Chapter 41
These two English classes were back-to-back, with only a ten-minute break in between.
The moment class ended, Zuo Fan went out. The classroom immediately became lively, filled with all kinds of bustling chatter and laughter.
Dai Shiyuan sat there and listened carefully for a while, only to discover that no one was discussing the female lead’s matter.
She blinked in confusion, looked at Zuo Jia, and lowered her voice to ask, “What did you mean when you said something happened to Teacher Shan?”
“I heard from my sister that as soon as Teacher Shan arrived at school this morning, she was called over by the dean of students. She couldn’t even teach class. It sounded really serious.” Zuo Jia’s face was bitter with worry and fear, and the guilt in her eyes became even more obvious. She glanced around and whispered, “Do you think it could be about what I saw yesterday? If only I had reminded Teacher Shan back then…”
The more Zuo Jia spoke, the more regretful she became. Tears of guilt nearly spilled out in her anxiety.
Seeing this, Dai Shiyuan immediately comforted her. “Don’t overthink it. Maybe it isn’t about that. Even if it really is, it has nothing to do with you. Don’t put that pressure on yourself.”
“I hope Teacher Shan is all right.” As Zuo Jia spoke, she lowered her head, her face still full of worry.
Dai Shiyuan nodded solemnly.
She now had a feeling that something had definitely happened to the female lead, and it was absolutely related to yesterday’s matter.
When English class ended, Dai Shiyuan held her books and, using the excuse that she had questions to ask, chased after Zuo Fan out of the classroom.
When they reached a quiet patch beneath the shade of the trees, Dai Shiyuan took out her book and politely asked a few ordinary questions.
Although Zuo Fan’s expression was cold, she answered them one by one.
Seeing that Dai Shiyuan was still standing in place, looking as if she wanted to speak but hesitated, Zuo Fan directly asked, “Are you concerned about your sister-in-law’s matter?”
“Yes.” Dai Shiyuan hurriedly nodded, squeezing out a faint smile to hide the embarrassment of being seen through.
Actually, it was not as if she was especially concerned about the female lead. She only wanted to know the truth and help her male lead brother keep an eye on things.
“I don’t know the specific situation either. I only vaguely heard words like ring and student.” Zuo Fan frowned slightly. Concern could be seen in her stern expression.
Hearing this, Dai Shiyuan became even more certain of her guess. She bowed slightly and said with a smile, “Thank you, Teacher Zuo.”
“No need to be polite,” Zuo Fan said coldly.
Watching Dai Shiyuan’s departing back, a trace of doubt appeared in her eyes.
She still could not understand why Shan Yaxin would say that this simple and kind girl was vicious inside.
Dai Shiyuan returned to the classroom and looked around, wanting to find the classmate who had celebrated his birthday yesterday.
But because her impression of him was not deep, she could not recognize him at all.
“Zuo Jia, help me see if the classmate whose birthday was yesterday is in the classroom,” Dai Shiyuan whispered.
Before long, Zuo Jia pointed to a boy in the third row ahead wearing a black tracksuit and said, “He’s over there.”
“What’s his name?” Dai Shiyuan immediately followed her gaze.
“His name is Yan Cheng. A lot of girls say he’s the class heartthrob,” Zuo Jia said quietly, her face a little flushed.
Dai Shiyuan lowered her eyelids, revealing a strange expression. Somewhat disbelieving, she asked, “You don’t like him, do you?”
This boy now had a bit of “involvement” with both her and the female lead. If Zuo Jia got mixed in too, then the relationship would become messy enough.
“N-No… My sister doesn’t let me date. She wants me to focus on studying.” Zuo Jia hurriedly waved her hands, her face turning even redder from embarrassment.
Hearing this, Dai Shiyuan pursed her lips and reminded her in a low voice, “Studying is the most important thing. Don’t treat dating in university as something you must do. Once you graduate and work in the future, you’ll discover that boys who have been tempered by society are more charming.”
“Is that so?” Zuo Jia blinked in surprise, as if convinced. After a while, she asked in confusion, “Shiyuan, you’re the same age as me. How do you know so much?”
“This…” Dai Shiyuan froze for a moment, then quickly reacted and explained, “I heard it from someone else.”
She had gotten a little carried away just now and nearly forgot that she was currently a pure and youthful first-year university student.
There were no classes that afternoon, so they could go back once the morning classes ended.
