Cheng Simian shook her head.
“I didn’t know. When will he be back?”
“Probably in three days.”
“Three days?”
Cheng Simian frowned.
“Then it’ll be too late.”
Su Xianyan asked, “Too late for what?”
“Our class is having a parent-teacher meeting,” she said awkwardly. “The homeroom teacher insists I bring a parent.”
Su Xianyan paused, then walked toward her. Standing in front of the coffee table, he looked down at her.
“When is it?”
“The day after tomorrow.”
Cheng Simian frowned in thought.
“If my uncle isn’t here, who’s going to attend for me…?”
After a moment of silence, Su Xianyan said,
“Call him and ask. Maybe he can come back earlier.”
Cheng Simian propped her chin on her hand, considering the likelihood of Cheng Qin dropping everything just to rush back for a parent-teacher meeting.
The chances were practically zero.
“Su Xianyan.”
She suddenly looked up at him, her eyes sparkling.
Su Xianyan pressed his lips together. The intent in her gaze was far too obvious, and realizing it made him want to laugh. Sure enough, his voice carried a hint of amusement.
“Yes?”
“C-could you help me?” she asked.
Understanding dawned in his eyes.
“You want me to attend the parent-teacher meeting?”
“Are you busy?”
Though Su Xianyan seemed gentle, Cheng Simian sensed that he wasn’t as simple as he appeared. In front of him, she found she couldn’t be as arrogant as she was with others.
“The day after tomorrow…”
Su Xianyan seemed to think it over seriously.
“I do have a meeting.”
“Oh…”
Cheng Simian lowered her head.
Seeing the dejected look on the girl sitting on the sofa, Su Xianyan felt an unexpected reluctance to disappoint her. He curved his lips slightly and said,
“The meeting won’t take long. What time is the parent-teacher meeting?”
“Four o’clock!”
Cheng Simian looked up in delight.
“It should only last about an hour. Does that mean you’ll come?”
Su Xianyan nodded.
“I’ll meet you at the school then.”
“Okay!”
Cheng Simian jumped to her feet.
“Thank you so much.”
Su Xianyan gave a quiet hum and said nothing more, then turned and headed upstairs.
Only after he had gone into his room did Cheng Simian let out a delighted yes! Now everything was settled—she no longer had to worry about Cheng Qin scolding her, and she even had someone to attend her parent-teacher meeting.
The next day.
“Simian, is your dad coming today, or your mom?” Fu Ziwen asked.
Cheng Simian paused, the corners of her lips lifting as a certain person came to mind.
“Neither.”
“Huh? Then who?”
“Um… my brother.”
She could only give Su Xianyan that title now.
“You saw him last time—the one we ran into when Lin Yinghan was chasing us.”
“Oh! I remember!” Fu Ziwen said enviously.
“Your brother treats you so well.”
“Haha… yeah, I guess,” Cheng Simian coughed lightly.
“But hey—has your brother arrived yet? The parent-teacher meeting is about to start, and he still hasn’t shown up. Look, my mom’s already been sitting in the classroom for ages.”
Cheng Simian glanced toward the end of the hallway.
“He’s really busy, but he should be here soon.”
Hearing their conversation, a girl from the same class nearby spoke up.
“Is that true, Cheng Simian? I heard from students in other classes that your parents aren’t around at all, and no relatives are willing to take you in. They say you live on your own.”
Fu Ziwen’s eyes widened.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“I’m not making it up. That’s what her former classmates said.”
Fu Ziwen shot the girl a glare, then turned to Cheng Simian.
“They’re always spreading rumors.”
Cheng Simian smiled faintly.
“They’re not wrong.”
“Huh?” Fu Ziwen froze.
“My parents really aren’t here,” Cheng Simian said softly.
“See? I told you it was true,” the girl said smugly.
“But—”
Cheng Simian’s gaze sharpened as she looked straight at her.
“I do have family, and I’m not living alone. If you don’t know the full story, don’t run your mouth.”
The girl faltered under her stare.
“T-then why doesn’t anyone come to your parent-teacher meetings…?”
“How do you know that I—”
“Cheng Simian.”
A deep, magnetic voice suddenly rang out.
The words How do you know no one is coming for my parent-teacher meeting were still unfinished on Cheng Simian’s lips when the voice interrupted her.
In an instant, she lost all interest in arguing. The faint anger in her chest dissipated the moment she heard that voice. She turned around happily and, sure enough, saw Su Xianyan walking down the hallway.
He was dressed simply in a white shirt and black trousers, a suit jacket draped over his arm. Gentle and refined, he looked almost detached from the world.
The girls standing outside the classroom were stunned. At their age, all they ever saw were noisy, immature boys—when had they ever encountered a calm, handsome, mature man like this? So when they saw Cheng Simian run up and stand in front of him, they were momentarily speechless.
Su Xianyan looked at Cheng Simian apologetically.
“There was some traffic. Am I late?”
Cheng Simian smiled brightly and shook her head.
“Just a little later and you would’ve been.”
He visibly relaxed.
“Then I’ll go in.”
