “Your maternal grandmother’s house is not in Bin City. We originally intended to bring you over to visit them during the weekend, but your granny already could not wait and came over first instead!”

“Oh,” Xue Xi replied. She then turned to look at Song Wenman and obediently called her, “Granny.”

“Aye!”

While the trio were chatting, Old Lady Xue suddenly cut in, “Ye Li, the servants don’t know what your mother likes. Go brew a cup of tea for her personally.”

Flattered, Ye Li nodded. “Yes.”

As she moved for the tea cabinet, Old Lady Xue shot a glance toward Auntie Sun, who then nodded back.

Slow on the uptake, by the time Xue Xi realized that something was amiss, Ye Li’s loud shriek was already heard!

Chapter 10: Little Kid, You’re Leaving Right After Eating?

Despite being slow when it came to interpersonal relationships, Xue Xi was very nimble and agile.

She swiftly arrived the moment she heard the shriek. When she saw Ye Li standing there unhurt, she let out a breath of relief first before spotting the half-spilled container of tea leaves.

At this moment, Old Lady Xue drew a deep breath and exclaimed, “Ye Li, you are in huge trouble!”

Ye Li was utterly petrified as she explained in a stutter, “Mom, I-I didn’t do it on purpose. It dropped down the moment I opened the tea cabinet.”

Auntie Sun shook her head and sighed. “Madam, you are too careless!”

Old Lady Xue seemed to panic as she berated, “What else can you do other than eat and drink every day? I only asked you to brew a cup of tea and you can make this huge mess! Do you know that your father-in-law especially bought this back for an important use?!”

Ye Li stared at the tea in shock.

Old Lady Xue continued chiding, “You useless piece of trash, what use is there in putting on a crying look?! Tell me, what have you ever brought into this house? You can’t even give birth to a son. You are simply a hen that cannot lay eggs!”

Her words became even more vile.

Xue Xi frowned and was just about to speak when a stern voice sounded, “Liu Guihua, you’d better shut your mouth!”

Song Wenman rushed over and immediately blocked Ye Li from her view. “As the matriarch of a high-society family, do you think you are speaking humanely?! Our Ye Li has been well-versed in classical Chinese poetry, songs, and essays since she was young. She did not marry into your nouveau-riche family to be bullied!”

Nouveau riche…

Xue Xi was a little taken aback. It seemed that her maternal grandmother was not lacking in the bickering department too.

Old Lady Xue choked on her own saliva. Her momentum was instantly cut in half. “Can’t I even scold her a little as her mother-in-law when she has made a mistake?”

Song Wenman retorted, “Isn’t it just a little bit of spilled tea leaves? Is there a need to be this alarmed? I’ll just go buy some back for you again!”

Ye Li hurriedly tugged her mother. “Mom…”

On the contrary, Old Lady Xue gloated as she nudged her lips. “Just a little bit of spilled tea leaves? Do you know what tea this is? This is Wuyi Mountain’s Da Hong Pao!”

Song Wenman replied resolutely, “As long as it is sold somewhere, there will be a way to purchase it.”

Old Lady Xue revealed a smirking expression, “Fine. I shall put it upfront that this tea is something our old man requested someone to bring over. We have use for it this weekend. If you guys are unable to buy it back, you’d better wait to explain matters to our patriarch!”

With that, she moved for the dining area with Auntie Sun supporting her. A gloating look shone in her eyes.

Didn’t the old man just back her up yesterday? I shall see how she gets punished now that she has ruined his big plans!

It was only when Old Lady Xue had left that Song Wenman realized that something was amiss. “Lili, I…”

Ye Li hurriedly halted her with a glance. She then turned to look at Xue Xi, who had been staring at them silently. She did not want to make her daughter needlessly be implicated with them.

Xue Yao had already finished breakfast and was currently standing at the side restlessly and in frustration. “Are you gonna move or not?”

Ye Li forced a smile out, then went to the kitchen to pack some breakfast for Xue Xi. “Xixi, go to school first. Your granny is not leaving today, so you can chat with her again at night.”

“Oh,” Xue Xi answered, eyeing her. She then followed Xue Yao out the door.

When both of them were gone, Song Wenman then inquired in a soft voice, “The tea just now…”

Ye Li let out a bitter smile. “Mom, the remaining six origin trees of this tea have already been protected since ten years ago. They are no longer allowed to be harvested, so the tea leaves are now a priceless treasure. My father-in-law spent 880,000 yuan to buy this paltry 100 grams in an auction just to gift it to Elder Gao this weekend. Our company will need Elder Gao’s help in the following project…”

Elder Gao was the wealthiest businessman in Bin City. It was public knowledge that he loved tea.

Song Wenman was stunned when she heard this. “880,000 yuan… only for 100 grams?”

Ye Li stared at the tea leaves on the floor once again.

Her father-in-law viewed these tea leaves as though it were as important as his own life. Now, even if one were willing to spend a million, they would still be unable to buy this.

She did not expect Old Lady Xue to use this to take revenge on her. How would she explain herself to her father-in-law tonight?

…

…

As usual, Xue Xi alighted at Ye Lai Xiang and entered the provision shop.

Sitting behind the counter, Xiang Huai lazily raised his head. He seemed to like black clothes a lot. He had changed into a different shirt today. The top button was unbuttoned, revealing his sexy collarbone. Despite that, his stern and straight-laced face gave off an ascetic aura.

He stood up and walked toward the dining table when he saw her enter. As he passed by her, he lowered his head slightly and said, “Little kid, you’re late.”

Late?

Xue Xi eyed the clock, realizing that she was three minutes later than yesterday.

However, the pain in her heart today was actually not as acute as it was yesterday. Was it because she had been thinking of coming here since she stepped out of the house today and was not going against the idea of seeing Xiang Huai? After all, people who were in love would likely desire to meet each other.

With this thought in mind, she took a seat opposite the man.

On the table, Canine Teeth had already placed the breakfast. When the three of them were done eating, he cleaned up the table. After Xue Xi had finished the soya bean drink, she placed it on her left-hand side. As Canine Teeth was on her right side, he was feeling too lazy to reach out for the bottle. Hence, he said to her, “Pass that soya bean drink bottle to me!”

Slow to respond, Xue Xi paused for two seconds before reaching for the bottle again. Alas, as Xiang Huai saw that she did not move, he had reached out too. Consequently, just as she touched the bottle, her hand was caught by Xiang Huai too.

Both of them stilled.

Xue Xi stared blankly at their hands, which were holding each other. The man’s palms were huge and his nails were clean and neat. Yet his palms were hot—scalding, even. The heat seemed to travel from her hands to her cheeks…

She hurriedly retracted her hands and glared at him hostilely.

What did this man do to me again? My heart seemed to have stopped for a second there… but it seems fine now again.

She put on an empty expression and picked up her bag. “I’ll be off to school.”

“Tsk.” With that cluck of his tongue, the man pushed himself up with both hands on the table. He then bent at the waist closer to her. “Little kid, you’re leaving right after eating?”

Xue Xi was lost.

What should I do if not leave? Does he mean…

Scouring the empty shop with her eyes, she had an epiphany: I should give him some business.

Recalling the tea leaves Ye Li had spilled today, she asked, “Do you have Wuyi Mountain Da Hong Pao here in your provision shop?”

Lu Chao, who had gone out to throw the trash, almost fell down headfirst when he heard this upon returning.

Wuyi Mountain Da Hong Pao? Is that something you can buy in a provision shop?

He was just about to speak when he saw his boss smile lightly. “I have 150 grams. Is that enough?”

Xue Xi nodded.

Ye Li had spilled 100 grams, so there should not be any problem if she bought 150 grams back.

“How much is it?” she asked.

The market price was already 800,000 yuan for 100 grams. If it was 150 grams…

Xiang Huai’s dark brown eyes twinkled as he gave her a discount. “One…”

“How expensive!” Xue Xi, who usually had a long response loop, exclaimed, causing Xiang Huai to swallow the word “million” he had yet to utter.

In Xue Xi’s eyes, the tea leaves that the principal of the orphanage drank was only 15 yuan for a pack. Yet this Da Hong Pao actually cost 100?

She eyed the pathetic and desolate provision shop again.

Forget it, I’ll take it even if it’s overpriced. His business is hard too.

Xue Xi picked out 200 yuan from her wallet and placed it before Xiang Huai. “You don’t need to give me change. You can keep the remaining 100 as breakfast money.”

Lu Chao: “…''

next: chapter 11-20

coming soon.........

chapter 1**1-20**.

forced to date a big shot.

Chapter 11: She Is Very Rich!

Xiang Huai’s usual calm expression seemed like it was about to crack. However, he regained his composure in just under two seconds. He first smiled, then received the 200 yuan, saying, “The tea leaves are in the storage room. Come get it after school.”

“Alright.”

The straightforward Xue Xi turned around and left. When she spotted Canine Teeth’s complicated expression, she silently sighed inside.

Canine Teeth must also be thinking about how terribly black-hearted his boss is, right?

But that’s fine.

Xue Sheng gave me a bank card and there is 100,000 yuan inside. I am very rich!

She did not mind helping Xiang Huai within her means. Moreover, if he was happy, she might even have a chance of quickly ridding herself of the ‘be in love or die’ curse.

After her departure, Lu Chao’s mouth twitched as he asked, “Boss, since when did we have Da Hong Pao in our storage?”

The storage held only the whole stash of small boxes that were previously displayed on the shelf on the first day!

Xiang Huai gave him a side-eye. “Give Little Gao a call. You’ll go get it.”

Lu Chao: “…Yes.”

Right after replying, he could not help but remark, “Boss, Old Gao is already in his sixties. Can’t you call him Old Gao? With Little Gao…”

Upon receiving his boss’s gaze, he instantly changed his tune, “…you’re making yourself sound old!”

Xiang Huai ignored him and went to the back of the cashier, picked up a book, and continued reading.

…

…

When Xue Xi entered the school compound, an Audi was coincidentally parked at the entrance.

Fan Han was about to alight when he spotted the passing silhouette. Stunned, he stopped.

Mrs. Fan, who had personally sent her son to school, failed to notice his anomaly. She spewed out the words she had held back for an entire night. “Why did you get only the second place this time?”

Fan Han kept up his stoic expression and did not answer.

Mrs. Fan could not resist complaining, “You didn’t relax at all during the summer, so it’s impossible for you to not have done well. Did that dimwit from the Xue family harass you on the day of the exams and so you got this result? Fortunately, we have already changed your partner for the arranged marriage. As the saying goes, one is marked by the company one keeps. If you get married to that dimwit, you will only get worse from here!”

Fan Han repressed his raging emotions and pushed open the car door in frustration. “I’m going off to school.”

“Oh,” Mrs. Fan replied, then continued asking, “Who got the first place this time? Is it Xue Yao? You guys are engaged, so it’s fine if she is first for this once.”

Fan Han had already alighted. When he heard this, he halted and slowly turned around. Looking at his mother, he did not know why, but he said the following: “It’s Xue Xi.”

“Indeed, it’s Xue… what?”

Mrs. Fan was stunned.

Fan Han looked away, He did not understand why he was suddenly rebellious, just that he was suddenly very annoyed with his mother’s nagging. Moreover, why did she not consult him first before she went to the Xue family to renege on the marriage?

…

The first lesson was Old Liu’s. As the civic tutor, he pointed out a few issues regarding discipline, as was his habit.

At the end, he pointed out, “Qin Shuang, didn’t I tell you to dye your hair back yesterday?”

The person seated in front of Xue Xi was sprawled on her desk, seeming to be unafraid of anything since she was already in the worst situation. “Sir, I need money to dye my hair. My parents confiscated my bank card. Do you perhaps want to help me to ask for it back?”

Old Liu was so furious that he pointed at her for a long time. Finally, he sighed. “During the break later, you and Xue Xi shall come to my office.”

Upon hearing her name, Xue Xi looked up in confusion. Why am I being called?

Two periods flew by in the blink of an eye. Xue Xi finally understood how much of a headache the person seated in front of her caused the teachers. She slept during the whole lesson, and once she was done with that, she whipped out her phone to play games. When Old Liu asked her to answer a question, she would immediately respond, saying that she did not know and to find someone else…

The English teacher in the second period had already given up on her. The teacher did not even glance at her.

After the first two periods, all other students went to the field for some morning exercises and stretches. Meanwhile, Xue Xi was making her way to Old Liu’s office.

She looked at Qin Shuang, whose head was still lowered and was playing games. She knocked on her table. “Aren’t you going to the teacher’s office?”

Qin Shuang answered with a smile. “No. Old Liu won’t do anything.”

Xue Xi paused, then asked, “Then where is Mr. Liu’s office?”

Qin Shuang stilled upon hearing this. Seeing her lost expression, she locked her phone and stood up. “Forget it, I’ll bring you there.”

Along the way, Qin Shuang fully displayed her gossipy temperament. “Old Liu is very scared of his wife. He has to hand in his salary every month and still rides a very old and wonky bicycle to work every day…”

“…Oh.”

The two entered the office and stopped before Mr. Liu.

Old Liu first smiled at Xue Xi. “Xue Xi, wait just a moment.”

He then pulled open his drawer and retrieved something wrapped in a newspaper. He slowly unwrapped the newspaper. There were some small coins inside—5 yuan, 10 yuan…

Old Liu stuffed the money into Qin Shuang’s hands. “I don’t know how much you’ll need to dye your hair, but 500 should be enough, right?”

Qin Shuang was stunned. She mumbled, “Old Liu, these must be from your secret nest egg, right? Aren’t you afraid that I’d squander it at an internet café if you give it to me?”

Old Liu laughed. “I’ve already given you the money, so it’s your choice what you want to do with it.”

A conflicted look appeared in the girl’s rebellious eyes. In the end, she still accepted the money and left. “Fine, then I shall go to the internet café now!”

After Qin Shuang had left, another teacher spoke. “Mr. Liu, why are you bothering with her? Even her parents have already given up on her, but you still…”

Old Liu sighed. “If I don’t care about her, no one else will. Sigh!”

After that, he turned to look at Xue Xi. “Xue Xi, I called you here because I wanted to ask you: Are you interested in joining the Mathematical Olympiad?”

Mathematical Olympiad?

Xue Xi stared blankly and silently.

Old Liu continued, “The examinations portion for the Olympiad is definitely harder. Our school has structured training classes. If you take part, you will have to go for classes to learn deeper knowledge…”

Can learn…

Xue Xi’s eyes lit up as she nodded. “Okay.”

Old Liu passed her a registration form. “Alright, then, go fill up this registration form. In another week, there will be a non-official mathematical invitational game. You can gain some experience there. After that, every weekday afternoon during the last two self-revision periods, go to classroom 301, which is near the staircase, for the Olympiad training class.”

“Alright.”

Xue Xi exited the office and spotted Qin Shuang leaning against the wall and playing her game. Seeing that she had come, the latter then smiled and said, “Let’s go.”

It was only when they had returned to the classroom that Xue Xi realised… that Qin Shuang had been waiting for her just now…

At this moment, someone in the classroom spotted the Olympiad registration form in Xue Xi’s hands and exclaimed, “Xue Xi, are you going to take part in the Mathematical Olympiad?”

“In our class, I think only Fan Han is participating in the Mathematical Olympiad… Then, won’t you have to go to the extra classes with Fan Han during the last two periods every day?”

The entire class fell into a pin-drop silence the moment this was said.

After who knows how long, someone chimed in, “Don’t tell me you still haven’t given up on Fan Han?”

Chapter 12: Buy the Case and Return the Pearl.

Everyone turned to look at Xue Yao and Fan Han in unison.

Feeling the crowd’s gaze on her, Xue Yao sat up and smiled at Fan Han. “What will you do if Xue Xi harasses you?”

Fan Han raised his chin. “Our engagement is already settled, so it will not change again.”

Xue Yao was instantly relieved.

She had grown up with him and they had always had an ambiguous relationship. Now that their engagement was being pushed forward, she believed that he would not feel anything for that dimwit or switch the recipient of his affections.

The pair’s voices were not too loud or soft—just enough for those around to hear them.

Someone mockingly sneered. “Even if she’s first, she still can’t get Fan Han’s heart back.”

“If I were her, I would keep a far distance away. Why is she so shameless as to keep prancing toward Fan Han…”

Xue Xi’s eyes turned cold, but before she could speak, Qin Shuang spoke first. “Some people are just too bored out of their minds. All they do is monitor someone else’s petty matters!”

She was good at bickering, and her tone sounded good, even.

The few people who commented instantly shut their mouths.

Qin Shuang then looked at Xue Yao and Fan Han, then sneered. “There are also some others who regard themselves too highly!”

No one in the classroom replied. In terms of speech, no one could beat her.

Seeing that Qin Shuang had settled the issue in just two sentences, Xue Xi nodded at her in gratitude and went back to her seat.

Meanwhile, Qin Shuang turned around and walked out.

The class president asked, “Qin Shuang, class is about to start. Where are you going?”

Qin Shuang whipped her head around and blew out a bubble from her chewing gum. “Internet café.”

Xue Xi paused.

For the rest of the day, Qin Shuang did not return.

Time quickly sped by and it was almost time for the afternoon self-revision class.

Fan Han packed up and prepared to go for the extra classes.

Xue Yao also stood up. She was participating in the Physics Olympiad, and, hence, she also needed to go for extra classes at this time. Her class was beside the Mathematical class’s—at classroom 302.

The two of them reached the door and noted from the corner of their eye that Xue Xi had also belatedly stood up after them. As she walked over to them, Xue Yao could not help but ask, “You can’t possibly ignore her if she harasses you and clings to you to talk, right?”

Fan Han fell silent, seeming to be conflicted too. “That’s true…”

He subconsciously slowed his footsteps. When Xue Xi slowly caught up to them, the two had already reached the staircase.

Just as they were having a hard time deciding if they wanted to respond, Xue Xi looked to the front and walked by them, as though they were non-existent. Forget about greeting them—she did not even glance at them.

Both Fan Han and Xue Yao stalled their footsteps and felt an inexplicable awkwardness.

…

When Xue Xi reached the classroom, she found that there were only around ten-odd students inside.

She found a seat and sat down. Soon, Old Liu walked in and he first reviewed a few competition questions, then made everyone else continue practicing other questions. He then walked over to Xue Xi and passed her a paper. “Do this first. I need to gauge your level.”

Xue Xi nodded, then started on the paper.

Fan Han sat a short distance away from her and could not help but take note of what she was doing.

He had done the set of questions Old Liu had passed to her. Its difficulty matched the current competition’s difficulty level.

Although there were only three questions, the required knowledge was huge. As an experienced competition contestant, he had answered all three questions correctly.

Xue Xi finished the paper quickly. She finished the paper, which usually required two hours to complete, in an hour. This made Fan Han’s heart sink.

Old Liu marked the paper on the spot and gave her the result: Fail! All three questions were wrong!

Fan Han let out a huge breath of relief when he heard this result!

A sense of superiority instantly burst in him.

As expected, just because she is good at Math does not mean that she will do well in the competition. After all, the Olympiad questions are difficult and complicated. They require a higher level of logical thinking.

Moreover, I had underperformed for this exam. I will definitely be able to snatch back the first place in the next exam.

On the other side, Xue Xi dazedly stared at the three “x” on her paper. She asked in confusion, “How can it be wrong?”

In order to not affect the rest of the students, Old Liu softly answered her, “You did all three questions correctly, but during the actual examination, everyone will judge these as wrong. Do you know why?”

Xue Xi shook her head.

Old Liu sighed. “Calculus is a university subject. Where did you learn it?”

Xue Xi: “…By myself.”

“…”

Old Liu was internally shocked. He then continued to explain, “In the high school competition, you are tested on logical thinking. In other words, it means that you have to answer these questions using high school knowledge. You answered everything correctly, but your method is outside of the syllables and not the knowledge we had specifically laid out.”

Xue Xi looked up at him. Her misty eyes were filled with a sense of being wronged and feeling aggrieved.

You can play this way?

Old Liu reassured her. “It’s fine. It’s fortunate that we found out the problem early and it’s not too late yet. I will map out some of the important key points for you, so you can take a look.”

He paused for a while, then continued, “You can also ask Fan Han if you have any problems.”

Xue Xi: “…Oh.”

She looked at the paper on the table.

She had never done such questions before. If she abandoned the calculus portion and other university-level knowledge, it did seem to be a little more challenging. Still, she found it interesting!

Two lessons were soon over and Old Liu announced the end of classes. Xue Xi then packed up.

Fan Han stood at the entrance and his gaze involuntarily followed her silhouette.

The girl was tall and thin. Her footsteps were light. The ponytail on the back of her head would swing in tandem with her gait. Under the sunlight, her ears seemed so white that it was almost translucent…

When Xue Yao’s classes were over and she stepped out, she immediately spotted Fan Han staring at a certain direction fixedly. She silently stepped over and was just about to scare him. However, when she reached him, she followed his line of sight and her eyes landed on Xue Xi…

She frowned and tightened her hold on her books.

…

Xue Xi reached the school entrance first. After waiting for a full half an hour, Xue Yao finally appeared. Her black face made the atmosphere in the entire car feel dense and heavy.

Xue Xi did not care and asked Uncle Li to let her alight at the street where the provision shop was. She had to go get the tea leaves.

The box holding the tea leaves was exceptionally exquisite—so much so that it would not be an exaggeration to call it an antique. Xue Xi lamented, “This box is so beautiful. Using it to store tea leaves is such a waste.”

Xiang Huai was still dressed in black, and his lips twitched. “…Little kid, have you heard of buying the case and returning the pearl?”

Xue Xi slowly looked up: “?”

She felt that this person meant something else with his words.

Still, she did not think much of it. After all, how could 100-yuan tea leaves be compared to pearls?

The car was still waiting outside so she could not idle here for long. Hence, she left after simply saying, “See you tomorrow.”

Xue Yao was already annoyed with the waiting. As she saw Xue Xi board the car again, her face turned even darker. “Why do you have so many issues? Dragging and wasting time!”

