Before school ended in the afternoon, the teacher handed out two test papers. A Xin saw Sheng Qianxue staring at the papers for a while and asked, "Planning to finish them before going home?"
"No, the driver is already waiting outside. On weekdays, we have dinner at seven o'clock at home. If I do the papers, I won't be able to get back on time." Sheng Qianxue put the papers into her schoolbag and raised her chin. "I'm just looking over the questions to see if I need to bring the textbooks." As she spoke, she casually put the two textbooks related to the papers into her bag, clearly thinking she needed to bring them.
"Shorty, let's go."
Sheng Qianxue patted A Xin's head and said seriously, "Walk faster. Once we get in the car, we can work on the papers. It'll take less time when we get home, saving a lot of time for other things."
"What things?" A Xin asked, carrying her schoolbag and following beside Sheng Qianxue.
Sheng Qianling saw the two had already left the classroom and hurriedly packed her bag, slinging it on her back to catch up. This time, she couldn't be late again.
Sheng Qianxue glanced sideways at Sheng Qianling following behind and rolled her eyes, whispering to A Xin, "Of course it's to cultivate some extracurricular interests. Work-life balance is very important."
"It's not playing games, is it?" A Xin also whispered. Sheng Qianxue's face turned red for a moment, and she patted A Xin's head. "Of course it's not just playing games, there are other things too."
After getting in the car, Sheng Qianxue skillfully set up the small table behind the car seat, took out the papers and textbooks, and when preparing to work, she noticed A Xin hadn't moved. "Hurry up and do the papers, shorty. You're my study companion, you have to do the papers with me."
"Okay." A Xin also set up her small table and, following Sheng Qianxue's example, spread the papers flat on it. Seeing that she had also taken out her textbook, Sheng Qianxue was very satisfied. "Not bad, you've got some of my style. Work quickly, try to finish one paper before we get home." After speaking, she buried her head and started looking at the papers.
A Xin thought finishing both papers before arriving at the villa would be no problem.
At this moment, Sheng Qianling's voice sounded: "Isn't it the same to do it when we get home? Qianxue, there's no need to rush like this, is there?" She turned her head to glance at A Xin, who was seriously looking at the papers without any reluctance, wanting to say something but stopping herself. The entire car was incredibly quiet, with only the sound of pens constantly scratching on the papers. Though very soft and rhythmic, it somehow made her heart feel a bit irritated.
She withdrew her gaze and also took out her papers, planning to do some problems like the two behind her. After doing a few, she stopped. She felt like she had seen these problems somewhere before but couldn't remember where. She hurriedly searched through her bag for textbooks, only finding some snacks and papers inside, but no textbooks for the subjects on the two test papers. She patted her head somewhat annoyed - if only she had brought the textbooks along.
She turned to look at the two of them. They were seriously working on the papers, not raising their heads once. She wanted to ask to borrow a textbook, but seeing both were flipping through theirs, and remembering Sheng Qianxue's temperament, she definitely wouldn't lend it to her and might even sarcastically say a few words about how she clearly knew there were papers for these two subjects but didn't bring the textbooks.
In the end, Sheng Qianling gave up on doing the papers in the car. She took out her phone and browsed entertainment gossip, but hearing the rustling sound of pens on paper, her heart still felt a bit chaotic, unable to focus on anything to divert her attention.
When the car entered the villa, Sheng Qianxue looked at her papers with satisfaction, then turned to see A Xin still writing the last problem, and proudly raised her chin. She didn't speak, waiting until A Xin put down her pen before saying, "Shorty, your speed is pretty fast, just a little bit slower than me. For the remaining paper, we'll do it when we get home. I calculated the time - it's 6:10 now. If there aren't any particularly difficult problems, we can finish before dinner."
Sheng Qianxue was in a good mood as she put the papers and textbooks into her bag. A Xin also quickly packed her things, not letting Sheng Qianxue see her other paper filled with answers. If Sheng Qianxue saw it, she probably wouldn't even want to eat dinner.
"Now we'll each go back to our rooms to do the papers. Don't come out until you're finished." Sheng Qianxue instructed A Xin, "You must finish before you can come out to eat. Don't think about being lazy, shorty. I've calculated that at your speed, you can finish before dinner."
