Chapter 33 - 32: Shaoyuan: I Just Happen to Like You
Chapter 33: Chapter 32: Shaoyuan: I Just Happen to Like You
"Mom?" Meng Shuyan paused in surprise before looking up with sudden joy. "You believe me?"
"How could I not believe you? You’re my own flesh and blood. If I don’t believe you, who else would I believe?" Xu Zhao Yu’s expression was laden with worry. "But you don’t have any proof. How can you convince anyone with just a one-sided story?"
Meng Shuyan clenched his fists. "Every word I said is true. Who knows how she managed to dodge the security cameras?"
"Shuyan, there’s no point in talking about this now." Xu Zhao Yu gently stroked his hair. "I should apologize for how I treated you yesterday."
"Mom, you don’t need to apologize." Meng Shuyan’s heart warmed. "I know you were looking out for me. You’re already in a difficult position right now, and I only caused you more trouble."
"I’m your mother. How could you ever be a trouble to me?" Xu Zhao Yu feigned anger. "But you’re not allowed to be so impulsive next time. You saw exactly how things ended up yesterday."
Meng Shuyan’s eyes darkened, and his tone turned grim. "Mom, that little bastard was born to a mother but never raised by one. She’s incredibly violent too. She—"
"Silence!" Xu Zhao Yu immediately scolded him. "You only dare say such things in front of me. If your father heard you, do you want to be locked in confinement?"
Meng Shuyan pursed his lips. "I just can’t stand it. What gives her the right? Even my uncle spoke up for her, and how many days has he even known her?"
"That’s because you were in the wrong first, and she even recorded you." Xu Zhao Yu sighed. "Be a good boy, Shuyan. Even if I get kicked out of the Xu family one day, you are still a descendant of the Meng family. It won’t affect you."
"Mom!" Meng Shuyan suddenly looked up, emphasizing every word. "I won’t let you be kicked out of the Xu family."
"Alright, I know you mean well, but you’re still young. Don’t worry about these things," Xu Zhao Yu said with a gratified smile. "Hurry up and go to school. Don’t let your studies fall behind."
Meng Shuyan gave a low murmur of agreement, shouldered his backpack, and headed downstairs.
The first thing he saw was Shi Changying sitting at the dining table, enjoying a feast. He couldn’t even see clearly what food she had picked up before it disappeared into her mouth.
Housekeeper Xu stepped forward to greet him. "Young Master Shuyan, breakfast is ready. Will you—"
"I’m not eating!" Still fuming, Meng Shuyan had no appetite whatsoever. He stormed out the door with a cold expression.
Shi Changying didn’t care how many people’s worth of portions she was eating. Any food she laid her eyes on was destined for her stomach.
Ming Chengli looked at her with a mix of joy and worry. "Changying, having a good appetite is a good thing, but if you keep eating like this, you’ll make yourself sick."
"I won’t." Shi Changying didn’t mention that the Cultivation Technique she practiced could digest any amount of food. "I’m still growing."
Seeing her stand up, Ming Chengli was surprised. "That’s all you’re eating today?"
Shi Changying slung her backpack over her right shoulder and gave a lazy hum of agreement. "I’m saving some room in my stomach for school."
"Changying, since Little Shao treats you to food, you should return the favor," Ming Chengli called out after her. "I put some money in your backpack. Treating him to some candied hawthorn would be a nice gesture."
Shi Changying waved her hand, signaling that she heard him, but whether she actually took his advice to heart was an entirely different matter.
Lu Mi arrived as promised, bringing her a deluxe pork tenderloin flatbread sandwich.
Shi Changying ate while doing her physics exercises.
"Yingying, you’re practically a celebrity in school now," Lu Mi said, resting her chin in her hands as she watched her. "There were seventy or eighty threads discussing you on the forum yesterday."
"What’s a forum?" Shi Changying asked casually.
"Yingying, your past life was too bitter." Lu Mi’s eyes brimmed with tears. "It’s all the Xu family’s fault for carelessly taking the wrong child. Otherwise, how could you have gone hungry and not even know how to use a smartphone?"
Shi Changying’s expression was lazy. "Xiao Mi, you’re overthinking it."
She was simply an ancient person who had only been in the modern era for a week.
"I’m definitely not overthinking it!" Lu Mi was filled with righteous indignation. "Yingying, even if the Xu family doesn’t give you any money, it’s fine. Our First High School has scholarships."
"Scholarships?"
"The top student in the grade gets one hundred thousand!"
Just as Shaoyuan stepped into the classroom, he met Shi Changying’s gaze.
She stared at him unblinking, her eyes dark and profound. Under such a slightly aggressive stare, his pace remained unhurried.
After placing the food bag in his hand on the desk, Shaoyuan leaned back in his chair and asked her, "What? Are you going to eat me?"
His words were loose and lazy, but they struck fear into Lu Mi’s heart.
Shi Changying withdrew her gaze and pushed her workbook forward. "I’ve finished."
Shaoyuan casually flipped through a few pages. "You have a strong ability to learn."
Shi Changying raised an eyebrow. "My teacher used to say that too, but I didn’t want to learn back then."
The year she ascended the throne and became the emperor, she appointed a Grand Secretary and honored the Imperial Tutor.
Her Grand Secretary, who had reached the highest echelon of power at such a young age, had said to her, "Your Majesty’s ability to learn is incredibly strong. If you wish to study the Four Books and Five Classics, given time, you could even debate with the great scholars of the Hanlin Academy, and they would not be able to find any faults in your arguments."
She had only replied with three words: "I will not."
This answer didn’t surprise him. He seemed to chuckle helplessly and didn’t try to persuade her any further, simply indulging her. "Then, please leave it all to me."
And so, she continued to lead the army in battle, while he suppressed the civil servants on her behalf.
"What are your thoughts on it now?" A careless tone pulled her back from her reverie.
Shi Changying looked up. "I want to be the top student in the grade."
Their eyes met once more, and Shaoyuan quietly returned her gaze.
How should he describe such a look? Fiercely ambitious, outrageously confident. She was truly too arrogant, yet she also knew exactly how to showcase all her capabilities.
Shaoyuan suddenly smiled and spoke in an unhurried manner, "I happen to like you—"
Lu Mi’s eyes widened instantly.
"—being this driven." Shaoyuan paused, his smile deepening. "Therefore, we’ll have extra practice today."
Lu Mi’s eyes shrank back to their normal size. She was the one who had gotten the wrong idea. She was guilty; she repented!
Meanwhile, in Class 9 of the senior year.
Meng Shuyan clearly noticed that many of his classmates were frequently turning back to look at him. Their gazes left him feeling both embarrassed and irritated, but there was nothing he could do to stop them. He could only sit in his seat and sulk.
The boy sharing his desk poked him in the arm. "Shuyan, did you see the threads on the school forum?"
Meng Shuyan was highly impatient. "No, I didn’t. What’s so interesting about them?"
"Well, there really isn’t much to see. They’re just sprouting nonsense anyway," the boy said. "If you do read them, don’t get mad. Just laugh it off."
Even without looking, Meng Shuyan knew exactly what the gossiping crowd would say about him.
After one class period, he still couldn’t resist logging into the school forum. The most popular thread had already garnered over a thousand replies.
Meng Shuyan clicked it open, briefly skimmed through a few pages, and then scrolled to the latest reply.
[Reply 1012]: Just throwing a conspiracy theory out there. Maybe Mrs. Meng has known for a long time that she isn’t the biological daughter of the Xu family. Fearing her status was in jeopardy, she instigated her own child to do this.