Xue Xi ignored her.

The car drove into the Xue family’s compound. Just as it stopped, Xue Yao immediately got down and slammed the car door shut. She then entered the house in a huff.

Meanwhile, Xue Xi slowly exited the car with the tea leaves in a laid-back manner.

Before she could even enter, she quickly spotted a familiar silhouette seated by the door. The person had a head of white hair and an elegant and cultured look—Song Wenman?

She walked over, confused. “Granny, why are you sitting here?”

Song Wenman had a bitter expression. “Xixi, it is truly impossible to buy those tea leaves. Why am I so ignorant? I actually said such resolute words. I no longer have the face to go back in…”

Chapter 13: Where Did You Buy It From?!

Song Wenman had hustled outside for the whole day.

She had a few students in Bin City, but everyone said that there were only 150 grams of Da Hong Pao in the entire Bin City, and they were all with Elder Gao.

Song Wenman felt even more helpless, and hope diminished in her the more she asked around.

It was nothing to her to be mocked by Liu Guihua, but if Ye Li were to offend her father-in-law, her life in the Xue family would definitely become much harder!

Xue Xi wanted to speak, but Song Wenman continued, “I didn’t agree when your mother said that she wanted to marry your father back then. Is a rich family an easy group to live with? After the marriage, Liu Guihua is always dissatisfied with your mother in every way possible. Your mother’s position in the household became even worse when the second daughter-in-law of the family hails from a family with a similar status to theirs.”

Finally finding an opening to speak, Xue Xi spoke up. “Granny, I—”

“After you were stolen, your grandmother started nitpicking on your mother even more. I persuaded her to give birth to another child in order to have an easier life here, but that fool did not agree no matter what. She said that it would not be fair to you.”

Xue Xi was stunned at this.

A warm current flowed in her heart. Ye Li had gone to such great lengths for her… This knowledge made her feel a stronger attachment to both Ye Li and the term called “mother”.

“She is a stubborn fool. She never cares for anything else once she has made up her mind on something. She used to be such a prideful person, and there were so many people chasing her. Yet now, she had relegated herself to such a state. Just looking at her makes my heart ache.”

Song Wenman’s eyes turned red. “Your grandfather has returned home, but your father has gone to the neighboring province for work, so he is definitely unable to return today. There isn’t even a single person who can speak up for your mother at home. No— even if I have to sacrifice my life, I will not let your mother suffer in any way today! At most, I will just bring my daughter home!”

Right after saying this, she immediately made her way to the living room.

Xue Xi: “…”

Granny, can you listen to me for a short while?

She helplessly followed her maternal grandmother, then took out the tea leaves from her back and stuffed it into the latter’s hands.

Song Wenman was just about to look at what it was, but Old Lady Xue’s loud chiding suddenly sounded. “Ye Li, you are the sinner of our Xue family!”

Xue Xi frowned. Similarly, Song Wenman was so hurried that she could not reply. The two quickly made their way to the living room.

The servants were all standing in the dining area and sticking their heads out to look at the living room.

In the living room, the old patriarch and Old Lady Xue were both seated on the sofa. Old Patriarch Xue had a dark look looming over his face while Old Lady Xue had a gloating look.

Ye Li stood before both of them. She was so ashamed that she could not even raise her head. Her eyes were red, and tears were dripping down from them.

“What right do you have to cry?” Old Lady Xue continued berating. “What else can you do other than cry? Ye Li, do you know how important this project is to our company?”

Ye Li was unable to say anything. She took a deep breath and looked up. “Dad, Mom, I am in the wrong this time. I will accept the punishment.”

At this stage, retorting was useless.

She knew that the old patriarch was a prideful one. Last time, he had helped her only because the old lady had gone overboard with her actions and had wounded the Xue family’s image. It was not that he took her side.

The old lady immediately ordered, “Sure. Then you shall be served with the ancestral house punishment!”

This made Ye Li tremble immediately.

The old lady continued, “Ye Li, it’s not that I am picking on you. This is such a huge blunder. If we let it pass easily, our Xue family’s prestige and authority will be undermined. Old man, are you opposed to this punishment?”

The old patriarch frowned, then nodded.

Immediately after, Auntie Sun slowly walked over with the prepared ferule.

Ye Li’s pupil’s constricted when she saw the flat and white ruler. Her shoulder trembled.

The ruler was made of stainless steel. Just a smack on the body would be agonizing. Xue Sheng had mentioned before that one swing of this ruler could make her frail body swollen for an entire month!

Old Lady Xue’s eyes glinted brightly.

She had lost her face yesterday, so she was going to get it back today!

She nodded at Auntie Sun, who immediately raised the ruler and was just about to swing it at Ye Li’s back—

“Stop what you’re doing!”

Song Wenman rushed out and hugged Ye Li, glaring furiously at Old Lady Xue. “What age is it already now that you still employ such ancestral methods? This is called a private torture encampment and is against the law! I will call the police if you dare to hit my daughter!”

Old Lady Xue turned her eyes upwards and scoffed. “Which high society family doesn’t have their own rules? My in-law, this is our Xue family’s matters. I shall advise you to move away so you don’t get hurt by accident.”

Song Wenman was not afraid in the least as she stared at Auntie Sun. “Fine, then. Come hit me. I shall see how your reputation fares when news of the respected Xue family bullying the weak and old get out!”

Old Lady Xue raised her chin. In a belittling tone, she said, “Fine. Your daughter is a pampered one and cannot accept our Xue family’s teachings. Since that’s the case, you can just bring her back!”

Song Wenman yanked Ye Li over. “Fine, then! Ye Li, Xue Xi, follow me home!”

However, the latter remained silent.

Ye Li could not bear to be apart from Xue Sheng… Xue Sheng was a conservative man. He did not care about family matters, but he was a good husband.

In the past few years, Old Lady Xue had, at most, mocked her, but she had never truly hurt her only because of Xue Sheng.

One was his biological mother while the other was his wife. It was already a blessing that he could do this.

The slap Old Lady Xue gave her was the worst thing she had done to her these few years, but the old patriarch had backed her up after that. Xue Sheng did not claim any credit, but she knew that he must have whispered something into the old patriarch’s ears.

For example, right now, the house’s phone and the old patriarch’s phone were constantly ringing. It must be because Xue Sheng was unable to rush back in time and, hence, was calling desperately…

He had always been silently protecting her in his own way.

Now that their daughter was back and he was at an important crossroads of taking over the company from the old patriarch, if she were to return home now, there would definitely be rumors about them getting divorced the next day!

That would be detrimental to his reputation!

The second son had always been trying to usurp Xue Sheng’s position for many years, so she could not give him this chance.

As she thought of this, Ye Li released Song Wenman’s hands. “Mom, I’m not leaving.”

The latter was so panicked that she wanted to flare up. “Ye Li! Why are you this stubborn?!”

Ye Li’s attitude was resolute. She moved to say something when she suddenly spotted the item in her mother’s hands. She paused in shock. Such an exquisite small box was used to store tea leaves…

She dazedly took the box and opened it. When she saw the tea leaves inside, she was totally stunned. “Da Hong Pao?”

The situation instantly took a 180-degree turn. Everyone was in a dazed shock.

Old Lady Xue originally thought that she had victory in her hand, but… Did she truly find the tea leaves? Impossible! She shrieked, “These tea leaves must be fake! Are you trying to pull off a trick using fake ones?”

Old Master Xue walked up and received the tea leaves from Ye Li in a trance. He carefully examined them and made an unbelievable conclusion. “It’s real.”

Moreover, just by looking at the box, it could be seen that this was of higher quality than the one he bought!

He looked at Song Wenman in surprise, then asked agitated, “Where did you buy it from?”

Chapter 14: What Should She Buy Today?

Song Wenman did not understand what had just happened. She stood rooted on the spot and only returned to her senses after some time. Suddenly, she turned to look at Xue Xi.

Xixi is only a high schooler and does not have much money with her, so it is impossible for her to have bought such expensive tea leaves.

So these are actually… bought by Xue Sheng?

All these years, whenever there were important events in the family, Xue Sheng would always buy expensive gifts in advance for her to give as gifts. He did so to uphold Ye Li’s dignity and elevate the Ye family’s status.

That happened too many times in the past, so Song Wenman naturally thought that Xue Sheng had bought it and got Xue Xi to pass it to her in order to back Ye Li up.

She quickly returned to her senses and straightened her back. Looking at Old Lady Xue, she asked, “Mhm, is this tea alright?”

“It’s alright!”

Old Master Xue nodded profusely. He held the three liang of tea and walked to the side jubilantly.

He ought to bring this when visiting the Gao family this weekend—it was even more upscale and he would not need to change the box at all!

Old Lady Xue still could not believe it. “How is it possible that you managed to buy it?!”

Song Wenman lowered her eyes as she said in an elegant yet unfathomable way, “Don’t look down on university professors. There’s a saying that goes ‘having students all over the world…’ Oh, I forgot that you might not be able to understand it. Do you need me to explain?”

She was actually hinting that their Ye family had connections and they should not look down on Ye Li!

Old Lady Xue’s face turned crimson red and she was trembling from anger.

Song Wenman had the talent of speaking in a mild and refined manner, but her words could anger others to death.

The old lady looked indignantly at Ye Li and scolded, “Consider yourself lucky this time. Be more careful when you’re working at home next time!”

Ye Li kept silent and nodded her head.

Seeing that everything had been settled, Xue Xi felt relieved.

Thinking about the mathematics assignment that Old Liu gave her, she picked up her school bag and headed upstairs while walking past everyone. Just as she was on the stairs, she paused before turning to look at Old Lady Xue and said casually, “Don’t place this tea in the tea cabinet anymore in case anyone spills it again.”

“…”

One single sentence was enough to pinpoint where the problem was. Ignoring the fact that Old Master Xue was now deep in thought and Old Lady Xue was suddenly anxious, she headed upstairs straight away.

After entering her room, she closed the door and fished out the papers from her school bag.

Old Liu said that she should avoid using knowledge outside of the syllabus to answer the questions and that the only method to do so was to use the “tactic of a sea of questions.” Hence, she needed to keep doing the questions repeatedly.

Once she got into her studying mode, she blocked out the commotion and the crying that were coming from downstairs.

It was only during dinner time when Ye Li came up to call her that Xue Xi turned around and replied dazedly, “Huh?”

Ye Li touched her head and said helplessly, “It’s time for dinner.”

However, she could not stop and only stood up after calculating the answer. “Oh.”

When they were heading downstairs, Ye Li said on purpose, “Old Master wants to fire Auntie Sun but Old Lady did her best to keep her and two years’ worth of her salary will be deducted. She can no longer help out in the house but can only work in the back garden.”

Xue Xi nodded.

It was odd to place the tea leaves that were meant as a gift in the tea cabinet where the family gets their daily tea leaves from. It must be the old lady’s tactics.

After Auntie Sun had been punished, the helpers at home would no longer dare to look down on Ye Li.

While they were having dinner, Xue Xi could sense the evil stares from Old Lady Xue and Xue Yao without even looking at them. However, she had always been slow to react so she did not feel anything much. She quickly finished eating and went back up to do her questions again.

Song Wenman wanted to ask her something but did not have the opportunity to do so.

…

The next morning, before Song Wenman went home, she asked her daughter, “Did you ask Xue Sheng where he bought the tea from?”

Ye Li shook her head. “I didn’t mention this over the phone yesterday. I’ll ask him when he comes back today.”

“Alright.”

By the time Xue Xi woke up, Song Wenman had already left.

Since she was going to her maternal grandmother’s home during the weekend, she did not care much and alighted at the provision store as usual.

Just as she was about to enter the store, she saw a girl in uniform with pink hair on the street not far away. Her hands were in her pockets as she kicked the stones on the path while she walked.

Qin Shuang?

Perhaps the girl sensed her stare; Qin Shuang looked up. Upon seeing Xue Xi, her eyes lit up and she waved. She wanted to run to her, but she seemed to have seen something suddenly and hurriedly hid in an alley beside the street.

Xue Xi turned her head around while feeling perplexed and saw Old Liu.

He was riding a tattered bicycle. As he stepped on the pedal, the bicycle would give out a screeching sound and wobble as though it was going to break the next second.

The weather was warm and he had beads of perspiration on his head. He was looking for something in the vicinity, and when he saw Xue Xi, he stretched out his leg and stopped. “Xue Xi, have you seen Qin Shuang?”

Xue Xi instinctively looked at the alley and remained silent.

Old Liu seemed to have understood something. He removed a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat on his forehead before saying, “Aye, she skipped class the whole day yesterday and didn’t even go home the whole night. I’m worried about her safety, and if you happen to see her, just tell her to come back even if she doesn’t want to dye her hair back and stop hiding.”

Xue Xi replied, “…Oh.”

Old Liu’s voice was so loud, so he must have said it intentionally for Qin Shuang to hear.

“He he.” Old Liu chuckled and looked at the provision store before saying, “Since it’s still early, go buy your stuff and just don’t be late.”

After saying that, he cycled away.

Qin Shuang appeared from the alley only after Old Liu had vanished. Walking up to Xue Xi, she looked at Old Liu’s back. “Old Liu’s bicycle has been around for seven, eight years, and I’ve seen him wearing those clothes since I was a freshman. Our school’s salary isn’t low, but he is just being stingy. However, his family is quite sad. His wife broke her leg and can’t work, so Old Liu is the sole breadwinner.”

Her voice got softer as she spoke.

To a family like hers, 500 yuan was merely a meal’s worth, but for Old Liu…

Qin Shuang remained silent for a moment and seemed to be in a dilemma.

Xue Xi asked, “You really like pink?”

“Not really.”

Qin Shuang wanted to say something, but when she saw Xue Xi’s clean face, she swallowed her words. “Forget it, you won’t get it even if I say it.”

She then turned around to leave.

“Where are you going?” Xue Xi asked.

The girl waved with her back facing Xue Xi. She kept quiet. Only her pink hair was blowing in the wind.

Xue Xi waited until the girl was farther away before going into the provision store.

Breakfast had been prepared, and after entering, she sat down at the dining table naturally. She realized only after finishing breakfast with Xiang Huai and Canine Teeth that it had been merely three days and she was already used to it.

However, Xiang Huai did not raise any other request. Could it be that he had cast a spell on her to make her buy something every day?

Since I bought tea yesterday, what should I buy today?

Xue Xi gave it some thought but realized that she was not lacking anything. After all, Ye Li had been attentive and prepared everything for her.

She decided not to stop being indecisive. Placing a hundred yuan bill on the table, she casually said, “I’ll buy a box of balloons.”

Xiang Huai was preparing to get up but froze when he heard that.

Chapter 15: Let’s Play Together Next Time.

“Pua!”

Lu Chao spit out the milk he had just drunk. “What did you say you wanted to buy?”

Confused, Xue Xi looked at Canine Teeth and did not understand why he overreacted. Yet she still explained it seriously. “It’s the balloons that were on the shelves when I came by that first day.”

What balloons? Those were clearly…

Canine Teeth had wanted to speak, but he choked on himself and began to cough violently.

Xue Xi looked at Xiang Huai perplexedly.

The man placed his hands in his pocket and walked to the counter. He sat down lazily on the chair before asking, “You’re buying that to play on your own?”

She paused for two seconds before replying, “…Yes.”

Xiang Huai leaned back as he hid himself in the dark corner of the store. Then, he said with a hint of laughter in his voice, “How boring it is to play alone.”

Xue Xi gave it a thought. “That’s true, too. Then I’ll buy them and leave them here so we can play together next time.”

“Pua!”

Just as Lu Chao had had a mouthful of water to suppress his cough, he spat it out again.

She noticed that something was off, and just as she was about to ask Canine Teeth why he was being so agitated, the sound of fingers knocking against the table was heard. Xiang Huai’s mesmerizing voice rang. “Little kid, you’re gonna be late soon.”

Late…

She anxiously looked at the clock in the store and saw that there were five more minutes before the bell was to ring.

She picked up her school bag in a hurry and ran outside. “I’ll go for now.”

Looking at the girl’s back, Lu Chao slowly turned to look at his boss. The man was calmly hidden in the corner and reading his book.

Lu Chao walked over and leaned on the counter. “Boss, when are you going back?”

He replied, “We’ll talk about it another time.”

Lu Chao nodded. “Right, when I got the tea from Old Gao yesterday, he obliquely tried to know your whereabouts. He sent a message today to ask what the tea was for. How should I reply?”

Xiang Huai kept quiet for quite some time.

Lu Chao thought the man’s silence meant that he did not need to reply. However, Xiang Huai suddenly chuckled. “Betrothal present.”

“Huh?”

Lu Chao was stunned, but he quickly became excited.

If Old Gao were to know that Boss, who had been single for 25 years, has finally gotten a fiancée in Bin City, his jaw would probably drop, wouldn’t it?

After replying to the message, he walked to the dining table and picked up the hundred yuan bill that Xue Xi left behind. Just as he was about to put it in his pocket, he heard Xiang Huai knocking his fingers against the table again.

He froze as he turned around and saw Xiang Huai staring straight at him.

Lu Chao gave the hundred yuan bill to the man out of instinct. The man opened his wallet and placed the bill alongside the two hundred yuan bills from yesterday before reading his book composedly again.

Lu Chao: “…”

…

…

After two periods of physical education where Xue Xi did her exercises, she came back. Seizing every minute and second, she kept doing the Olympiad questions that Old Liu had assigned for her to do.

At this moment, the sound of deep breaths being drawn was suddenly heard in the class and a complete silence ensued.

Xue Xi did not take notice until someone pulled the chair in front of her and hit her table as the person sat down. She slowly lifted her eyes to take a look.

What she saw was thick, black hair.

Qin Shuang?

Xue Xi blinked and felt unknown joy tingling in her heart.

Nonetheless, the usual chatterbox looked depressed as she lay on the table halfheartedly. The people beside her quickly pulled their tables away as though Qin Shuang, who had dyed her hair black, was carrying a virus in her…

The fourth class today was mathematics class. Old Liu entered the classroom, and when he saw Qin Shuang, his face lit up. “Student Qin’s performance is not bad!”

It was rare that Qin Shuang did not talk back to him. She dipped her head as though something was weighing on her mind.

Xue Xi noticed that ever since Qin Shuang had entered the classroom, there had been a looming atmosphere. There were several students discussing softly and gesticulating at Qin Shuang, but nobody dared to speak a word to her.

Back then, when Qin Shuang still had pink hair, she loved to bicker with their classmates but she also had great relations with them.

When the fourth period ended, everyone started to head out and was preparing to eat at the canteen.

After completing the last question, Xue Xi saw that Qin Shuang was still lying on the table. She stood up and asked, “Do you want to eat?”

“…”

There were some students who had not left the classroom yet. They all turned to look at Xue Xi with shock in their eyes.

Qin Shuang did not expect Xue Xi to dare to speak to her. Feeling baffled, she lifted her head. “You…”

She suddenly remembered that Xue Xi was a transfer student, and so, having no idea about her matters, she dared to be so reckless.

Qin Shuang smiled bitterly. “I’m not hungry, you go ahead.”

Being in such a situation herself, she had better not implicate a good student like her.

Xue Xi replied, “…Oh.”

Since she was unemotional, she did not insist and went to the canteen on her own.

After returning from lunch, she saw Qin Shuang, who said she was not hungry, lying there while eating biscuits and drinking milk. It was as if she dared not step out of the classroom.

Xue Xi: “…”

More periods had passed in the afternoon and only self-revision classes were left. Xue Xi packed up her items and was prepared to head to Olympiad classes when someone shouted, “Qin Shuang, someone is looking for you.”

Qin Shuang shivered but she went out eventually. By the time she was back, her face was as pale as a sheet and she appeared deeply terrified.

Xue Xi wanted to ask her what was wrong and if she needed help. However, Qin Shuang did not give her the chance to ask and simply lay on her desk and appeared to be sleeping.

Xue Xi shut her mouth and carried the books as she headed for class.

The two periods of classes ended in a blink of an eye. School was over, and Xue Xi felt that she barely finished any questions. Just as she was packing her papers helplessly, it turned dark right before her eyes.

Fan Han stood in front of her and there was a look of hesitation in his eyes. He lowered his voice and warned, “Stay away from Qin Shuang.”

Xue Xi looked perplexedly at him.

Fan Han appeared awkward. He then lifted his head slightly and said arrogantly, “She isn’t a good girl and has created huge trouble after dying her hair back. Anyways, just don’t get too close to her.”

After saying that, he saw the girl looking at him with huge, watery eyes. For some unknown reason, he was flustered and left the classroom in a hurry.

Xue Yao was already outside of the classroom. Upon seeing that, she frowned and asked, “Fan Han, what did you say to her?”

Fan Han had a slight guilty conscience and his mind was in a mess as well. “Nothing much.”

The girl was stunned as she did not expect the boy to answer her so perfunctorily. Balling up her fists, she shot Xue Xi a menacing stare.

Xue Xi did not understand why Fan Han would warn her. Nonetheless, she did not think much of it and returned to her classroom to find that Qin Shuang was no longer in her seat.

Only the students on duty were left cleaning and they were creating a dust storm in the classroom. She picked up her school bag and left the school gate. Just as she was going to get in the car, she saw a silhouette flash across and go into the alley nearby.

It’s Qin Shuang!

Xue Xi frowned.

She had always been unemotional and would not meddle into others’ affairs.

However, at the thought that it was Qin Shuang… she did not hesitate and went there straight.

She wanted to see what on earth had happened!

Chapter 16: Let’s Fight, Then.

Xue Xi got Uncle Li to head back first and she proceeded to walk there.

Crossing the road, she walked into the alley and the noisy street cry seemed to be blocked. There was quietness amid the noisy surroundings.

She continued to walk for another 200 meters before hearing a commotion coming from the corner. She turned at the corner and saw about seven or eight men.

At that moment, Xue Xi saw red.

