Chapter 106

The class bell rang.

After taking a walk on the playground, the three of them returned to the multimedia tiered classroom where the competition class was held, and the rest of the classmates had already arrived more or less.

Shu Shu and Pei Muyin were desk mates.

Shu Lingchen, meanwhile, went back to his seat in the back corner as if it were second nature.

His daily study routine was that, while everyone else was in class in the evening, he would silently do homework for all subjects; when he encountered a problem he didn't know, he would set it aside and wait for the teacher to announce the end of the competition class, leaving twenty minutes for discussion, during which he would ask his mother and sister for help.

Shu Lingchen's speed at finishing homework had gradually increased over time without him noticing.

Today, he finished his homework with more than ten minutes to spare before the discussion period, and in that gap he took out the vocabulary list his mother had given him and memorized it by dictation.

He had just finished memorizing a page when the class ended.

Shu Lingchen took the unfinished problem and scratch paper and went straight to find Shu Shu.

Why didn't he go find his sister? Because her schedule was packed.

Pei Muyin was the top student in the grade; after a few days of class, everyone discovered that the girl had an exceptionally good temper—whoever went to ask her a question got a patient answer, and soon a long line of enthusiastic students formed behind her.

Moreover, asking her for help wasn't in vain; the next day in class, various small snacks would be placed in Pei Muyin's desk, and not only that—whenever you saw her walking around school, you would greet her with a smile.

One bite each, classmate Muyin.

His sister had made friends, and seeing that Shu Lingchen felt relieved, he didn't bother her.

And why was nobody looking for Shu Shu?

Nobody knew how the rumor started, but they said Shu Lingchen had gotten into the tiered classroom through connections, his aunt—namely Shu Shu—was supposed to supervise his studies.

Those who were perceptive naturally left Shu Shu's discussion time for Shu Lingchen.

However, where there are perceptive people, there are also those who lack perception.

Shu Lingchen's pen slipped from his hand and rolled to the floor; when he picked it up and looked up again, he saw a figure standing in front of Shu Shu's desk.

Still, an old acquaintance.

Shi Jin.

…

Seeing Shi Jin, Shu Shu also raised her eyebrows in surprise.

During this time in the competition class, Shi Jin wasn't always alone; the class monitor of Yi Ban, who ranked second in the grade and had a thoughtful personality, also had many people coming to him for help by reputation.

But Shu Shu didn't have much interaction with him.

Shi Jin walked over and said, "Regarding that big competition problem the teacher assigned just before class ended, I had solved half of it but got stuck; I wanted to ask you, Shu Shu, if you had finished it."

The boy with regular features spoke in a warm, polite voice that was nothing unpleasant.

One does not strike a smiling face.

Shu Shu lowered her head, glanced at her already completed answer, and asked Shi Jin, "Where exactly are you stuck?"

"Here." Shi Jin handed his notebook to Shu Shu and said, "Trouble you, classmate Shu Shu."

While Shi Jin was asking his question, Shu Lingchen naturally waited behind; although he and Shi Jin had previously had some "bad blood," that was all in the past.

He, the mighty turkey chick baby, was not such a stingy person!

One minute passed—tsk, it feels like forever.

Two minutes passed—heh, feels like two hundred years.

Two and a half minutes…

Shu Lingchen's fists clenched.

Fortunately, at the third minute, Shi Jin finished asking and left.

Consider yourself lucky, little juice!

Shu Lingchen glanced at Shi Jin's retreating back, then wagged his tail and placed his homework in front of his mother.

Twenty minutes—oh, no, seventeen minutes of mother‑son warm teaching time ended.

Shu Shu praised: "Our turkey chick baby is getting quicker and quicker at grasping things instantly."

Shu Lingchen huffed proudly, his tail behind him forming a propeller shape.

…

I originally thought Shi Jin coming to ask Shu Shu for help was a random occurrence.

Who would have known, the next day, after the teacher announced the end of class, he would come again with his notebook to find Shu Shu—starting from a single point where he got stuck, his questions grew to two points, three points, and eventually even to discussing whether his own different solutions were viable based on Shu Shu's answer.

Then Shu Lingchen's warm mother‑son time began to dwindle from seventeen minutes downward.

Fifteen minutes, ten minutes, five minutes!

Besides, this was precisely the discussion time the teacher had set aside; it's normal for classmates to ask each other questions, so there's not much to say.

