Li Sitong shuddered as if struck by a sudden realization. Her lips trembled, but she couldn't find the words to say.
Should she apologize?
It seemed she'd already said sorry too many times.
Should she ask why Xue Jiao would speak to her like that?
But the words wouldn't come.
She stood there trembling slightly, utterly speechless.
Xue Jiao took a deep breath. "Mom, you should go back. I need to study now."
With that, she turned to leave, her gaze meeting Yi Tianyu's face peeking through the window.
Their eyes locked momentarily across the distance.
Yi Tianyu looked like a child caught misbehaving—he immediately turned away and ducked his head back inside.
Xue Jiao only paused briefly before continuing forward, leaving Li Sitong behind.
With parents just departed and teachers yet to return, even the advanced class couldn't avoid descending into lively discussions about grades, seating arrangements, and parents' meetings.
Xue Jiao returned to her seat and silently took out her physics textbook.
In her previous life, she'd struggled particularly with electromagnetism—her error rate on related problems had been alarmingly high.
Given this second chance, Xue Jiao wasn't taking anything for granted. She was determined to study this section thoroughly again to shore up her weaknesses.
Yi Tianyu kept glancing her way. After a while, he rummaged through his desk and pulled out a small packet of soda crackers.
He paused, thinking: Why do I only have this lousy cracker?
After checking again to confirm there was nothing else, he slowly pushed the cracker across his desk toward Xue Jiao with his fingers.
"Hey, dummy, want some?" he asked, feigning nonchalance.
Xue Jiao stared at the cracker blankly before shifting her gaze to Yi Tianyu.
"No thanks, you can have it..."
Yi Tianyu shoved it toward her. "Eat something when you're upset!"
He then watched her expectantly.
Under his intense stare, Xue Jiao finally opened the packet and slowly ate the cracker.
"So? Feeling better?" he asked.
Xue Jiao remained silent.
"No?" He seemed surprised.
He then made exaggerated gestures: "Listen, some adults just don't get it—no point taking them seriously! Especially menopausal women. Getting mad at them only hurts yourself! Menopause is like a crazy phase! You're actually really great—my dad wanted to adopt you as his daughter after meeting you just once!"
Xue Jiao stared at him wordlessly.
Yi Tianyu's movements became hesitant. He slowly withdrew his hands, speaking more softly with some embarrassment: "I mean it..."
Still, Xue Jiao said nothing.
"Hey...are you really too upset to talk?" he ventured cautiously, his large frame hunched over the desk as he watched her with concern.
Under his gaze, Xue Jiao finally opened her mouth, her voice slightly hoarse: "The cracker...was too dry...couldn't...speak..."
Yi Tianyu: "......"
——
Yi Tianyu gripped Xue Jiao's small pink cup tightly as he carefully placed it back on her desk after filling it with water. "Your stupid cup is way too small! It's barely enough for a few sips!"
As a basketball player who needed constant hydration but lacked patience for water fountain lines, he usually drank entire bottles of water in one go before grabbing another.Therefore, when he looked at Xue Jiao's cup, he couldn't help but feel it was so small it made him question life.
Xue Jiao first rolled her eyes before saying, "Thanks, but this cup is enough for me."
She stood up as she spoke: "I said I'd go get water myself, but you insisted on grabbing my cup. After you fill it, I still have to stand up to let you back in. If I fetch the water myself, it would save both effort and resources."
Yi Tianyu glared: "You're like the dog that bit Lü Dongbin—you don't recognize a good heart! If I hadn't seen how upset you were by your so-called mother, I wouldn't have bothered running errands for you. Do you think I wanted to?"
At the mention of the word "mother," Xue Jiao's mood visibly darkened.
Yi Tianyu froze, wishing he could slap himself. Why did you have to bring up a sore subject?!
After just a moment, Xue Jiao suddenly perked up and shook her head, her eyes widening slightly: "Yi Tianyu, take out your test paper."
"Huh?" Yi Tianyu was stunned for a second before dumbly handing it over.
Xue Jiao flipped through the paper and moved closer with a pen.