Those seven people were wearing different uniforms and were students from different schools. The girls had their hair dyed pink while the boys had theirs dyed red with a lot of hair spray. The boys’ hair was standing and they all looked like a group of flames.

This group of students was currently keeping Qin Shuang in a circle.

Flame Number One pushed her. “Who allowed you to dye your hair black?”

Flame Number Two: “Qin Shuang, are you planning to leave us?”

Flame Number Three: “Have you forgotten how you’ll end up if you leave the society?”

Being surrounded in the middle, Qin Shuang was shivering, and her face, which was full of thick makeup, was marked with fear. She looked to one side and pleaded, “Brother Chen, I beg you to let me off.”

It was then that Xue Xi realized that there was Flame Number Eight.

That Brother Chen was leaning against a gray wall, and he too had exaggerated red hair. Still, he was quite good-looking. He lowered his eyes and leaned on the wall as he played games on his phone and the words “Don’t annoy me” were clearly written on his face.

Flame Number One said again, “Qin Shuang, have you forgotten the oath you swore when you first joined the society? I’ll give you one chance. Dye your hair back tomorrow or you’ll be betraying our Roaring Flame Society, and you should know the consequences!”

Xue Xi was at a complete loss as she stood at the entrance to the alley. After listening on, she finally understood what had happened.

Qin Shuang’s pink hair must be that Roaring Flame Society’s signature, and the leader of the society must be Brother Chen.

Everyone hid from Qin Shuang at school because they were afraid of Brother Chen.

Even Fan Han dared not bully him, and this showed that this boy was locked and loaded or a scion from an influential family. There was also a third possibility that he was both.

Although Qin Shuang was horror-stricken, she stuttered and asked, “What on earth must I do in order to not dye my hair back…?”

Flame Number Two: “Not dye? What international joke are you cracking!”

Flame Number Four: “Qin Shuang, who helped you when you were crying from being bullied back then? Now you’ve become so ungrateful; how ignorant to not know chalk from cheese!”

Flame Number One: “Since you don’t want to dye your hair red, fine. We’ve thought of a great solution and that is to shave your hair. Won’t that work?”

After saying that, he whipped out a pair of scissors.

Qin Shuang was so frightened that she squatted and covered her hair. “Don’t…”

However, her arms were locked and she could not struggle.

“Qin Shuang, you brought this upon yourself!”

Flame Number One lifted her locks and cut them mercilessly!

At this moment…

“Stop it.”

A cold and aloof voice rang and they stopped what they were doing to look at the alley.

Xue Xi was standing there as she looked at them with watery eyes. She scanned everyone before resting her eyes on Qin Shuang.

Looking at her, Qin Shuang was stunned but she quickly shouted, “Xue Xi, leave me alone and leave at once!”

Xue Xi walked toward Qin Shuang. Although she looked obedient and weak, the Flames subconsciously moved aside for her to walk past them.

Blocking Qin Shuang, she turned to look at Flame Number One.

The silence remained for a few seconds, and just as Flame Number One was doubting if he was wearing his uniform incorrectly, the girl finally spoke. “What must be done for you to let her off?”

Flame Number One replied subconsciously, “…Only one way, and that is to defeat Brother Chen. You’ll become the leader of the Roaring Flame Society and you’ll have the last say on the rules.”

Xue Xi thought about it for a while before looking surprised.

Fight… ing?

Seeing her like this, the rest finally found the situation normal again.

Flame Number One became rampant again. “Now you’re scared? Let me tell you, don’t poke your nose into others’ business. Hurry up and scram, don’t waste our time!”

Qin Shuang hurriedly pushed her too. “We’re not close, hurry up and leave!”

Xue Xi took off her school bag and passed it to Qin Shuang before looking at Brother Chen and saying lightly, “Let’s fight, then.”

Gao Yanchen did not reply right away. He waited until he was done with his game before throwing his phone irritatedly at someone. Kacha! He warmed up his wrist and neck while his joints cracked. “Let’s end it fast.”

However, when he lifted his head, he was shocked to see Xue Xi.

Isn’t this the girl who grabbed me and confessed to me the other day?

She looks skinny and weak. Furthermore, her obedient look makes it evident that she is different from us… How can she fight?

Xue Xi did not recognize him. Standing there, she and Gao Yanchen looked at each other in the eye.

Gao Yanchen broke the silence. “You go first!”

Xue Xi paused for a moment before asking, “Why don’t you wait for me for thirty minutes?”

Gao Yanchen was confused.

It was the first time the opponent had asked him to wait while fighting.

He was baffled. “Why?”

Xue Xi appeared calm, but deep down, she replied abashedly, “I don’t know how to fight. Let me go and learn first.”

“…”

Gao Yanchen was perplexed and he subconsciously nodded.

Not caring about the complicated look on the others’ faces, Xue Xi proceeded to walk to the provision store while others were reeling from the shock.

Xiang Huai was still sitting at the counter and reading his book. As he saw her walking into his store, his dark brown eyes glowed. “What’s the matter?”

Xue Xi looked at him.

The man had well-chiseled features and a bandit aura. He clearly mixed around in the underworld, and even though he appeared skinny and weak with his fair skin, he probably knew simple fighting moves.

She slowly said, “Can you teach me how to fight?”

Sitting on the stool, Lu Chao was playing with his phone. “…”

He looked dazedly at Xue Xi.

She was rephrasing her words and thinking about how to explain. Sitting in the shadow, Xiang Huai did not question anything and simply stretched his long leg to kick Lu Chao. “Teach her the complete set of army boxing.”

“Yes.”

Lu Chao had replied instinctively and only reacted when he stood up. Would she be able to get it in such a short period of time?

However, obeying orders was his duty. He began to teach. “Army boxing is made up of several key basic skills, which are kicking, hitting, slamming, seizing, twisting, and other wrestling components. Breaking them down, the actions are like this…”

He demonstrated them in an empty space in the store as he stood in front of her. “First, attack.”

Xue Xi nodded.

Equipped with an extraordinarily retentive memory, she remembered the key points. Lifting her fists, her right leg took a step back as she bent her back and prepared to attack.

Suddenly, a warm palm rested on her waist, and as Xue Xi froze, Xiang Huai’s deep and charming voice was heard beside her ear. “You need to tighten your waist strongly.”

Only then did she realize that Xiang Huai had gotten to her side without her noticing. His hand touched her and moved away, and she did not overthink things.

She relaxed and focused on learning attentively.

Xiang Huai took a step back and his eyes rested on his hand.

He did not expect the girl’s waist to be so skinny and soft beneath the wide uniform. It was as though he could wrap around it with just one hand.

Chapter 17: Sister Xi.

When Xue Xi was ready, Lu Chao stretched out one hand and he stressed. “You gotta use strength and must be quick. But you’re a girl and your reaction is slow…”

Before he could finish his sentence, she gave him a kick.

Bang!

Lu Chao felt a powerful force coming at him and he backtracked five, six steps before steadying himself.

By the time he regained his senses, he was confused.

How can a girl be so strong?

Xue Xi ended off in a suave pose as she turned to look at him. “Do I need more strength?”

She grew up in the orphanage since she was young and had to do heavy manual labor such as washing sheets and blankets. Hence, she was much stronger than the average person.

Unfortunately, she had not learned martial arts in the past and did not know how to fight.

Lu Chao hurriedly signaled. “It’s enough.”

He moved his numb hand and said, “Do this ‘hit’ action. Mhm, relax and you don’t have to use too much strength.”

After learning it two times, Xue Xi had gotten hold of the boxing’s key elements. Taking a look at the time, she hurried to where Qin Shuang was.

The sky was getting dark and the lamps in the alley were lit. By the time Xue Xi got there, she saw the seven Flames and Qin Shuang squatting dazedly beneath the faint light from the lamp. Meanwhile, Gao Yanchen was still leaning against the wall and playing with his phone. They looked quite hilarious like this.

Flame Number One was holding a grass stalk, which he got from somewhere, in his mouth, and he said, “Sh*t! Could she have lied to us and won’t be coming back?”

Qin Shuang anxiously replied, “It’s not her business to begin with. Brother Chen, you can choose to just beat me up or let me go!”

Gao Yanchen sneered and kept quiet. Then, his ears moved slightly and he heard light footsteps coming.

Tilting his head slightly, he saw the girl walking toward them, and she was expressionless just as before. She appeared apathetic and her eyes seemed naturally dazed as she said slowly, “I’ve finished learning.”

Feeling anxious, Qin Shuang said, “Xue Xi, knock it off! Brother Chen is really good at fighting and nobody in this area could beat him…”

Gao Yanchen raised his brow.

Usually, he did not mind anyone and would beat both men and women. However, for some unknown reason, when he saw a good girl like her, he could not bring himself to do it.

Maybe he should go easy on her and not let her be defeated too badly.

Thinking of which, he said, “Let’s start.”

Just as he said it, the quiet girl moved. By the time she completed the series of moves—”kick, hit, slam, seize, and twist”—Gao Yanchen was lying flat on the ground while she got him into an arm lock.

“…”

Everyone present was taken aback and stared blankly at them.

Too fast.

It was so fast that before they could even cheer, it had ended.

Gao Yanchen tried to forcefully break free of the girl’s control. Even though she seemed weak, he could not break free!

He shouted, “I wasn’t well-prepared just now. Let’s do it again!”

“…Oh.”

Xue Xi nodded and let go of his arm. She stretched her fist and her right foot took a step back. Looking serious, her eyes seemed blank and her position did not change at all.

Gao Yanchen warmed up, and when he was ready, he shouted, “Start!”

Twenty seconds later, Gao Yanchen, who was lying flat on the ground, began to doubt his life. He had clearly seen through her tactics, but he just could not catch up with her speed!

Isn’t she slow to react?!

With his face burning red, he balled his fists and said indignantly, “I admit defeat.”

Xue Xi let go of him.

Gao Yanchen stood up and patted the dust off himself as his face was filled with grievance and stubbornness. “Just wait and see, I’ll defeat you one day. When that day comes, you’ll be my subordinate and will dye your hair red.”

Xue Xi: “…Oh.”

He felt as though his powerful fist landed on cotton and could not muster any strength.

After he took in a deep breath, his hands waved and the rest stood up straight. Next, all of them bowed at Xue Xi and shouted in harmony, “Sister Xi!”

Xue Xi: “?”

Flame Number One shot a glance at Gao Yanchen, and, after obtaining his approval, he asked, “Sister Xi, do we need to dye our hair black?”

Looking at their hair, she replied, “Anything.”

Everyone had different preferences and she would not force them.

Taking her school bag from Qin Shuang’s hands, she turned around and left.

Gao Yanchen tried to resist it but could not, so he asked, “Where are you going?”

Xue Xi paused. “Going home to do questions.”

“…”

After the students had left, Xiang Huai and Lu Chao appeared from the darkness.

Lu Chao sighed. “Boss, Sister-in-law’s skills are not bad; truly a good seedling!”

Upon finishing his words, he stole a stealthy glance at Xiang Huai, only to see his face all tensed as he looked ahead with shimmers in his eyes.

Lu Chao could not help but ask, “Boss, what secrets do you think that little sister-in-law is hiding such that you have to stay here personally?”

The man shot him a glance and the latter shut his mouth immediately, pretending as though he did not say the last sentence.

…

…

Gao family.

Elder Gao, who was in his sixties, was anxiously pacing up and down in his room. When his secretary entered, he asked in haste, “Have you found it?”

The secretary lowered his head respectfully. “I can’t find any hint of General Xiang’s whereabouts.”

Elder Gao frowned as he sat on the sofa and smoked a cigar. As he exhaled the smoke, he said, “General Xiang’s movements have always been stealthy and odd. It would be weird if we could find his whereabouts! Anyways, since he is in Bin City, let’s be more careful. Tell the rest that this weekend’s gathering is canceled and we won’t be receiving any gifts. If General Xiang finds out about it, we’ll be in for some scoldings.”

The secretary nodded. “Yes.”

Elder Gao gave it a thought for some time. “Start with that tea and investigate where the tea went. General Xiang’s fiancée is in Bin City. Don’t offend her accidentally.”

“Yes.”

…

Xue family.

Xue Sheng, who’d gone on a business trip, was finally back. He first greeted Old Lady Xue and quickly pulled Ye Li into the bedroom as he asked nervously, “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head and narrated what happened yesterday.

Upon hearing that the old lady wanted to exercise the family’s punishment, his face turned terrifyingly dark. She then sighed. “Mom didn’t go too overboard in the past, so what’s wrong recently? I feel that she’s against me.”

They had been married for nearly twenty years. Although the old lady was not fond of Ye Li, she had never hit her and embarrassed her in front of outsiders.

Xue Sheng’s eyes darkened and he sighed. “That’s because I’m taking over the company.”

Ye Li was not a silly and naive girl. She held herself aloof from the world in the past because she lost her daughter and all her hopes were dashed to pieces. Now that Xue Sheng had said it, she instantly understood what he meant!

The old lady wants the second child to inherit the business?

Her eyes constricted as she reeled from the shock. “If I had really left yesterday, your reputation would have then crumbled… Mom is going too overboard! She is biased without any limits!”

Seeing that her husband was not looking too good, she knew he must be feeling worse. She hurriedly comforted him. “Never mind, you still have me and Xixi!”

Xue Sheng nodded and hugged his wife. After leaning in each other’s embrace for a while, she asked curiously, “That tea, where did you get it from?”

He was taken aback upon hearing that. “Didn’t Mom buy it?”

Chapter 18: Don’t Worry, You Have Me.

Just as he spoke, the servant knocked on the door. “Sir, Old Master wants you to come downstairs.”

Although Ye Li did not hear Xue Sheng, she dared not ask again and they left in haste.

Downstairs, Xue Shengqiang was sitting on the sofa with a stern expression. There was a looming atmosphere in the room and the servants were treading on thin ice.

Xue Sheng tidied his collar button and asked solemnly, “Dad, what’s wrong?”

Old Master frowned. “Quickly think, what have we done wrong to offend the Gao family?”

Xue Sheng paused. “Why do you say that?”

Old Master replied, “Elder Gao’s secretary called earlier to inform us not to go for this weekend’s gathering.”

Xue Yao, who had left school, overheard their conversation and her eyes lit up instantly. “Grandpa, Big Uncle, I know; it’s definitely because of Xue Xi!”

The moment Xue Yao said that, Ye Li asked anxiously, “What’s wrong with Xixi?”

Xue Yao pouted. “Our class’ Qin Shuang offended Gao Yanchen and was stopped after school. Xue Xi wanted to show off and insisted on helping. Grandpa, Gao Yanchen is Elder Gao’s very life and our family needs to rely on the Gao family. Wasn’t she giving our family trouble by doing that?”

Elder Gao’s only son passed away in an accident, leaving behind his only grandchild, Gao Yanchen. Since Elder Gao always covered up his grandson’s mistakes, Gao Yanchen was able to be a tyrant in the international school.

Old Lady Xue hit the table instantaneously. “Ridiculous! I’ve long said before that a wild child like this shouldn’t be brought home. Only a few days have passed and she has already created such huge trouble!”

Ye Li wobbled as she covered her chest.

Gao Yanchen was a well-known devil incarnate and could fight really well. He once broke a girl’s rib.

My Xixi is skinny and weak. A single punch from Gao Yanchen could be enough to take half her life away…

Just as they were feeling anxious, Xue Sheng stared straight at Xue Yao. “Where are they? How long ago did it happen?”

The girl replied, “In the alley beside the school. It should have been around an hour ago.”

Her uncle flew into a rage. “Why didn’t you call home when your sister is in trouble?”

The girl’s eyes flickered.

She wished Gao Yanchen could beat Xue Xi up worse, and the best case would be if she became paralyzed. Why would she still call for help?

Before Xue Yao could find an excuse, Old Lady Xue scolded, “Why should she call? A lass like Xue Xi who overestimated her true abilities should be taught a lesson!”

“Mom!” Xue Sheng interrupted her. There was no time to pursue the matter. The pressing issue of the moment was to ensure Xixi’s safety!

“Get the car ready!” Ye Li’s voice was trembling. Nothing could happen to her Xixi.

Just as she and Xue Sheng were heading out anxiously and the rest were waiting for them to be the butt of the joke, a skinny silhouette entered through the door suddenly.

Xue Xi walked all the way home while carrying her school bag. When she set foot in the house, she saw her parents heading out worriedly so she gave way to them obediently.

Seeing Ye Li staring at her and not moving for quite some time, she blinked her eyes in confusion and asked, “Mom, are you going out?”

“…”

There was pin-drop silence in the living room and all eyes were on her.

After five seconds had passed, Ye Li observed her from head to toe. Her huge uniform covered her skinny body well and there seemed to be no injury except a patch of dust on her pants. She got anxious. “Xixi, are you alright?”

Xue Xi sighed. “…Not alright.”

Ye Li’s eyes reddened instantly as she grabbed her hands and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Her daughter was baffled and did not understand why she was so agitated. She then replied slowly, “Mr. Liu gave me five papers to do today and I don’t think I can finish them.”

She intended to come home straight after school to do the questions. However, Qin Shuang’s matter got her delayed for an hour and a half.

She probably had to burn the midnight oil.

Ye Li, who was anxious about looking at where she had hurt herself: “??”

She asked in shock, “Just this?”

Xue Xi nodded. She gripped her hand, which was carrying the school bag, and decided to walk past her mother and head upstairs. “Mom, I’ll go study first.”

She’d taken only two steps when she heard Old Lady Xue’s voice. “Don’t use studies as an excuse! Xue Xi, since you’re fine, then go to the Gao family and apologize at once!”

A question mark appeared in her mind. Why apologize?

Just as she was feeling perplexed, Xue Sheng said, “Mom, we aren’t sure of what has happened yet. Moreover, it’s a matter between the children. There’s no need to raise it to a higher plane of principle. It’s not so serious.”

After saying that, he turned to Ye Li. “Bring Xixi upstairs.”

She nodded.

Just as Xue Xi was heading upstairs, the old lady berated, “Eldest Son, you can’t protect your child like this! If you don’t let her apologize, what should we do with the Gao family’s matter?”

Xue Sheng said with determination, “I found Xue Xi and took her back not for her to be bullied. I’ll settle this myself.”

“You’ll settle it?” Old Lady Xue raised her voice and immediately sneered. “Sure, if you can’t settle the Gao family, the shareholders won’t approve of you as the chairman. I’ll see what you will do then!”

“…”

Even when she got into her room, Xue Xi still did not understand what was going on.

Gao family… I do not know anyone with the surname ‘Gao’!

Looking at Ye Li, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

Her mother merely comforted her gently. “Don’t be scared, with Dad and Mom around, we won’t let you suffer.”

Xue Xi, whose dictionary did not have the word “scared”: “?”

Right at this moment, the door was opened and Xue Sheng entered. Xue Xi felt a little uneasy. Ever since she came home, he had been on a business trip so she rarely interacted with her father.

He smiled warmly at her. “Xixi, do your assignment.”

He reached out and gently patted her head as he said, “Don’t worry, you have me.”

Xue Xi: “…Oh.”

Dipping her head, she stared at the questions blankly. Although she had no idea what happened, this man’s thick shoulders seemed to have really brought her a sense of security.

Though she was usually expressionless, the corners of her lips turned up and her belongingness to this family rose.

She shook her head and threw those mixed thoughts behind her mind as she focused on doing her questions.

Even when Xue Sheng and Ye Li had left the room, she remained focused.

Back in their bedroom, Ye Li’s face took on a ghastly expression. “What should we do?”

Now that Xixi had been beaten up, and given Gao Yanchen’s style, this matter was considered to have passed. Since Xixi was alright now, it meant that Gao Yanchen would not take things lying down.

Xue Sheng sighed. “I’ll make a trip to the Gao family tomorrow.”

As a man, he had to yield when he needed to for the sake of his wife and child.

Ye Li hated herself for being useless, and the thought of wanting to become stronger grew. She nodded her head helplessly. “Then bring those leaves as well. Elder Gao’s favorite is tea, and he probably won’t pursue the matter on account of the tea, right?”

Xue Sheng did not harbor any hope but still responded, “Sure.”

Chapter 19: You Can Miss Me.

Xue Xi did the questions until late at night, and, as a result, she woke up slightly late the next day.

Ye Li packed her breakfast for her to eat on her way. Seeing her yawn, she said heart-achingly, “Xixi, even if you’re participating in the Olympiad, you shouldn’t give yourself too much pressure. Health is the most important thing.”

Xue Xi nodded.

Xue Yao, who had just eaten, heard this and mocked, “If you don’t have a diamond cutter, don’t try to mend porcelain wares. Some people merely got first in one exam and think that they can conquer Olympiads as well. I heard that someone was last during yesterday’s mock exam.”

Xue Xi ignored her and left with her breakfast.

Old Liu said that she made great improvements yesterday, and as long as she avoided using certain knowledge, there wouldn’t be much problem. Of course, this meant that she needed to complete more questions.

Xue Yao followed behind her and tried to make references obliquely. “Could it be that your motive doesn’t lie in the Math Olympiad but in something else?”

Xue Xi turned a deaf ear to it and got in the car.

Xue Yao still wanted to speak, but she saw the girl leaning on the car window with her eyes closed, seemingly asleep. Her long lashes were curled upwards; her skin was fair, and her red lips were moist.

Xue Yao had a strong urge to destroy such beauty.

The car stopped in front of the provision store as usual and Xue Xi seemed to have slept enough. Just as she took her bag and was getting off, her cousin, who had resisted throughout the journey, mocked her again. “The Math Star Competition will be held in a few days’ time, and if you can’t get a good ranking, Old Liu will kick you out of the Olympiad class. Let me warn you, don’t dream about things that don’t belong to you!”

Xue Xi paused as she alighted and sighed helplessly.

This housefly is so annoying.

She slowly turned her head to look at Xue Yao and paused. “I remember that you’re joining the physics competition?”

There was a grip on Xue Yao’s heart as she became defensive. “What are you trying to say?”