Dai Shiyuan patiently waited for the final class to pass.
While she was seriously listening to the lecture, there seemed to be a gaze that kept sticking to her.
But whenever she was about to look over, that person was no longer looking at her.
By instinct, Dai Shiyuan felt it was that boy named Yan Cheng. She pretended to lower her head and take notes. When she felt that gaze come over again, she suddenly raised her head.
This time, she caught him in the act, directly meeting Yan Cheng’s secretly glancing gaze.
Seeing the tall boy’s face turn red as he quickly turned his head away, Dai Shiyuan narrowed her eyes slightly.
This boy looked rather innocent. He did not seem like the kind of playboy who could deal with girls smoothly.
In front of her, he appeared especially shy and easily embarrassed.
Judging from this, what Zuo Jia saw yesterday must have been a misunderstanding.
Dai Shiyuan spent an entire class period becoming more and more certain of her guess.
When the dismissal bell rang, the students left one after another.
Dai Shiyuan unhurriedly packed up her books. Suddenly, a shadow covered the space in front of her.
She did not pay attention and continued packing with her head lowered.
Before long, a boy’s nervous, low, hoarse voice sounded by her ear. “Student Dai, do you have time to have lunch together?”
“Sorry, I still have something to do.” Dai Shiyuan refused without even raising her head, her voice extremely cold.
Embarrassment and awkwardness flashed across the boy’s face, but he still maintained his smile and said, “Student Dai, thank you for your blessing yesterday.”
“We’re all classmates. There’s no need to be this polite.” Dai Shiyuan’s expression remained cold, without much emotion. She raised her head and swept a glance over the boy, then asked sternly, “Why do you have my phone number?”
The boy immediately froze. His face flushed crimson, and he unconsciously lowered his head. His tall figure looked very nervous.
Just as Dai Shiyuan was waiting impatiently and about to turn and leave, he hurriedly said, “When school first started, there was one time when the class committee had us fill out forms. I saw it… and memorized it.”
The more he spoke, the quieter his voice became, sounding even more shy.
“Oh.” Dai Shiyuan replied expressionlessly, then carried her schoolbag and walked outside.
Although a pure and innocent boy was very sincere, she still liked the mature and steady type.
Just as she walked outside, Dai Shiyuan heard someone loudly calling that boy’s name.
She almost immediately recognized it as Yao Ning’s voice.
Dai Shiyuan frowned, feeling somewhat displeased. She turned her head and saw that boy lending a notebook to Yao Ning.
Meeting her gaze, Yao Ning raised her lips smugly and took the chance to accidentally brush her chest against the boy’s arm.
The boy’s face immediately turned red, and he took the initiative to say, “Sorry.”
Seeing this scene, Dai Shiyuan gave a disdainful cold snort.
Yao Ning had clearly done that on purpose for her to see. This level of provocation was not something she took seriously.
Dai Shiyuan carried her bag to the cafeteria to eat. Just as she was about to finish, two women came to sit beside her. Judging from their appearance, they seemed to be teachers.
“I heard Teacher Shan seems to have made a mistake. Early this morning, she was called to the director’s office, and even her classes were suspended,” one of them gossiped.
Hearing this, Dai Shiyuan’s movement of standing up paused. In the next second, she sat back down and picked up her chopsticks, pretending to poke at the food on her tray.
In reality, she was pricking up her ears and trying hard to listen to what was happening in front.
“I heard it was because she accepted a student’s gift, and they want to discipline her,” the other person said, her face somewhat disbelieving. “Teacher Shan has always been upright. How could she accept gifts?”
“Exactly. I also find it strange. But no one can say clearly what happened inside. We can just watch the excitement.”
“That’s true.”
As they spoke, the two of them shifted to other topics. Dai Shiyuan had no interest in listening further, so she got up, carried her tray, and left.
She could even hear someone gossiping about the female lead while eating. This really was too coincidental.
Judging from the attitude of those two people, the female lead’s relationships among the teachers were still pretty good.
She believed that regarding this matter, the school would definitely investigate carefully and would not casually wrong the female lead.
Dai Shiyuan walked out of the cafeteria doors, the corners of her mouth revealing a faint smile, her mood much better than it had been in the morning.
After returning to the apartment, she first took a nap for an hour. After waking, she began looking online for suitable part-time work.
After spending several hours, she temporarily found a few reliable jobs and started making a résumé to submit.
