Chapter 243 | Chapter 244 | Chapter 245
Chapter 243: Eavesdropping
Not having to go to school over the weekend was a massive stroke of luck for Wei Xiao.
Because of those two damned submissions, his situation at Mingde had become somewhat—no, scratch that—exceedingly awkward.
If the students of Class Two hadn’t been so indifferent to the matter, Wei Xiao probably wouldn’t even have been able to attend class normally.
He was someone who naturally enjoyed using emotional manipulation to break others, yet ever since his return to the country, whether it was Yu Yuan or Gu Qinghuan, they had handed him quite a few setbacks.
By relying on such tactics, Wei Xiao himself was exceptionally sensitive to the gazes and emotions of those around him. As a result, now that he was the one under the microscope, the watchful eyes of the crowd had become a constant source of irritation.
But either way, he had brought it entirely upon himself. If Gu Qinghuan knew, she would only applaud his misery.
To change his mood, Wei Xiao had come to a simple luncheon today.
Most of the attendees were ladies from various prominent families, and naturally, some brought along their young ladies and masters. Wei Xiao took this opportunity to mingle with the few sycophants who still fawned over him.
However, Wei Xiao noticed that the ladies had gathered in a tight circle, seemingly engaged in a high-spirited discussion about something.
“Have you heard?”
“Are you talking about that?”
“Exactly that!”
As soon as this code-like exchange finished, the ladies clenched their fists in excitement. “She finally found her daughter!”
To maintain their decorum, they merely offered a polite, muted round of applause.
“Oh my, it really hasn’t been easy. How many years has it been since Little Yu arrived in our city?”
“Five years, right? She wasn’t very experienced when she first came, but now she’s at the absolute peak of her field.”
“But she’s still such a wonderful person. Last time, my cousin begged me to ask her for a recipe for stewed pig’s trotters. I was almost too embarrassed to ask.”
“Ah, the soy-braised pig’s trotters? Those are delicious! Did you get the recipe? Can you send me a copy?”
“Is this the time to be talking about food? You bunch of gluttons!”
“Back when I was doing my post-partum confinement, she even helped me tear into that horde of freeloading relatives my husband invited over. It still feels satisfying just thinking about it.”
“Me too! Right after my divorce, I was completely overwhelmed. When she found out, she came over specifically to help me with chores for a while so I could steady the company’s situation.”
“Why isn’t Little Luo here today? She’s usually the most eager whenever Little Yu is mentioned.”
“I heard her say she was going to back Little Yu up today, so she couldn’t make it. By the way, did you know? Little Yu’s daughter is actually that ‘fake heiress’ of the Yu family!”
The ladies let out a collective gasp. Those familiar with the situation immediately filled in the blanks for the ones who were out of the loop regarding the Yu family’s true and fake daughter fiasco.
“That girl named Yu Yuan? I’ve seen her before. I felt… how should I put it…”
“The Yu family sure doesn’t know how to raise a child.”
“But after the real heiress returned, the two daughters seemed to get along quite well? I saw them together at another gathering before.”
“I saw them at the wine tasting last time too. I felt Yu Yuan had changed quite a bit.”
“Speaking of which, didn’t Little Yu block a slap for Yu Yuan at the wine tasting? Did she already know Yu Yuan was her daughter back then?”
“The one who threw the slap was Cui Wanning. Tsk tsk, a biological mother and a foster mother really are different.”
“Hey, do you think the Yu family will cause trouble for Little Yu?”
This question instantly triggered the ladies’ alertness. They exchanged glances and rapidly reached a conclusion: given the Yu family’s track record, it was highly probable.
How could they allow that! A mother had finally reunited with her child after so much hardship; they deserved to live in peace and harmony!
The ladies decisively sprang into action. They would protect Yu Wenxiu’s happiness themselves! Consider it a way to repay the kindness Yu Wenxiu had shown them in the past.
On the other side, under the comforting words of his fair-weather friends, Wei Xiao finally managed to readjust his mindset.
He felt a bit hungry and was about to go grab a baguette sandwich when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Xu Zhishu slipping away from the crowd, her steps hurried.
Where was she going? What was she doing?
Normally, Wei Xiao wouldn’t care less about Xu Zhishu’s whereabouts, but lately, she had been treating him with cold indifference at home.
