Chapter 16
Shen Feiyang, true to her name, is the arrogant and domineering eldest daughter of the Shen family, and also the family's precious darling who has been separated from her family for many years.
Because of the negligence of the servants, Shen Feiyang went missing when she was very young. She was only found a few years ago. Because of this debt, the Shen family spoiled her very much, which eventually made her arrogant.
Rumors circulated that the Shen family's daughter was arrogant and haughty, but perhaps because she had seen her vulnerable side by chance, Xiang Wan didn't dislike her that much.
In his previous life, Shen Feiyang also attended Beiyi Affiliated Middle School, but the two of them were in different classes, one in Class A and the other in Class F, and they hardly interacted at all during middle school.
Later, Xiang Wan went abroad to study for a master's degree in business management. Coincidentally, Shen Feiyang was also sent abroad by the Shen family. The two met at a gathering of overseas students.
At the party, an international student from another country got Shen Feiyang drunk and wanted to do something, so Xiang Wan took him back to her house.
The next morning, Shen Feiyang, with smoky makeup on his face, hugged her and cried, but wouldn't say anything when asked.
Xiang Wan later learned that her adoptive mother had just passed away at that time. She was the adoptive mother who had raised her like a daughter before she was taken back to the Shen family.
She cried so hard that day that she didn't even care that her eyeshadow was smudged. It was that day that Xiang Wan saw the vulnerable side beneath her domineering mask.
Having been separated from her family since childhood, Xiang Wan could roughly guess how much hardship she had endured without her having to elaborate. Even though she later lived a wealthy life, how could the trauma of her childhood be easily erased?
Later, Xiang Wan returned to China to take over the group, and the two never crossed paths again until her death.
But unexpectedly, the first time I heard news of her in this life was through gossip.
Did you know that Xu Chengran is pursuing Shen Feiyang from Class F?
"It's like that ugly duckling who put on the coat of a swan and actually thinks he's a swan."
"Yeah, anyone who didn't know better would think she was some kind of pampered young lady."
"Did you see her hands? They look like hands that do a lot of farm work."
"Having been wandering for so many years, I wonder if I've been taken in by some random man..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but everyone understood and burst into laughter.
Compared to the restraint and rationality of adults, children of this age are more direct and unvarnished in their malice.
Although Xiang Wan didn't like meddling in other people's business and didn't particularly like Shen Feiyang, she hated this kind of inexplicable malice.
It's so unfair that I have to endure these malicious speculations just because a boy confessed his feelings to me.
Xiang Wan straightened her skirt in the cubicle, then pushed open the door and went out. The three people who were gossiping outside were startled when they saw her.
"Xiang Wan..."
Before they could finish speaking, the trio emitted a sharp, explosive sound.
"Aa ...
"Xiang Wan, what are you doing?!"
Xiang Wan glanced at their wet hair and shirts, chuckled, and put the water cup that had just been splashed on them back by the sink.
"Your mouths are too dirty, let me wash them for you."
"..."
"Xiang Wan, are you crazy?"
Although the three women did not come from the illustrious Xiang family, they were still daughters from well-known and respected families.
Seeing themselves splashed with water, they had never been treated like this before, but due to Xiang Wan's status, the three of them tacitly chose to endure it despite their anger.
Seeing that they didn't intend to splash it back, Xiang Wan gave them a brief look and went back to the classroom.
On her way back to the classroom, she passed by the grooming mirror. Glancing at her reflection, a self-deprecating smile played on her lips: 'After two days in Li Family Village, my personality has certainly become quite wild.'
My grandfather was very particular about etiquette and manners. If he knew that his granddaughter dared to throw water at people, he would probably punish her by making her kneel in the ancestral hall again.
In her previous life, she followed the rules and regulations, which did not lead to a good end. In this life, she wanted to live more freely.
After seeing that Xiang Wan had indeed walked away, the three of them were furious. Gu An'an, who was in charge, smashed the water glass that Xiang Wan had splashed on them onto the ground.
The ceramic pieces made a crisp sound as they hit the ground, but she was still not satisfied: "How dare she splash water on me!"
"I want to see if their family can stay standing forever."
"An'an, stop talking, or someone will hear you again."
"What's there to be afraid of? She's already gone far away."
Before they could finish speaking, another door opened, and the three of them stopped talking abruptly, looking into the toilet stall. The person who came out was none other than Shen Feiyang from Class F, the very person they had been gossiping about.
The three of them exchanged glances. Gu An'an looked at Shen Feiyang, who was walking towards her with a tense expression, and felt like she had seen a ghost today.
Although she felt a little guilty, she wasn't afraid of her. Although the eldest daughter of the Shen family was wealthy, her maternal grandfather's family was not to be trifled with either.