"You shouldn't have gotten this question wrong. I reminded you before the test—it's an example problem from Unit 2. Look here..."
"Wait a minute!" Yi Tianyu interrupted loudly, "You're going to explain this to me?!"
Xue Jiao nodded seriously, frowning slightly: "Yi Tianyu, I'll be looking at my own paper soon, so pay attention while you can!"
Without waiting for a response, she continued explaining.
Yi Tianyu: "..."
Fine, fine. No point arguing with a woman in a bad mood. Whatever she does is right when she's upset.
Suppressing his distaste for studying, Yi Tianyu leaned in and listened attentively.
Xue Jiao genuinely wanted to help him study. She could tell Yi Tianyu truly considered her a friend—he had helped her multiple times.
She had nothing else to repay him with, so the least she could do was explain problems and guide him in his studies.
As the two were going over the questions, Cheng Mingjiao walked into the classroom. To return to her seat, she had to pass in front of Xue Jiao, putting her face-to-face with the pair.
Seeing their heads close together and the usually proud Yi Tianyu obediently listening to Gu Xue Jiao's "critique," Cheng Mingjiao felt particularly irritated.
"Hmph—" Cheng Mingjiao snorted loudly enough for them to hear.
Xue Jiao's pen paused, but before she could say anything—
Yi Tianyu was already glaring at Cheng Mingjiao and snapped, "Are you a pig? Stop grunting!"
"You—you—" Cheng Mingjiao's eyes widened, her face flushing red.
"And a stutterer too?"
"Yi Tianyu!"
"I know my name sounds nice, but I don't want you saying it. I'm afraid—it'll dirty my ears and my name." Yi Tianyu raised an eyebrow, smirking coldly.
Cheng Mingjiao stomped her foot angrily before sitting down at her desk and slumping over, fuming.
Yi Tianyu couldn't be bothered with someone like her and turned back to Xue Jiao, his voice unconsciously softening: "Continue."
——
Meanwhile, Li Sitong, who had left Xue Jiao, wandered dazedly toward the school gate. Just before reaching it, someone pulled her into an embrace.
"Sitong, what's wrong?"
Li Sitong looked up blankly at the person before her—her husband, Cheng Shuo.
"Ah Shuo..."
"I'm here, I'm here. What happened?" Cheng Shuo asked worriedly.
Suddenly, Li Sitong burst into tears: "Ah Shuo, was I wrong? I think... I've disappointed Jiao Jiao..."
"What's going on? What happened?" Cheng Shuo's face was full of concern.Li Sitong recounted her entire conversation with Xue Jiao in a daze, then looked at Cheng Shuo with hopeful eyes. "Jiao Jiao was just speaking in anger, right?"
Cheng Shuo remained silent for a moment before saying, "Let's talk in the car."
He helped the bewildered Li Sitong into the car and took the driver's seat without starting the engine.
"A Shuo..." Li Sitong sounded fearful.
Cheng Shuo sighed slightly and looked at her earnestly. "Sitong, you were indeed in the wrong."
Li Sitong stared at him, her face filled with confusion and dread.
"Jiao Jiao is a good child and has been working hard to make you proud..."
As Cheng Shuo's words landed, Li Sitong recalled that day when she sat on the sofa and Xue Jiao crouched before her, eyes brimming with starlight as she said, "I will become your pride..."
That scene was still vivid in her mind, yet in the blink of an eye, Xue Jiao had said—but you always disappoint me.
Cheng Shuo pulled her into his arms and gently patted her head. "Before, Jiao Jiao was rebellious and hot-tempered, going through a phase where she opposed everything her parents said. Back then, you were strict with her, and I didn’t see any issue with it. Watching her cause you distress, keeping you awake at night, I thought your strictness was justified, even necessary."
He continued, seeing Li Sitong still lost in thought. "But after her bet with Mingjiao, Jiao Jiao emerged from that rebellious phase. She became sensible, considerate of you, and persisted in her efforts because of your encouragement... It was only then that I realized all the previously unnoticed problems had surfaced."
"What... problems?" Li Sitong asked hoarsely, lifting her head to look at him.
