"I won't be going back with you today."
Sheng Qianling quickly caught up with her bag, saying to Sheng Qianxue, "I made plans with a friend to visit their home. I've already notified Dad."
Sheng Qianxue looked at Sheng Qianling with her flickering eyes and responded coolly, patting A-Xin's shoulder. "Shorty, hurry up. We still have homework to do in the car."
Seeing the two didn't seem to notice anything, Sheng Qianling involuntarily breathed a sigh of relief. She pulled out her phone and glanced at the message she'd just received—from Jiang Yanxi, inviting her to his home for dinner.
"Let's go." After Sheng Qianxue got in the car, she said.
The driver routinely asked, "Miss Qianxue, aren't we waiting for Miss Qianling?"
"She made plans with friends. You should confirm with Dad first." Sheng Qianxue answered casually, then began setting up her small table and pulling out today's homework to work on seriously. The driver, who'd been with the Sheng family for over ten years, confirmed with Sheng Wenbo once before driving away.
At this moment, Sheng Qianxue looked up, glancing toward the school entrance, just in time to see Sheng Qianling running toward Jiang Yanxi. She curled her lip. Seeing A-Xin staring at them without blinking, she leaned over and said quietly, "What's so interesting about puppy love? Hurry and do your homework. You're so poor—don't fantasize about romance. Dating costs money."
"You make a very good point." A-Xin nodded in agreement, taking out her homework book.
Isn't that right? Dating is so expensive.
Hm? Why would she think that?
The car became quiet. When it started moving, Sheng Qianxue looked outside again. This time, Jiang Yanxi was riding an electric scooter with Sheng Qianling sitting behind him, her arms around his waist. Both the boy and girl's faces showed happy, blissful smiles. She scoffed lightly. When she looked away, she glanced at A-Xin working seriously on her homework. Looking at A-Xin's beautiful, fair profile, she laughed happily. Watching other people date—what was interesting about that? Better to watch the shorty in front of her.
"Yanxi, wait. Going to your house empty-handed doesn't seem right, does it?" Sheng Qianling thought about meeting Jiang Yanxi's mother and felt somewhat nervous. Although she'd met her once at the hospital before, today was different—she was going to visit their home.
Jiang Yanxi frowned. "Don't trouble yourself. My mom just wants to treat you to a meal and thank you."
"That doesn't seem right. I should at least buy some fruit or something." Sheng Qianling said eagerly. "Yanxi, take me to a fruit shop. I'd be too embarrassed to go empty-handed."
"Fine."
Jiang Yanxi thought it unnecessary to go to such trouble, but since Sheng Qianling insisted, he went along with it. He took Sheng Qianling to a fruit shop. She specifically selected large, good-looking fruit and had the owner pack it in a gift box. Carrying the heavy fruit and sitting behind Jiang Yanxi again, her heart felt more at ease.
Jiang Yanxi's home was in an ordinary residential complex. Seeing Jiang Yanxi's house, Sheng Qianling breathed a slight sigh of relief, secretly speculating about what kind of story existed between Jiang Yanxi's parents.
From this place, she could tell that Jiang Yanxi's mother probably wasn't the type to cling to wealth. She'd heard people say that Jiang Yanxi's father had several mistresses. Although these mistresses couldn't move into the Jiang house, they all received good treatment—except for Jiang Yanxi and his mother who lived in such an ordinary complex. Everyone else lived in separate large villas.
Perhaps there was some unknown story here? But she believed that since Jiang Yanxi was a good person, his mother must be good too. At least when she met her at the hospital last time, she left a really good impression—a bit thin with a pale face, but very beautiful. Especially those eyes, which held the same gentleness as her mother's eyes.
Mother Jiang saw Sheng Qianling arrive and invited her in with a smile, instructing Jiang Yanxi to keep her company, pour her water, and bring out snacks to entertain her. Seeing she'd bought fruit, she quickly told her not to buy such things next time. Being treated so warmly, Sheng Qianling felt overwhelmed. When Mother Jiang went to cook, she offered to help but was stopped.
"Yanxi, keep Qianling company. Just one more soup and we can eat. It'll be ready soon."
Mother Jiang's voice was also very gentle. She smiled and turned toward the kitchen. With her back to them, her smile faded, only the corners of her lips slightly upturned. The moment she entered the kitchen, from the corner of her eye she glanced at the two chatting teenagers, satisfaction in her eyes. As if remembering something, the smile in her eyes slowly disappeared.
When she brought out the food, she wore that gentle smile again. The three ate dinner happily together. The meal was casual—they could eat, laugh, and share interesting stories, just like when her mother was still alive. This made Sheng Qianling feel very comfortable.
Eating at the Sheng house involved different etiquette. When eating, you absolutely couldn't make too much noise, couldn't chat and laugh casually. If there was something to say, you had to wait until after eating. If your spoon or chopsticks hit the bowl too loudly, because everyone was especially quiet, it would make her feel particularly embarrassed.
