Chapter 50: Second Pitch
“You’re saying you want to live at school for a while?” Yu Wenli looked at Yu Xin with surprise.
Yu Xin tried to keep her tone calm. “Yes. There’s less than half a month before the first monthly exams. I want to save travel time and focus all my energy on studying.”
It was a bit of a flimsy excuse—after all, from the Yu home to the school was just over twenty minutes, hardly enough to save much time in a day.
But that wasn’t what Yu Wenli cared about. He still remembered Yu Xin’s previous results—already in the second half of her final junior high year, with the high school entrance exam looming, and her scores still so low. Truly disappointing.
Since Yu Xin now seemed to have some ambition, regardless of the eventual results, Yu Wenli felt her attitude was decent, and there was no reason to object.
He said casually, “Suit yourself. But… does Mingde High have dormitories?”
“No. But Chuchu has her own private rest room, and she’s willing to lend it to me,” Yu Xin replied.
At the mention of “Chuchu,” Yu Wenli perked up. “Oh, you mean Jiang Chuchu?”
“Yes.” Yu Xin’s wording remained very formal.
For the Jiang family’s young lady to lend out her personal rest room—seemed this daughter of his wasn’t completely without merit.
Yu Wenli gave her another look. “How did you get her to agree?”
Yu Xin paused, then said, “She found a kitten at school and asked me to help her take care of it.”
Yu Wenli was a little surprised, but thought it wasn’t impossible.
Pick up a cat on a whim but don’t want to spend the time or effort to care for it—when Yu Yuan was little, she had been the same. She once brought home a cat, but later, Cui Wanning disliked the shedding and, while Yu Yuan was out, threw it away.
Yu Yuan had sulked for two days, but after Yu Jin took her to the zoo, she forgot all about the cat.
“Why not keep it at home?” Yu Wenli asked.
As long as Jiang Chuchu still remembered the cat—or even if she forgot, as long as someone mentioned it later—it would keep her feeling indebted. That’s how favors worked: accumulated bit by bit, seemingly meaningless at the time, but potentially useful in crucial moments.
Yu Xin looked up in surprise. “But isn’t Mother allergic to cat fur?”
Cat fur allergy? More like an excuse to avoid having a noisy pet in the house, Yu Wenli thought with disdain.
When his eldest sister had a Linqing lion cat, Cui Wanning had praised it plenty during her visits.
But in front of Yu Xin, Yu Wenli didn’t expose Cui Wanning’s pretense. He just said vaguely, “Keep it in your room and make sure it doesn’t go where your mother stays.”
Yu Xin looked happy, but after thinking it over, she said, “Better to wait until after the monthly exams to bring the cat home.”
She explained, “Right now it still needs frequent milk feedings, even in the middle of the night. If I care for it at school, it won’t disturb anyone’s rest at home.”
This thoughtfulness pleased Yu Wenli; his tone even softened. “Alright. If you need anything, tell Old Zhao to get it ready for you.”
“Yes, thank you, Father.” Yu Xin bowed slightly and left his study.
When Yu Yuan saw Yu Xin come out of their father’s study, she was wary. Seeing her go to find Butler Zhao, Yu Yuan pretended to get water and eavesdropped.
The more she listened, the wider her eyes grew. When Butler Zhao walked away, she grabbed Yu Xin. “You’re going to have a cat?!”
“Not now—at least not until next month.” Yu Xin pulled her hand free.
“And why should you get to have a cat? Mom doesn’t even like them!” Yu Yuan said sharply.
“Father already agreed.” Yu Xin looked at her calmly. “And to be precise, it’s not my cat—it’s Chuchu’s. I’m just helping her care for it.”
Yu Yuan was momentarily speechless, then snapped, “You’ll do anything to curry favor with Jiang Chuchu, huh? Even raising her cat? Do you know how much trouble it is? Shedding, cleaning the litter box—it stinks!”
“I know. I’ve researched it all.” Gu Qinghuan had also taught her a lot about cat care.
Yu Xin met Yu Yuan’s eyes steadily. “I’ll take care of it myself and won’t bother you. Before the monthly exams, I’ll be staying at school, so you won’t have to leave with me in the mornings.”
With that, Yu Xin stepped past her and went to her own room.
Once inside with the door closed, Yu Xin exhaled deeply. Several messages had already popped up in the group chat.
Xia He: Done talking yet?
Xia He: Why haven’t you replied?
Xia He: You failed, didn’t you?
Jiang Chuchu: You’re so annoying…
Xia He: Then don’t read my messages (^^) *
Jiang Chuchu: ???
Jiang Chuchu: Listen here, Xia—this is OUR group. You were added temporarily. Once this is resolved, you’re gone!
Xia He: So is it resolved?
Jiang Chuchu: …
Gu Qinghuan: If all goes well, we can kick him out today.
Xia He: Sis, how could you treat me like this (╥╥)
Yu Xin quickly replied: Father agreed.
Jiang Chuchu: Nice! Kick Xia He out now!
Gu Qinghuan: No rush—Xin Bao, tell us what actually happened first.
Yu Xin then recounted her conversation with Yu Wenli in the chat—and, after thinking it over, added the part with Yu Yuan too.
Jiang Chuchu: That went smoothly! Easy as pie.JPG
Yu Xin: But I had to borrow Chuchu’s name again.
Jiang Chuchu: Borrow away—it’s not like you’re doing anything wrong.
Yu Xin: But it’s always like this… it feels like I’m not making any progress.
Xia He: Hold it. Since when is social capital not capital?
Xia He: If you can use it, then use it. Besides, these days, what can you accomplish entirely alone? Where’s all this shame coming from?
Gu Qinghuan noticed that Xia He always became extra sharp when talking to Yu Xin—no idea why.
Still, she agreed with his philosophy. In the old days, scholars being supported by their mentors was considered admirable. Being recognized and helped by others was also a sign of ability.
True, such power wasn’t always stable, but it was better than not even getting started. The rest could be built through further effort.
Gu Qinghuan felt Yu Xin had just been suppressed too much growing up, her self-esteem too low, making her feel she didn’t deserve things.
She cut off Xia He’s “machine gun” of messages in the group: Alright, we’ve achieved the first goal for now. Be happy.
Yu Xin: Mm! I’m going to pack and move to school!
Gu Qinghuan: In that case, Senior Xia, time to kick you out.
Xia He: !
Xia He: But we’ve only finished the first goal—the rest isn’t done yet!
Gu Qinghuan: We’ll add you back later. Bye, Senior Xia~
You have been removed from the group by “Gu Qinghuan.”
You cannot send messages to a group you have left.
Xia He stared at his phone screen. “Sis is way too cruel!”
