Chapter 295: Mom, I’m Back from Fooling Around
Shi Ziyue had recently started to feel that school wasn’t so bad.
Everything available in Taoyang could also be bought at school. The convenience was almost the same.
With a better mood, studying became easier. Even looking at Li Ruili, whom she usually couldn’t stand, didn’t seem so annoying anymore.
Li Ruili, however, was feeling frustrated.
It wasn’t because of Shi Ziyue, but rather because ever since her family decided not to move to Xindu, her aunt’s family started looking down on them. Even her cousin from that side mocked her on social media.
Unable to take it, she went straight to Shi Ziyue and asked:
“Will our school allow students from other bases to enroll in the future?”
Shi Ziyue was confused. “How would I know?”
Li Ruili spoke as if it were obvious:
“Aren’t you close with Taoyang’s boss? Our school will definitely be managed by her in the future. Can you ask her?”
“Why do you want to know?”
Li Ruili huffed angrily. “My cousin in Xindu doesn’t believe me and mocks me for dreaming too big. He even sent me videos of his school. But I think once our school is fully built, it’ll be ten times better than Xindu’s. When he finds out the truth, he’ll be so jealous that he’ll want to transfer.”
Shi Ziyue shared her sentiment. “Your cousin sounds annoying. It’d be best if he didn’t come to our school.”
Li Ruili, clearly still bitter, nodded furiously. “Right! It’s best if he can’t get in, let him know it’s out of his reach!”
“I’ll ask for you!”
When Su Tao heard the question, she couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s unlikely that we’ll accept students from other bases anytime soon. Your school is already small, and once it’s fully built, it might not even have enough spots for Dongyang’s own students.”
Shi Ziyue was relieved. “The people from Xindu are so annoying, always looking down on others. I don’t want them coming here.”
Then, she suddenly lowered her voice mysteriously. “How’s my brother doing lately?”
Lately, her brother had finally come to his senses and decided to pursue Sister Tao. He even asked her for advice on what girls liked.
What’s wrong with letting Sister Tao take care of him? Her brother had carried so much responsibility for so long—he deserved a break.
Su Tao replied, “He’s super busy in Xindu. Everyone wants to treat him to dinner and get on his good side. Do you need to talk to him?”
Shi Ziyue sighed dramatically. “I just care about him. He has so many old injuries. Even if he doesn’t say anything, he’s probably in pain. Sister Tao, I’m too far away to look after him, so I’ll have to trouble you to take care of him for me.”
Su Tao immediately took this to heart. She didn’t want him suffering in silence.
“Alright, don’t worry.”
That night, when Shi Zijin returned from socializing, Su Tao observed him closely while they ate. She watched for any sign of pain or discomfort… but found none.
Shi Zijin noticed her gaze and swallowed his food before saying,
“I only socialized with men. No women were involved.”
Su Tao blinked, confused. She hadn’t been checking on him for that!
Shi Zijin was worried she wouldn’t believe him. “Even Cen Lao Er can vouch for me. I have another dinner meeting this afternoon—if you want, I can take you along.”
“No, that’s not what I meant… You go ahead and do your thing.”
That afternoon, Su Tao didn’t dare step outside, afraid he’d actually take her along to ‘clear things up.’ She was busy, okay?
The work never ended. On top of that, under Old Mei’s supervision, she was now learning some basic urban planning skills from Zheng Xing.
Just when she thought she could have a peaceful afternoon, Fire Snake showed up.
He handed her a gift box—the one Lei Xing had prepared for her last night.
Su Tao shook her head and refused it. “Sorry, but I’ve already made myself very clear to him.”
Fire Snake looked annoyed, but he suppressed it.
“Boss Su, even if you don’t like our boss, you should at least give him a proper explanation. Just saying ‘we’re not suitable’ is an excuse.”
Su Tao was speechless.
“I don’t think it’s an excuse. Feelings are subjective. I admire and respect Captain Lei, but I don’t have romantic feelings for him. I hope you can understand.”
Fire Snake forcibly shoved the gift box into her hands.
“I don’t care what you think. Our boss went through a lot to get this, and he only wants to give it to you. If you don’t want it, just throw it away.”
Suddenly, the box felt like it was burning in her hands.
“Our boss asked me to pass on a message: he doesn’t mind your rejection, and he won’t give up. You just haven’t seen his sincerity yet. Please give him a chance to… “
Fire Snake tilted his chin toward Shi Zijin’s room. “…compete fairly with him.”
Su Tao felt an incoming storm of drama and her scalp tingled.
Fire Snake’s expression grew serious. “Boss Su, all of us trust you and would be happy to see you with our boss. But that’s not the point. What matters is that he really, truly loves you. To put it bluntly, if you told him to die right now, he’d probably do it first and then realize he’d let his brothers down.”
Su Tao didn’t know what to say. She just stood there, frozen, holding the gift box.
Fire Snake left. She stood at the door for a long time, staring at the box in her hands.
Her head ached. She placed the box down and flopped onto her bed.
She couldn’t deny that Lei Xing’s actions moved her.
But no matter how many times she asked herself—did she like him? Love him? Did he stir her emotions?
The answer was always no. Instead, she only felt guilt for not reciprocating his deep feelings.
Su Tao ruffled her hair in frustration. She glanced at the gift box, deciding she’d return it to Lei Xing and clarify things once more.
At that moment, Little Raven Lingyu suddenly flapped its wings and called out:
“Boss Su! Boss Su!”
Su Tao knew it was mimicking Fire Snake. The little creature had an amazing memory, able to remember words after just a few listens.
She had been taking care of it all this time, worried it would starve, trying everything to get it to eat. If it refused, she’d force-feed it.
Whenever she was free, she talked to it and played with it.
“You’re calling me Boss Su?” She was surprised.
Lingyu seemed pleased.
“Old Xue said… remember your owner’s name.”
Su Tao’s heart softened. Was this its way of acknowledging her?
Just then, Qian Lin knocked on her door.
When she opened it, she saw Qian Lin holding a small basket of golden kumquats.
Su Tao was surprised. “Where did these come from?”
Qian Lin grinned. “One of the seed batches that Captain Song brought contained kumquat seeds. Wu Zhen tried growing them, and they sprouted successfully in just three days! We brought you some to try.”
Su Tao peeled one. It was indeed very sweet.
Noticing Lingyu staring at her, she chuckled and handed it a slice.
Lingyu pecked at it, then tilted its head. “What’s it called?”
“Kumquat.”
“Kumquat, give me one! Kumquat, give me one!”
With its recovery, Lingyu had basically become a bird-shaped noise machine.
Xuedao was so annoyed that he fled to Qian Rongrong’s room for peace.
As for Black Sesame… no one knew where it had gone. The house couldn’t keep it in.
Su Tao suspected it was out fooling around.
She had just thought this when, that night, she heard scratching at the door.
When she opened it, she was completely stunned—
Black Sesame had brought back a long-haired, beautiful white cat.
Even more shocking, the white cat was carrying a barely alive kitten in its mouth!
