Chapter 44: Even Courage Comes in Levels…

Song Ya-yun couldn’t put down that bag, even carrying it to lunch at the cafeteria.

It was so eye-catching that Xu Lian Yi and Xia Mi La couldn’t help but notice.

“Is that your new bag?” Xu Lian Yi asked.

“Uh, yes,” Song Ya-yun picked up the bag to show her. “Isn’t it cute?”

“Mm,” Xu Lian Yi nodded. “Not bad.”

She didn’t really know much about these things.

“It looks familiar,” Xia Mi La touched her chin thoughtfully. “I think I’ve seen someone carrying one like it before.”

Song Ya-yun instantly panicked, carefully putting the bag down and hiding it behind her, no longer showing it off. She forced a laugh and said, “This bag isn’t a limited edition, so it’s normal for others to have it too.”

“True,” Xia Mi La nodded, picking up her spoon to continue eating.

Song Ya-yun glanced at her secretly and only relaxed when she saw that Xia Mi La wasn’t dwelling on the matter anymore.

At the table, Xu Lian Yi had already moved on to another topic: “For the parent-teacher meeting on Wednesday, is it still Jiang Xiu Zhu who’s coming?”

“Yeah,” Xia Mi La replied. “Dad still trusts her a lot these days.”

“Really,” Xu Lian Yi frowned. “Isn’t there any way to get rid of her?”

As soon as she said this, the table fell silent.

Across from her, Song Ya-yun was staring at her in horror, while Xia Mi La beside her also seemed stunned.

Only then did Xu Lian Yi realize how arrogant her words sounded.

There was a time when she couldn’t even handle Bai You Na, and now she was thinking about dealing with her mother.

Perhaps this was the courage and confidence that Xia Mi La had given her.

But no matter what, Jiang Xiu Zhu was still an elder – her words had been too casual and flippant.

However, after a moment of surprise, Xia Mi La immediately laughed.

“Mm,” she nodded with a smile. “That’s indeed not an easy matter to resolve. Actually, rather than direct confrontation, we could use some more roundabout methods.”

“Roundabout methods?” Xu Lian Yi didn’t quite understand.

But Xia Mi La didn’t elaborate further.

There was some tacit understanding between Xu Lian Yi and her. Their eyes met, and though she didn’t press for details, she felt much more at ease.

She knew that Xia Mi La wasn’t indifferent – she had already formulated a plan much earlier than she had.

As for what that plan was, if Xia Mi La wasn’t saying now, there was no need to ask further.

The two of them tacitly lowered their heads and continued eating.

Only Song Ya-yun was left with an overloaded brain.

Huh? What? They want to deal with Jiang Xiu Zhu? Is that even possible? Just dealing with Bai You Na was difficult enough…

But looking at how the two of them continued eating as if nothing had happened, she felt confused.

Could it be that she had misheard? Had they actually said nothing at all?

*

There was equestrian class in the afternoon.

Jin Can had already attended one lesson before. He was smart and learned quickly, and today he was already able to ride alongside Xia Mi La.

The two of them each rode their horses, guiding them at a leisurely pace around the riding arena.

“What did Zhao Taihe want with you this morning?” Jin Can asked.

“Nothing,” Xia Mi La replied. “What could he possibly want? His daily routine is just competing with Jin He over this and that.”

Thinking about Zhao Taihe’s expression and tone from the morning, she couldn’t help but add: “Sometimes I feel like he and Jin He are the ones who are truly in love.”

Jin Can let out a light laugh mainly thinking about how those two would react upon hearing those words.

Xia Mi La also laughed, and after chatting for a while longer, she playfully suggested, “Let’s race for a couple of laps. Want to see who wins?”

“Sure.”

“Alright then…” Xia Mi La cracked her whip, “Let’s go!”

The two of them galloped freely across the riding field, with Xia Mi La’s laughter faintly echoing in the air.

Jin He, also on horseback, watched them from a distance before expressionlessly turning his gaze away.

Zhao Taihe had indeed just acted on a whim that morning, acting impulsively for a moment. The following two days returned to normal, and he didn’t approach Xia Mi La again.

On Wednesday morning, when Xia Mi La stepped out, she noticed another car waiting at her doorstep.

“This Zhao Taihe, again…” she was about to complain when she realized the person stepping out of the car wasn’t Zhao Taihe.

“Mira.” Cui Zhe waved at her, offering a charming smile as he extended an invitation. “Let me take you to school today?”

Xia Mi La was somewhat surprised but nodded and walked toward him. “Alright.”

Between Zhao Taihe and Cui Zhe, her quicker agreement with Cui Zhe wasn’t because she preferred him more, but because their personalities differed.

Cui Zhe was methodical in his actions, with clear reasoning behind them, which made people feel more at ease. Zhao Taihe, on the other hand, was more emotional and prone to acting on whims, making it hard to discern his intentions at times. One had to be cautious not to be led astray by him.

Of course, appearance might have played a small role too.

Zhao Taihe was undoubtedly handsome, but his handsomeness was flamboyant and aggressive. Cui Zhe’s pure and gentle face, however, almost equated to harmlessness quite deceptive in its own way.

Cui Zhe opened the car door for Xia Mi La, waiting until she was seated before returning to his side, his manners impeccable.

Once in the car, he apologized to her, “Sorry if my appearance today seemed sudden. But I came specifically to give you this.”

