Teacher Li spoke seriously, “Miss Cheng, Cheng Ye completed the paper independently. There was no copying. Besides, his score was even higher than Cheng Fenghao’s.”
“It’s only five points higher.” Cheng Shiyan still looked unconvinced. “Maybe after copying, he just happened to get a few questions right as well.”
Teacher Li could clearly sense Cheng Ye’s third sister favoring Cheng Fenghao.
That bias was a bit too much, wasn’t it?
“Miss Cheng, whether you believe it or not, I’ve already said what needed to be said,” Teacher Li replied perfunctorily. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up.”
The call was disconnected, leaving Cheng Shiyan momentarily stunned.
Could it be that Cheng Ye really achieved full marks on his own?
Impossible, right?!
Father Cheng suddenly remembered that after Cheng Ye left the Cheng family, he had never gone to see what the storage room Cheng Ye used to live in actually looked like.
He stood up and asked the butler, “Lead the way. Which room was Cheng Ye’s storage room again?”
Not only Father Cheng, but Mother Cheng, the eldest sister, second sister, and third sister were all unaware.
After all, none of them would go wandering into a storage room for no reason.
“Hmph, Cheng Ye has sticky fingers. He’s stolen my necklaces several times. Maybe they’re hidden in his room!” Cheng Shiyan swore she would thoroughly search this time.
The group arrived at the storage room that had been converted into a bedroom. The butler opened the door, and Father Cheng, Mother Cheng, and the others couldn’t help but frown deeply.
The room was no more than 10 square meters. There was a bed so simple it could hardly be called one, a chipped wardrobe for clothes, and a basic desk.
Cheng Shiyan was the first to step in, searching for her missing necklaces.
But as she searched, she suddenly froze.
The bed was left with only the mattress. The sheets, blankets, and pillow had probably been taken away by Cheng Ye when he left home.
When she opened the chipped wardrobe, it was completely empty.
Unwilling to give up, she pulled open the desk drawer.
Still nothing.
She looked around. The space was already cramped. After checking all the obvious hiding spots, there was nowhere else left to search.
Cheng Shiyan stood there blankly. How had Cheng Ye even managed to live in such a small place?
One had to know that even the private bathroom in Fenghao’s room was much larger than this storage room.
Father Cheng frowned and questioned, “Butler Zhang, how did you handle this? How could the eldest young master of the Cheng family be made to live in such a shabby storage room?” This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Butler Zhang replied in surprise, “Chairman Cheng, have you forgotten? It was you who suggested that the eldest young master temporarily stay in a small bedroom converted from a storage room.”
“Oh, right, right, I remember now.” With the reminder, Father Cheng recalled that when Cheng Ye had first been brought back to the Cheng family, he had thought that since Cheng Ye grew up in an orphanage, he might not be used to overly luxurious rooms.
At the same time, he wanted to properly discipline Cheng Ye. Even though he carried the Cheng family’s bloodline, he shouldn’t live a life of excessive luxury.
So he had simply instructed Butler Zhang to have one of the storage rooms converted into a small bedroom.
His plan had been to move Cheng Ye into a larger room once he got used to living there.
But later, he became busy with company matters and completely forgot about it.
Father Cheng had never expected Cheng Ye’s living conditions to be so poor…
Mother Cheng looked shocked. Covering her mouth, large tears rolled down her cheeks.
In these three years, she had never once gone to see her biological son’s room.
Not even once.
This filled her heart with indescribable guilt.
She had always believed that she treated Cheng Fenghao and Cheng Ye fairly, that she could balance both equally.
But she never realized that her heart had long tilted completely—tilted so far it couldn’t possibly tilt any further.
Her voice turned heavy. “Will Xiao Ye really not come back?”
“Mom, don’t worry so much,” the eldest sister Cheng Wei said indifferently. “So what if he signed the agreement? He doesn’t have much money on him. We can just wait patiently. No need to go through all this trouble.”
“After some time, Cheng Ye will naturally realize his mistake and come back to the Cheng family, begging us to take him in.”
Cheng Wei was absolutely certain that Cheng Ye was just playing a clumsy game of playing hard to get.
The second sister Cheng Zhirou nodded in agreement. “Exactly. Don’t be fooled by his arrogant appearance. In reality, he’s already barely holding on!”
Cheng Shiyan, however, was still thinking about whether Cheng Ye had cheated. “Do you think that 150 score is really his actual result?”
Mother Cheng wiped her tears with a tissue. “Xiao Ye’s grades have been terrible since his first year. Now that he’s in his final year, who knows how much he’s fallen behind in all subjects?”
Cheng Zhirou didn’t believe it at all. “He must have cheated. The teacher just didn’t catch it. A perfect score is way too ridiculous.”
Cheng Shiyan thought for a moment. “But Cheng Ye did say his middle school grades were very good. He even received quite a few scholarships.”
Cheng Zhirou scoffed. “Third Sister, how can middle school compare to high school? In middle school, as long as you work hard, you’ll get results. But high school is different—if your mind isn’t sharp enough, no amount of effort will help!”
Wouldn’t it have been better if Cheng Ye had just performed at his true level? Why cheat and bring disgrace to the Cheng family?
“Enough. Discussions about Cheng Ye’s grades end here,” Father Cheng ordered.
Having seen the storage room Cheng Ye lived in—cramped, windowless, dim, and poorly ventilated—Father Cheng frowned deeply. “If Cheng Ye comes back, move him to the master bedroom on the third floor.”
Butler Zhang, perceptive as ever, asked, “Should I start cleaning the third-floor master bedroom now?”
“What’s the rush? Wait until he comes back,” Father Cheng said, still thinking about Cheng Ye’s marriage with Chu Xiyan.
However, relying solely on Cheng Ye was clearly unwise.
In terms of overall conditions, Fenghao was far more suitable for an arranged marriage.
But how could they change Old Master Chu’s mind?
…
In the afternoon.
Senior Year Class 1 had physical education.
All the students stood neatly in formation.
The PE teacher counted the class—36 students.
“For today’s PE class, we’ll be learning how to shoot basketballs,” the teacher announced. “Form groups of three, no restriction on gender. The group with the highest total number of successful three-point shots will each receive a 1,000 yuan red envelope from me.”
At the mention of money, the students’ eyes lit up instantly.
“Teacher, you’re generous!”
“Teacher, that’s awesome!”
“Can we form groups freely?”
A glint flashed in the PE teacher’s eyes. Did they think they could just take the money and leave that easily?
“Yes, free grouping. Find your own suitable teammates,” the PE teacher said as he unscrewed his water bottle and took a big gulp.
It went without saying that Cheng Fenghao and Chu Xiyan would team up together.
Too many students wanted to join them. Everyone rushed forward, recommending themselves eagerly.
Although Cheng Ye was handsome, most students tried hard to curry favor with Cheng Fenghao and Chu Xiyan. Moreover, since Cheng Ye didn’t get along with them, people intentionally or unintentionally isolated him, making his side unusually quiet, with no one willing to team up with him.
Cheng Fenghao glanced at Jiang Mian, who was also popular among the male students, and immediately walked over. “Jiang Mian, how about the three of us form a group?”