Chapter Eleven: The Noble Heiress (Part One)

After class, Su Xin, Zhang Li, Wang Lili, and I left the classroom together, heading toward the school gate to go home. On the way, Zhang Li kept staring at me with his big, curious eyes, scrutinizing me from head to toe, making me feel quite embarrassed. I glared at him and said, “What are you looking at? Is there a flower on my face?”

“Xiao Qiang, my boss—no, from now on you’re my boss. You’re just incredible! How did you solve that math problem? Where did you get those formulas? Don’t tell me they’re from the textbook; I spent all afternoon flipping through the math book and never found the formulas you used. Honestly, boss, did you already teach yourself all of high school math?”

Seeing the admiration in Zhang Li’s eyes, I couldn’t help but scratch my head and feign a silly smile. “Sorry, I’m not that smart. Those formulas—I happened to catch a glimpse of them when my sister, who’s in college, was working on her assignments. And today, the professor just happened to ask me to solve that problem, so I had to improvise.”

“Really? That’s it?” Zhang Li seemed disappointed, shaking his head. My answer didn’t match his imagination at all. “Are you serious?”

“Of course. I’m telling the truth.” I laughed awkwardly. If I told him I’d been reborn, that my mind held knowledge from Earth and alien technology, he’d probably faint from shock.

“Who knows, maybe he had a dream and a god visited him,” Su Xin teased, casting a sidelong glance at me. Sometimes, she simply couldn’t figure out this boy in front of her—a self-funded student who could tame even the irascible Professor Ren. Who was he really?

“Heh, Su Xin’s right. I just got lucky and guessed,” I replied casually. There was no need to boast now; what I had was capital, and what I would have in the future would astonish them.

Soon, the four of us reached the school gate. Su Xin, carrying her book bag with flair, turned to us and flashed a dazzling smile. “Sorry everyone, my family’s car is here to pick me up. I’ll head off first.”

“Oh, sure, Su Xin. Take care,” I nodded. I’d already seen the Red Flag 7200 sedan parked nearby—she was about to leave. Zhang Li, Wang Lili, and I happened to live in the same direction, so we could walk together for a while.

Zhang Li and Wang Lili smiled and bid her farewell, and Su Xin turned and headed toward the Red Flag car. Zhang Li nudged me slyly and whispered, “Boss, do you have a thing for Su Xin? As your brother, I’ll help out. If Su Xin becomes my sister-in-law, I’ll be so proud—imagine, the school beauty as my boss’s girlfriend!”

“Don’t make wild guesses; nothing’s set in stone yet. Don’t say such things, it’s not good,” I shot him a meaningful look and, with a mischievous smile, glanced at Wang Lili by his side. “Zhang Li, don’t just focus on me; when are you going to make a move on the girl next to you?”

“Boss, what are you talking about…” Zhang Li looked depressed, about to explain, but I waved my hand and laughed. “Alright, just kidding. Let’s go home and get some sleep!”

Seeing my attitude, Zhang Li didn’t argue further. We three walked out the school gate, heading toward my neighborhood. But as soon as we stepped outside, we noticed a crowd gathering by the roadside, and curiosity got the better of me. “Huh? When did the school gate turn into a marketplace?”

“Marketplace?” Zhang Li didn’t understand at first, but following my gaze, he also found it strange. “Why are so many people gathered there?”

“Let’s go take a look.” My curiosity surged, because in my previous life, nothing like this happened after the first day of school. That meant my life was already diverging from my past memories. The alien octopus once said that this universe was parallel to my original one, so no matter how I changed things here, it wouldn’t affect my previous world. Because of this, I could let go and embrace this new life—this world truly belonged to me!

“Qitong, listen to me, there’s really nothing between us. We just happened to meet on the road, that’s all. Don’t misunderstand,” a man’s voice caught my ear. Judging by it, he couldn’t be older than thirty. Sure enough, when we squeezed into the crowd, I saw the speaker was a young man in his twenties, and beside him stood a beautiful woman. Wait—why did she look so familiar?

“Cousin, even now you still want to lie! Lie, lie, lie, that’s all you ever do. You lied to Dad, now you’re lying to me! Do you believe I’ll tell Father about this? Hmph, men are just no good. Yanyan is such a wonderful woman—why won’t you accept her? This woman is just a bit prettier, what’s the big deal? Just because the family forced you, you don’t like her? I’m telling you, our Chu family will never accept this woman!” As I frowned and tried to recall what connection I had to the beautiful woman beside the man, I heard an angry voice from a nearby girl, her back to me. Clearly, she had quite a temper. And at that moment, I finally remembered who the beauty by the man was—my godmother’s daughter, Siya! Speaking of my godmother, I should explain: she was a close friend of my mother, so I became her godson at birth. Our families were very close when I was young, but after I graduated from college and changed cities for work, we drifted apart. The beautiful woman in the white dress before me was my god-sister, Siya. Oh, and I remembered—she should already be working as a flight attendant by now! Why was she here at the school gate? That, I couldn’t fathom.

“Qitong, can’t we discuss this at home? Don’t you see how many people are watching? If you’re not embarrassed, I am!” The brother, his face darkening, grabbed his sister’s arm angrily. “How many times do I have to tell you? Siya and I are just friends—why won’t you believe me?”

“Believe you? Only a fool would believe a playboy like you! Just two days ago you broke up with another woman, and today I catch you at the school gate with her. How am I supposed to trust you, you heartbreaker! How did I end up with a cousin like you—it’s infuriating!” The girl stamped her foot in anger, and only then seemed to notice the crowd. She shouted irritably, “What are you staring at? Haven’t you seen people dealing with family matters? Move along, nothing to see here!”

Many students, hearing her words, sensibly dispersed, and the crowd dwindled. Zhang Li tugged at my sleeve, wanting to leave, but I signaled him and Wang Lili to go ahead. No way—I couldn’t leave while my god-sister was being bullied. After Zhang Li gave me a puzzled look and left with Wang Lili, I readied myself to step in and help Siya.