Tang You had absolutely no idea that her entire performance had just been thoroughly enjoyed by someone.
She was even less aware that, while she was bursting into laughter, the car door that had just opened was slammed shut again with force.
The car beside her slowly pulled away. Tang You was already used to seeing luxury cars and didn’t pay much attention. She continued excitedly sending voice messages to Miao Jiaxi.
Tang You: “Auntie suddenly called to explain that Xiao Weijing didn’t do it on purpose. I kept probing and finally got it out of her—he got photographed with Wen Ling.”
Tang You: “I’ve waited for this day for almost five hundred years. I’m so excited I almost cried and demolished every load-bearing wall in the hotel, leveling it to the ground.”
Miao Jiaxi sent back two “awesome” emojis.
Tang You straightened up, feeling refreshed and invigorated.
But the moment she thought about how this man had still been cozying up to another woman just yesterday, he instantly stopped looking handsome to her.
If he already had someone in his heart, he should hurry up and cancel the engagement. What was the point of keeping her hanging like this? Raising a spare tire?
Tang You took a deep breath and convinced herself not to get angry.
This kind of thing wasn’t worth getting a little fairy mad over.
Back at the apartment, Tang You sat on the carpet and laboriously unwrapped the exquisite gift packaging.
She had no idea what someone with Xiao Weijing’s personality would even send her.
After all, it was common knowledge that Xiao Weijing looked at her like she was a walking plague.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have stayed out of the country for a full four years.
The wrapping paper on the box featured extremely beautiful patterns in her favorite ukiyo-e style—delicate and intricate. When fully unfolded, it formed one complete painting with no repeated motifs.
Finally reaching the innermost layer, Tang You wiped the sweat from her forehead and let out a soft breath of relief.
Her delicate hand lifted the lid.
Plop—the lid slipped straight from her fingers and fell onto the carpet, flattening the soft fluff.
Inside the neat square box was a tidy stack of brand-new study guide books.
Five Years of Gaokao, Three Years of Simulation
Wang Xiong Complete Textbook Interpretation*
Spark Gaokao English Vocabulary…
Huh???????!!!!!!!
Tang You suspected there was something wrong with the way she’d opened it.
Just then, Miao Jiaxi walked past in her slippers, bent down, and peeked over: “What are you looking at?”
Tang You, who had instantly short-circuited because she couldn’t figure out Xiao Weijing’s angle: “A gift from Xiao Weijing.”
Miao Jiaxi leaned in, pinching her chin, and was equally stunned: “What does this mean?”
Tang You calmly analyzed: “He’s mocking me for being a fish that slipped through the net of nine years of compulsory education. Suggesting I start high school all over again.”
Miao Jiaxi: “The humiliation factor here is truly unique and perfectly dosed.”
Three seconds of silence.
Rip rip rip.
Tang You leaned forward, gathered up all the just-unwrapped packaging, stuffed it expressionlessly back into the paper box, picked it up, and marched straight toward the door—
Miao Jiaxi saw her movement, sensed trouble, and immediately flew over to hug her leg: “What are you doing?!”
Tang You clenched her fists, fury blazing: “Throwing it in the trash!”
“Calm down, sister,” Miao Jiaxi analyzed the pros and cons, speaking earnestly. “The sky can fall, the earth can shake, but our little-fairy persona must never collapse! Think about it—if Xiao Weijing later asks for these things back in front of the elders and you can’t produce them, what then? All the time you’ve spent building your pure, innocent white-lotus image would be gone! Think thrice!”
Under her best friend’s tearful, blood-sweat plea, Tang You ultimately had no choice but to gather all the wrapping paper and books back together, shove them into the box, and viciously bury it in the deepest corner of the bookshelf.
Miao Jiaxi sighed: “I never thought after two years apart, your fiancé would level up so obviously—from an irritable hunting dog straight into a gloomy black dog!”
Tang You, practically exploding with rage, slammed the cabinet door shut.
Miao Jiaxi coaxed: “Sister, don’t get angry. Anger causes breast hyperplasia. Is a man like this worth turning into a lump in your milk glands?”
“Not worth it!”
Tang You had always had a delicate constitution since childhood. She was also extremely picky about food—anything she didn’t like, she absolutely refused to touch. With the hot weather these past few days and her poor appetite, when she stood up to put things away, her slender waist was thin and fragile, barely a handful.
