Just as the atmosphere in this family was turning strange, Xue Jiao spoke again.

“I not only like Brother, but also like Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncle Cheng!”

Her eyes blinked once as she spoke with complete seriousness.

Cheng Mingze was indeed excellent, and Gu Xue Jiao truly liked him, but he had never once properly looked at her.

That’s why she deliberately made herself stand out, just hoping for a single glance from him.

The more she did this, the more repulsive it became.

In the book, after Li Sitong’s death, Gu Xue Jiao even made him her idol.

It was also because of Li Sitong’s death that she changed her rebellious appearance, following Cheng Mingze everywhere. Wherever he went, she went too, with only him in her eyes and heart.

Cheng Shuo missed Li Sitong and, considering that Xue Jiao had lost her mother, indulged her even more, planning to take care of her on his wife’s behalf.

This led Gu Xue Jiao to become increasingly spoiled and willful, hating every woman who tried to take Cheng Mingze away. Eventually, she repeatedly opposed the female protagonist Gu Shiyun, ending up with her corpse abandoned in the wilderness.

Xue Jiao couldn’t understand this kind of emotion. Certainly, there were many malicious people in Gu Xue Jiao’s life, but the one who ruined her good hand of cards was herself.

Youthful admiration is only natural, but once such admiration falls into the abyss, there’s no salvation.

“You’re talking nonsense! Your feelings are romantic!” Cheng Mingjiao jumped up, nearly losing her composure.

Xue Jiao’s eyes widened, admonishing, “Mingjiao! Puppy love is unacceptable! Being with my brother is even more unacceptable. You must never have such unrealistic thoughts in the future.”

“You, you, you, you, you—” Cheng Mingjiao was so agitated she couldn’t speak.

Xue Jiao maintained her serious attitude: “Mingjiao, we’re about to enter our second year of high school. We should study hard and aim for a good university. You must never engage in puppy love. Don’t be afraid if you notice such tendencies! I used to be ignorant and disobedient, but after my mom’s lecture today, I’m determined to change. Let’s monitor each other from now on! Whoever fails will face punishment!”

What the hell was this about puppy love?

What the hell was this about monitoring each other?

Cheng Mingjiao was nearly suffocating with anger, unable to utter a single word.

Li Sitong dazedly pulled Xue Jiao along, following the equally dazed Cheng Shuo and Cheng Mingze out of the Cheng family’s old house.

It took Cheng Mingjiao quite a while after getting into the car to catch her breath, teetering on the edge of rage.

“Gu Xue Jiao, that bitch!!”

Just as she finished cursing, her mother Liu Yazhen tugged at her, then tentatively asked, “Mingjiao… you haven’t really fallen into puppy love, have you? You’re still so young…”

“Mom!! That bitch is talking nonsense—”

The breath she had just managed to catch was lost again…

——

“Mom, I’m going out for a bit,” Xue Jiao called out while changing her shoes.

Li Sitong frowned as she walked out of the kitchen, carrying predictable anger. “Where are you going?”

See? She had promised to change, but just one day later, old habits were resurfacing!

“To get my hair done.”

Li Sitong took a deep breath, trying to stay calm: “What more do you want to do with that disaster of a hairstyle?! Gu Xue Jiao, listen to me, school starts tomorrow, and you’re not going anywhere today!”

Xue Jiao had already changed into her shoes and slung the pink backpack that Cheng Shuo had given her for the new school year over her shoulder. She looked at her mother: “I’m going to dye my hair back to its original color. The red does look bad.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Li Sitong was stunned.

“You—”

Xue Jiao sighed almost imperceptibly, then said: “I already told Cheng Mingjiao I would change, so I certainly can’t let her look down on me!”

Her mother didn’t believe she would improve on her own, but using Cheng Mingjiao as an excuse made it seem more genuine.

Sure enough, after hearing this, Li Sitong breathed a sigh of relief, though her face still showed conflicting emotions.

Cheng Shuo, who was sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper, put it down and said with a smile: “Come on, just let Jiaojiao go out. Jiaojiao, have the driver take you, don’t stay out too long, and be careful.”

“Okay, thank you, Uncle Cheng.” Xue Jiao waved to Li Sitong and then opened the door to leave.

When Cheng Mingze came downstairs and saw this scene, he frowned but didn’t say anything.

It was rare for that girl not to be hovering around him with her ghastly face all day; today he could finally rest peacefully at home.

“Do you think Jiaojiao wants to change?” Li Sitong sat down with a worried expression.

Cheng Shuo placed his hand on her shoulder, his voice gentle: “Children grow up and gradually become more sensible. Whether she’s had a realization or is just competing with Mingjiao, as long as she’s changing, you should praise her more instead of constantly scolding her. Otherwise, what if she rebels again?”

The worry didn’t leave Li Sitong’s face as she sighed: “I just hope she can keep it up for a while.”

Cheng Shuo patted her shoulder, then looked at Cheng Mingze, who was drinking water: “Mingze, since Jiaojiao wants to study properly, help tutor her a bit.”

Cheng Mingze shrugged, his lips twisting slightly.

As if Gu Xue Jiao could study properly? Who was he kidding?

——

“Perfect! Perfect!” The hairstylist stroked Xue Jiao’s hair in amazement, hardly believing it was the work of his own hands.

When this girl first walked in, she was a red-haired little beauty. Now with her hair dyed back to its base color and her bangs trimmed, she looked like a completely different person!