"You don’t trust Jiao Jiao. Whenever something happens, your first instinct is to assume she’s at fault. In the past, she was indeed immature and made many mistakes, so your criticism seemed warranted. But now that she’s grown, you still don’t trust her first. The doubt from someone so close to her hurts her the most."
Tears streamed down Li Sitong’s face. Though she hadn’t wanted to admit it before, the truth was undeniable—she didn’t trust her.
"Sitong, you always think Jiao Jiao is the person you know best, that she’s been by your side since birth. You care about her, yet you also overlook her the most."
Others might leave her, but Xue Jiao was her biological daughter, so she took her for granted. She fretted over this person, tiptoed around that one, flattered some and was gentle with others... Only Xue Jiao, her own daughter, was both her greatest concern and her greatest neglect.
"Actually, Sitong, Jiao Jiao could leave you too. She’s in her second year of high school now, soon to be a senior, then college, and eventually marriage and children, building her own family... You and Jiao Jiao won’t be connected forever. She’s still young, with other paths ahead. There are countless possibilities where she could drift far away from you, even never see you again."
As soon as Cheng Shuo finished speaking, Li Sitong clutched his sleeve, her face filled with fear.
She had endured a failed marriage, lost her doting father, and been betrayed by a husband who once treated her with respect. Only her daughter had remained by her side."So Sitong, from the moment Jiao Jiao separated from your body, she became a completely independent individual. She has her own emotions and temper—she can be happy, and she can also be sad. You are the most important person to her, which is why you have the power to hurt her the deepest. Because she cares, she feels the pain."
Cheng Shuo's words left Li Sitong in tears. She knew that this time, she could no longer blame others.
It was Li Sitong who was wrong!
The thought of Xue Jiao leaving her too, the thought of that little baby she had raised from wailing infancy into the graceful young woman she was now—it made her wish she could go back and beat herself up for hitting her, for not trusting her!
"I was wrong! It was all my fault—" Li Sitong sobbed uncontrollably.
——
That evening, after self-study, Xue Jiao left the school building.
Under the streetlights, she spotted two figures standing conspicuously.
One was a gentle, jade-like young man, tall and refined. The other was a graceful and poised young woman, her head just reaching his shoulder. Together, they looked perfectly matched.
They were talking, and the girl pursed her lips in a smile.
Xue Jiao paused, sighing softly.
Indeed, the male lead and female lead looked utterly perfect together.
Should she slip past them and wait for Cheng Mingze in Cheng Shuo's car?
Just as the thought crossed her mind, Cheng Mingze noticed her and waved. "Over here."
Resigned, Xue Jiao approached them.
Gu Shiyun's face briefly darkened with displeasure, but she quickly forced a smile.
"Sister..." she called softly, her voice tinged with shyness. The distance between them made it easy for others to misinterpret.
"I told you not to call me that."
Gu Shiyun bit her lower lip, instantly looking wronged.
The contrast in their attitudes was stark.
Xue Jiao recalled the original novel—the female lead of this story was never a kind person. At first, the plot hadn’t made it obvious, but over time, as she truly got to know Gu Shiyun, she realized the girl was far from the harmless image she projected.
Cheng Mingze glanced at the aggrieved Gu Shiyun, then at Xue Jiao, who remained as indifferent as ever.
"Let's go," was all he said in the end.
Xue Jiao nodded and followed him.
Gu Shiyun hesitated briefly before naturally keeping a polite distance as they walked toward the school gate.
Her composure was something few could match.
"Bye, Mingze-ge, X-Jiao Jiao," Gu Shiyun said sweetly, as if there had never been any discord between them.
Once she was gone, Cheng Mingze asked quietly, "Do you really dislike her that much?"
Xue Jiao looked up, surprised. "Why do you ask?"
She was taken aback—why would Cheng Mingze, who had never been close to her, ask such a thing? Was he planning to stand up for Gu Shiyun?
Her tone suggested it was none of his business, yet her eyes held suspicion, as if certain he would side with Gu Shiyun.