At first, she was very uncomfortable. Initially when Sheng Qianxue really disliked her, she'd hold her chopsticks and spoon nervously, feeling the cold air shooting from across the table. This actually taught her quickly not to make clinking sounds with her spoon and bowl, and she got used to not talking while eating. Her former way of life presenting itself before her eyes brought Sheng Qianling and Mother Jiang much closer.
When Sheng Qianling was leaving, Mother Jiang held her hand and said if she liked her cooking, she must come back often. This time Sheng Qianling didn't refuse. It had been so long since she'd been treated with such warmth and gentleness.
Jiang Yanxi rode his electric scooter to take her to the Sheng villa. She walked in happily, unable to stop smiling. Sheng Wenbo saw his younger daughter so happy and couldn't help asking, "Did something make Qianling happy today?"
"Ah!" Sheng Qianling suddenly felt panicked, then realized Sheng Wenbo probably wouldn't know about these things. Her heart raced. She didn't dare look at Sheng Wenbo, only slowly changing her shoes. "I had a lot of fun with friends, Dad." She lied to Sheng Wenbo most about matters concerning Jiang Yanxi, and felt somewhat guilty. If Dad knew she was dating Jiang Yanxi, he definitely wouldn't like her. Jiang Yanxi was so good to her—she really couldn't bear to give him up. Among her peers, Jiang Yanxi treated her best and never looked at her with prejudiced eyes.
When the two were together, they had many topics to discuss. She didn't mind Jiang Yanxi's background, and he didn't mind hers. They accepted each other and were very happy together.
"I see." Sheng Wenbo didn't suspect anything. "But when you play like this in the future, you can confirm a return time with the driver and have him pick you up in advance."
Sheng Qianling's heart warmed. "Okay, I understand." She instinctively scanned her surroundings and didn't see Sheng Qianxue. Remembering it had been long after dinner, Sheng Qianxue should have returned to her room already.
"Dad, I need to go upstairs to do homework. I won't chat long." Thinking of Sheng Qianxue reminded her that she hadn't touched any of today's teacher-assigned homework. Her expression showed some panic. Especially with next semester being second year, time getting tighter, and final exams coming soon—the more she thought, the more panicked she felt. Since meeting Jiang Yanxi, she'd been spacing out in class. Whenever he had time, he'd invite her to hang out, making her forget such important things.
Her grades were already at the bottom of the class. If she did worse than last semester, she didn't know how disappointed Dad would be.
Sheng Wenbo saw Sheng Qianling's pale, panicked face and smiled. "Then go quickly. Next time remember not to play too much. Final exams are coming—study well." With Sheng Qianling's current grades, he couldn't demand she reach any particular level. After all, her foundation was quite poor. Being able to barely keep up was already good.
At this moment, A-Xin was in Sheng Qianxue's room. In front of both of them lay thick stacks of test papers. Sheng Qianxue pointed at the papers before her. "I've finished those sets of problems from last time. How about you, Shorty?"
A-Xin also flipped open her test papers and answered flatly, "What a coincidence. I finished too."
Sheng Qianxue's smile disappeared. She pulled A-Xin's stack of papers toward herself and raised an eyebrow. "You didn't look at the answers, did you?"
"Aren't you keeping the answers?"
Sheng Qianxue snorted. "Then let's begin. Let's see who made fewer mistakes."
A-Xin also pulled Sheng Qianxue's papers toward her. Each holding answer keys, they began grading the papers. Sheng Qianxue looked at the clean, neat answer sheets—her heart sank. This shorty had fast speed yet maintained such neat handwriting. She compared answers with papers, working hard to find errors, hoping to find a few so she could mock her properly.
But the further she read, the darker her expression grew. Everything was correct.
If it were just multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank questions, she could still suspect the other copied answers. But for the later solution problems, the solving process was different from the answer key. The solution steps were simple and easy to understand—simpler even than her own methods. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. This shorty really had some ability. She didn't believe the other could get all problems correct.
They started grading at eight o'clock and finished around midnight. Sheng Qianxue watched A-Xin pull out several of her papers, staring at the red X marks. Her face looked terrible. Looking at A-Xin's papers—all check marks—her expression changed repeatedly. This shorty was really impressive, actually getting everything correct. Very good. She now had a target she especially wanted to surpass.
"Qianxue, you have errors on five test papers. Although only a few, they're still wrong." A-Xin waved the papers in her hand, placing them in Sheng Qianxue's hands. Sheng Qianxue stared at those red X marks, almost wanting to tear them up and eat them.
"I know." Sheng Qianxue pressed her lips tight. She glanced at A-Xin who still maintained a faint smile. Though the other won, she showed no pride at all. "Shorty, you really are impressive." She always admired excellent people and would find ways to surpass them. "Well then, let's see what happens at final exams."
She stared at A-Xin dangerously, saying fiercely, "This time, you can't go easy on me. I want to surpass you with real ability, not because you let me." Before, she always thought her problem-solving speed was fast and accurate, with Shorty always a step slower. She'd even been somewhat smug about it.
