"Chuxia, may I come in?"
"The door isn't locked."
"Chuxia, this is the milk Mom just warmed up for you; I brought it up for you, so I'll just leave it on the table for you, okay?"
An Mingzhu delivered the milk but didn't leave, so Lin Chuxia took off her headphones and gave her a glance, "Is there anything else?"
"Chuxia, where have you been all day today?" She didn't believe that Lin Chuxia had simply wandered around because she was lost.
After all, the relaxed manner Lin Chuxia had when she came home didn't seem like someone who had suffered any hardship.
"Where else could I go? I was just continuously asking people for directions home! Why, were you hoping I went somewhere else?" Lin Chuxia asked nonchalantly.
"No, I was just worried about you. By the way, after we left, did anything happen at the entrance of Jinxiu Residential Area? I mean, didn't a car come by? The owner of the car didn't do anything to you, did they?"
Lin Chuxia looked at An Mingzhu with a smile that was not quite a smile.
So, she wanted to find out whether Gu Yuheng had scolded her after they left. Should she make up a story for her to hear?
Suddenly feeling actor-like, Lin Chuxia's expression changed instantly, feigning a frightened look, "That car... the people in that car were so fierce. Who on earth were they, and why were they so unreasonable?"
"Chuxia, you're new to Jincheng and unaware of the powers here. Just remember, the people from that car are not someone you can afford to provoke. From now on, it's best to steer clear whenever you see them. I'm saying this for your own good, you know?"
She wasn't saying this for Lin Chuxia's sake.
Given Lin Chuxia's nature, after hearing her words, she would probably be unable to resist her curiosity and would be all the more eager to meet with Grandpa Gu. By then, with Grandpa Gu's dislike for women who throw themselves at him, there would be a good show to watch.
By then, Lin Chuxia would become the laughingstock of the whole Jincheng. Given how much Xie Jinya and An Guosheng valued their reputation, they would definitely give up on their biological daughter Lin Chuxia right away.
At that time, she wanted to see how Lin Chuxia would compete with her!
If Lin Chuxia heeded her advice and didn't provoke Grandpa Gu, there would be no loss for her either. After all, with Lin Chuxia's status, if she didn't tell her, she would probably never know of a person with such a noble status as Grandpa Gu, let alone meet him.
If she had any self-awareness, it would be better for her to keep her distance. Especially given Lin Chuxia's face... it really made her somewhat jealous. It would be better if that face never came before Grandpa Gu.
Even though she knew that a person like Grandpa Gu wouldn't superficially judge by appearances, she still disliked Lin Chuxia's face fluttering before him.
Living up to An Mingzhu's expectations, Lin Chuxia nodded, "Such frightening people, I wouldn't go near them even without your advice."
With a quick shift in her eyes, Lin Chuxia continued, "Oh, and I heard something else afterwards. At first, I didn't understand why the car's people verbally assaulted me out of the blue, but then I heard the security guards chatting. It turns out, half a year ago, a shameless woman sneaked into Grandpa Gu's hotel room, stripped naked, and lay on his bed, and later, Grandpa Gu had her thrown out."
"Right, that incident seemed to have happened in Yuncheng. Sister, do you think that woman is shameless, the scum of womankind! I've never even seen such a shameless woman out in the countryside!"
"Hehe, yes..." The smile on An Mingzhu's face was barely hanging on.
Half a year ago, Yuncheng... It was apparent who that woman was. Even the security guards knew about her affairs... Dammit.
An Mingzhu clenched her fists tightly.
The incident from half a year ago was the most shameful event she never wished to mention.
She had originally thought that the rumors about Jincheng's Third Master's indifference to women were an exaggeration, and she prided herself on being a cut above the other noble ladies of Jincheng. Although her status was not as high as theirs, she had both beauty and talent.
However, she had never expected that she would be thrown out without even seeing the Third Master's face, a humiliation that was the disgrace of her life!
Fortunately, she had reacted quickly at the time, claiming she entered the wrong room and had managed to salvage her reputation. Otherwise...
After An Mingzhu emerged from her room, pale and trembling, Lin Chuxia finally couldn't hold back and fell onto the bed, laughing uproariously.
An Mingzhu fancied herself clever, but Gu Yuheng, after all, was a man who had dealt with all kinds of people in the business world, and her little schemes were nothing to him.
When An Mingzhu was in a bad mood, Lin Chuxia felt great, and even the words "Gu the Big Devil" on her cell phone WeChat seemed much more pleasing to the eye.
Because of the events of the day, Lin Chuxia had been filled with frustration and displeasure, but after An Mingzhu's antics, her mood had instantly improved, and she slept beautifully.
As for An Mingzhu, it was different; she woke up the next day with two dark circles under her eyes—she had been so anxious the night before that she hadn't been able to sleep at all!
Seeing Lin Chuxia's rosy and refreshed appearance, An Mingzhu's heart palpitated with anger, and her face grew even uglier.
Xie Jinya, noticing her complexion, asked worriedly, "Mingzhu, did you not rest well last night?"
An Mingzhu seized the opportunity to nod, "Mom, I really couldn't sleep last night; I had insomnia."
"Is it because you're too tired from writing books lately? You know, what should I say to you, our family isn't lacking that little bit of money, you should just write books for fun, there's no need to work yourself to death."
"Mom, I know you want what's best for me. But writing books is my hobby, I don't do it for the money. And last night's insomnia wasn't due to writing books either," An Mingzhu said, biting her lip and glancing at Lin Chuxia, "I lost sleep last night because I was worried about Chuxia."
Lin Chuxia, who was battling with a xiaolongbao, froze at these words, a bad feeling rising in her heart.
"What are you worrying about her for?" Xie Jinya, seeing Lin Chuxia still nibbling on a bun, immediately got annoyed.
As expected of a country bumpkin, even eating looks like a starving ghost reincarnated, with no table manners!
"Mom, it's already mid-August. I got my admission notice long ago, but we still haven't seen any sign of Chuxia's, and we don't even know which school she will be admitted to."
The first batch of admission notices are from first-tier universities, which should all reach the students by mid-July at the latest.
The second batch are within the second-tier cutoff, whose notices come a bit later than first-tier, but usually arrive by the end of August.
As for Chuxia's notice, there is still no sign of it, so it's estimated that she is at the tail end of the third-tier universities or she might even fail to be admitted to a college.
Realizing what An Mingzhu meant, Xie Jinya looked at Lin Chuxia with even more displeasure, "Humph, what a disgrace!"
"Chuxia, do you know which university has admitted you? If it's not a good university, you might as well repeat the year. Even though it won't reflect well on our family's reputation, compared to that, your future is more important."