On nights when his father was away, Xu Zhishu would return very late and never tell him where she had been.
Swept with curiosity, Wei Xiao ultimately gave the others the slip and stealthily followed her.
He had no real experience with tailing someone, but he knew enough to lighten his steps and maintain a distance. Fortunately, Xu Zhishu didn’t go indoors; instead, she headed toward a secluded corner of the venue.
Before Wei Xiao could get any closer, he heard Xu Zhishu’s voice. “Have you given it some thought?”
Wei Xiao halted decisively, finding a spot that hid his frame to eavesdrop on the conversation.
“What’s the rush?” The male voice conversing with Xu Zhishu sounded thoroughly nonchalant. “Are you that eager for a divorce?”
Divorce? Wei Xiao couldn’t help but widen his eyes. Xu Zhishu wanted to divorce his father?!
“I’m not in a rush to divorce; I just want to ensure that you will assist me.” Xu Zhishu’s tone was icy. “It’s been so long. Don’t you think it’s time you gave me a straight answer?”
The man grew distinctly impatient. “Like I said, as long as you bring something tangible to the table, I’ll agree to it.”
Xu Zhishu fell silent for a long moment. Just as Wei Xiao began to think she had walked away, he heard her speak. “April 13th, 7:30 PM, Room 302.”
The man’s voice instantly became sharp and severe. “How do you know about that!”
Yet, even Wei Xiao could hear how hollow and panicked the man’s bravado actually was.
Having delivered her strike, Xu Zhishu’s voice took on a fierce edge of its own. “So, are you going to help me or not?”
This time it was the man’s turn to fall silent. After quite a while, he said in a low voice, “Fine. I will come find you next week.”
Xu Zhishu didn’t say anything else, but Wei Xiao heard the sound of footsteps. He quickly shrank into the shadows. Only after confirming that both Xu Zhishu and the man had departed did he step out from his hiding place.
Xu Zhishu wanted a divorce and was relying on a man’s help, and she seemed to hold a secret that was incredibly serious to that man… The revelation came so suddenly that Wei Xiao felt entirely at a loss.
Only after he left the area did two figures emerge from another corner.
“Young Master, are we just going to let Wei Xiao leave like that?” one of them asked through his earpiece.
“Let him go. I’m still counting on him to stir up some drama,” Xia He replied casually.
No matter how much of a piece of trash Xia Xiuzhu was, he still came from the Xia family. When meeting secretly with Xu Zhishu, he would naturally arrange for men to monitor the perimeter to prevent discovery.
With Wei Xiao’s amateur skills, who could he possibly fool? If Xia He hadn’t planted his own people around Xia Xiuzhu early on, Wei Xiao would have been caught and dragged right before Xia Xiuzhu’s eyes.
While that sounded amusing, it wouldn’t have been of much use.
Xu Zhishu no longer counted on this son of hers. Even if Xia Xiuzhu used Wei Xiao to threaten her, she wouldn’t make any concessions; at most, it would just rupture their mother-son relationship ahead of schedule.
And Xia Xiuzhu had plenty of ways to make Wei Xiao shut up and remain silent in front of Wei Yan—but where was the fun in that?
Naturally, it was far more entertaining to let Wei Xiao discover Xu Zhishu’s schemes so he could go back and cause a scene!
Therefore, Xia He had considerately instructed his men not to expose Wei Xiao’s presence, and even went as far as to help wipe his traces from the surveillance cameras along the way.
However, this was merely a small interlude. If it proved useful, great; if not, it didn’t matter.
What he cared about more was the sentence Xu Zhishu had spoken. A date, a time, a location. Even if it was vague, it wasn’t completely impossible to investigate.
For information to make Xia Xiuzhu this defensive, it had better not disappoint his expectations.
Chapter 244: Unshakable
Wei Xiao did not head home with Xu Zhishu. She had left with a few ladies she had been associating with recently, and Wei Xiao didn’t bother to ask what it was about.
In fact, his mind was currently so consumed by the few sentences Xu Zhishu had spoken that he had absolutely no mental capacity to think about anything else.
One moment he was wondering why Xu Zhishu wanted to divorce his father, and the next he was trying to figure out who the man speaking with her was, and what exactly that date and room number signified.
