n

n

n

n

n

nTranslator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

nYe Li’s heart squeezed and she nearly cried.

nNonetheless, she quickly dipped her head and covered her swollen cheek. Trying to suppress her tears, she said, “Nothing much, Xixi. I put on too much blush today. Y-You go back to your room.”

n

n

nXue Xi looked at her in silence and, after a while, calmly replied, “Oh.”

nJust as Ye Li was about to feel relieved, the girl walked past her and headed downstairs.

nHer pupils constricted and she hurriedly ran up to the girl. “Xixi, Xixi…”

nUpon hearing the commotion, the people in the living room turned to look at them.

n

n

nXue Xi walked right up to Old Lady Xue and remained expressionless. Her huge eyes appeared slightly slow-witted, but her voice was really icy. “Why did you hit her?”

nOld Lady Xue was taken aback. For a split second, she found this girl’s aura to be startling, but she quickly returned to her senses.

nShe was merely a girl who was of the same age as Yaoyao. That must have been her illusion.

nShe sat comfortably on the sofa and lifted her head slightly before smirking. “She gave birth to a dimwit for our family and has embarrassed the Xue family thoroughly. I merely gave her a slap and that’s lenient enough!”

n

n

nBy then, Ye Li had caught up to Xue Xi and blocked her from the front. “Mom, Xixi isn’t a dimwit!”

n“Not a dimwit?” Old Lady Xue sneered. “If she’s not a dimwit, why is she like this? Ye Li, don’t feel aggrieved. I don’t expect Xue Xi to be as outstanding as Yaoyao. As long as her grades are about the same as Yaoyao’s, I’ll definitely be courteous to you and treat you like my ancestors!”

nYe Li’s lips trembled and she could not say a single word.

nAt this moment…

n“No need.”

nXue Xi had spoken all of a sudden. She looked determinedly at Old Lady Xue as she shot a quick glance at the Fan couple before saying icily, “If my results are better than Xue Yao’s, you just have to apologize to my mother.”

n

n

nAfter saying that, she brought Ye Li upstairs.

nIt was only when they had disappeared at the staircase that Old Lady Xue returned to her senses. When her eyes met Madam Fan’s observing eyes, she sneered. “How can her grades be better than Yaoyao’s? Wait until her next life!”

n…

nXue Xi brought Ye Li back to her own room.

nClosing the door, she turned around and saw Ye Li’s watery eyes. Feeling touched, the latter held her hand and said, “Xixi, are you finally calling me ‘Mom’?”

nXue Xi froze and replied without much expression, “Mhm.” Her voice had a hint of distance and awkwardness.

nShe knew that her parents did not abandon her on purpose and she had no complaints about Ye Li, but they did not meet for 18 years, after all. She felt uneasy when her mother appeared all of a sudden.

nSeeing her like this, Ye Li did not push her further. She merely dipped her head and began repeating over and over again, “Xixi, I’m the one who let you down. I didn’t take good care of you when I gave birth to you, causing you to be stolen.”

n

n

nShe choked. “Your father and I looked for you for so many years. When you’re finally back home, you have to suffer through these grievances with me because I’m useless.”

nXue Xi was uncomfortable seeing her cry. She anxiously took out her tissue paper and passed it to Ye Li before standing there in a daze.

nAfter some time, Ye Li had finally had enough of crying and felt a little abashed when she calmed down.

nPlacing the tissue paper down, she tried to force a smile with those red eyes.

nHer daughter’s defense warmed her heart, but thinking of what had happened, she was fearful that the pressure on her would be too much. She then comforted Xue Xi. “Xixi, don’t feel pressured and don’t listen to your grandma’s words. A person’s grades don’t represent if he or she is outstanding, do you understand?”

nXue Xi nodded while feeling lost.

nYe Li continued to console her. “In Mom’s eyes, you’re the best no matter what you do. I just hope that you can be safe and spend the rest of your life happily. Xixi, for your sake, I’ll slowly grow stronger, so don’t worry!”

nXue Xi replied, “…Oh.”

nOld Lady Xue’s slap was not too hard and the swelling on Ye Li’s cheek had subsided. Xue Sheng neither noticed it nor did she mention it.

nAfter having dinner and lying down to rest, Xue Sheng sighed. “It’s all my fault for not knowing how to make Mom happy like the second child that you guys have to suffer through the grievances. Wait for a while more and we’ll move out with Xixi.”

nYe Li suddenly said, “I’m going to start painting again.”

nShe used to be a painter, but after losing the child, she became wasted and did not touch the brushes for years. Now that Xixi was back, she had become a strong mother and needed to get back up again.

nThe only reason that the old lady bullied them was simply that her parents were professors and she had no income.

n

n

n…

nThe next morning…

nXue Xi, who did not get a wink of sleep, felt her chest feeling tight. However, she did not take it to heart. After washing up and having breakfast, she got in the car and headed to school.

nThe nearer she got to school, the more evident the discomfort became. It was as though her heart was being squeezed by an invisible hand that was slowly tightening…

nWhen the car passed by Ye Lai Xiang store slowly, the pain in her chest intensified.

nShe instinctively shouted, “Uncle Li, stop!”

nChh! The car came to a halt suddenly. Xue Yao wobbled, and, after sitting down securely again, she could not help but say, “Sister, today is the day of results release, don’t tell me you’re trying to skip school to avoid it?”

nXue Xi could not be bothered with her at all as she quickly headed down.

nStumbling, she walked toward Ye Lai Xiang.

nThinking while she still could, she suddenly had a thought. Could it be that she had to fall in love with that man for it to work? She could not switch to another man?

nWith this thought in mind, she stopped in her tracks and randomly grabbed a male student in uniform who was walking past her. His hair was dyed red, and without even looking at how the boy looked, she asked straight away, “Hey, do you wanna fall in love?”

nThe boy: “?”

nUpon her saying that, the pain did not lessen but intensified further.

nIt was useless.

nShe quickened her steps and opened the door to Ye Lai Xiang store. There she saw that tall man sitting behind the counter, and the pain quickly lessened once again.

nThis meant that she had to fall in love with Xiang Huai.

nSupporting the door-frame, she looked steadily ahead.

nSo, this issue indeed had something to do with Xiang Huai? Could she have been drugged by him? Could he have casted a spell on her? Why was there such a bizarre thing in the world?

nJust as she was in a daze, Xiang Huai gradually looked up.

nThe store’s air conditioner was strong, and the man was, once again, donning an all-black ensemble. He held a book in his hand as he sat there relaxedly. There was no expression on his face, and his eyes slowly landed on Xue Xi as he asked, “Little kid, why are you here?”

nXue Xi kept silent for a moment. “…To fall in love with you.”

nXiang Huai: “…”

nTheir eyes met and there was complete silence.

nThe store was oddly silent for half a minute.

n“Pua!” Xiang Huai laughed in a deep voice. That laughter was so low that it seemed to be lingering in Xue Xi’s ears magically. This made her cheeks flushed.

nHaving nothing to say, she tried to start a conversation. “What does your store sell?”

nAfter saying that, she looked at the shelves.

nThe man lowered his eyes and replied, “This is a provision store.”

nLast night, he got Lu Chao to change everything in the store last minute.

nBut—

nXue Xi was curious. “When I came here yesterday, the shelves were full of small boxes. What were they?”

n“…”

nXiang Huai slowly put down his book and leaned forward before saying in a serious tone, “Balloons.”

n

n

n