Jiang Banxia originally thought she could secretly meet Li Yang during lunch hour.
But the message from Wu Tianqi made her heart sink.
Li Yang was unwilling to meet, probably because he wanted to protect her.
Unfortunately, she had no say in this matter, as her phone was taken away early in the morning, leaving her no opportunity to speak.
At school, she spent the most bewildering day.
That day, she received a lot of attention, with Liu Dayou occasionally coming over to check on her and even having a conversation with her.
He hoped she would calm down and focus on preparing for the college entrance exam.
After the evening self-study session, she took the bus back home, greeted no one, and went straight to her bedroom.
She sat at her small desk, flipping through some review materials.
Actually, before the extended study class started, every day after evening self-study, she would wait for supper while studying.
About half an hour later, there was a knock on the door, and a sophisticated-looking young woman carried a bowl over to the desk.
She spoke with concern, "I heard you didn't eat dinner, so I cooked a bit more. If you can't finish it, just leave it."
Jiang Banxia couldn't fault this stepmother; ever since she came into the house six years ago, she'd never gotten angry at her.
Every morning, she would drive her to school, pick her up in the evening, and even prepare supper for her.
She was also the vice president of a major company, with an annual salary of four to five hundred thousand yuan.
Although Zhongyuan Securities had numerous vice presidents, she was truly outstanding, at least Jiang Banxia felt she might not surpass her in the future.
She was even well-versed in her coursework; many difficult problems over the years were solved with her help.
"Okay."
Jiang Banxia shifted a bit, took the bowl, and started eating in small bites.
Dou Ying stood by the desk, starting to review Jiang Banxia's study progress for the evening.
At a glance, she noticed Jiang Banxia had done almost nothing in the half-hour since returning home.
Just wrote a few multiple-choice options, leaving large blanks.
Usually, Jiang Banxia could complete a math paper in about half an hour, leaving at most the last two big questions.
But today... she only answered ten multiple-choice questions, got one wrong. Finished two fill-in-the-blanks, and didn't tackle any problem-solving questions.
It indicated Jiang Banxia was not focused; those multiple-choice questions had obvious answers, any requiring thought she avoided.
This showed Jiang Banxia's mindset was deeply affected.
Jiang Banxia ate a few bites, noticed Dou Ying looking at the papers, and suddenly felt irritated.
She said, "I know you'll definitely tell dad on me, just go ahead and tell him."
Dou Ying awkwardly replied, "No, no, I'm just checking your study progress; I won't tell your dad."
But Jiang Banxia didn't believe her.
If it was merely a classmate snitching, how could her dad confiscate her phone early in the morning? The homeroom teacher wouldn't dare call her dad at dawn, he'd wait till noon.
The teacher cleared Li Yang's seat early in the morning, surely following her dad's orders.
"But only you know about my thing with Li Yang."
Dou Ying was shocked, "You really got together with that boy?"
Jiang Banxia suddenly smiled and said, "Yeah, we've been together since sophomore year; why else did I make dad return the expulsion document that was approved by the Education Bureau for Li Yang at the time?"
Dou Ying knew about it because it was unusual back then.
Usually, schools agree to expel students, then just submit the report to the Education Bureau, which would not reject it.
High school isn't part of the nine-year compulsory education; expelling students is the school's right. As long as the reason is justified, it never goes to the Education Bureau stage.
If a family's influential, they can stop it at the Bureau, naturally they can handle it at the school, it's systematic.
And Li Yang's case was an exception.
He was essentially expelled, but the school leadership disagreed and pushed back.
At the time, Jiang Banxia's excuse was that the classmate had previously good grades, only a mindset issue affected him, which could improve any moment to secure a university spot.
That was the first time Jiang Banxia pleaded with her dad for help, and things unsurprisingly went smoothly.
"Really together since sophomore year? Why didn't anyone notice?"
Dou Ying was skeptical about it.
If Jiang Banxia wasn't someone who never lied, she wouldn't believe her at all.
If Jiang Banxia dated since sophomore year, would the parents and teachers be blind?
Jiang Banxia answered earnestly, "We were careful then, just secretly chatting. But now, with only a month until the college entrance exam, kind of don't want to hide anymore."
Dou Ying said, "I'll have to tell your dad about this."
"Okay, feel free."
...
When Jiang Banxia finished her meal, Dou Ying collected the dishes.
Without time to wash them, she headed to the bedroom and informed Jiang Yaoting, "Xiaxia just told me she's been together with that boy named Li Yang since sophomore year."
Jiang Yaoting, watching news, immediately set his phone aside, shifting from a reclining to a sitting position.
"Really?"
Dou Ying said, "Seems like she's lying; Xiaxia never went out alone much, I mostly picked and dropped her off. If she really was dating, I couldn't possibly miss it."
Jiang Yaoting asked, "Then why did she say that?"
"Guess she wants us to feel that dating didn't affect her studies, instead her grades improved, hoping we won't make a big deal of it."
Jiang Yaoting laughed, "This girl has started lying; shows love indeed influences one."
Dou Ying worriedly said, "I fear it might be overdone this time; perhaps you should return Xiaxia's phone."
Jiang Yaoting waved it off, "Can't leave openings in such cases, otherwise it'd get deeper. Wait by; at most in a week, Xiaxia will return to normal."
"You're that confident? You don't know her as well as I do."
Jiang Yaoting smiled, "I've handled many things; kids at seventeen, eighteen don't understand. After the pain period, recovery is swift. As long as unseen, they quickly become intrigued by new things."
"Oh? Really?"
Firmly, Jiang Yaoting replied, "Of course, though you've been picking up and dropping off daughter these years, I spent more time with her. She's always been sensible; I'll explain tomorrow that better men await in college, dating now will surely cause regret later."
Dou Ying looked at Jiang Yaoting with a knowing smile, "Is this why you didn't write me after high school graduation?"
Jiang Yaoting: "..."