After finishing it, she realized that she had unconsciously written the work experience from her previous life.
Dai Shiyuan’s heart startled, and she hurriedly deleted those experiences, replacing them with her current situation.
After submitting a few résumés, Dai Shiyuan rubbed her sore neck and got up to pour some tea.
She had just stepped out when she heard the main door open. In the next second, her gaze met the female lead’s.
Before Dai Shiyuan could react, she saw the female lead reveal a gentle, sweet smile toward her, not looking at all like someone who had been dragged to the office and reprimanded.
“Xiao Yuan, I’m back. Have you eaten?” Shan Yaxin asked softly. The smile on her face looked very relaxed.
Dai Shiyuan froze, nodded, and subconsciously asked, “What’s going on between you and Yan Cheng?”
“Looks like Xiao Yuan really is concerned about Sister-in-law.” Shan Yaxin smiled and walked closer, deliberately emphasizing the word “concerned.”
Dai Shiyuan frowned. For a moment, she actually could not guess whether the female lead was genuinely thanking her or sarcastically mocking her.
After briefly thinking for a moment, Dai Shiyuan continued walking out. After pouring a glass of water, she pretended her expression was normal and said, “You still haven’t answered my question.”
Hearing this, Shan Yaxin lightly curved her red lips. The smile at the corners of her mouth carried a hint of cold self-mockery. She took out a ring and asked, “Are you talking about this?”
“Did he give this to you?” Dai Shiyuan nearly spat out a mouthful of tea and asked in surprise, her eyes full of disbelief.
Seeing her startled expression, Shan Yaxin smiled lightly, lowered her eyes to conceal the complicated emotions inside them, and slowly said while looking at the ring, “This is my wedding ring. It accidentally fell yesterday, and he helped me pick it up.”
Her voice was very calm, even carrying a smile, yet Dai Shiyuan heard a sense of desolation in it.
According to the current plot, the male lead had no feelings for the female lead. One could even say he rejected and hated her.
In the early stage, the male lead thought the female lead was the kind of vain woman who was scheming and loved glory and wealth. Even though he married the female lead, he had absolutely no desire to get close to her.
Only when they were outside would he put on the illusion of a respectful married couple for others to see. In private, he always used all kinds of cruel words to hurt the female lead.
Even at school, he did not let the female lead wear her ring.
Although later, he would be slapped in the face and truly fall for her, the female lead right now was genuinely miserable.
“So that’s how it is.” Dai Shiyuan suppressed the urge to comfort her with a few words and nodded calmly.
The living room became silent for a while. Dai Shiyuan used the action of drinking water to quietly size up the female lead.
But even after looking for a long time, the female lead did not raise her head. Dai Shiyuan could not clearly see whether the expression on her face was resentful or sad.
“Does the school know the truth now?” Dai Shiyuan finished drinking tea and rubbed the cup as she asked. The eyes that had been sneaking glances just now, for some reason, did not dare look at the female lead anymore.
Hearing this, Shan Yaxin raised her head and smiled lightly, her eyes seeming to carry light.
She put the ring away and said gently, “The misunderstanding has already been cleared up. In the afternoon, Student Yan Cheng even specifically came over to apologize to me. That child is very simple and kind. I heard he has someone he likes, and it was love at first sight too.”
“Teacher Shan is this fond of gossip too?” Dai Shiyuan frowned slightly, unhappiness written across her face.
Shan Yaxin froze. Her eyes flickered, and after reacting, she revealed a knowing smile. “Could Xiao Yuan like Student Yan Cheng? Are you jealous?”
Dai Shiyuan immediately rolled her eyes in response, her face full of disdain for the female lead’s words.
Shan Yaxin’s smile paused. As if thinking of something, she continued, “Xiao Yuan is the Dai family’s precious young lady. How could you take a fancy to an ordinary boy? Sister-in-law thought wrong.”
These words seemed to carry a mocking meaning. Dai Shiyuan felt somewhat uncomfortable hearing them and said seriously, “I only want to study properly and don’t want to waste time dating. Besides, I’m not a vain, materialistic woman. I won’t look down on people from ordinary family backgrounds.”
Hearing these words, a strange emotion flashed through Shan Yaxin’s heart.
She clearly remembered that her younger sister-in-law had disliked her because her family background was poor, believing that her marrying into the Dai family was a humiliation.