Sheng Qianling's room was on the same floor. Hearing Sheng Qianxue's condescending words, she instinctively wanted to say something. She thought Sheng Qianxue was too harsh - Ye Xin was just her study companion, not her possession, and shouldn't be treated this way.
Sheng Qianxue didn't give Sheng Qianling a chance to speak and shut the door with a bang.
Seeing this, A Xin also opened the adjacent room, preparing to go in. Sheng Qianling called out to her, "Ye Xin."
"What?" A Xin turned around this time. Seeing Sheng Qianling hesitating, she said, "If you have something to say, say it quickly. I need to do homework."
"Um... later, could you lend me the textbooks? I forgot to bring them. I found that many of the problem types on the papers were from the textbook, and the teacher seemed to have explained other example problems that I took notes on." As Sheng Qianling spoke, her cheeks were slightly flushed, her hands clasped together and rubbing constantly.
Clearly Ye Xin was just a girl from a poor family - why did she feel so nervous facing her? They both grew up in difficult environments, shouldn't they have more common ground? Why did she feel an innate nobility from Ye Xin?
It must be an illusion.
"Lending you the textbooks is a small matter, but if I do this, Qianxue will be angry." A Xin replied in a flat tone.
Sheng Qianling quickly said, "I'll return them to you right away, I won't tell her."
"It's not about whether you return them or tell her, but that if I do this, Qianxue won't be happy." A Xin was completely unmoved. Seeing Sheng Qianling about to say something more, she said, "Qianxue is very important to me."
"Is that so?" Sheng Qianling was very disappointed. "Even though she does so many things that don't respect you, you're not angry with her?"
"When did she not respect me?" A Xin asked.
"She calls you shorty." Sheng Qianling blurted out. "And she forces you to finish your homework before you can come out to eat. You didn't agree to any of these things, yet you have to do them. And in the car, I could tell you didn't plan to do the papers." In her view, time didn't need to be so tight. She had been here for a while now, and Sheng Qianxue was always like this - with a somewhat bad temper, meticulous in doing things, especially with a natural obsession with time, insisting on getting done whatever could be done that day.
She thought living like this was too exhausting. They were only teenagers, there was no need to be so tense. They had just started high school, it wasn't senior year yet. Being a little more relaxed wouldn't matter, right?
"It's just a nickname, I don't mind." A Xin replied. "As for her wanting me to hurry and do homework, I think it makes a lot of sense. Finishing early frees up a lot of time. Especially in the car - sitting idle is just sitting idle, using the time to do homework really saved me a lot of time."
Sheng Qianling remembered when the homeroom teacher announced Ye Xin's grades today and was momentarily speechless. Perhaps people with good grades think differently. She thought it was too tiring, while others thought it was just right. So even though Qianxue had a strange temper, Ye Xin could still tolerate it?
"Is there anything else? You've already delayed me five minutes." A Xin asked.
Sheng Qianling's face burned. "No, nothing else. You go ahead with your work."
A Xin closed the door. At the same time, Sheng Qianxue, who had been eavesdropping with her ear to the door, had a smile on her face and tiptoed back to her desk. If people outside heard her, the cool image she'd built up would be completely ruined. She smiled as she flipped through the papers and said, "Today's problems are really simple, I can finish this one in half an hour."
"Tsk, that shorty is really obedient. Worthy of being my person, Sheng Qianxue's person. Mm, later I'll ask her to play games, and since she's so obedient, I'll buy her more equipment."
Sheng Qianling pressed her lips lightly, looking at the two tightly closed doors. Without going in to look, she knew that inside must be two people separated by a wall, each seriously doing homework. She hurried back to her room and took out the papers, picking the ones she knew how to do. After doing one side of the paper, there were countless gaps - several problem types she had no clue about. She clearly felt that flipping through the textbook would help her find the answers, but because she didn't bring the textbook, she couldn't do these problems, and her heart felt as uncomfortable as if being scratched by a cat.
At 6:45, Sheng Qianxue had already finished the papers and walked out of her room with her phone. She didn't knock on A Xin's door but leaned against the wall playing games. After about three minutes, A Xin's door opened.
Sheng Qianxue raised her head. "Finished?"
"Finished."
