"What...what's going on! Who is Yu Ning?"

Alyssa Chia stood to the side, staring blankly at the two embracing a few steps away. The young man held the woman in his arms tightly, as if he wanted to meld her into his body.

They could only see a small patch of the woman's head.

Bai Yuning's face was stiff and her breathing was rapid: "Senior..."

When Alyssa Chia saw that her eyes were red, she immediately assumed that Shi Youxi was two-timing her, and without thinking, she raised her voice and said, "Senior Shi Youxi! Your girlfriend is right next to you, why are you hugging someone else—"

Before she could finish speaking, the head in Shi Youxi's arms moved, and the woman pushed the boy away by his shoulder, revealing her beautiful face.

Holy crap!

Isn't this Shi Youxi's stepmother?

Alyssa Chia screamed inwardly, mistaking the other woman for the mistress who had seduced Shi Youxi!

When Bai Yuning, who was standing next to her, met the woman's gaze, her eyelids twitched violently!

It's Cheng Ran again!

"Hey! Young Master, where did you get this beautiful brooch?" Guan Shiyan, who was being blocked by Shi Youxi, suddenly spoke up. He glanced at the people around him and said half-jokingly, "It was given to you by Aunt Cheng, right? Tsk, this yellow diamond is very expensive. Aunt Cheng, you treat him so well. No wonder this kid rushed over to hug you in such a hurry."

Guan Shiyan hooked his arm around Shi Youxi's neck. "He must really like it but is too shy to say thank you!"

So that's how it is...

Mu Yiran glanced at Shi Youxi, whose ears were red.

Although the boy spoke very softly, she could still hear him at such a close distance.

"Really? Do you like it?" Mu Yiran asked again, with a hint of probing that she herself was unaware of.

Shi Youxi looked up; his ears were still burning hot, and the sound of his heart pounding in his head made him unable to hear anything.

Shi Youxi looked at the woman's smiling eyes and her mouth opening and closing, his gaze darkened, and after a long while he said, "Yes, I like it."

Mu Yiran felt a sense of relief, though she herself didn't know why.

That's right.

It means "I like the brooch you gave me".

That's the right way.

Su Yi received a look from her son. Although she didn't understand what was going on, she went along with her son's words, "He must be shy. His ears are all red. It seems he really likes the gift Miss Cheng gave him."

"So... Shi Youxi just came here to see someone's stepmother."

A girl next to her realized what was happening and glanced at Bai Yuning, whose face looked pale.

Bai Yuning's body stiffened, and her face felt like it had been slapped twice, the pain sharp and piercing.

Ling Keng, who had just been shoved aside and stepped on by Bai Yuning while watching the show from the back, hummed as he pushed to the front and said, "Nonsense, who else would they go to if not their own parents!"

Why bother with someone you don't know well?

Both he and Lin Zhi heard Jia Jingwen say "boyfriend".

Both of them had witnessed Shi Youxi's attitude towards Bai Yuning during rehearsals, and they complained to each other about how thick-skinned Bai Yuning was.

She even claimed to be the president's girlfriend!

They came right away with their mouths open!

"Some people, whether they're just being delusional or what, are saying that the president is looking for her. Are they blind? Do they even have time to deal with other people?!" Lin Zhi grabbed her mother and craned her neck, babbling incessantly.

"Just say you want to cut in line! Who asked you to do this? You step on other people and don't even apologize!"

"The entire skirt is draped over the floor."

Alyssa Chia bit her lip, listening to the two men's sarcastic remarks without daring to utter a word. The other party was a senior student one year above her, and both were members of the student council. She didn't even dare to argue back.

"Yu Ning, what's going on here... You, didn't you say your senior was looking for you?!" She was at a loss and embarrassed, remembering how she had spoken up for Bai Yu Ning twice without thinking.

She even wanted to snipe her past self from two minutes ago!

Bai Yuning clenched her fists tightly, paying no attention to anyone else. She tried to calm her expression, forced a smile, and stepped forward, saying, "Auntie, you're here too! Why didn't you tell me? I could have come to pick you up!"

Mu Yiran turned her head at the sound and was speechless for a moment when she saw Bai Yuning wearing a long white tulle dress.

Why is this girl dressed like she's getting married?

Bai Yuning's seemingly familiar tone made her uncomfortable. Although she sounded very respectful, a closer listener would reveal that Bai Yuning was actually putting herself on a superior position.

She didn't reply, but smiled faintly and turned to look at the photos Su Yi had taken.

Shi Youxi, standing to the side, didn't even glance at her.

Bai Yuning saw that Cheng Ran hadn't said a word, clearly maintaining a distant and polite distance.

Chen Tingting, hiding in the distance, sneered.

How come I never noticed before that Bai Yuning was so ordinary yet confident!

Bai Yuning clenched her teeth.

Cheng Ran, that bitch!