She also understood that the gap between herself and the Dai family was far too wide. At first, she had not wanted to marry over, but her younger sister’s illness required an enormous amount of treatment money. With her salary, she simply could not afford it.
Only by marrying into the Dai family could she obtain the money for treatment and help her younger sister find a heart donor.
The rest of the Dai family did not agree to this marriage either. In particular, her mother-in-law had opposed it the most strongly and had never given her a good face since the first meeting.
But what her father-in-law decided, no one else had the right to change. Even her nominal husband could not resist.
And even Shan Yaxin herself found the reason she had been able to marry into the Dai family so absurd it was laughable.
Her father and Father Dai had been good friends since childhood, even like real brothers. After the two married, they agreed that if they each had a son and a daughter in the future, the children would become in-laws.
Before she had even been born, her child betrothal had been arranged.
Later, her father died unexpectedly. Father Dai, who had already become wealthy, found them and wanted to fulfill this marriage arrangement.
At first, she had not believed it, but Father Dai used his actions to prove the promise from back then.
For the sake of her younger sister, she had no choice but to marry.
Having been reborn this time, if time had been just a little earlier, she definitely would have chosen not to marry that fickle and heartless man.
A wedding without blessings, a marriage full of all kinds of conflicts, a forceful and domineering mother-in-law, a cold and heartless husband—she had already experienced such a miserable and bitter life once. She was tired and did not want to continue living as humbly as she had in her previous life.
In just a little more time, she would have enough confidence to leave that place that made her feel suffocated.
Moreover, she could find her younger sister’s heart donor herself and did not need the Dai family’s help.
Shan Yaxin tightly gripped the ring, and a trace of ruthlessness flashed through her eyes.
Seeing that the air around the female lead seemed to suddenly turn cold, Dai Shiyuan could not help shivering and ran to pour another cup of water.
By the time she returned, the sharp aura that had been around the female lead just now had already disappeared. She had once again become her usual gentle and harmless self.
Dai Shiyuan’s heart froze. Not wanting to stay any longer, she held her cup and hurriedly ran back to her room.
Lying on the chair on the balcony, Dai Shiyuan narrowed her eyes and enjoyed drinking tea.
Now that the female lead was already fine, she did not need to “meddle in other people’s business” anymore.
Coincidentally, she had also submitted her résumés. For the next few days, she only needed to wait for interview notifications.
Dai Shiyuan calmly attended classes for several days and finally waited until the weekend.
Out of the résumés she had submitted, not a single one had received a reply.
After refreshing the messages on her phone over and over again, Dai Shiyuan still found it hard to believe. She gripped her phone tightly and typed to ask, “May I ask the reason for the rejection?”
“We don’t hire current university students, and you’re a first-year student, so you aren’t suitable for our position.”
After asking several places, one company finally replied.
This reason made Dai Shiyuan extremely angry, yet she was helpless.
She tossed her phone onto the bed, collapsed onto the pillow, and stared fixedly ahead with open eyes.
She had forgotten again that she was a first-year university student with no experience.
Ordinary companies would not choose to hire this kind of group, because there were too many unstable factors.
Dai Shiyuan rubbed her brow hard. Right now, she could only look for other jobs that did not emphasize experience.
After seriously choosing for a long while, Dai Shiyuan discovered that it seemed only a bar server position met the requirements, and it also did not conflict with her daytime school schedule.
Most importantly, the working hours could be chosen.
This time, Dai Shiyuan made a fake résumé, describing herself as a fourth-year student who needed to find work.
This way, the possibility of being hired would increase, preventing her from being rejected again if she wrote her true situation.
The résumé she sent out at noon received a call back in the afternoon. The other party told her to come in for an interview tomorrow.
Dai Shiyuan happily raised the corners of her mouth and decided to buy some mature-style clothes to wear, increasing her credibility during the interview.
The moment she suddenly remembered that all her allowance was in the female lead’s hands, Dai Shiyuan’s newly excited heart cooled again. After sighing sadly, she still decided to bring it up with the female lead during dinner later.
After finally enduring until the female lead finished making dinner, Dai Shiyuan held her chopsticks and ate much more slowly than usual.
In the past, she had always eaten as quickly as possible to reduce the time she spent with the female lead. Today, however, she was unusually slow. Ten minutes had passed, and she had only eaten one bite of rice from her bowl.
