Li Qingqing removed the small microphone and detached the miniature camera, placing them in a box before returning the call.
"Qingqing, something's gone wrong. Young Master Sheng ran into Li Xiaoya as soon as he entered the village. He's moved into Li Xiaoya's house. What should we do?" the Village Chief wailed.
Li Qingqing: "..."
How could this happen?
Her face involuntarily turned ashen as she said, "You can't even handle such a small matter?"
She had relived her life, expecting everything to go smoothly and for her to dominate. Everything Li Xiaoya possessed should have naturally become hers!
If this were a novel, she should have been the protagonist of a rebirth story!
Yet these useless family members were only holding her back.
"Qingqing, what should we do?" the Village Chief was still asking.
"Let me think." Li Qingqing hung up the phone, then opened Weibo, trying to find some program clips to gauge public opinion.
She couldn't understand what magic Li Xiaoya possessed. She had already rewritten the biggest turning point in her life.
Why? Why would Young Master Sheng still approach her of his own accord?
But at that moment, a staff member came knocking: "Li Qingqing! Li Qingqing, are you alright? Why did you go offline?"
Li Qingqing had to hide her phone, rub her eyes vigorously, and put the equipment back on.
Opening the door, she revealed her reddened eyes and said softly, "I'm sorry, I was feeling homesick."
The staff member's expression softened a bit and asked, "Do you want to call home?"
Li Qingqing shook her head, "That wouldn't be good. Mom and Dad might think I'm having a hard time here. Actually, it's really nice."
[Li Qingqing is so likable]
[+1, I wish I had a daughter like her]
[Ah, when will Mrs. Xu come home? Li Qingqing thoughtfully prepared a gift for her!]
Li Qingqing was also thinking about her painting, so she proactively asked the Butler if they could take a photo and send it to Auntie Xu.
The Butler nodded, "Sure."
Xu Qiulai was inspecting her newly opened art gallery when her phone vibrated with a new message.
She opened it to see it was from the Butler.
"The little girl made this for you herself. She's really looking forward to you and sir coming home."
Xu Qiulai opened the full image.
As a painter, a true artist, she immediately made a professional assessment at first glance.
—Too formulaic, overly pandering.
Back at the house, Li Qingqing looked up with an expectant expression, her eyes sparkling as she asked, "Grandpa Butler, what did Auntie say?"
[Why does the Butler's expression look constipated?]
[Is Li Qingqing's handmade painting not good enough? I think it's great]
[Uh, Xu Qiulai is a world-renowned artist, she probably doesn't think much of it]
The comments suddenly went quiet.
Li Qingqing also vaguely sensed the atmosphere and felt a twinge in her heart. Could she not win over Xu Qiulai?
How did Li Xiaoya succeed in pleasing her in her previous life?
Li Qingqing suppressed the irritation in her heart and said obediently, "Is Auntie busy? Then let's not bother her."
*
Li Xiaoya sneezed as she walked down the road.
Sheng Yuxiao immediately asked, "Your cold still hasn't gotten better?"
Li Xiaoya replied in a muffled voice, "Mmm, it takes a long time to get better."
Sheng Yuxiao asked, "How far is your school? Are we just going to walk there?"
Li Xiaoya curiously asked back, "If we don't walk, how else would we go?"
Sheng Yuxiao: ...
Alright, a poor child who's rarely ridden in a car.
Li Xiaoya quickly added, "Um, we still need to walk..."
She carefully took his wrist and pointed at the minute hand, "It goes around like this, then halfway again."
"An hour and a half?" Sheng Yuxiao said, feeling his scalp tingle.
No wonder her ankles were so thin, he thought. They must have been worn down by all this walking.
Li Xiaoya looked a bit dejected, "We'll be late today. I won't get a little red flower."
Sheng Yuxiao finally felt she was acting like a child and couldn't help but smile, "What do you need a little red flower for?"
"You can trade them with the teacher for candy."
"Oh, so you like candy?" Sheng Yuxiao said, his interest piqued. He reached out to check the corners of her mouth, "Let me see if you have any cavities."
But Li Xiaoya said, "I don't eat candy."
"Then why do you trade for it?"
"You can exchange candy for money."
Sheng Yuxiao was momentarily speechless.
He couldn't help but sigh. It was so bitter, too bitter. Every bit of her life was wrung out just to survive.