Xue Xi retracted her gaze and became apathetic again. “Nothing much.”

She adjusted her fallen shoulder strap and walked toward the provision store, leaving Xue Yao confused and shocked in the car.

As she entered the store, Xiang Huai was already sitting beside the dining table.

The dining table was somewhat small and the stools were like the chair of the international school’s students. Sitting on it, Xiang Huai had nowhere to stretch his long legs. He could only rest them on the table legs, and his sharp brows appeared lazy.

When Xue Xi sat down, he picked up a bun, and that was when Canine Teeth dared to eat.

The three remained silent, and very soon, they finished their breakfast. As Lu Chao cleaned the table, he asked Xue Xi, “Hey, how did the fighting yesterday feel?”

Xue Xi looked at him for two seconds and answered, “Quite interesting.”

Lu Chao: “?”

She then said slowly, “I can fight more often next time.”

Lu Chao: “…”

Seeing Xue Xi looking at him, Lu Chao swung his slightly numb hands and swallowed his saliva. Quickly, he answered, “I still have things on and have no time to train with you!”

She felt somewhat disappointed. “…Oh.”

She then shot a glance at Xiang Huai.

The man leaned backward and raised his brow. He thought the little kid would invite him to train with her, but her eyes lingered on him for merely four or five seconds before she looked away.

Xiang Huai was taken aback. What does she mean?

Xue Xi had already made her comment internally about him. Too skinny and merely has a nice appearance. It’s better to fight it out with Canine Teeth.

She stood up and was preparing to go to school, but all of a sudden, she paused and said to Xiang Huai, “It’s the weekend tomorrow and I need to go to my grandpa’s house. What should I do?”

She could not possibly come to the provision store and meet him after coming back from her grandfather’s house.

If I do not meet him, will my heart hurt?

While she was deep in thought, the man chuckled in his charismatic voice. He slowly sat upright. “Little kid, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about being in love?”

Baffled, she looked at him. “…Mhm?”

Xiang Huai placed his hands on the dining table and his fingers crossed as he leaned forward. “If it’s inconvenient, we don’t have to meet every day. If you’re feeling unwell, you can think of me, and if it still doesn’t work, you can call me.”

Xue Xi’s eyes glowed. Does this mean that I don’t have to come here every day?

At the thought of it—

“Of course, since you pass by here every day on the way to school, if you pretend not to see me, that’s another issue.”

Xue Xi’s eyes, which had just lit up, dimmed again. “…Oh.”

Giving it a thought, she fished out her phone, which Xue Sheng had given her, from her bag. “What’s your phone number?”

After recording his phone number, she headed out. “I’m going to school.”

Xiang Huai: “?”

Logically speaking, after getting my number, shouldn’t she call me so that I can add her number too?

Why does my little kid not play according to logic?

…

After entering the school, she saw that people were giving her weird looks and hiding far away from her. She did not mind, but when she entered the classroom, the class became silent.

Everyone turned to look at her.

She continued to walk, and when she sat down, she heard others discussing.

“I heard Xue Xi offended Brother Chen for Qin Shuang’s sake…”

“She’s done!”

“She has harmed the Xue family terribly!”

Xue Xi placed her school bag down while feeling perplexed as to what had happened.

Right at this moment, Qin Shuang entered the classroom with a face full of makeup. Her steps were light as she placed her hands in her pocket and chewed gum. Approaching Xue Xi, she addressed her with admiration and happiness, “Sister Xi.”

“…”

Xue Xi looked up at her. Qin Shuang was unlike her dispirited and terrified self yesterday. Leaning on her table, she gave it a thought and said, “Sister Xi, actually, Brother Chen is not bad. He isn’t as unreasonable as what outsiders make of him.”

“…Oh.”

Qin Shuang knew Xue Xi’s personality well and did not mind her aloofness. She continued, “Sister Xi, when I saw your army boxing yesterday, I began questioning whether what the instructor taught us is fake during military training! How did you fight that way?”

Xue Xi thought about what Canine Teeth had said and replied seriously, “…By being swift, resolute, and accurate.”

Qin Shuang laughed instantly and acted out. “I got it. Only the fastest martial arts in the world can’t be beaten up!”

…And strength.

Xue Xi silently added on. Afterward, she stopped listening to her and focused on doing her Olympiad questions.

Time always passes quickly while studying, and before she knew it, two afternoon classes had passed.

Just as Xue Xi was about to go for Olympiad class, the students in the classroom drew back their breaths.

She lifted her head while feeling lost and saw a group of flashing, rampant redness.

That Brother Chen from last night was standing there and there was a look of impatience on his face. He was looking inside as though he was looking for someone.

Flame Number One was the first to spot Xue Xi, and he pointed at her and shouted, “Brother Chen, there!”

Instantly, Brother Chen, along with Flame Number One, Two, Three, and Four dashed into the room while Five, Six, and Seven stayed at the entrance.

They walked on the path and exuded a strong aura.

Brother Chen’s fierce look caused the students on both sides of the path to turn as pale as a sheet. They subconsciously moved aside and gave way.

As she sat in the first row, Xue Yao’s eyes lit up when she saw this!

He’s here! He’s here!

She knew that Gao Yanchen would definitely not let her off easily, and there he came.

However, to her surprise—

Chapter 20: It Turns Out to Be You.

Just as Xue Yao was waiting to see a joke, Gao Yanchen brought his subordinates reluctantly and they shouted in harmony, “Sister Xi!”

S-Sister Xi?

The whole classroom fell into pin-drop silence and nobody dared to breathe. Their gazes landed on Gao Yanchen and eventually fell on Xue Xi, who was sitting there quietly.

The girl sat there obediently and looked up at Gao Yanchen for two seconds before replying, “Oh.”

Gao Yanchen lifted his chin slightly and stared at Flame Number One. The latter immediately asked, “Sister Xi, we’ve finished the sixth period. Are there any arrangements next? Where are we going to play?”

Xue Xi had already packed her books as she stood up. She headed outside before replying casually, “…Math Olympiad class.”

Gao Yanchen: “??”

Flame Number One: “??”

Our Roaring Flame Society’s girl boss is going to participate in the Math Olympiad competition?

The group of Flames moved aside, and when Xue Xi passed by them, they followed behind her orderly. Gao Yanchen asked casually, “Class is so boring. Can you understand Math Olympiad classes?”

“…Manageable.”

Gao Yanchen thought he understood what she meant in a matter of seconds and continued to lift his chin. “Manageable means unmanageable. Then why are you attending the Math Olympiad class?”

“…To do assignments.”

“…” Gao Yanchen felt that the Roaring Flame Society had welcomed someone of another kind. Feeling indignant, he continued to ask, “What about after completing your assignments?”

She looked at him in confusion. “By the time I finish the assignments, it’s time to sleep. Could it be that you still have time?”

Every day, when she was doing her assignments, she felt that time was insufficient. She wished to break one second into two seconds and use them!

“…” Gao Yanchen was in a trance. He had never done any assignments!

Xue Xi continued walking, and all of a sudden, she seemed to have thought of something. She paused and turned around.

Gao Yanchen was in a daze and did not notice so he accidentally bumped into Xue Xi. By the time he could steady himself, he was inches away from her and could see the fine hairs on the girl’s perfect face.

He blushed instantly.

Sensing the heat rising to his face, he quickly lifted his head, and when he was about to say something, she spoke slowly. “Is your surname ‘Gao’?”

Gao Yanchen paused. “Ah… Correct!”

Xue Xi’s eyes went blank momentarily and it dawned upon her. “It turns out to be you!”

“Huh?”

Xue Xi retracted her gaze and continued walking forward. “They all said that I offended you.”

“Who the heck…?”

Swallowing his words, Gao Yanchen could not bear to speak profanities in front of her. He paused and explained, “You defeated me and I’ll listen to you. There’s no such thing as being offended.”

As they spoke, they arrived at a lecture theater. Xue Xi nodded at him. “I’m going to class.”

Carrying her books, she walked to the staircase.

As he looked at her thin silhouette entering the dilapidated academic building, his heart seemed to be suspended in the air and had no place to land for some unknown reasons.

He felt vexed somehow.

Seeing him standing in a daze, Flame Number One asked, “Brother Chen, are we going to play basketball?”

“Play your sister!” Gao Yanchen scolded irritably and kicked the ground. “I’m in no mood today, go home.”

…

When Xue Xi went upstairs, she bumped into her physics teacher, who was also the training instructor for the physics competition class.

She obediently greeted, “Hi, Ms. Sun.”

Ms. Sun smiled when she saw her and headed upstairs with her. When they got to the math classroom and Xue Xi was about to enter, Ms. Sun suddenly said, “Xue Xi.”

She paused in her footsteps and turned to look at her.

Ms. Sun smiled. “I heard that you didn’t do well in the Olympiad tests, so do you want to consider joining our Physics class?”

As she said that, Old Liu’s roars were heard. “Old Sun, it’s immoral to covet others behind people’s back. Xue Xi chose our Math Olympiad first!”

Xue Xi turned around and saw Old Liu coming from downstairs with Fan Han and Xue Yao.

Fan Han frowned and Xue Yao became agitated too. If Xue Xi had dared to agree earlier, she would have exploded.

Ms. Sun refused to admit herself outdone. “Isn’t she unsuitable for the Math Olympiad? She scored full marks for the physics exam too and it’s right for her to come to our physics class! Furthermore, Xue Xi needs to make the decision on her own and it’s her own will.”

Old Liu became anxious and looked at her. “What do you think of it?”

Xue Xi paused and said, “I won’t leave.”

Her assurance made Old Liu and Fan Han relieved.

Xue Yao was relieved as well, but she became lost afterward. Why was she so afraid of Xue Xi coming to the physics class?

Ms. Sun was pretty disappointed and sighed. “Seems like we’re not fated!”

As she said that, she was preparing to enter the physics classroom. When she took a step into the classroom, Xue Xi’s voice rang. “I can join the physics competition as well.”

Ms. Sun paused in her tracks and looked at her with glowing eyes. “Sure!”

Xue Yao’s heart was in her mouth as she balled her hands up into fists.

She looked at Xue Xi with discontentment and indignation as she said outrightly, “What joke are you cracking? Time is tight and you want to join two competitions?”

Old Liu disapproved as well. “That’s right, Xue Xi. You’ll be short on time and there might not be enough time to clarify the points.”

Xue Xi shot a glance at Xue Yao, who was all tense. As her eyes met the latter’s angry stare, she retracted her gaze apathetically. “It’s alright.”

Seeing her insistence, Old Liu and Ms. Sun discussed and decided that she would attend the Math Olympiad on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and the Physics one on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

…

…

Xue Sheng left work early and returned home. He took the tea leaves and wanted to visit the Gao family and sound them out.

As he was leaving, Old Lady Xue sat relaxedly on the sofa and derided him, “If I must say, you should bring Xue Xi there and apologize. It’s a matter between the children, so what’s the point of your going? Who in Bin City doesn’t know that Elder Gao spoils his grandson?”

Xue Sheng took a deep breath and suppressed his anger, keeping silent.

Old Lady Xue, however, took the gloves off. “Anyways, if we offended the Gao family because of Xue Xi, I’ll not let you off.”

Xue Sheng said dominantly, “Mom, if we really offended the Gao family because of Xixi, I’ll leave with Ye Li and her. Don’t worry, we’ll not implicate the Xue family.”

Without giving his mother a chance to speak, he left.

Thirty minutes later.

Xue Sheng stood outside of Gao family’s gate, and the manor’s tall walls kept him outside. The secretary was blocking him at the gate as well, but he spoke politely. “Mr. Xue, please head back. Elder Gao isn’t feeling well and shouldn’t be meeting guests.”

Xue Sheng asked, “When will be a good time?”

The secretary stood up straight and laughed. “This will depend on Elder Gao.”

He could not even enter the gate at all.

Furrowing his brows, he passed the tea to the secretary. “Then help me pass this to Elder Gao. This is just some tea…”

Looking at the gift in his hands, the secretary froze.

next: chapter 21-30 to be continued......

chapter 21-34

Chapter 21: Xiang Huai’s Father-in-law!

Xue Sheng’s tea was placed in a carrier. The secretary did not even need to see what was inside to know that it must be something of high value. Hence, after a glance, he said, “That cannot do.”

Elder Gao had specifically ordered: Refuse gifts!

As he saw that even the gift was being rejected, Xue Sheng’s face turned even bitter. Is it really because Xixi offended the Gao family?

While he was thinking this, a convertible with its roof open drove in. The large metal gates parted open and the secretary moved to the side, then respectfully addressed, “Young Master Chen.”

Gao Yanchen waved at him in greeting, then slowly drove into the compound.

Xue Sheng frowned.

The young man’s complexion seemed fine. This meant that what the supposed “unwell” Elder Gao had said was merely an excuse.

Idling here for any longer would only offend the other party. Just as Xue Sheng was about to leave and think of another solution, the car that had driven in slowly reversed its way out. Gao Yanchen looked at him and asked with hesitation, “Xue Xi’s father?”

He had seen Xue Sheng in other events before.

Xue Sheng nodded and admitted openly, “Yes.”

In the next instant, Gao Yanchen hurriedly alighted from the car and greeted him politely, “Uncle Xue, are you here for a visit? Hurry and come in!”

“…”

Xue Sheng was usually a calm person, but now, even he was totally dumbstruck. What is happening?

The secretary was even more at a loss. “Young Master Chen, Elder Gao said—”

Gao Yanchen cut him off in annoyance. “Let’s talk inside if there is a need to. Is halting our guests outside our door part of our Gao family’s hospitality?”

Secretary: “?”

Young Master Chen, you used to ignore everyone. Have you ever shown any hospitality?

Secretary: “?”

Young Master Chen, you used to ignore everyone. Have you ever shown any hospitality?

Alas, he did not say this out loud.

After they entered the living room, Gao Yanchen said, “Uncle Xue, have a seat first. I’ll go call the old man.”

He then noticed the gift in his hands and said, “Is this a gift? I’ll help you pass it in.”

Xue Sheng nodded, feeling awkward. He then sat down on the sofa beside them.

With the gift in hand, Gao Yanchen walked in. Elder Gao was sitting at the balcony and basking in the sun. When he saw his grandson walk in, he sighed. “Did you skip class again?”

Gao Yanchen walked over. “You have a guest.”

Elder Gao waved at him. “I’m not seeing anyone. I won’t be seeing anyone for the time being.”

Gao Yanchen squatted down and tugged his beard. “Old man, you must definitely meet this guest!”

The old man yelped in pain and sat up, swatting his grandson’s hand. “Show some respect to your elders!”

He then peered at the gift box in his grandson’s hands and asked curiously, “Who is this guest that you place so much importance on? It’s fine if I have to meet him, but we must agree to not accept any gifts.”

The latter simply stuffed the gift in his hands, though. “You must accept it!”

Elder Gao sighed. “You don’t understand. Some higher-up came recently and I will get in trouble if I accept any gifts during this dangerous period.”

Although Gao Yanchen was a rascal, he knew to not harm his own grandfather. Still, if they did not accept the gift, wouldn’t they embarrass Uncle Xue?

He eyed the gift in his hands and decided to open up the carrier. “I’ll see if the gift is a valuable item. Just accept it if it’s not, or Uncle Xue might feel humiliated.”

Elder Gao was about to speak when he spotted an extremely familiar tea leaves box being retrieved from the carrier…

Gao Yanchen quizzically studied the box. “Old man, why does this gift look awfully familiar?”

The old man stood up in agitation.

How could it not be awfully familiar?

It was his tea!

Through simple luck and coincidence, he’d managed to purchase this 150 grams of Da Hong Pao. He could not bear to drink it and, hence, had always stored it preciously. It was then taken away from him with just one order by General Xiang. Was it being returned now?

That’s not right…

General Xiang said that this tea is a betrothal present.

Betrothal present… We don’t have a daughter in our house!

No, I’m going in the wrong direction. Could it be that General Xiang’s fiancée is from the Xue family?

Elder Gao gulped nervously, then snatched the tea over, asking, “Is there a young girl of marriageable age in the Xue family?”

Gao Yanchen nudged his lips. “None of marriageable age, but there are two in their high school senior year. I forgot what one is called—anyway, she is engaged to the Fan family. And another…”

He paused at this point, then continued in an unnatural tone, “…is called Xue Xi. She is the daughter of the Xue family who went missing 18 years ago. She was recovered just a few days ago.”

Recovered just a few days ago…

General Xiang also came to Bin City a few days ago.

The dots immediately connected together and Elder Gao arrived at a conclusion and at the candidate: Xue Xi!

He panicked. “The person that came from the Xue family is…”

“Xue Xi’s father!”

Elder Gao felt his legs turn weak. His head spun a little.

Then that is General Xiang’s father-in-law!

He did not dare to put on any airs and immediately ran out with the tea leaves in hand!

Xue Sheng was currently feeling uneasy.

From the attitude Gao Yanchen displayed just now, it did not seem like he and Xixi are enemies. But Elder Gao is not meeting anyone… Just as he was thinking this, he heard footsteps and Elder Gao ordering his employees, “Hurry, prepare a cup of high-grade red tea for my great-nephew!”

With that voice, Elder Gao’s silhouette appeared.

Xue Sheng hurriedly stood up and was just about to greet him respectfully when the latter quickly walked over and said in an ingratiating tone, “Nephew Xue, apologies for the neglect!”

Startled by his attitude, Xue Sheng hurriedly bent at the waist. “It was I who arrived too abruptly.”

Elder Gao grabbed his arm tightly, not allowing him to lower his head, then gestured for him to sit on the sofa. “No, no. Your presence here is an honor to our humble home!”

Xue Sheng’s mind went blank. “Elder Gao, I’m afraid that I am undeserving of such words.”

Elder Gao chuckled. “There is no such thing, my great-nephew. Just speak your mind if you need anything. As for this tea…”

…

…

After class, Xue Xi returned home and holed up in her room to spam question banks.

She exited her room only when she was called down for dinner.

At the dining table, she spotted the old patriarch and matriarch. Xue Yao was seated opposite her and only Xue Sheng was missing…

Perplexed, she took a mouthful of greens, then looked at her mother. “Mom… Where is… Dad?”

At that last word, “Dad,” she had hesitated for some time before finally forcing the word out.

Having been called “Mom” for the past few days, Ye Li did not display as much agitation as the first time. Still, hearing her daughter say “Dad,” she was exhilarated.

She first grabbed a piece of pork ribs for her, then replied with a hint of worry, “Your dad went to the Gao family and isn’t back yet.”

Old Lady Xue coldly harrumphed. “A kind mother makes a wastrel. Ye Li, you and Xue Sheng dote on Xue Xi too much, and that resulted in today! Look at how stingy and petty she is. She is the total opposite of our Yaoyao, who is a fine lady… Yaoyao, eat up. Look how skinny you have become recently. Don’t fall sick. I am still waiting for you to win a trophy back for Physics!”

Alas, Xue Yao froze when she heard this.

Her head shot up in Xue Xi’s direction.

Before she could say anything, a ruckus could be heard from the door.

Xue Sheng walked in with a frown and a perplexed expression.

His wife, Ye Li, hurriedly stood up. “You’re back?”

She then spotted the tea leaves in his hands. “Elder Gao didn’t accept it?”

Pak! Old Lady Xue slammed the chopsticks on the table. “Hear me! How could Elder Gao be appeased without us beating Xue Xi to a pulp? Look, he doesn’t even want to accept the tea leaves. Now, the project is already a goner!”

The old patriarch turned to him nervously but saw his son shake his head. The latter still had a confused expression. “No, Elder Gao said that this project will be given to the Xue family, and that he will gift this tea to me…”

Chapter 22: I Already Have a Boyfriend

“…”

The entire room fell silent.

Xue Sheng spent the whole drive home pondering, but he still did not understand what this meant. He had brought the tea leaves as a gift, but why was it gifted back to him?

Amid everyone’s deep pondering, Old Lady Xue smirked. “That must be mockery, right? Our old man is not even qualified to drink this tea. Do you think you have the fortune to digest it? So much for giving you the project. As long as the contract is not signed, everything is an empty promise! He might just be giving you empty hope and a flash in the pan!”

Xue Sheng disagreed with her, though.

What status did the Gao family have? If they wanted to crush someone, all they needed to do was to directly display their attitude. Would they need to trick him like this?

Old Master Xue deliberated a little further than the rest. “Did he mention Xue Xi’s matter?”

Xue Sheng shook his head. “Elder Gao didn’t mention anything. He doesn’t seem to know about the children’s matters.”

Old Master Xue then turned to look at Xue Xi, who had been sitting there and silently having her meal. “Xue Xi, did Gao Yanchen go looking for you today?”

Xue Xi was devouring her meal as she wanted to hurry back to her room to study more questions.

Upon hearing the question, she first swallowed the food in her mouth then answered in a laid-back manner, “Hm, he did.”

Her mother panicked. “Did he do anything to you? Or say anything?”

The old patriarch panicked too and cut in, “Xue Xi, what exactly is the matter between you and Gao Yanchen? Tell us everything from start to end.”

She paused, then put her chopsticks down. She politely turned to the old patriarch and said, “I didn’t offend Gao Yanchen. I am now his boss and he listens to me.”

“What?”

Both the old patriarch and matriarch were stunned, seeming to not have expected this answer.

Similarly, Ye Li’s eyes widened.

In contrast, Xue Yao was not surprised at all, having seen the whole group of people standing before the girl and obediently calling her “Sister Xi.” She merely tightened her grip around her chopsticks.

Rather, it was Xue Sheng who seemed to have an epiphany. “No wonder Gao Yanchen was so polite to me today when he usually ignored everyone and was extremely prideful. Did Elder Gao give the project to us because of Gao Yanchen?”

“How can that be?!” Old Lady Xue was the first to retort. “Those are simply the children’s matters. How can it affect our project?! Gao Yanchen is not such a resourceful person.”

