As soon as Xuejiao entered the house, she saw Li Sitong sitting on the sofa with a grim expression, as if a storm was brewing. The atmosphere was heavy, and there was a faint sense of sadness hanging in the air.
When Xuejiao walked through the door, Li Sitong turned around in surprise, clearly not expecting her. "You're back so early?"
Xuejiao knew why she looked so upset. No mother would be happy seeing her daughter close to people who had deeply hurt her. However, Gu Xuejiao used to act like this—after every visit to Gu Jingxu's house, she would argue with Li Sitong for days.
Xuejiao nodded, placed her schoolbag down, walked over to Li Sitong, and squatted in front of her. Looking straight into her mother's eyes, she said seriously, "Mom, I don't like Dad."
Li Sitong froze, her face full of disbelief. She opened her mouth hesitantly, her voice soft and faint, "Why?"
"Because they've wronged you, and they're not really good to me either," Xuejiao said, her tone sincere. Her large eyes, so similar to Li Sitong's, brimmed with warmth and apology.
Li Sitong stared at her, unmoving, as if she had turned to stone.
"Mom," Xuejiao continued, "I really don't like Dad."
At this, Li Sitong suddenly burst into tears, hugging Xuejiao tightly and pressing her head against her chest.
"Woo…" she sobbed. "Zizania… My daughter is finally sensible…"
Hearing the crying, Cheng Shuo rushed out of the room, alarmed. Cheng Mingze also came down from upstairs.
"Si Tong, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Cheng Shuo asked anxiously.
Cheng Mingze narrowed his eyes at Xuejiao. "Did you make Mom angry again?"
"No!" Xuejiao gently patted Li Sitong on the back. "Mom, don't cry."
"Zizania, you're so sensible now… Mother's good daughter…" Li Sitong continued to cry.
Cheng Shuo and Cheng Mingze stood rooted in place, utterly confused. Wasn't Gu Xuejiao causing trouble again?
Xuejiao and Cheng Shuo spent a long time comforting Li Sitong. She seemed overwhelmed with emotion. Once she realized Xuejiao hadn't eaten yet, she immediately went to the kitchen to prepare a meal.
Xuejiao stared at the two dishes on the table, which looked far from appetizing, and a bowl of plain white rice.
If she remembered correctly, Li Sitong was a kitchen disaster…
"Mom, why don't you eat too?" Xuejiao tried hesitantly.
"No, no, I just want to watch you eat!" Li Sitong said with a smile, eagerly serving her more food.
"Uncle Cheng and Brother, do you want some supper too?" Xuejiao asked, still searching for an escape.
"No need! It's bad to eat too much at night at my age," Cheng Shuo said as he quickly walked away.
Cheng Mingze immediately followed suit, trying to escape, but Li Sitong, still in high spirits, stopped him. "Mingze! You're still growing. Sit down and eat!"
Before he could protest, she pressed him into a seat and went to fetch him a bowl of rice.
"Eat, eat! Eat more!" Li Sitong beamed, piling food onto both their plates.
For the first time, Xuejiao and Cheng Mingze exchanged a serious look, their eyes full of mutual sympathy.
After dinner, Xuejiao went back to her room and diligently started her homework. Weekend assignments were plentiful, but most of them consisted of exercises and workbook problems.
She had already completed the classroom exercises during school hours—a habit of hers. Doing so allowed her to consolidate knowledge while it was fresh in her mind and save more time for other tasks at home.
The material wasn't difficult. Xuejiao had mastered it before, and this was just further reinforcement. She completed all the math problems and half the physics assignments in just over an hour before heading to bed.
Lying in bed, she planned her holiday study schedule before closing her eyes.
Just then, her phone chimed.
She glanced at the screen and saw a message from Lin Zhihua.
When she opened it, she found an image of a panda holding bamboo.
Her eyes lit up, and a smile spread across her face as she recalled the image of the impeccably dressed man standing in front of the doll machine. She quickly typed back:
"Wow! You got it! That's amazing!"
The reply came almost instantly:
"Yes."
Xuejiao blinked. Was that it?
"Good night," she typed back, unsure how else to continue the conversation.
A few minutes later, just as she was about to fall asleep, her phone chimed again. It was Lin Zhihua.
"Good night," read the message, accompanied by a colorful, overly cheerful animated sticker that said "Good Night" in flashing letters, with a glowing moon in the background.
Xuejiao stared at it for a moment, her lips twitching.
On Sunday night, Xuejiao was sitting on the balcony reviewing her notes when Li Sitong came in.
"Mom? What's wrong?" Xuejiao asked, noticing her mother's dazed expression.
Li Sitong walked up to her silently and gazed at her daughter. Xuejiao had changed so much in just half a month. The loud, rebellious girl was gone, replaced by a clean, quiet one. Her delicate features now carried a sense of calm maturity.
"Zizania…" Li Sitong's voice cracked. "You've always been so sensible, haven't you?"
Her words were soft, tinged with regret.
Xuejiao reached out and patted her mother's hand. "Mom, what's wrong?"
Li Sitong shook her head and hugged Xuejiao tightly. She had always tried to present a strong front, but today, she seemed vulnerable.
"Zizania," Li Sitong said, her voice trembling. "I just want you to stay good… I don't need you to be perfect or extraordinary. Just… don't go back to how things were before."
Xuejiao understood the source of her sadness. Li Sitong had faced ridicule in the past because of Gu Xuejiao's behavior. People had mocked her as a failed mother and a second wife trying too hard to fit in.
Xuejiao looked into her mother's teary eyes and said firmly, "Mom, I can do better than just not making trouble. I'll make you proud."
On Monday morning, Xuejiao arrived early for the morning self-study session. She sat down, opened her textbook, and began reciting.
"Hey, nerd!" Yi Tianyu greeted as he slumped into his seat beside her, resting his head on the desk.
Xuejiao ignored him and continued reading.
"Nerd, why are you so serious? How are your grades still so bad?" he muttered, watching her in disbelief.
Xuejiao still didn't respond.
Annoyed, Yi Tianyu finally gave up and lay down to nap.
"Students, I have good news for you!" The math teacher's cheerful voice cut through the class.
"What is it?" The students perked up, eagerly waiting for him to speak.
The teacher grinned. "There will be no classes on Thursday and Friday!"
The students cheered.
The teacher's grin widened. "Because we're having our monthly test instead!"
A collective groan filled the room.
Meanwhile, Xuejiao remained focused, unbothered by the news. But someone else had other ideas.
"Cousin," Cheng Mingjiao said with a smirk, "Don't forget our bet! You said you'd surpass me. I'm looking forward to it."
The students around them burst into laughter, while Xuejiao glanced at her calmly.
"Wait and see," Xuejiao replied simply, her tone unwavering.
Cheng Mingjiao's eyes flash with pride, and her eyes move to Yi Tianyu's body beside her.
Looking at the other party's handsome face, his cheek was slightly red, "That Yi Tianyu, come on..."
Yi Tianyu looked at her in horror: "Why are you satirizing me? I didn't bet with you."
"Ha ha ha ha!" There was a lot of laughter all around. Originally, I thought it was nothing. When Yi Tianyu said this, everyone felt that Cheng Mingjiao's words seemed ironic.