Chapter 240

One month’s time had passed, and the foundational learning was almost complete. Shi Tingyu began teaching practical classes to her students.

Those who could be admitted to an art college had no issues with their artistic skills.

The first lesson of the practical class was a simple still life drawing.

Shi Tingyu observed in the classroom.

On the still life stand were several pottery jars, an apple, and a blue cloth.

For the students present, it was not particularly difficult.

Those who took the art college entrance exam had submitted numerous works. Those who made it to the final selection were quite skilled, not to mention those who passed the final exam.

Shi Tingyu nodded approvingly as she looked at each one.

When she approached He Linghui, she paused.

The girl was currently sketching with her pencil.

The way she held the pencil and the hesitance in her strokes surprised Shi Tingyu.

When Shi Tingyu arrived beside her, He Linghui’s hands began to tremble, and she couldn’t seem to start drawing.

Shi Tingyu couldn’t help asking, “Is something wrong?”

He Linghui shook her head palely. “It’s nothing, I’m just not feeling well, a bit dizzy.”

Shi Tingyu glanced at her complexion. It did look poor, but the way she looked at her seemed more anxious than sick, more like she was feeling guilty.

“If you’re not feeling well, you should go back to your dorm and rest for a while. You can submit your still life drawing when you’re feeling better.”

Shi Tingyu’s words sounded like music to He Linghui’s ears.

She quickly packed up her drawing tools and returned to the dormitory.

Watching her leave, Shi Tingyu seemed to detect a hint of fleeing.

After correcting a few students’ issues with color mixing and shading, Shi Tingyu turned and went to the office.

She was preparing to check He Linghui’s file with the class teacher.

The class teacher was somewhat surprised. “Why do you suddenly want to check her file?”

Shi Tingyu smiled and found an excuse to brush it off.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t tell the class teacher, but she was worried that if she did and He Linghui wasn’t what she suspected, it would cause trouble.

Seeing He Linghui’s unfamiliarity with drawing and her constantly guilty expression, Shi Tingyu had reason to suspect that she might be impersonating someone else to attend university.

But it was very difficult to impersonate a student to attend university now.

Aside from the delivery issue of the admission letter, even checking files required the person to be present.

Moreover, there was a photo in the file.

The urgency of the college entrance examination meant that most people’s photos were recent.

Because the photo had to be attached to the admission ticket, it must have been taken at the same time.

For this reason, Shi Tingyu wanted to check He Linghui’s file and see the photo.

Accompanied by the class teacher, Shi Tingyu went to the archive room and retrieved He Linghui’s file.

The girl in the photo looked exactly like He Linghui.

Looking at the family relationships listed, she had an older sister and a younger brother.

Just as she was about to put the file away, Shi Tingyu noticed something sharp-eyed: there was a tiny mole under the person’s right eye in the photo.

She distinctly remembered that He Linghui did not have a mole under her right eye.

Could it be dirt?

She gently wiped the photo a few times, but the black spot remained.

This couldn’t be dirt.

The file only contained information about family relationships like sisters, brothers, and parents, without age or name.

If He Linghui wasn’t the person in the photo, it was very likely that the two were twins.

But she couldn’t confirm it for the moment, so she had to leave it for now.

Thanking the class teacher and the archive room staff, Shi Tingyu returned to the classroom.

After the class was over, Shi Tingyu went to pick up Shen Shen and went home.

The next day in class, Shi Tingyu saw He Linghui return to the classroom and walked over to chat with her.

“He Linghui, are you feeling better today?”

He Linghui’s voice was somewhat uneasy. “A little better, teacher.”

Shi Tingyu nodded, and contrary to her usual self, she began talking to her about some health tips, like how important studying was, and how important it was to take care of oneself by resting more and going to bed early.

He Linghui gradually relaxed after this conversation.

Seeing this, Shi Tingyu smiled and asked, “I noticed you’re quite thrifty. Do you have more siblings at home?”

This seemed to touch a nerve with He Linghui, who replied hesitantly, “I have a younger sister and a younger brother.”

Shi Tingyu sighed, “No wonder. Being the eldest sister isn’t easy, and you have to take care of your younger siblings.”

He Linghui’s face stiffened slightly, and she mumbled a vague agreement.

Shi Tingyu lowered her gaze and said, “Judging from your name, is your sister named He Minhui? ‘Minhui’ means sensitive, right?”

When He Linghui heard the three words “He Minhui,” her fingers visibly twitched.

Under Shi Tingyu’s puzzled gaze, He Linghui chuckled and said, “Teacher Shi is indeed clever. Yes, I do have a sister named He Minhui.”

Shi Tingyu nodded and continued, “Let me guess, are you and your sister twins? Normally, only twins have names that match so perfectly.”

He Linghui’s face turned pale.

Shi Tingyu pretended not to notice and after a few more words with her, she left.

As soon as Shi Tingyu left, He Linghui rolled up her sleeves and wiped her forehead. Without realizing it, fine beads of sweat had formed.

It was mid-March in the Gregorian calendar, still slightly chilly. He Linghui felt chilled to the bone.

Teacher Shi was really too smart. She could guess that they were twins just from their names.

Fortunately, Shi Tingyu didn’t say anything more.

Otherwise, she might have thought her secret was exposed.

Shi Tingyu appeared calm as she demonstrated drawing techniques to her students, as if nothing had happened just now.

After school, Shi Tingyu took Shen Shen to the principal’s office.

Principal Sun was very happy to see Shen Shen.

He reached out to hold the child.

Shen Shen let Principal Sun hold him, looking at his mother without crying.

At Principal Sun’s gesture, Shi Tingyu sat down on a nearby chair.

Playing with Shen Shen, Principal Sun asked, “Did Teacher Shi come over because something happened?”

Shi Tingyu nodded. “Indeed, it’s about one of my students.”

Principal Sun looked surprised. “A student? What happened to the student?”

Shi Tingyu briefly explained her discovery and suspicion.

If they weren’t in an art college, she wouldn’t have dared to make such a bold guess.

Listening to Shi Tingyu, Principal Sun’s expression became very serious.

Shen Shen seemed to sense the emotional fluctuation from Principal Sun and reached out to touch his face.

Feeling the soft touch on his face that only a child could give, Principal Sun’s expression softened considerably.

He was afraid of scaring the child, so he handed Shen Shen back to Shi Tingyu.

“I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly. If this is true, our school will not tolerate it.”

Shi Tingyu nodded. “Then I leave this matter to the principal.”

Principal Sun said, “Rest assured, as a student of our school, we will definitely take responsibility.”

He was very glad that this matter was brought up early.

If it turned out to be true, there might be even bigger problems ahead.

He didn’t believe someone who had their university student identity usurped would just sit back and let it happen. It could lead to quite a storm later on.