Xue Sheng’s eyes darkened. “Mom, I remember you saying yesterday that Elder Gao accedes to any of his grandson’s requests. Have you already forgotten this? Or… are you unwilling to believe that the Gao family only gave this project to us on Xixi’s account?”

This one sentence struck the bullseye of the old lady’s thoughts.

Her face turned beet-red as she pointed at him in anger. After a few breaths, she finally spoke. “So what if I don’t believe it? She is just a wretch who came back from the orphanage. What kind of abilities does she have to make Gao Yanchen listen to her? What does she rely on? Her face?”

At the words “her face,” everyone turned to look at Xue Xi in unison.

The girl sat there quietly and aloofly, ignoring the humiliation the old lady threw her way. Her huge and beautiful black eyes seemed to be shrouded in a layer of mist, giving off a mysterious feeling.

Beautiful, exquisite, and even more pleasing than idols.

Her facial features could indeed be relied upon.

This thought floated into the minds of the few.

Even Xue Sheng tensed up his jaw. Don’t tell me Gao Yanchen has fallen in love with my daughter?

The old patriarch seemed a little delighted as he inquired uncertainly, “Is Gao Yanchen…”

Alas, he was cut off by Xue Sheng mid-speech. “Out of the question! That lad learns no knowledge or skill and knows only how to fight and get into trouble every day. Xixi definitely cannot be with him!”

Old Lady Xue instinctively looked down on the mentioned girl. “Yo, you don’t even fancy Gao Yanchen. Then who else can you fancy? Fan Han is an impressive one, but do you think he will fancy her?”

Right as this was said, the taut string that had been in Xue Yao’s mind ever since she found out that Xue Xi was going to participate in the Physics Olympiad snapped.

She bolted from her seat. “Xue Xi, tell me, are you still longing after Fan Han?!”

She gritted her teeth. “You clearly do badly in exams, but you still stayed on in the Mathematical class like a leech. You are doing this just to be able to get close to him, right? Today, you even schemed to get into the Physics class just to prove that you are good in your studies—all just to give Fan Han a better impression of you, right?”

Her eyes turned red at this point.

Old Lady Xue instantly became flustered. She got up and walked over to her favored granddaughter, patting her shoulders. “Yaoyao, don’t cry. Grandma will get justice for you! Xue Xi, go withdraw from that Mathematical and Physics Olympiad! You are not allowed to get near Fan Han again!”

Xue Xi had just picked up her chopsticks and was about to resume her meal. When she heard this, she slowly looked up.

Before she could say anything, Ye Li snapped frantically, “Mom, you cannot be this biased! Xixi is good in her studies, so why must she give up the Olympiads? Also, don’t forget that Fan Han was originally Xixi’s fiancé!”

Xue Yao retorted hysterically the next instant, “Fan Han is my boyfriend! Mine!”

“Is that so?”

The calm Xue Sheng looked at her. “Have you guys gotten engaged?”

Xue Yao had always been a little fearful of this Big Uncle since she was young. Hence, she did not dare shout at him but only stared at him blankly.

Her big uncle was right. They had not gotten engaged yet and Fan Han was therefore not her fiancé!

Her body swayed a little, then she suddenly clutched onto Old Lady Xue and wept. “Grandma, they are all bullying me!”

The old lady felt her heart ache. She turned to glare at Xue Sheng. “I have already agreed with the Fan family on this. What do you mean by that?”

The latter’s jaw was still tensed up.

Based on what Xue Yao had said just now, he suddenly had a thought.

He used to think that Xixi and Fan Han did not have a common language and, hence, he did not bother clamoring for this matrimony. However, if her daughter liked Fan Han, then he would help her to snatch her fiancé back!

As he thought of this, he turned to look at his daughter. “Xixi, what do you think? Do you want the marriage arrangement back?”

Everyone turned to look at Xue Xi.

She had wanted to interrupt many times. Seeing that everyone had finally shut up, she then slowly enunciated, “No need for that trouble.”

She continued slowly, “I already have a boyfriend.”

Everyone else: “??”

Xue Sheng had an ominous feeling inside. Don’t tell me it’s really Gao Yanchen?

Ye Li frantically asked, “Who is it?”

“…The boss of a provision shop.”

Not Gao Yanchen.

This thought popped into Xue Sheng’s mind first, then he was stunned.

Provision shop… The first impression he had of this term was darkness, clutter, and low income from the sales, which could only barely sustain a normal life.

He looked at her blankly in surprise. “How did you start dating this boyfriend?”

Xue Xi sighed. Can’t we speak after finishing our meal?

Still, as a polite person, she proceeded to answer, “Because I said I will give him money. So he agreed to be my boyfriend.”

“…”

There was pin-drop silence immediately.

After a while, Ye Li stuttered out, “Xixi, y-you… What stage have you and he progressed to?”

Xue Xi thought for a while, then answered in a serious and emotionless manner, “I will feel a pain in my heart if I don’t see him.”

Chapter 23: Ji Silin

Ye Li clutched her chest, having evidently been dealt a huge blow.

Xue Sheng wanted to speak more on the matter, but Ye Li stopped him by shaking her head lightly.

Old Master Xue also frowned. “What is this nonsense?”

Old Lady Xue also grasped at the chance to mock her. “Take a look. This is what a wretched savage is—no sense of shame. How old is she only? And she is already paying for a toyboy outside! Someone who opens a provision shop—he must be one of the hooligans on the streets, right?”

Xue Yao did not expect such a turn of events either. All her anger from just now instantly dissipated. “Cousin, don’t tell me you were that bewildered by the reneging on your marriage arrangement with Fan Han? You’ve been back for only a few days and you’ve already found a random boyfriend? No matter how unhappy you are, you shouldn’t cheapen yourself like this—”

“Shut up!”

Just as she wanted to continue, Ye Li suddenly roared, stunning her.

Ye Li had always been a mild-mannered person. Hence, she had little to no presence in the house usually. It was Xue Yao’s first time seeing her flare up.

As this concerned Xue Xi’s reputation, her attitude was very stern. “It is normal for your sister to have a boyfriend. How can a young girl like you spout such abominable words? Do you believe that the Fan family will not dare to renege on their marriage arrangement if I insist on it and make this into a huge issue, simply because they care about their reputation?! That way, this marriage arrangement will still be your elder sister’s! It will have nothing to do with you at all!”

Xue Yao widened her eyes in shock, then inched toward the old lady. “Grandma, look at her!”

The old lady instinctively wanted to speak up, but at this point, Ye Li turned her sharp gaze onto her. “Also, Mom, you claim that Xixi is a savage, but what are you implying about Xue Sheng? Do not speak those words you just did ever again. If word gets out, they might even think that there is a problem with our Xue family’s home education. It’s fine if you don’t like Xixi, but aren’t you afraid of sabotaging Xue Yao’s reputation?”

The old lady was made speechless by this.

Ye Li then took a deep breath.

Ye Li’s always giving in and taking the back seat had only caused Old Lady Xue to go from bad to worse.

She had to be much more assertive now, even if just for Xixi.

She then turned to look at the old patriarch. “Dad, from the moment you brought our Xue family to prosperity, the people outside have always pointed at us, saying that we are uncultured. Hence, we should be more mindful of our choice of words and actions. The volume of our voices does not correlate to the extent by which our actions are justified. We should refrain from making a joke out of ourselves only for others to scold us for being a nouveau riche behind our backs.”

The old patriarch placed the Xue family’s dignity and reputation as the top priority. These words woke him up, as though someone had drizzled ice water on him.

The second son’s wife was the only person in this household who’d originated from high society. Alas, the couple lived outside most of the time and, hence, Old Lady Xue became the manager of the house.

Recalling her recent performance…

The old patriarch immediately made a decision. “Ye Li, your mom has aged, so let her retire now. Xue Sheng is also about to take over on my side, so you should also start taking up the role of the Xue family’s matriarch.”

This was him passing the authority of managing the house to Ye Li.

Old Lady Xue was infuriated. “Old man—”

“That shall be it!” the old patriarch concluded.

For the rest of the meal, both Xue Yao and Old Lady Xue had no appetite and did not ingest much. Xue Xi did not seem to be affected, though. She went upstairs to continue plowing through questions after she was done with her meal.

When Xue Sheng and Ye Li returned to their room, the former’s look of worrying intensified. “Why didn’t you let me ask and make the situation clear? Xixi is so naive, we can’t let her be lied to!”

The latter sighed. “Both of us have not been by her side for the past 18 years, after all. Although the child is not in the right to get into a relationship early, it is also not right for us to be this agitated. Moreover, she is just dating and not going to be engaged. Many underground relationships in high school do not last either, so let’s just monitor it for now.”

The man repressed the anxiety in his heart and gave serious thought to this first before saying, “I don’t have very high expectations for the child. What we earn is sufficient to let her live the rest of her life peacefully. I hope only that Xixi can smile happily. Since she likes that person so much that she will feel sad over not meeting him, let’s not forcefully interfere with her.”

“Mhm.”

Ye Li then moved to walk out of the room.

Xue Sheng: “What are you going to do?”

She raised her chin slightly. “As this is my first day as the matriarch, Xixi will have bird’s nest to eat tonight!”

Xue Sheng: …I’m being sidelined now that you have a daughter!

…

…

The next day, Xue Xi went to visit her maternal grandparents with her parents.

After a three-hour-long car ride, they finally reached a county.

There was a city hospital next to the area her maternal grandparents were staying in. When she followed them into the neighborhood and into the living quarters, her mother explained to her, “Both of them have applied for retirement after your grandfather got sick, so they have come back to their hometown to recuperate in peace.”

Xue Xi nodded.

Her grandparents stayed in a three-room flat with simple mahogany furniture. At the side, there was a huge bookcase, and before it lay a table sprawled with unfinished calligraphy words. One could see that this was a scholarly family with one glance.

When they entered, her maternal grandmother, Song Wenman, hushed them, then pointed at the master bedroom. “The psychiatrist is treating your grandpa. Let’s wait a while.”

Xue Xi nodded, then followed her mother to sit down in the living room.

After a while, a rustle could be heard near the door and a young man dressed in a white shirt and pants walked out.

The moment he stepped out, Xue Xi felt as though all the light in the room was being directed at him.

The man was refined and handsome. He had soft features and wore a pair of gold-framed spectacles, giving off a reliable and composed aura. It was the total opposite of the dangerous feeling Xiang Huai gave off.

Song Wenman introduced, “This is Dr. Ji. He is only 26 this year but is already a very famous psychiatrist. Your grandpa’s situation has not worsened in the past year all thanks to Dr. Ji’s weekly psychological counseling.”

Ye Li clearly knew the man as she smiled and said, “Thank you, Dr. Ji.”

The doctor pushed his glasses up. His long and slender fingers, accompanied by his gold-framed spectacles, made him look exceptionally pleasing to the eyes. He eyed Xue Xi, then quickly put on a warm smile. “You’re welcome. I’ll be taking my leave now.”

Watching as he picked up his medical box and moved to leave, Xue Xi suddenly said, “Mom, Granny, I’ll send Dr. Ji off.”

She strode out behind him after saying this.

The door closed behind her. While the two of them waited for the elevator, Dr. Ji smiled and said in a warm and deep voice, “The last time I visited the orphanage, the director said that your birth parents have come to fetch you. I didn’t expect us to meet again in such a coincidental way.”

Xue Xi stared at him with her black eyes. “What a coincidence, Brother Silin.”

Ji Silin—for the past two years, he had regularly visited the orphanage to help the unsociable children.

Xue Xi did not know how to socialize and had little to no feelings. The orphanage director had even requested Ji Silin to give her a psychiatric assessment, and the result was that everything was normal about her. After that, the two would always chat for a while every time he visited the orphanage.

He could be considered as Xue Xi’s only friend outside.

Seeing how obedient and sensible she was, Ji Silin rubbed her head. “Why do you look like you have a lot on your mind?”

He looked at her patiently after saying this.

After two seconds, the girl answered, “Brother Silin, does hypnosis really exist in this world?”

She found that “be in love or die” curse to be too mystical.

After thinking about it for a long time, she started to suspect that she had been hypnotized. Specifically, that she was under hypnotic suggestion.

Ji Silin was a reliable psychiatrist to her. For some reason, she felt that he’d provide her a clue.

Chapter 24: Give Me Your Hand

Ding! The elevator arrived.

Both of them entered together. On the way down, Ji Silin pushed his glasses up. There were no cracks in his kind expression. “Hypnosis does exist, but this has nothing to do with your condition because I do not see any hint that you’re under hypnosis.”

Xue Xi’s large eyes paused at a spot. She did not suspect his words, but if this was not hypnosis, what else could it be?

Amid her confusion, the elevator reached the first level.

Ji Silin smiled. “Do you have a phone now?”

She replied, “…Yes.”

The two of them stared at each other momentarily. Ji Silin then sighed helplessly. “When people ask you if you have a phone, it means that they are asking for your number. Give me your phone number. You can call me anytime if you need to in the future.”

Xue Xi came to this realization, then slowly took out her phone. After exchanging contacts with him, she then looked up. “Goodbye, Brother Silin.”

She turned around to go back up only after the doctor had disappeared from her sight.

When she entered, Song Wenman was speaking to Ye Li. “…This is how it should be! She will always reach for more after she is given a treat whenever you give in to her. Sigh, I should never have agreed to let you marry Xue Sheng back then…”

“Cough.”

The man, who had been sitting beside them awkwardly, made a small sound to signal his presence.

Song Wenman peered at him in dissatisfaction but did not speak any heavy-handed words. Instead, she waved Xue Xi over. “Come, I’ll bring you to see your grandpa.”

Xue Xi nodded.

She followed her maternal grandmother into the bedroom and spotted an old man, who had a head of white hair, sitting on the bamboo lounge chair with his eyes closed. He was basking in the sunlight.

When the two entered, the old man opened his eyes. He was first a little surprised at seeing Xue Xi, but he soon smiled. “Lili, aren’t you in university? Why are you back?”

Xue Xi was a little taken aback.

Her maternal grandmother sighed. “He has lost part of his memories and so all he remembers are things from 20 years ago.”

She then turned to the old man. “This is Xixi—Lili’s daughter.”

Old Man Ji was not mentally unsound, though. He even smiled and replied, “What use is there lying to me? How can Lili possibly have a daughter this big?”

He seemed to be a little sleepy as, right after saying this, he rested against the chair and fell asleep.

…

At noon, Ye Li and Song Wenman were cooking in the kitchen. Xue Xi wanted to help out but was chased out.

Her father had brought her maternal grandfather out for a stroll. Hence, having nothing to do, she was regretting not bringing any papers with her. She could even finish one set of questions during this time.

Bored, she paced around the bookshelf in the living room. By chance, she spotted a paper that had turned yellow. She picked it up out of curiosity and, after reading a few lines, she realized that they were actually all mathematical knowledge. She proceeded to read it intently.

A sudden voice interrupted her. “Are you interested in this? It’s yours, then.”

She looked up and spotted her father helping her maternal grandfather into the house.

She had unknowingly read this for one and a half hours.

Her eyes lit up. “…Okay.”

Old Man Ji seemed to be ravenous as he went toward the dining table. “So hungry, so hungry!”

They ate lunch together, and at 3 PM, they drove back home.

Along the way, Xue Xi suddenly felt a dull pain in her chest. She hurriedly sat up and recalled how she met Xiang Huai.

At this moment, Ye Li suddenly asked, “Xixi, what’s on your mind?”

She silently turned her head and answered honestly, “Boyfriend.”

Ye Li: “?”

What do I do when I feel as if I have suddenly been force-fed dog food?

Still, since the topic was brought up, she wanted to inquire a little more to understand the situation. “Xixi, what do you like about him?”

Xue Xi pondered this seriously for some time, then looked back at her mother.

The latter knew that she was slower in terms of response and hence asked hesitantly, “Is he handsome?”

Xiang Huai recalled Xiang Huai’s features, which, although frequently shrouded in darkness, were still beautiful. She nodded. “Mhm.”

Ye Li: “…”

Does my daughter like him for his face?

The driver, Xue Sheng, also coughed at this. “That… Xixi, do you still have enough money?”

Since the other party seemed to be aiming for his daughter’s money, he must have swindled quite a bit, right?

Just as he thought this, Xue Xi nodded. “Mhm. I still have 100,000 yuan.”

Xue Sheng: “…I gave you only 100,000 yuan, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then how much did you give your boyfriend?”

“Hm. Three hundred.”

“…”

The entire car went silent.

After a short pause, Ye Li questioned while still dumbstruck, “You give only three hundred a week?”

Is the upkeep of a toyboy this cheap?

By the time they returned home, Ye Li was still in a dumbfounded state. She wanted to ask for more details, but Xue Xi had already returned to her room and flipped open her Mathematical Olympiad questions…

She spent the whole of Sunday completing question after question, and it was finally Monday.

When the car stopped in front of Ye Lai Xiang provision shop, Xue Yao peered outside then proceeded to mock, “I was wondering why you always alight here every morning. So it’s to meet that toyboy!”

Ever since finding out that Xue Xi’s boyfriend was a mere “provision shop boss,” she seemed to have regained her sense of superiority. She raised his chin slightly. “Do you know? When Fan Han was in Junior Year, he had already obtained an undergraduate position in some top schools. But he rejected all of them because his aim is Huaxia University! Everyone who graduates from there will be elites in their field.”

After Ye Li’s previous disciplining, Xue Yao had become much more cautious and learned to make comparisons in a roundabout manner.

Alas, Xue Xi did not take her bait at all. She simply alighted and entered the provision shop.

As usual, Xiang Huai was seated behind the counter with a book in hand. He was lazily reading it, and when she entered, his dark brown eyes would flit over to her. He then put his book down and walked over to the dining table with practiced eased.

Everything was so natural and normal.

She could not put a finger to this feeling and, hence, did not harp much on it. As per usual, she ate breakfast with Canine Teeth and Xiang Huai.

After that, she sat there dazedly while clutching her chest.

Xiang Huai stood up and leaned over, his low voice rumbling by her side. “Why? You can’t bear to leave me?”

She stared at him silently, then shook her head, seemingly perplexed. “…My chest seems to be hurting a little.”

The man was slightly stunned at this. His lips then slowly parted into a helpless smile. His laughter was extremely attractive, as though there was something in it that hooked at her heartstrings.

He then said, “Little kid, give me your hand.”

In a trance, she extended her hand out and it was quickly held by the man.

She stiffened as her mind went blank.

The man’s hands were huge. They could totally encompass her hands. His palms felt like a ball of fire. The scorching temperature flowed in from his hand to her body, making her feel her cheeks heat up.

Just as she realized that she should be resisting him, the man asked, “Does it not hurt anymore?”

She was stunned.

She paused to feel it and replied, dumbstruck, “Yes. Why?”

Xiang Huai smiled. “Maybe simply meeting every day is not sufficient to be considered as being in love, so we need to hold hands.”

In Xue Xi’s mind, a question mark was slowly drawn out: “?”

She instinctively asked, “Then what if holding hands is also insufficient next time?”

Chapter 25: A Big Shot Came to Bin City.

The provision shop fell silent at this.

Half a beat later: “Pfft.”

Xiang Huai burst out laughing again. He bent down, lowering his head to her level. Staring at the girl’s pristine, fair skin, he purposely moved closer before saying, “Little kid, what do you think?”

Right after performing this amorous flirting, he waited for the girl to blush in embarrassment and shyness, but unexpectedly—

Xue Xi blinked her large eyes with a lost expression. She ignored the man’s breath by her ears and pondered this somberly.

As though she was a studious student seeking help from her teacher, she answered, “The stages of a relationship should be confession, then holding hands, followed by kissing, hugging, and finally…”

At this point, she turned to look at him in astonishment.

Xiang Huai: “?”

Her dark irises seemed to constrict as her misty eyes colored with incomprehension. While her face remained stoic, she was actually thinking inside that if Xiang Huai dared to request her to sleep with him, she would immediately serve him a dish of army boxing!

The two were in such close proximity to each other that their breaths mingled.

Under her glare, Xiang Huai retracted his gaze and stuffed his hands into his pocket. He then slowly stood back up and said in an exasperated tone, “Don’t worry. Go to school.”

Don’t worry about what?

Xue Xi silently rebuked inside. Still, she picked up her bag and decided to proceed with caution. At least, she did not feel repulsed by the notion of holding hands for now.

She did not notice a certain person’s ears being dyed in a deep red…

Lu Chao had already hidden in the corner, trying to reduce his presence as lowly as possible.

As the person who had witnessed his boss trying but failing at flirting, he wondered, Am I going to be silenced?

…

The moment Xue Xi stepped into the classroom, she already saw her classmates pointing fingers at her. The words “keeping a toyboy” entered her ears.

When she turned her head over, the few people gossiping promptly shut their mouths.

Someone even said softly, “Hurry and stop talking. What will we do if we offend her and the Roaring Flame Society comes for us?”

“…”

This was the first time Xue Xi found those few Flames to be useful. At least, they allowed her ears to remain much cleaner.

After six periods were over, she had started packing up to move to the Olympiad extra classes when the Flames from the Roaring Flame Society came over again. Gao Yanchen crossed his arms and stood at the side while Flame Number One sat on Qin Shuang’s seat to speak.

“Sister Xi, are you going to class again?”

When she did not answer, he continued, “Are you going to request us to stay here, revise, and do our homework?”

Xue Xi: “Yes.”

Flame Number One instantly revealed a slack expression. “Huh? Brother Chen, what should we do?!”

Gao Yanchen was also dumbstruck. Do homework? He did not like the idea at all, but when he saw the girl’s calm expression, he quickly responded, “She is the boss now, so listen to her!”

This resulted in a series of groans from the Flames as they all dejectedly walked out.

“And here I wanted to go watch a movie!”

“Me too. I wanted to go play basketball!”

Gao Yanchen kicked the few complaining. “I’ll check your homework tomorrow. We must fulfill the Boss’s orders.”