"Not bad." Sheng Qianxue's gaze grew softer as she looked at A Xin. "Let's go. I had the maid prepare fruit and cake. Eat some to tide you over - dinner is at seven o'clock."
The two sat down. Sheng Qianxue played games while eating fruit, watching A Xin seriously tackle the sweet cake. "You like it that much?" She turned to the maid and told her to bring out more.
"Want to play games?" Sheng Qianxue asked eagerly, having completely forgotten A Xin's previous gaming skills.
Before A Xin could answer, Sheng Wenbo, who had just entered the villa, heard this and couldn't help but say, "Qianxue, I hired a study companion for you, and you're taking her to play games? If Xiao Ye's grades are affected by games, that'll be your responsibility."
"Dad, that's just work-life balance. It's not addiction. Look at me - I only play for a while each day. When have I ever been addicted and stopped studying?"
Sheng Wenbo knew this, so he never opposed Sheng Qianxue playing games and didn't stint on giving her money to buy equipment, because Sheng Qianxue never let games affect her studies. This eldest daughter of his was good in every way, except her temper was too willful, and she often didn't listen to reason. Especially when it came to Qianling, she was somewhat unreasonable. This matter was indeed his fault, and he could only indulge her.
"Where's Qianling?" Not seeing Sheng Qianling, Sheng Wenbo asked subconsciously. After asking, he felt something was wrong. Sure enough, he saw Sheng Qianxue's smile disappear, replaced by a cold, mocking expression. "How would I know?"
Sheng Wenbo's head ached, so he could only ask the maid.
"When I went up to deliver cake and fruit just now, Miss Qianling was doing homework." The maid said with a smile, "Miss Qianling studies so hard. I saw her looking troubled, probably encountering some difficult problems."
"Oh, I see. When you have time, make them... make them more soup to nourish their bodies. Studying is very draining." Sheng Wenbo sat on the sofa, his face full of smiles. "Qianling suffered a lot as a child and her foundation isn't very good. It's rare that she's willing to work hard."
Sheng Qianxue bit hard into her fruit, rolling her eyes at Sheng Wenbo and snorting. She turned to look at A Xin eating cake and immediately cheered up. This shorty really can eat. In a good mood, she instantly forgot the unpleasantness from earlier. Playing games while watching A Xin demolish the small cakes in front of her, even her game character dying countless times didn't bother her.
At dinner time, the food was already set. Sheng Qianling hadn't come down yet. Sheng Qianxue was in a good mood today and was almost full from eating fruit earlier, so she just held her phone and played, not bothering to ask why Sheng Qianling was late again.
Sheng Wenbo couldn't help but look up at Sheng Qianxue, surprised that she wasn't angry today. Sheng Qianxue glanced at him. "Dad, why are you looking at me? Do you think my gaming posture is beautiful and want to give me another two million?" She didn't know why, but when looking at the shorty, she felt particularly good, and even the discomfort Sheng Qianling brought her didn't seem worth deliberately targeting.
Thinking about taking the shorty to play games and buying equipment, she thought she should get more money from her dad. That equipment was all so expensive, and some required buying levels to play - it all cost money.
Sheng Wenbo was amused. "I just gave you two million yesterday."
"Yesterday and today are different, aren't they?" Sheng Qianxue snorted. "You know how expensive my equipment is. Dad, are you reluctant to spend money on me?"
Sheng Wenbo rarely saw his eldest daughter act spoiled with him anymore. Today she wasn't angry about his younger daughter being late and was even acting cute asking for money - he was in a particularly good mood. He took out his phone and transferred two million to Sheng Qianxue without batting an eye.
Seeing the transferred money, Sheng Qianxue was somewhat happy. She glanced at A Xin and whispered, "When I have time, I'll take you to play games and buy you a full set of equipment. I've got money now."
Sheng Wenbo: "..." So his daughter coaxed money out of him to support her little companion?
Sheng Qianxue looked at the money in her account, feeling especially happy. She couldn't help thinking that if Sheng Qianling was late every time and her dad gave her two million each time, she wouldn't bother with her being late. Time is money, and she'd already received monetary compensation.
Sheng Qianxue stopped playing games and held her phone in a daze, her expression suddenly not looking too good. So all her previous fussing and making noise not only didn't get her money but also let Sheng Qianling benefit - wasn't that too stupid?