He was so deeply preoccupied that the car had already been parked for quite a while, and it took two reminders from the driver before Wei Xiao snapped out of it and got out of the vehicle in a slight panic.
However, he quickly regretted it. Perhaps he should have followed Xu Zhishu’s example and found a few people to hang out with instead of going home.
This was because his father was actually home, and Wei Xiao had no idea how to face him.
He offered a vague greeting. “Dad, you’re back quite early today.”
Wei Yan was lying back on the sofa with his eyes closed, appearing thoroughly intoxicated and reeking of alcohol.
Hearing Wei Xiao’s voice, he didn’t even sit up to look at his son. He merely gave a small wave of his hand in Wei Xiao’s direction as a token acknowledgment.
Wei Xiao secretly let out a sigh of relief. “I’ll head up to my room first.”
With that, he prepared to walk toward the staircase, but before his hand could touch the banister, Wei Yan’s voice rang out.
“Oh, by the way, son,” perhaps due to the alcohol, Wei Yan’s voice sounded much thicker and heavier than usual, “I have something to ask you.”
Wei Xiao’s nerves instantly strung tight. “What is it?”
Wei Yan opened his eyes halfway, looked at Wei Xiao, and gestured for him to come over.
With things as they were, Wei Xiao could only walk back and sit opposite Wei Yan.
Wei Yan sat up slightly. His gaze was still a bit unfocused, but his speech was reasonably coherent. “The engagement between our family and the Yu family has been officially called off.”
“It was originally just a verbal agreement between your mother and Madame Yu anyway; it didn’t amount to much. In a few days, your mother will take some gifts to the Yu family to officially notify them, but you don’t need to go.”
Although he had known about this for a while, hearing the news directly from his father’s mouth still gave Wei Xiao a bit of a shock. “Is it really called off?”
“You probably don’t know yet, do you?” Wei Yan spared him a casual glance. “The daughter the Yu family originally intended to arrange an engagement with you for is actually their foster daughter. She found her biological mother and has decided to leave the Yu family.”
The main reason Wei Yan found out about this news so quickly was that when Yu Wenli went to the hospital on Friday night, he happened to run into someone he was on bad terms with.
When a rival gets admitted to the hospital, one naturally has to pry into the details. Consequently, word got out that Yu Wenli’s elbow had been dislocated from being beaten by Yu Yuan.
With a bit more digging, the matter of Yu Yuan and Yu Wenxiu was no longer a secret.
Although the exact details hadn’t leaked, the fact that Yu Yuan had chosen Yu Wenxiu was already set in stone.
Wei Yan had never held much interest in Yu Yuan to begin with. Now that he learned she had actually abandoned her life with the Yu family to live with a biological mother who worked as a nanny, he looked down on her even more.
Since that was the case, it was better to just cancel the engagement directly.
Wei Yan was also aware of Yu Xin’s existence and even knew her academic performance was exceptional. However, according to his worldview, what was the use of a woman being so smart? Wouldn’t she still have to get married and have children eventually?
To Wei Yan, intelligence was not an advantage; he only felt that because Yu Xin was brought back at such an old age, her previous family environment would have negatively impacted her upbringing.
What kind of woman couldn’t his son find? Why stick stubbornly to the Yu family? They might as well just drop it and forget about a marriage alliance with them.
Hearing Wei Yan speak this way, Wei Xiao knew that once his father made a decision, there was no room for negotiation.
Moreover, just as his father said, he could easily choose a marriage alliance with another prominent family.
The problem was—it felt too incredibly frustrating!
Ever since he returned to the country, hadn’t he suffered setbacks at the hands of girls far too many times? Now he had to just give up directly? What about the anger he had swallowed previously? Was he just supposed to let it go?!
Under the influence of alcohol, Wei Yan didn’t notice the look on Wei Xiao’s face. However, not hearing a reply after a long moment, he assumed his son was reluctant to break off the engagement and offered a casual piece of advice.
“It’s not like this is your first time having a girlfriend. You’ll always meet better ones in the future; there’s no need to fixate on this current one,” Wei Yan said.