“Okay.”
She smiled easily, then suddenly called out just as he was about to enter the classroom.
“Brother!”
Su Xianyan turned back, slightly puzzled. Cheng Simian winked at him.
“Uncle said we’re all having dinner together tonight.”
Cheng Qin was on a business trip—there was no way they were eating together. She said it purely to shut down the rumors. Su Xianyan paused briefly, then replied calmly,
“Got it.”
Watching him enter the classroom, Cheng Simian felt an overwhelming warmth bloom in her chest. For the first time, she felt like someone truly cared. At the very least, someone had finally come to her parent-teacher meeting.
“Cheng Simian, that was your brother?”
The girls who had been cold toward her earlier crowded around in amazement.
“Your brother is so handsome! Even better-looking than our school heartthrob!”
“He really is…”
“Does your brother have a girlfriend?”
…
Cheng Simian was secretly delighted, but she couldn’t be bothered to respond. When they got no answer from her, the girls rushed to the window to sneak glances at Su Xianyan instead.
The parent-teacher meeting officially began.
Cheng Simian stood outside the window, watching Su Xianyan. He sat in her seat, casually flipping through the books on her desk. She suddenly felt nervous, wondering if he’d notice the doodles she’d scribbled inside.
Thankfully, he only glanced briefly before focusing on the teacher’s speech.
She let out a quiet sigh of relief and continued watching him.
Sunlight streamed in through the classroom windows, filtered by the leaves outside, scattering softly over him. Quiet. Handsome. Serene.
Cheng Simian curved her lips into a smile. Among all the middle-aged parents, he really stood out.
An hour later, the meeting ended.
Parents began filing out. Cheng Simian waited at the classroom door for a long time but didn’t see Su Xianyan come out. When she peeked inside, she found him standing face-to-face with the homeroom teacher, talking about something.
Just as she was thinking of how to interrupt them, Su Xianyan suddenly glanced in her direction.
It was hard to describe that look—authoritative, warning. Somehow, she felt guilty for no reason at all, as if she’d truly been caught doing something wrong.
“Cheng Simian, come in,” the teacher said, motioning her over.
She moved to Su Xianyan’s side.
“What’s wrong?”
The homeroom teacher shot her a glare that clearly said, You still dare ask?
“Mr. Su, I’ve already explained Cheng Simian’s issues to you—sleeping in class, ranking last academically. As parents, you really need to pay attention. If this continues, she’ll never be able to keep up.”
Su Xianyan nodded slightly, his tone modest and calm.
“I understand. We’ll keep an eye on it.”
Cheng Simian slowly frowned. She had only asked Su Xianyan to come as a formality—just to fill the seat—not to get scolded!
“Teacher, you—”
Her temper flared up, and she was just about to go off on the homeroom teacher when her wrist was suddenly wrapped in a warm hand.
She froze and looked at Su Xianyan.
He met her gaze calmly, his eyes steady and quiet. In a serious voice, he said,
“She will listen properly in class from now on.”
Cheng Simian: “Huh?”
“What? Any objections?”
Cheng Simian pressed her lips together. Her wrist tingled slightly where he was holding it.
Any objections? Of course there were!
Listening seriously in class was ridiculously hard for her!!
But somehow, his light, casual question left her unable to say a single word of protest.
After hesitating for a long moment, she finally squeezed out,
“Seems like… no problem.”
“Good, then.”
“……”
“Mr. Su, I hope you’ll have a proper talk with Cheng Simian,” the teacher said with a full smile.
“Of course.”
“Alright then, there’s nothing else on my end. You may go.”
Su Xianyan nodded politely and led Cheng Simian out of the classroom.
On the way out, Su Xianyan walked ahead, and Cheng Simian followed behind.
“Hey—what did the teacher say to you just now?”
Su Xianyan opened the car door.
“She talked about your ‘good deeds’ at school.”
“‘Good deeds’…”
Cheng Simian sat in the passenger seat.
“She totally listed all my bad behavior, didn’t she?”
Su Xianyan curved his lips.
“So you know it’s bad behavior.”
“…Anyway, you don’t have to listen to her.”
Su Xianyan’s hand paused on the steering wheel. He turned to look at her.
“Why don’t you listen in class?”
Cheng Simian blinked.
“It’s boring. I want to sleep.”
“You don’t understand it?”
“I’ve never listened, so I don’t know.”
“You’ll listen seriously from now on.”
She gave a roguish grin.
“So you’re really going to follow the teacher and educate me properly?”
Su Xianyan glanced at her.
“At your age, if you’re not studying, what—are you just going to mess around every day? Cheng Simian, I think you should understand what actually matters in your life.”
What… matters.
She felt confused for a moment.
What did matter to her?
Noticing her brief daze, Su Xianyan spoke more gently:
“Even if no one cares about you, even if none of your family is by your side, you still have to be responsible for yourself. Your future life belongs to you alone. Understand?”
Cheng Simian stared at him blankly.
“What…?”
Su Xianyan said quietly,
“Only by becoming better yourself can you make the people who once looked down on you regret it.”