A Real Heiress Quits (GL) - Chapter 24

Yu Xinyue had originally intended to deliver a wife to her best friend.

But now she realized she might be a “fake” best friend.

“Oh, A-Ji, I’m keeping your wife with me for the time being.”

Yu Xinyue silently apologized to Yan Ji and reported her class assignment. The very next day, she saw the girl in uniform standing on the podium, giving her a shy smile.

Lately, the students of Siyuan were gossiping about three things:

First, the “ugly duckling” of the Olympiad class had suddenly turned into a white swan, and the title of Siyuan’s School Belle had changed hands overnight.

Second, the school bully Shu Ziyu had reportedly been severely beaten by thugs at a street corner and was still lying in the hospital.

Third, a transfer student had joined the Olympiad class. She was incredibly beautiful and had become the new School Belle’s desk-mate. Sitting side-by-side, the two were an incredible sight to behold.

A constant stream of students squeezed by the Olympiad class windows to sneak a peek at the two beauties.

“That big beauty is the former ‘Ugly Freak’?”

“She wasn’t like this before. Did she get plastic surgery?”

“You try getting that much work done in two days!”

“It’s too strange… a beauty like that, and she didn’t even have a name before.”

“The new little beauty is also so pretty. I’m going to pursue her! I’m determined!”

Yu Xinyue was used to the gaze of others and remained composed, her powerful aura deterring anyone from being offensive.

But Tong Ya was her opposite. This child was too bashful and too easy to bully. Her cheeks were pink and soft, like a tender dumpling that anyone could knead at will. Outside, boys whistled at her, and their unrestrained teasing made the girl afraid to lift her head.

Yu Xinyue patted her shoulder. “Don’t be afraid.”

With that, she walked out of the classroom to give those smirking boys a “small” lesson. When she returned, she met Tong Ya’s gaze. The girl’s eyes were shining, her small face full of admiration, as if she viewed Xinyue as a life-saving hero.

Yu Xinyue smiled slightly. Backlit by the sun, her features were gentle. Though she had the youthful face of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old, she felt exceptionally reliable. Some people possess a sense of security that makes you feel like the sky wouldn’t fall as long as you are by their side.

She’s so nice. And so beautiful… Tong Ya thought dazed.

Tong Ya wasn’t the only one staring; inside and outside the classroom, there was a sudden, deathly silence.

Radiant as autumn chrysanthemums, flourishing as spring pines.

This face refreshed their understanding of beauty time and again. Everyone was looking at her.

Yu Xinyue had used the short time before class to establish her authority. Now, no one dared to be rude to her or tease her casually. It was just that her beauty was so dazzling that even at the risk of being hit, they couldn’t help but steal a few more glances.

Yu Xinyue didn’t care; her eyes only held Tong Ya. “Don’t be afraid. No one will bully you again.”

She knew that for certain reasons, Tong Ya had been bullied since childhood and for a long time was unable to interact normally with people. The trauma of unjust harm in childhood often follows one for a lifetime. To remain sincere and kind after such harm was especially precious.

Tong Ya stared at her blankly, crystalline moisture seeping into her deer-like eyes. She looked soft, white, and fluffy. Yu Xinyue finally understood why Ji Zhaohua always wanted to knead her; a girl this soft really made one want to pet her.

She reached out to pinch Tong Ya’s cheek and laughed. “No need to fear from now on.” In this life, she was here. She had vowed to become strong precisely so her loved ones would no longer suffer in the darkness.

Tong Ya was so moved she nearly burst into tears. “You’re so good…”

Yu Xinyue added, “There’s someone even better than me.”

Tong Ya asked curiously, “Who is that?”

Yu Xinyue crinkled her eyes and leaned into her ear. “The wife you’re destined for.”

After hearing this, Tong Ya’s ears turned bright red. She was so ashamed she wanted to bury herself in the ground. “Wh-what kind of joke is that?”

Yu Xinyue blinked. “I’ll take you to find her after school.”