She glanced at A Xin. Fortunately, because of the shorty today, she was in a good mood and suddenly seemed to understand something. However, thinking about how Sheng Wenbo quietly brought Sheng Qianling back, only telling her at the doorstep that this was her sister, she felt stifled. She raised her head, about to say something sarcastic about why Sheng Qianling wasn't down yet, when she saw Sheng Wenbo also frowning, and suddenly held back.
"Why isn't Qianling coming down?"
Sheng Qianxue suppressed her dissatisfaction and laughed. "Isn't she always like this?"
Sheng Wenbo was somewhat speechless and had the maid go up to call her. "Go see why Qianling hasn't come down yet."
A minute later, rapid footsteps were heard.
Without turning around, they knew Sheng Qianling had come down.
"Dad, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to. I just encountered some really difficult problems and kept thinking about how to solve them, forgetting the time." Sheng Qianling looked regretful. She should have known not to search online, making her forget the time. She looked at Sheng Qianxue. "I'm sorry, Qianxue, for making you wait so long. I'm really sorry, please don't be angry."
Sheng Qianxue snorted. "I'm not angry at all. I ate cake and fruit and I'm very full! Not hungry at all!! Dad gave me two million, I'm very happy. However, because of your lateness, you made Dad, who's been tired all day, go hungry. You should apologize to him."
From that two million just now, Sheng Qianxue had already tasted the sweetness. She discovered that no matter what position she took, directly confronting Sheng Qianling never ended well for her. Especially today and yesterday, because of having the shorty by her side, she didn't really suffer any losses from Sheng Qianling. On the contrary, every time Sheng Qianling came in front of her, it was Sheng Qianling who lost face. She wasn't stupid - in fact, her IQ was quite high. She'd just been blinded by disgust before.
Now she understood that directly confronting Sheng Qianling in front of her dad was useless. Even if she detested her, it couldn't change many facts. Her dad, who used to dote only on her, had long ago divided half his love to give to Sheng Qianling. Because of her clashing temper these past few months, Sheng Qianling seemed to gain even more of her dad's pity. Thinking about this made her feel a bit down. Her mom couldn't stand it and went abroad. She never imagined that after mom left, Sheng Qianling would brazenly occupy the home that should have been hers alone. Seeing even a strand of her hair made her feel disgusted.
Sheng Qianxue lowered her head, her whole demeanor appearing very dejected. Seeing his usually arrogant eldest daughter suddenly looking so pitiful, Sheng Wenbo, who was already somewhat dissatisfied with waiting for Sheng Qianling, now felt even more distressed seeing Sheng Qianxue looking so down.
"Qianling, you just promised this morning that you wouldn't be late anymore. How did you forget again?" Sheng Wenbo said somewhat reproachfully. "This time, we waited for you alone for nearly twenty minutes."
Sheng Qianling felt somewhat wronged. "I'm sorry, Dad. I absolutely won't do this again in the future."
Seeing his younger daughter looking pitiful, Sheng Wenbo sighed and said, "Alright, sit down and eat. Remember what you said today. No matter what you do, you must manage your time well. For example, now that you're in school, you can't be late every day, right? Making you wait to eat is a small matter. In the future, when you go to work at the company and arrange a time with business partners, if you make others wait five minutes, no one will pay for your lateness. Your five-minute delay could cause a huge loss to the company - that would be very serious. To put it broadly, there are many things even more serious than this. In short, for any scheduled time, you must be early. Understand?"
"Yes, I understand." Sheng Qianling lowered her head, pressed her lips lightly, and obediently replied.
"Alright, let's eat."
Sheng Wenbo didn't want things to be unpleasant. Today his eldest daughter didn't quarrel with his younger daughter, yet this meal still wasn't perfect. He just wanted them to get along harmoniously - why was it so difficult? He believed Qianxue was still young. No matter how much her temperament resembled Xue Xuan's, it could still be corrected. In time, after living together longer, the two sisters could get along well. Perhaps it was just too soon.
When Sheng Qianxue heard Sheng Wenbo say "when you go to work at the company and arrange times with business partners," she suddenly raised her head.
