Chapter 49

“Shang Yan, come here.”

The woman’s red lips parted slightly.

Her voice had a very textured coldness to it, like ice shards gently scraping by the ear, leaving a hint of coolness that seeped in, with a slightly smoky huskiness.

Moreover, the woman’s appearance was strikingly aggressive in its beauty. At first glance, it took one’s breath away involuntarily.

Under this dual impact, the students in Class 2 of the second year fell silent for a full ten seconds.

After this deathly silence passed.

Sitting in the front row, Shang Yan froze for a moment, then with a darkened, handsome face, got up and strode out. Seeing this, the students in the class couldn’t help but burst into chatter.

Qi Wenyue stared blankly for a few seconds. When the two figures disappeared behind the blind spot of the classroom wall, she suddenly snapped out of it, her expression somewhat twisted.

“Deskmate… isn’t that… isn’t that the one from first year—”

Liao Lanxin withdrew her complex and slightly puzzled gaze.

She nodded.

“…”

Su Miao Miao, sitting in the front row, heard their conversation. Puzzled, she furrowed her brows and turned around to ask, “Who is she? Do you know her?”

Qi Wenyue seemed to choke on her own words, her face turning red as she stammered for a long time without managing to say anything.

In the end, it was Liao Lanxin who spoke calmly.

“I don’t know her, but I’ve seen her. At the beginning of the first year, she came to look for Shang Yan.” Liao Lanxin paused. “Later, there were rumors in the school that she is Shang Yan’s girlfriend.”

Su Miao Miao was stunned.

Next to her, Qi Wenyue muttered painfully in a low voice, “Deskmate… shouldn’t we keep this kind of thing from Miao Miao…”

“Why not?” Liao Lanxin looked at Qi Wenyue disapprovingly.

“The truth is the truth, and a lie is a lie. It won’t change just because I don’t say it. Besides, at the root of everything, ‘concealment’ is the primary cause of misunderstandings.”

“……”

Qi Wenyue had nothing to say in response and could only nod vigorously.

Liao Lanxin looked up again, glancing at Su Miao Miao, who seemed a bit distracted.

“Back then, a girl at school confessed to Shang Yan and even tried to verify this matter. It’s said that Shang Yan didn’t deny it. If you want to know the answer, you can wait for him to come back and have him tell you directly.”

Su Miao Miao quietly stared at the front door of the classroom. After a moment, she nodded lightly.

“Okay… I understand.”

….

Meanwhile, in the hallway outside, Shang Yan and the glamorous woman walked one behind the other, under the shocked gazes of students who hadn’t yet returned to their classes, and headed all the way up to the rooftop.

On the rooftop, Shang Yan closed the double doors and released the woman’s wrist, frowning.

“Didn’t I tell you not to come to my school?”

The woman, having been dragged up all the way, had lost her smile and let out a cold snort.

“You’re really something. Just stop causing trouble for me. If your headmaster hadn’t called home, do you think I wanted to come?”

Hearing this, Shang Yan frowned. He hesitated, then scoffed lightly and looked away.

The woman glared at him, her brows furrowed.

“Seriously, Shang Yan, you’ve really outdone yourself. You went on a fall outing and managed to burn yourself with a barbecue grill. You didn’t even make such stupid mistakes back in elementary school, did you?”

“…”

Shang Yan’s temple twitched.

“That was an accident.”

“Fine, I won’t argue with you about that. But what about the school anniversary event, hmm?” Shang Xian sneered.

“I went out of my way to enhance your resume, and you decided to voluntarily withdraw? Are you going through a delayed rebellious phase at eighteen?”

“…”

Shang Yan was silent for a few seconds, his frown deepening. Irritated, he brushed away the strands of hair falling on his forehead and said in a low voice, “It’s none of your business.”

“I am your sister!”

Shang Xian was so angry she wanted to hit him. After assessing the height and strength difference between them, she abandoned that idea and switched to verbal attacks instead.

“Fine, I was wrong to schedule the anniversary event without informing you in advance, and you withdrawing is one thing, but what’s with getting into a fight?”

Shang Yan’s expression was filled with suppressed anger.

“I didn’t fight.”

Shang Xian retorted, “Hitting someone unilaterally and kicking them into a urinal still counts as fighting!”

Shang Yan turned his head and gave Shang Xian a disdainful look.

“How did Bo Yi ever see anything in you? Is he crazy?”

Shang Xian was left speechless, “……”

Shang Xian took three deep breaths in a row, but they didn’t help. Just as she was about to explode, the rooftop door suddenly opened.

Two students who were skipping class were startled to see someone there. When they realized it was Shang Yan and a woman, they quickly hid on the other side of the rooftop.

Under their occasional glances, Shang Xian, who had been on the verge of losing control, instantly returned to a calm state. Even her tone became steady.

“Since I’m here today, just be honest with me—what do you think about going abroad?”

