Chapter 501 - 172: An 80s Drama Queen is Forced to Perform as a Top Student (7)
Chapter 501: Chapter 172: An 80s Drama Queen is Forced to Perform as a Top Student (7)
Sheng Leyun was worldly and experienced, having even undergone specialized training in observing people. This made her incredibly sensitive and keenly perceptive of human emotions.
She could sense that something was very wrong with Xiao Xuezhen’s smile and tone.
’Perhaps Xiao Xuezhen has been under a lot of stress these past two days, causing his hypocritical facade to crack. Or maybe he thinks I’m just a child and that the things he does are so secretive that a little girl could never guess, so he allows himself these subtle emotional tells?’
Either way, Sheng Leyun strongly suspected that Sheng Xibao’s death wasn’t a simple matter. It had to be closely related to Xiao Xuezhen!
Even if that weren’t the case, she felt the original owner’s father shouldn’t have sacrificed his own life only to leave behind such a menace.
No one with a shred of conscience would take in their savior’s wife and daughter only to treat them like this. And it seemed he even wanted to keep the mother but get rid of the child!
The incident had happened several years ago, making it difficult for Sheng Leyun to investigate. Besides, she was still just a child, which made getting things done rather inconvenient.
She also believed that time made people let their guard down. ’Perhaps if I raise hell every day and make him hate my guts, he’ll eventually slip up and reveal the truth.’
Today, they were going to the Lan Family. Sheng Leyun changed into a matching set that the body’s previous owner had altered from one of her mother’s old dresses: a white shirt with a red floral print and a matching pleated skort with an elastic waistband.
The little girl had been truly nimble-fingered and clever; no one had taught her these things, she had figured them all out on her own.
She knew that they were going to study in Xiahua’s Capital City and that her mother didn’t plan on bringing many of her old clothes.
So, while Ren Xingchen was in a good mood, the little girl had timidly made her request and, to her surprise, received permission.
And so, the girl had hand-sewn several outfits for herself. Surprisingly, they even seemed to align with future fashion trends!
Although the girl was small and thin, she was long-limbed, and the clothes gave her a rather delicate and pretty look.
Seeing that they were ready, Xiao Xuezhen prepared to give them a ride on his bicycle over to the Lan Family’s house.
Sheng Leyun stared at the top tube of the bicycle with a look of utter refusal. "Either give me money and I’ll take the bus, or have your wife sit on the crossbar. I’ll take the back rack!"
Ren Xingchen’s face flushed. "What kind of things are you saying? Why must you oppose everything we do?"
"You never see adults riding on the crossbar! Wouldn’t that be completely mortifying?"
"Stop making a scene and hurry up and get on. We need to pick them up and then we can go shopping!"
"Your Mr. Xiao already spoke to the principal. You’re starting school on Monday, so we also need to go to the department store later to buy you some school supplies."
She and Xiao Xuezhen had discussed how to handle Sheng Leyun the day before. They had ultimately decided that, in material terms, they would provide for her at the same level as children from any other family.
Of course, the living standards for their own children, Xiao Hailan and Xiao Haiyang, would be higher. That was easy enough to explain to outsiders—they had retired maternal grandparents from the state sector who helped support them.
No one could find fault with that arrangement. But with three children living under one roof, such a disparity in living standards could easily breed jealousy and twist a child’s mind.
What Xiao Xuezhen excelled at was comprehensively crushing his enemies.
Sheng Leyun’s sullen expression didn’t change; she refused to compromise in the slightest.
"No way. I am not sitting on that crossbar!"
"And what about coming back? There’s only one bicycle."
Xiao Xuezhen explained, "We’ll take the bus into the city from the Lan Family’s house. After we’re done, we’ll take the bus back home. I’ll come pick up the bicycle tomorrow around noon..."
"Don’t worry," he added sarcastically, "I won’t make you and your mother run alongside it."
Sheng Leyun held out her hand, sticking to her original plan. "I’ll take the bus."
That signature gesture of brazenly demanding money made a vein throb on Xiao Xuezhen’s forehead. ’Truly, women and petty people are the most difficult to handle!’
He was running out of patience. "Fine, then you’d better be quick. The Lan grandparents don’t like people who aren’t punctual."
As he spoke, he pulled a wad of cash from his pocket. Under Sheng Leyun’s contemptuous gaze, his fingers moved from a ten-cent note to a fifty-cent one. "The fare is ten cents. Take the number 3 bus from across the road and get off at the seventh stop, the Chemical Plant’s Second Dormitory. Just ask around for Lan Hongqi’s place."
Sheng Leyun nodded, plucked a one-yuan bill from his hand, and said with a grin, "There. Consider the change a little bonus from me, for giving you newlyweds some alone time."
Xiao Xuezhen’s mouth twitched. ’This girl is exactly like Sheng Xibao. When it comes to money, she takes stinginess to a whole new level. It’s like she’s never seen cash before—it only flows in, never out.’
With the money in hand, Sheng Leyun walked toward the bus stop across the street as the couple watched.