Chapter 90

“…I asked him where Nie Lingbo is.”

As she said this, Song Pianxian’s voice carried a hint of laughter, the trailing tone dispersing lightly in the spring chill, like a mist spreading.

Even when recalling it many days later, Nie Lingbo could remember every character’s intonation, like sucking on a mint candy.

Refreshing and not cloying, cool and sweet.

But since the day they watched the fireworks together, Nie Lingbo hadn’t seen Song Pianxian for a week.

Their interaction was limited to the weekend tutoring sessions under the guise of Nie Xingzhou. When Nie Lingbo had unavoidable arrangements, they could only meet once every two weeks.

Too long.

Nie Lingbo sat in her office, holding documents, her expression calm and composed.

But her soul was like a wildfire raging wildly, clamoring that it wasn’t enough, it was still not enough—

“How is the situation with the Song Family?” Nie Lingbo suddenly asked.

Jiang Nan was taken aback. The boss was looking at the cooperative case, so why did she suddenly ask about the Song Family? He didn’t dare delay and recalled the information he had received, saying:

“Song Xuehan personally went to F country to explain the situation and asked the head of the Song Family and Mrs. Song for samples to conduct a paternity test. There hasn’t been any movement in the country for so many years, so Song Xuehan’s actions are highly valued by them. Apart from Mrs. Song’s health causing a delay, everything is going smoothly.”

“Song Xuehan will return to the country in a few days and entrust an agency to conduct a paternity test for Ms. Song.”

Nie Lingbo nodded.

“What else has been found?”

In Nie Lingbo’s mind, she almost believed that Song Pianxian was a member of the Song Family. Besides objective facts, her intuition urgently prompted her to form this understanding. Nie Lingbo’s intuition has always been very accurate.

Therefore, while the Song Family still needed to verify the results through technological means, Nie Lingbo had already started investigating the Song Family, demanding every detail.

Song Pianxian has been absent for so many years. Upon her return, she must be eyeing others’ territories. This was a common occurrence among the upper-class families, and Nie Lingbo was extremely skilled at handling it.

And the one directly conflicting with Song Pianxian’s interests was the girl adopted by the Song Family—

“The information is being organized. You’ll have it within today.” Jiang Nan paused. “The one you care about the most, Song Fei, seems to be behaving differently from what was expected.”

At school.

The new monthly exam results were out.

After these one or two months, all subject teachers knew that Nie Xingzhou’s grades were now under Xiang Sixi’s responsibility.

Xiang Sixi was not only capable in all subjects but also had Nie Xingzhou’s family’s support. Teachers who usually dared not breathe loudly in front of Ms. Nie were now relaxed. After school, they took turns calling Xiang Sixi to the office to discuss Nie Xingzhou’s study tasks, each able to talk for half an hour without stopping, clearly having been holding back for a long time.

Nie Xingzhou was waiting at the door of the math teacher’s office, feeling bored.

Her friends advised her, “Let’s go eat first. We’ll pack a meal for Xiang Sixi to take back to the dorm.”

Nie Xingzhou shook her head. “Not hungry.”

“What’s wrong? Do you have to eat with Xiang Sixi? Then we’re not good sisters anymore.” The friendship between girls in middle school is easy to be jealous of; another sister hmphed.

“What are you saying?” Nie Xingzhou pouted, frowning. “There’s a parent-teacher conference after the monthly exam, and my aunt has been particularly concerned about my studies lately. She’s definitely coming.”

“Haven’t you seen your own test paper?” The sister wondered. “I saw your test paper handed directly to Xiang Sixi. You might have made great progress.”

“Is there a need to look?” Nie Xingzhou was very confident. Her head lifted up proudly, then drooped down sadly.

“…”

Click. The office door opened, and Xiang Sixi walked out while saying goodbye to the teacher.

A group of well-off sisters watched as Nie Xingzhou approached Xiang Sixi, who they usually ignored.

“How did it go?” Nie Xingzhou looked at the stack of test papers in Xiang Sixi’s hands, eagerly and a bit fearfully, not daring to touch.

Nie Xingzhou dared not look at the test paper but dared to look at Xiang Sixi, her eyes almost tearing up, both pitiful and timid. “After this parent-teacher conference, will my aunt take away all my pocket money?”

Xiang Sixi’s expression was calm as she simply said, “The homeroom teacher said there won’t be a parent-teacher conference after this monthly exam.”

Nie Xingzhou was overjoyed. “Really?”

After Xiang Sixi finished her sentence, she added, “The monthly exam scores will be combined with the final exam in two weeks and announced at the parent-teacher conference.”

“…,” Nie Xingzhou subconsciously imagined the scene of presenting two failing test papers to her aunt… She was so scared that her calves almost gave out, and she nearly fainted on the spot.

Seeing Xiang Sixi walking away after speaking, Nie Xingzhou hurriedly chased after her, her ponytail swaying lightly. 

“Xiang Sixi, Xiang Sixi, what else did the teachers say?”

Behind Nie Qianjin, several sisters who had been ruthlessly abandoned looked at each other with complex expressions, shrugged their shoulders.

