Li Sitong’s whole body trembled as if struck by a sudden realization. Her lips quivered, but she didn’t know what to say.

Say sorry?

She seemed to have said it many times already.

Say how could you talk to me like that?

But she couldn’t say that either.

She merely trembled slightly, unable to utter a single word.

Xue Jiao took a deep breath: “Mom, you should go. I need to study.”

After speaking, she turned and left, her gaze meeting Yi Tianyu’s, who was poking his head out the window.

Their eyes met in midair.

He looked like someone caught doing something wrong and immediately turned away, pulling his head back.

Xue Jiao’s footsteps faltered momentarily before she continued forward, leaving Li Sitong behind.

The teacher had just escorted the parents out and hadn’t returned yet. Even in the experimental class, the inevitable commotion erupted as students engaged in animated discussions about grades, seating arrangements, and parents.

Xue Jiao returned to her seat and silently took out her physics textbook.

In her previous life, she had encountered difficulties with the electromagnetism section of physics, making frequent errors on the more complex problems.

Starting over again, Xue Jiao didn’t dare be overconfident. She was determined to pay close attention in class and learn it properly this time, determined to overcome her weakness.

Yi Tianyu kept glancing over at her. After a while, he dug out a small packaged soda cracker from his drawer.

He paused, thinking to himself, why do I only have this lousy cracker?

After searching again and confirming there was nothing else besides the soda cracker, he gently placed it on his desk and slowly pushed it across toward Xue Jiao’s side.

“Hey, dummy, want to eat this?” His voice feigned nonchalance.

Xue Jiao stared at the cracker in slight confusion. After a moment, she shifted her gaze from the cracker to Yi Tianyu.

“No need, you eat it…”

Yi Tianyu pushed it to her: “Eat something when you’re feeling down!”

After saying that, he looked at her expectantly.

Feeling uncomfortable under his intense gaze, Xue Jiao looked at the cracker and, after a long moment, unwrapped it and slowly ate it.

“How is it? Are you feeling better?”

Xue Jiao didn’t respond.

“No?” He was surprised.

Then he made several exaggerated gestures: “Let me tell you, some adults just don’t understand things. You shouldn’t take them seriously! Especially menopausal women—getting angry with them just hurt yourself! Menopause is like insanity! You’re pretty nice. My dad wanted to take you home as a daughter from the first day he met you!”

Xue Jiao looked at him without speaking.

Yi Tianyu’s movements became uncertain as he slowly withdrew his hand. His voice lowered, somewhat embarrassed: “I’m telling the truth…”

Xue Jiao still didn’t speak.

“Hey… are you so upset that you don’t want to talk?” He asked with a hint of caution, his eyes carefully watching her. The tall boy leaned over his desk, looking at her with concern.

Under his gaze, Xue Jiao slowly opened her mouth, her voice slightly hoarse: “The cracker… too dry… can’t… speak…”

Yi Tianyu: “…”

——

Yi Tianyu held Xue Jiao’s small pink cup, tightening his grip on it. After filling it with water, he carefully placed it on her desk and said: “This tiny cup of yours is too small, isn’t it? Is it even enough for a few sips?”

He loved playing basketball and required high water intake. Lacking the patience to wait in line for water, he would simply drink an entire bottle of mineral water at once, then get another.

Therefore, looking at Xue Jiao’s cup, he found it ridiculously small.

Xue Jiao rolled her eyes first, then said: “Thanks, but this cup is enough for me.”

She stood up: “I said I would get it myself, but you insisted on taking my cup. After you fill it, I still have to stand up to let you back in. If I went to get water myself, it would save both effort and resources.”

Yi Tianyu glared: “You’re an ungrateful wretch! If I hadn’t seen how upset you were because of your mom, I wouldn’t bother running errands for you. You think I want to?”

When he mentioned the word “mom,” Xue Jiao’s mood darkened slightly.

Yi Tianyu froze, wanting to slap himself for bringing up the wrong topic.

After just a moment, Xue Jiao suddenly perked up and shook her head, her eyes widening: “Yi Tianyu, show me your test paper.”