Thus, Shu Lingchen could only stay in his seat, glaring at Shi Jin with a vicious stare, wishing he could bore a big hole into the back of Shi Jin's head, while he wrote an oath on scratch paper with his ballpoint pen:

"Dog‑thing Shi Jin, bastard Shi Jin, the grudge for stealing my Mom, the grudge for destroying my warm parent‑child time—we cannot coexist under the same sky!"

Not! Share! Wear! Heaven!

It seemed as if every character was dripping with blood!

… oh, ink‑water of a weeping pen, he seemed to have pressed too hard and broken the pen.

Seeing that today's remaining five minutes were about to be cut in half, Shu Lingchen—uncle could tolerate, aunt could not—stood up with a swoop, strode over with a fierce aura, his face dark and gloomy, and asked:

"You don't have… an aunt?!"

Shi Jin fell silent for a moment, then replied, "Indeed, I have no aunt."

Shu Lingchen's eyes went black.

…

On the way back, Shu Lingchen sat in the car, his whole body filled with the fire of vexation—enough to feed three evil sword immortals.

On the third day, when the class bell rang, Shi Jin again brought his notebook over to find Shu Shu, but this time, without waiting for him to speak, Shu Shu said, "Classmate Shi Jin, don't come again—I'm too lazy to answer."

Shi Jin was slightly stunned, not expecting Shu Shu to directly refuse her.

Interpersonal negotiations have always been complicated; Shi Jin sensed that Shu Shu didn't want to deal with him anymore, but he thought he would hear a more tactful response from her.

For example, Shi Jin, feeling embarrassed, I haven't even finished my own problem today; you can ask someone else, the teacher or another classmate.

However, Shu Shu said, she couldn't be bothered.

Blunt and straightforward.

Shi Jin was once the son of the female lead in his dream, a counterpart to Shu Lingchen, but now the "Chu Lian" relationship line between them has been severed, and Shu Lingchen has also been set back on the right track by Shu Shu.

Shu Shu had no opinion of Shi Jin, nor any feeling, just like a stranger.

Shu Lingchen clearly didn't like Shi Jin coming to find her; she tossed aside all that "don't strike a smiling face" social niceties, always standing on the child's side.

Shu Shu narrowed her eyes and bluntly pointed out: "Shi Jin classmate, you actually have no need to ask me a question; you simply want to see Shu Lingchen suffer, right?"

The girl's peach-blossom eyes were beautiful, yet they carried an extremely keen insight, able to see through all dark thoughts; Shi Jin was instantly rooted to the spot.

"You're jealous of him."

"... Sorry."

Shi Jin almost fled in panic, turning around; he quickly walked out of the classroom, but couldn't help turning back, standing in the darkness looking inside.

He saw Shu Shu correcting Shu Lingchen's homework; the light above shone on the girl's fair side profile, gentle and focused.

That atmosphere was very warm.

It was a kind of warmth that was luxurious for Shi Jin.

…

In the moment Shi Jin was dazed, a teacher hurried past him, eyes scanning and spotting Pei Muyin surrounded by the crowd, and said:

"Pei Muyin classmate, can you come out for a moment?"

"Your parents are looking for you——"

As the female teacher's words fell, Shu Shu, who was focusing on the lecture, and Shu Lingchen, who was listening attentively, almost simultaneously looked over.

At the same time, Pei Muyin raised her head from the crowd.

Her parents……are looking for her?

This statement was very unfamiliar to the girl; upon hearing it, she held her pen and didn't react for a while.

The first thing that flashed in Pei Muyin's mind was a blank, due to her confusion.

Without thinking, she directly ruled out her grandmother.

Her grandmother was far away in Jing Shi; how could it be convenient for her to travel all the way to An Shi at this time? If her grandmother had something to ask her, she would just call, not go through all the trouble.

So, who could it be?

Her parents, aside from her grandmother, were only……

While confusedly following the teacher downstairs, Pei Muyin was momentarily stunned by the remaining guess behind her.

"Teacher, may I ask who is looking for me?" she couldn't help blurting out, her heartbeat unconsciously quickening as she asked.

The tiered classroom of the competition prep class was on the fourth floor; without the bustling crowds of daytime students, only the cicadas' chirping outside remained.

The female teacher's high-heeled shoes today made a tat-tat-tat-tat sound on the stairs, echoing together with the girl's light canvas shoe steps in the empty building.

Hearing Pei Muyin's question, she watched her step to avoid misstepping, and answered in a casual tone: "It's your dad, oh."

"……"

After the female teacher had descended a flight of stairs, she only then noticed that the canvas shoe footsteps had stopped at some point; she turned her head in confusion and saw the girl frozen in place.

"Muyin classmate?

"... Teacher, sorry, what did you just say, who?"