Miao Jiaxi looked enviously at her friend’s waist and secretly measured it with her hand—
Back when the A4 waist and “reach behind and touch your navel” trends were popular, Miao Jiaxi had once pinned Tang You down and measured her.
53 cm.
Fuck.
The night Miao Jiaxi measured that number, she couldn’t sleep—repeatedly wondering how Tang You could have such an amazing figure without ever dieting.
Seeing Tang You gather her hair up in front of the mirror, Miao Jiaxi knew her friend was about to start working again.
From the very beginning, Tang Xiao had raised his daughter as a precious commodity for marriage alliance. She was forced to attend dance and figure classes until she wanted to vomit, yet when it came to actual business matters, he had never taught her a single thing.
After Old Master Xiao forced Xiao Weijing and Tang You into an engagement, Tang Xiao immediately began grooming his second daughter, Tang Nan. Even Tang You’s stepmother started pouring her heart and soul into educating her daughter, determined to have Tang Nan marry someone of even higher status than Xiao Weijing.
Tang You’s monthly allowance was limited. The apartment and luxury car currently registered under her name? Tang Xiao hadn’t contributed a single cent.
She had earned them all herself.
Tang You had Weibo and Instagram accounts with millions of followers each. Every couple of days, she would share her outfit inspirations and bits of daily life.
However, none of the photos she posted ever showed her face. Aside from her live-in best friend Miao Jiaxi and her regular photographer collaborator, no one around her knew that she was the same yuko who was equally brilliant at attracting fans and making money.
Miao Jiaxi watched as Tang You walked in barefoot holding her camera and asked, “Ah Mai isn’t coming today?”
“Mm,” Tang You replied. “His social anxiety flared up again these past couple of days. He said he needs to stay holed up at home for a few days to recover.”
Miao Jiaxi let out an “Oh,” her gaze lingering a moment too long as it brushed over Tang You’s slender legs.
Long, straight, and slim—snowy white with the faintest hint of pink.
Beautiful enough to make one’s heart tremble.
There were plenty of beautiful women, but few with truly flawless beauty. People always said true beauty lies in the bones, not the skin—but Tang You was genuinely perfect from bone structure to complexion.
Today’s shoot didn’t go smoothly. Without Ah Mai, Tang You had to handle everything herself. She’d only taken a couple of shots when Miao Jiaxi knocked on the door and handed over her phone: “Call for you. It’s your dad.”
Tang Xiao’s call demanded that his daughter come home immediately. His tone was harsh and utterly awful.
Helpless, Tang You had no choice but to set the camera aside for now.
The Tang family still lived in the house that Grandma Tang had originally bought. After Grandpa and Grandma divorced, she hadn’t taken the house with her—she left it to Tang Xiao.
Tang Xiao himself wasn’t cut out for business. Although Tang You knew nothing about commerce, when she noticed her stepmother’s Hermès bags shift from “All new releases every season” to “one per season, one per year,” she realized just how disastrously bad her useless father was at making money.
Fortunately, the stepmother Jiang Tao had brought along a highly capable stepson, Jiang Chenting. Under his management, Jiang Tao was gradually able to return to the rich-lady lifestyle of buying every new seasonal release.
By the time Tang You got home, the moon was already high in the sky.
The moment she stepped through the door—before she could even react—an orange came flying straight at her, hitting her right on the corner of her forehead.
With a pained cry, Tang You couldn’t help but squat down, clutching her forehead.
The orange bounced and rolled across the floor, eventually tumbling under the sofa.
The impact had landed just beside her eyebrow—dangerously close to her eye. Tang You’s skin was delicate; that one hit made her eyes water instantly. She was still covering her face, trying to ease the stinging ache, when someone yanked her up by the hair—
Her scalp burned with pain; her chin was scratched by fingernails. Tang You looked up to see Jiang Tao’s grim, shadowy face: “What the hell is wrong with you? Huh? Wasted such a fox-spirit face and you still can’t even seduce Xiao Weijing—”
Tang You had already scanned the room upon entering and confirmed no one else was present. Enduring the pain on her scalp, she struck fast and hard—landing a precise punch straight at Jiang Tao’s eye.
