Chapter 88: Don’t Bully Her Because She’s A Girl
The moment his voice subsided, a strong voice came from behind.
“You little brat, don’t you know that it’s manners to visit your elders when you come back?”
Lu Huaiyu spun around.
“Grandfather, Uncle Yan said you’ve been bedridden for a few days now. It’s late, so why are you still up?”
Lu Qishan’s heart skipped a beat. He almost forgot that he was ‘unwell’. He curled his fist in front of his mouth and coughed. “Yeah, I’m unwell, but I can’t sleep either.”
As Lu Huaiyu stared at the man, Lu Qishan looked away out of guilt.
“Uh, Old Master feels better already.” Fang Qingyun quickly came in and eased the awkward situation. “He’s happy now that you are back, Second Master. When he’s happy, his body also feels better!”
“Yeah, yeah! That’s it!” Lu Qishan nodded repeatedly.
Lu Huaiyu grinned softly. “If that’s the case, why don’t we call Brother back? I believe that you will feel a lot better with the both of us here.”
Lu Qishan grunted. “Don’t even mention that kid! It’s even more difficult to contact him than calling you back.”
“I supposed it’s because you forced him into a blind date and urged him to get married the other time.”
Back then, Lu Huaiyu had still been in Yunzhou, and he heard that his brother had fled the house at night due to an important mission. He had not been back since then.
“He isn’t young anymore!” Lu Qishan was exasperated at his elder grandson.
While both his grandsons were outstanding, they had never been in a relationship even until now.
“Don’t end up like your brother! The longer you stay single, the harder it will be for you to get married!”
Lu Huaiyu smiled. “You don’t need to worry about that. I’m not like my brother.”
“You’d better not be.” Lu Qishan looked at him with a suspicious gaze. “I heard that the girl from the Xu family went to Yunzhou just for you, but you didn’t treat her well.”
When his grandfather mentioned Xu Yini, Lu Huaiyu responded thinly, “She went there for Old Master Cheng’s birthday dinner, not for me.”
Lu Qishan almost had a heart attack when he heard that. Anyone who was not blind could tell that Xu Yini had gone to Yunzhou for him.
She had liked Lu Huaiyu for many years, and it was no longer a secret, but Lu Huaiyu kept his distance from her. In fact, besides Xu Yini, Lu Huaiyu never really paid attention to any girls around him for the past few years.
Lu Qishan sat down on the couch. “Yini is a good girl. She practically grew up with you, and you are telling me you don’t like her?”
Lu Huaiyu tilted his head and said in an indifferent and lazy tone, “There are many girls out there who like me. Am I supposed to like all of them?”
Silenced, Lu Qishan carefully sized up his grandson and noticed that Lu Huaiyu’s condition was a lot better than before. “You’ve been in Yunzhou for quite some time now. When are you planning to come back?”
Lu Huaiyu poured himself a cup of tea.
“I’m not planning to come back in the foreseeable future.”
His succinct answer reminded Lu Qishan of something.
“You said you were there as a study companion. Is that it? Is that what’s keeping you there?”
Lu Huaiyu simply grunted as an agreement.
Lu Qishan sat up straight. “I heard that girl is only 17, a third-year high-schooler, and she’s living with the Ye family. You basically have nothing to do with her…”
Lu Huaiyu was not surprised that his grandfather knew about Ning Li, but it was not a problem for him because he would have to tell his family sooner or later.
When Lu Qishan recalled what Gu Tinglan had told him over the phone, he forcefully swallowed his words back down his throat.
Some careful thought later, the man said, “Fine. You can be in Yunzhou, but on one condition: you mustn’t bully her because she’s a girl.”
He had heard of Ning Li’s background and felt sorry for the girl. He was fine if Lu Huaiyu wanted to offer a helping hand, but he was just worried that his grandson would fall too deep for this girl.
Lu Huaiyu smiled. “You are thinking too much.”
He thought of the brief messages she had sent him earlier. He was not sure whether he was bullying her, or if it was the other way around.
