Extra 5-1: If From school uniform to wedding dress (Part 1)

Tao Sheng stood in the living room holding a glass of water, watching her stepmother Sang Fei, her sister Shen Ruojin, and her cousin Peng Xiaoyu descend the stairs gracefully in long evening gowns.

Tao Sheng had a dazed feeling, thinking she saw Cinderella’s stepmother and two sisters going to a ball.

Just half a month ago, a man named Shen Yu suddenly found her and claimed she was the child taken away by mistake. He showed her a DNA report as proof.

Tao Sheng was confused when she heard this, but even without reading the report, the family portrait photo of her mother, Luo Xin, made her realize it was likely true.

Tao Sheng had been living with her former elementary school teacher, Mr. Wei, who was her music teacher. He discovered her special talent in music early on. Later, when Tao Sheng’s adoptive parents went abroad, they brought her back to live with Mr. Wei for training.

Mr. Wei recently found his true love and is getting married soon. Tao Sheng felt it was inconvenient to stay with him. When she was planning to move to a boarding school, Shen Yu found her and proposed bringing her back to the Shen family.

When Shen Yu arrived, Tao Sheng was happy.

During her years in the orphanage, she had always dreamed of a relative coming to take her in. Although she eventually gave up hope, she secretly longed for family.

Mr. Wei was initially worried about Tao Sheng returning to the Shen family, but after hearing Shen Yu ran a big business and could support her, he felt relieved.

Now, there were four people in the Shen family.

Besides the head of the family, Shen Yu, there were his eldest son Shen Yue, his daughter Shen Ruojin^[1]which is who had been taken away by mistake., and his second wife, Sang Fei.

Shen Yu’s original wife, Luo Xin, had divorced him many years ago.

Shen Yu casually mentioned his divorce from Luo Xin. Tao Sheng was curious at first but soon realized it wasn’t important.

She had only been with the family for two weeks and already felt distanced. It was hard to believe Luo Xin had lived with them for over ten years.

Though Sang Fei was Shen Yu’s second wife, she was very stylish. She believed Tao Sheng, the girl brought back from the countryside, should be treated like a rich lady.

Shen Ruojin felt Tao Sheng was an outsider who came to take her place, making her nervous around Tao Sheng and careful not to let her cause trouble in front of her family.

Shen Yue, now a senior in college, had started interning at the family business. Though he didn’t talk much at home, his deep bond with his sister, Shen Ruojin, was obvious. He always favored her and watched out for Tao Sheng.

Shen Yu had taken over the family business, though he wasn’t very skilled and had a bad temper. He wanted to control everything at home. Shen Ruojin, however, always understood him well and remained his favored daughter.

Shen Yu believed that since he had brought Tao Sheng back from a small town and gave her a comfortable life, she should also praise him like everyone else. During a family dinner, when he talked about his business performance, Sang Fei and Shen Ruojin praised him. But Tao Sheng remained silent, which made Shen Yu accuse her of being ungrateful.

Shen Ruojin, holding her skirt, said to Tao Sheng, “Dad gave us the chance to attend events like this auction, so we can socialize and make connections for the future.”

Business in City D had been struggling recently, so Shen Yu saw this event as a way to socialize and build relationships. He asked his two daughters and his niece to go and even thought of finding a marriage partner for them..

Tao Sheng calmly poured herself another glass of water. “I’m not going. I still have questions to do today.”

Tao Sheng used to study in W Province, but now she has transferred to X Province, far from W Province. The college entrance exam questions in X and W are very different. Since it’s the summer vacation before her second year of high school, Tao Sheng wants to catch up on class work as much as possible.

“How did Shen Yu find me?” Tao Sheng thought. Thinking about it made her feel worse.

Sang Fei scoffed, “Xiao Jin, don’t worry about her. What does she know? Your father already said that after being outside for so long, you won’t look like our child if we bring you back. Let’s go, don’t waste time.”

“Yes, cousin,” Peng Xiaoyu added. “Don’t waste your time on her. Why stay at home doing homework all day? She has such a weird personality, I doubt she can adapt to a school like ours.”

Shen Yue drove back to pick them up and was waiting outside. So, they didn’t waste time talking to Tao Sheng.

When they left, Tao Sheng finally enjoyed some quiet and went back to her room to focus on her homework.