Tong Ya shot her a glare, bit her cherry lips, and buried her small head in a pile of books. Secret romances weren’t allowed at school; the teachers would scold them. And saying th-that kind of thing… it was quite embarrassing.

However, Yu Xinyue was a woman of action. As soon as the bell rang, she dragged Tong Ya to find Yan Ji.

The classmates might have misunderstood something. Hearing they were looking for Yan Ji, they began to whisper:

“The new belle is going to find Belle Yan?!”

“Are they going to pull each other’s hair? It’s time for my favorite segment!”

“Women are terrifying. Is it really worth it over a title?”

“Oh, it’s worth it. Absolutely worth it. Very worth it.”

Students of this age have abundant energy and love nothing more than a good show and gossip. During the short walk where Yu Xinyue held Tong Ya’s hand toward the International Class, a long line of onlookers followed behind.

When Yan Ji packed her bag, someone tipped her off about the situation. Her slender, beautiful fingers paused for a moment; then she picked up her bag and walked away. The informant looked around blankly. The people in Yan Ji’s class were used to it, explaining with a laugh, “Our class monitor is just like that. You’ll get used to it.”

“What new beauty? No matter how good she looks, can her grades be better than our monitor’s?”

“Exactly! The monitor is a true ‘white-rich-beautiful’ (rich belle); who can compare? Our monitor doesn’t care about these meaningless beauty contests.”

The informant murmured, “But she really is too beautiful.”

The International Class students laughed it off. “How pretty can she—”

Before the sentence was finished, they suddenly went silent. The moment the girl entered the door, the entire dim classroom seemed to light up.

Hair like dark clouds, eyes like autumn water.

An extreme beauty hit them, making it almost hard to breathe. Yu Xinyue scanned the room but didn’t see the person she expected. “Is Yan Ji not here?”

Her voice was crisp, like a clear spring in a mountain valley. After a long while, someone snapped out of it and pointed to the door. “She just left.”

Yu Xinyue nodded and continued her search. Tong Ya pulled on Xinyue’s sleeve and asked weakly, “Who is Yan Ji? Why do we have to find her?”

Yu Xinyue chuckled and lowered her voice. “Didn’t I tell you? Your future wife.”

Tong Ya’s face flushed red; she felt Xinyue’s words made no sense at all. “Y-you don’t even know her, and I don’t know her either. What ‘wife’? If you say that again… you can marry her yourself! Don’t drag me into it!”

Yu Xinyue blurted out, “That won’t do. If I marry her, what will my wife do?”

Tong Ya tilted her head. “Who is your wife?”

Yu Xinyue shrugged. “I don’t know who she is either.”

Behind them followed a grand procession, a massive crowd. Even the International Class students who were initially dismissive joined in. Eventually, many people who didn’t even know why they were walking joined the crowd just because there were so many people.

When they caught up to Yan Ji, she was just about to get into her car. She saw the long line reflected in the car window. Her pupils shook slightly—were these students starting a revolt? The driver was also frightened by the formation. To him, the Young Miss had just stepped out of campus, and a massive group of students was “hunting” her, their blue and white uniforms rolling like a tide.

What is this? A campus terrorist force? Did the Young Miss get into trouble?

He hurriedly started the engine. “Miss, shall we go?”

Yan Ji turned and glanced behind her. The first thing that caught her eye was a beautiful small face. Even though Yan Ji looked in the mirror every day and had high standards, she couldn’t help but be dazed by the girl—she looked like a porcelain doll.

Her gaze was quickly drawn to the child standing slightly behind. Deer-like eyes peered out innocently, and the child spent the whole time shyly shrinking behind the “porcelain doll,” only showing a fluffy small head. Seeing her look over, the small head hurriedly shrank back.

—Like a little white rabbit. Cute. Yan Ji reached a conclusion.

When Yu Xinyue first saw her best friend as a teenager, she stood steady in the breeze, gazing deeply at the person before her. Yan Ji was already quite tall at this time, with a mixed-race face, deep eyes, and thin lips. From the perspective of twenty years later, it was a standard “scumbag face” (femme fatale look), practically wearing a “don’t mess with me” and “I don’t care” expression.

