Cha Yiguan said that Su Xianyan had gone home for the past few days, home meaning a place where his family was.
“When is he coming back, then?”
The results would be out this afternoon. Whether she had done well or poorly, Cheng Simian wanted to tell him in person.
Cha Yiguan was tidying up blueprints at his desk as he replied, “How would I know?”
“So useless,” Cheng Simian huffed. Looking dispirited, she plopped down in the chair beside him.
Cha Yiguan shot her a wounded look. “And how is that my fault…?”
Cheng Simian ignored him. She picked up the drawing paper on his desk and flipped through it casually. “These look a bit like the sketches I saw in Su Xianyan’s room last time. Who drew them?”
Cha Yiguan pulled the papers back. “I did.”
Cheng Simian looked at him with disdain. “Don’t mess with me. You can draw?”
“Rubbish. If not me, then who—was it you?”
Cheng Simian was stunned.
Cha Yiguan said smugly, “Do you think your Uncle Yiguan is just decoration? I’m not only EV’s social liaison—I’m also the head of the art department. I usually keep a low profile, get it?”
This time, Cheng Simian didn’t argue. Staring at the refined, vivid character sketches spread across the desk, she was genuinely surprised. Cha Yiguan had never brought work home before, so she’d always thought he was just the company’s ‘social butterfly,’ good for nothing else. Who would’ve thought… he was actually a skilled artist?
“Well?” Cha Yiguan said proudly. “Admire me now? Don’t you think I’m even more impressive than Su Xianyan?”
Cheng Simian glanced at him. “Fine. I’ll admit—you’re kind of impressive this time.”
“Obviously.” Cha Yiguan was pleased. For once, he had outshone Su Xianyan at something.
The more Cheng Simian looked at the drawings, the more fascinated she became. “Hey—did you study art before?”
“I’m professionally trained!”
“Oh?”
“Don’t believe me? I can sketch a few strokes for you right now.” Cha Yiguan hadn’t expected drawing to help him reclaim some dignity with Cheng Simian. If he’d known earlier, he would’ve shown off every day—maybe his status in this house wouldn’t be so low.
Before long, Cha Yiguan finished a quick portrait. It wasn’t overly detailed due to the short time, but it already looked remarkably like her.
From the bottom of her heart, Cheng Simian felt that Cha Yiguan was actually kind of amazing. Watching her own likeness slowly appear on a blank sheet of paper felt almost magical.
“That’s incredible.”
Cha Yiguan snorted proudly.
“Teach me,” Cheng Simian said, eyes sparkling as if she’d discovered something extraordinary.
Cha Yiguan replied, “You think this is something you can learn overnight? Silly girl.”
“Then I’ll learn slowly. That’s fine, right?”
…
Cheng Simian would never have imagined that a moment of whim would cultivate a lifelong passion. And Cha Yiguan would never have imagined that, years later, a world-famous comic artist would say to the camera:
“My first teacher? Hmm… his name was Cha Yiguan.”
But that was all far in the future.
That afternoon, Cheng Simian went to school.
All her classmates were present. The homeroom teacher entered with a stack of exam papers, wearing a kindly smile. Everyone knew what that expression meant—the class had done well.
The papers weren’t handed out immediately. Instead, the teacher first took out the score sheets and read out the names of the top three students.
There was no surprise there—it was always the same few names rotating. But Cheng Simian felt a little down. Her name hadn’t been called. Had she still done poorly?
“Today, I want to give special praise to one student,” the teacher suddenly said. “This student scored 145 in mathematics—the highest single-subject score in this exam.”
145?
Fu Ziwen gasped and leaned over to Cheng Simian. “The overall first-place student only got 143 in math. Who’s this? Two points higher!”
Cheng Simian didn’t speak. She stared fixedly at the teacher.
Seeing that everyone was hooked, the teacher smiled. “That student is—Cheng Simian!”
The classroom went silent for a split second, then erupted into noise. All eyes turned to Cheng Simian. Her mind went blank.
That person… was her? She got first place in math?!
“Not only math—her other subjects are also very strong,” the teacher continued. “Cheng Simian ranked sixth in the class this time. That’s a huge improvement. I’m extremely pleased.”
The teacher waved at the stunned girl. “Cheng Simian, come up and get your score sheet.”
Fu Ziwen shoved her in shock. “Th-the teacher’s calling you!”
Cheng Simian glanced back at her, then sprang to her feet. Under the gaze of the entire class, she walked step by step toward the podium.
“Cheng Simian, all your teachers have mentioned how hardworking you’ve been lately. Very good,” the homeroom teacher said warmly.
Cheng Simian took the report card. “Thank you, teacher.”
“You should thank yourself. Alright, go back to your seat.”
The teacher was in an excellent mood—nothing made a teacher happier than seeing a long-time underachiever suddenly turn things around. Especially when that underachiever had once been labeled by the dean as a ‘problem girl’ transferred from another school.
The moment class ended, Cheng Simian sprinted toward the school gate. She flagged down a taxi, eager to rush home—but just as she was about to give the address, she remembered that Su Xianyan hadn’t been home these past few days.
She wouldn’t see him there at all.
“Miss, where are you headed?” the driver asked.
Clutching her report card, Cheng Simian murmured, “I don’t know…”
“What?” The driver hadn’t heard clearly. “Where to?”
After a moment’s thought, Cheng Simian said, “Sir, take me to EV Company.”