Jiang Tao shrieked and stumbled back, tripped over a chair, and crashed heavily to the floor.
Hearing the commotion, Tang Nan came running out, slippers slapping against the floor.
Tang Xiao followed right behind. The moment he entered and saw Tang You standing there and Jiang Tao sprawled on the ground, his expression darkened instantly.
Tang Nan was only half a month younger than Tang You. Seeing the scene, her eyes immediately reddened as if she were about to cry: “Sister, Mom is already sick. Why would you still—”
Before she could finish, Tang You “weakly and delicately” sat down on the sofa, covered her face with both hands, and began sobbing pitifully—her cries sounding even more fragile and pitiable than Tang Nan’s: “Daddy… Auntie pulled my hair so hard it hurts… She said such awful things too, I’m really sad.”
She lifted her face. On her snow-white skin, the bloody scratch on her chin stood out starkly: “Auntie even tried to scratch my face. In two days it’s Grandpa Xiao’s birthday. If the old man asks about it, what am I supposed to say?”
Tang Nan hiccupped in shock.
Tang Xiao’s expression turned icy.
Old Master Xiao had no granddaughters of his own and doted on Tang You the most. The old man’s favoritism toward her was blatant. Though Tang Xiao didn’t particularly like this daughter, he still had to weigh the old master’s feelings.
Tang Xiao’s face grew grave: “Nan Nan, your mom is having another episode. Hurry and help her back to her room.”
Tang Nan hurriedly supported Jiang Tao and dragged her away. This time Jiang Tao really seemed unwell—muttering curses under her breath, repeating the same few filthy phrases over and over as she was pulled and hauled out of sight.
Tang Xiao helped Tang You sit down. After a long moment of hesitation, he let out a soft sigh: “Youyou, you’ve been wronged.”
Tang You said nothing. A couple of drops of orange juice had gotten into her eye earlier, and the stinging pain lingered. She pulled out a tissue to wipe her eyes, but the sour, aching sensation refused to fade.
She said softly, “I can understand Auntie. Thank you, Dad.”
—Bullshit. If Tang Xiao truly felt she’d been wronged, he should have gotten Auntie a decent psychiatrist long ago to treat her madness. Or at the very least, he should have locked Jiang Tao in her room before Tang You arrived home—instead of waiting until the woman finished her tirade before swooping in to play the savior.
Hit someone with a stick, then offer a sweet date. Let others hit with the stick, then he offers the sweet date.
Tang You genuinely believed her father was a senior-level PUA master.
If it weren’t for wanting to reclaim her mother’s inheritance from Tang Xiao’s side, Tang You would have cut ties with this so-called father long ago.
The “silly-white-sweet” Tang You lifted her face and asked: “Dad, you called me back today—was there something important?”
Tang Xiao’s expression was grim: “Xiao Weijing was seen with Wen Ling again. What do you think about that?”
Tang You replied timidly: “I don’t really think anything… Brother Weijing never liked me anyway—”
Tang Xiao looked like he was about to spit blood from her spineless attitude: “Don’t forget—he’s your fiancé! This is the excellent match personally arranged by Old Master Xiao. Are you really willing to just let someone steal it away?”
Tang You lowered her head, fingers twisting and tangling together. She said nothing.
Tang Xiao’s chest heaved violently. He grabbed the tablet beside him, pulled up those damning photos, and shoved them in front of her.
He looked heartbroken and furious: “Just look at this—how could Xiao Weijing do something like this?”
Tang You finally saw the photos clearly.
The image quality was so blurry it could have come straight out of some low-budget adult film. All you could make out was a man in a suit standing at an apartment door, holding another, slightly slimmer person in his arms.
Scrolling down, the rest of the photos weren’t particularly shocking. The last one was a draft article ready to be published, with a glaring headline—
“Seventeen Minutes of Cheating Outside the Apartment: Xiao Weijing Passionately Kisses Perky-Butt Twink Boy”
The so-called “perky-butt twink boy” was actually Wen Ling.
In Xiao Weijing’s eyes, she was the cheerful (dude), generous (guy), straightforward (bitch) type.
Ever since Wen Ling retired from the city swim team due to injury, she’d been using Xiao Weijing’s money to open a gym. These days, she was living quite comfortably.