“Huh?” Yi Tianyu was stunned for a moment, then dumbly took it out.

Xue Jiao opened the test paper and moved closer to him with her pen.

“You shouldn’t have gotten this question wrong. I reminded you before the exam, it’s an example from the second unit, look here…”

“Wait!” Yi Tianyu interrupted her with a raised voice, “You’re going to explain this problem to me?!”

Xue Jiao nodded seriously, slightly furrowing her brow: “Yi Tianyu, I’m going to check my test paper in a while, so hurry up and listen!”

As soon as she finished speaking, she continued her explanation.

Yi Tianyu: “…”

Never mind, don’t argue with a woman in a bad mood. When she’s feeling down, whatever she does is right.

Yi Tianyu suppressed his aversion to studying and leaned his head closer, listening attentively.

Xue Jiao genuinely wanted to help him study. She could sense that Yi Tianyu truly considered her a friend and had helped her several times.

She had no other way to repay him except to explain problems and help him study properly.

As the two discussed the problem, Cheng Mingjiao walked into the classroom from outside. To return to her seat, she had to pass in front of Xue Jiao, facing the two directly.

Seeing their heads close together, with the normally arrogant Yi Tianyu quietly accepting Gu Xuejiao’s “criticism,” Cheng Mingjiao felt particularly displeased.

“Hmph—” Cheng Mingjiao snorted loudly enough for both to hear.

Xue Jiao’s pen paused, but before she could say anything—

Yi Tianyu was already glaring at Cheng Mingjiao, angry: “Are you a pig? Grunting like that!”

“You, you, you—” Cheng Mingjiao’s eyes widened, her face flushing red.

“A stutterer too?”

“Yi Tianyu!”

“I know my name sounds good, but I don’t want you to call it. I’m afraid—it would pollute both my ears and my name.” Yi Tianyu raised an eyebrow, smirking coldly.

Cheng Mingjiao stomped her feet in anger, returned to her seat, and put her head down, looking furious.

Yi Tianyu couldn’t be bothered with people like her. He turned to Xue Jiao, his voice unconsciously softening: “Continue.”

——

Meanwhile, Li Sitong walked dazedly toward the school gate. Just before reaching it, someone pulled her into an embrace.

“Sitong, what’s wrong with you?”

Li Sitong looked up blankly at the person before her—it was her husband, Cheng Shuo.

“Ah Shuo…”

“I’m here, what’s wrong?” Cheng Shuo asked with concern.

Li Sitong suddenly burst into tears: “Ah Shuo, did I make a mistake? I think I’ve disappointed Jiaojiao…”

“What happened? What happened?” Cheng Shuo looked deeply concerned.

Li Sitong recounted her conversation with Xue Jiao in complete detail, then looked at Cheng Shuo hopefully: “Jiaojiao was just speaking out of anger, right?”

Cheng Shuo didn’t respond immediately. After a moment, he said: “Let’s talk in the car.”

He supported the dazed Li Sitong into the car, then sat in the driver’s seat without starting the engine.

“Ah Shuo…” Li Sitong was somewhat afraid.

Cheng Shuo sighed slightly, looking at Li Sitong seriously: “Sitong, you were indeed wrong.”

Li Sitong stared at him, her face full of confusion and distress.

“Jiaojiao is a good child, and she’s working hard to make you proud…”

As Cheng Shuo finished speaking, Li Sitong remembered the day she sat on the sofa with Xue Jiao kneeling before her, eyes filled with stars, saying: “I will become your glory…”

That moment was still vivid in her mind, and now Xue Jiao was saying—but you always disappoint me.

Cheng Shuo pulled her into his arms, gently patting her head: “Before, when Jiaojiao had a volatile temper and was rebellious, going through her rebellious phase, she would deliberately do the opposite of whatever her parents said. At that time, you were very strict with her, and I didn’t think there was any problem with that. I only saw how she made you upset, how she kept you awake all night, so I thought your strictness was justified and necessary.”

