Aunt Wan said, "It's getting late; next month is the young lady's birthday."

Upon hearing this, Ding Huizhu immediately became restless. "That's true, time has been flying by lately, it seems I need to start preparing too."

With something on her mind to do, she no longer remembered Xie Li's troubles.

With a smile in her eyes, she went to take a bath with the help of Aunt Wan.

Sister Wan and the other two maids came out, exchanged a glance, and sighed inwardly.

No wonder she's been raised by his side for over a decade; their bond is truly deep. Xie Ziyuan certainly deserves the madam's favoritism.

Unlike that other one, who thinks he's above the law just because he was born from the wife's womb, constantly causing trouble for her.

In the end, he lost his wife's favor, and he will regret it later.

——

There is a flag-raising ceremony on Monday morning.

This was Xie Li's first time attending such a formal flag-raising ceremony, and he stared at a corner of the stage with lingering interest.

The younger brother stood in the line of boys next door, his eyes practically sparkling with admiration.

"Sakura-ge, Li-ge! Isn't Senior Chu Xun handsome? Isn't he handsome?"

Su Ying rolled her eyes and ignored him.

The lackey called out to Xie Li, "Brother Li, are you watching...?"

"No!" Xie Li quickly denied, then sighed, "Those senior girls' calves are so thin!"

Su Ying paused for a moment, her gaze involuntarily falling on Xie Li's legs.

Xie Li: "Oh, isn't that strange? My skirt seems a bit short."

Because the flag-raising ceremony required marching in formations, the school required students to wear uniforms, so she had to wear the pleated skirt of her school uniform.

Xie Li felt somewhat uncomfortable, even wondering if she looked ugly and would be ridiculed. Otherwise, why would people keep peeking at her ever since she entered the school?

However, she was already used to the strange looks from others, and at least she was able to face them with a thick skin.

That said, the girls in the city are all so delicate and pretty, no wonder they're from the city!

Su Ying: "..."

You probably have some misconceptions about your own charm.

However, she shrugged. She wasn't going to remind Xie Li how many people had been peeking at him.

Originally, she thought she could guard the treasure alone, but who knew that Xie Li would change every day. In just a short time, her beauty gradually emerged and slowly attracted people's attention.

Enjoy this moment alone as much as you can now, because it might be harder later.

——

After the flag-raising ceremony, the crowd dispersed.

"Brother Li, Brother Ying, I saw a super handsome senior today! He was in the third-year class..."

The lackey hopped up to Xie Li and suddenly stared intently at Xie Li's face: "Brother Li, are you wearing makeup today?"

Xie Li answered casually, "No."

His gaze fell into the distance, he paused for a moment, and then walked away.

The lackey stood there, scratching his head. "Huh? No? That's strange. I think you look especially good today, like you're practically glowing."

However, Xie Li had already walked away and did not hear what he said.

Su Ying overheard this and was utterly speechless at this straight-man's view: "Becoming prettier just means you're wearing makeup? You're so ignorant!"

She turned her head and was immediately startled: "...Hang Dongxu? Wait, Xie Li is going to see Hang Dongxu?"

The henchman perked up, and the two looked at each other for a second before taking off running together.

——

Xie Li went to see Hang Dongxu specifically.

She used to have a very bad temper, but she has changed a lot in recent years, especially after moving to the city, she has become more humble, low-key and avoids trouble.

But this doesn't mean she should be a pushover and let others mold her into whatever they want.