Tang You just wondered whether Wen Ling would still be able to laugh once she realized the paparazzi had mistaken her for a man.
Tang You: “…The person who wrote this report must have just quit from a Hong Kong media outlet, right?”
“That’s not the point,” Tang Xiao said, hating that iron couldn’t become steel. “If Xiao Zexing hadn’t intercepted this article in time, it would already be out there. Do you know how people are mocking you right now? They’re saying you’re just a pretty vase—brainless, can’t even keep your own fiancé!”
Tang You looked up, timid and soft: “Isn’t that… the truth?”
Tang Xiao: “…”
It kind of was.
Tang Xiao fished a bottle of quick-acting heart pills from his pocket, hands shaking as he dissolved one in water and drank it down. He took eighteen deep breaths before finally feeling his sanity—pushed to the brink by Tang You—slowly return.
He steered the conversation back on track: “In two days it’s Old Master Xiao’s birthday. From what I can gather, he wants you and Xiao Weijing to set a wedding date.”
Tang You said nothing.
Tang Xiao studied her expression and emphasized: “It won’t just be Xiao Weijing there—Xiao Zexing will be attending too. Tang You, make sure you perform well when the time comes.”
Although Xiao Weijing’s father was Old Master Xiao’s eldest son and his only child with his late first wife, Xiao Zexing’s current ability and connections far surpassed Xiao Weijing’s. No one knew yet who would ultimately come out on top.
No matter what, it was best to build a good relationship with Xiao Zexing first.
Tang You had zero interest in those kinds of calculations. She didn’t care about Tang Xiao’s benefits.
He gripped her shoulders and said: “Aren’t you still thinking about your mother’s company? Everyone knows Xiao Zexing just took over Mingjian from the old master right after assuming his position. Mingjian is now the top player in the construction industry. Once you’re married, I’ll return the company to you. Even the tiniest leak from between Xiao Zexing’s fingers will be more than enough for you…”
This was the first time since Tang You came of age that Tang Xiao had ever mentioned her mother.
Tang You smiled obediently and softly: “Okay, Dad. I understand.”
Before attending Old Master Xiao’s birthday banquet, Tang Nan also wanted to go. Too proud to beg Tang You directly, she went through Tang Xiao instead.
Tang Xiao already felt quite guilty toward his illegitimate daughter. He tentatively mentioned it to Tang You a few times. Tang You said nothing—just let two big tears roll down her cheeks. Tang Xiao immediately dropped the subject entirely.
Tears really were an invincible weapon against men. That saying wasn’t wrong at all.
But to Xiao Weijing, tears would only make him more annoyed.
As the “future granddaughter-in-law,” Tang You’s attire for such an occasion had to be impeccably proper.
With a regretful expression, she set aside the rose-red velvet dress and chose a bean-green one from her “little-white-flower backup wardrobe.” Square neckline, knee-length—clean and pure.
Once she’d changed, Miao Jiaxi voiced strong disapproval: “No way, Youyou! Why aren’t you showing off your tiny waist?”
The dress had no cinching at all; it completely failed to highlight Tang You’s slender waist.
Miao Jiaxi felt it was a huge waste.
Tang You pinned up her hair in front of the mirror, replying casually: “No need. I’m not going to chase a man.”
All she needed was to play the perfect little white flower.
Old Master Xiao had always kept his birthdays very low-key in the past, but today the celebration was extravagantly lavish, with a large number of guests invited.
The moment Tang You stepped inside, she spotted Xiao Zexing amid the crowd.
The man’s height was overwhelmingly superior; his aura was restrained yet radiant. Even in a dense crowd, he seemed to glow—people’s gazes were involuntarily drawn to him.
Tang You steadied her emotions, walked over, and called out crisply: “Mr. Xiao!”
Not far away, Xiao Weijing heard that clear, fresh female voice.
Clean and pure, like spring water.
He followed the sound and saw Tang You.
Xiao Weijing frowned, feeling only annoyance at first and intending to avoid the woman’s entanglement. Then something felt off—he stopped abruptly and looked again.
Wait.
Tang You wasn’t calling him.
His fiancée, whom he hadn’t seen in four years—the always obedient, soft little bun of a girl—was now wearing a gentle, sweet smile.
A smile like that.
Not for him.
It was for his second uncle, Xiao Zexing.