When Ruan Mian returned home, her father, Ying Haodong, was actually there. It was rare to see him at such an hour. He was in the living room watching television with his son. As she stepped through the door, her stepmother, Wang Jiaxin, happened to be coming out of the kitchen with a plate of fruit. She said nothing, only giving Ruan Mian a cool look before walking toward the father and son on the sofa.

During the days she studied art, Ruan Mian left early and returned late, solving all three meals outside. This home was nothing more than a place to sleep at night. This mode of mutual non-interference was, in fact, the most ideal for her.

She intended to head upstairs quietly as usual, but Ying Haodong somehow noticed her and called out her name. “Ruan Mian.”

Ruan Mian stood still.

The child, however, caught the look on Ying Haodong’s face and panicked. He jumped off the sofa and ran over to grab Ruan Mian’s hand, his dark eyes filled with plea.

Ruan Mian was pulled over step by step and chose the seat furthest away from them.

Because he was busy with company matters, Ying Haodong had not been home for several months. He did not know if she was deliberately avoiding him, but he felt as though it had been a long time since they last met.

The day before yesterday, he had bumped into an old friend, Sun Yiwen, at a dinner gathering. The man’s first words were, “Congratulations, Old Ying. Your daughter has really brought glory to your name.”

He was completely confused at the time.

“What? From your reaction, you don’t know yet? It was around October last year. Your daughter won the Special Prize in the city painting competition. She was even on television…”

He truly had no idea.

Thinking back, since his ex-wife passed away, the communication between him and his daughter had been virtually zero. Being reminded like this made him realize that as a father, he was undoubtedly a failure.

What man would not be full of expectation for his first child? Years ago, when he took that tiny bundle from the nurse and realized this was the continuation of his own life, Ying Haodong’s heart had been filled with immense joy. However, the moment his mother heard it was a girl, she had walked away without a word of kindness. In the days that followed, her cold words and biting remarks ensured the house was never at peace.

He was the only son. His mother had instilled the concept of a single heir in him since childhood. Coupled with the fact that his ex-wife had not recovered well after childbirth and could not conceive again, he was caught in the middle. Later, as his career grew, he felt he must have a son. At the very least, a son could support the family name, and his vast estate would have a successor.

Ying Haodong cleared his throat awkwardly. “Is it you who taught Huihui to write?”

To tell the truth, he no longer knew how to communicate with his daughter. When she was young, she was not clingy toward him. Later, because of her mother’s death, a rift formed between them. This long period of failing his fatherly duties had pushed them further apart. Aside from the blood tie that could never be broken, they were essentially no different from strangers.

“Mm.”

Ruan Mian held her small floral umbrella, her gaze lowered.

There was wet spring mud on her white canvas shoes, and a small white flower was stuck there. She did not know when she had stepped on it, but it was now pressed flat.

He should be home by now, shouldn’t he?

In the living room, or the study?

Ying Haodong asked again, “The college entrance exam is coming up. Do you have a preferred school?”

Wang Jiaxin interjected warmly, “Mianmian, when Sister Cai was cleaning your room, she saw your report card on the desk. You were second or third from the bottom of the class? I heard from your father that your grades used to be quite good. Are you struggling to keep up?”

Ruan Mian reminded herself silently: I must remember to lock my door whenever I leave the house in the future.

“With your current grades, are you confident in getting into a second-tier university?” Wang Jiaxin looked toward Ying Haodong. “I have a friend who is a teacher at a vocational college. If needed, we can contact him.”

“Although girls will get married sooner or later and don’t need a high degree, most jobs these days require at least a vocational diploma…”

Ying Haodong frowned deeply.

When did her grades become so poor? He remembered she was first in her entire grade during the first year of high school. Now, she was at the bottom of her class.

Perhaps the death of her mother hit her too hard?

Furthermore, if the daughter of Ying Haodong went to a vocational college, where would he put his pride? He immediately rejected Wang Jiaxin’s suggestion. “If you truly cannot get into a standard university, it is not impossible to repeat a year of high school.”

