Chapter 28 Part 1

Zhou Wan unlocked the door and entered the house, subconsciously reaching out to turn on the light. The moment she pressed the switch, she remembered the lightbulb had burned out last week, and she hadn't had time to replace it.

But the next second, the light came on.

It wasn't the harsh, stark white from before, but a very soft, yellow light.

Zhou Wan paused. Grandma must have changed it.

She looked up at the light. The soft, yellow glow spread out, illuminating the dark room and making her feel warm. She pursed her lips and smiled unconsciously.

Grandma was already asleep, so Zhou Wan went straight to her bedroom.

She had been out all day and hadn't had a chance to do her homework yet.

Zhou Wan took out her test papers from her schoolbag, sat at her desk, and began to look at the questions. After doing a few, the image of Lu Xixiao from earlier appeared in her mind again.

After she nodded and said okay, Lu Xixiao had lowered his head and smiled.

Then he walked up to her, his dark eyes lowered, and looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Girlfriend?"

Zhou Wan froze, her face unconsciously flushing.

She had never been in a relationship.

She hadn't even really observed how other people were in relationships, though she had seen Lu Xixiao with his previous girlfriends a few times.

Those girls would often act cute with him. Sometimes Lu Xixiao would smile, and other times he would get impatient.

He probably didn't like girls who were too clingy, but she was his girlfriend after all, so she couldn't be too distant.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Zhou Wan followed his lead, lowered her eyes, and responded softly, "Boyfriend."

Lu Xixiao chuckled again and patted her head. "Go on in."

His laughter seemed a little teasing, but Zhou Wan still felt a sense of relief, as if she had passed some kind of interview.

…

Just as she was thinking, her phone vibrated.

[6: Arrived.]

Before, Lu Xixiao never told her whether he had arrived home or not.

But, how was she supposed to chat with a boyfriend?

After a pause, Zhou Wan replied: [Are you asleep?]

[6: Still early.]

[6: What are you doing?]

[Zhou Wan: Doing homework.]

[6: You do it.]

Is... the chat over?

Zhou Wan held her phone and stared at it for a long time, but Lu Xixiao didn't reply again. She lowered her eyelids, thought for a long time, and finally sent a message: [Are you angry?]

Ten minutes later, Lu Xixiao finally replied. It was a voice message.

The young man's voice was clear and cool, tinged with a muffled smile. "Just took a shower. I was just telling you to do your homework, do you really think I get angry over nothing every day?"

Zhou Wan couldn't help but complain in her heart, 'He does get angry easily.'

But of course, she didn't dare to actually send her real thoughts.

Just as she was thinking about what to reply, Lu Xixiao sent another voice message.

"It's getting late, you should do your homework first, or you'll have to stay up late."

Zhou Wan looked at the pile of test papers in front of her. To finish them all would probably take until after midnight, so she sent Lu Xixiao a "good night" in advance.

[6: Good night.]

He replied quickly.

Zhou Wan put down her phone. When she looked up, she happened to glimpse herself in the mirror.

Her soft black hair was spread out, her cheeks were tinged with a faint red, and the tip of her nose was also red from the cold wind outside earlier. The corners of her mouth were turned up, and her eyes held a smile.

She was stunned for a moment, feeling in a daze that this version of herself was a rare sight, with a smile that shone from the bottom of her eyes.

She shook her head, forcing herself not to let her thoughts wander, and buried her head in her work.

Zhou Wan worked through the questions quickly, but it still took her two hours to finish. She packed her schoolbag, took a shower, and came out to find an unread text message on her phone.

—Guo Xiangling.

The moment she saw that name, a chill ran through Zhou Wan's body, and her heart skipped a beat.

Ever since she asked for the 150,000 yuan last time, Guo Xiangling hadn't contacted her again. Zhou Wan had thought that she would never have anything to do with Guo Xiangling again.

[Guo Xiangling: Is it convenient to talk on the phone?]

Zhou Wan lowered her eyes, their depths dark, and stared silently at the message.

If it were yesterday, or even tomorrow, Zhou Wan wouldn't have felt so upset seeing this message.

But today, she had just gotten together with Lu Xixiao.

Her fingers slowly tapped on the keypad as she replied: [Yes.]

Soon, Guo Xiangling called.

This time, the insincere pleasantries from before were gone. She no longer called Guo Xiangling "Mother," and Guo Xiangling no longer hypocritically called her "Wanwan."

Guo Xiangling got straight to the point: "Can your grandma have the surgery?"

Zhou Wan was silent, not saying a word.

Guo Xiangling understood the silent answer. "Since she can't have the surgery, do you still need the money you threatened me for last time?"

Zhou Wan knew that Guo Xiangling was certain she wouldn't ask for it again.

She wasn't a greedy person; it was only for her grandma's medical treatment.

