Ye Li felt as though she was in a dream.
She came from a scholarly family. Having been a reserved person her whole life, she was unaccustomed to socializing.
In contrast, Liu Yiqiu had always been networking with wealthy madams. Hence, her network was huge. This resulted in her high standing at home.
The old lady would always mock her with one sentence—and that was that she could not bring any benefits to the house.
Liu Yiqiu had painstakingly buttered up to Madam Xia and even provided an assessment chance to her, yet the latter still maintained her prideful and arrogant demeanor toward her. Alas, the same Madam Xia was currently holding hands with Ye Li as though they were sisters, and she was even being unbelievably polite and warm.
"You don't have to send me off anymore. Hurry and go back in!"
Madam Xia still had much to prepare for the apprenticeship ceremony, and she had to bring Xia Yiyi to visit Zhou Zhou at his place.
When they had left, Xue Xi held on to Ye Li as they returned back to the house. It was then that Ye Li finally came back to her senses. She held her daughter's hands and was so excited that her eyes turned red as she said, "Xixi, you are truly much more outstanding than I can ever imagine!"
The two entered the living room as this was said.
Right after they entered, they were greeted with a loud "Bang!"
A teacup smashed toward them.
Xue Xi had pulled her mother one step back, just in time to avoid the teacup. When she looked up again, she saw Old Lady Xue, who had not spoken a single word since Zhou Zhou came, glaring at her in fury. "You ingrate! Since you and Zhou Zhou are that close, why did you help outsiders to snatch this one and only placement from your sister? Do you have any idea who exactly is your sister?! Your surname is Xue! Not Xia!"
Xue Xi cocked her eyebrows at this.
The old lady had not dared to speak a single word when Zhou Zhou and Madam Xia were around. Now that they had left, she immediately flared up—a perfect example of one who was imperious only within their own family.
Beside her was Xue Yao, whose eyes were red as she stared fixedly at Xue Xi. Her gaze seemed to be filled with grief from having something she loved forcefully snatched away. Liu Yiqiu also seemed despondent. After all, the blow on her today was so strong that she actually revealed a fatigued look.
Ye Li was no longer her doormat-like self from before.
Ever since Xue Sheng had told her that they would have to live apart one day, she had been filled with conviction and confidence. Faced with such chiding, she instantly rebutted, "Mom, if I did not hear wrongly, when Mr. Zhou Zhou asked if we wanted a chance on account of Xixi's grace, it was Xue Yao and Younger Sister-in-law who rejected it, right?
"'As a member of the Xue family, we shall speak with our own abilities. If we have to rely on relations to be your disciple, how bad would we sound in others' ears?
"'We are not the kind of people who expect debts of gratitude to be repaid! Am I right, Elder Sister-in-law, Xixi? We shall not do these kinds of things.'"
Liu Yiqiu and Xue Yao: "..."
These were the words they had said just now, and Ye Li had returned the words back to them without changing a single one!
Not giving a care about the trio's ugly expressions, Ye Li turned around and brought Xue Xi upstairs.
Soon after arriving upstairs, they spotted Xue Yanmei standing at the staircase. The woman quickly shouted when she saw them arrive, "Eldest Sister-in-law, Xixi, you guys are back?"
Her tan face had an extremely forced smile. With her plump figure, she blocked the pair's path and said loudly, "That... Xixi, since you are so close with Mr. Zhou, go recommend your Sister Ruoruo too. She is not part of the Xue family and so she doesn't care for face."
Xue Xi was taken aback.
Although she had grown up in the orphanage, she had truly never seen such a "thick-skinned" person. At that moment, she did not know how to deal with the situation.
Still, despite her speaking that way, the eyes of this person had kept flickering to her room. She was panicking and flustered. Her words were also incoherent, as though she was simply trying to drag the time out.
Xue Xi suddenly thought of something: Sun Ruoruo was not downstairs, nor was she here. This could only mean that the girl was—
She frowned and promptly pushed Xue Yanmei aside and made a dash for her own room.
"Aye, Xixi, why are you going off already? Aunt is still speaking to you!"
Xue Yanmei reached over to grab her, but Xue Xi was already in front of her door. She immediately pushed it open!
In the room, Sun Ruoruo was currently at the study desk flipping things around and searching for something. All the textbooks and rough papers were being strewn around haphazardly on the floor.
When she entered, Sun Ruoruo turned her head around and quickly spotted the girl standing at the door. She clearly seemed like an obedient girl, but the eyes on her poker-face were glowing with ruthlessness. "What... are you looking for?"
Sun Ruoruo inadvertently panicked. She raised her hands, as though she was about to explain, but accidentally hit a glass cup filled with water. The rough papers on the floor were instantly soaked!
She jumped in shock and put on a smile while stuttering, "I... I just came to see if you have any piano materials that can help me to become an expert myself. Why is your table filled with all kinds of nonsense...? I can't even decipher anything..."
She had actually come to look for some music scores.
A single music score from Mr. Zhou could be sold for an exorbitant, sky-high price!
Since he had said that Xue Xi was better at him at the piano, then the music scores she wrote would definitely be able to sell for a higher price.
However, after searching around, she found only a bunch of rough paper with indecipherable mathematics workings.
She turned to look at Xue Xi again, saying ingratiatingly, "Younger Sis Xue Xi, I am your elder sister. So don't be shy to display your talents to me. Why don't you teach me how to play the piano? Or you can let me see the music you wrote too."
She stared at Xue Xi right after saying this. Two seconds later, the girl slowly said in a cold and apathetic voice, "Are you going to scram by yourself, or do you need my help?"
Sun Ruoruo paused. "Ah?"
In the next second, Xue Xi moved forward and grabbed her by her collar. The 65-kilogram Sun Ruoruo was thrown out of the room by her, as though she was a mere rag doll.
"Aye, we are all relatives. So what if I enter your room for a while? You... Aiyo!" Sun Ruoruo jumped up and was just about to barge in again.
Bang! The door closed right on her and her nose kissed the door!
The world was finally quiet again.
Xue Xi was very frustrated and annoyed with these family feuds.
If not for Ye Li and Xue Sheng, she would have already left this place.
She took a deep breath and picked up the rough papers on the floor. Sun Ruoruo had wanted to look for music scores to sell for money, but that girl would never have expected that the most valuable item in this room was actually the rough papers she had deigned to take a look at.
There were a few sheets that were totally drenched. Luckily, she had already memorized the entire process of the calculation and could just write it out again.
But I think I told Teaches Math that I will give him the solution today, didn't I?
As she thought about this, she took out her phone and sent him a message.
...
Far away in the capital, Feng Xingshen was currently attending a top-class scientific conference. His phone, which was on the table, lit up with a WeChat notification.
Learning: "Sorry, I had a small mishap. I'm afraid that I can only give you the solution in another two days."
He was not the least bit surprised at this result. The lady was too young, so how could it be possible for her to prove it? This was just her giving an excuse for more time.
He replied: "It's fine if you can't solve it."
Learning: "There probably won't be any more problems in two days' time."
Probably...
He could not resist sighing. Is there a point in pushing it back for another two days every single time? Just admit it if you can't solve it!