She's just a stepmother, yet she acts like she's the lady of the house! She even gives her attitude!

Bai Shengsheng is Shi Youxi's biological mother, and she is Bai Shengsheng's niece!

Thinking about this gave me a bit more confidence.

She calmed herself down, took a few steps toward Shi Youxi, and squeezed into the group of Shi Youxi and his companions, saying with a light smile, "Senior, it's about to start, let's go backstage to prepare."

As soon as the words were spoken, the people who were looking down at the photos all looked up at the same time, but they didn't look at Bai Yuning, but at Shi Youxi.

The boy glanced at her expressionlessly.

"You have a performance?" Mu Yiran asked curiously.

Bai Yuning chimed in first, "Yes, we're going to dance later."

Dance?

Still with Bai Yuning?!

A ripple of discussion instantly spread around them, with people whispering among themselves.

Guan Shiyan, standing behind, raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Didn't he already tell Shi Youxi about that?

Why...

He glanced at Shi Youxi, who then glanced at Bai Yuning and smiled.

Oh wow!

Guan Shiyan was all too familiar with Shi Youxi's forced smile.

Every time he was teased by Shi Youxi, this person would put on such a bright smile.

So others won't notice.

"No way? The president's going to waltz with her?!"

"Her? Are you crazy? How could that be? She's not a senior in high school."

"Teacher Chen arranged for her to lead the dance before, saying she had a good image."

When Alyssa Chia saw Shih Yu-hsi smile, she felt that things were looking promising!

He speaks without thinking.

"That's right! Of course, only Yu Ning can be the senior's dance partner!"

Lin Zhi thought that her smug face was exactly the same as Chen Tingting's before.

Logically, he should have been humiliated like Chen Tingting!

Why...why is the chairman smiling?!

Could it be that Bai Yuning threatened the senior?!

Bai Yuning was overjoyed to see him smile. "Let's go, senior!" She reached out to put her arm around Shi Youxi's arm.

But they came up empty-handed.

Shi Youxi held Mu Yiran's hand, walked past Bai Yuning, and led her to the high table on the stage. "Sister... Auntie, wait for me here."

Mu Yiran was confused. She glanced at Bai Yuning, who was waiting alone behind her, and nudged Shi Youxi, "Is this a solo dance for the two of you?"

Mu Yiran felt a little awkward.

Perhaps because of her dislike for Bai Yuning, she inexplicably didn't want Shi Youxi to have too much contact with Bai Yuning.

Shi Youxi looked at the shadow cast by her long eyelashes, then rubbed her wrist hard with his fingers. "Sister doesn't want me to dance with her?"

He deliberately lowered his voice.

Mu Yiran quickly replied, "I didn't mean anything by it. You can dance with whoever you like. I was just asking casually."

She had previously said that she would do anything as long as Shi Youxi liked her, but she almost contradicted herself just now.

"Ah... I understand."

My sister is jealous!

"?"

What do you know now?

Shi Youxi smiled as he watched her touch her hair. The young man, as if he had discovered some secret, raised an eyebrow at Mu Yiran with a smug look.

"Wait for me here, and don't go anywhere!"

Without saying much, he gave Ai Ni a look and turned to walk towards Bai Yuning.

Bai Yuning watched him approach, nervously clutching her skirt. She held her head high and followed Shi Youxi behind the stage curtain under the gaze of everyone around her.

She looked at the boy who was walking one step ahead of her.

My ego swelled even more.

After tonight, she will be the one standing next to Shi Youxi!

If things go well, she will not only be Shi Youxi's girlfriend, but also the future mistress of the Shi family!

Meanwhile, Chen Tingting was on the phone.

They searched anxiously inside the concert hall.

They wanted to see Bai Yuning make a fool of herself and be ridiculed by everyone, but to their surprise, Shi Youxi not only didn't give Bai Yuning a hard time, but actually agreed to dance together!

She was both angry and jealous. She had been holding onto a sliver of hope, but now it seemed she could only stay with Mo Yifan.

But where did this person go?

If she's the only one in the whole class without a dance partner, won't she become the laughingstock of the entire grade?

The phone vibrated loudly.

He hung up and dialed again.

Mo Yifan clicked his tongue and immediately blocked Chen Tingting, then searched through his contacts.

"Hey, go investigate someone for me, Cheng Ran from the Cheng family. I need to know everything about her, especially her private life, who she's slept with and how many times she's slept with, what kind of people she likes! The more details the better!"

"Does Young Master Mo want to know more about Cheng Ran?"

A voice suddenly rang out.

Mo Yifan was startled and looked up.

A tall man leaned against the dimly lit wall in front of him.

The emergency exit sign illuminated his silver-white hair.

The man chuckled and said, "I'm Cheng Ran's friend. I know everything you were trying to investigate."

"Interested in learning more?"