Shan Yaxin noticed that her younger sister-in-law seemed to have something on her mind. She smiled lightly and asked considerately, “Xiao Yuan, did you run into some problem? If there’s anything Sister-in-law can help with, just say it.”
Hearing this, Dai Shiyuan’s heart moved. She almost directly said that she wanted money.
Fortunately, at the last second, she held back and hurriedly picked up some food, putting it in her mouth to chew.
Opening her mouth to ask the female lead for money always made her feel somewhat ashamed.
Although that money had been handed to the female lead by Father Dai to manage, and in essence, it belonged to her.
It was only right and proper for her to ask for money, but she really had no experience opening her mouth to ask someone else for money.
She had always been independent. Even when things were difficult for her, she would not easily ask others for help.
Moreover, the amount for buying clothes this time would definitely exceed one hundred yuan. She had not even thought of how she should explain to the female lead that she wanted to buy mature-style clothes.
Right now, her wardrobe was full of youthful, girlish clothes. When the female lead helped her buy things, she had also leaned toward this style.
At first, Dai Shiyuan had been a little unused to it. She had always felt that she was a mature adult.
But after living in the villa for a while, many of those unaccustomed habits had been forcibly corrected.
Now, she could already wear girlish clothes and pretend to be tender without any guilt.
Dai Shiyuan ate with a conflicted face, glancing at the female lead from time to time.
Seeing her puffing her cheeks and eating nonstop, like a little hamster hoarding food, Shan Yaxin could not help laughing. She put down her chopsticks and encouraged softly, “Xiao Yuan, if you have something you want to say, just say it. Don’t feel embarrassed. Between us sisters-in-law, there’s no need to be so restrained and polite.”
Hearing this, Dai Shiyuan’s eyes lit up, and she immediately became spirited. She quickly swallowed the rice in her mouth, tugged out a faint smile, and said, “Sister-in-law, I want to buy some things and need a little money.”
“How much do you need?” Shan Yaxin continued asking gently, her eyes carrying a shallow smile that somehow gave off a somewhat indulgent feeling.
Dai Shiyuan could sense that the other party was treating her like a child embarrassed to ask a guardian for money.
Although she felt somewhat displeased to be looked at this way, for the sake of her goal, she could only pretend for now. Revealing an even brighter smile, she said, “About five hundred yuan.”
Actually, she wanted to ask for one thousand more, but she was afraid the female lead would not be easy to negotiate with.
“I see. Then I’ll give you one thousand. You can buy more things you like,” Shan Yaxin said with a smile, agreeing very readily.
Dai Shiyuan froze for a moment, unable to believe what she had heard.
She glanced at the female lead, suppressed the surprise in her heart, and could not help asking in astonishment, “Dad said you’re in charge of my allowance, and that if I spend more than one hundred yuan, I have to apply to you. Why are you giving me one thousand yuan without even asking the reason?”
This answer was too stimulating. She had to ask clearly. Otherwise, if it turned out to be an empty joy, that would be too infuriating.
“Dad is actually only worried about you. He isn’t really trying to restrict your spending. Besides, it isn’t excessive for a young girl to buy some things. Sister-in-law understands.” Shan Yaxin said with a smile, her face full of understanding.
She herself had once been restricted by her mother-in-law to an unreasonable degree when it came to spending, so she understood that pain very well.
As a rich young lady, her younger sister-in-law had always been loved and pampered, never suffering even the slightest grievance.
There was nothing she could not obtain if she wanted it, even if the price was high.
But now, she could not even freely control one hundred yuan. It was truly a little pitiful.
In truth, Shan Yaxin could hardly believe that after her younger sister-in-law found out her allowance was being restricted, she had not made a fuss at all. She had even endured until now, and usually, she had not asked Shan Yaxin for money either.
Considering that her younger sister-in-law had behaved so well, naturally, Shan Yaxin had to give her a little reward. She could not truly be as harsh with the younger sister-in-law’s allowance as her father-in-law had said.
Moreover, her younger sister-in-law was in the prime of youth. It was also time for her to buy some pretty clothes to go out in. Otherwise, if she wore ordinary clothes every day, others would laugh at her.
However, her younger sister-in-law had never had this thought before. Why had she suddenly brought it up today? This did make Shan Yaxin feel somewhat strange.
Shan Yaxin did not plan to ask this doubt now. She had the patience to wait until her younger sister-in-law bought the clothes.
Author’s Note: ??
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