Looking at the still bewildered Li Sitong, he continued: “But after Jiaojiao made that bet with Mingjiao, she surprisingly emerged from her rebellious phase. She became sensible, considerate of you, and persisted in her efforts because of your encouragement… After that, I realized that problems that weren’t apparent before had all surfaced.”

“What… problems?” Li Sitong’s voice was hoarse as she looked up at him.

“You don’t trust Jiaojiao. Whenever something happens, your instinct is to assume Jiaojiao has made a mistake. In the past, Jiaojiao was indeed thoughtless and made many mistakes, so your criticism seemed reasonable, but now that she’s matured, you still don’t trust her first. Suspicion from those closest to her hurts her the most.”

Li Sitong’s tears flowed freely. Although she hadn’t wanted to admit it before, the fact was undeniable—she didn’t trust her daughter.

“Sitong, you always think Jiaojiao is the person you know best. She’s been by your side since birth, and you do care about her, but she’s also the easiest for you to overlook.”

Other people might leave her, but only Xue Jiao was her biological daughter, so she took her for granted. Caring about this, being careful with that, being nice to this person, being gentle with that person… only with Xue Jiao, her own daughter, was she simultaneously most concerned and most neglectful.

“Sitong, Jiaojiao will leave you too. She’s now in her second year of high school, soon to be in her third year, then college, and in the future, she will marry and have children, building her own family… You and Jiaojiao won’t be connected forever. She’s still young, with many other paths, countless possibilities that might take her far away from you, perhaps never to see you again.”

As Cheng Shuo finished speaking, Li Sitong clutched his collar, her face fearful.

She had experienced a failed marriage; her loving father had passed away; her respectful husband had betrayed her; only her daughter had always remained by her side.

“So, Sitong, from the moment Jiaojiao left your body, she became a completely independent individual with her own emotions and temper. She can be happy, and she can be sad. You are her most important person, which means you can hurt her the most deeply. Because she cares, she feels hurt.”

Cheng Shuo’s words left Li Sitong in tears. She knew that this time she couldn’t blame anyone else.

She, Li Sitong, was the one at fault!

Just thinking that Xue Jiao might leave her, thinking of the girl she had raised from a crying infant to the graceful young woman she was now, made her want to go back and kill the version of herself who had hit and distrusted her daughter!

“I was wrong! It was all my fault—” Li Sitong sobbed loudly.

——

That evening, Xue Jiao finished her evening self-study session.

As she walked out of the teaching building, she spotted two people standing prominently under a streetlight.

A gentle, jade-like young man, very tall, and a graceful, generous young woman who reached just to his shoulder. Standing together, they made a perfect match.

The two were talking about something, and the young woman smiled with pursed lips.

Xue Jiao stopped in her tracks and sighed softly.

Indeed, the male and female protagonists looked perfectly matched.

Should she go ahead and wait for Cheng Mingze in Cheng Shuo’s car?

Just as she was thinking this, Cheng Mingze spotted her and waved: “Over here.”

Xue Jiao had no choice but to approach the two.

Gu Shiyu’s face showed a moment of displeasure, but quickly, she smiled.

“Sister…” she called softly, with a touch of shyness, and given the distance between them, it was easy to misinterpret.

“I told you, don’t call me sister.”

Gu Shiyu bit her lower lip, instantly looking aggrieved.

The contrast in their attitudes toward each other was clear.

Xue Jiao recalled the original story—the female protagonist of this book was never a kind person. When she first arrived, the plot didn’t reveal much, but with time and actual interaction with this person, it became clear that Gu Shiyu was far from as harmless as she appeared.

Cheng Mingze looked at the aggrieved Gu Shiyu beside him, then at the consistently indifferent Xue Jiao.

“Let’s go,” was all he said in the end.

Xue Jiao nodded and followed his steps.

Gu Shiyu paused briefly, then continued with a natural attitude, maintaining an appropriate distance as they walked toward the school gate.

Her temperament was far beyond what ordinary people could match.

“Mingze brother, sis… Xue Jiao, goodbye.” Gu Shiyu smiled as if there had never been any friction with Xue Jiao.

After she left, Cheng Mingze said quietly: “Do you dislike her that much?”

Xue Jiao looked up in surprise: “Why are you asking that?”