Wang Jiaxin’s face fell at being dismissed. She became displeased. “Can you guarantee that repeating a year will lead to a good school? My relative’s son is repeating for the third year now. Not only did he fail to get in, but he even developed mental issues…”

She only hoped Ruan Mian would go to university as far away as possible. Ideally, she would never return.

Ruan Mian could not listen any longer. She stood up from the sofa. “I have a lot of homework. I’m going upstairs.”

The conversation ended on a sour note.

The child followed her upstairs without a word, his small head hanging low. Ruan Mian came out after washing her face in the bathroom and saw him standing outside the door.

“Why don’t you come in?”

He edged closer to her bit by bit and tugged on the hem of her clothes, his small body twisting slightly.

The emotions that had been weighing on Ruan Mian’s heart suddenly dissipated. She stroked his small face. “I am fine.”

Ying Minghui smiled shyly. He pulled a piece of white paper from the small desk and held a pencil to write the characters for “Ruan Mian.” Then, he looked up at her with eyes full of expectation.

Ruan Mian did not recall ever teaching him these two characters. She was pleasantly surprised. “How did you learn to write these?”

He pointed to her homework book.

“So clever.”

Ruan Mian took another pen and wrote the English words for “1-5” on the paper. She read them slowly and softly. “This is ‘one’…”

He opened his mouth and silently followed her lead.

“Your task for tonight is to learn these five words. I will check them tomorrow night.”

The child nodded obediently, his chubby cheeks dimpling as he smiled.

Ruan Mian also took out her books to review.

The English exam paper had been finished at his house. He had even graded the questions for her. At the very top was the score he had written; the three digits were written with such power they seemed to pierce the paper.

Ruan Mian rested her chin on her hand and looked at the night outside.

There had been a controversial question. The reference answer was ‘B’, and she had chosen ‘B’ as well, but he felt it should be ‘C’.

She had immediately crossed out the ‘B’ without hesitation and wrote ‘C’ beside it.

He had been stunned for a moment. “You trust me that much?”

She hadn’t even thought about it. “Yes.”

“You,” he had used his pen to lightly flick her forehead, his tone a bit helpless. “This is not rigorous…”

Then he had lowered his head to drink the water in his glass.

She had seen the corners of his lips curve up slightly in the reflection on the desk.

At that moment, a small note was passed to her: Jiejie, what are you laughing at?

Ruan Mian gave him a gentle “glare.” She folded her hands on the desk and rubbed her forehead against the back of her hands, trying desperately to suppress her smile. But she could not hold it back. Even if her face didn’t smile, her heart was laughing secretly.

Seeing her so happy, Ying Minghui felt happy as well. He leaned on the desk and laughed with her.

The desk vibrated continuously from their laughter.

Outside the window, a sickle-like crescent moon hung in the sky. Its luster was gradually swallowed by the clouds, leaving only the brilliant, dense stars across the heavens.

* * *

In May, the results of the individual art exams were announced.

Z High broke its two-year record of lackluster results. The pass rate exceeded eighty percent for the first time. Most notably, Ruan Mian passed the individual exams for A-Mei and Qing-Mei with excellent scores. This was the best report card Z High had ever produced in the history of the art exams.

This meant that as long as she scored over 490 in the upcoming academic exam, she would be admitted to Qing-Mei. If she scored over 520, she would be admitted to A-Mei.

The LED screen at the gate of Z High immediately scrolled this good news. After nearly half a year of silence, Ruan Mian was “forced” back into the public eye in a high-profile manner.

Over the past two days, Teacher Zhao had taken Ruan Mian to meet nearly all the leaders in charge of the art department. The way the leaders looked at her was as if they were looking at a fragile vase. This was understandable; after finally producing such a promising talent, they had to protect her well.

The leaders even suggested hiring experienced teachers to provide her with one-on-one tutoring. They wanted to ensure her academic results were foolproof to avoid a “false joy” later.

