Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  “.……”


  The entire room fell silent.

  Xue Sheng spent the whole drive home pondering, but he still did not understand what this meant. He had brought the tea leaves as a gift, but why was it gifted back to him?

  Amid everyone’s deep pondering, Old Lady Xue smirked. “That must be mockery, right? Our old man is not even qualified to drink this tea. Do you think you have the fortune to digest it? So much for giving you the project. As long as the contract is not signed, everything is an empty promise! He might just be giving you empty hope and a flash in the pan!”


  Xue Sheng disagreed with her, though.

  What status did the Gao family have? If they wanted to crush someone, all they needed to do was to directly display their attitude. Would they need to trick him like this?

  Old Master Xue deliberated a little further than the rest. “Did he mention Xue Xi’s matter?”


  Xue Sheng shook his head. “Elder Gao didn’t mention anything. He doesn’t seem to know about the children’s matters.”


  Old Master Xue then turned to look at Xue Xi, who had been sitting there and silently having her meal. “Xue Xi, did Gao Yanchen go looking for you today?”


  Xue Xi was devouring her meal as she wanted to hurry back to her room to study more questions.

  Upon hearing the question, she first swallowed the food in her mouth then answered in a laid-back manner, “Hm, he did.”


  Her mother panicked. “Did he do anything to you? Or say anything?”


  The old patriarch panicked too and cut in, “Xue Xi, what exactly is the matter between you and Gao Yanchen? Tell us everything from start to end.”


  She paused, then put her chopsticks down. She politely turned to the old patriarch and said, “I didn’t offend Gao Yanchen. I am now his boss and he listens to me.”


  “What?”


  Both the old patriarch and matriarch were stunned, seeming to not have expected this answer.

  Similarly, Ye Li’s eyes widened.

  In contrast, Xue Yao was not surprised at all, having seen the whole group of people standing before the girl and obediently calling her “Sister Xi.” She merely tightened her grip around her chopsticks.

  Rather, it was Xue Sheng who seemed to have an epiphany. “No wonder Gao Yanchen was so polite to me today when he usually ignored everyone and was extremely prideful. Did Elder Gao give the project to us because of Gao Yanchen?”


  “How can that be?!” Old Lady Xue was the first to retort. “Those are simply the children’s matters. How can it affect our project?! Gao Yanchen is not such a resourceful person.”


  Xue Sheng’s eyes darkened. “Mom, I remember you saying yesterday that Elder Gao accedes to any of his grandson’s requests. Have you already forgotten this? Or…… are you unwilling to believe that the Gao family only gave this project to us on Xixi’s account?”


  This one sentence struck the bullseye of the old lady’s thoughts.

  Her face turned beet-red as she pointed at him in anger. After a few breaths, she finally spoke. “So what if I don’t believe it? She is just a wretch who came back from the orphanage. What kind of abilities does she have to make Gao Yanchen listen to her? What does she rely on? Her face?”


  At the words “her face,” everyone turned to look at Xue Xi in unison.

  The girl sat there quietly and aloofly, ignoring the humiliation the old lady threw her way. Her huge and beautiful black eyes seemed to be shrouded in a layer of mist, giving off a mysterious feeling.

  Beautiful, exquisite, and even more pleasing than idols.

  This thought floated into the minds of the few.

  Even Xue Sheng tensed up his jaw.

  The old patriarch seemed a little delighted as he inquired uncertainly, “Is Gao Yanchen……”


  Alas, he was cut off by Xue Sheng mid-speech. “Out of the question! That lad learns no knowledge or skill and knows only how to fight and get into trouble every day. Xixi definitely cannot be with him!”


  Old Lady Xue instinctively looked down on the mentioned girl. “Yo, you don’t even fancy Gao Yanchen. Then who else can you fancy? Fan Han is an impressive one, but do you think he will fancy her?”


  Right as this was said, the taut string that had been in Xue Yao’s mind ever since she found out that Xue Xi was going to participate in the Physics Olympiad snapped.

  She bolted from her seat. “Xue Xi, tell me, are you still longing after Fan Han?!”


  She gritted her teeth. “You clearly do badly in exams, but you still stayed on in the Mathematical class like a leech. You are doing this just to be able to get close to him, right? Today, you even schemed to get into the Physics class just to prove that you are good in your studies—all just to give Fan Han a better impression of you, right?”


  Her eyes turned red at this point.

  Old Lady Xue instantly became flustered. She got up and walked over to her favored granddaughter, patting her shoulders. “Yaoyao, don’t cry. Grandma will get justice for you! Xue Xi, go withdraw from that Mathematical and Physics Olympiad! You are not allowed to get near Fan Han again!”


  Xue Xi had just picked up her chopsticks and was about to resume her meal. When she heard this, she slowly looked up.

  Before she could say anything, Ye Li snapped frantically, “Mom, you cannot be this biased! Xixi is good in her studies, so why must she give up the Olympiads? Also, don’t forget that Fan Han was originally Xixi’s fiancé!”


  Xue Yao retorted hysterically the next instant, “Fan Han is my boyfriend! Mine!”


  “Is that so?”


  The calm Xue Sheng looked at her. “Have you guys gotten engaged?”


  Xue Yao had always been a little fearful of this Big Uncle since she was young. Hence, she did not dare shout at him but only stared at him blankly.

  Her big uncle was right. They had not gotten engaged yet and Fan Han was therefore not her fiancé!

  Her body swayed a little, then she suddenly clutched onto Old Lady Xue and wept. “Grandma, they are all bullying me!”


  The old lady felt her heart ache. She turned to glare at Xue Sheng. “I have already agreed with the Fan family on this. What do you mean by that?”


  The latter’s jaw was still tensed up.

  Based on what Xue Yao had said just now, he suddenly had a thought.

  He used to think that Xixi and Fan Han did not have a common language and, hence, he did not bother clamoring for this matrimony. However, if her daughter liked Fan Han, then he would help her to snatch her fiancé back!

  As he thought of this, he turned to look at his daughter. “Xixi, what do you think? Do you want the marriage arrangement back?”


  Everyone turned to look at Xue Xi.

  She had wanted to interrupt many times. Seeing that everyone had finally shut up, she then slowly enunciated, “No need for that trouble.”


  She continued slowly, “I already have a boyfriend.”


  Everyone else: “??”


  Xue Sheng had an ominous feeling inside.

  Ye Li frantically asked, “Who is it?”


  “.……The boss of a provision shop.”


  This thought popped into Xue Sheng’s mind first, then he was stunned.

  The first impression he had of this term was darkness, clutter, and low income from the sales, which could only barely sustain a normal life.

  He looked at her blankly in surprise. “How did you start dating this boyfriend?”


  Xue Xi sighed.

  Still, as a polite person, she proceeded to answer, “Because I said I will give him money. So he agreed to be my boyfriend.”


  “.……”


  There was pin-drop silence immediately.

  After a while, Ye Li stuttered out, “Xixi, y-you…… What stage have you and he progressed to?”


  Xue Xi thought for a while, then answered in a serious and emotionless manner, “I will feel a pain in my heart if I don’t see him.”