Never expected that one day she'd accidentally discover Shorty completed one more paper than her every time. If there were two papers, she'd finish them in the car. As for how she discovered this—that day she was doing homework in her room when she suddenly remembered something to tell A-Xin. Going to A-Xin's room, she happened to see the door open with no one inside. She planned to go in and wait.
Unexpectedly, what she saw on the desk wasn't test papers but a pile of snacks. She was stunned, thinking A-Xin was slacking off. Then the other came back carrying water. Facing her interrogation, she had no choice but to pull test papers from her backpack to show her.
Looking at them—good lord, all papers filled with answers. She was furious, especially wanting to pin this shorty down and give her a lesson. The other had been so devious, watching her make a fool of herself for who knows how long—simply insulting her intelligence. How didn't she know this shorty could be cute yet also quite wicked?
After being discovered by Sheng Qianxue, A-Xin stopped hiding. Right in front of her, she filled in answers so fast it made Sheng Qianxue grit her teeth. Sometimes, watching Sheng Qianxue grit her teeth angrily—though not truly angry, just ignited with fighting spirit—her gaze couldn't look away. Actually, she didn't know why either. Of course, this soul never let her spare attention for other matters.
"Don't worry, Qianxue. I won't go easy on you." A-Xin smiled lightly. "However, you might become eternal second place. I just hope you won't cry when the time comes."
"Cry?" Sheng Qianxue scoffed. "Have I ever cried?"
A-Xin looked at her seriously. "Haven't you?"
Sheng Qianxue's face reddened. "Anyway, I won't cry over being eternal second place."
"Wait, no, that's not right. How could I possibly be eternal second place?"
A-Xin said, "I say you are, so you are. If you don't believe me, let's try."
"Try then. You think I'm afraid of you?" Would she fear a shorty? Sheng Qianxue thought—the other was impressive, but wouldn't she, Sheng Qianxue, also improve?
From that day on, Sheng Qianxue stopped playing games entirely. Every day it was papers, papers, papers, problems, problems, problems... After half a month, she'd lost a considerable amount of weight. Sheng Wenbo watched Sheng Qianxue work so hard and advised her countless times.
Sheng Qianxue only gritted her teeth and said, "No, I can't be eternal second place and be mocked by Shorty."
Sheng Wenbo found it funny yet worried about her health. Finally he could only instruct the housekeepers to make more nutritious food for Sheng Qianxue and persuade her that she was already excellent—just maintain it.
Sheng Qianxue still shook her head. "No, if I can't even beat Shorty, it shows there are still many especially impressive people in this world. I'll talk after I surpass her."
Sheng Wenbo truly had no solution.
Looking at Sheng Qianxue full of fighting spirit, he somewhat missed the daughter who studied seriously but also allocated time for play and was close to him. But she had a goal she wanted to pursue, developing in a good direction—he definitely couldn't stop her. On the contrary, lately Sheng Qianling, probably because she was in a good mood and often ate at the Jiang house, had improved quite a bit. For Sheng Qianling, he didn't have particularly high demands—just hoped she'd grow up smoothly. He didn't expect her to become some genius or someone especially impressive in certain areas.
Just like this, with Sheng Qianxue studying desperately and Sheng Wenbo taking a hands-off approach to Sheng Qianling's studies, when final exam results came out, Sheng Qianling and Sheng Qianxue once again became topics of class discussion. Because Sheng Qianxue dropped from first place to second, and Sheng Qianling's grades—originally tenth from the bottom—actually tested to second from the bottom this time. Two sisters, one was class second place, one was second from the bottom—people couldn't help discussing them.
Actually, with Sheng Qianling's deliberate maintenance, her scores were about the same as last semester. But because Sheng Qianxue and A-Xin studied desperately this semester, they motivated quite a few people in class. Students who could enter this class weren't too bad—their minds definitely weren't dumb. With a bit of effort, scores naturally rose. Sheng Qianling who stayed in place would naturally drop in ranking.
Sheng Qianxue only glanced at Sheng Qianling's ranking before ignoring it. She stared at her own ranking, looking at the words "Ye Xin" pressing down on her head, gripping the paper and gritting her teeth.
This shorty really didn't give her face. Said she wouldn't go easy and actually didn't—didn't she know there's a phrase called "saying one thing but meaning another"?
"Qianxue." A-Xin patted Sheng Qianxue's shoulder with serious encouragement. "Keep going. I believe you can do it next time."
Sheng Qianxue glared hatefully at A-Xin, grabbed her arm, pressed her onto the bench, her face almost touching A-Xin's nose, and said fiercely, "Shorty, don't get cocky. I'll surpass you. Just watch."
"Then I'll wait." A-Xin looked at Sheng Qianxue, eyes full of smiles.
Sheng Qianxue looked at these clear eyes—she could actually see her own reflection clearly in them. She froze slightly. Realizing they were very close, she didn't know why but suddenly released A-Xin.
"Then you wait." She sat up straight. "I can't possibly be second place forever."
A-Xin's smile answered her. She pursed her lips—Shorty's smile was really wicked. Made her especially want to hit her.