Ruan Mian’s scalp felt numb just hearing it. Fortunately, Teacher Zhao dismissed the leaders’ thoughts by mentioning the fact that she had scored nearly 600 in last month’s mock exam.

After school, Pan Tingting laughed incessantly upon hearing this. “Of course. You are now a national treasure in the eyes of the school leadership.”

“Pity our Old Chen. He is truly regretting it now. I heard him telling other teachers in the office yesterday that he should never have let you transfer to another class. Your mock exam score was so high. But he truly is proud of you. He has talked about your ‘glorious deeds’ in class countless times.”

Feeling a bit thirsty, she pulled Ruan Mian into a nearby milk tea shop and ordered a lemon water for herself.

Ruan Mian thought for a moment and ordered a papaya milk curd.

Ten minutes later, the shop assistant brought their drinks. Pan Tingting was turning her head to watch a young couple feeding each other ice cream outside. She was curious. Wait, how could that top student be with that unremarkable girl?

She took her lemon water, poked the straw through, and took two sips. She inadvertently glanced across the table. “Soft Cotton, I remember you used to order red bean milk tea every time you came here, didn’t you?”

Ruan Mian paused. She brushed some hair down to cover her warming ears. “Occasionally… I want a change of taste.”

Didn’t people say papaya milk could do… that?

Pan Tingting did not catch her shyness at all. She smiled mischievously. “I heard this can make your chest bigger.”

Ruan Mian: “Is… is that so?”

The blush quickly spread to the back of her ears.

Pan Tingting had to return to school for evening self-study. The two sat in the shop for about half an hour before parting ways.

Lately, Ruan Mian had been having dinner at Qi Yan’s house. Often, she would do her homework there after eating, and then he would take her home.

She had sent him a message earlier saying she would arrive a bit late today.

When she reached the old house, the dishes were already set on the table. The man was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window smoking. Outside was the red sun and the green mountains. He was still dressed in black, his silhouette tall and refined.

Hearing her arrive, he turned around. “Go wash your hands. Dinner is ready.”

Ruan Mian first checked the coffee table. Several bottles of alcohol remained unopened, and there were only one or two cigarette butts in the ashtray. She felt slightly relieved and went to the kitchen to wash her hands.

Six dishes and one soup were laid out, most of them her favorites. Ruan Mian served the soup for both of them first. It was a snow-white, rich fish soup. She could not help but swallow her saliva just from the scent.

The taste was indeed incredibly fresh. She quickly finished half a bowl.

She wanted more.

She casually scooped a few pieces of fish. The bones had been removed beforehand. With a light pinch of her chopsticks, the fish broke apart. She meticulously picked out the tiny bones.

In truth, she was too embarrassed to spit out the fish bones in front of him.

Qi Yan had long since understood the girl’s thoughts. If another woman had done this, he might have maintained a calm face while feeling a trace of annoyance in his heart. But with her, it was different. No matter how he looked at it, it felt natural.

He inexplicably wanted to spoil her like this.

Halfway through the meal, Ruan Mian suddenly thought of a question.

She had eaten with him several times. Usually, after finishing her homework in the study and coming down, the dishes were already set. The taste did not seem like something Grandpa Wang would make, and there were only the two of them in the house.

“Did you cook these dishes?”

“No,” Qi Yan shook his head. He looked into her eyes and said nonchalantly, “This is a benefit reserved only for my wife.”

He paused, his voice lowering until it could go no further. “Do you want to eat a meal cooked by me?”

Ruan Mian was choked by the rice she had just eaten. She turned away and coughed violently. Her small face was flushed, though it was impossible to tell if it was from the coughing or from shyness. It was covered in a honeyed blush unique to a young girl.

Thump, thump, thump…

A voice in her heart was screaming incessantly.

What does he mean?

What does he mean!

What does he mean by this?!

NOTES

Papaya Milk (木瓜撞奶): A popular Chinese dessert/drink. There is a common cultural belief/myth that consuming papaya (especially with milk) aids in breast enhancement. Ruan Mian is drinking it because of her insecurity from Chapter 22.

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