"Shorty, do you think I'm stupid for targeting Sheng Qianling every day?" Sheng Qianxue hesitated before asking. "No matter how much I make a fuss, I can't get the result I want. After I confront Sheng Qianling, my dad turns around and comforts her with a face full of sympathy, saying I'm too competitive and have wronged her."
Sheng Qianxue's beautiful eyes were full of disappointment. "No matter what benefits I ask Dad for, even if he doesn't give Sheng Qianling the same thing in front of me, he'll secretly compensate her where I can't see. The villa is only so big—many times I inevitably see things I shouldn't. It's just that Dad thinks too naively, assuming I don't see."
"Those people at school—they flatter me to my face, but after learning Sheng Qianling was brought home, they're actually laughing at me behind my back." She pressed her lips lightly. "They all know I'm dissatisfied with Sheng Qianling. I am indeed dissatisfied, and I do hate her. Shouldn't I hate her? They talk badly about Sheng Qianling in my ear every day to please me, but actually, I'm not happy at all."
A-Xin asked, "Why aren't you happy?"
"They don't really care about me, and they're not truly on my side. They just want to see me and Sheng Qianling fight. I won't fall for that. If I confront her, I'll do it at home. If I really made a scene outside, that would be a joke."
"Qianxue is really smart."
Sheng Qianxue turned her head away. "Don't try to flatter me. If I were really smart, I'd smile and accept Sheng Qianling like nothing happened, doing a good job with the surface act. Then my dad would definitely still be on my side. I understand all these principles. The day she was brought back, I went to my grandmother's place in anger and met my aunt. She told me many things, telling me to give in, to act pitiful. That way Dad would feel guilty toward me and understand the harm bringing Sheng Qianling back caused me."
"Then why didn't you do that?"
"Because I'm Sheng Qianxue." Sheng Qianxue proudly raised her little chin. "I'm the one who's been wronged—why should I act inferior? I clearly hate her, yet I still have to be pleasant to her. These things—I don't want to do them."
"But if you don't do this, many people will say you're immature, say you're bullying Sheng Qianling. Some will say, 'Why don't you be fierce with President Sheng? This is clearly the adults' fault—why only target her?' They'll think you're a bully who picks on the weak, that you still depend on President Sheng so you don't dare confront him."
Sheng Qianxue's eyes reddened. She turned her head to the side, not looking at A-Xin. "I know. At school, sometimes when I'm in the bathroom, they think I'm not there and talk about me like this. They say that now that I have no mother, I only dare confront Sheng Qianling and not scold my dad because I'm afraid he won't want me, won't support me, will kick me out and I won't be the Sheng family's young miss anymore."
"I am indeed afraid Dad won't want me. Before Sheng Qianling appeared, he only treated me and my mom well."
"After Sheng Qianling appeared, my mom didn't want him or me anymore. His love for me was reduced to half, sometimes even less than half."
"So do you think if you drive Sheng Qianling away, he'll be like before?" A-Xin asked.
Sheng Qianxue remained silent, tacitly agreeing.
If Sheng Qianling disappeared, wouldn't she be able to have Dad all to herself? At least, that's what she thought at the time.
"My mom has been gone for months. She's never called back. She probably doesn't want me anymore." Sheng Qianxue said quietly. "Shorty, I don't want to lose my mom and immediately lose my dad too."
A-Xin handed Sheng Qianxue a tissue. "Wipe your tears."
"Who's crying? I'm not wiping."
Sheng Qianxue turned her head but still took the tissue, randomly wiping at her eyes. "Don't look. My eyes are just uncomfortable. I rubbed them red myself."
"I know." A-Xin nodded seriously, as if she truly believed her explanation. Sheng Qianxue's face burned. This shorty was really bad.
"Qianxue, do you think your mom likes President Sheng?"
"Of course she likes him. Her words might be harsh, but no matter when, the first person she thinks of is Dad. She absolutely can't accept something like this. I've never seen her cry, but when she left that day, her eyes were swollen."