“…”

Shang Yan glanced at her.

Shang Xian asked, “Do you not want to go abroad?”

Shang Yan looked away and scoffed lightly.

“I never wanted to.”

“Bullshit.”

Shang Xian snorted in response.

“All your life’s little interests have been devoted to computers, haven’t they? Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, MIT, UC Berkeley… Don’t you want to visit these schools? Without them, there might not even be Silicon Valley. Don’t you want to try—jump in yourself, see if you can make waves, or if you won’t even make a splash?”

Shang Yan’s eyes flickered.

“I don’t want to.”

“…”

The last hint of a smile vanished from Shang Xian’s face.

Without any transition, she abruptly changed the subject:

“Have you taken a liking to a girl?”

Just a moment ago, they were discussing life and ideals on the broad avenue, and the next moment, she suddenly veered off course, catching Shang Yan off guard.

Shang Xian continued without pause.

“It’s your deskmate, isn’t it? Last time I was here, you were still sitting alone at your desk.”

Shang Yan’s gaze darkened.

“Last time you were here, it was already a year ago. Do you think I’d go a whole year without a deskmate?”

Shang Xian squinted at him and sized him up.

“It seems that falling in love really does lower male intelligence. You know, in a normal state, you’d probably say something like ‘If you think so, then let it be.'”

Shang Yan: “…”

Shang Xian: “And do you think I’m stupid? Just now, as soon as I called you, you immediately got up and dragged me out—back in the day, wouldn’t you have left me hanging for ten minutes?”

Shang Yan: “…”

Shang Xian: “Tsk tsk… After being intellectually overshadowed by you and Shang Xiao for over a decade, it seems I finally have a chance for revenge while you two are in love.”

Shang Yan raised an eyebrow and smirked, “With his cold demeanor, would he even have an affair in marriage?”

Shang Xian: “Oops… I let it slip. Just pretend you didn’t hear that. And, don’t try to use the tactic of changing the subject with me, it won’t work.”

Shang Yan was impatient.

“Well, do you have anything else to say? Because I need to get back to class.”

“Say it. Your little deskmate— I haven’t even seen what she looks like, and yet you dragged me out.”

Shang Yan: “I’m not saying.”

Shang Xian: “Why are you so protective? Afraid I’ll scare her away with a ten-million-dollar bribe to leave my brother?”

Shang Yan: “…”

Shang Xian: “Tsk tsk, it seems even my brother has days when he lacks confidence in his own worth. Rare, isn’t it?”

Shang Yan finally couldn’t hold back and sneered, “I’m afraid you’ll behave like an idiot and lower her overall impression of me.”

Shang Xian: “……”

Shang Xian sighed slowly, rubbing the corners of her eyes.

“As I’m getting older, I can’t afford to get angry. It’s easy to develop wrinkles and crow’s feet.”

Shang Yan chuckled softly, “It’s rare that you still remember you’re an old cow eating tender grass.”

Shang Xian: “I’m only 26, in my prime, youthful and beautiful.”

Shang Yan: “Isn’t Bo Yi only 21 this year?”

Shang Xian: “…”

Shang Xian: “You’re 18, you’re young, you’re full of vitality. How old is that girl you’re thinking about? And about that ‘Criminal Law’ book in the villa, I heard Aunt Chen has already prepared it for you, right?”

Shang Yan: “……”

After a brutal exchange of verbal blows, the siblings finally calmed down significantly.

“Have you made a decision?”

Shang Xian wiped away the emotions, whether strong or faint, from her face and asked softly.

“Yeah.”

The response came without hesitation.

“How are you going to do it?”

“Through a competition recommendation, or through the college entrance exam. I don’t mind either way.”

“Alright. I’ll talk to Father on your behalf. As for that girl, I’ll cover for you too. But I heard from Bo Yi that she’s not even 17 yet.”

“…”

There was a slight discomfort in Shang Yan’s stern profile.

After a moment, the young man cleared his throat, turned his face slightly, and muttered under his breath.

“Why are you two so nosy about each other’s affairs?”

Shang Xian: “That’s called basic care and concern for family.”

Shang Yan: “…”

Shang Xian: “Criminal Law is a good thing. When you’re bored and full of vigor, you should read it more.”

Shang Yan: “…”

Shang Xian: “Next time I see you, I hope it won’t be in prison.”

Shang Yan: “……”

This extremely affectionate sibling conversation ultimately ended with one side storming off in a unilateral disagreement.

*

When Shang Yan returned to the classroom, he still felt a lingering unease.

Based on his familiarity with Shang Xian, that female demon should not have been so easily appeased.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to dwell on it.

As soon as he entered the classroom, the first thing Shang Yan saw was a beautiful, glamorous face with little emotion.

The girl’s voice was soft and calm:

“Master.”

“You have a lot of ex-girlfriends.”