Tao Sheng’s room is a temporary one, with mismatched furniture. At first, Shen Yue mentioned buying her new things, but Sang Fei found it troublesome, and Shen Yu gave up. Later, Shen Ruojin said he had changed the furniture before high school and kept it in storage. He told Tao Sheng to use them if needed.

Tao Sheng thought, “Let’s not bother with that.”

She heard that Mingde Middle School, where she’s attending, provides dorms, so she decided to live at school to avoid seeing them often.

Time flew by, and soon it was the day to start school.

Tao Sheng transferred to Mingde as a new student. However, Shen Ruojin is in the International Department, where they teach in both Chinese and foreign languages like French, German, and Spanish. Although the Shen family could afford to place Tao Sheng in the International Department, Shen Yu didn’t care much for her. Sang Fei didn’t like Tao Sheng, thinking she had a strong personality. She preferred the well-behaved and sweet Shen Ruojin. So Tao Sheng entered the regular department.

Tao Sheng is talented in music, and her teacher, Wei, wanted her to take art exams. Her academic performance is excellent, so she could get into a good school if she took the regular college entrance exam.

Before they decided on her exam direction, Shen Yu transferred Tao Sheng here.

It’s clear the gap between the curriculum in X and W Provinces couldn’t be made up in just a few days of practice.

After attending classes in the morning, Tao Sheng felt dizzy. She stepped outside to get some fresh air and overheard some students talking about a handsome new transfer from Province G named Ji Yanming.

Tao Sheng looked over at the door and saw a tall, handsome boy walking toward them in a white shirt and black trousers, looking like he came straight out of a comic.

Tao Sheng continued to feel uneasy through the afternoon classes. During the break, she unconsciously looked over at Ji Yanming, hoping to find comfort in seeing someone else who was also confused.

But Ji Yanming seemed calm, writing quickly and working on the hardest exercises.

Tao Sheng lowered her head, unlocked her phone, and searched to see if the college entrance exam questions in Province G and W were similar.

_

After school and dinner break, Tao Sheng had some free time.

The class monitor of Class 7, a girl with glasses and pigtails, was very nice to Tao Sheng. After class, she took Tao Sheng to the cafeteria for dinner.

On the way, Tao Sheng was told that someone was looking for her at the fourth school gate.

Tao Sheng went over, and the guard said, “A man named Shen Yue says he’s your brother and is looking for you.”

She walked over and asked Shen Yue what was going on.

Shen Yue handed Tao Sheng a card and said, “Mom knows you’ve been found, but she’s been sent to California for work. She has an important order and can’t come back for now. She asked me to give you this card.”

Shen Yue also handed Tao Sheng a small suitcase. “This contains some things Mom sent for you. It’s probably snacks and stationery. She didn’t buy clothes since I don’t know your size, so buy them yourself.”

Luo Xin, Tao Sheng’s mother, sent these things from across the ocean. Though it was a small pink suitcase, it showed more thought than Tao Sheng’s entire family combined.

When Tao Sheng arrived, Shen Yu played the role of a caring father, saying her clothes were too simple, so he asked Sang Fei to take her shopping.

The next day, Sang Fei took Tao Sheng shopping. She bought herself a lot of things and then went to a store with clothes suitable for students. Sang Fei said, “Go take a look and buy a few pieces. This store is expensive. A simple dress costs as much as half of your wardrobe.”

Tao Sheng found it annoying and didn’t want to deal with Sang Fei’s boasting or complaints later. So she chose not to respond. Instead, she said, “I’m thirsty. I’m going to buy a cup of milk tea. You can take your time shopping.”

Later, Sang Fei described Tao Sheng as having no taste and not understanding the ways of the world, unlike Shen Ruojin, who was well-behaved and appreciated her parents’ kindness.

Sang Fei’s arrogance is part of why she’s disliked.

When Sang Fei tried buying clothes for Tao Sheng, the result was the same as when she decorated her house—nothing came of it.

Tao Sheng was about to leave with her suitcase when Shen Yue stopped her. He gave her two packed lunch boxes from a fancy hotel and a box of chocolates.

“This is from Shu Shu. Take it back and share with your classmates.”