But only Yu Xinyue knew how good this person was. They had supported each other through the darkest decade of their lives.

A gentle breeze blew, and the leaves rustled. The surrounding students widened their eyes and pricked up their ears, waiting for a spectacular confrontation. Two powerful beauties standing together—surely they were going to tear into each other.

Unexpectedly, after a long wait, the imagined scenario didn’t happen. Yu Xinyue smiled, her eyes turning slightly red as she suppressed the throbbing in her heart.

“A-Ji.” She dragged the “white rabbit” out from behind her. “This is…”

With a bang, before she could speak, Yan Ji slammed the car door shut. The driver was already prepared; as soon as the Miss gave the signal to go, he sped away.

Yu Xinyue: “…”

The onlookers were blank. “That’s it? That’s it? That’s it?”

“Weren’t they going to pull hair? How did it end before it even started?” It felt like sitting in front of a TV only to be so shocked by the plot development that you wondered if you’d missed several episodes.

Yu Xinyue frowned. She didn’t remember Yan Ji being this difficult to deal with. When she turned back, Tong Ya’s face was pale and her eyes were red, like an aggrieved little wife.

“Ya Ya,” Yu Xinyue was only concerned about her best friend’s romance, “what do you think of her?”

Tong Ya pouted and muttered, “I don’t like her.”

Done for. Yu Xinyue’s heart sank.

Tong Ya whispered, “She’s so fierce and rude.”

Yu Xinyue managed a forced smile. “Isn’t she good-looking?”

Tong Ya hesitated for a moment, gave a small nod, then looked at Yu Xinyue. “Not as good-looking as you.”

Yu Xinyue fell silent. Damn her misplaced charm.

A Mercedes by the roadside honked a few times. Tong Ya’s eyes lit up. “Master is here to pick me up. Yueyue, I’m going now.”

Yu Xinyue’s heart felt heavy, but she smiled and nodded. Tong Ya was reluctant to leave. “See you tomorrow.”

Yu Xinyue waved. “See you.”

Sitting on the soft leather seat, Tong Ya remained pressed against the window, watching the slender figure. People were coming and going. The girl stood in the middle of the crowd, and everyone passing by was stealing glances at her. She was so radiant and eye-catching; she seemed naturally born to receive the awe and praise of everyone under the gaze of thousands.

Yu Xinyue stood in the flow of people, dazed for a short while. She thought that according to Yan Ji’s obsession with Tong Ya in her previous life, it should have been love at first sight. Isn’t that how falling in love works? You see someone you like and you go for it.

Yu Xinyue suddenly realized a blind spot. She herself had never seriously been in a relationship; how was she supposed to teach two kids about childhood romance? The girl scrunched up her face and immediately decided to stop by a bookstore on the way home to buy a “Relationship Guide.”

Watching Yu Xinyue leave her sight, Tong Ya pursed her lips. Her warm breath condensed into a white mist on the cold glass. She reached out her pale, tender small hand and wrote the character “Yue” (Moon) stroke by stroke.

I want you to be my friend.

Don’t be afraid. No one will bully you again.

Tong Ya hugged her knees. Thinking of Yu Xinyue’s words, her lips involuntarily quirked up into a gentle arc.

“Ya Ya,” Tong Song asked, “Are you getting used to school?” The girl was in poor health; he had been on edge all day, so he was relieved nothing had happened.

Tong Ya nodded gently, her voice soft. “Master, I met a very, very, very good person today.” If she weren’t afraid Tong Song would lose patience, she could have said “very” many more times. But there was only one good person at school; like the girl they saw later, besides being good-looking, she was very bad in every other way.

Tong Ya thought dazed.

Tong Song laughed. “It must be that child. I saw her. I’m relieved someone is looking after you. When shall we invite her to the house as a guest?”

Tong Ya lowered her head, her pointed chin resting on her knees. The warm sunlight wove into a colorful tapestry, falling on her brow and hair. After not receiving a reply for a long time, Tong Song was used to it; this child loved to space out from time to time. He glanced casually into the rearview mirror and froze slightly. The child hugging herself was surrounded by sunlight, like an angel. Beautiful, pure, and fragile. As if she didn’t belong to this world and might leave at any moment.

