Zhang Ting looked at her, speechless for a long time.
Many precocious and intelligent children often have a problem: they are arrogant and lack a sense of awe. Because they are smart, they can get what they want and do things much more easily than their peers. Over time, they tend to look down on everyone else.
To put it bluntly, they need to be toughened up by society, otherwise they'll inevitably crash and burn sooner or later, it just depends on who gets hit.
"It's almost time. If you go back now, you can still make it to a PE class. Is there anything else you want to eat? Buy some more to take back and share with your classmates."
Lin Shengmiao stood up, put on the coat hanging on the back of the chair, and stretched her body.
"etc……"
Zhang Ting called out to her, raising her head defiantly, "My sister hasn't asked yet whether I'm on good terms with that girl who was bullied."
Lin Shengmiao bent down, a smile in her eyes, "I guess you two are good friends, and you protected her." Or perhaps, you were targeted by others while standing with her.
Zhang Ting laughed, her voice filled with pride and smugness, "We made a promise to take the entrance exam for University A together."
Lin Shengmiao's eyes crinkled into a smile: "That is indeed a good choice."
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Author's Note:
Um……
When writing these two chapters, I consulted some friends who had similar campus experiences, and also drew on my own personal experience. They may be a bit extreme, but I tried several times and couldn't write them in a very subtle way. If you feel uncomfortable, please bear with me.
Chapter 20 Visiting the Elderly Father
Friday's sunshine was lovely, warming everyone's bodies. Xu Xingyan made a special trip back to the old house to visit her elderly father, who had finally been released from the quarantine hotel.
The Xu family manor is situated beside a shimmering lake, with a meticulously maintained birch forest not far away. The manor is in the style of a European manor, with a touch of poetic charm. In the garden, besides Fang Yi's favorite windmill jasmine arch and Xu Xingyan's favorite white rose, the rest are all bonsai that President Xu has carefully tended.
When Xu Xingyan found her father in the greenhouse, he was intently pruning a pine tree.
"It looks unfamiliar. Is it the new car Dad brought home? When did you buy it?"
Xu Yuming is a very handsome middle-aged man, elegant and refined. He is not only wealthy, but also highly cultured and artistically accomplished.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to defeat a reinforced company of competitors back then, overcome all the obstacles set up by his father-in-law and sister-in-law, and successfully win the heart of his beloved.
Mr. Xu turned around and saw his beloved daughter. A smile appeared at the corners of his eyes, which were covered with fine wrinkles. "It was given to me by your Uncle Li. It's over two hundred years old and of good quality."
“Here, you cut it,” Mr. Xu said, handing the scissors to his daughter with the tips pointing towards himself.
“Okay,” Xu Xingyan chuckled and stepped forward to carefully trim the quail. “I just asked the housekeeper to prepare a barbecue grill. How about we grill some quail later? I haven’t had a barbecue with my dad in a long time.”
Xu Yuming smiled and said, "I've already instructed my secretary to postpone anything that isn't particularly important until tomorrow. You can arrange things however you like; Dad will listen to you."
"Dad, could you take a look at the financial statements I have here? There are also two long-term investments that interest me," Xu Xingyan said with a smile, tilting her head. "I'm looking forward to your coming home every day. Once you're back, I can finally relax."
"You're just targeting me, aren't you? You don't even spare me a day off."
Mr. Xu chuckled, rubbing his forehead, savoring the sweet burden, and said helplessly, "Just send it to my email. I'll take a look at it when I listen to the radio tonight."
Xu Xingyan cut off a small clump of pine branches and said without looking up, "That's your day off as CEO Xu, not your day off as a father. Anyway, here with me, you're on duty for life, no days off all year round."
Mr. Xu was pleased by this shameless remark. Watching his daughter carefully pruning the branches, he stepped forward and instructed, "Prune this part off, and this part too, don't leave it, cut it all off..."
Xu Xingyan trimmed it according to her father's instructions, stepped back to admire it for a while, and nodded in praise: "Dad's eyes are still sharp. This is indeed much more suitable than the original draft in my mind."
