Chapter 15
Perhaps it was because she lived in the world of books, but Xiang Wan always felt that the past two years had passed by in a flash, and in the blink of an eye she had gone from sixth grade to the third year of junior high school.
For more than two years, she had not heard any news about Zhou Chengze. She had sent people to closely monitor Lijia Village, and the people monitoring the village said that there was no movement there.
Having lived a peaceful life for too long, Xiang Wan had almost forgotten that Zhou Chengze even existed. Apart from reading the reports from Lijia Village every two months, she would only occasionally think of Zhou Chengze's family.
In the past two years, Xiang Wan has also grown remarkably. She has studied mechanical engineering, a subject she did not pursue in her previous life, and has also made plans for this life in advance.
After much deliberation, she decided not to skip a grade and instead chose to continue her studies in the usual manner.
For her, academic qualifications are merely icing on the cake. In her previous life, she earned a master's degree in business administration abroad before taking over the Xiang Group. In this life, she plans to study finance at Beiyi University, with a minor in mechanical engineering, and then take over the company directly after graduation.
She had also made plans for the company to enter the automotive industry early on. Although she only lived to be 26 in her previous life, Xiang Wan knew very well that if the company wanted to become a leader in the automotive industry, its biggest rival would be Sirong Technology. The business upstart from Lijiacun was not to be underestimated.
Knowing his future rivals in advance, Xiang Wan wanted to seize the market first, since the business world is like a battlefield, and being one step ahead can influence the outcome.
She was still pondering Si Rong's business strategy from her previous life when she noticed someone seemed to be watching her from behind. Thinking it might be someone, she turned around and met those wicked little eyes.
...It's that stupid goose named Green Feather.
It has been raised by the Xiang family since Chen Yan was in fourth grade. Now Chen Yan is almost in sixth grade, and this silly goose still doesn't realize who its owner is.
Every time I see her, I bark incessantly and chase after her. Although I don't dare to bite her anymore, I still bark incessantly every time.
Moreover, it appears and disappears like a ghost; it can even find its way to this study.
They're going to start yelling again.
"Gah—gaah—gaah-gaah—gaah—"
Just as she expected, the silly goose kept squawking until Wang Yidong heard the noise, came over, picked it up, and carried it outside, at which point it stopped squawking.
Strangely enough, it is quite popular in this family. Besides Chen Yan and Wang Yidong, even Xia Yueshen would pat its head when he occasionally came to the Xiang family. When it was in a good mood, it would sometimes lower its head and let her pat it.
It only barks incessantly when Xiang Wan comes over. Xiang Wan has analyzed the reason, and it should be because on that day in Lijia Village, she threatened to eat it in front of Chen Yan, which is why it targeted her like this.
I never expected a goose to hold such a grudge; even after two years, it still remembers.
Xiang Wan found the stupid goose increasingly unpleasant to look at, so she simply pulled down the blinds to avoid seeing it. But the more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and she couldn't help but open the window and yell "Stupid goose!"
Perhaps sensing her curses, another goose's cursing voice came from nearby: "Caw—caw—caw—caw—caw!"
"..."
*
Even when they went to the restaurant later, Xiang Wan's face was full of black lines.
Xia Yueshen happened to be home as well. She was sitting on the sofa reading a magazine when she saw Xia Yueshen's dark expression: "Did Green Hair bark at you again?"
Looking at the doctor who seemed determined to bring up the most inappropriate topic, Xiang Wan said irritably, "Weren't you supposed to be attending a medical seminar in Xi'an? What are you doing here?"
"No ride-hailing service is as good as your driver."
"..." Xiang Wan was speechless, looking at her in disbelief, "Your annual salary is not low."
Wearing kitchen gloves, Wang Yidong placed the stew pot in front of her and explained to Xiang Wan, "She used her position to 'bribe' driver Uncle Zhang, and just last month she arranged for Uncle Zhang's family to have a medical check-up."
"..."
Xia Yueshen smelled the aroma and came closer, pleading with Wang Yidong, "Sister Yidong, I want to eat too."
Xiang Wan was once again shocked by her shamelessness: "Xia Yueshen, you're 30 years old this year, four years older than Wang Yidong, and you actually call her 'sister' just for the sake of stewed meat and eggs."
"Children shouldn't meddle in adults' affairs."
'What a clever trick of relying on one's age and seniority.'
Xiang Wan ignored her and looked at Wang Yidong, asking, "Where's Chen Yan? Did she go to the hospital to see her mother-in-law again?"
"Hmm." Wang Yidong placed another stew pot in front of Xia Yueshen. "He went there a long time ago."
"All right."
After finishing her meal, Xiang Wan returned to her study and stayed there for the entire afternoon and evening.
When Wang Yidong brought in the milk, she glanced at her watch. It was clearly ten o'clock: "Why are you here so early today?"
"Tomorrow is the first day of junior high school for the young lady."
"It seems so."
She closed the psychology book in her hand, and as soon as she stood up, she saw Wang Yidong looking at her with a very worried expression.
"..."
Xiang Wan has become somewhat fascinated by human nature over the years. This was the first time Wang Yidong had seen her reading a book on human nature, so he also read a little out of curiosity.
After reading it, she was shocked. She even had a very subtle heart-to-heart talk with her once, feeling that she had gone a bit mad. After all, in her eyes, Xiang Wan was only 14 years old at the time, yet she was reading books that adults or even middle-aged people would read.
Xiang Wan guessed that the maid was about to start nagging again, so she pretended to yawn and said, "I'm so sleepy. I guess I'll have to go to bed early tonight."
"Goodnight, Miss."
Goodnight to you too.
