Lin Zhihua ignored him, casually taking out the men’s watch from the couple’s set and putting it on his wrist, then rubbing it slightly.

It was only for a moment before Lin Zhihua lowered his hand and looked toward Chen Yan.

“Is it fixed?”

“Yes, he’s fixed it.” Chen Yan respectfully handed him a somewhat worn women’s wristwatch.

Lin Zhihua put it away, then walked out quickly: “Chen Yan, pay.”

After everyone had left, the chubby man sat dazedly holding the check, his face filled with bewilderment.

What had happened today?

Had he just sold his store’s treasured couple’s watches in one go?!

He recalled sitting idly in the store when suddenly three men entered. As soon as they came in, they took out a somewhat worn women’s wristwatch and asked if it had been sold from his store and whether it could be repaired.

That woman’s wristwatch was indeed from his store, so he helped them repair it. At the time, he had marveled at how such an imposing man could be so extremely frugal.

To think he would want to repair a broken women’s wristwatch.

Some parts inside the watch needed to be replaced, so he went to the back room to get them. Unexpectedly, after a while, the thirty-something-year-old man came in, saying nothing, and directly covered his mouth, pinning him down.

He thought he was being robbed, and then he heard voices talking.

Later… he heard his store’s treasure being sold for one thousand yuan!

He was furious at that moment. As soon as the man released him, he immediately ran out to question them.

And then… both watches were sold?

The chubby man pondered hard without reaching any conclusion, shaking his head, then lifted the check and gave it a hearty kiss.

“Well, whatever rich people’s quirks are, I’ve made money! Hahaha!”

——

The car drove steadily toward the Lin residence. The assistant secretly glanced at Lin Zhihua through the rearview mirror. Today’s events had truly scared him.

He was curious but didn’t dare to ask, let alone speak.

Lin Zhihua obviously wouldn’t pay him any attention. It wasn’t until the car drove through the Lin family’s front gate that he finally said: “Go back.”

Then he strode into the house with large steps.

Tan Qi exhaled, patting his chest. The boss’s aura was terrifying!

He turned his head and smiled fawningly at Secretary Chen Yan: “Um… Secretary Chen, do you know…”

“No.”

“Aren’t you curious?!”

“No.”

“…”

Tan Qi looked at his cold face, comparable to the boss’s, and only marveled at why, over so many years, only Secretary Chen had persisted by the boss’s side and become his most trusted person!

This was truly a machine!

His expressions were very rich. Chen Yan finally looked at him and said: “Do you know why your predecessor left?”

“Wh-wh-why?”

“Talked too much.”

Tan Qi: “…”

Chen Yan turned and got into the car. Tan Qi shuddered and quickly followed.

——

As soon as Lin Zhihua entered the house, he knew someone was inside. He frowned slightly. Sure enough, his parents walked out of the kitchen.

Lin Zhihua, while loosening his tie, asked coldly: “Why are you here?”

“What? We can’t come?” Lin’s father’s expression immediately turned sour.

Lin Zhihua ignored him and poured himself a glass of water to drink.

Lin’s mother pinched Lin’s father and then smiled: “Well… your hand hasn’t healed yet, why have you started working? Dad and Mom are worried about you…”

Lin Zhihua sat down, slightly raising his head, glancing at them: “The mess you left behind isn’t completely cleaned up yet. How can I not go to work?”

“How dare you speak to us like that, you brat?!”

Lin’s mother held Lin’s father back and smiled awkwardly. Her gaze swept over his wrist and she froze: “You’re wearing a watch?”

No wonder she was so surprised, and no wonder she noticed this detail.

Lin Zhihua was a peculiar person. Well, if she wasn’t his mother, she would use the word “abnormal” to describe him.

This person never wore a wristwatch because, since middle school, he had strictly adhered to time schedules. He could accurately estimate time without a watch.

So Lin’s mother had never seen a wristwatch on Lin Zhihua’s hand. This was truly an unprecedented event.

Lin Zhihua merely nodded without giving any explanation.