Zhou Wan took a deep breath and said slowly, "I don't need it. I won't ask you for the remaining 150,000 yuan, so from now on, don't contact me anymore."

"Then what about you and Lu Xixiao?"

Zhou Wan paused, her gaze shifting to the Kobito doll on her bedside table. "I haven't broken up with him."

"You're still together?!" Guo Xiangling's voice suddenly turned shrill with disbelief. "Zhou Wan, you promised me you wouldn't let his father find out about this."

"I only promised you that I wouldn't go looking for Lu Zhongyue. I never promised you that I would break up with Lu Xixiao. Besides, you didn't even give me the 300,000 yuan you originally agreed to."

"You bitch!" Guo Xiangling was furious, lashing out with her words, and said through gritted teeth, "Bitch, ungrateful wretch!"

Hearing those words, Zhou Wan's face was expressionless. She didn't even blink.

Guo Xiangling ground her back teeth and lowered her voice. "Don't tell me you've actually fallen for Lu Xixiao? Heh, do you really think you two will have any future? Strictly speaking, you should call him brother. Zhou Wan, I gave birth to you, you're his stepsister! You're his sister!"

A chill ran through Zhou Wan's body. The knuckles of the hand gripping her phone turned white from the force.

Guo Xiangling sneered, "You don't know, do you? Lu Xixiao once had a real sister, but unfortunately, she died. I heard he was quite sad back then. How angry do you think he'll be when he finds out you're also his sister? He's Old Master Lu's most doted-on grandson. If you offend him, just think about what kind of future you'll have."

Zhou Wan couldn't listen anymore and hung up the phone directly.

Her hand was shaking uncontrollably, and she couldn't hold the phone. It fell to the floor with a heavy thud.

She sat on the bed, curling up into a ball, hugging her legs and burying her face in them. Her heart was pounding, her pulse unsteady.

A long time passed before Zhou Wan slowly calmed down.

She repeatedly warned herself.

Lu Xixiao would not find out about any of it.

He wouldn't be hurt by this matter in any way.

She had already decided not to use Lu Xixiao to get revenge on Guo Xiangling. Given the relationship between Lu Xixiao and Lu Zhongyue, Lu Zhongyue would not find out about their relationship, nor would he find out about her existence.

In a month, or two, Lu Xixiao would eventually get tired of her.

When that time came, she would leave, and everything would return to normal.

This matter would sink into the sea, becoming a secret known only to her and Guo Xiangling, never to see the light of day again.

All of this started because of her, so naturally, she had to be the one to end it and give it a reasonably good conclusion.

All she wanted was for Lu Xixiao to be a little happier during this time, which could be considered her way of making it up to him.

Yes, that's right.

Just like that.

Nothing will go wrong.

Nothing will go wrong.

"Come on, everyone back to your seats. Class is starting three minutes early so I can talk about this monthly exam," the homeroom teacher said, knocking on the doorframe as he walked to the podium.

Hearing "monthly exam," the students in the classroom let out a collective wail.

Last week's monthly exam questions were all very difficult. Most people didn't have enough time to finish their science and math papers, leaving several questions completely blank.

"The highest score in the grade is still in our class, 706 points!"

Everyone turned their gazes to Jiang Yan, marveling that he was simply inhuman to be able to break the 700-point mark on such a paper.

The homeroom teacher continued with a smile, "The second place is also in our class, 701 points!"

And so, all eyes turned to Zhou Wan.

It was like this for every exam. Jiang Yan and Zhou Wan were always first and second in the grade.

The homeroom teacher observed everyone's expressions and said, "I see that Zhou Wan and Jiang Yan are both quite calm. What are the rest of you smiling so enthusiastically for? What, are their scores going to be given to you during the college entrance exams or something? None of you study, but you're quite good at being happy for other people's good grades."

Everyone: "..."

The homeroom teacher waved the two score reports in his hand. "Come on, Zhou Wan and Jiang Yan, come up and get them."

Zhou Wan stood up, went forward, and took hers. Then she heard the teacher say, "It wasn't easy, Zhou Wan. The eternal second place has finally turned things around this time."

Zhou Wan paused and looked at the last column on her score report—706.

She had 706 points. This time, she was first place.

The faint smile on Jiang Yan's face froze for a moment. He looked at the score report in his hand in disbelief.

The students below erupted once again.

"What does that mean, Zhou Wan is first place this time?"

"A battle of gods!"

"Holy crap, I'm witnessing history!"

...

The homeroom teacher smiled. "This paper was indeed difficult. It's not easy to score over 700. You two should both keep up the hard work. Anyway, I've arranged for you two to be deskmates, so you can supervise and motivate each other."

Back at her seat, Zhou Wan glanced sideways at Jiang Yan.