For a moment, Cheng Mingze felt a flare of irritation. After a pause, he exhaled. "Fine. It’s none of my concern."
He opened the car door and gestured for her to enter.
Once she was seated, Cheng Mingze got in as well. Cheng Shuo was on the phone.
"Yes, yes, I’ve picked them up. We’ll be back in fifteen minutes!"
"Alright, alright, I’ll drive safely."
"Okay, see you soon."Cheng Shuo hung up the phone and turned to them with a smile. "To celebrate your excellent exam results, your mom has prepared some delicious food for tonight. Let's celebrate together! But we can't celebrate too late—you still have classes tomorrow..."
Celebrate?
Xue Jiao froze for a moment.
——
"You're back! Come quickly, I made your favorite dishes. Get to the table, eat something, and then rest." Li Sitong reached out to take Xue Jiao's backpack while smiling warmly.
After their earlier conversation, Xue Jiao had assumed their relationship wouldn’t be very harmonious moving forward. To her surprise, Li Sitong acted as if nothing had happened, treating her with the same enthusiasm as before.
Xue Jiao stiffened slightly and remained silent.
Li Sitong exchanged a glance with Cheng Shuo. Seeing the encouragement in his eyes, she mustered her spirits again and gently guided Xue Jiao to the dining table.
Since they had already eaten dinner, there were no main dishes on the table—just a handmade cake and some desserts.
These were clearly made by Li Sitong herself, and they were mainly for Xue Jiao.
After all… Cheng Mingze didn’t have much of a sweet tooth.
"Come on, sit down and try some!" Li Sitong pulled Xue Jiao along, while Cheng Shuo gave Cheng Mingze a pat on the shoulder.
Cheng Mingze, who usually avoided sweets: "…"
He glanced at Cheng Shuo, who gave him a meaningful look. Suppressing a sigh, Cheng Mingze reluctantly took a seat at the table.
Li Sitong began cutting the cake, serving a slice to each of them, then raised a glass of champagne. "Here’s to both Mingze and Jiao Jiao taking first place!"
Xue Jiao and Cheng Mingze were given milk instead. The two of them exchanged resigned looks before raising their glasses.
"That’s right! May Jiao Jiao and Mingze keep up the good work and hold onto that top spot!" Cheng Shuo added.
He then pulled out two slips of paper, handing one to Cheng Mingze and the other to Xue Jiao. "Your mom and I picked these out as gifts for you."
They took them and looked—they were tickets to a stage play, scheduled for next weekend.
"What’s this?" Cheng Mingze asked, struggling to swallow the overly sweet cake that clung to his throat.
"Next weekend, our whole family is going to watch this play together! Auntie Wang said it’s fantastic. Your dad will make time for it too—it’ll be a family outing," Li Sitong said cheerfully. Seeing that Cheng Mingze had finished his slice, she moved to give him the last piece of cake on the table.
Cheng Mingze’s face twisted briefly before he quickly stood up. "Sounds great! We’ll go next weekend! I’m done eating—I’ll head upstairs to rest now!"
With that, he grabbed his backpack and made a swift retreat upstairs.
Li Sitong blinked in confusion, the piece of cake still in her hand, then turned to Xue Jiao. "Jiao—"
"I’m full too! Next weekend, right? Got it!" Xue Jiao cut in, then mirrored Cheng Mingze’s actions—grabbing her backpack and bolting.
Li Sitong, still holding the cake, looked even more bewildered and turned to Cheng Shuo.
Cheng Shuo’s lips twitched as he stiffly accepted the cake but made no move to eat it.
Li Sitong frowned worriedly. "A-Shuo, Jiao Jiao didn’t seem to react at all… Do you think she hasn’t forgiven me?"
Cheng Shuo took the opportunity to set the cake down and patted Li Sitong’s back. "Jiao Jiao’s heart is wounded—it’ll take time to warm her up again. Don’t lose heart. Even if her heart has turned to ice, you’re her mother. As long as you’re sincere, you can melt it. But…"
"Hm?"
"Sitong, you need to reflect on yourself. If you hurt Jiao Jiao again, it might be impossible to fix things next time."