"Why don't you take the initiative to contact her and confirm?" A-Xin asked. "She should be a very strong person. Perhaps leaving you here alone, she also regrets it. Ask her whether she truly doesn't want you anymore or just can't accept everything here. Also, with your current situation, Sheng Qianling being brought back—she might not even know. She probably thinks that with her gone, only you and your dad remain. She's still sad now and might not have thought that far."
Sheng Qianxue hesitated. "If I call her, will she answer?"
"What if she sees my call and thinks of my dad, and her hatred for him extends to hating me too?"
"So you're afraid your mom will hate you?" A-Xin smiled slightly. "She won't. You're her child—she won't hate you." According to the plot, Xue Xuan deeply regretted not taking Sheng Qianxue with her when she left.
Sheng Qianxue couldn't possibly accept Sheng Qianling, and Sheng Wenbo couldn't possibly give up Sheng Qianling, so the two were destined to be unable to get along peacefully. But the relationship between Sheng Qianxue and Xue Xuan could still be salvaged. In the future, Xue Xuan would forget her feelings for Sheng Wenbo but wouldn't forget her daughter Sheng Qianxue. According to the original development, Xue Xuan contacted Sheng Qianxue a year later, when she'd more or less forgotten that relationship.
But by then, Sheng Qianxue had already grown twisted. She couldn't listen to anyone and had become completely extreme. She deeply resented that Xue Xuan had left alone a year ago. Later, their phone calls always ended unhappily. Facing her daughter's cold mockery, Xue Xuan's heart gradually grew cold. She had no plans to return to the country and didn't inquire about domestic affairs.
"Qianxue, do you want to try?" A-Xin held Sheng Qianxue's hand. "President Sheng's fatherly love for you is incomplete, but your mom belongs only to you."
Sheng Qianxue was moved. She'd just turn sixteen soon. Growing up with her parents' love, suddenly having nothing left—she was truly very sad. Now hearing A-Xin say this, perhaps she really could take the initiative to contact her mom.
"Then... should I try calling?" Sheng Qianxue pulled out her phone, found that familiar phone number, but her finger hesitated to press down. Seeing A-Xin's encouraging eyes, she gritted her teeth and finally pressed it.
Hearing the phone ring on the other end, her heart raced. But after several rings, no one answered. The anticipation on her face gradually turned to disappointment. The final result—no one answered. Her eyes reddened uncontrollably, and a tear rolled down.
"See, I knew it. She won't answer the phone. She hates me too."
Sheng Qianxue was about to throw her phone aside when A-Xin stopped her. "Everyone has times when they can't answer the phone. Maybe she's busy. Let's call again in ten minutes. Call a few more times. If she sees it, she might call you back."
"There's no need." Sheng Qianxue looked dejected. "She won't answer."
"You haven't tried—how do you know she won't?"
Sheng Qianxue pouted. "Shorty, are you really that certain?"
"Fine, for your sake, I'll wait a bit longer." Sheng Qianxue raised her little chin stubbornly. "I'll call her a few more times. If she still doesn't answer in the end, I'll never see her again."
Less than ten minutes later, Sheng Qianxue's phone rang. She glanced at it and saw the familiar caller ID, her eyes widening in disbelief. Her mom really called back?
Her face showed anticipation, her heart nervous. She quickly answered the phone. She didn't speak immediately, and Xue Xuan's voice came from the other end. "Qianxue, is that you?"
Hearing the caring tone, Sheng Qianxue finally couldn't control herself. Holding back tears, she said, "Yes."
The other end was silent for a moment. Sheng Qianxue wasn't prepared for what to say either. A-Xin, seeing this, turned and walked out of the room, closing the door. The moment she closed it, she saw Sheng Qianxue's tears falling uncontrollably.
Her eyes held a faint smile. She just stood outside, waiting for Sheng Qianxue to finish her call with Xue Xuan.
Understanding Sheng Qianxue's inner desires, she knew what to do. The priority was to get Xue Xuan and Sheng Qianxue in contact, to restore their mother-daughter relationship. Once Sheng Qianxue had complete maternal love, her personality wouldn't become as extreme as it did later. From Sheng Qianxue's possessiveness toward her, this little study companion, it was clear she was especially afraid of having things that belonged to her taken away because of Sheng Qianling's situation.
