Chapter 28 - 27: Fighting and Snatching Over the Beloved
Chapter 28: Chapter 27: Fighting and Snatching Over the Beloved
"Mom, why don’t even you believe me?" Meng Shuyan was on the verge of a breakdown. "Why would I fake something like this? Could I make up a lie about drinking toilet water?"
"Shuyan, it’s not that Mom doesn’t believe you, it’s just... Changying is a good kid; she wouldn’t do something so violent." Xu Zhao Yu had a terrible headache. "Besides, you didn’t even see her on the surveillance footage, so how can you say she did it?"
"A good kid? Zhao Yu, you forget the pain as soon as the scar heals. Have you forgotten how she made you so angry you ended up in the hospital?" Old Madam Xu raised her voice. "Shuyan, your mom is soft-hearted, but Grandma believes you."
"No, with me here today, you can’t spoil Shuyan," Xu Zhao Yu said stubbornly. "Everything requires evidence, and surveillance cameras don’t lie."
Meng Shuyan was so angry he was on the verge of tears. "Mom, she’s solely focused on how to drive you away, yet you’re still speaking up for her."
"Shuyan, don’t talk nonsense!" Xu Zhao Yu’s expression changed. She stood up and said apologetically, "Dad, Mom, it’s my fault for not disciplining my children well. I’ll take them back to the Meng’s home for now."
"Sit down!" Old Sir Xu said coldly. "No one is leaving today!"
Old Madam Xu was both angry and heartbroken. "Zhao Yu, how many times have I told you? Don’t make excuses for others. You have no idea how much malice others harbor against you!"
Just then, Housekeeper Xu respectfully announced, "Mr. Meng has arrived." A gust of wind blew in as a gentle and polite man stepped out of the night and into the living room. He wore a perfectly ironed suit, his face mature and handsome, looking only to be in his early thirties.
"Bai Zhou." Xu Zhao Yu went forward, took his arm, and whispered, "You... you discipline Shuyan. I can’t handle him anymore."
Meng Baizhou pushed up his glasses and asked in a kind voice, "Shuyan, what happened? Don’t make your mom angry; she just got out of the hospital."
"Dad, Shi Changying tore up my five-thousand-yuan poster! She even held my head down in the toilet bowl. I almost suffocated to death! That’s attempted murder!" Meng Shuyan roared. "I didn’t mean to make Mom angry. Everything I said is true."
Meng Baizhou paused. "Could there be some misunderstanding about this?"
"Misunderstanding? There’s no misunderstanding." Old Madam Xu sneered. "Bai Zhou, you haven’t met that girl yet, but surely you know she was the one who scared Zhao Yu into a heart attack? With no one to discipline her since childhood, she’s a rebellious seed."
"Mom, let’s take things one at a time. Didn’t Shuyan already check the surveillance footage?" Meng Baizhou remained composed, though his gaze turned sharp as he looked at Meng Shuyan. "I haven’t even asked you yet—why did you tear up someone else’s book?"
Meng Shuyan’s arrogance vanished instantly. He stammered, "Dad, I..."
"Bai Zhou, don’t frighten Shuyan. How could a book be more important than a person?" Old Madam Xu pulled Meng Shuyan to her side protectively. "Whether Shuyan is lying or not, we’ll know once that girl comes back."
"Shuyan and Shuyu have been home for a while now. Where is she?" Old Sir Xu frowned. "Did she run off to fool around somewhere again?"
Xu Shuyu finally spoke up. "Grandpa, the regular classes have two evening sessions. They don’t finish school until ten o’clock."
Only then did Old Sir Xu’s expression soften.
"Let’s eat first then." Meng Baizhou handed an all-English book to Xu Shuyu. "Shuyu, Dad got someone to buy the book you wanted."
Xu Shuyu remained her usual indifferent self. "Thank you, Dad."
Today, both evening sessions for Senior Year Class 17 were physics.
On the podium, the physics teacher was in high spirits, speaking with sweeping gestures and boundless enthusiasm. The students below, however, looked as if he had sucked all their energy dry. They were completely wilted. Only Shi Changying was paying rapt attention to the lecture, which further fueled the physics teacher’s fighting spirit.
But she failed once again, realizing that physics was even more like a foreign language to her than math. When the physics teacher talked about short circuits, Empress Taichu felt like her brain had short-circuited right along with it.
It was rare to see her look so defeated. Shaoyuan, however, found it highly amusing and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. This was exactly how one should look when studying physics.
Shaoyuan propped his head on one hand and deliberately asked her, "Why the long face? Are you not enjoying the physics class?"
"No," Shi Changying said expressionlessly. "Every sentence he says consists of human words, but when put together, it sounds like gibberish."
As if not expecting such an answer, Shaoyuan burst into laughter, his shoulders shaking slightly.
Shi Changying turned to look at him. "Stop laughing."
"Alright, I won’t laugh." Shaoyuan stopped laughing and didn’t continue to tease her. He tapped his finger on the desk. "So, want to hear some human words?"
Shi Changying glanced at him and took out another cookie, handing it to him. She didn’t speak, but he understood her meaning. If he ate her cookie, he had to tutor her.
"Mhm, you even gave me your favorite treat. How generous." Shaoyuan tapped the desk again and said lazily, "Let’s begin then."
While the physics teacher continued to drain the students’ life force up at the front, Shi Changying began listening to Shaoyuan’s private tutoring. Human words were indeed easier to understand, but physics was truly anti-human. As Shi Changying listened, she eventually grew tired.
Shaoyuan cast a casual glance at her. "Take a break?"
Shi Changying suddenly said, "Emperor Chengtian definitely didn’t know physics."
Suddenly hearing her call out his name from his past life, Shaoyuan narrowed his eyes slightly, wondering what he had done to her this time.
Shi Changying continued, "And he definitely didn’t know English either."
She decided that once she mastered all these subjects, Emperor Chengtian, who was already buried in the dirt, wouldn’t be able to catch up to her even on horseback. She was the most formidable one. Very good.
Seeing her instantly perk up after muttering those two sentences to herself, a hint of amusement surfaced in Shaoyuan’s eyes. He realized he could motivate her in this way, which he found to be quite a novelty.
Shaoyuan didn’t mind. After all, she was his junior—clever and eager to learn. It wouldn’t hurt to indulge her a bit. He turned to the next page of the middle school physics textbook and continued explaining it to her.
After the evening classes ended, the students packed their things to head home.
Lu Mi and Shi Changying walked out of the school gates together. After crossing a street, they arrived at a massive intersection. Traffic flowed endlessly, and the evening lights were just beginning to turn on. While waiting for the red light, Shi Changying looked up at the vast, starry sky.
"Yingying, look! That’s Xie Lin!" Lu Mi suddenly tugged at her sleeve. "He could easily make a living off his looks, but he insists on relying on his talent."
Shi Changying followed her gaze and saw a very young face displayed on the large screen to their front right. He looked elegant and refined, with a temperament as gentle as jade. The most striking feature was his exceptionally beautiful eyes, which were as clear and bright as high-quality colored glaze.
"Isn’t he handsome? And his aura is amazing, too," Lu Mi said in admiration. "People online are still guessing which prominent family he hails from as a noble young master."
Just two steps away, an assistant heard this. He looked over at the young man standing beside him—who was wearing sunglasses, a mask, and a hat—and smiled. "Mr. Xie, it’s a little fan of yours."