“…Brother Chen, does copying homework work?”

“What do you think?”

The few people left just as quickly as they arrived. Xue Xi watched them disappear at the entrance and could only swallow the words “no need” that she had yet to utter.

She was stupefied.

She would not interfere in however others lived their lives, just as she did not request for this group of people to dye their hair back. She had also never considered asking the Flames to become a bookworm like her.

In fact, that “Yes” had been an answer to Flame Number One’s first question!

However, she realized that other than Gao Yanchen, she did not even know the names of the rest. Hence, she had no way of informing them one by one either.

In the end, she only sighed, carried her books, and left.

Her actions were slow and she was always unhurried. When she was out the door, Xue Yao spoke to Fan Han while following behind her. “…She personally said that her boyfriend is a hooligan. He agreed to be her boyfriend because she was going to give him money. Fan Han, this type of girl doesn’t have respect for herself. We should stay farther away from her.”

Fan Han stared at Xue Xi for a long while, then retracted his gaze with a profound look.

Xue Yao then entered the Physics class while he followed behind Xue Xi and sat down behind her.

After a long while, he could not resist speaking. “Did you find a random person just because you were too shocked by my reneging on the marriage arrangement?”

He frowned when the girl kept her head lowered and did not reply. “Don’t do that. Girls should respect and love themselves more. The toyboy you are keeping just has his eyes on your money…”

She continued ignoring him. At this, he could not help but poke her shoulders with his pen.

He then saw Xue Xi slowly turning around with a blank gaze. When she met his eyes, she frowned. “What?”

Fan Han: “??”

She continued in a frustrated tone, “Don’t disturb me.”

She calmly turned back and engrossed herself in her questions.

Fan Han: …So after I’ve spoken so much, she actually didn’t hear a single word of it?

When he felt the curious gazes of the surrounding students, he felt so embarrassed that he quickly lowered his head.

He was too prideful.

With a grudge in his heart, he looked up and noticed that she had placed the finished paper to the side. They were all foundational questions and were the comparatively easy ones that tested only the key knowledge points.

He could not help but mockingly think to himself, Her results for the Mathematical Olympiad are indeed very terrible. That must be why Old Liu gave her such foundational questions, right?

The Math Star Competition is this week, so I must definitely score better than she does and show her what true abilities really are!

The two periods for the Mathematics Olympiad flew by in the blink of an eye.

Xue Xi did not leave immediately. When she finished the last question and looked up, she found that everyone else had already left.

She packed up her books and returned to her classroom to retrieve her bag.

Along the way, she kept thinking about the last question and whether she had utilized anything out of the scope of the syllabus. Like this, she dazedly walked into the classroom.

Just as she entered, she was almost knocked backward by a girl who was rushing out.

She looked up and fleetingly saw the girl’s eyes. The girl glared hatefully at her, then quickly left.

Was that Qin Shuang?

She was confused but had a feeling that it was not her…

…

After Xue Xi and Xue Yao had returned home and were having dinner, Old Master Xue picked up a call. When he returned, his expression had turned solemn as he spoke to Xue Sheng. “I know why Elder Gao is not accepting any gifts now.”

Xue Sheng hurriedly inquired, “Why?”

The old patriarch sat down and pondered for a while before saying, “I received some internal news that a big shot has arrived at Bin City!”

Old Lady Xue was very curious. “What kind of big shot?”

The old patriarch shook his head. “I don’t know his exact identity, but Elder Gao is very polite to him, so he is definitely not an ordinary person. On our side, we shouldn’t stand out too much for the time being.”

“Yes,” Xue Sheng acknowledged, then continued asking, “Dad, do you know this person’s name? If we happen to meet him, we should take care to not accidentally offend him.”

The old man nodded. “I was just about to speak on this. Next time, if anyone hears this person’s name, remember to not offend him.”

Right after he said this, Xue Xi put her chopsticks down and looked at him with a serious look.

Chapter 26: Claim Sovereignty.

Seeing that everyone looked over, the old patriarch then slowly enunciated a name: “Lu Chao.”

Lu Chao?

The name was very normal.

Seeing that the old patriarch had nothing more to say, Xue Xi picked up her chopsticks and continued eating.

Xue Sheng frowned. “I haven’t heard of anyone exceptionally important from the Lu family. Who exactly is this person?”

Old Master Xue shook his head. “Anyway, just take note if you guys meet someone with this name. Apparently, he hides in some unknown corner and no one knows why he is here in Bin City. Just don’t offend him!”

Xue Sheng thought a little deeper. “Is Elder Gao preparing anything?”

The old patriarch replied, “It will be Elder Gao’s 69th birthday soon and he will invite the man. Mhm, everyone can start preparing their outfits.”

The latter was meant for Ye Li.

She quickly nodded her head.

After dinner, Xue Xi returned to her room to practice her questions. At exactly 10 PM, someone knocked on her door. Ye Li then walked in with a bowl of bird’s nest with milk upon receiving her acquiescence.

She placed the bird’s nest soup on the side. When she spotted the thick stack of papers, she could not help but say, “Xixi, don’t force yourself too much. You must rest too.”

“…Okay,” Xue Xi replied without even raising her head.

Ye Li: “…”

After stuffing the bird’s nest into her hands, she said, “You must rest for a while.”

Xue Xi sighed. She was a little helpless against Ye Li and quickly devoured the bird’s nest soup. After that, she could not help but peer at the mathematics questions again, then Ye Li said, “Xixi, do something else first. Take a ten-minute rest.”

The girl was confused. “Do what?”

Ye Li was also lost. “Right, what should you do?”

She eyed Xue Xi’s phone. “Don’t you chat with your boyfriend?”

Xue Xi: “…No need.”

The former could not help asking further, “You didn’t go out during the weekend either. Why didn’t you guys go watch a movie?”

Ye Li felt fatigued inside. In other families, they were worried that dating would cause their child to neglect their studies, but as a mother, why was she always encouraging her child to go out to date?

Still, before she could say this, Xue Xi quickly answered, “Watching a movie is a huge waste of time. It affects my studies.”

Ye Li: “?”

Xue Xi blinked, then asked slowly, “Mom, may I continue with my questions?”

Ye Li: “…”

She picked up the bowl and moved for the door. “Fine. Remember to sleep early.”

…

As Xue Xi studied until late at night every day, Ye Li would habitually let her sleep a few more minutes and pack her breakfast for her so that she could eat on the road.

Watching her walk out with her breakfast in hand, Old Lady Xue could not help but mock, “Do you really think you’re a study god after getting first place just once? Other than participating in the Mathematical Olympiad, you even registered for the Physics one. Heh, are you sure you have enough time? Humans should not be too greedy, lest you end up failing on both ends.”

Xue Xi did not listen to her at all and promptly boarded the car.

When they reached the provision shop, Xue Yao peered at the place meaningfully and clucked her tongue. Still, knowing that Xue Xi would not respond to her at all, she could not be bothered to say anything.

Xue Xi silently alighted from the car.

Ding, ding! While they were eating, the phone rang, signaling a received message.

Since Xue Xi did not use her phone much, it was always in her bag. Hence, she continued eating and did not go check her messages immediately.

In contrast, the lackadaisical Xiang Huai looked up. After swallowing his food, he then said, “Little kid, you have a message.”

Xue Xi continued eating and blandly answered, “…Oh.”

But she did not move.

Xiang Huai raised an eyebrow and leaned back to look at her bag. His sharp jaw was taut. “Not gonna take a look?”

The girl finished her bun first before picking up her bag to retrieve her phone. Only then did she notice that the message was from Ji Silin.

She had saved his contact as “Brother Silin.”

This was the only person in her contact list.

Xiang Huai, who had been staring at her, noticed the slight curl of her lips that disappeared in the blink of an eye. His gaze slowly shifted to her phone screen.

Even with the distance between them, he, who had good eyesight, still managed to catch sight of the message:

Brother Silin: “Go download WeChat and add me as a friend. It’s easier to contact each other this way.”

He then saw his little girlfriend, who usually had a slow response, quickly switch to the application store, download WeChat, and proceed to register with her phone number.

Immediately after she registered, a red-colored “1” appeared on her friends list. His little girlfriend clicked it without any hesitation and accepted the friend request.

After she had completed doing all these, the other party sent a message over: “Xixi, you should be starting class soon, right? I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

She was just about to type a reply.

However, as she was still eating, it was not exactly convenient.

At this moment, Xiang Huai spoke. “You can reply using voice message. Click here.”

He pressed on the voice message button on the chat interface with his long fingers and said in a low voice, “Girlfriend, you can speak now.”

Two seconds later, Xue Xi then spoke. “What’s the matter, Brother Silin?”

When she was done, Xiang Huai released the button and the voice message was sent.

Beside them, Lu Chao was totally flabbergasted. His mouth was wide open with the soup dumplings he had eaten inside it. He had forgotten to swallow it.

Isn’t Boss’s way of claiming sovereignty too shameless?

The corner of his lips twitched. He then watched as the girl placed the phone aside and slowly finished her breakfast. After she was done, she directly grabbed Xiang Huai’s hands.

Meanwhile, his usually-domineering boss was as obedient as a husky. He did not resist at all and even had a hint of doting, seemingly allowing her to do as she pleased.

Lu Chao suddenly felt secondhand embarrassment from watching his boss!

Xiang Huai lowered his head to look at the girl’s pristine and fair fingers. Her hands were so soft, as though they had no bones in them. As he thought of how nice it must be to squeeze her hands, his fingers moved and rubbed against her palms.

He was just about to try teasing this little kid when the grip on his hand tightened. Next came the girl’s cool yet threatening voice. “Don’t move.”

Xiang Huai: “?”

After ten seconds, when her heart no longer hurt, Xue Xi released his hand, picked up her bag, and walked out the door as though she had just completed an assignment.

The man lowered his head, suddenly feeling as though something was missing in his hands.

Meanwhile, Lu Chao waited for a while until his boss’s smile had slowly disappeared and he had regained his usual ice-coldness before reporting, “Boss, there have been some flies coming over to check us out, so Old Gao released a smoke bomb, claiming that I had come over.”

Xiang Huai: “Oh.”

Lu Chao thought for a while and said, “He even said that he has invited me for his 69th birthday celebration, and that he will also introduce a girlfriend to me. He he he.”

…

Xue Xi stepped into the classroom just as the bell rang.

Her phone rang right at this moment. Thinking that it must be Ji Silin, she was just about to take a look when she heard the class president’s shriek, “Where’s the class fund? The class fund was stolen!”

The entire class was instantly silenced.

Xue Xi subconsciously turned to look at Qin Shuang, only to find that this talkative person was sprawled on the table. She seemed very fatigued and a little abnormal.

Chapter 27: Let Her Go.

Following that, the classroom exploded in an uproar:

“Who cares about that 3,000 yuan? How can it be stolen? Class president, did you misplace it?”

“Yes. Class president, you should look again.”

The poorer students had financial assistance from the school and, hence, they need not be worried about their finances.

The rest of them were all from wealthy families. The international school’s yearly tuition fee of 500,000 yuan was not something the average family could afford, so it was even more implausible for them to have stolen this money.

However, as the class president and mathematics subject representative, Zhou Zhen had a frown and said solemnly, “I am sure that I left it in the desk drawer yesterday. I can’t be wrong about that.”

Xue Yao suddenly said in a tone filled with implied meaning, “Actually, there are people who are short on money. Wasn’t someone’s bank card confiscated by her family?”

Everyone promptly turned to look at Qin Shuang.

Xue Xi paused, put down her handphone, and poked the girl.

Qin Shuang turned her head around lethargically. Her head was still hanging low. “Xixi.”

She had a complicated look on her face. “I dyed my hair back and didn’t go out to play the whole weekend. Yesterday, I even listened to you and did my homework. My parents actually praised me this morning.”

She nudged her lips. “Actually, they always felt that I was too rebellious and didn’t like me. They have already given up on me and like only Qin Lu. I was already used to it and treated it as though I don’t have parents, but today…”

Her voice became softer and softer, and her expression slowly became filled with disorientation.

Xue Xi was unable to understand her complicated feelings, nor did she know how to reassure her. Just as she was concocting a speech to speak to her, Zhou Zhen walked over. “Qin Shuang, did you take the class fund?”

Qin Shuang instantly jumped in anger upon hearing this. “You’re saying that I stole the money? What a joke! Zhou Zhen, this is called slandering!”

The class president had a weak personality and scratched his head in fright. “I-I was only asking…”

He turned around and moved to leave right after that.

Annoyed, Qin Shuang reached into her desk drawer and pulled out the topmost book to place on the table. Right at this instant, a thick envelope fell onto the ground with a loud “Plop!”

When Zhou Zhen instinctively looked down, he realized with a startle that it was a familiar-looking envelope.

He bent down to pick it up. When he opened up the envelope, a huge and thick stack of fifty and hundred bills were revealed!

He angrily huffed, “Qin Shuang, so you did steal it!”

Qin Shuang was dumbstruck too. “Why is the class fund with me?”

Xue Yao coldly harrumphed. “Shouldn’t we be the ones asking you? Why is the class fund with you? Qin Shuang, no matter how short on money you are, you shouldn’t be resorting to stealing, right?”

“Qin Shuang, what does this mean? You must give us an explanation today!”

Qin Shuang was flustered. “I didn’t steal it! Someone must have framed me. Doesn’t the classroom have surveillance cameras? Go get it! Check it!”

Given such an incident, no one was in any mood to study. Moreover, as the first period was Old Liu’s mathematics class, he promptly decided to halt the lesson and check the surveillance cameras.

The recording showed that around 6 PM last night, Qin Shuang entered after everyone had left. She then stole the money from the class president’s, then placed it in her desk drawer. Just as she was leaving, she even almost knocked into Xue Xi.

Qin Shuang was totally dumbstruck to see this!

Suddenly, Xue Yao said in a vindicative manner, “Xue Xi, you clearly saw her acting so suspiciously, but why didn’t you stand out to testify just now when we were speaking about it? Are you going to shield her just because you guys are good friends? You are just harming her like this!”

Xue Xi was stunned when she saw the recording too. However, when she was accused thus, she turned to look at Xue Yao coldly and replied slowly, “Sometimes, the eye does not see the truth.”

Although she had only a brief glimpse of that person yesterday, the said-person had given her a queer feeling.

Xue Yao coldly harrumphed, though. “The surveillance cameras clearly recorded her. Xue Xi, are you still going to protect her now? Could you guys be in cahoots?”

Xue Xi was just about to respond when Qin Shuang suddenly balled up her fists and softly mumbled with her body trembling, “I know… I know who it is now…”

She bolted out of the classroom immediately after saying this.

Xue Xi followed closely behind her, afraid that she would do anything silly. However, the girl dashed into the Classroom Two next door and kicked the door open, with no care that Ms. Li was currently teaching. “Qin Lu, scram out!”

Xue Xi followed her line of sight and saw a girl who had the exact same face as Qin Shuang’s. The only difference was that while Qin Shuang had long hair, this girl had short hair.

Still, the moment she saw her, Xue Xi was already certain. “She is the thief!”

…

Office.

Qin Lu stood beside her civic tutor, Ms. Li. She lowered her head and wiped her tears while softly weeping.

Ms. Li looked at Qin Shuang in disdain, then scoffed. “Old Liu, I don’t have any intention of chiding you, but the surveillance cameras clearly showed that it was Qin Shuang. Her results are usually so terrible and she never listens to others. With her bad record, stealing the class fund is normal. What does this have to do with our class’s Qin Lu?”

Old Liu frowned, turning to look at Qin Shuang and Xue Xi.

Qin Shuang stretched her neck out straight and stood with a lackadaisical posture. One of her legs was curved to the side while her eyes were filled with ferocity and rebelliousness. Meanwhile, Xue Xi quietly and obediently stood there as though she was an outsider.

Old Liu asked, “Xue Xi, is the person you saw yesterday Qin Lu?”

Xue Xi nodded. “Yes.”

The tutor frowned. “Although Qin Shuang is disobedient, she has no need to do such a thing. There is indeed a need to investigate this.”

Ms. Li sneered. “Qin Lu’s grades are excellent. She is in the top ten in the level. How can someone like her steal anything? This is clearly a situation of Qin Shuang and your class’s Xue Xi shifting the blame to Qin Lu!”

Qin Shuang clenched her jaw but remained silent.

Right at this moment—

A series of hurried footsteps sounded outside, and soon, Qin Shuang’s parents rushed in. Ms. Li had already explained the situation to them during the call.

After the couple entered, Mrs. Qin glared angrily at Qin Shuang then walked over. Pak! She gave the latter a tight slap on her face. “So much for me thinking that you have changed for the better. I didn’t expect you to go from bad to worse! You actually joined forces with your classmate to incriminate your elder sister!”

Qin Shuang’s head was tilted from the slap. She balled up her fists. Although there was disbelief in her eyes, the stronger feeling they gave off was one of normalcy, as though she was used to it. “I knew it. Anything I say is useless. You guys will believe only her. She is good in her studies and is a good child, so she will never commit any mistakes! Since we were young, I have always been the only one who will ever make any mistakes! Even if I have a classmate to testify for me!”

Mrs. Qin admonished, “Testify? You are clearly accusing and incriminating Qin Lu! This person standing with you is definitely also someone improper, and that is why she is taking part in your farce!”

Old Liu frowned. “Parent, please do not speak such uncouth words. This is a school!”

Mrs. Qin turned to the tutor. “Mr. Liu, you don’t have to speak on this further. I will bring her home first, then come back to complete the school withdrawal application later.”

She then grabbed Qin Shuang’s arm and yanked her toward the door.

No matter how Qin Shuang struggled, she was, after all, only a high school student, so how could she possibly be a match for her mother’s strength?

Just as Qin Shuang was almost being yanked out of the office—

A beautiful and fair-skinned hand pressed on the madam’s shoulders, making her stop in her tracks.

Xue Xi coldly stared at her and slowly enunciated, “Let her go.”

Chapter 28: Truth.

Although Xue Xi’s actions looked light and she seemingly only placed her hand on Mrs. Qin’s shoulders, only the latter knew how strong this girl was. She could not break free no matter how she tried.

Mrs. Qin could only stare at her while fuming. “This is our family’s matter. A little girl like you shouldn’t meddle in our affairs!”

Just as she said that, the force on her shoulders intensified and she felt as if her bones were going to be crushed. She could only let go of Qin Shuang.

When Qin Shuang obtained freedom again, she subconsciously hid behind Sister Xi, who was “adept at fighting.”

Mrs. Qin wanted to grab her but was urged by Old Liu, “Mrs. Qin, keep your cool. We looked for you to settle the problem so don’t start a fight. Moreover, this issue isn’t so serious that there’s a need for anyone to be suspended from school.”

Stealing money was a serious matter to an 18-year-old, and getting demerit points was considered the least severe punishment.

However, Old Liu felt pity toward Qin Shuang. If she were to be brought away like this, her whole life would be ruined.

He seamlessly stood in between Xue Xi and Mrs. Qin. He was afraid that Mrs. Qin would hit the class’ obedient, sensible, and seemingly feeble Xue Xi, so he shielded her from the front.

Mrs. Qin wanted to push Old Liu aside. “Mr. Liu, please move aside and don’t defend Qin Shuang. Hasn’t she been doing things like this? Let me tell you, it’s been a long time since I’ve been bothered about her and I just pretend that I don’t have a daughter like her. Now that she dared to slander Qin Lu, I won’t let her off easily! She has been like this since she was a child. Not only does she not study well, but she wants to bring her sister down too!”

Old Liu stopped her anxiously. “Mrs. Qin, calm down…”

Seeing them quarreling, Xue Xi spoke slowly, and her calm and clear voice was heard by everyone in the office. “So, you’re certain that Qin Shuang did it?”

Mrs. Qin was stunned before nodding. “Yes.”

Xue Xi replied, “…Oh. Then we can only call the police.”

“…”

That one sentence made the office quieten

down.

Mrs. Qin stopped acting crazy and looked at Xue Xi in disbelief. She then shot a glance at Qin Shuang. “Call the police? Don’t you know how Qin Shuang will end up if you call the police? She is an adult and needs to go to jail for stealing money!”

Qin Shuang shot her a glance and found her both ridiculous and pathetic.

Since she was already on Qin Lu’s side and was sure that she was the villain, why did she have to pretend to care for her?

Her cheek was burning from the pain, but her heart, which she thought was already numbed, hurt even more!

Nobody fought to speak and Xue Xi could finally open her mouth. She analyzed the situation rationally without any feelings. “The criminal investigators have great means. Since the envelope had been under Qin Shuang’s desk until it fell out and she did not touch it, the police will be able to match the fingerprints on the envelope. That way, we can find out who the thief is.”

When she said this, Qin Lu, who had been sobbing, froze.

She lifted her head in disbelief, and when her eyes met Xue Xi’s, she felt those eyes had seen her through. For some unknown reason, Qin Lu shivered.

Xue Xi did not look at her and said to Qin Shuang, “Do you dare to call the police?”

Qin Shuang straightened her back. “Yes!”

When Mrs. Qin heard their conversation, she was so angered that she laughed. “Do you think that I’ll believe you if you call the police? Qin Shuang, I didn’t want to call the police for your sake. If others wronged Qin Lu, I would have called the police long ago! Go call the police and let them come get the evidence. If you want to go to jail, I won’t stop you!”

Qin Shuang stared at her in disbelief.

She and her mother had not been on speaking terms for more than two years… She did not believe that even though her mother had just reminded her to have breakfast this morning, they would be at swords’ points right now.

It was because of Qin Lu again…

Looking at this situation, Xue Xi spoke no more and fished out her phone from her pocket. She pressed the digits 110, and just as she was about to make the call, Qin Lu exclaimed with panic, “Don’t!”

Xue Xi’s finger landed on the “call” button, and she slowly turned around to look.

Everyone in the office looked at Qin Lu as well.