After connecting with Xue Xuan, with her watching Sheng Qianxue's future path, it shouldn't go astray. As for Sheng Qianling, as long as she didn't actively provoke Sheng Qianxue, conflict between them shouldn't arise easily. Once Sheng Qianxue stopped targeting Sheng Qianling, her reputation naturally wouldn't suffer.
Except for her temper not being so good and being a bit proud, Sheng Qianxue was excellent in other aspects. As long as she grew up step by step, she'd only become better and better. In this small world, the only one she cared about was Sheng Qianxue. So accompanying Sheng Qianxue as she grew up was the right thing to do.
More than half an hour later, Sheng Qianxue opened the door to see A-Xin standing outside with a faint smile. She called out, "Shorty, have you been standing here the whole time?"
"Mm." A-Xin glanced at Sheng Qianxue's slightly swollen eyes and ignored it. "Did you talk things through?"
Sheng Qianxue gave A-Xin a brilliant smile and pulled her inside. "Shorty, come in and talk."
"We talked things through." After entering the room, Sheng Qianxue answered. Her eyes were shining as she spoke. "Mom said she'd come back to see me soon, but I refused."
"Why?"
Sheng Qianxue lowered her voice. "If she comes back and sees Sheng Qianling here, she might be even more agitated than me. She'd definitely think I was being bullied, and if they fight, it would cause turmoil for the company."
"There are plenty of people who want to see our Sheng family's jokes. If my parents divorce, those people would be delighted."
"So you didn't tell her Sheng Qianling lives here?"
"No." Sheng Qianxue didn't seem to care about these things anymore. "If she wants to live here, let her. I'm not living here for the rest of my life anyway. I told my mom that after I graduate high school, I'll go abroad for university. I also told her about you—I'll take you with me when the time comes, okay? Shorty, you're my study companion—you have to follow me. Actually, following me is best for you. You're so small but eat so much. Without me, you can't survive—you'd starve to death."
"Aren't you afraid Sheng Qianling will take everything from you? For example, the Sheng family fortune, President Sheng's love."
"As for my dad's share, even if I wanted to stop it, she'd still get a portion. There's no way to prevent it anyway. If I insist on sabotaging it, my dad would probably give her even more. As for my dad's love..." Sheng Qianxue's voice dropped. "It's incomplete already. His actions not only hurt my mom but also hurt me. What can I do? I still have my mom. My mom only loves me—I'm her only daughter. I heard it—she really wants to come back to see me." Sheng Qianxue said excitedly, "I'm so grown up now, it's not like I can't take care of myself. I told her not to come back—I'll go abroad to see her. After the holidays, I'll visit her."
"Does Qianxue plan to stop confronting Sheng Qianling from now on?" A-Xin asked again.
Sheng Qianxue snorted. "Targeting her wastes my time. We're in high school now—the curriculum is so intense. We also need to prepare early for going abroad. I'm too lazy to target her. As long as she doesn't provoke me, I don't even want to look at her."
"If President Sheng treats her well, can you really endure it?"
"Shorty, you're talking a bit too much. I'm someone who has a mom's love now. Before, my mom had to love both me and my dad. Now she only loves me." Sheng Qianxue said. "I also have to love my mom—I don't have that much energy to compete with Sheng Qianling for favor. My mom is very sad. On the phone, she kept apologizing to me and even cried. Since I was little, I've only seen her cry twice—before going abroad and today when she apologized to me."
"I should be more mature." Sheng Qianxue said in an old-fashioned tone. "I need to live well so she won't worry when I go abroad to see her. Plus, we've agreed to video chat every day at a set time."
This time A-Xin truly laughed. "Mm, that's very good."
"Tsk," Sheng Qianxue pushed A-Xin. "Shorty, I couldn't tell—you're small, but you think quite clearly. When you told me those things earlier, you were afraid I'd target Sheng Qianling every day, right?"
"Still, I need to thank you, Shorty." Sheng Qianxue said very seriously.
A-Xin shook her head. "No need to thank me. I'm your study companion—isn't this what I should do to help you?"
"Alright, alright. It's late—let's wash up and sleep."