…
In the evening competitive Physics class, Zhou Fei had not joined the class yet, but the class was rather lively tonight.
“I heard that the results for the mini-test are out! I wonder how much my score is. I’m already sad just thinking about it.”
“The ranking this time is important. If you can’t get a satisfactory result, you might be told to leave the competitive class.”
“It’s normal, isn’t it? It happens every year, and there’s more than one school participating in the competition. If we can’t get a good ranking, we won’t be able to do well in the finals.”
“Sigh. I’ve actually thought about it. I’m not suitable for competing, so I’m leaving after this class.”
The person who wanted to leave was a tall boy, and his confession attracted the attention of the majority of the class.
“Really?”
The boy nodded and shrugged. “I’m no match for the geniuses. It can’t be helped. If I go back to prepare for the entrance exam, I think I can still make it.”
His words silenced a few of his friends.
Everyone in the competitive Physics class was smart in their own way, and they had their own ego and pride.
However, the competition was cruel. There was always someone better than you no matter how hard you worked and it was difficult to catch up.
Everyone knew it deep down, but when it boiled down to logical thinking, throwing in the towel was not easy to do.
Ye Ci was not part of the conversation, but she heard all of it. She frowned and looked at Ning Li uncontrollably. Beside Ning Li was Pei Song.
The two of them obviously did not share the same worries as the others, so there was no need for them to join or listen to the conversation.
Zhou Fei then came in with the papers and the class quietened down.
Everyone looked at him, anxiously waiting for him to announce the results.
He scanned the class quickly and said, “There are 32 of you in this class, and 11 of you either scored 100 or borderline passed.”
The class was so quiet that they could hear a pin drop.
Zhou Fei had prepared the paper himself, and he purposely added questions with high marks at the end. Those who left those questions empty would never get high scores.
After the mini-test, the class already knew that the result would be terrible, but it seemed like it was worse than expected.
There were two stacks of papers in Zhou Fei’s hands.
“The left stack belongs to those who have passed; the right stack belongs to those who have failed. When I call your name, come up and take your paper.”
He took the first paper.
“Liu Weiwei: failed.”
The tall and slim boy walked over. He sighed when he took the paper, but maybe because he had thought this through, he accepted it with an open heart.
“Zhang Lin: failed.”
A short-haired girl walked over and teared up when she saw her paper. She returned to her seat quietly.
Zhou Fei did not read their scores out loud, but according to the sequence, they practically knew their ranking in the class. That was more than enough for the students.
He continued calling out names and giving out papers.
Those who got their papers had a complicated look on their faces whereas those who were yet to be called prayed as hard as they could, hoping that their names would be called later than sooner.
“Ye Ci.”
Ye Ci’s heart skipped a beat.
Zhou Fei then took the first paper from the left stack after he had finished distributing the right stack. Her name was the first he called.
“61.”
Chapter 89: Her Birthday
Those whose names had been called earlier looked at Ye Ci.
61 points. She had passed the test, but it also meant that she ranked 11th in the mini-test. It was decent, considering the overall results of the class.
A lot of the other students were jealous of her, but Ye Ci did not feel the same way. She was shocked. She thought that she could have at least scored 75 marks, but she only managed to not fail, which was a huge deviation from her expectations.
As for being 11th in the class, she might have been better than the rest, but there were still ten more students who did better than her.
She went out and took her paper before Zhou Fei continued calling out more names.
Ye Ci had a careful look at her paper. Other than the questions that she had left blank, the questions that she answered and had been quite confident that she had gotten right turned out wrong as well.
Soon, Zhou Fei was down to the last two papers.
Up until this point, only Ning Li’s and Pei Song’s names had not been called.
“I wonder how high the two of them scored.”
“The highest score now is 81. I think Pei Song and Ning Li can get at least 90!”
“You can’t say for sure. The paper was terribly difficult! I’m more curious which one of them did better.”
Zhou Fei said loudly, “Pei Song: 94.”
The class fell into silence.
94! Pei Song had scored 13 points higher than the third place!