"This dish is all about making choices. You have to break free from the cage and feel light and free. Only today can you truly understand who you are. Yan Yan, you've always lacked a bit of sharpness in this area. Although you can take it on, you always find it hard to let go. You need to pay more attention to this."
"Oh, I know..." Xu Xingyan said, drawing out her words with a hint of boredom, "Why do you start lecturing me the moment we meet?"
"Okay, okay, let's not talk about this anymore."
Mr. Xu smiled gently. “Your mother sent me a photo from the art exhibition this morning. It’s your painting of red plum blossoms in the snow. She said it received praise from an older artist who said your composition was full, your brushstrokes were genuine, and your style was elegant. Your mother was very happy about it.”
Xu Xingyan was also quite happy, "Really? Which senior is it? Why didn't Mom tell me?"
"I didn't quite catch it either, but it seems to be a highly respected master who hasn't written in a long time. I think her surname is Tang. You can ask her yourself later."
...
After typing the last word, Lin Shengmiao finally breathed a sigh of relief, rubbed her temples which were throbbing from staying up all night, and couldn't wait to go and enjoy her beloved bed.
Yesterday, an old client contacted her, asking her to urgently translate a document. Because they were acquaintances and the price was high, Lin Shengmiao accepted the job.
Lin Shengmiao breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the email from the other party expressing gratitude and stating that no further revisions were needed. She glanced at the morning light filtering through the curtains, took out a bottle of melatonin she had bought the day before from the guesthouse drawer, chewed one pill, freshened up a bit, and then peacefully closed her eyes and lay down on the bed.
The phone rang at that moment, which was extremely inconsiderate.
Lin Shengmiao took two deep breaths before getting out of bed and looking at the caller ID—Tao Jie.
"Hey, what's up?" she said, barely suppressing her anger.
Tao Jie on the other end of the phone was stunned for a moment, not understanding why her junior sister was even more irritable after being on vacation. She cautiously guessed, "You're not up yet?"
Lin Shengmiao's forehead twitched. "No, I'm not asleep yet!"
"Where did you go?" Tao Jie asked in surprise.
"Stop talking about that, what did you want to see me about?" Lin Shengmiao rubbed her eyes, almost collapsing from sleepiness. "I was just about to go to sleep."
“Oh,” Tao Jie quickly quickened her pace, “I remember you’re in Nancheng City right now, right?”
"right."
"Here's the thing, I'm going to Nancheng next week to attend my cousin's wedding. If you're free, please pick me up at the airport."
Lin Shengmiao, having regained some composure, asked, "What day are you coming? Are you alone?"
Tao Jie: "The 30th, Thursday, will be just me. I'll probably stay until the wedding is over, um... I'll go back to Shanghai on Sunday morning."
“Okay,” Lin Shengmiao made a note with a pen, “I’ll pick you up that day. Do you need me to book a hotel for you?”
"No need, the hotel is already booked," Tao Jie laughed. "Alright, you should go to sleep now. Judging from your tone, I'm afraid you'll call me over the phone and beat me up."
"Bye then," Lin Shengmiao hung up the phone without saying another word and collapsed into the blankets.
...
"I heard from your eldest aunt that your second aunt made things difficult for you when you were sweeping your grandparents' graves a few days ago?"
As Mr. Xu cut up the roasted quail, placed it on a plate, and sprinkled it with seasoning, he asked...
"Did your eldest aunt complain to you again?" Xu Xingyan swallowed the crispy snack in her mouth. "Actually, it's not that serious. Your second aunt is just being sarcastic. That's just her temper. Just go along with her a little, or ignore it if it doesn't work."
Mr. Xu snorted coldly, his lowered gaze revealing a chilling light completely different from when he was facing his daughter.
"She still holds a grudge about not having adopted Han Yi into her family back then. It was just a joke the old man made when he was confused, and nobody took it to heart, except her. Doesn't she realize that she has her own daughter, so why should she raise someone else's child!"
Xu Xingyan lowered her eyes slightly and remained silent.
This is a story from quite a long time ago.
When Fang Yi was about seven months pregnant, Mr. Xu, overjoyed at becoming a father for the first time, took care of everything personally, even driving her to her prenatal checkup. However, they were involved in a malicious car accident on the way. His wife suffered a difficult premature birth, and their daughter required emergency resuscitation immediately after birth.