Her eyes stared seriously at Sheng Wenbo and Sheng Qianling, who was holding her bowl with her head lowered. So what Dad meant by that sentence was that in the future, the Sheng family company would also have a share for Sheng Qianling? It wasn't that she was overthinking - her dad bought everything so that Sheng Qianling's treatment was exactly the same as hers. Sheng Qianling's arrival already made her unable to accept it, and now this person who destroyed her family had the same treatment as her - how could she not care?
The little bit of warmth she had felt toward Sheng Wenbo earlier dissipated quite a bit because of this sentence. So no matter what, Sheng Qianling would get half of the Sheng family, right? Sheng Qianxue lowered her head eating, remaining silent the whole time, which actually made Sheng Wenbo somewhat worried.
He was used to his eldest daughter being unforgiving and arrogant. Her sudden quietness really made him uncomfortable.
"Dad, I'm finished eating."
Sheng Qianxue put down her chopsticks. "I'll go back to my room first. I want to preview tomorrow's lessons."
Sheng Wenbo opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. A Xin also put down her chopsticks, greeted him, and followed upstairs. Seeing A Xin go up, Sheng Wenbo's worries eased somewhat. He had investigated Ye Xin thoroughly - good character, good grades. With her accompanying Qianxue, there should be no problem.
A Xin knocked on Sheng Qianxue's door. When Sheng Qianxue opened it and saw it was her, she said quietly, "Oh, it's you, shorty."
"Come in."
She casually nestled into the sofa, lazily scrolling through her phone. "Are you full?" She raised her eyelids to look at A Xin. "Your appetite is so big - if you're not full, eat more. If you get skinny from hunger, people outside won't know what they'll say about how I'm mistreating you."
A Xin walked to Sheng Qianxue's side. "Unhappy?"
"No, I'm very happy, especially happy, extremely happy." Sheng Qianxue pressed her lips together. "I just got another two million, more than enough to spend on equipment. Sheng Qianling didn't get any. Why wouldn't I be happy?"
"Qianxue is unhappy." A Xin said with certainty. "If you're unhappy, you can tell me. You're so good to me, I should also share your worries."
"Don't overthink it. Who's being good to you? Don't put a high hat on yourself."
"Okay, you said I'm your little follower. Shouldn't a follower help you share your worries?"
Sheng Qianxue pouted and stopped playing with her phone. "There's a person who not only destroyed my warm family but also took away half my dad. In the future, she'll also take away half my wealth. I feel uncomfortable. As long as she's Sheng Qianling, my dad's assets will have her share. If I bully her, my dad will blame me. Shorty, telling you this, you won't understand."
"Shorty, you don't know - many people gossip that Sheng Qianling is my dad's illegitimate daughter. But while they disdain it with their mouths, they're incredibly envious in their hearts, because Sheng Qianling is my dad's illegitimate daughter. The Sheng family company is so big - having the surname Sheng represents money.
They're two-faced with me. Actually, if I weren't the Sheng family's eldest daughter, they would have drowned me with their spit long ago."
"So you knew all along?"
"Hmph, I'm not stupid. How could I not know whether they're real or fake?" Sheng Qianxue raised her chin. "I already have a status they look up to. Should I flaunt it, or should I humble myself to please them and maintain an image of being gentle, kind, and easy to talk to?"
"Shorty, if one day I have nothing, would you still be willing to be friends with me?" Sheng Qianxue asked.
A Xin answered without hesitation, "Of course I would."
"I knew you would." Sheng Qianxue remembered what she'd overheard earlier. "You won't be tricked by Sheng Qianling, right?"
"Naturally not." A Xin replied.
Sheng Qianxue was curious again. "Why don't you like Sheng Qianling more? After all, she seems easier to get along with. Everyone says my temper is strange, that I'm difficult to deal with, like those villainous rich daughters in TV shows."
"Because I came for you." A Xin replied with a light smile.
Sheng Qianxue laughed. "You're really interesting, always saying nice things to coax me. But it sounds quite pleasant. Alright, shorty, you pass."
"Don't worry, I won't lose everything." A trace of seriousness appeared in her eyes. "You eat so much - if I had no money, you'd definitely starve to death. Who could afford to feed you?"
If she had no money, the shorty couldn't be her study companion. The shorty might become someone else's study companion and wouldn't be hers alone anymore.