More importantly, Ning Li still had not gotten her paper. She must have gotten a higher score than Pei Song.
Zhou Fei looked around. He intentionally paused for a moment and dramatically announced, “Ning Li: 100.”
The class stilled once again. Everyone looked at her in dismay.
“Holy sh*t! Is she even human?!”
“If she has a brain, what do we have in our heads?”
“100? 100 again? Isn’t it irritating?! 100?!”
“I know it’s not irritating to her, but, man, I’m jealous!”
Zhou Fei tapped on the writing board.
“Now that you’ve learned your scores, go home and think about the competition. I want an answer tomorrow. The preliminaries are coming and you still can drop out if you want.”
It was not the first time he tried persuading those who could not keep up to drop out of the competitive class. It was not that he did not want his students to participate in the competition, but he knew that the competition demanded talent rather than hard work.
He really hoped that those who lacked talent would walk away instead of wasting their time on this. If they had the time to work hard, it would be better for them to work on something else rather than waste their time on this competition.
“Okay. Let’s get on with the lecture today.”
Zhou Fei then continued where he left off in his lecture yesterday.
Ye Ci sat in her place and stared at the scarlet red 61 on her paper. When she thought of Ning Li’s perfect score, she felt bitter and aggrieved. She had always been excellent since she was young, but ever since Ning Li arrived, she realized that her glorious achievements were nothing.
At first, she did not take Ning Li seriously. After all, her background, her results, her manners, and every single aspect outshone Ning Li by a mile.
“Ye Ci, are you going to continue the competition? You passed the test and got 11th in the class,” the boy beside her asked softly.
Ye Ci did not know how to answer the question. Others might not have known it, but she knew that she only passed the test because she spent the entire weekend revising.
Her hard work paid off, but it was also time-consuming to the extent that she did not have the time to do other things.
She forgot to memorize the passage for English, and she had yet to finish her Mathematics homework. She did not even start revising her Biology.
The few guys behind her were talking about Ning Li.
“I think Ning Li and Pei Song are aiming for the first prize. Sigh, we really cannot compete with them.”
Ye Ci tightened her lips and forced a smile. “I think I’ll continue. It’s interesting.”
Ning Li had a quick glance at Ye Ci. Then, she softly grinned after she looked away. She anticipated Ye Ci’s choice because she knew that her stepsister would never want to lose willingly, which was exactly what she was hoping for.
…
At night, Ye Ci talked to Su Yuan about the competition.
Ye Ci insisted on continuing. Su Yuan was unfamiliar with the competitive class situation, so since Ye Ci insisted, she agreed to let her daughter continue.
Wednesday arrived in the blink of an eye.
It was Su Yuan’s birthday, and the best VIP room in Jinshen Hotel was reserved for her birthday dinner.
After the last class in the afternoon ended, Ye Ci packed her things and wanted to leave for Jinshen Hotel. She had a quick glance at Ning Li while she was tidying up.
Ning Li was still sitting in her seat and showed no intention of leaving.
“Sister Ning Li, we should be going by now.” Ye Ci walked over. “Uncle Zhou is waiting for us outside the school.
It was inappropriate for them to be late.
When Ning Li looked at her coldly, Ye Ci reminded her, “Today is mom’s birthday. Did you…forget?”
Ning Li grinned. “How could I forget?”
They had no class in the evening, so they just had to tell the teacher that they were leaving school.
Ning Li then grabbed her bag and said, “Let’s go.”
…
In the banquet hall on the 16th floor of Jinshen Hotel, when Ning Li and Ye Ci arrived, most of the guests were already there.
They could hear laughter and chatter from outside the door.
Ye Ci opened the door.
“Dad, Mom, we are here!”
The lively hall quieted down upon her arrival.
Ning Li had a quick scan of the hall.
Ye Ming and Su Yuan were there, and Ye Cheng was sitting in between them. Beside the couple were a woman in her 30s and a boy around 15 to 16 years of age.
The woman was Ye Ming’s sister, Ye Ting, while the boy beside her was her son, Su Pei.