Tong Song’s heart tightened, his voice softening further. “Ya Ya?”

Tong Ya snapped out of it, tilting her head. “Master?”

“I was thinking, perhaps one day we should invite your good friend to the house as a guest.”

Tong Ya’s eyes widened in surprise. “Can we? Won’t it disturb you?”

Tong Song laughed. “A teacher for a day is a father for life. Since you call me Master, don’t be so formal. Just tell me before she comes so I can prepare in advance.”

Tong Ya nodded emphatically. “Mhm.”

Yu Xinyue spent half an hour in the bookstore before finally finding a dusty “Relationship Guide” in a corner. Excellent. She opened the book and seriously scanned every line. Her frown grew deeper and deeper.

What the hell is this writing?

Yu Xinyue took a few deep breaths, summoning the spirit of perseverance and excellence she used when learning math, and read a few more lines. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. She slammed the book shut and tossed it into her bag. Forget it. The primary task now was to get close to Yan Ji anyway.

Yu Xinyue hugged her bag. Reality was the exact opposite of what she had estimated. She had thought she would get close to Yan Ji first. She didn’t expect Ya Ya to be so easy to “kidnap,” while the teenage Yan Ji was truly a headache.

She spent a long time trying to remember how she had met Yan Ji in university, but the memory was too distant, like a hazy mist. It seemed they just met slowly, became friends over time, and their relationship only truly became tight after Tong Ya passed away. With the foundation of twenty years, their bond had unknowingly become an inseparable part of her life.

When Yu Xinyue stepped into the Yin house, she saw In Jianghan using a laptop to chat with someone. Last night, In Jianghan’s face had been slapped by her, and the swelling hadn’t gone down all day; it was still highly swollen, looking comical and ridiculous. Because of this, she had taken a day off and didn’t dare go to school. But looking at the situation, she probably intended to keep taking time off.

Hearing the sound, In Jianghan immediately tensed up. When she turned and saw it was Yu Xinyue, her face began to throb with burning pain again. Her legs went soft, and her heart raced—like a mouse seeing a cat.

Yu Xinyue gave a casual glance, and In Jianghan’s body shrank back, almost retreating to the very back of the sofa. She had never been so afraid of a person. In just two short days, Yu Xinyue had overturned her perception. Clearly, this person had done exactly what she wanted—constantly doing things that made Grandma and Uncle dislike her—but, but… her face really hurt.

Today Yin Hongfei was out working and hadn’t returned, and Grandmother Yin was so angry from yesterday’s dispute that she went to the hospital for a check-up. No one at home was there to back her up; without being able to “bully with reflected power,” In Jianghan didn’t dare to be as arrogant as before. She thought that since Yu Xinyue had hit her, she wouldn’t be staying in the Yin house for long anyway. If Xinyue didn’t provoke her today, she wouldn’t seek revenge for that slap just yet.

Yu Xinyue’s hand slowly rose. In Jianghan stared at her, her hair standing on end, screaming: “What are you doing now?!”

Yu Xinyue smoothed her stray hair back, frowning, her face not hiding her disgust. “Keep it down.” She now felt that In Jianghan really was a member of the Yin family; her scream was cut from the same cloth as Yin Hongfei’s roar, making her head ache.

In Jianghan: “D-don’t get too ahead of yourself. Uncle and Grandma don’t like you anymore; don’t think you can stay in the Yin house.”

Yu Xinyue ignored her, scrutinizing her swollen face. She let out a few “tsk-tsks” and suddenly asked, “Does it still hurt?”

In Jianghan immediately didn’t dare speak, covering her left cheek.

Yu Xinyue asked with a smile, “Should I help you swell up the right side too? Wouldn’t symmetrical beauty be better?”

In Jianghan let out a whimper, a tiny sob squeezing out of her throat. She was shaking with fear, her face pale. Is this person a demon? She must be a demon! How can she say such things without changing her expression?