She was surprised that Cheng Mingze, with whom she had a poor relationship, would ask such a question. Could he be standing up for Gu Shiyu?

Her attitude seemed to say it’s none of your business, yet her eyes held suspicion, as if certain he would speak up for Gu Shiyu.

Cheng Mingze felt annoyed for a moment. After a while, he exhaled: “Fine, it’s none of my concern.”

He opened the car door and gestured for Xue Jiao to enter.

After she sat down, Cheng Mingze got in. At that moment, Cheng Shuo was on the phone.

“Yes, yes, I’ve picked them up, we’ll be back in fifteen minutes!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll be careful.”

“Good, goodbye.”

Cheng Shuo hung up the phone and turned to look at them with a smile: “To celebrate your good test results, your mother has prepared some delicious food tonight. Let’s celebrate together! But we can’t celebrate too long, you have school tomorrow…”

Celebrate?

Xue Jiao was slightly stunned.

——

“You’re back! Come quickly, I’ve made your favorite foods. Hurry to the table, eat something, and then you can rest.” Li Sitong reached out to take Xue Jiao’s schoolbag while smiling.

After today’s conversation with Li Sitong, Xue Jiao had thought they wouldn’t get along well, but unexpectedly, Li Sitong treated her warmly as if nothing had happened.

Xue Jiao felt somewhat stiff and didn’t speak.

Li Sitong exchanged glances with Cheng Shuo, noticing the encouragement in his eyes, and regained her spirit, taking Xue Jiao’s hand and leading her to the dining table.

Everyone had already eaten dinner, so there was no main course on the table, just a homemade cake, and some homemade desserts.

These were all made by Li Sitong herself, and primarily for Xue Jiao.

After all… Cheng Mingze didn’t like sweets.

“Come, come, sit down and try some!” Li Sitong pulled Xue Jiao, while Cheng Shuo patted Cheng Mingze.

Cheng Mingze, who typically disliked sweets: “…”

He looked at Cheng Shuo, who gave him a meaningful glance. Cheng Mingze sat at the table with a resigned expression.

Li Sitong began cutting the cake, one piece for each person, then raised her champagne glass: “Come, let’s toast to our Mingze and Jiaojiao both getting first place!”

Xue Jiao and Cheng Mingze had milk; both raised their glasses with equally unenthusiastic expressions.

“Yes, I hope our Jiaojiao and Mingze continue to excel and hold onto first place!”

After Cheng Shuo spoke, he took out two papers, giving one to Cheng Mingze and one to Xue Jiao: “These are gifts that Mom and I picked for you.”

They accepted and looked—theater tickets for next weekend.

“What’s this?” Cheng Mingze struggled to swallow the overly sweet cake and asked.

“Next weekend, our family will go see this stage play! Your Auntie Wang said it’s very good. Your father will make time that day, and the whole family will go together.” Li Sitong said with a smile. Seeing that Cheng Mingze had finished, she tried to give him the last piece of cake on the table.

Cheng Mingze’s face momentarily contorted before he quickly stood up: “Good, good, good! Next week it is! I’ve finished eating. I’ll go upstairs to rest first!”

He grabbed his backpack and headed upstairs.

Li Sitong was stunned, still holding the cake, and turned to look at Xue Jiao: “Jiao…”

“I’m done too! Next weekend, right? Got it!” Xue Jiao said, and identically, grabbed her backpack and ran.

Li Sitong was even more confused, holding the cake and looking at Cheng Shuo.

Cheng Shuo’s mouth twitched, and he stiffly accepted the cake but didn’t bring it to his mouth.

Li Sitong looked worried: “Ah Shuo, I see Jiaojiao didn’t have much reaction. Does that mean she hasn’t forgiven me…”

Cheng Shuo used the opportunity to put the cake on the table and patted Li Sitong’s back: “Jiaojiao is hurt, and it will take time to warm her heart again. Don’t be discouraged. Even if her heart has turned to ice, you’re her mother. As long as you’re sincere, you can melt it. However…”

“Yes?”