She struggled to explain, “Mom, I don’t want to pursue this matter further, and you shouldn’t pursue it either. Qin Shuang is, after all, my sister, and I don’t want her to end up in jail.”

Mrs. Qin had a heart-aching expression on her face as she pointed at Qin Lu and said to Qin Shuang, “See that? She’s thinking about you even when you framed her! Qin Shuang, how can you be completely without conscience?”

Qin Shuang kept quiet.

Qin Lu hurriedly said, “Qin Shuang, as long as you don’t call the police, the matter will pass like this. Since the money isn’t lost, Mr. Liu, let’s leave it like this.”

Ms. Li was cynical. “Have a look, this is the kind of right-mindedness that students who do well in their studies have. Not only are some people immoral, but their studies are poor too.”

Shooting a glance at Qin Lu, Xue Xi saw the fear and fluster on her face just like Qin Shuang did and she tried to maintain a smile. Retracting her glance, Xue Xi said, “It’s better to call the police.”

She pressed the “call” button.

Witnessing that, Qin Lu dashed forward. “No!”

Yet Mrs. Qin grabbed her hand. “Qin Lu, don’t bother with her. Since she wants to reap the fruits of her actions, let her be!”

The call went through and Xue Xi spoke. “Hello, this is…”

Before she could finish speaking, Qin Lu shouted, “I’m the one who stole it!”

“…”

All of a sudden, the tables were turned and everyone stared at her in utter disbelief.

Listening to this, Xue Xi slowly put down her phone and her screen showed that she still had not made the call.

Moments later, Mrs. Qin rushed up to Qin Lu and grabbed her shoulders. “Lulu, what are you talking about?”

Qin Lu took in a deep breath and said while crying, “Mom, I’m the one who stole it, don’t call the police! I’ll pay the amount, alright?”

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Qin paused for ten seconds. As she recovered from the disbelief, she shouted, “Lulu didn’t do this on purpose! It must have been Qin Shuang who drove her to the edge and she merely wanted to give Qin Shuang a lesson! Mr. Liu, Ms. Li, please let this matter rest. Money isn’t a problem and we can pay whatever the amount, but please don’t give the child demerit points!”

Her eyes turned red. “That will affect the child’s whole life!”

Qin Shuang stood beside Xue Xi. Seeing this scene, she did not feel the relief that she expected when the truth had been revealed.

When something happened to her, Mrs. Qin gave her a slap first.

Yet when something happened to Qin Lu, Mrs. Qin’s first reaction was to defend her.

They were clearly a pair of twins. However, children who knew how to cry would get sweets, but she was never one who would cry.

Ms. Li did not expect things to turn this way. She frowned. “Qin Lu, how can you do something like this?”

Mrs. Qin said anxiously, “This is just a squabble between two kids, look…”

At this moment, footsteps were heard coming from the door. The voice of Flame Number One rang. “Aiyo, how lively!”

Everyone turned around and saw Gao Yanchen standing at the door with Flame Numbers One, Two, Three, and Four. The four redheads were especially eye piercing.

Chapter 29: It’s Me.

Ms. Li had wanted to protect Qin Lu because, after all, she was one of the top five students in her class. She was still hoping that Qin Lu would get good grades during the national examination to raise her KPI.

However, when she saw Gao Yanchen and the rest, Ms. Li became timid instantly and kept her mouth shut.

Old Liu frowned. “Gao Yanchen, why aren’t you guys attending class and coming here?”

Gao Yanchen crossed his arms and looked impatiently at Qin Shuang. “I heard that someone is framing a member of our Roaring Flame Society, so I came to see who is so daring.”

After saying this, he turned to look at Qin Lu and the latter shuddered.

She frowned in confusion.

Isn’t the leader of the Roaring Flame Society Xue Xi now? Gao Yanchen should be harboring resentment now, but why is he helping Qin Shuang out?

Gao Yanchen casually looked at Xue Xi before staring at Ms. Li. “Since Qin Lu admitted to it, how should she be punished?”

Before Ms. Li could even speak, Mrs. Qin took a step forward. “A small matter like this doesn’t need punishment. We can fork out ten times the amount of the class fund!”

Gao Yanchen raised his chin. “Stealing 3,000 yuan and framing her classmate; if both crimes were to be punished… Mhm, according to the school rules, a serious offense needs to be recorded. Ms. Li, don’t worry about this, I’ll talk to the Director of Teaching about it.”

Every high school had school rules and did not condone dying hair, but Gao Yanchen’s Roaring Flame Society was able to do as they pleased because Elder Gao was a member of the international school’s board of trustees!

After speaking, he moved aside and gave way. “Sister Xi, are you going?”

Xue Xi: “…Oh.”

As the only witness, she had been in the office and missed a period.

When she brought Qin Shuang to the door, Mrs. Qin shouted in agitation, “Qin Shuang, do you really want to ruin Qin Shuang? How can you be so selfish and heartless?!”

Qin Shuang closed her eyes in pain upon being blamed.

This time around, a confused voice rang. “…This matter, isn’t it her own mistake? Why must you say that Qin Shuang ruined her?”

Mrs. Qin froze.

Everyone in the office turned to look at Xue Xi.

She had always been unemotional, so she looked at Mrs. Qin with confused eyes as though she was waiting for an answer.

Mrs. Qin could not reply.

Two seconds later, Xue Xi retracted her gaze and left.

When they left the office building and headed back to the academic building, Xue Xi was walking at the front while Gao Yanchen lifted his chin and followed beside her.

After settling this matter, Xue Xi finally took out her phone and read Ji Silin’s reply.

Ji Silin: “Xixi, you have a boyfriend?”

Xue Xi paused momentarily and realized what had happened in hindsight. She pressed the voice message that had been sent previously. Xiang Huai’s “Girlfriend, you can speak now” was heard first, followed by her “What’s the matter, Brother Silin?”

Feeling shocked, she paused in her footsteps.

Gao Yanchen was taken aback by the voice message too.

Girlfriend?

The people behind did not sense that something was off. After hearing Qin Shuang narrate what had happened, he asked, “Sister Xi, why didn’t you call the police right away? If that’s the case, Qin Lu can go to jail!”

Xue Xi slowly said, “Oh,” and continued, “‘Little talkative’ touched that envelope.”

Flame Number One: “Huh?”

After thinking for a moment, he understood that “little talkative” referred to Qin Shuang.

Xue Xi: “…So, fingerprint matching won’t work.”

Qin Shuang and Qin Lu were twins who looked really similar. Moreover, Qin Shuang loved to put on thick makeup and it would be easier to pass off as her. They would not be able to differentiate between the two of them through the CCTV footage.

Flame Number One was enlightened. “Sister Xi, it turns out that you’re faking it earlier! Powerful!”

After saying that, he scratched his head and looked at Xue Xi. “Sister Xi, since you like to give others nicknames, what did you give me? Did you give Brother Chen one too?”

Xue Xi looked at his hair in silence and felt guilty. “…No.”

After saying this, she tried to cover up as she dipped her head to reply to Ji Silin. “Yes, the situation is slightly special. I’ll tell you in detail next time. Brother Silin, I’ll go to class first.”

The moment that message was sent, her phone rang again.

She left the chat room and found another friend request. Upon clicking on it, she found the person’s profile picture to be black and the profile name to be “X” while the comment read, “It’s me.”

Who are you?

Xue Xi was sure that she did not have a friend like this. Maybe the person added the wrong person?

She pressed “reject” and put the matter behind her mind as she placed her phone in her pocket.

In the provision store, someone stared at the word “rejected” for a moment and chuckled.

Lu Chao, who was squatting at one side and playing his game, was shocked by his chuckle. He silently distanced himself away from his boss…

…

Six periods of classes ended very soon and it was time for the Math Olympiad class again. No, today was the Physics competition class.

She carried her books, and as she walked to the lecture theater, she saw Qin Shuang and Mrs. Qin standing not far away. Her mother’s eyes were red, and she said something before putting a bank card in Qin Shuang’s hands.

Qin Shuang shook her head and took a step back. Passing the card back to her mother, she turned around and left.

After looking on for a while, Xue Xi went to attend class.

When she entered the physics classroom, she realized that there were fewer students here—only seven of them.

She found a random seat and sat down. Then, she heard Xue Yao’s voice. “Xue Xi, you have the Mathematics Star Competition this weekend, right? Can you really attend the physics class today?”

Xue Xi ignored her.

The boy beside Xue Yao asked, “She enrolled in two Olympiad classes?”

Xue Yao nodded and tidied her fringe as she said in pretense, “That’s right. An Olympiad class has a heavy workload and she studies until late at night every day. I don’t know if she can handle both classes well.”

That boy was baffled. “No, you have to give it your all for just one competition and she enrolled in both to play?”

Xue Yao: “…Who knows what she’s thinking?”

The rest looked at them but kept quiet.

Not more than five minutes later, an anonymous thread in the school forum became wildly popular. “Is someone being complacent, enrolling in two Olympiad classes just because she topped in one exam?”

Soon, the thread had tens of replies:

Who? Senior year’s Xue Xi?

She is from my Math Olympiad class. Let me shed some light. Xue Xi scored the lowest for the two mock exams in the Math Olympiad class. I really don’t know why Old Liu recruited someone like her in. Is it to be a mascot?

Perhaps she cheated to get first in the level. The Xue family’s eldest young mistress wants to create a curve wrecker image and plate herself with gold in order to mix with the higher echelons of society. Isn’t she going overboard?

The Math Star Competition is around the corner. Let’s wait and see. She can’t cheat during this kind of competition, and all the ghosts and monsters would return to their original form!

Xue Xi had no idea about the internet news, and this time around, her phone rang again.

Upon fishing it out, she found that it was another friend request and opened it. The profile picture was a confident selfie as the person smiled widely and showed off his two canine teeth. His profile name was “Big Lu” and the comment read, “It’s me!”

At the provision store.

Lu Chao fawned on Xiang Huai and smiled. “Boss, she definitely won’t accept a stranger’s friend request. Wait and see, she’ll definitely reject me too!”

As he said it, his phone vibrated. Both of them dipped their heads and saw WeChat’s notification “‘Learning’1 has accepted your friend request.”

Lu Chao: “…”

Chapter 30: Stop Chatting; It Will Affect Your Studies.

The place became quiet for a few seconds.

Lu Chao was all tense and felt a shudder down his spine. Swallowing hard, he dared not look at Xiang Huai’s sharp eyes and quickly put away the phone in his hand as he said seriously, “Boss, this is actually your phone.”

“…”

Five seconds later, Xiang Huai picked up his phone and said coldly, “Then what are you staring at my phone for?”

Lu Chao: “?”

Looking at the new Lemon brand phone that he’d bought two days ago, he silently bade goodbye to it with tears and took a few steps back in silence.

Seeing that he had left, Xiang Huai began typing.

…

Buzz.

Xue Xi had just finished doing a physics question when her phone rang.

She lifted her head to have a look and realized that it was a message sent by Canine Teeth.

Big Lu: “What are you doing?”

Xue Xi thought that this sentence was nonsense.

As a student, what else could she be doing now?

Canine Teeth seemed to be clever, but why did he ask such a stupid question?

Thankfully, she still replied to him nicely.

Learning: “Attending classes.”

Big Lu: “Then stop chatting with others, it’ll affect your studies.”

In Xue Xi’s mind, a question mark was slowly being drawn out: “?”

Who is ‘others’?

“Oh,” she replied to him and continued to be engrossed in doing her questions.

After finishing two periods, Xue Xi walked toward the classroom, but on the way, she saw everyone gesticulating at her. She had no idea why, and by the time she got back to Class One, she saw that the last row of the classroom was occupied by the Flames.

Several Flames got together and shouted as they typed.

“Are you even allowed to talk about our Roaring Flame Society’s leader? Young lad, I’ll remember your ID!”

“Our Sister Xi is simply formidable to have joined the Math Olympiad class. If you have the capability, then join it too. Old Liu is known for being impartial, why would he accept you?!”

“Sister Xi is formidable!”

“That’s right, the Math Star Competition is starting soon and we’ll let you see Sister Xi’s prowess then!”

“…”

Just as they were discussing, Qin Shuang saw Xue Xi and coughed.

The Flames immediately shut their mouths.

Gao Yanchen leaned on the wall at the back and did not mind Qin Shuang’s cough. He was refuting those rumors in the forum, and although he was quiet in reality, he was aggressive when it came to quarreling.

Roaring Flame Society has joined the fight. Everyone, let’s leave. By the time the Math Star Competition’s results are out, the truth will be unveiled!

Gao Yanchen replied personally, “Leave what? Let’s fight. If you’re a man, then be strong openly.”

I’m really scared to be targeted by the Roaring Flame Society. I won’t even know how I’ll die by then.

Gao Yanchen: “It’s a pity that you aren’t frying vegetables because you really know how to add oil and vinegar!”

…

…

After rebuking several people, he saw an anonymous comment.

Xue Xi has just joined the school and is already part of the Roaring Flame Society. Doesn’t everyone have any idea what kind of people are in that society? How can there be a curve wrecker among people of such quality?

Looking at this sentence, Gao Yanchen froze.

His hands stopped and he did not reply momentarily.

This comment seemed to have resonated with others, and it collected more than 400 likes when there were only a thousand people in all three levels.

Someone commented below again.

There was an incident of the class fund being stolen in Experimental Class One today. The person in the CCTV footage was clearly Qin Shuang and the money was also found under her desk, but eventually, it was said to be Qin Lu’s fault! I saw Gao Yanchen going to the teaching affairs department to look for the director, asking for Qin Lu’s punishment. Huh, speaking of punishment, the Roaring Flame Society did nothing short of dying their hair, being late, leaving school early, and bullying other students, but why aren’t they being punished?

Ha ha ha, sorry for being direct, but the three words, ‘Roaring Flame Society,’ sound silly and I feel pretty embarrassed for them. As for the theft incident, the truth can only be one of these two. First, Qin Shuang stole it and framed Qin Lu. Second, Qin Lu has been bullied too many times by Qin Shuang and can no longer stand her. Therefore, she bought a wig and pretended to be Qin Shuang to steal the money. I actually feel sorry for Qin Lu.

Feel sorry for Qin Lu +1

Feel sorry for Qin Lu +10086

After a series of messages about feeling sorry, the topic shifted to Xue Xi again.

A bunch of ignorant, incompetent, and worthless people. Without the Gao family’s protection, what are they? Since Xue Xi is with them, her first-place ranking must have been inflated. The Gao family might have given her the papers in advance!

…

…

Gao Yanchen balled up his fists.

Ever since he was young, he had been eccentric and was never bothered by others’ opinions.

No matter what he did, Elder Gao would always encourage him. He usually said, “Why learn that? The family has enough money for you to spend next time! We don’t need to suffer through that hardship!”

Therefore, he had never thought that this attitude toward life was problematic.

He only took a look at the forum because he heard that Xue Xi was getting bashed there. However, the Roaring Flame Society, which he set up in middle school and was proud of, was actually throwing mud at Xue Xi’s name.

This was the first time he felt ashamed.

At this moment, a silhouette stood in front of him and asked hesitatingly, “What are you doing?”

Gao Yanchen was shocked. Lifting his head, he saw the girl standing right in front of him, and her beautiful face was as exquisite as that of a doll.

A girl like her naturally exuded radiance.

But now, because of the Roaring Flame Society, she was stuck in a morass.

Thinking of which, Gao Yanchen quickly locked his phone. He stood up straight and said guiltily, “Nothing much.”

Why is Little Flame so nervous?

Just as Xue Xi was feeling baffled, Qin Shuang, also known as Little Talkative, gave free rein to her nature. She explained the whole situation and even narrated a few significant comments. “…This is too much! They even said they’d laugh at the joke after the results of the Math Star are out! Xixi, you need to score better than Fan Han and embarrass them!”

After she said that, the Flames turned to look at her.

Flame Number One tried to sound her out and asked carefully, “Sister Xi, how are your Math Olympiad classes going? Can you get an award?”

They had never played with a curve wrecker in the past!

People like Fan Han and Xue Yao would pretend not to see them if they bump into each other, as though speaking one line to them would make them turn into delinquents themselves.

If Xue Xi could score well, their Roaring Flame Society would be able to walk with their heads held high.

At the thought of it, he heard Xue Xi slowly saying, “…Manageable.”

Everyone else: “?”

What does ‘manageable’ mean? It means unmanageable!

Flame Number One was astonished, and moments later, he coughed. “Actually, being able to participate is an honor itself! It doesn’t matter if you get any rankings!”

Flame Numbers Two, Three, and Four seconded, “Right, right, right!”

Qin Shuang also hurriedly comforted her. “Xixi, it doesn’t matter if you don’t do well. Don’t feel pressured. The key thing is the process!”

Xue Xi: “?”

She did not explain further and picked up her bag to go home.

Soon, it was the weekend, and the Math Star competition was about to begin!

Chapter 31: Remember to Miss Me.

The Math Star was not an official competition and was held in the neighboring city. Hence, they had to gather in the school on Friday afternoon. The competition would take place on Saturday and they would return on Sunday.

Ye Li was feeling worried when Xue Xi was leaving home on Friday morning. After checking her luggage several times and making sure that she did not leave anything behind, she walked her daughter out. “Xixi, are you really alright? Maybe I should accompany you there.”

Xue Xi shook her head and replied slowly, “No need.”

Ye Li was still anxious. After all, Xue Xi had never left the orphanage since she was young. She then replied hesitatingly, “I’ll give Fan Han a call and get him to look out for you.”

Before Xue Xi could reject her, Old Lady Xue said, “Isn’t it just a minor exam? Yaoyao has participated in numerous exams since she was young and has never been afraid. Some people really know how to assume airs of importance.”

Xue Xi could not be bothered with her and left as if she did not hear it. When she got in the car, her phone vibrated. It turned out to be the daily greeting from Canine Teeth.

Big Lu: “What do you feel like having today?”

At the provision store.

After having breakfast, as usual, Xue Xi grabbed Xiang Huai’s hand without any expression on her face.

Right, it was “grab”—there was not any shyness nor the beauty of a dating couple in that action.

Xiang Huai leaned back. His sharp eyes were shining with gentle brightness and his firm jaw appeared slightly relaxed.

He looked lazily at Xue Xi, and just as she was going to let go, he held her hand tighter and smiled. “Little kid, hold on for a while more.”

Xue Xi paused. “Why?”

Xiang Huai said without any embarrassment, “We won’t be able to hold hands tomorrow, so we need to hold on for tomorrow and the day after.”

“…”

Xue Xi forcefully retrieved her hand, and just as she was about to leave, she heard his low voice ring. “Little kid.”

She slowly lifted her head and stared into Xiang Huai’s glowing dark brown eyes. He continued to smile. “Remember to think of me.”

Xue Xi nodded obediently. “Got it.”

After all, her heart would hurt if she did not think of him.

Just as she turned around, she saw Canine Teeth. Thinking of his daily greetings and the breakfast he prepared, she said politely, “Thank you.”

Lu Chao: “?”

When she left the provision store, Lu Chao could sense the iciness coming from someone even without turning his head. Instantly, he said nervously, “Boss, listen to my explanation! No, what have I done? I did nothing at all, right?”

…

In the afternoon, everyone boarded the bus that the school had prepared. After more than five hours of travel, they found a five-star hotel in the vicinity of the competition venue.

There were eleven students from the international school, and eight were boys while three were girls. Since the other two girls stayed together, Xue Xi was alone.

She was not bothered by these matters. After all, before leaving home, Xue Sheng transferred to her another hundred thousand yuan so staying alone was not a problem.

Old Liu, however, was very worried and said to her, “I’m afraid that you’ll be scared at night, so I got another girl, who is alone, from Bin City First High School. You guys can look out for one another if you guys stay together.”

Xue Xi nodded.

Bin City First High School was the school with the highest national examination graduation rates in Bin City. It was also really well-known in the country and the school had more than thirty students!

Old Liu greeted the teacher-in-charge of the team. “Mr. Zhang, sorry for the trouble!”

Mr. Zhang was in his forties and was also the leader of Bin City Education Department’s math team. He had a beer belly and scanned the students from International High School as he subconsciously commanded, “Old Liu, among the students from your school, except for Fan Han, nobody has ever won a prize. They’re not suitable for this route. Aren’t you wasting time by being a participant in the competition! Don’t get angry at my words, I simply meant well for you.”

The corners of Old Liu’s mouth twitched. Who is he looking down on?

If he were not worried about a vulnerable girl like Xue Xi staying alone, he would never have bowed down to Mr. Zhang!

He did not reply to him and merely said to a short-haired girl behind Mr. Zhang, “Liu Liyuan, sorry to trouble you to take care of Xue Xi.”

Liu Liyuan shot Xue Xi a glance and replied, “Mhm.”

Afterward, they went upstairs and checked into the hotel.

Xue Xi took the room card and arrived in room 508. Just as she scanned the room card and wanted to enter, she was pushed aside. Liu Liyuan carried the luggage and entered the room before her.

She occupied the bed near the window and lay on it with her arms and legs stretched out. “How comfortable!”

Xue Xi was a step slower and merely shot her a glance before entering the room. She did not unpack her luggage and merely took out the questions from the backpack and decided to do the questions on the desk.

When she got to the desk, Liu Liyuan suddenly stood up and occupied the only desk in the room. She sat on the chair with her legs crossed as she played with her phone. “Sorry, but I want to use it.”

Xue Xi: “…”

She silently leaned on the bed and placed a book on her legs for support as she did her questions.

Liu Liyuan’s phone kept ringing and her voice messages kept coming. She played them out loud and did not seem to care.

Thirty minutes later, she finally took out her Math Olympiad book and started reading.

Ding! At this moment, Xue Xi, who was deeply engrossed in her book, heard her phone ring.

She shot a glance at it and realized it was from Canine Teeth. “Have you arrived?”

Xue Xi wanted to type but she was still writing. Multi-tasking, she replied with a voice message. “Mhm, I arrived long ago.”

After saying this, she had finally gotten the answer and forgot to let go of the voice message button.