This time, she entered the building without any trouble. The receptionist even greeted her warmly.
“Miss Cheng, are you here to see President Cheng?”
Cheng Simian shook her head. “I’m looking for Su Xianyan.”
“President Su just went upstairs,” the receptionist said, only to see Cheng Simian dart into the elevator. “Hey—wait! President Su is meeting a client—”
But Cheng Simian couldn’t hear her anymore.
She remembered which floor Su Xianyan’s office was on. As soon as she exited the elevator, she headed straight for it.
She knocked on the office door. There was no response.
She quietly pushed it open a crack and peeked inside.
The air-conditioning was on, but the office was empty.
Just as Cheng Simian was craning her head and peeking around, Su Xianyan and a group of people walked toward the office. From a distance, Su Xianyan spotted a familiar figure lingering outside his office door, peering inside. A hint of amusement flickered in his eyes—ah… today was the day her final exam results were released.
His assistant also noticed the “unauthorized visitor” at the office entrance. After glancing at Su Xianyan, he was about to step forward to usher the person away.
Su Xianyan lifted a hand slightly, signaling the assistant to stop. Then he turned to the person beside him and said, “Please wait a moment.”
The man nodded, his gaze following Su Xianyan as it landed on the little girl poking her head around ahead, a trace of interest flashing in his eyes.
Meanwhile, the staff accompanying them kept stealing glances at the visitor. They were bursting with excitement inside but had to hold it in. How rare! So thrilling! Finally seeing a major celebrity from television in person, yet unable to ask for an autograph or a photo—it was downright torturous.
Finding no one inside, Cheng Simian stepped back and let out a soft sigh. He had just gone upstairs—how could she not find him?
“What are you sighing for? What, didn’t do well on the exam?”
A warm voice sounded above her head. Cheng Simian spun around in delight. “Su Xianyan!”
Su Xianyan bent slightly to look at her, amused. “That expression—so did you do well or not?”
Overjoyed at the sight of him, Cheng Simian completely failed to notice the group of people standing not far behind him. She handed him her report card eagerly and said excitedly, “I ranked sixth overall—and I got first place in math as a single subject.”
Su Xianyan was a little surprised. He knew she was smart, but he hadn’t expected her to improve this quickly. She had been near the bottom last time, and now she was sixth. Still, he felt genuinely pleased—after all, this was a child he had personally tutored.
As he looked over the report card, he caught sight of a fair hand suddenly stretched out in front of him. He lifted his gaze to see Cheng Simian looking at him slyly.
“So,” she said, “you should honor your promise and give me a reward.”
Su Xianyan raised an eyebrow slightly. “You want your reward right now?”
Cheng Simian pulled her hand back. “It’s fine if not now—but you’re not allowed to forget.”
Su Xianyan flicked her forehead lightly with his knuckle. “Got it.”
“I didn’t know you had a little sister?” a voice suddenly chimed in.
Cheng Simian instinctively turned to look. After a single glance, she froze.
She wasn’t a die-hard fan and didn’t follow the entertainment industry closely, but this man—she definitely knew him.
Yu Huan. A top-tier male celebrity in China. In recent years, he’d also starred in several major overseas productions and was incredibly in demand.
She liked him quite a bit and had once really enjoyed a drama he starred in. She remembered how the girls in her class had been obsessed with him back then.
“Is she your sister?” Yu Huan asked Su Xianyan again.
Su Xianyan replied, “No. She’s Cheng Qin’s niece.”
Yu Huan looked surprised.
Su Xianyan opened the office door. “Let’s talk inside.”
Yu Huan nodded.
Su Xianyan then turned to Cheng Simian. “Have you eaten dinner?”
Cheng Simian shook her head.
Su Xianyan acknowledged softly, instructed his assistant to buy a meal, then led Cheng Simian to the small sofa beside the office. “Sit here and read for a bit. Eat when the food arrives.”
“What about you?” Cheng Simian looked up at him.
Before Su Xianyan could answer, Yu Huan smiled and said, “Little sister, may I borrow him for a while?”
Cheng Simian froze. “…Of course you can borrow him.”
Yu Huan’s smile widened. “Then I’ll try to return him as soon as possible.”
“….”
Su Xianyan’s office was very spacious. The single sofa was some distance away from the meeting area, with a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf serving as a divider.
Seeing the two men head over there, Cheng Simian sat quietly on the sofa. It seemed Su Xianyan and Yu Huan were discussing business, so she behaved herself and didn’t disturb them.
After a while, the assistant delivered dinner, and Cheng Simian started eating. She ate slowly. By the time she finished, it seemed their discussion was over. She vaguely saw the two of them stand up and hurriedly tidied up her meal.
“Then that’s it. I’ll head off,” Yu Huan said, putting on his sunglasses. “No need to walk me out—I’ll go down myself.”
Su Xianyan replied, “Alright. The contract will be delivered to your studio tomorrow.”
“Mm.” As Yu Huan turned to leave, he glanced at the pretty little girl standing by the bookshelf. At that moment, she was looking at Su Xianyan. He paused slightly, as if something had occurred to him.
Ah—that look…
It was a bit like the way his silly little sister used to look at Shen Qingzhou.
Yu Huan suddenly turned back and glanced at Su Xianyan again. Wearing sunglasses, his teasing smile went unseen.
“What is it?” Su Xianyan asked, puzzled.
Yu Huan curled his lips. “Nothing. I’m off.”