He was indeed quite drunk, even bringing up his own situation to console his son. “Look at your mother, wasn’t she also someone I found later…”
Wasn’t it because Xu Zhishu got pregnant with me that you chose to marry her? Wei Xiao muttered in his heart.
Then he thought of Xu Zhishu’s intention to get a divorce, and couldn’t resist asking, “Have you ever considered getting me a new mom?”
Under normal circumstances, Wei Yan would definitely have become alert and wondered why Wei Xiao was asking this. But right now, he didn’t think deeply at all and merely let out a couple of chuckles. “Why get a new one? Hasn’t she been quite sensible all these years?”
Wei Yan’s requirements for a wife weren’t high—as long as she didn’t cause trouble for him, she was fine. Xu Zhishu had done an excellent job in this regard, and occasionally she could even help him build connections.
On top of that, Xu Zhishu possessed great self-awareness. Even if she discovered Wei Yan had other women outside, she could always be appeased as long as he gave her money.
And the one thing Wei Yan lacked least was money. He quite enjoyed this state of “keeping the red flag flying at home while keeping colorful flags fluttering outside.”
Wei Xiao understood his father’s smugness, and because of this, he was even more bewildered by Xu Zhishu’s desire for a divorce—what on earth was she after?
He asked probing partway, “What if Mom wants a divorce…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Wei Yan had already burst out laughing.
He collapsed back onto the sofa. The drunkenness washed over him once more, making his speech increasingly incoherent. “Divorce? How would she dare… Back then, if it weren’t for me… she, Zhu Yuanyuan…”
Before Wei Yan could finish his sentence, he drifted off to sleep, even beginning to snore.
Zhu Yuanyuan? Or Zhu Yuan-yuan? Just by listening, it was impossible to tell which exact characters they were.
However, judging by Wei Yan’s words, this “Zhu Yuanyuan” very likely referred to Xu Zhishu.
Could it be that this was Xu Zhishu’s former name?
Come to think of it, he had never heard Xu Zhishu speak about her family.
When he was a child, other kids had maternal grandparents, but he only had paternal ones, which had made Wei Xiao very dissatisfied.
He had asked Xu Zhishu about it, but her only response was a very crisp and curt “I don’t have any.”
From childhood to adulthood, he had never heard Xu Zhishu speak about her past. Thinking about it now, that was highly abnormal, wasn’t it?
It was as if she didn’t want to have any connection whatsoever with her own past.
After a whole conversation with Wei Yan, none of Wei Xiao’s doubts were resolved; in fact, they seemed to multiply instead.
He called over a servant to take Wei Yan back to his room to rest, then returned to his own room and sat down at his desk, sinking into thought.
Wei Yan had said “how would she dare,” so in his eyes, Xu Zhishu shouldn’t dare to divorce him, right? He also knew about Xu Zhishu’s past—did he hold some leverage over her?
But the reality was that Xu Zhishu wanted a divorce and had even sought out that man… It was evident that the man’s status or power was something Wei Yan definitely couldn’t withstand.
After pondering for a long time, Wei Xiao suddenly realized something.
Regarding his mother’s departure, he surprisingly didn’t care at all.
It was actually quite normal. After all, whether he had a mother or not didn’t seem to impact him much; the important thing was that he was his father’s son.
As long as this point remained unchanged, his position was unshakable, and everything in the Wei family would sooner or later belong to him.
If Wei Yan married a new wife, he would simply have a new mother. So, there was nothing to care about.
Thinking this way, Wei Xiao suddenly lost interest. It seemed there was no need to understand the reasons behind Xu Zhishu’s divorce after all.
He got up from his desk and tossed himself onto his bed instead.
He might as well think about how to exact revenge for the grievances he had suffered. Yu Yuan was no longer a child of the Yu family now. Without the Yu family protecting her, couldn’t he use her as a plaything to amuse himself?
Chapter 245: Compensation
It was another unpleasant Monday. Gu Qinghuan dragged herself out of bed solely on the strength of her sheer obsession with black rice rolls. The rice was steamed perfectly—fragrant and sticky, coated in soft white sugar blended with black sesame powder. Deep inside, there was an assortment of fillings.
The filling combination Gu Qinghuan always requested consisted of chopped pickled mustard tubers, diced ham sausage, and crispy fried dough bits. Compared to a whole fried dough stick, ham sausage suited her preferences much better, and the small crispy bits provided a crunchier, richer texture.