Liu Liyuan threw her book on the desk in annoyance and complained to her phone. “The girl in the same room is so annoying. She kept playing with her phone and I can’t even read my book in silence. Aren’t those from international schools the children of the wealthy? Why must she squeeze in the same room as me? Or are the wealthy like this too?”

Xue Xi had just finished her question and heard her words. She lifted her finger and the voice message was sent.

She did not think about these and gradually furrowed her brows.

She did not care about others’ opinions because their words would not cause any loss to her. However, this did not mean that she would take it lying down!

Staring at Liu Liyuan, she said casually, “The one who has been talking for thirty minutes seems to be you, right?”

Liu Liyuan flew into a rage instantly. “What do you mean? If it were not for you, I would have been staying alone. Why must you insist on squeezing with me?!”

Xue Xi’s eyes turned cold.

Putting down her book, she slowly stood up and said coldly with an intimidating aura, “If you don’t want to stay with me, you can leave.”

Liu Liyuan was stunned. She became flustered for two seconds before shouting, “Why should I leave? This is my room and you should be the one leaving! Oh, I know. Could it be that you aren’t from a rich family and can’t even afford a room?”

Just as she said that, a knocking on the door was heard.

Liu Liyuan was slightly fearful of the look in Xue Xi’s eyes. She quickly stood up and dashed to the door. There, she saw a customer service officer standing at the entrance. “Are you Ms. Xue Xi? Hello, your presidential suite has been prepared. Do you need us to carry your luggage for you?”

Liu Liyuan: “?”

Chapter 32: Add Xiang Huai on WeChat.

The room instantly fell silent.

After a while, Liu Liyuan gawked. “What?”

Presidential suite?

The kind of things she heard of only in novels? Xue Xi was going to stay there?

She turned to look at Xue Xi.

The girl continued standing there quietly. As she was donning a simple school uniform, one could not see whether she came from riches. Still, her looks were exceptionally distinct and beautiful, and the aura she emitted was definitely not of the average Joe’s. Was this what a true wealthy family’s missy was?

Liu Liyuan gulped, and her attitude did a one-eighty. She awkwardly laughed. “That… Xue Xi, that just now was only a misunderstanding!”

She hurriedly walked over and said ingratiatingly, “Mr. Liu and Mr. Zhang told us to stay together in the same room because they were afraid that something untoward might happen to a young lady like you. They are also worried that you will be afraid. He he… Do you… need me to accompany you?”

If she could stay in the presidential suite with Xue Xi for once, she could go brag about the experience at school for an entire year!

It all depended on whether she would agree…

At this point, the confused Xue Xi frowned.

She had not requested to upgrade to the presidential suite, so what was happening?

Just as she was thinking this, her phone chimed.

Big Lu: “Coincidentally, I have a voucher for the hotel you are staying in, so I gave you an upgrade to the presidential suite!”

So that’s what happened.

She was instantly enlightened. Staying anywhere was the same to her, but she would not mind if she could stay in a better environment. Moreover, she still had a huge sum of money in her bank card. Hence, she replied, “How much is it? I’ll return it to you when I get back.”

The other party replied quickly: “8.8.”

Eight yuan?

That cheap? Did he buy it from the Pin something app?

As she thought this, she put down her phone. When she saw Liu Liyuan’s ingratiating expression, she paused. “Pack up.”

The latter jumped in joy, not expecting her to actually agree. Hence, she quickly packed her almost-untouched luggage, carried her bag, and stood before Xue Xi. “I’m done packing!”

Xue Xi slowly dragged her luggage, and the moment she stepped out, the customer service officer received her luggage. “Ms. Xue, I will help you with your luggage.”

Xue Xi nodded.

Although she had not stayed in such a high-class hotel before, she did not feel out of place in any way. The group walked over to the lobby, and when the exclusive elevator serving the presidential suite levels parted open, Liu Liyuan excitedly rushed in.

However, right at this moment, a slender and fair-skinned hand grabbed the girl’s arm. She paused in surprise, then turned around to look at Xue Xi, who said, “Your elevator is at that side.”

She was stunned. “No? This elevator is the one that goes to the presidential suite.”

Xue Xi calmly looked at the elevator. “Oh, but the one that goes to the rooms where First High stays is the other one.”

Liu Liyuan: “?!”

Xue Xi then turned to the service staff and said, “Please send her to First High’s side and get her a new room.”

She then turned to step into the elevator.

Bin City’s First High was one of the top high schools. Most of their students had average backgrounds and they were not as generous as international schools.

Their rooms were at Building Two, which was relatively much cheaper.

In contrast, the international school reserved luxury suites!

Xue Xi’s room was reserved by Old Liu, and hence, it was paid for by the international school. If Liu Liyuan was not staying with Xue Xi, how could she possibly stay here?

Xue Xi was just putting her back into her original place!

Liu Liyuan was totally appalled. She stood there in disbelief and finally came back to her senses just as the elevator doors were about to close. She then rushed forward. “Xue Xi, you toyed with me!”

She was, however, intercepted by the service staff. “Miss, kindly do not disturb our esteemed guest. Should you refuse to cooperate, I can only proceed to contact your teacher.”

She was so furious that she gave a kick to the side. “So what if it’s a presidential suite?! Who are you looking down on? How much is it? I will upgrade too!”

Before leaving the house, she had asked her parents for 3,000 yuan. Even if it was just to vent her anger, she was still willing to pay for a night!

As she thought this, the staff replied, “There are quite a few different types for the presidential suites. Ms. Xue’s suite is the finest top-class suite, costing 88,888 yuan per day.”

Liu Liyuan: “?”

…

The presidential suite was located on the topmost floor of the hotel. It had the nicest view and was very well-lit. The room was 300 square meters huge.

Other than an area to receive guests, there was also a lounge, living room, bedroom, and an exclusive study room. The toiletries for female use were all branded items too, and every aspect was carefully curated.

Xue Xi took a few glances. Uninterested in the rest of the place, she made a beeline for the study room and retrieved her half-completed paper to continue.

The customer service customer politely asked, “Ms. Xue, we can deliver your dinner tonight up to your room. You may also help yourself to the refreshments here as you please. May I ask what time you would like to have your meal?”

Xue Xi was just thinking of how leaving her room was a waste of time. This was a timely rain.

The room returned to silence after the service staff left. It was then that she picked up her phone and sent a message to Canine Teeth. “The room is great. Thanks.”

At the provision store.

Lu Chao sat on the small stool and stared at his Lemon brand phone on the counter longingly.

This phone was released just a few days ago and he had gone through lengths to snag one. Yet he was forced to part with it now. This was agony to him.

Since Boss isn’t texting that little miss right now, it should be fine for me to take it back to play for a while, right?

He silently and furtively reached out, and just as he had touched his phone—Bzz! Bzz!

The phone vibrated. Xiang Huai’s pale hands reached over and took away his beloved phone.

Lu Chao: “…”

After which, he witnessed as his boss first took a glance at the phone, then icily swept his gaze onto him.

Lu Chao: “???”

Seeing that his boss’s entire face was ice-cold and sharp, he felt that he should not continue allowing himself to take the blame when he did not know the reason. Otherwise, he was likely to freeze into ice one day from his boss’s glares!

He eyed the contents displayed on his phone and said, “Boss, I have considered it thoroughly. The little miss probably didn’t add you because you didn’t say who you are!”

Xiang Huai rapped his knuckles on the tabletop. “And so?”

Lu Chao smiled. “Leave it to me!”

He took his phone back and sent a WeChat message.

Big Lu: “Actually, Boss is the one who reserved that room for you. He he! Why don’t you add Boss as your friend? His WeChat ID is called X.”

He then said to Xiang Huai, “Boss, send a friend request now.”

Xiang Huai nodded. After sending a friend request with his phone, he seemed to rest against the chair lazily. Meanwhile, Lu Chao held his breath and stared at his phone, awaiting the results.

Roughly a minute later, a vibration sound was heard.

Lu Chao wanted to check his phone, but even though his boss was clearly a step later than he was in moving, the latter had fished out his own phone first. Xiang Huai slowly turned to look at his phone—only to find that there were no notifications.

Both paused for three seconds, then realized that the vibration actually came from Lu Chao’s phone.

Dazed, he slowly lowered his hand and spotted Xue Xi’s reply.

Learning: “Oh, no need for that. I have his phone number.”

Lu Chao froze when he saw this message. With stiff movements, he slowly looked up…

Chapter 33: The Results Are Out!

The instant Xiang Huai looked over, he stiffly passed the phone over to him. “Boss, I suddenly recalled that we haven’t ordered stocks for our provision store. I’ll go take a look outside!”

He hastily escaped right after.

When Xiang Huai saw this message, he was taken aback for a second. His dark-brown eyes sparkled with shock, but he soon regained his composure. He subconsciously tapped his fingers against the tabletop and his sharp features softened. After a short while, he chuckled under his breath.

The little kid seems obedient and sensible, but it turns out… that’s actually not the case.

Not adding me on WeChat is likely her protest against “be in love or die.”

…

…

With regard to Xiang Huai’s friend request, Xue Xi did not accept or reject it. What would she do if her heart ached because she angered him?

She was not a puppet that would allow anyone to do as they pleased with her. She would definitely find a way out of this.

For tonight, she washed up and slept early.

The next day.

All of the contestants gathered on the first floor before they boarded the bus to the examination hall.

Old Liu waved to Xue Xi at the entrance. When she neared him, he said softly, “This examination is non-official and there is no limit on the key knowledge points. You will be marked correct as long as you get the correct answer.”

Xue Xi’s eyes sparkled when she heard this.

Her grades in the Olympiad class were unfavorable because she always could not avoid using knowledge from the university-level to solve the question. After all, who would use a stupider method when there was a shortcut?

Since the Math Star Competition did not mind this, then that’s amazing!

Her eyes sparkled as she nodded her head.

After Xue Xi and the rest of the candidates entered the examination hall, Mr. Zhang, who had sent the First High’s students over, approached Old Liu. He grinned. “Old Liu, I heard that your school’s Xue Xi stayed in the presidential suite last night!”

Old Liu was surprised. “Is that so?”

Mr. Zhang coughed and could not help saying, “Liu Liyuan said that she chases after the rich and despises the poor. Apparently, she had kept picking on her after they entered the room. In the end, she upgraded her own room and chased Liu Liyuan back. Look at this mess. Kids these days only know to indulge in pleasure and comfort whenever they have money. Moreover, she has never participated in any academic competitions before. How can such a person get good grades?”

Usually, those who aspired to rely on academic competitions to obtain a free pass to college or additional marks for the national exam would enroll in the competitive classes once they entered high school, and, hence, they would have taken part once in their Junior Year.

For instance, Fan Han had obtained the Provincial Second Prize in his Junior Year. Although he was halted before the national competition, the teachers already had an impression of him and had great expectations for him this year.

Old Liu was not clear on what exactly happened, but he still defended his own student without any hesitation. “Mr. Zhang, we cannot listen to a child’s one-sided story. As for your claim on indulging in pleasure, I beg to differ. Are you purporting that being wealthy is a crime? Why don’t you go stay in a motel if you guys do not want to indulge in pleasure and comfort?”

Mr. Zhang was made speechless by this and turned to point his finger at Old Liu, chiding, “Look at yourself. Money is every part of your speech. Are you setting an example as a teacher?! Old Liu, as teachers, we cannot place too much emphasis on money…”

Finding the situation baffling, Old Liu promptly turned around and left.

Xue Xi is not going to stay with anyone from their school anyway, so why is that person still being so bossy? He thinks he is great just because he is in charge of the Mathematics group!

…

The Math Star’s examination was the same as the Olympiad—they were both separated into two rounds.

The first round had a time limit of 80 minutes, and the questions were a mix of fill-in-the-blank questions and open-ended questions. There were more questions here.

The second round had a time limit of 150 minutes. There were only four highly-challenging open-ended questions.

After the first round, the students had time for free movement. They even had the energy to chit-chat, then they continued to the second round.

The second round was clearly much more quiet and solemn. Only the sound of pen against paper could be heard in the examination hall.

The four open-ended questions were very challenging and difficult. The tested knowledge was even slightly outside of the syllabus.

After the examination, the students were basically all defeated.

“Aren’t this year’s questions too hard?”

“Yes. I don’t even have an inkling for the last two questions, and I’m not sure if I’m even right for the first one.”

Xue Xi walked over to Old Liu amid such discussion.

The latter was currently asking Fan Han, whom others had the highest expectations of, “How did you feel about it?”

Fan Han pursed his lips and frowned lightly. “I got two correct, but I’m not too sure about the third and fourth questions.”

Old Liu nodded. “That’s already pretty good. This year’s exam is apparently exceptionally difficult! You should be able to obtain the First Prize if you managed to do two questions.”

He then turned to ask the rest in sequence. When Xue Xi walked over, he asked, “How was it?”

Xue Xi thought for a moment, then slowly answered, “I did everything.”

A wide smile spread on Old Liu’s lips. “Alright, let’s all get onto the bus. We shall have a good meal this afternoon.”

When everyone had boarded the bus, Liu Liyuan sneered. “Does she think this is a history or politics class where you’ll get marks just because you answered everything?”

She pointed at Xue Xi to the person beside her. “Do you see that? That’s her. The one who stays in the presidential suite for just an exam, as though she’s afraid that other people don’t know that her family is rich. This kind of person places their attention on other places and will definitely not get good grades…”

A few students from First High nodded and had a mocking expression.

Mr. Zhang even snorted. “Bin City’s competition still rests on our shoulders. Alright, get on the car and let’s go back!”

…

Old Liu had intended to allow the students some free time before they returned the next day.

However, Xue Xi had no intention of shopping. Hence, she informed Old Liu and went back to the hotel. The car Ye Li had sent to fetch her was already here, so she directly returned home.

Time quickly flew by and it was the end of August. September was near. The freshmen and juniors were also about to start their school year.

It had been roughly ten days since the Math Star Competition, and the results were about to be announced.

Meanwhile, the international school’s forum was in an uproar:

I’m waiting for a certain someone’s results!

You can’t cheat in the Math Star Competition. The real results can be seen only this time!

Have you heard? Hearsay, Xue Xi had flaunted her riches on the day of the exam and offended Liu Liyuan from First High! Liu Liyuan has already announced that she will be using her grades to exact her revenge because the money belongs to parents and only grades belong to yourself!

Excited!

Today was Tuesday, and the results were released online at 10 AM.

Ye Li had repeatedly reminded her before she went to school, “It’s fine. It doesn’t matter what your results are. Xixi, don’t be nervous!”

Xue Xi: “…Oh.”

However, after she had boarded the car, Ye Li then took out the examination ID number she had copied. When she saw Xue Sheng leaving, she was a little stunned. “Where are you going?”

Xue Sheng: “To work!”

Ye Li yanked him over. “Why would you go to work? Go after we’ve checked the results at 10 AM!”

Hearing this, Xue Sheng turned around and changed out of his shoe. “Fine, I’ll wait with you. But I shall say this first: one has to be nurtured from a young age for the Mathematical Olympiad. Xixi has never gone through any structured training and will definitely not get good results this time. Don’t have overly high expectations.”

Ye Li sighed. “I just find it to be a pity. If we had not lost her and she had grown up by our side, with her brains, she would have been so outstanding. Sigh!”

Chapter 34: First Place!

Xue Sheng fell into a short trance when he heard this.

He had been astonished when Xue Xi had obtained first in the level the previous time. However, after inquiring more at the orphanage, he found this to be a normal occurrence.

That was because Xue Xi had been learning on her own after she graduated from Middle School.

Still, other than talent, one still needed to be hardworking for competitions like the Mathematical Olympiad. No matter how smart Xixi was, she had been back for only half a month, so how could she possibly get good results there?

He patted Ye Li’s shoulders. While sighing, he also chided himself internally, If we had not lost the child back then, she would have been the brightest star among her generation.

While the two were speaking, the old patriarch suddenly walked over with his hands behind his back. The old patriarch said to Xue Sheng, “Come over.”

Xue Sheng quickly followed behind him. “What’s wrong, Dad?”

The old patriarch looked at him and asked, “Have you received any news about that Lu Chao?”

Xue Sheng shook his head.

The other frowned at this. “Put more effort into looking again.”

“Yes.”

…

As usual, Xue Xi alighted at the provision store and held hands with Xiang Huai after breakfast.

Recently, the length of time they needed to hold hands was getting longer by the day. It had already been two minutes today and she still felt a dull pain in her heart.

Just as she was feeling the internal changes in herself, Xiang Huai leaned against the table and supported his head with his other free arm. “Little kid, don’t you think this is a waste of time?”

His low voice was exceptionally sexy and alluring.

Xue Xi paused for a moment, then said, “So?”

Xiang Huai’s lips turned up slightly. In that instant, it felt as though all the light in the room was aggregating on his face. His sharp and defined features even seemed to be sparkling and filled with enticement. “I have a method that can resolve this quickly and easily. Do you want to hear it?”

Xue Xi instantly understood what he wanted to say next. She hurriedly avoided his gaze and coolly answered, “…No.”

Her reserved and cold attitude did not anger him. Instead, the man chuckled. His laughter seemed to turn tangible as it encompassed her heart and made her throat run dry.

He asked, “Why?”

Half a beat later, Xue Xi answered, “I know what you want to say.”

He raised an eyebrow. “So do you want to do it with your boyfriend?”

Xue Xi frowned and considered it, and, as though she had made a decision, she said, “…Fine.”

Xiang Huai was stunned.

Little kid is really agreeing to kiss and hug me?

Right after thinking this, he saw her reach out with her other hand. “Come. If we hold both hands together, it should be faster by two times.”

“…”

After a full five seconds, Xiang Huai burst out laughing.

Why is my little kid this cute?

Xue Xi did not wait for his reply and stood up. “Today is done. We shall try again tomorrow.”

She picked up her bag and exited out the door in her loosely-fit uniform.

After she had left, Xiang Huai’s smile slowly dissipated and he became cold and taciturn.

…

Just as Xue Xi walked through the school entrance, her sight was instantly colored in red. Flame Number One to Seven and Qin Shuang were all squatting at the entrance. Seven bright red-heads were a grand sight, while Gao Yanchen leaned against a tree at the side with his head lowered while he played games on his phone.

The students passing by were so frightened that they jumped aside when they saw them.

Old Liu passed by them in his old bicycle and stopped when he spotted them, shouting, “You can’t have dyed hair according to school rules. Gao Yanchen, go bring the rest of them and dye it back.”

Gao Yanchen ignored him, though.

Flame Number One said, “Old Liu, we are not in your class anyway, so don’t bother yourself about us.”

Old Liu persuaded, “As long as you guys are students, I have to speak…”

He was just about to go on a long tirade when Flame Number One spotted Xue Xi. His eyes lit up instantly. “Sister Xi!”

Instantly, the eight people plus Gao Yanchen stepped out and moved toward Xue Xi.

The girl was a little confused. “Why are you guys here?”

Qin Shuang slung her arm with hers. “Today is the day when the results of the Math Star Competition come out. We came to back you up!”

Brother Chen had already told them that they had to escort Xue Xi to school, just in case people would speak nonsense and make her comfortable after the results were released. With them there, even if others wanted to mock her, they would have to swallow their own words!

Beside them, Old Liu got off his bicycle when he heard this. He pushed his bike in Xue Xi’s direction. The man, in his forties, had dark skin due to prolonged sun exposure. He said, “Xue Xi, take it easy. Results do not represent anything, and the Math Star is just a normal competition that can only be used as practice. The truly important one is the National Mathematics Competition. Since it’s almost September, it is also about to start.”

Xue Xi: “…Oh.”

Why is everyone claiming that I’m nervous? I really am not.

She felt that her results should be decent.

Forget it. The results are coming out soon anyway, so I shall not speak much on it.

The group of people grandly entered the school compound. Everyone who saw them en route kept their distance, and the group of people who came to gloat did not dare come up to speak to her.

Just like this, Xue Xi was escorted into her classroom and peacefully finished two periods of classes.

During the break, at exactly 10 AM, the result of the Math Star Competition came out!

Xue Xi finished her exercises on the school field, and by the time she strolled back to the classroom, it was exactly 10 AM.

Old Liu was already there, and a group of people was crowding around Fan Han. They were all staring at the application on his phone, where he was checking his results. “Hurry, see how you scored! Did you key in the correct examination ID number?”

Fan Han nodded, then clicked on the search button. His score immediately popped out: 212.

“Wow!”

“That’s high! This gets First Prize for sure!”

“Yes. The First Prize for last year is a minimum of 180 marks and the first in the province is only 224. This year’s questions are apparently harder, so Fan Han is confirmed to be in the top ten! That’s amazing!”

“…”

Xue Yao stood beside Fan Han proudly with a wide smile. Her gaze swept over Xue Xi, and she pretended to ask in concern, “Cousin, how many marks did you get?”

The latter could not be bothered with her. She walked back to her seat with her head lowered. She was just about to pick up her phone, wanting to check her results, when a foreign number called in.

She paused for a moment, then answered it. “Hello.”

The other party hurriedly asked, “Is this Xue Xi? I am from the student admission office of Bin City University. I saw your results in the Math Star Competition. By the usual protocol, this is a non-official competition and will not be added to your results for college application. However, our Mathematics Department is willing to make an exception for you. Are you interested?”

Xue Xi paused for two seconds and said, “…Not interested.”

Bin City University was also one of the top schools, belonging to the 985 and 211 calibers. However, her aim was the capital’s Huaxia University, and this aim had never changed.

The other party persistently persuaded her again, but she was resolute.

It was only after she hung up the call that she opened the webpage to check her results on her phone.

Qin Shuang was already waiting impatiently. She stretched her body and head out to look at Xue Xi’s phone. When the latter keyed in her examination ID number and clicked on the search button…

Qin Shuang’s irises converged. “The heck!”

288 marks!

!!

Is this a result that humans can get?!

chapter 35-45 to be continued.....