The other two people, however, instinctively stepped back.
Five minutes later, Gu An'an and the other two, with their hair in a mess and their school uniforms completely soaked, looked at Shen Feiyang with hatred and resentment in their eyes: "Shen Feiyang, you just wait."
Three pampered young ladies and a wild girl raised in the countryside from childhood—the three of them were clearly not going to get along well.
Hearing their harsh words, Shen Feiyang didn't linger. Instead, he dusted off his hands and walked straight out of the restroom.
The entrance to the restroom was crowded with astonished onlookers. Shen Feiyang gestured with her chin at them and asked, "What are you looking at?" The crowd quickly made way for her.
Her eyes deliberately feigned arrogance, but what she was thinking about was Xiang Wan's departing figure just now.
Once she reached a secluded spot, she dared to drop her disguise. She collapsed against the flowerbed, her body trembling slightly with lingering fear as she thought about the fight, yet her mind was filled with intense excitement.
Shen Feiyang remembered her, that girl as elegant as a swan, the one who would give a speech as a student representative at the awards ceremony every semester.
'So her name is Xiang Wan.' She murmured to herself, a secret joy rising in a corner of her heart. Such a beautiful and noble swan would actually stand up for her.
The long break had long ended, and the school bell had rung for quite some time, but Shen Feiyang did not return to the classroom. Instead, he sat alone in a corner of the playground, openly skipping class.
Because of the Shen family's doting love, she was sent to this prestigious private school even though she couldn't pass her exams.
Her gaze passed over the pine tree and went straight to the direction of Class 3(A).
Until the school bell rang, Shen Feiyang looked up at the second-floor corridor, which was full of people, but she still recognized the swan-like girl in the crowd at a glance.
See you tomorrow, Xiang Wan.
*
On the other side, Xiang Wan was waiting for her driver at the school gate. It was the first day of school, so school let out early, and her driver hadn't arrived yet when she came out.
She went to the convenience store across the street to buy a bottle of water, and when she came out, she saw a luxury car parked on the side.
There were countless luxury cars around the high school, but Xiang Wan didn't pay any attention to them. He unscrewed the bottle cap, took a sip of water, and looked up to see the car window across the street lowered.
"Xiang Wan, hasn't your driver arrived yet? I'll have our driver take you." It was Jiang Zhuochun, the second son of the Jiang family, who was sitting diagonally in the back seat. He was the owner of an eyeglasses export business.
Xiang Wan smiled politely: "No need, I'll wait a little longer."
"Okay." Jiang Zhuochun stuck his head back out of the back seat, looking somewhat disappointed.
"Bye-Bye."
Upon hearing Xiang Wan say goodbye, he was instantly energized again, as if he had been injected with adrenaline: "Bye, see you tomorrow, Xiang Wan."
It wasn't until the younger brother stuck his head in that the eldest son of the Jiang family in the back seat put down his tablet and glanced out the window following his brother's gaze.
"Xiao Chun, who is it?"
"Xiang Wan, my classmate."
The eldest son of the Jiang family nodded and said to the driver, "Let's go."
"Yes, young master."
On the other side, Xiang Wan stared at the direction the luxury car had gone, her gaze lingering for a few seconds. Just now, when Jiang Zhuochun rolled down his car window, she saw what appeared to be a man in a suit sitting next to him.
She couldn't see his face clearly, but judging from his aura that kept strangers at bay, she could roughly guess that he must be the eldest son of the Jiang family.
He seemed to be a prominent figure, but because he was much older than them, Xiang Wan wasn't very familiar with him, only knowing about his much-talked-about love history.
In his previous life, it was said that the eldest son of the Jiang family was still a virgin at the age of 31, with no women around him, and some entertainment reporters even openly speculated that he was gay.
However, the entertainment reporter's studio went bankrupt a few days later, and for a while, rumors about whether he was gay were rampant in the industry.
I never expected that the eldest son of Chiang Kai-shek would actually return to China now.
Xiang Wan raised an eyebrow, still wondering what that person had come back to do, but out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of Xia Yueshen waving at her from across the street.
She walked over with some surprise, and only after opening the car door and sitting in the back seat did she realize that it was indeed her.
"Why are you the one who came to pick me up?"
"Your medical report from the day before yesterday is out. I'll pick you up and take you to the hospital."
"I remember now." If Xia Yueshen hadn't mentioned it, Xiang Wan might have really forgotten. Then, remembering something, she asked again, "Is Xiaoyan also at the hospital?"
Xia Yueshen lowered his head and fastened his seatbelt: "Yeah, Chen Yan is such a filial child. She goes to the inpatient department to see her mother-in-law every Friday after school."
"Then after we see the dean, we can take her home as well." After saying that, Xiang Wan leaned her head back in the chair and closed her eyes to rest.