A-Xin was pushed out of the room. She could feel that Sheng Qianxue was very happy. As she prepared to return to her room, Sheng Qianling happened to come upstairs. She quickly walked up to her and asked with concern, "How is Qianxue? I'm really sorry. Today was my fault—I made her wait again."
"She's fine and isn't angry with you." A-Xin answered. "She's already asleep now."
"Oh, okay then." Sheng Qianling didn't believe it, but A-Xin didn't say much more and returned to her room. She looked at Sheng Qianxue's door, then finally went back to her own room.
The next morning at breakfast, Sheng Qianling rarely wasn't late.
Everyone ate breakfast quietly. Sheng Qianxue ate slowly and methodically. After finishing, she greeted Sheng Wenbo and got in the car with A-Xin. Sheng Qianling ate a bit slowly. Seeing they'd already gone out, she quickly swallowed her bread and nearly choked.
"Qianling, eat slowly. There's still time."
"I know, Dad, but I can't make Qianxue wait too long, or she'll get angry again."
At this moment, Sheng Qianxue turned back and said, "Take your time eating. I won't get angry."
Sheng Qianling: "..."
Sheng Wenbo: "..."
The two exchanged glances, not understanding how Sheng Qianxue had changed overnight. But looking at her expression, she truly didn't seem angry. Still, Sheng Qianling quickly finished eating and grabbed her bag to get in the car. She thought Sheng Qianxue was just putting on a show—after she got in the car, she'd probably be mocked. But the entire ride, Sheng Qianxue never looked up, continuously reciting English texts in a low voice.
"From now on, let's communicate in English. How about it, Shorty?" Sheng Qianxue said to A-Xin.
A-Xin nodded. "Okay."
Sheng Qianling was especially curious why they would communicate in English, but she didn't dare ask, afraid it would cause conflict. She secretly guessed that perhaps they were improving their oral skills—after all, both of their grades were really good. She thought about those test papers still full of blank spaces and felt anxious, hoping to get to school early to flip through textbooks and solve those problems.
After Sheng Qianxue said that sentence, their communication switched to English. Both had good grades, especially Sheng Qianxue, who'd been carefully cultivated by the Sheng couple since childhood—basically her oral skills were fine. If it were the original Ye Xin, there might be slight problems, but these posed absolutely no problem for A-Xin. She controlled the progression well—at first her pronunciation wasn't so standard, but gradually improved through communicating with Sheng Qianxue.
Sheng Qianling listened to their rapid speech, half understanding. She just lightly pressed her lips together, clutched her skirt, and looked ahead, hoping to reach school early. Once in the classroom, she started flipping through textbooks to work on problems. Even when her usually close deskmate tried to talk to her, she had no time to chat. She barely managed to fill in all the test answers before remembering she'd ignored her deskmate.
"Sorry, I forgot to bring my textbook yesterday." Sheng Qianling looked embarrassed. "I just looked through the textbook question types and solved the ones I didn't know."
"I see." Her deskmate's stern face showed a smile. She asked quietly, "Qianxue has such good grades—why don't you ask her?"
"She wouldn't be willing to help me." Sheng Qianling said softly. "I don't want to trouble her either."
"Isn't it just helping you solve some problems? She's being way too petty. Even if she won't help you solve problems, I saw yesterday she packed textbooks to take home—borrowing you a textbook should be no problem, right?"
"She wouldn't refuse to even lend a textbook, would she?" Her deskmate looked incredulous, her voice getting louder and drawing the attention of other classmates. "That's too much."
Seeing everyone looking over, Sheng Qianling quickly glanced at Sheng Qianxue, wanting to explain but not knowing what to say.
Sheng Qianxue hadn't even looked at her. She just glanced at the deskmate and said coldly, "What did you say?"
"I..." The deskmate looked at the imposing Sheng Qianxue and shrank her neck. "It's Qianling who said you wouldn't even lend her your textbook. Aren't you being petty?"
"I didn't say these things." Sheng Qianling quickly explained. "Qianxue, I didn't say you were petty, and I didn't complain about you not lending me textbooks."