She had gotten married at a young age and gave birth to a son, which solidified her status within the family. Therefore, she used to look down on Su Yuan in the early years.
She only came to the dinner because of her brother, Ye Ming.
“Oh! Lil Ci, you are back! Here, have a seat!” Ye Ting smiled and waved at Ye Ci but turned a blind eye to Ning Li as if she was invisible.
Chapter 90: A Painting
“Auntie!”
Delighted, Ye Ci went over to Ye Ting.
Ye Ting patted her head affectionately.
“It’s been a while, Lil Ci. You’ve grown even more beautiful now. Did you miss me?”
“Of course, I do!” Ye Ci hugged her aunt gleefully. The two of them looked as close as mother and daughter. “Auntie, it’s been a while since you came back.”
Ever since Ye Ting married a man in the capital, she barely came back to Yunzhou. Most of the time, she only returned because of Ye Ci.
Ye Ci lost her mother when she was very young, and Ye Ting loved her like her own. Therefore, Ye Ting slowly accepted Su Yuan because she treated Ye Ci like her own daughter.
“Come, sit beside me.”
Ye Ci also said hi to Su Pei who was playing games on his phone and simply nodded to his cousin.
Ye Ting glared at her rude son, but he simply turned a blind eye to her.
Su Pei was born when his father was quite elderly, and the boy grew up with utmost attention and care, which resulted in his arrogance and hot temper. He was in his second year of high school this year and was addicted to games, so he never really paid attention to his studies.
If it was not for his wealthy background, the boy might have already been expelled.
The reason he followed his mother here was that he was involved in a fight at school, and he was instructed to stay at home for a few days to reflect on his actions.
Ye Ting brought him here, hoping that he could learn a thing or two from his cousin. Unfortunately, the more she cared for her son, the more unruly he was. As a result of his rebellious nature, he gave Ye Ci the cold shoulder.
To him, Ye Ci was the kid next door to whom his mother would compare him, and he found it irritating.
It was not the first time she was being ignored by him anyway, so Ye Ci was not overly concerned.
She tugged Ye Ting’s hand softly and switched the topic.
Ye Ming then called Ning Li over, “Ning Li, come here.”
The man cared about his reputation a lot, especially at family gatherings of this scale. He tended to be as thoughtful and considerate as possible in front of everyone.
Ning Li went over and pulled a chair out for herself, then Ye Ting finally noticed her.
“Su Yuan, is this your own daughter?”
The room went silent for a moment.
Ye Ting was being overly frank, and her comment was unnecessary, However, she did it on purpose.
Ning Li looked at Ye Ting and noticed the woman sizing her up. Ye Ting might have been flashing a courteous smile at her, but behind that fake smile was cold hostility.
Ning Li understood the hostility behind Ye Ting’s fake smile. Su Yuan had taken good care of Ye Ci for many years, and even after she gave birth to Ye Cheng, she tried her best to look after Ye Ci in every aspect.
Ye Ting was satisfied with Su Yuan’s performance, so she did not want to be calculative anymore.
However, with Ning Li’s arrival, things changed.
Ning Li was Su Yuan’s own flesh and blood, and Ye Ting was also a mother herself. Therefore, she knew what it meant when it came to her own flesh and blood.
Moreover, Ning Li and Ye Ci were born just three months apart from each other.
Ning Li’s arrival would surely distract Su Yuan, so what would happen to Ye Ci then?
When Su Yuan suggested taking Ning Li into the family, Ye Ting had disagreed strongly, but Ye Ming cared about his image and reputation more.
Ning Li was still a minor, so as her mother, Su Yuan had the responsibility of taking care of her daughter. If Ning Li was simply allowed to wander outside, it would surely damage the Ye family’s reputation.
Since the Ye family was wealthy, surely they could house one more girl under their roof. Ye Ting failed to convince her brother then, and the rest was history.
Now, seeing Ning Li with her own eyes, unusual emotions arose in Ye Ting’s heart.
Su Yuan was embarrassed. “Yes, she’s my daughter. Ning Li, where’re your manners? She’s your aunt.”