*
The following day, Class 3(A) of Beiyi Affiliated Middle School.
On the podium, the physics teacher was lecturing on gravitational acceleration, but no one in the class was taking notes...
Xiang Wannian attended Beiyi Affiliated Middle School—an affiliated middle school of Beiyi University, which is also a well-known elite middle school in Beiyi City.
Most of the families that could be entered were wealthy and influential. Therefore, the children from these families generally knew each other, and even if they weren't very close, they could still call each other by name when they met.
These second-generation elites, from the moment they enter the gates of Beiyi High School, have already taken one foot into Beiyi University. But the reason they go to such lengths to get their children in isn't for the academic credentials, but for social connections.
Behind two close friends, there is often a binding interest between the two families.
But even in this prestigious high school frequented by the children of the powerful and wealthy, Xiang Wan was someone to be looked up to. This was not only due to her family background, but also because she was the top student in her grade at Bei Yi High School.
However, unlike the rich young ladies in romance novels, Xiang Wan mostly goes her own way and doesn't have any followers around her.
The physics teacher on the stage, seeing that no one was listening to his lesson, was not surprised at all. He continued to lecture with great effort, and when he got excited, he would unconsciously raise his voice, as if afraid that some students would not be able to hear him.
Xiang Wan's gaze was fixed on the blackboard, but her mind was wandering back to the technical bottlenecks her company encountered when building its first car in her previous life. As she was still deep in thought, she caught a glimpse of a note being handed to her by the student in front of her.
The girl sitting in front of me is named Che Nanbei. Although you can't tell from her name, she is a very well-behaved girl and a very outgoing and enthusiastic little sun.
She was involved in almost every big and small matter in Class 3(A), not only because she was the class's publicity committee member, but also because she loved to meddle in other people's business.
It is very true.
If anyone in the class gets into an argument, she'll be the first to go and mediate, almost like a community-based mediator.
Besides being a busybody, she also loves participating in school events. Even if it's an arts and culture event that she's not good at, Che Nanbei will still participate and encourage her classmates to join in.
Just like now, before Xiang Wan even opened that little note, she guessed that the affiliated high school must have recently held some kind of event.
As expected, the result was as expected after opening it.
[Wanwan, are you going to participate in the school sports meet in a month?]
Xiang Wan remained silent. Many people tried to get close to her, and she had many nicknames, but in both her previous and current lives, the only person who called her Wanwan so familiarly was Che Nanbei.
Moreover, there was no personal interaction between their two businesses. Che Nanbei called her Wanwan, which was not in a flattering way but simply because he was naturally friendly with her.
Before Che Nanbei became her deskmate this semester, they had only exchanged a few words throughout the entire first year of junior high. But from the first time they met, she called her Wanwan.
Xiang Wan responded to Che Nanbei's note almost without hesitation.
I'm not going.
She had just handed the note to Che Nanbei when the bell rang.
It's a unique school bell that ends classes at the affiliated high school.
Almost the instant the bell rang, Xiang Wan saw Che Nanbei's face, which was filled with disappointment.
"Wanwan, there are so many handsome guys at the sports meet, are you really not going?"
"Um."
"Even if I beg you like this, you still won't go?" she said, putting her hands together in prayer, her eyes looking very sincere.
"...Sorry, I don't want to participate."
"Okay~~~" Hearing Che Nanbei's drawn-out tone, Xiang Wan inexplicably thought of Ju Tuan at home, and the image of its tail, which was originally held high, suddenly drooping down.
It's quite a vivid image.
"I'm going to the restroom first."
"Wanwan, do you want me to go with you?"
Going to the bathroom together is often a sign of friendship between junior high school boys and girls. However, Xiang Wan's mental age is 26, and she shook her head: "No need."
She turned and went to the restroom, leaving Che Nanbei dejected.
Not long after Xiang Wan left, Che Nanbei heard Jiang Zhuochun's merciless mockery from not far away: "Here comes another lapdog."
"..."
The person who mocked her was Jiang Zhuochun, who sat diagonally behind Xiang Wan and was also the school heartthrob of this year's class at Beiyi Affiliated High School.
Such people are generally popular among both boys and girls, and rarely get into arguments with anyone. However, the person he mocked was Che Nanbei.
The two families had a lot of business dealings, and Jiang Zhuochun and Che Nanbei could be considered childhood friends who grew up together, but they did not become childhood sweethearts. Instead, they always spoke with barbs in their words.
Hearing his sarcasm, Che Nanbei couldn't help but turn pale. After a long while, as if he had finally thought of a retort, he raised his eyes and said lightly, "Aren't you one?"
That's when Jiang Zhuochun's face darkened; he really couldn't refute those words.
Because he also liked Xiang Wan, even more so than Che Nanbei. Compared to Che Nanbei's casualness, Jiang Zhuochun had to think twice before talking to Xiang Wan.
Seeing that he lowered his head and remained silent, Che Nanbei, who had regained some ground, became even more persistent. She sat down in the seat in front of Jiang Zhuochun and deliberately lowered her voice: "When are you going to confess to Wanwan?"
"..." Jiang Zhuochun was still a little annoyed, "Wait until her birthday."
"I think Wanwan will definitely reject you."
"..."
Looking at his outspoken childhood friend, Jiang Zhuochun felt like he had punched a cotton ball, feeling both angry and powerless.
Meanwhile, the woman in their conversation was in a toilet stall at the end of the corridor, completely unaware of their exchange.
Just as Xiang Wan straightened her skirt and was about to go out, she heard several girls gossiping by the sink outside.
The person they were gossiping about happened to be someone Xiang Wan also knew—Shen Feiyang, the transfer student from her previous life.
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