When Mu Yiran heard that she was to be invited to the school for questioning as Shi Youxi's parent, she immediately refused.
She opened her mouth in a daze, looking at the tattooed man who was about to tie her to the car, and said, "...You know, today is my first day in this...position."
The tattooed arm nodded slightly: "Mm."
"So I think I need more time to familiarize myself with things. What if I don't perform well in front of the teacher?"
The tattooed man looked at her with a hint of doubt. "But everyone in the capital knows that you just got married, Miss Cheng. It would be strange if you acted too well."
Wouldn't that make it seem like Miss Cheng and her husband had been having an affair and were cheating on each other during their marriage?!
Mu Yiran: "......"
That makes a lot of sense.
The tattooed man thought she was worried about his acting skills, so he said with absolute certainty, "Don't worry, madam, no matter how good your acting is, it won't matter when you're by the young master's side."
Hilarious! Shi Youxi simply won't cooperate with her stepmother's performance.
Mu Yiran: ".....Okay."
First meetings should always be formal, whether it's with a teacher or Shi Youxi.
The capital city was still quite cold in March, and the original owner's style of dressing was typical of prioritizing style over warmth.
Mu Yiran rummaged through a pile of extravagant runway coats and form-fitting little dresses and found a fitted long dress, changing out of her strapless top and stilettos.
The white fur coat, paired with her slender figure, didn't make her look bulky at all.
When she touched up her makeup, Mu Yiran saw her face clearly for the first time, and it looked nothing like Mu Yiran's original appearance.
The only similarity is that they both have a mole on the tip of their noses.
But they're all beautiful women anyway.
With more than an hour left before school ended, the tattooed man quickly escorted Mu Yiran there, thus allowing Mu Yiran to perfectly avoid Li Buhuo, who kept trying to strike up a conversation with her.
Thinking of the resentful yet coquettish look in Li Buhuo's eyes when she told him to leave work, Mu Yiran got goosebumps all over.
Could this person really be one of the original owner's lovers?!
It seems I need to be more careful when dealing with him in the future.
Jingyi International School has a dedicated reception area. The man with the tattooed arm drove downstairs, and was greeted by a middle-aged woman wearing glasses, who was Shi Youxi's homeroom teacher.
"Are you Shi Youxi's parent? Nice to meet you. I am Shi Youxi's homeroom teacher. My surname is Liang."
"Madam Shi is so young."
Of course, the original owner had just graduated with a master's degree and was only 26 years old, just 10 years younger than Shi Youxi. It's unclear what Shi Yan was thinking when he decided to let her be the parent.
Mu Yiran put on a polite smile and nodded and smiled at whatever the other person said, saying "hmm" and "okay".
The two arrived at the office. Mu Yiran sat with her back to the door in front of the homeroom teacher, listening to the teacher enthusiastically praising how outstanding Shi Youxi was. As the student council president, the boy held multiple positions without neglecting his studies and consistently ranked first in the entire school.
There was no impatience in Mu Yiran's eyes, but rather pride. "Is that so... He has indeed always been outstanding."
From childhood to adulthood, it has always been like this.
Just as the homeroom teacher, whose throat was dry from talking, was about to drink some water, she saw the boy she had been praising for so long standing straight outside the glass door.
They stared intently at the spot as if they had seen something unbelievable.
Were you surprised that your stepmother would come?
The young man always possessed a maturity and composure beyond his years, and I had never seen Shi Youxi lose his composure like this before.
"Oh, Shi Youxi, you're here! Come in quickly!"
Upon hearing the call, Mu Yiran's breath hitched. She forced a smile onto her lips, a smile that was sure to never go wrong, before getting up and turning her head.
"Holy crap! It really is your stepmother, how dare this person..." Guan Shiyan followed behind Shi Youxi, peeking out to secretly observe.
"You, you don't recognize her?!" Shi Youxi's face paled as she asked in astonishment.
Guan Shiyan: "?"
“I recognize you! Isn’t this your stepmother from the fake marriage? She looks exactly like the one in the photo.”
Shi Youxi clenched his fists, his eyes fixed on Mu Yiran as she walked towards him.
Shi Youxi also looked at Cheng Ran's photos, and she didn't look like that at all.
But why does this woman in front of him look exactly like his sister in his eyes now?!
Why is Cheng Ran different in Guan Shiyan's eyes than in his?
Why...
Mu Yiran thought of all sorts of opening lines, but in the end, she would just say those four old-fashioned words.
"Nice to meet you, Xiao Xi."
Long time no see, Shi Youxi.
Shi Youxi: "....."
Mu Yiran: “..oo..”
Mu Yiran's meaningful opening remarks received no response from the boy.
The two people stood face to face, staring at each other.
Even Mu Yiran, wearing low-heeled shoes, had to look up to see, which shows that Shi Youxi has indeed grown very tall.
Her temper is still so bad, she won't even put on an act!
So what if giving her a way out means she'll be sentenced?
Shi Youxi frowned slightly, his phoenix eyes reflecting the girl's delicate and beautiful face, and he couldn't bear to look away.
Just like he saw in his dream.
The homeroom teacher also sensed the awkward atmosphere between the two. "Youxi, why don't you come in then? We can have a quick talk. It won't take long."
Mu Yiran smiled again and said, "Okay."
She instinctively raised her hand to touch the boy's arm, but he dodged to the side.
Mu Yiran: "..."
She was genuinely embarrassed now.
Does Shi Youxi really hate Cheng Ran, his stepmother, that much? Even when she was cold-tempered as a child, she wasn't this rude...
"Come in, it's quite cold outside." Mu Yiran turned around and went inside to sit down first.
Shi Youxi paused for a moment, then followed suit, turning around and closing the door to keep Guan Shiyan, who was eavesdropping, out of the room.
Guan Shiyan wasn't there to watch the show; he just sensed that Shi Youxi's condition was a bit off, similar to how he had seen illusions during his previous episodes.
What suddenly triggered his agitation?
Guan Shiyan was worried and sent a message to the person inside: 【Are you alright?】
After a while, the other end replied: "It's okay, you can go now."
Perhaps it was because Shi Youxi's aura was too cold that the homeroom teacher didn't say anything more.
"Actually, it's nothing big. It's just that Shi Youxi is about to take the entrance exam for Rutgers University, but recently the school has been spreading rumors about you... having a puppy love relationship."
Mu Yiran slowly straightened her back.
Now we've finally gotten to the point.
"Actually, puppy love isn't a big problem. After all, we're an international school, not so conservative. However, some bad rumors have been circulating, which affects the school's image."
The homeroom teacher looked at the boy opposite him, whose attention was clearly not on him, and said, "But of course I want to confirm first, Shi Youxi, are you really in a relationship?"
Mu Yiran widened her eyes and turned to look at Shi Youxi.
#Watermelon and Popcorn#
I'm ready!
Tell me your story, young man!
Shi Youxi: "..."
For a moment, he was dazed as he looked at the woman before him. Why were even her eyes so similar...?
"Student Shi?"
"Who is the other person?"
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