Ning Li replied nonchalantly, “I remember that Father is the only son.”
The atmosphere froze in awkwardness. The name Ning Haizhou was definitely taboo in this family, and Ning Li’s straightforwardness did not show any respect for anyone at the table.
The smile on Ye Ting’s face became colder.
As expected of a rascal from some rural city, the girl never had proper education and did not have any actual parents to teach her manners!
“Ning Li!” Su Yuan sounded stern. “What is that about?!”
“I’m telling the truth. Am I not allowed to do that?” Ning Li asked innocently.
Ye Ting’s resentment was already showing on her face. There was no room for courtesy anymore.
Meanwhile, Ye Ming frowned. “Okay, just calm down. Ning Li is new to the family. She’s still adapting to her new environment, so just give her some time. Besides, it’s your birthday today. Have a seat.”
Ye Ting glared at Su Yuan. “Su Yuan, I suppose you are going to have a hard time ahead of you.”
Ning Li’s poor behavior and impudence proved to be a time bomb; no one knew when she would explode or what kind of damage she would cause in the future.
As a result, Su Yuan was deeply embarrassed.
Ning Li simply leaned in her chair nonchalantly, as if she was completely fine with the awkwardness.
Ye Ci blinked nervously before she said with a smile, “Oh, right, Mom, I got you something. Do you want to open it right now?”
She then gestured to the attendant to bring her present over. Since the present was inconvenient for her to bring along, she had someone deliver it to the hotel beforehand.
She was the daughter of the Ye family, after all, and the Ye family owned the place. Of course, she could simply call someone to do her a favor.
Su Yuan found a way to temporarily escape the awkwardness, so she smiled and said, “Sure!”
The attendant quickly brought the present over.
As Ye Ci mentioned, it was a painted portrait of Su Yuan.
In the painting, it was a dark, quiet night and the background was an empty street. The main subject, Su Yuan, was walking towards the front and looked up into the sky slightly as if she heard the wind calling. Her eyes were sparkling in surprise. She wore a decent coat while her hair was slightly messed up by the wind, but it did not affect her delicate beauty.
The overall color of the painting was warm and the strokes were refined. Even though it was a painting, the joy in her eyes was obvious.
Su Yuan was astonished when she saw the painting, and she got carried away by her delight for a while. She looked at Ye Ci in gratitude.
It was also Ye Cheng’s first time seeing the painting and the way his mother was portrayed in the painting baffled him. He asked, “Sis, is this really Mom? Why does she look different?”
Ye Ci smiled. “This is Mom from ten years ago. Of course, she seems different.”
Su Yuan affectionately moved her fingers across the canvas and said softly, “I didn’t know you remembered this.”
“Of course, I remember. That day, I left the house because I was angry and you went looking for me for a long time.”
Ye Ci had a hard time accepting Su Yuan when she first arrived, so she stormed out of the house out of anger. At night, she got lost on the streets and became afraid. She hid in a dark corner and started crying.
It was then that Su Yuan found her.
“Starting from that day onward, I decided to call you my mom.” Ye Ci looked embarrassed when she said that, but her affection and reliance in between the lines were obvious.
Ye Ting caressed the girl’s head lovingly. “Lil Ci, you are really caring. Your painting skill is getting better and better.”
Su Yuan stared at the painting for a while more before she told the attendant to keep it safe.
“Thank you, Lil Ci. I like the present a lot.”
Ye Cheng was a little jealous. “If Sis gave you this, then you won’t like the present I’m going to give you.”
Su Yuan tapped the boy’s forehead gently. “No, I like everything you give me.”
Only after she appeased the boy lovingly, Ye Cheng grunted softly with a hint of jealousy.
“Sure, you like my present, but you like Sis’ present more!”
Ye Ci then looked at Ning Li. “Oh, right. Sister Ning Li, didn’t you prepare a gift for Mom as well? Why don’t you take it out for her now?”
Everyone looked at Ning Li who shifted her attention away from the painting.