“Sitong, you need to reflect on yourself. If you hurt Jiaojiao again next time, it might be harder to win her back.”

“I won’t do it again!” Li Sitong promised.

——

Xue Jiao returned to her room and worked on homework for a while before going to bed. Lying there, she tossed and turned, thinking about Li Sitong, unable to sleep.

She reached out and took her phone from the nightstand to check. There were several WeChat messages—besides advertisements, there was one from—

[Lin Zhihua: Congratulations on your first place.]

Xue Jiao picked up her phone and replied—

[You do know everything.]

The other party quickly responded—

[Lin Zhihua: Of course, I not only know you got first place but also that you’re in a bad mood.]

Xue Jiao was dumbfounded.

[How do you know???]

[Lin Zhihua: Because when you’re in a good mood, you sleep on time. Only when your mood is complicated and you can’t sleep do you check your phone.]

Xue Jiao was stunned, clutching her phone tightly.

It seemed that ever since the first time Lin Zhihua had comforted her through messages when she was troubled, then coincidentally met her when she was crying outside, and when he had given her advice during her conflict with Cheng Mingjiao… afterward, she had developed a habit of checking her phone when something was bothering her.

Fundamentally… was it because she wanted to talk to him?

While she was pondering this, the other party sent another message—

[Lin Zhihua: Let me guess again, is it because of your mother? If you got first place and still had a disagreement with your mother, then she must have questioned your score?]

Xue Jiao was truly amazed. After a while, she dumbly replied—

[You really… can’t hide anything from you…]

This time there was no reply for a long while. The phone interface kept showing “typing,” but no message came through.

Xue Jiao was puzzled and sent another message—

[Are you still there?]

A moment later, her phone lit up.

[Lin Zhihua: I want to share something with you.]

Then, a link came from the other side. Xue Jiao instinctively clicked on it.

Soon, she widened her eyes and sat up—

#National High School Mathematics Competition Coming Soon#

She quickly browsed through it, growing increasingly excited.

After reading it completely and calming her emotions, she exited the interface. By then, Lin Zhihua had sent another message—

[Lin Zhihua: Rather than dwelling on conflicts with your mother during high school, I think it’s better to do something meaningful. You’re already first in your class, so you can try something new.]

At this moment, Xue Jiao’s mind was exceptionally clear, her eyes wide with uncontainable excitement.

In her previous life, her biggest regret during high school was that she had spent a lot of time working part-time jobs to earn money, never participating in such competitions.

In her previous life, she barely had time for the college entrance exam, let alone these competitions. Now in her second year of high school, the timing was perfect.

[Lin Zhihua!! Thank you!! You’ve enlightened me!]

Why should she waste so much time fretting over various issues? Instead, she could do something meaningful!

This type of competition was something she had wanted to participate in but never had the chance to!

The reply came quickly—

[This competition has quite high value. You can participate, and if there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me.]

Xue Jiao paused. Ask him.

She responded naively—

[Have you participated before?]

On the other end of the phone, Lin Zhihua raised an eyebrow. There were too many things stored in boxes that he had never cared about before, but now…

[Lin Zhihua: Yes, in my first year of high school.]

After sending this message, he paused, like a primary school student eager to show off, pretending to be calm while his fingers quickly typed—

[Not just mathematics, but also physics and chemistry. Gold medal in mathematics and chemistry, special prize in physics.]

Xue Jiao was stunned. After a moment, her face reddened with excitement—

[All first place?!!!]

Lin Zhihua’s leg twitched slightly in an undignified manner, showing a hint of pride, but he maintained a straight face and calmly replied—

[Yes.]

Xue Jiao almost jumped up—

[How can you be so amazing!!!!!]

Lin Zhihua’s lips curled into a smile, his leg twitching twice more as he typed cheerfully—

[It’s okay.]

Xue Jiao nearly spat blood. Just “okay”?!

Those were mathematics! Physics! Chemistry! Gold medals!! First place!!!

She replied in shock—

[Is there anything you don’t know?]

This time, the other side again showed “typing,” and after half a minute, he replied with just five characters.

Seeing his answer, Xue Jiao’s eyes widened.