None of this had anything to do with Shen Yue. She leaned back against the sofa, unconcernedly crossing one leg over the other.
Then, afraid Old Master Shen might get so angry he would make himself ill, she lowered her legs and took his wrist, resting her fingers on his pulse without drawing attention to it.
Only after confirming he was all right did she relax.
“I’m not angry with you, so what are you getting angry about? If you make yourself ill, even the gods won’t be able to save you.”
Old Master Shen didn’t take her words seriously, but his expression eased a little. He shot Su Yuqing a cold look, finally seeing Shen Yue’s situation clearly.
“I didn’t realize you had such a high-handed manner. She’s your daughter, not your subordinate.”
Old Master Shen had been out of the public eye for many years, but his presence was still formidable.
Su Yuqing’s face turned a mottled red and green under his reprimand. She looked utterly mortified, feeling as if both her dignity and her pride had been thrown to the ground and trampled to pieces.
Her resentment toward Shen Yue deepened. If it had been Jiaojiao, she would have come to her defense by now.
But Shen Yue just sat there and watched her get scolded!
……
Because of what had happened earlier, the atmosphere at dinner was somewhat strained.
Old Master Shen brought up Shen Yue’s schooling.
After a moment’s silence, Su Yuqing said coldly that no school was willing to accept Shen Yue.
She then claimed she was busy handling Shen Jiao’s entry into the Music Association and had no time to deal with Shen Yue anymore.
In Cloud City, the Shen family wasn’t at the top; there were two other families above them.
Shen Jiao’s admission to the Music Association would raise the Shen family’s standing in Cloud City another notch. It was a major matter.
Shen Qianshan opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing.
Old Master Shen saw what Su Yuqing had in mind and didn’t trust her to handle Shen Yue’s situation, so he took it upon himself.
“Is it really that hard to find a school? I’ll put twenty million into it. I refuse to believe there’s a school that won’t take my granddaughter!”
At that, Shen Jiao tightened her grip on her chopsticks and lowered her head, her long lashes concealing the emotions in her eyes.
Su Yuqing paused, her brows drawing together slightly.
Shen Yue was nothing special. Why waste that kind of money on her?
Still, she said nothing. She couldn’t change Old Master Shen’s decisions—at least, not by openly objecting now.
Old Master Shen saw the thoughts in Su Yuqing’s eyes, and disappointment flickered in his own.
Then he turned back to Shen Yue with a beaming smile.
“Good granddaughter, tell Grandpa—which school do you want to go to?”
Everyone else looked over at her too.
Shen Yue swallowed her last bite of food and set down her chopsticks unhurriedly.
“First High School.” She paused. “Actually, I’ve already—”
Before Shen Yue could finish, Su Yuqing finally lost her temper and set down her chopsticks with a sharp crack.
Without changing her expression, she said, “You just say whatever you like. Do you think you’re Jiaojiao? First High School doesn’t take just anyone.”
What kind of school was Cloud City No. 1 High School? One of the top ten schools in the country. It cared about grades, not money.
There wasn’t a single student at First High School with poor grades.
Shen Jiao ranked among the top ten students in the entire school, which showed just how outstanding she was.
She was deeply cherished by both the Su and Shen families.
How could someone like Shen Yue get in? Forget senior year—even freshman year was out of the question!
And Su Yuqing would never allow her to embarrass Shen Jiao by going there.
Shen Yue gave a derisive laugh. Her expression had already turned cold, and a hint of frost had crept into her usually languid air.
Her voice impatient and cool, she said, “Madam Shen, just mind your own business. Whether I can get into First High School is none of your concern.”
Shen Jiao paused mid-meal, glanced up at Shen Yue, then lowered her head again, a contemptuous smile at the corner of her mouth.
For once, Old Master Shen was at a loss. He didn’t argue with Su Yuqing, but his dear granddaughter wanted to attend First High School. This was…
……
That evening, Shen Yue returned to her room early. After washing up and getting ready for bed, she lay down.
Holding her phone up in both hands, she looked at a message from someone saved in her contacts as “Yaowan.”
Shen Yue’s nickname was “Wo Meiyou Qian,” so the other person always addressed her as Miss Qian.
【Miss Qian, the auction is on the tenth of next month. Will you be able to supply any more pills?】
The sender was Fang Shiming, a man from the Capital International Auction House.
She supplied the auction house with one S+-grade pill each month. He knew only that she was a woman.
He was also tactful enough never to ask about her personal affairs.
After reading the message, Shen Yue sat up and picked up a porcelain bottle she had just tidied away on the bedside table.
She poured out the pills. Three lay in her palm, and a delicate fragrance immediately filled the air.
Shen Yue gave them a casual glance, then put them back in the bottle, handling them with anything but care.
If anyone else had seen her, they would surely have cried, “What a waste! What a waste!”
In this world, even B-grade pills could make people fight over them, let alone S+-grade pills!
S+-grade pills were miraculous creations among traditional medicines, and whatever their effects, they were simply extraordinary.
At a critical moment, they could save a life.
At auctions, they were fought over by the great families, and a single pill could fetch more than a hundred million!
Any family that acquired an S+ Pill would guard it carefully, afraid to use it unless absolutely necessary.
The pills were exceptionally rare and expensive. Only in the past two years had they begun appearing a little more often; before that, a person might go an entire year without seeing even one.
At present, the only person anyone knew who had these pills was Miss Qian. Yet no one could find any information about her at all; they knew only her sex.
Shen Yue put the bottle away and replied.
【Yes】
Yaowan: 【Great, great, great】—three consecutive “greats,” enough to show how excited he was.
Soon, he sent another message.
【By the way, Miss Qian, someone from one of the Capital’s Four Great Families wants to meet you.】
Shen Yue replied coolly with two words: 【Not interested】
Elsewhere, after receiving her message, Fang Shiming indicated that he understood. Then he found a contact and replied.
【I’m sorry, Mr. Cheng. Miss Qian isn’t available.】