Sitting on the bus, her mind reeled with thoughts of getting more sleep. She could barely keep her eyes open while munching on her black rice roll when a sudden tap on her shoulder startled her.
Looking up, she saw it was actually Yu Yuan.
Yu Yuan looked at her with an expression of pure admiration. “You can actually eat while asleep?”
“Who said I was asleep?” Gu Qinghuan forced herself to perk up. “I’m not asleep, just a little drowsy. Besides, how can anyone eat while asleep? Wouldn’t that be a total waste of food!”
Yu Yuan thought to herself: As expected of Gu Qinghuan, eating always comes first.
Having spoken a bit, Gu Qinghuan felt much more awake. “By the way, what are you doing here?”
“My mom has been incredibly busy lately and doesn’t have time to drop me off or pick me up. So starting today, I’m taking the bus to school.” Yu Yuan had boarded the bus later than Gu Qinghuan, and since there were no empty seats left, she stood right next to her.
“You and your mom are going to be swamped with a mountain of things to handle next.” Just thinking about the Yu family made Gu Qinghuan feel exhausted.
“It’s actually fine,” Yu Yuan said with a beam. “Yesterday, a lot of aunties called my mom. Once they learned about her situation, they all offered to help. Today, one of the aunties went along with my mom to meet the lawyer Jiang Chuchu recommended.”
Hearing this, Gu Qinghuan’s mind put at ease.
Parents’ matters should be left to the parents. As long as their group of kids remained physically and mentally healthy, it would lift a massive weight off their parents’ shoulders.
Having finished her rice roll, Gu Qinghuan stood up to swap places with Yu Yuan. Yu Yuan initially wanted to refuse, but Gu Qinghuan firmly pressed her down, leaving her no choice but to sit.
The two of them got off the bus together and ran straight into Jiang Chuchu at the school gate.
Jiang Chuchu was just about to wonder how the two of them had ended up together when she remembered that Yu Yuan had moved out of the Yu residence. Without a car to ferry her around, taking the bus was her only option.
She quickly smoothed over her expression, offering a calm greeting. “Morning.”
“Morning,” Yu Yuan nodded.
“Are you settling into the new house okay?” Jiang Chuchu asked. She was also aware that Song Yi’s family had gifted a villa to Yu Wenxiu.
“It’s great.” Yu Yuan nodded quickly, then seemed to recall something as she asked cautiously, “Um, can I have lunch with a few classmates from your class today?”
She actually really wanted to treat them, but the second floor of the Mingde cafeteria was a bit too expensive for her current budget.
On Saturday morning, all of Yu Yuan’s cards had been frozen. Although Yu Wenxiu had set up a new card for her and transferred some money over, Yu Yuan wanted to economize as much as possible.
“Do you have something to discuss?” Jiang Chuchu arched an eyebrow. “Fine, then it’s my treat.”
“No, no, how can I let you pay…” Yu Yuan tried desperately to stop her, but before she could finish, another voice interjected from the side, “What’s this about a treat?”
Yu Xin had just walked over and caught the tail end of Jiang Chuchu offering to host, prompting her to ask out of curiosity.
“Yu Yuan wants to have a meal with a few people from our class,” Gu Qinghuan explained at the right moment.
Yu Xin spoke up immediately, “Then I’ll pay. Let’s just have it on the second floor of the cafeteria.”
Seeing that Yu Yuan was about to refuse, Yu Xin quickly added, “I am the older sister, after all. A younger sister has to listen to her older sister.”
Yu Yuan felt like laughing but was also deeply moved. She said in a quiet voice, “I’ve already left the Yu family.”
“Does leaving mean you’re no longer my sister?” Yu Xin said as if it were a matter of course.
Thus, with Yu Xin footing the bill at noon, they booked a small private room on the second floor of the cafeteria. Aside from Gu Qinghuan, Jiang Chuchu, and Yu Xin, Yu Yuan had also invited Song Yi and Xie Xiangxue.
When Xie Xiangxue received the invitation, she was utterly bewildered. “Why is Yu Yuan inviting me?”
The others honestly shook their heads, though Gu Qinghuan had a slight inkling. However, before Yu Yuan revealed the answer, she didn’t intend to say it aloud.