"I won’t!" Li Sitong said firmly.
——Xue Jiao returned to her room, did some homework, and then got into bed. Tossing and turning for a while, thoughts of Li Sitong kept her from falling asleep.
She reached out and picked up her phone from the nightstand. There were a few WeChat messages—mostly ads, but one stood out:
[Lin Zhihua: Congratulations on being first place.]
Xue Jiao picked up her phone and replied:
[You really know everything.]
The response came quickly:
[Lin Zhihua: Of course. I don’t just know you ranked first—I also know you’re in a bad mood.]
Xue Jiao was stunned.
[How do you know???]
[Lin Zhihua: Because when you’re happy, you go to bed on time. Only when you’re feeling troubled and can’t sleep do you check your phone.]
Xue Jiao froze, gripping her phone tightly.
Ever since the first time Lin Zhihua had comforted her over a message when she was upset, then coincidentally ran into her while she was crying outside, and later gave her advice during her conflict with Cheng Mingjiao… she had grown accustomed to checking her phone whenever she was troubled.
At the root of it… was it because she wanted to talk to him?
As she pondered this, another message arrived:
[Lin Zhihua: Let me guess again—it’s about your mother? If you’re unhappy with her even after ranking first, then… did she doubt your results?]
Xue Jiao was truly dumbfounded. After a long pause, she replied blankly:
[Really… nothing gets past you…]
This time, there was no immediate reply. The chat showed "typing…" for a long while, but no message came through.
Confused, Xue Jiao sent another:
[Are you still there?]
A moment later, her phone lit up.
[Lin Zhihua: I’ll share something with you.]
Then, a link popped up. Xue Jiao instinctively clicked on it.
Her eyes widened, and she sat up abruptly—
#National High School Mathematics League Registration Now Open#
She quickly skimmed through the article, growing more and more excited the further she read.
After finishing, she took a deep breath to calm herself before exiting the page. Just then, another message from Lin Zhihua arrived:
[Lin Zhihua: I think instead of dwelling on conflicts with your mother during high school, you should focus on something meaningful. Since you’re already first in your class, why not try something new?]
At that moment, Xue Jiao’s mind became crystal clear. Her eyes widened, and she was overwhelmed with excitement.
Her biggest regret in her past life was spending most of her high school years working part-time to earn money, never participating in competitions like this.
Back then, she had barely managed to prepare for the college entrance exams—she’d had no time for extracurriculars. But now, as a sophomore, the timing was perfect.
[Lin Zhihua!! Thank you! You’ve opened my eyes!]
Why waste time agonizing over trivial matters when she could be doing something meaningful?
This was exactly the kind of competition she had always wanted to join but never had the chance to!
The reply came swiftly:
[This competition carries a lot of prestige. You should participate. If you have any questions, you can ask me.]
Xue Jiao paused. Ask him?
She typed back, bewildered:
[You’ve competed in it before?]
On the other end of the phone, Lin Zhihua raised an eyebrow. There were too many things stored away in boxes—things he had never cared about before. But now…
[Lin Zhihua: Yes, I participated in my first year of high school.]
After sending this, he hesitated for a moment. Like an eager elementary schooler showing off, he feigned nonchalance but typed rapidly:
[Not just math—physics and chemistry too. Gold medals in math and chemistry, special prize in physics.]
Xue Jiao was speechless. A moment later, her face flushed with excitement—["All first places?!!"]
Lin Zhihua's legs shook slightly in an undignified manner, a bit smug, but his face remained stern as he calmly replied—
["Yeah."]
Xue Jiao nearly jumped up—
["How are you this amazing?!!!!!!"]
The corner of Lin Zhihua's lips curled, his legs shaking twice more as he typed with newfound lightness—
["Not bad."]
Xue Jiao wanted to spit blood—just "not bad"?!
That was math! Physics! Chemistry! Gold medals!! First place!!!
She replied in shock—
["Is there anything you can't do?"]
This time, the other side still showed "typing." After half a minute, the reply came in just five words.
Seeing his answer, Xue Jiao's eyes widened in surprise.
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