“Thank you.” Xue Jiao was quite satisfied too—as long as the color wasn’t an eyesore, she was generally pleased.

As she paid, she smiled sweetly at the hairstylist, her eyes curving into crescents. Her fair skin flushed slightly pink, and her wavy black hair fell to her waist, making her look like an exquisite porcelain doll.

After she left, the hairstylist grabbed another stylist’s hand, a look of enchantment on his face.

“I want a daughter someday, just like that little angel!”

The other stylist, feeling the man caressing his arm, stammered, “I-I-I… I’m a man too… I can’t give birth…”

——

Leaving the hair salon, Xue Jiao walked slowly down the street until she spotted a bookstore and, her eyes brightening, darted inside.

The store was rather secluded, but at this hour there were still a few people inside, among them a particularly conspicuous father and son.

The man wore nouveau riche attire that seemed out of place in this store. Next to him, the boy he was gripping was tall and thin, dressed in a basketball jersey with a basketball tucked under his arm, looking thoroughly impatient.

Xue Jiao glanced at them once before shifting her gaze. Her eyes lit up as she headed straight for the Wang Houxiong study guides.

Though small, the bookstore was well-stocked. Xue Jiao browsed intently, occasionally picking up books that caught her interest.

After a while, she felt as if someone was staring at her.

Looking up, she froze.

The father and son from earlier were standing beside her. The middle-aged man grinned at her, while the young boy looked impatient, chin slightly raised, his entire face screaming, “I’m the third most important person in the world, after heaven and earth.”

“Young lady, are you also buying study materials? I noticed you looking at second-year high school guides earlier. Are you starting your second year tomorrow too?”

Xue Jiao nodded dumbly.

“What a coincidence! My son is also in his second year, at No. 7 High School nearby!”

“Ah?” So they were schoolmates?

The man rubbed his hands together and said with a smile, “Well… my son’s grades aren’t good, and I don’t understand these things. Could you, as a fellow student, recommend some review materials?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the boy beside him impatiently said, “Hey, old man, are you ever going to stop? Even if you buy them, I won’t look at them!”

“Shut your mouth!” the man glared at him fiercely, looking menacing.

Then he turned back, smiling “gently” and scratching his head: “This is my son, Yi Tianyu. Don’t mind him. What are you planning to buy, classmate?”

Yi Dafa had a clear plan—he would buy whatever Xue Jiao bought for his son!

Xue Jiao continued to smile awkwardly, then said, “I’ve already studied the second-year content, so I’m buying materials for the college entrance exam review. This… classmate is just starting his second year, so he shouldn’t look at too many supplementary books. The school will purchase suitable materials uniformly, and he should focus on completing those. The most fundamental content is in the textbooks—all questions, regardless of how they vary, stem from the textbook content. However, the materials purchased by the school cater to all students and aren’t highly targeted. If he has extra energy, during after-school hours and weekends, I recommend these books, this one…”

Xue Jiao spoke at length while Yi Dafa nodded repeatedly, hurriedly picking up the books she pointed to. Yi Tianyu stared at the girl who barely reached his chest, momentarily stunned.

Ten minutes later, Yi Dafa was cradling a stack of books, and the stunned Yi Tianyu was now grinding his teeth.

How was this girl not trying to move the entire bookstore to him? Was she trying to torture him to death?!

Xue Jiao finished speaking and pressed her lips together, also looking embarrassed: “Well… I just think this combination is good, but human energy is limited, so you probably won’t be able to use all these books…”

Yi Dafa declared magnanimously, “It’s fine! It’s fine! My family doesn’t lack money. I’ll buy them all for this ungrateful boy. I’ll be satisfied if he learns even a little!”

When they finally left, Xue Jiao and Yi Tianyu each carried a stack of books. Yi Dafa had bought everything Xue Jiao had pointed to and even picked up a set of the “Five-Three” exercise books that she had bought.

The complete set of “Five-Three” books alone was a thick stack, and Yi Tianyu’s face had grown beyond merely displeased.

After Xue Jiao walked away with her books, Yi Dafa was still watching her retreating figure, nodding: “That girl is so beautiful and studious. She’s truly sensible. Whoever raised that girl is truly blessed…”

Yi Tianyu sneered, any slight favorable impression of the pretty girl now gone. He said disdainfully, “Old man, let me give you some advice: go catch up with her now, ask which family she’s from, then take me over there and swap me for her. Let her be your daughter instead.”

Yi Dafa turned around and forcefully poked his head: “You heartless fool! And with those terrible grades of yours! Out of so many students in your grade, you’re at the very bottom!”

Yi Tianyu tucked the basketball under his arm and ran with the books, his voice carrying from afar: “Old man, with your terrible genes, how could my studies ever be good?”

“This ungrateful brat! Don’t you run from me!” Yi Dafa took off his shoe, raised it high, and chased after him.

——

Being able to study again was a great privilege, and Xue Jiao couldn’t help but buy too many books.

She had already sent the driver home while getting her hair done, and now she was too lazy to call someone to pick her up. So Xue Jiao stood by the roadside, waiting for a taxi.

August was the peak of summer, and two in the afternoon was the most unbearable time of day. She stood under a large tree by the road, wiping away sweat while rising on tiptoes to look both ways.

This road had few cars at this hour. After waiting for several minutes, two vehicles approached from the right. A taxi was behind, and Xue Jiao brightened, quickly picking up her books and stepping onto the road.

“Taxi!”

Just as she called out, the low-key black Maybach in front of the taxi sped straight toward her, not slowing down at all.