The female teacher gave a helpless chuckle and repeated: "It's Muyin classmate's dad, oh; he's already waiting for you in the office."

…

It's dad.

The parent who came to find her was dad.

The girl's mind was filled with shock and bewilderment as she turned over this information; by the time she reached the last flight of stairs, she didn't even know how she had made it down.

The teacher said, office; her body instinctively turned left, heading toward the teaching building.

Just two steps in——

"Muyin."

A low, magnetic, familiar male voice, deliberately slowed yet long unheard, rang out—so long that even the air fell silent for a few seconds.

"……" Pei Muyin tilted her head, dazed.

Beneath the teaching building's steps, before the greening belt, the man wore black clothes and long trousers, tall and broad; despite such simple attire, amidst this ordinary backdrop, the aura of a superior—cold, aloof—remained distinctly clear.

The hallway light struck his angular, cold face; beneath his black hair, those eyes that always held a wintery chill gazed at Pei Muyin as gently as he could manage.

Seeing the parent come over on his own, the female teacher took her leave with a meaningful glance.

"... Sorry, Muyin, I disturbed your class." Pei Du's voice had a hint of hoarseness; although the words he wanted to say had been carefully refined, he was still nervous: "Can we talk?"

However, he got no response from his daughter.

Pei Muyin acted as if she hadn't heard Pei Du's words, walking straight toward him.

Step by step, her gaze never left Pei Du until she stood before him and stopped.

Only see the girl raise her hand, extend a fair forefinger, cautiously approach Pei Du, poke his arm; likely receiving tactile feedback, she poked again.

"... Wow, it's real."

She marveled softly, a whisper meant only for herself to hear: "Not an illusion."

"……"

Feeling the subtle sensation from his daughter's finger pokes on his arm, Pei Du first froze.

Immediately, the man's dark eyes, finding the daughter's action cute, unconsciously lowered the corners of his eyes; he felt inexplicably sour and replied in a low voice,

"Mm, I really am."

Then, the next second, the girl's expression changed, gradually stiffening; she lifted her head to look at Pei Du, her peach-blossom eyes glistening and flickering, shifting from initial curiosity to disbelief.

Pei Du asked again: "Muyin, are you willing to chat with me?"

Along with Muyin's transfer procedures arriving at San Zhong, there was also a huge sum for the gymnasium's construction.

When the donation procedures were handled, the principal personally attended; he had intended to thank Muyin's parents in person, but at that time they only sent an assistant in a hurry.

Finally meeting the person in person, who turned out to be such a young outstanding entrepreneur, the principal, upon hearing this, rushed over intending to give a warm welcome, but Zhou Zhi gently said that Director Pei had only come to see his daughter, requesting that there be no need for a grand reception.

The principal had no reason to refuse, and enthusiastically opened the school's specially designated guest reception lounge for their use.

Zhou Zhi closed the door and stood guard at the entrance; inside, Pei Du was in the process of dismantling a straw from a milk tea.

He did it with just the right feel: pulling off the lower half, puncturing the paper lid, then pulling off the upper half, so as not to touch the straw.

The man's distinctively jointed hand pushed the milk tea toward his daughter; besides the milk tea, the coffee table also held three pieces of dessert.

But Muyin, sitting on the sofa, paid no attention to either the milk tea or the dessert; she kept her gaze fixed on Pei Du.

"What's wrong?" Pei Du's eyelids twitched; he couldn't hide his nervousness: "Is there something on my face?"

Muyin shook her head; all that could be heard was the girl's soft, sweet voice, her eyes bright and shining, as she earnestly and hopefully whispered, "Dad, have you remembered?"

Those words almost made Pei Du lose control; the hand at his side clenched tightly into a fist, and the pale back of his hand showed faint blue veins bulging.

In fact, many things had already been instantly proven during their first encounter just moments ago, without needing further verification.

In the daughter's gaze toward him were wonder, surprise, and disbelief—but notably, no disgust.

The daughter does not hate herself.

Upon confirming this realization, a surge of joy and excitement welled up in Pei Du's heart, but immediately afterward, that emotion suddenly cooled, sending a chill through his whole body.

The daughter does not hate herself, yet she believes that he hates her and does not want to see her.

Consequently, his coming to see her of his own accord led her to incredulously think that he had regained his memory.

"I haven't regained my memory," Pei Du swallowed before managing to answer: "You're surprised I'd come here?"

The girl nodded slowly and obediently.

Pei Du curled his lips, then pointed at the three desserts: "Want to try a bite to see if the taste has changed?"