Well, his matter-of-fact attitude left Lin’s parents speechless.

“What did you come here for today?”

Lin’s mother smiled and pulled Lin’s father to sit down beside him: “I heard that you’ve changed your assistant…”

“Hmm?”

“A very young and handsome man?” Lin’s mother’s voice tightened.

Lin Zhihua: “…”

“So?”

Lin’s mother could barely maintain her smile and finally stammered: “As… as long as you’re happy…”

Lin’s father shook off her hand, stood up, and glared at Lin Zhihua.

His gaze was furious, his expression serious, his presence seemingly imposing, as if he was about to start scolding.

Lin Zhihua also stood up, and Lin’s father immediately stepped back, all his imposing presence gone.

“I don’t like men.”

After saying this, he tossed down his tie and walked into the bathroom.

Lin’s parents’ expressions suddenly relaxed. Lin’s father directly broke into a smile: “That’s good… that’s good… I told you not to believe rumors!”

Lin’s mother glared: “Now you’re blaming me? Weren’t you just as anxious when you first heard?”

As she spoke, she suddenly sighed, her face full of worry: “Our son doesn’t interact with women now, nor does he like men… sigh, is he going to be lonely for his entire life?”

“That’s why he should have a child through surrogacy!”

Lin’s mother rolled her eyes: “It’s not like he’s willing! If it weren’t for you spreading the news about our son’s… son’s impotence back then, how could he have been mocked, eventually going abroad for studies, and then stopped interacting with women!”

Lin’s father also lowered his head slightly, showing some guilt. This was his fault.

“Let’s go. Our son doesn’t like having other people in the house!”

“So his father is ‘other people’ now?”

The couple left, muttering. In the bathroom, Lin Zhihua ran both hands from his chin upward, flipping his hair back, blinking his eyes, staring blankly in one direction.

He indeed didn’t like women, nor did he like men.

For so many years, he had thought this way.

But clearly, recent events had broken his perception, which made him somewhat flustered.

“Sir… don’t be afraid… I’ll save you… everything… everything will be fine!”

“Sir… continue… keep going, let’s… let’s… go further away! Use… use some strength… hang on… I can’t carry… you…”

“Xue Jiao, Gu Xue Jiao.”

“Sir…”

“Xue Jiao…”

“Don’t be afraid…”

“Sir…”

“Sir…”

…

These voices continuously echoed in his mind.

——

“Why are you home at this hour?” Li Sitong was carrying a fruit plate. When she saw her, her face instinctively turned serious.

Her expression carried some fierceness, along with a knowing look of “just as I thought.”

Great, she thought she had skipped school again.

Xue Jiao felt both helpless and speechless. While changing her shoes, she said: “This afternoon and evening are for cleaning the dormitories. Day students can go home. Brother will be back soon too.”

“Oh…” Li Sitong responded blankly.

So… she hadn’t skipped class?

“Mom, I’m going upstairs to study!”

“Huh?”

Li Sitong was still doubting her ears when Xue Jiao had already gone upstairs carrying all the things she’d bought.

——

She had tidied up her room a bit yesterday, throwing away all the messy clothes and cosmetics. Now the room was much cleaner.

She placed the books she’d bought, one by one, into the empty bookshelf—almost all were study guides, including two complete sets of “Five-Three.” Then she tore down all the posters on the wall, and after the entire wall was restored to white, she hung up the small blackboard she had bought.

It was positioned right across from her bed, visible as soon as she opened her eyes.

Then she took out some chalk and wrote on it—

646 days until the college entrance exam.

She placed the chalk in the slot at the bottom of the blackboard, dusted off her hands, and opened the curtains.

The Cheng family treated Gu Xue Jiao quite well. This room had a good layout. The desk that Li Sitong had bought was placed by the window, and the evening sun’s light fell on the table.

Xue Jiao took out the math and physics books she had brought home.

In her previous life, these two subjects, along with English, were her weakest. In this life, they were her focus areas for improvement.

She had always known she wasn’t a genius, but that was fine. She could rely on diligence to walk toward her dream.