Sheng Yuxiao held out his hand, "Give me your schoolbag. I'll carry it for you."
Li Xiaoya said shyly, "It's dirty."
The dirt roads in the village were terrible. It had been raining for days, and puddles filled the potholes. One misstep and water would splash up.
Li Xiaoya was short, so the water easily splashed on her, soiling the cloth bag she carried.
"It's fine, I don't mind getting dirty. I used to go to band concerts in big mud pits, getting covered in mud from head to toe. That's what creates the atmosphere, you know?"
Li Xiaoya didn't understand, but she obediently handed over her bag.
The bag was washed so much it had turned white, with a blue patch on it, tied with a thin strap. The strap was too short for Sheng Yuxiao to wear it on his shoulder, so he could only carry it in his hand.
It hardly qualified as a schoolbag.
He walked beside Li Xiaoya, looking like a young father taking his daughter to school.
The two of them trudged along, one step at a time, and Sheng Yuxiao didn't speak again.
It's just a hike, right? If a child could endure it, how could he not?
*
Shitou School.
It was the only school for miles around, with only seven teachers for all grades. Five were locals, and two were volunteer teachers from outside.
There weren't many students either. Due to the extremely limited teaching resources, it was common to see students of different grades sitting together in one class.
"Only elementary school..." Sheng Yuxiao was dumbfounded, "Then what am I supposed to study?"
Li Xiaoya looked up at him and asked softly, "Will you attend class with me?"
Sheng Yuxiao laughed, "Do you know what grade I should be in?"
"Sixth grade?" Li Xiaoya only knew up to sixth grade.
Sheng Yuxiao couldn't resist pinching her cheek and said, "Big brother should be in twelfth grade."
Li Xiaoya brightened a bit and said, "I'm in third grade too."
Sheng Yuxiao was even more amused, "High school senior year is quite different from your third grade... Alright, let me take you to your classroom first."
The classroom had a bit of a leak. As soon as Sheng Yuxiao walked in with her, he couldn't help but want to curse.
"Oh, here comes the little liar!" someone shouted, making Sheng Yuxiao's internal swearing intensify.
Because he was late, the first two classes had already ended. It was now break time, and there were about eight or nine children in the classroom, some smaller than Li Xiaoya, some a head taller.
They were staring at Li Xiaoya with expressions of disgust.
"She's not a liar," a boy spoke up to correct them.
Sheng Yuxiao turned to look, but to his surprise, the boy then giggled and said, "My mom says Li Xiaoya is a little slut."
Sheng Yuxiao's anger flared up instantly, rising eight zhang high.
In one big stride, he crossed over to the boy, grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him up. "What did you say?"
With the height difference and Sheng Yuxiao's imposing aura, the boy trembled in fear. "W-what are you doing? Who are you?"
Sheng Yuxiao sneered, "Who I am is none of your damn business. Didn't your parents teach you that your mouth isn't for spewing shit?"
[So cool!]
[This Li Xiaoya is just a troublemaker, right? Young Master Sheng has stood up for her several times now?]
[What's wrong with you people? They're clearly in the wrong for insulting her.]
The bullet comments erupted into another argument.
Meanwhile, the other students were terrified and started shouting, "He's hitting someone! An adult is hitting a child!"
Then they ran out to find a teacher.
Sheng Yuxiao was thoroughly annoyed, thinking this was really fucking ridiculous.
The last person he'd fought was the young master of Yuan Corporation.
These kids weren't even worth his fists.
Just then, Sheng Yuxiao felt someone gently tugging at his sleeve.
He turned to look and saw Li Xiaoya standing on her tiptoes. Her face showed neither fear nor anger.
She just looked at him seriously and said, "Wang Xiaozhi's mom is very fierce. She'll make us pay."
Wang Xiaozhi was obviously the boy's name.
Sheng Yuxiao didn't let go, allowing the boy to keep kicking desperately. He calmly looked at Li Xiaoya and said, "You know what I have more than anything else?"
Li Xiaoya shook her head, bewildered.
Sheng Yuxiao said, "Money. I have enough money to beat him up 800 times."
When Wang Xiaozhi heard "800 times," not realizing it was an exaggeration, he imagined his head being flattened and let out an even more terrified scream from his throat.
"Mom! Mom! Save me!"
The bullet comments were immediately shocked: [To be able to say such things, as expected of you, Young Master Sheng]