Su Yuqing had only called Shen Yue now because she’d heard from Shen Jiao that Shen Yue was at Cloud City No. 1 High School.
She wanted to do something, but was afraid Old Master Shen would find out. That was why she didn’t dare let Shen Yue come home.
When Su Yuqing realized Shen Yue had guessed, she didn’t waste time beating around the bush.
She knew this would put Shen Yue at a disadvantage, and forced down her anger.
“Shen Jiao told me you got into Cloud City No. 1 High School. That school isn’t right for you. You’ll only embarrass yourself there. I’m taking you to withdraw and find another school.”
When Su Yuqing heard it from Shen Jiao, she hadn’t believed it. How could Cloud City No. 1 High School have agreed to let Shen Yue in?
Then she remembered Old Master Shen saying he’d donate twenty million to the school, and her heart ached.
Shen Yue wasn’t Shen Jiao. What was she worth? She was useless in every way. Old Master Shen must be going senile to treat her so well.
As they stepped out of the elevator, Shen Yun opened the door. Shen Yue picked up the beautifully packaged lunch box by the entrance and carried it inside, setting it on the table to signal Shen Yun to eat first.
Hearing Su Yuqing’s words, Shen Yue laughed in disbelief.
“Madam Shen, are you sure you’re the one who gave birth to me?”
Otherwise, how could a mother play favorites to this extent?
After asking, Shen Yue gave a self-mocking smile. Without waiting for Su Yuqing to answer, she hung up.
Shen Yun pressed his lips together and handed her a pair of chopsticks. “It’s okay, Sis. I’ll always be on your side.”
Shen Yue raised an eyebrow and took them. “Don’t tell Grandpa. I can handle it.”
Shen Yun, who had been about to send a message: … He silently deleted what he’d typed.
……
At the Shen Family Villa,
Su Yuqing stared at the phone call Shen Yue had hung up on, furious.
With a sharp slap, she set her phone down on the dining table.
“How dare Shen Yue hang up on me? She’s getting out of hand! She should think about what she’d be without the Shen family!”
Across from her, Shen Jiao—who had come home for lunch for once—put down her chopsticks.
“She’s used to doing as she pleases. Maybe she doesn’t like people telling her what to do. It was a bit of a splurge, but it’s good she got into Cloud City No. 1 High School.”
Su Yuqing only grew angrier at Shen Jiao’s words.
She had given birth to Shen Yue. She had given Shen Yue life. And now she couldn’t even tell her what to do?
Shen Yue had gotten into Cloud City No. 1 High School because the Shen family had paid for it—twenty million! Not two hundred yuan!
What was the point of sending her there? She didn’t study properly; she read comics in class instead of paying attention. She was completely useless.
Thinking of how the twenty million had gone down the drain made Su Yuqing’s heart ache all over again.
“What’s good about it? She’s your older sister, after all. Everything she says and does there will affect you. I won’t let her stay at Cloud City No. 1 High School.”
Having lost her appetite, Su Yuqing turned and went upstairs.
Shen Jiao picked up a tissue and dabbed elegantly at the corners of her mouth. Then she rose and called the driver to take her back to school.
……
Shen Yue and Shen Yun returned to school separately. There were still about twenty minutes before afternoon classes.
Almost everyone in the class had eaten in the cafeteria and was already in the classroom—some reading, others working through practice problems.
Shen Yue’s deskmate, Song Qingyuan, was working on problems too.
Shen Yue sat down without disturbing him. But he leaned toward her of his own accord and asked in a lowered voice,
“Student Shen, that book you were reading this morning—where did you get it?”
Song Qingyuan knew the book Shen Yue had been reading wasn’t an ordinary comic book.
It was a math book designed as a comic, full of lively, interesting material. Many of the problems were challenging, and the book was packed with content that was easy to understand.
Of course, “easy to understand” didn’t mean easy for the average person.
The main thing was that the book wasn’t sold anywhere. You couldn’t buy it even if you had money, and nobody knew where it had come from.
Song Qingyuan had heard his father mention it and had once seen it by chance.
When he saw Shen Yue take it out that morning, he was shocked. He looked it over again and again before he was sure.
Then he thought of the rumors about her, what he’d seen of her, and what his father had said. His feelings about her became complicated.
Shen Yue hadn’t given it much thought and answered honestly. “Oh, a teacher gave it to me.”
She took out her phone and glanced sideways at him. “You want it?”
Song Qingyuan hesitated for a moment, then finally gritted his teeth. “I do!”
As if he’d turn down a book that rare. Only an idiot would. It might be a bit of trouble for Shen Yue, but he could make it up to her in other ways!
Shen Yue nodded. “Sure. I’ll give it to you in a few days.” After a pause, she remembered something else. “Didn’t Teacher Song let you see it?”
Teacher Song was Song Qingyuan’s father, though it seemed nobody else in the class knew that. She was the first to find out.
At the mention of it, Song Qingyuan felt helpless. His father acted as if Song Qingyuan were about to snatch the book from him. The moment he approached, his father shooed him away.
Once Song Qingyuan got the book, he wasn’t going to let his father read it either!
After hearing that, Shen Yue gave Song Qingyuan a meaningful look. “Remind your father to return the book to me on time.”
Song Qingyuan rubbed his nose. He couldn’t promise that.
Song Qingyuan turned his head, then suddenly noticed that a lot of people in the classroom were looking at them.
And that wasn’t all. Far more people than usual had passed by their classroom today.
Normally, unless it was time for class or dismissal, only one or two people would occasionally walk past the classroom door.
It was obvious who they’d come to see.
Among the people at the classroom door was someone who knew students in the experimental class.
“So that’s your new classmate? She really is pretty. She looks a little cold, but she’s definitely pretty!”
Zhang Chao, a student in the experimental class, folded his arms and leaned his head back against the railing. “What good is being pretty? Everyone says she’s just a pretty face.”
Xu Zihang, a student from Class Two who had come to see Shen Yue, perked up at that. “What do you mean?”
Zhang Chao answered casually, “I heard her family paid to get her in. Her grades used to be terrible.”
Xu Zihang was puzzled. Cloud City No. 1 High School wouldn’t let someone in just because they paid, and even if it did, it would never put them in the experimental class, would it?
“How do you know she got in because her family paid, and that her grades were bad?”
Zhang Chao hadn’t given it much thought. “Her younger sister, Shen Jiao, said so.”
Shen Jiao was the school belle, beautiful and good at her studies. She’d captured the hearts of countless people at school.
But after this new classmate arrived, students had started voting again at lunchtime for who should be the school belle.
This new classmate’s vote count was actually close to Shen Jiao’s… though that might not be the case tomorrow.
And so far, most of the people who knew about her were in their final year of high school. Fewer students in the first and second years had heard of her.
The school belle might have to make way for someone new.
Hearing this, Xu Zihang gave Zhang Chao a meaningful look and pointed at Shen Yue.
“Her younger sister said she paid to get in? And that her grades used to be bad?”