As he spoke, he handed her an invitation.

It was a large white envelope with subtle patterns, containing an invitation to Cui Zhe’s birthday banquet.

“Saturday evening,” Cui Zhe asked, “You’ll come, right?”

“Of course,” Xia Mi La smiled. “Haven’t I gone every year?”

Well, almost every year. But in the past, she had always attended as Jin He’s fiancée.

This year, she would go as Xia Mi La, and it was Cui Zhe himself who had come to invite her.

“Mm.” He looked at her and smiled. “I’m looking forward to it.”

As the car drove smoothly along the road, Cui Zhe asked her, “It’s Wednesday today.”

“Mm,” Xia Mi La glanced at him. “What about Wednesday?”

Cui Zhe shook his head. After a moment of silence, he still told her, “If there’s anything you need, you can always come to me.”

Xia Mi La thought for a moment. If there was anything special about today, it would be the parent-teacher meeting.

She immediately laughed. “You don’t need to worry about me. There’s nothing I need help or care with.”

“Yeah.” Cui Zhe also chuckled softly. “That leaves me somewhat at a loss.”

His last sentence was spoken very quietly, and Xia Mi La didn’t catch it clearly.

“What?” she asked.

Cui Zhe just smiled without answering again.

*

At noon, the wealthy wives arrived one after another.

Jin He’s mother Lin Cheng Hui didn’t make a grand entrance by arriving last. On the contrary, she came quite early.

However, she didn’t go directly to the reception room but instead went to the students’ lounge.

She came looking for her eldest son who had been particularly troublesome lately.

Jin He was quite surprised to see his mother, as he hadn’t heard she would be coming.

He had been sitting on the sofa chatting and laughing with Pei Duo Xing, and now felt somewhat guilty and flustered.

Lin Cheng Hui stood at the doorway wearing high heels, a Hermès crocodile limited edition bag hanging from her wrist. She scanned the lounge without any particular expression, yet her presence felt overwhelmingly oppressive despite her silence.

Pei Duo Xing couldn’t withstand her aura, and coupled with his own guilt, immediately stood up and stepped aside with his head lowered.

The entire lounge fell completely silent.

Jin He glanced at Pei Duo Xing before standing up as well and walking toward the door.

“Mom,” he said when he reached Lin Cheng Hui, his voice tinged with complaint, “Why are you here?”

“What, can’t I come?” Before Jin He closed the door, she cast another cold glance at Pei Duo Xing.

“You could have just gone to the conference room for the meeting,” Jin He said.

“Was that girl sitting next to you just now Pei Duo Xing?” Lin Cheng Hui asked.

Though she didn’t voice any criticism, her expression said it all that girl was really quite ordinary.

Ordinary in appearance, ordinary in demeanor, even ordinary in courage.

“Mom!” Jin He grew angry again.

He knew this was why his mother had come.

Lin Cheng Hui immediately flared up: “I haven’t said or done anything yet.” She paused: “Save your defiance for dealing with your father.”

Mention of his father immediately deflated Jin He.

Lin Cheng Hui gave him a disappointed look, too fed up to spend more time with him.

“Where’s Mira? Take me to her,” she rolled her eyes at Jin He, “You’re just an afterthought I’m only here to see you incidentally.”

“Why are you looking for Mira?” But this also displeased Jin He.

He had already agreed with Xia Mi La to break off their engagement. Wouldn’t it be strange for his mother to seek her out now, with the two of them standing together?

“Are you treating her as your fiancee again now?” Lin Cheng Hui sighed. “When will you understand that she’s not just your fiancée but also Xia Mi La?”

“I understand,” Jin He said sarcastically. “Of course I understand. She’s also Xia Hong’s Xia Mi La.”

Lin Cheng Hui curled her fingers and mercilessly rapped him on the head: “She’s also the Xia Mi La I watched grow up. You can be heartless if you want, but she and I have our own relationship.”

“Mom…” Jin He was truly helpless.

This was school. Wasn’t it embarrassing for someone his age to still be hit by his mother?

“Hurry up,” Lin Cheng Hui urged.

With no other choice, Jin He led her upstairs.

Xia Mi La was also quite surprised to see Lin Cheng Hui.

She had been sitting on the sofa comparing data analysis on her pad. When she saw them approach, she set the pad aside, stood up with a smile, and walked toward them.

“Auntie,” she said softly as she reached Lin Cheng Hui, smiling gently as she greeted her, “You came for the parent-teacher conference.”

“Yes.” Lin Cheng Hui’s voice softened involuntarily as she faced her, reaching out to stroke her head. “I came to see you as well… It’s been so long since we last met.”

Nearly a month had passed since the semester began. The duration wasn’t particularly long, but their previous frequency of meetings had certainly been much higher.

“That’s true.” Xia Mi La smiled gently. “This semester has been unusually busy with trivial matters. It’s my fault I should have taken the initiative to visit you. I’ve been thinking of you as well.”

Her words were gentle and polite, and she made no mention of the engagement matter, which only made Lin Cheng Hui feel more tenderly toward her.

“How could it be your fault?” she sighed. “Are you free now? Would you accompany me for a while and take me to the conference room?”

Xia Mi La’s smile remained graceful. “Of course, Auntie.”

———————–

Author’s Note: The temperature dropped it’s really cold [floppy-eared bunny emoji]