At that time, Grandpa Fang used all available resources and invited the best doctors in the field to save his granddaughter's life.
At the time, rumors circulated that the Xu family's little girl would never grow up.
It's hard to describe the anger young parents felt when they first heard these rumors.
While their beloved daughter was struggling to survive in an incubator, longing to see the world, someone outside had already sentenced her to death.
Therefore, as Xu Xingyan grew up, both of them underwent tubal ligation surgery.
Because of guilt and heartache, she was unwilling to let any child share what she deserved.
However, the older generation thinks differently. Grandpa Fang is alright; he only has two daughters in his life and doesn't care much about the continuation of the family name and bloodline. But Grandpa Xu can't do that. Although he also loves his granddaughter, he cares more about his son and wants a healthy grandson.
Because of this incident, Fang Yi, who has always been aloof and gentle, had her first fierce argument with her in-laws.
Although Mrs. Xu eventually intervened and stopped her husband, bringing the matter to a close, it still left a shadow in the hearts of many people.
Later, after Xu Ergu remarried and gave birth to Han Yi, Old Master Xu had another idea. Since his son was unwilling to have children, adopting one from his daughter would be the same, since the blood relation was similar anyway.
Aunt Xu understood that this was to groom her son as her heir, so she was naturally more than willing.
But Mr. Xu still refused. He was not only a gentle and handsome man who loved pruning bonsai, but also a loyal fan of the animal world who believed in the law of the jungle.
He was furious and saw this as a plunder of his daughter's means of survival.
Later, the matter was dropped due to Mr. Xu's strong opposition and Mrs. Xu's repeated advice. In the last few years, Mr. Xu seemed to have come to his senses and never mentioned it again. However, it left a scar in the heart of Aunt Xu. From then on, she disliked her niece Xu Xingyan very much and would pick fights whenever she had the chance.
...
Sneezing from the pepper powder, Xu Xingyan turned to her head and said, "Dad, put less spice in it."
Then, she comforted Mr. Xu, who looked unwell, saying, "Alright, I'm not angry at all. Why are you so angry? It's not worth ruining your health. I can count the number of times I see my second aunt in a year on two hands. I can just avoid her more in the future."
Seeing that she didn't seem to care about Aunt Xu's matter at all, President Xu laughed, though his anger hadn't subsided. "Why are you avoiding her? You just want to show up in front of her and annoy her!"
"A red fancy diamond was recently found in a mine in South Africa. I asked a designer to make a bracelet with it, along with other diamonds. It will probably be finished in a few more months, just in time for the Chinese New Year. You'll look festive and beautiful wearing it..."
To be fair, Xu Xingyan doesn't really like wearing jewelry, but she has a grandfather who made his fortune in the jewelry business, and a father who wanted to be a coal mine owner in his early years but accidentally dug up a diamond mine.
President Xu is a true example of someone who comes from a wealthy family and whose luck and experience are truly legendary.
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Author's Note:
Happy reading!
Please leave a comment and pat me on the back~
Chapter 21 is particularly auspicious.
Xu Xingyan: "I heard from Sister Yun that Director Zhao recently approached you about a collaboration."
“Hmm,” Mr. Xu dipped a cucumber in sauce and took a crisp bite. “It’s about the smart home appliance industry chain we talked about last time. They said they would build a production and research base in the new functional area of Ronglin County. The current plan is to focus on home appliances, compressors, motors and other products. The first phase of the project will have an investment of about 4 billion yuan.”
After saying that, he looked at Xu Xingyan and smiled, then asked intentionally, "What do you think?"
Xu Xingyan made a mental estimate and then smiled, "It sounds pretty good. If the total investment in the project does not exceed 10 billion, and Dad doesn't want to take the opportunity to acquire He Rong, then it's still worth a try."
He Rong is a long-established jewelry company with a rich history, but it has been declining in recent years. Mr. Xu has been eyeing it for a long time, and recently it encountered a major problem with its cash flow. The industry has heard the news, and it is said that Mr. Xu has already accumulated several acquisition plans on his desk.