If it had been a month or two ago, who would have thought that they would fall out of favor with Ms. Nie because of Xiang Sixi, who was the poorest in the class and had no academic achievements whatsoever.

Nie Xingzhou followed Xiang Sixi to the cafeteria. It had become routine to see Xiang Sixi head straight to the first-floor cafeteria, pack a meal, and head back to the dorm. As always, it was the cheapest vegetarian dishes, not even a tomato scrambled egg.

Nie Xingzhou couldn’t stand the poor appearance of the people around her. She muttered, “Has my family stopped paying wages? Are we reduced to eating grass?” as she pointed out three or four meat dishes with her slender fingers and ordered two bowls of soup.

Xiang Sixi had refused before, but now she just accepted it.

Of course, to repay Nie Xingzhou’s kindness, she would give her an extra half-hour of tutoring. When Nie Xingzhou asked why, she would say that the lesson wasn’t finished, and Nie Xingzhou had to reluctantly accept the extension.

However, when she saw Nie Xingzhou trying to secretly order a spicy chicken burger, Xiang Sixi said quietly:

“We’ve had it this week.”

Nie Xingzhou tried to negotiate, “Just one more time…”

Xiang Sixi remained silent.

For some reason, even though Xiang Sixi was quiet and calm, Nie Xingzhou felt a bit intimidated by her demeanor and didn’t dare to show her temper in front of her.

“If you don’t want it, then don’t.” Nie Xingzhou pouted, took the packed meal, and walked angrily beside Xiang Sixi.

The two of them left the cafeteria, passed by the playground, the sky was high, many students were walking around, and there was a group of people fighting for basketballs on the basketball court. Nie Xingzhou followed in the footsteps of Xiang Sixi, heading towards the dormitory.

She thought for a moment, still feeling indignant. “I won’t eat on the first floor tomorrow. I’ll go to the third floor and take my time. You come with me.”

Nie Xingzhou said this arrogantly, even commanding, but her voice was a bit soft, and even her commands sounded like requests.

Xiang Sixi had long noticed that Nie Xingzhou talked to acquaintances in this manner, like acting cute, making it hard to dislike her. Rather than saying her friends feared her, it was more accurate to say they indulged her.

But Xiang Sixi was clearly not among them.

She knew she wasn’t like Big Sister, intelligent and diligent, with strong academic talent. She had to make up for her shortcomings with diligence, spending all her time on studying, giving her all to excel at this one thing, so that Big Sister’s efforts for her would be maximized.

Helping Nie Xingzhou with tutoring every day would consume a lot of her time. She didn’t have any more time to waste.

Going to the expensive third-floor restaurant to eat slowly wasn’t something she was interested in.

“Did you hear me?” Nie Xingzhou’s voice trailed off, long like a cloud with a little tail living in the blue sky.

…But if she refused, this rich young lady would definitely not give up.

“I understand, but just this once,” Xiang Sixi spoke first, stepping back.

Nie Xingzhou was finally satisfied, hummed, and curled her lips up.

“Little Fei? Are you tired?” “Hmm.” Song Fei held the badminton in her hand. On the path beside the playground, the two were getting farther away. She withdrew her gaze and looked at her classmates gently, saying, “I’m a little tired, so I won’t play anymore. I’ll go back early to work on my problem sets.”

“Hey, weren’t you just watching Nie Xingzhou and them?” A classmate asked enthusiastically, “Are you going to study with them?”

Song Fei paused in her action of packing up the badminton racket. They were all in the same class, and their dormitories were on the same floor. Each floor of the dormitory building had a study room where students could choose to study in their rooms or go to the study room for a quieter environment.

She smiled and said, “It’s still early, my roommates are probably still having dinner, no need to go to the study room.”

Song Fei went straight back to her dormitory.

Coincidentally, her dormitory was right next to the study room, separated by a wall. As she passed by the study room door, she saw only two people inside, Nie Xingzhou chatting incessantly, and another person being very quiet.

She and Xiang Sixi exchanged glances and tacitly didn’t greet each other.

Song Fei’s dormitory was empty.

She took out her phone to check for messages.

Her mother would always send her messages, reminding her to wear warm clothes or other trivial things, without fail —

Before, Song Fei had never worried about missing anything. It should be said that apart from not seeing her parents in China, her relationship with her parents was no different from other families, and her mother’s meticulous reminders even seemed a bit verbose.

But since learning about Song Pianxian’s existence and seeing her cousin hastily rushing to F country, Song Fei suddenly paid attention to this kind of care.

Very concerned.

She carefully checked the notifications, and under the pinned contacts, there was a new message from “Mom.”

Song Fei felt somewhat relieved.

She was about to open it when she saw several unread messages below, surprisingly from her Aunt San, who rarely contacted her.

Thinking of her Uncle San and Aunt San, who were capable and attentive, Song Fei’s lips drooped down, and she opened the chat box.

“Little Fei, do you know your mom is coming back to the country? Your mom’s biological daughter may have been found, and she’s going back to do a paternity test with her.”