Yu Yuan was the last to enter the private room, carrying several cups of milk tea in her hands. She distributed one to each person. “Since my sister is treating us to the meal, let me treat everyone to a drink.”
While she couldn’t afford a full meal, buying milk tea was no problem at all.
Yu Yuan had specifically asked Gu Qinghuan beforehand, ordering flavors that matched everyone’s usual preferences. As for Xie Xiangxue’s cup, she took it and walked right up to her.
As she handed it over, Yu Yuan said with complete sincerity, “Back when the first semester of tenth grade just started, I talked nonsense in front of Lin Xiaoxue and caused you a great deal of trouble. I am so sorry.”
Xie Xiangxue widened her eyes. “Oh, so it’s because of that. If you hadn’t brought it up, I would have completely forgotten about it.”
Gu Qinghuan remembered it too. Back then, Xie Xiangxue had accidentally spilled water on Yan Zhengqing, and Lin Xiaoxue had misunderstood, thinking she had feelings for him, which caused a huge scene.
Truth be told, the origin of Xie Xiangxue’s most desperate fate was the spilling incident; Lin Xiaoxue’s misunderstanding had merely poured fuel on the fire.
Yu Yuan stood with her hands clasped tightly in front of her, her fingernails pressing deep marks into the back of her hands. “I know what I did back then was wrong. A long time has passed, so an apology might not mean much…”
“I want to compensate you. If there is anything I can do, please just tell me. I will absolutely do it.”
Yu Yuan could have defended herself by explaining that her closeness with Lin Xiaoxue back then was purely due to Cui Wanning’s demands.
Yan Zhengqing had taken a liking to Lin Xiaoxue, so as long as Yu Yuan remained Lin Xiaoxue’s friend, she could indirectly gain Yan Zhengqing’s favor.
Therefore, to ensure that Yan Zhengqing and Lin Xiaoxue stayed together, Yu Yuan naturally had to do everything in her power to eliminate any volatile factors—acting exactly like a supporting antagonist who fans the flames beside the female lead in a novel.
However, voicing such a defense would only make her look worse, making it seem as though she was making excuses for her actions.
Yu Yuan wanted to acknowledge her mistake and offer a tangible apology. As the victim, Xie Xiangxue had no obligation to understand her past self, who had acted as an oppressor.
She bowed her head, so anxious she could hear her own heartbeat, her gaze fixed on Xie Xiangxue’s knees until Xie Xiangxue reached her hand out toward her.
“If you pinch any harder, you’re going to break the skin.” Xie Xiangxue pulled Yu Yuan’s hands up, forcing them apart.
“Actually, I think even without you, Lin Xiaoxue would have found out about that matter anyway. And given the way her brain works, the exact same thing would have happened even if you hadn’t egged her on,” Xie Xiangxue said.
The others around them nodded in agreement. After all, Yan Zhengqing and Lin Xiaoxue were universally recognized as the resident lunatics of Class Three.
“The class monitor and the others already helped me resolve everything back then. And later on, when our class faced off against Class Twelve, you helped us out too. So let’s just call it even.” Xie Xiangxue patted the back of Yu Yuan’s hand. “I don’t blame you, so you don’t need to feel guilty anymore.”
Yu Yuan felt a bit at a loss. “But, but…”
“No buts,” Xie Xiangxue said firmly, extending a finger to point straight at the tip of Yu Yuan’s nose. “If you really want to do something, then go face Wei Xiao!”
She gazed intently at Yu Yuan, her eyes shining brightly. “Deal with that cockroach properly! Don’t lose to him, and don’t lose to anyone who wants to use you or bully you. Spend every single day happily with the people who cherish you—that’s all!”
Yu Yuan’s nose tingled with emotion. She sniffled, nodding vigorously. “I understand! I won’t lose to him! If he tries to bully me again, I-I’ll just punch him right back!”
As she spoke, she even swung her fist in the air.
Song Yi clapped his hands loudly. “Great! I’ll teach you another move after school today!”
Yu Yuan couldn’t help but smile. In her heart, she quietly made a resolution: she would become stronger, sharper, and more capable.
Then, sooner or later, she would also be able to help others just like this.