Her gaze moved to the girl’s hands. Fair, slender, and seemingly bone-soft. When they slid across the piano, they were elegant and nimble. But they truly hurt when hitting people.

Yu Xinyue was in a good mood and didn’t lower herself to her level. She patted her hands and went back to her room to continue studying the “Relationship Guide.”

Only after Xinyue had been gone for quite a while did In Jianghan dare to take a deep breath. She clutched the sofa cushion indignantly. I must get this lunatic kicked out soon! Who knows what else she might do?

Looking back at the screen, the notification sound at the bottom of the laptop had been “ding-donging” for a long time. In Jianghan moved the mouse over—

“Hello, I saw the song ‘Qing Qing’ that you posted on the forum. I feel you have great musical talent and hope to have the opportunity to cooperate with you. If interested, please contact me. The number is xxxxxxxxxx.”

The signature was Qingshuo Management Agency.

In Jianghan stared dazed at the computer screen. Her face was burning with pain, but her heart was thumping. At first sight, she had the idea to take this song for her own. Yu Xinyue had likely finished it overnight and hadn’t had the time—nor the inclination—to post it online, so she had posted the song on the largest music forum in advance.

Initially, it was just to gain a few words of praise; she hadn’t expected to reap an unexpected surprise. In Jianghan clenched her hands, her nails digging into her flesh. Rather than letting this song be buried with no one knowing, it was better for her to make it famous. Since she posted it first, no one knew the truth. Even if Yu Xinyue wanted to tell the truth, no one would believe her.

Grandma and Uncle wouldn’t believe her. Outsiders wouldn’t believe her. As long as no one knew, this song belonged to her, In Jianghan.

Finally, In Jianghan took out her phone and slowly dialed that number. Aunt Xu passed by and looked at In Jianghan; the girl picked up the phone with a smile on her face. The smile was indescribable—it made people feel uncomfortable just seeing it. It was like a thief, yet also like a robber.

At a villa in Hanjiang City, Yin Hongfei was continuing to discuss the project that had been interrupted last time with Yan Yuan.

Yan Yuan was smiling, interrupting Yin Hongfei’s words. “Mr. Yin, I invited you here today because I want to give you something.”

Yin Hongfei frowned, surprised. Yan Yuan didn’t seem to have his heart in the project and had been playing tai chi, saying he’d consider it. So the purpose of inviting him was just to give him something?

When he saw the object revealed as the red cloth was pulled away, his face instantly turned ugly.

It was a piano.

The magnificent mahogany and exquisite carvings all revealed the piano’s luxury and value. However, associating it with what happened that day, Yin Hongfei’s brow furrowed tightly and his face burned. What does Yan Yuan mean by this?

Yan Yuan pressed a key, tilted his head to listen, and laughed. “This is a rare good piano. Sigh, I’m almost reluctant to part with it.”

Yin Hongfei said in a heavy voice, “It’s too valuable. I’m unworthy of it; I can’t and won’t accept it. Mr. Yan, stop joking.”

“Joking?” Yan Yuan patted his hands and called the butler. “Have someone deliver the piano to President Yin’s house.”

Yin Hongfei stood up. “Truly, there’s no need. I already have one at home…”

Yan Yuan laughed. “Is that so? But I heard otherwise.”

Yin Hongfei fell silent. The cooperation with Tianhui was linked to his company’s future; he didn’t dare be negligent, much less refuse. He could only force a smile and change his tune: “Yes, our piano broke a few days ago. Thank you, then. Shall we continue discussing the cooperation?”

Unexpectedly, Yan Yuan stretched and yawned. “We’ll talk, of course. It’s just that I’m sleepy now. How about we find another time?”

Yin Hongfei suppressed his anger and nodded helplessly. Yan Yuan watched with a half-smile as the man drove away from the villa. He took out his phone and said lazily: “Eldest Miss, I’ve done everything you instructed. He won’t be throwing away this piano again. But if I may be so bold as to ask… what exactly is your relationship with that child?”