Shu Shu is Shen Yue’s secretary. They met once at Shen’s house. Knowing Tao Sheng was starting school today, she prepared these things.

Even though Shu Shu is just a worker, she clearly cares more than the rest of the family.

Tao Sheng sighed, thinking maybe she just wasn’t meant to have any real family.

Perhaps Shen Yue sensed this too, as he awkwardly said, “You just got to Mingde, so you might not be used to things yet, especially the food. Tomorrow at this time… I’ll bring you food.”

Shen Ruojin had spotted Tao Sheng walking toward the school gate from afar. Curious, she followed him and saw Shen Yue giving Tao Sheng a lot of things. Her heart sank. After Shen Yue left, she called him: “Brother, are you at school? I think I saw your car.”

Shen Yue replied briefly, “Hmm.”

Shen Ruojin’s voice grew soft: “My stomach hurts. I don’t know if it’s because of the school food. Can you take me out to eat?”

Shen Yue quickly turned his car around: “Okay, no problem.”

When Shen Ruojin first heard her family was searching for her biological sister, Tao Sheng, she fell seriously ill.

Shen Yue, who’s always had deep feelings for Shen Ruojin, is worried she might feel sad or left out because of Tao Sheng. Lately, he has been going out of his way to be extra nice to her, granting almost every request.

Shen Ruojin quickly got into Shen Yue’s car. The international department’s bilingual class has loose rules for evening self-study, so it’s fine to return a bit late.

She blinked her big eyes and asked Shen Yue, “Brother, why were you at school today?”

Shen Yue replied, “I brought Tao Sheng some things from her mom. I was worried she wouldn’t be used to the school food, so I plan to bring her meals for the next few days.”

In the family, Shen Yue has always treated Tao Sheng the best, possibly because of their blood connection.

Shen Ruojin felt a greater sense of insecurity.

Ignoring the part about Tao Sheng, Shen Ruojin said playfully, “I love the restaurant you always take me to, but the school is strict now. I can’t go out unless a family member picks me up. Could you pick me up tomorrow at dinnertime?”

This way, he wouldn’t have time to bring food to Tao Sheng, right?

Shen Yue looked into Shen Ruojin’s pitiful eyes and, thinking she must be upset from her stomach pain, couldn’t refuse. “Alright, I’ll pick you up at the same time tomorrow.”

_

After saying goodbye to Shen Yue, Tao Sheng found the class monitor waiting for her. He helped carry her suitcase.

“Perfect.” Tao Sheng smiled, picking up the lunch box Shen Yue gave her. “He brought two portions. Let’s eat together.”

The class monitor glanced at Shen Yue leaving and asked Tao Sheng softly, “Is that man your brother?”

“Yes.”

“Your real brother?”

“Yes.”

“I heard the guard say his name is Shen Yue, but you introduced yourself as Luo Taosheng this morning. Did you take your mother’s surname?”

Tao Sheng didn’t think her past needed to be hidden, so she explained, “I was abandoned at an orphanage, and then a couple adopted me. My surname was Luo because I took my adoptive father’s name. The Shen family just adopted me recently, but they’ve been too busy to update my legal name.”

The monitor looked sad. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep it a secret.”

The next afternoon, Tao Sheng received a message from Shen Yue. He said Shen Ruojin wasn’t feeling well, so he was taking her out for dinner and wouldn’t bring Tao Sheng food that day. He asked her to take care of herself and eat well.

Tao Sheng didn’t think much of it, assuming Shen Yue was just being polite.

That evening, Shen Ruojin sought Tao Sheng out.

“I need to explain something important to you.”

Tao Sheng looked up from her book. “Go ahead.”

“My brother and dad are under a lot of stress right now. They’re short on cash and are trying to raise money. Don’t ask my brother for small things like delivering meals—it’ll just stress him out.”

Tao Sheng hadn’t heard anything like this from the family. “How much do they need?”

“It must be a huge amount to have them this worried,” Shen Ruojin said in a low voice. “Shu Shu told me it’s at least several hundred thousand yuan.”

Shen Ruojin glanced at Tao Sheng, expecting her to look shocked.

But Tao Sheng just gave a small smile and said nothing.

Shen Ruojin left feeling disappointed, unaware that Tao Sheng’s phone had just flashed with a bank notification showing an eight-digit cash balance.