But a few seconds later she opened her eyes again without warning and looked at Xia Yueshen: "Have you noticed that Xiaoyan has been avoiding me lately?"
"Really?" Xia Yueshen looked into her eyes. "That child is very polite. Every time she sees me, she calls me Dr. Xia."
Then she complained irritably, "Unlike someone who is 15 years younger than me, yet calls me Xia Yueshen."
It was obvious who the person was referring to, but Xiang Wan completely ignored it and said to herself, "Ever since Chen Yan went straight from Beiyi Primary School to Beiyi Middle School last semester, I've felt that she's been avoiding me."
Xia Yueshen didn't seem to care at all: "Why is she avoiding you for no reason?"
Seeing that the other party did not respond for a long time, she opened her eyes and looked at the other party, only to see Xiang Wan looking at her as if she were a fool.
"If I knew why I was telling you this, why would I be saying it?"
"..." Xia Yueshen was speechless, feeling that this child had become less and less lovable in the past two years, and was becoming more and more like that rigid guy Li Xia.
It's true that like master, like servant.
By the time the two arrived at the hospital, the sun had completely set. Xia Yueshen was talking to the hospital director about her medical report, while Xiang Wan went to the inpatient department alone to pick up Chen Yan.
At the same time, in Grandma Chen Yan's hospital room.
Chen Yan sat silently by the bedside, his mother-in-law already asleep, but the fruit knife in his hand kept peeling fruit without stopping.
After peeling the apple, he cut the flesh into small pieces, not minding the trouble at all as long as it was convenient for his mother-in-law to eat it.
After covering the sliced apples in a food storage container and placing them on the small table by the bedside, he quietly sat down on the sofa a little further away from his mother-in-law.
A card was tucked at the foot of the hospital bed next to her, with her mother-in-law's name, Chen Man, written on it. The information on the card was all written in a proper and orderly manner, except for her mother-in-law's name, which was written in a flamboyant and illegible style.
Chen Yan gently ran his fingertips over the two words, his eyes unconsciously softening.
The words on the card were written by her.
He still remembers when she first heard at the county hospital that her mother-in-law didn't have a name, she didn't laugh at them, but immediately decided to give her a name.
At that time, he was completely disoriented because his mother-in-law suddenly collapsed. She was like a savior, arranging everything.
Thinking about what happened two years ago, Chen Yan couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt, and a corner of his heart felt increasingly heavy.
'She's so good.'
But he lied to her, telling a colossal lie.
…
Chen Yan remained silent, but his back stiffened slightly after hearing Xiang Wan's voice behind him.
"Xiao Yan".
He instinctively hid the card in his hand, stuffing it haphazardly back into its original place, and then turned to look in the direction of the sound.
"Sister? What brings you to the hospital?"
"I'm here to pick you up."
Because his mother-in-law was asleep, both of them spoke in low voices. Chen Yan nodded, picked up his schoolbag, and followed Xiang Wan out of the ward.
When they got back to the Xiang family home, Chen Yan went to his room to take a shower, while Xiang Wan went downstairs to play with the cat.
Just before dinner, Xiang Wan went upstairs to call him for dinner. Since no one answered after she knocked on the door for a long time, she went in directly.
But to my surprise, I saw Chen Yan coming out wrapped only in a bath towel.
"..."
"..."
Since no one ever barged into the room, and he had forgotten to bring a change of clothes into the bathroom, he was unprepared and simply wrapped a towel around his lower body before coming out to get his clothes.
But to his dismay, Xiang Wan was also in the room.
The 12-year-old boy, who had been eating irregularly since childhood, was still thinner and weaker than his peers even after being fed a lot of meat and fish for two years. He looked like a girl.
During their eye contact, neither of them spoke, but Chen Yan was nervous while Xiang Wan was shocked.
'！！！'
'Who taught her to wrap herself in a bath towel like that?!'
'He's not a boy, yet he's only wearing a top covering his lower body?!'
But when Xiang Wan thought about how Chen Yan was an orphan who grew up in the village, was young and had no concept of gender, and probably had no one to teach her how to tie a bath towel, she finally came to her senses.
She avoided eye contact, coughed lightly, and said with a forced smile, "Xiaoyan, when a girl wears a bath towel, she should cover her upper body as well."
"..." The voice on the other end also sounded flustered. "I understand." As he spoke, he pulled the bath towel up to his collarbone and wrapped it around himself.
Thinking of something, Xiang Wan glanced at Chen Yan's chest again, recalling what she had just witnessed. She was still pondering—
'Shouldn't Xiaoyan eat some papaya to nourish herself?'
'Although she may not have developed yet, isn't she a bit too flat...'
'And...it seems I need to give her a crash course in physiology.'
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