Sheng Qianxue scoffed, staring at Sheng Qianling's deskmate for a moment. The latter looked uneasy under her gaze. Sheng Qianling thought they were about to fight and quickly said, "Qianxue, she probably misunderstood. Please don't be angry."
Sheng Qianxue's expression was strange as she looked between the two faces. For the first time, she wondered if Sheng Qianling's brain had problems. She couldn't even see such obvious instigation. That girl clearly wanted to start a fight, yet Sheng Qianling was pleading for her. So how had she never come out ahead before? She sat down, staring at her textbook in thought.
The classmates all thought they'd fight, but unexpectedly, Sheng Qianxue said nothing and fell silent. Everyone was curious what happened. However, regarding Sheng Qianling pleading for her deskmate just now, they also found it subtle. That deskmate was famous for having a long tongue and liking to gossip. Sheng Qianling at least had the Sheng surname, yet she helped an outsider.
For several consecutive days, whether Sheng Qianling was late or Sheng Wenbo often said caring words to Sheng Qianling—occasionally accidentally in front of Sheng Qianxue—she had no reaction. This strange phenomenon made both Sheng Wenbo and Sheng Qianling uneasy, especially Sheng Wenbo, who suspected his eldest daughter might have some psychological illness.
On the weekend, Sheng Qianling went out to play again.
Sheng Wenbo saw that Sheng Qianxue had no plans to go out. Afraid she'd get sick from boredom, he urged her to go out and play, and even transferred her money. Sheng Qianxue raised an eyebrow, patted A-Xin's head, and said with a smile, "Shorty, I'll take you to the mall."
Sheng Wenbo felt much more at ease seeing her smile.
The driver dropped them at the mall. Sheng Qianxue took A-Xin around everywhere, even buying A-Xin quite a few clothes. Later, they went to the food street.
"When my mom was here, I didn't dare sneak out to eat lamb skewers." Sheng Qianxue happily ate lamb skewers while talking to A-Xin.
Suddenly, she stopped moving, her gaze fixed in a certain direction. A-Xin looked over. Sheng Qianling was talking to a boy with a bruised and swollen face. With so many people around, they hadn't noticed them at all.
A-Xin had already guessed the boy's identity—Jiang Yanxi. She hadn't expected such a coincidence, running into them here.
Originally, Sheng Qianling was indeed shopping at the food street with friends. After separating, in a more secluded alley, she encountered Jiang Yanxi being beaten and curled up on the ground. She took Jiang Yanxi to a clinic, then treated him to snacks. From then on, every time they met, it was at this food street.
"How does she know Jiang Yanxi?" Sheng Qianxue glanced once and had no intention of looking again. "Let's go another direction. I don't want to see her." She didn't care at all what relationship Sheng Qianling and Jiang Yanxi had.
After encountering Jiang Yanxi, A-Xin clearly noticed that when Sheng Qianling was home, she smiled more and no longer spoke somewhat timidly like before. Whenever she had time, she'd go out. The Sheng family wasn't strict about this—as long as she returned before dinner, Sheng Wenbo didn't mind.
Later, even Sheng Qianxue noticed that Sheng Qianling dressed more and more beautifully. Every weekend when she went out, she was especially happy, and when she came back, her face carried a smile. At first, Sheng Qianxue didn't think much of it, until Jiang Yanxi appeared at the classroom door one time, saying he was looking for Sheng Qianling. Sheng Qianling went out blushing and accepted ice cream and some snacks from Jiang Yanxi.
Sheng Qianxue understood.
"So these two are dating." Sheng Qianxue said quietly to A-Xin. "Puppy love."
A-Xin glanced at Sheng Qianxue. "What do you think about it?"
"Nothing. Her dating has nothing to do with me." Sheng Qianxue didn't care about such things anymore. "But this is a critical period in high school—dating easily affects studies." She stared seriously at A-Xin. "Shorty, you're not allowed to learn from her, understand?"
"If I find out you're dating, you're done for." Sheng Qianxue's tone was threatening. "I guarantee you'll regret it." She glanced at Sheng Qianling and Jiang Yanxi and scoffed. "Puppy love—no benefits. Remember that."