“Oh, if it really happens, you’ll have another Big Sister who dotes on you. Your parents must be thrilled, and you must be happy for them too.”

…

Song Fei’s expression froze as she opened her mother’s chat box.

“Little Fei, Mom will return to the country tomorrow night. Will you come to the airport to pick up Mom?”

She clenched the bones of her phone, turning them white.

Song Fei abruptly stuffed her phone back into her bag, locked the dormitory door, then locked the balcony’s frosted glass sliding door, leaning against it and breathing heavily for a while.

Then, skillfully, she pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from under the air conditioner unit.

Click.

A spark ignited between her slender fingers as Song Fei leaned against the wall, her shadow thinning into a line.

In the spreading smoke, her expression was indifferent and desolate.

The study room, separated by a wall.

Nie Xingzhou was biting the pen, pondering over her mistakes on the paper. “Did I make a mistake? Where did I go wrong? I can’t see it.”

Suddenly, she had a thought, “Oh, maybe the teacher made a mistake?”

She looked up to seek confirmation from Xiang Sixi, only to see Xiang Sixi getting up to close the window and then returning, her gaze fixed on the wall to the left.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s a smell of smoke,” Xiang Sixi said briefly.

Nie Xingzhou wrinkled her nose, “Is there?”

Xiang Sixi responded to a different question, “Is it… from the adjacent… Song Fei’s dormitory?”

“Yeah, probably,” Nie Xingzhou replied nonchalantly, “Quick, check this question for me. Is it the teacher’s mistake?”

Xiang Sixi paused, then sat down opposite her and took the test paper, glancing at it briefly.

“Nie Xingzhou.”

Xiang Sixi’s tone was flat, but Nie Xingzhou’s neck tensed up, “Wh-why are you suddenly calling me by my full name?”

Setting down the test paper, Xiang Sixi said, “I’ve explained similar questions to you five times. You mastered a much more difficult type after just one explanation last time and even provided a solution approach.”

“If you continue like this, I won’t tutor you anymore.”

Nie Xingzhou was pleasantly surprised, “Really?”

Xiang Sixi smiled innocently, “Yes, I’ll personally resign from tutoring you to your aunt.”

Nie Xingzhou deflated.

“Now tell me, why did you make this mistake?”

Glancing at the test paper, Nie Xingzhou speculated, “For the multiple-choice questions… Did the pen not roll into position?”

Xiang Sixi remained expressionless.

“Nie Xingzhou, do you know why I’m tutoring you?”

Nie Xingzhou thought seriously for a moment, “For money?”

“Our family is doing fine,” Xiang Sixi said calmly, “I just don’t like giving up, or quitting halfway.”

Following Big Sister’s arrangement, she would leave this school and go to Yizhong. Yizhong would surely offer her a scholarship or tuition waiver, which wouldn’t be much different from here. In fact, the environment for studying at Yizhong might be even better.

But Xiang Sixi was stubborn. Since there was this opportunity provided by Nie Xingzhou, and with the Nie Family as her “commoner” umbrella, she wanted to see if she could be treated completely differently at this school.

She wanted to see if those who had bullied her before still dared to be reckless in front of her.

Whether it was her youthful vigor or her being particular, when classmates who once treated her like a trash can dared not speak loudly in front of her, Xiang Sixi suddenly understood what she wanted.

She wanted the respect she deserved.

After getting it, after realizing it, it didn’t seem so important anymore. For the current Xiang Sixi, transferring schools immediately didn’t matter.

Looking at Nie Xingzhou in front of her, carefree except for the fear of her parents, Xiang Sixi suddenly said, “I’m sorry, I used you.”

Nie Xingzhou looked startled, with a hint of confusion on her face. “Used me? What did you use me for? Why are you suddenly saying this? It’s scary.”

She tried to reassure Xiang Sixi, “Did you use my name to intimidate people? What’s the big deal? If someone bullies you, just come back and tell me.”

Xiang Sixi uttered an “Oh,” expressionless. “What I mean is, I’ve used you up. If you don’t study properly now, I’ll resign from tutoring you to your aunt.”

The confidence that Nie Xingzhou had just regained froze on her face, like a poor little thing who had been stunned:

“…Could you please be more considerate, Xiang Sixi?”

Xiang Sixi curved her lips, her eyes clear and bright. She picked up a water cup, stood up, and casually patted Nie Xingzhou’s fluffy hair:

“I’ll go get some water. You solve these multiple-choice questions, and I want to see your problem-solving process.”

Xiang Sixi’s figure disappeared from the study room. It was only then that Nie Xingzhou, rubbing her head in confusion, reacted and shouted outside the door:

“- Xiang Sixi, are you intentionally scaring me? You said you don’t like giving up halfway.”

Not liking to give up halfway, she would definitely teach her well. Xiang Sixi really is…

She’s really full of mischief.

Outside the door.

Listening to the howling coming from the self-study room, Xiang Sixi’s lips curled up in a place unknown to her.

As she passed by a door, it suddenly opened, and Xiang Sixi turned to look.

It was Song Fei.

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu

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