Xue Jiao opened her book. Downstairs, Cheng Mingze and Cheng Shuo had also returned.

“You’re back?” Li Sitong smiled as she went to take Cheng Shuo’s bag, also smiling at Cheng Mingze.

“Where’s Jiaojiao? Mingze said she came back first.”

“She’s upstairs. She went up as soon as she got home.” Then she lowered her voice, sounding confused, “I saw she brought back many books. This is…”

Cheng Shuo smiled: “It seems her competition with Mingjiao is quite influential.”

Cheng Mingze suddenly frowned: “Dad, Aunt Li, I discovered something today that I think I should tell you.”

“What?”

Cheng Mingze then recounted everything he had seen that day in detail. Li Sitong stood up angrily: “Jiaojiao was such a good child when she was little. I thought she changed to her current state because she couldn’t adapt to the new environment. I didn’t realize there were people deliberately influencing her!”

Cheng Mingze nodded: “I clarified today that Gu Xue Jiao became friends with them the year she came to the Cheng family.”

Li Sitong was breathing heavily, somewhat trembling.

Cheng Shuo kept patting her: “It’s okay, it’s okay. Jiaojiao wants to change now. It’s not too late. Those people…”

“I already threatened them today. They’re almost all minors. I’m afraid that if pushed too hard, they might harm Gu Xue Jiao instead.”

Cheng Shuo nodded, looking at him as he advised: “Pay more attention in the future. Take your sister home with you every evening. If they try to contact your sister again, tell me immediately.”

“Alright.”

He still didn’t like Gu Xue Jiao, but just for Li Sitong’s sake, he wouldn’t stand by and do nothing.

Cheng Shuo exhaled: “Fortunately, Jiaojiao is competing with Mingjiao. Hopefully, she can persist longer this time, so we can gradually correct her character. Sitong, praise her when she does well. Your attitude is very important to her.”

“I will!”

“Mingze, stop giving your sister the cold shoulder too!”

“I know…”

Only then did Cheng Shuo stand up, “Let’s eat. Sitong, go call Jiaojiao.”

Li Sitong stood up and walked upstairs.

When she opened Xue Jiao’s door, she was stunned. Outside, it was getting dark. The young girl had her hair tied in a bun, sitting by the window, holding a pen properly, and taking notes while reading.

Other unnecessary items in the room were gone, and the messy posters on the wall had disappeared, leaving only a small blackboard with writing on it.

Li Sitong blinked, feeling like she might have opened the door incorrectly, so she closed it and opened it again.

However, the scene remained the same…

The young girl turned her head at this moment, tilting her head and asking curiously: “What’s the matter?”

“Dinner’s ready…” She stammered a bit.

“Okay.” Xue Jiao tidied up the desk, turned off the light, and followed her downstairs.

When the two reached the staircase, Li Sitong suddenly seemed to remember something and stiffly said: “Jiaojiao… you’re doing very well. Mom… Mom believes you can persist!”

While her mouth was saying she believed, her eyes were full of—Impossible! She definitely won’t last a few days!

Xue Jiao’s lips twitched. Even though she saw the other’s distrust, she still had to pretend not to have noticed.

She had to put on a Gu Xue Jiao-style tsundere expression of being moved, greatly encouraged, and rekindling her fighting spirit, saying—

“Of course! I’m determined to defeat Cheng Mingjiao!”

That night.

Li Sitong lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

“Sitong… go to sleep, stop turning…”

She suddenly sat up and looked at Cheng Shuo—

“Old Cheng, I think what you said is very right. I must encourage her at all times, show that I believe in her, so she can persist!”

She firmly believed that Xue Jiao’s big change this time was because she competed with Cheng Mingjiao, although she still might not last for a few days. But as long as she praised her constantly, encouraging her with trust, she could extend the time Xue Jiao would persist!

Yes! That’s it!

That must be it!

Author’s note: Li Sitong: My daughter has improved because she competed with Mingjiao. Thanks to Mingjiao!

Cheng Mingjiao: ??? What the hell did I do???