Extra 5-8: If From school uniform to wedding dress (Part 8)

When Tao Sheng pushed the door open, her grandparents were sitting by the window, drinking tea.

When Mr. Luo saw Tao Sheng, he waved her over. He smiled and asked, “How are your studies? Are you having any problems? The director of the experimental department at No. 1 Middle School is my former student. If you’re having trouble, let me know, and I can ask him to arrange a tutor.”

Luo Xin said proudly, “Don’t worry. Tao Sheng ranked first in the school’s art category during the mid-term exam and is also in the top 20 in the grade.”

The two grandparents were surprised. They didn’t expect Tao Sheng, an art student, to have such great results.

Then, Luo Xin pointed to Ji Yanming and said, “This is Jia Jia’s child. Since transferring here, he’s been the top student in D City. He’s been helping Tao Sheng with her studies lately, and that’s why her grades are so good.”

When Su Jia asked Ji Yanming to help Tao Sheng with her homework, Tao Sheng thought it was a joke. After all, Ji Yanming is a science student, and Tao Sheng studies liberal arts. She didn’t think he would have time or knowledge to help her.

But Tao Sheng soon realized she was wrong. She didn’t know how strong Ji Yanming was academically. Even though he was a science student, he was good at liberal arts too.

This week, Su Jia had to fly to Province G for work. Luo Xin had just returned from a business trip in Europe, so she took charge. She let Ji Yanming stay at her house and promised Su Jia she would take care of him just like she had done for Tao Sheng.

But Luo Xin wasn’t a good cook. After failing twice, she decided to stop and started ordering food from hotels. She would ask Ji Yanming to come over for meals every day.

Tao Sheng thought it would be easier to divide one meal and have it delivered to Ji Yanming downstairs. But Luo Xin insisted Ji Yanming come upstairs every time. She wanted to keep her promise to take care of him.

When Mr. Luo heard Ji Yanming was Su Jia’s son and helping Tao Sheng with her studies, he liked Ji Yanming more and treated him like his own child.

_

Shen Yue saw a business partner he hadn’t seen in a while and went over to say hello.

Shen Yu returned later, but his face showed signs of frustration and unwillingness. No one knew why.

Shen Ruojin came over and asked softly why he looked upset, wanting to comfort him.

But Shen Yu said unhappily, “The family has supported you for years. It’s time to give something back. If you worked harder like other children, I wouldn’t have to worry about small things like this.”

Shen Ruojin was disappointed and forced a smile. “Mrs. Guan, who has always had a good relationship with our family, is here too. I’ll go greet her.”

Recently, Shen Ruojin found out that Mrs. Guan had held her hand and spoken to her warmly not because she thought highly of her, but because she was just being polite.

Mrs. Guan was a well-known figure in the circle of wives, and she treated these young girls similarly. The only exception was her treatment of Miss Li, the daughter of the richest man in City D. It seemed like she was trying to match her with Guan Muyun.

Tao Sheng stood next to Mrs. Guan for a while, then saw several ladies come over to talk to her.

One of Mrs. Guan’s cousins, Mrs. Lu, mentioned Guan Muyun’s recent situation.

“I heard Mu Yun and Zhong Jingqiu broke up, and it was a big deal. Even Ran Ran knew about it.”

Mrs. Guan sighed. “Miss Zhong is independent. Mu Yun’s family urged her to come back, but she stayed in France. Mu Yun has to return to manage the family business, so he couldn’t follow her. But Mu Yun is sincere. He’s been upset for months over Miss Zhong.”

Shen Ruojin quickly understood:

Zhong Jingqiu and Guan Muyun broke up, and Zhong chose to stay in France. It seemed like there was no chance for them to be together. Guan Muyun was still heartbroken and hadn’t gotten over it yet…

Shen Ruojin’s mind started racing.

At the same time, Tao Sheng pulled Ji Yanming downstairs, and a tall boy approached them.

Though they were about the same age, he was wearing a tuxedo and had his hair neatly combed. He seemed to have dressed up for the party.

Tao Sheng didn’t know this person, but the boy obviously knew Ji Yanming. After greeting him briefly, he teased Ji Yanming, saying he had wanted to invite him and his friends to hang out for a month but couldn’t make it. He jokingly said that if people with good grades have to study hard at home, they don’t have much of a life.

Tao Sheng couldn’t help but smile at his words and body language, which made the situation more entertaining.

Seeing that the other boy’s arm was about to hit his face, Ji Yanming frowned and took a step back. “Next time, I’ll come if you can meet in a more normal place.”

“What’s abnormal about this? Those are all very formal stores! Anyway, last time you said your phone was broken. I was in City N, so I got it fixed and was going to give it to you, but you didn’t want it. You’re not normal if you can survive two weeks without a phone.”

Tao Sheng couldn’t help but ask, “He went to City N to bring you a phone, and you didn’t want it?”

Ji Yanming replied, “I didn’t think it was necessary, so I didn’t ask him to deliver it.”

“But it’s really inconvenient.” Tao Sheng clearly didn’t accept the excuse. “During the training camp, you couldn’t even buy water without waiting for me to pay.”

Before Ji Yanming could respond, someone nearby said in surprise: “You are Luo Tao Sheng, right? You’re so pretty. I knew that the girl Ji Yanming always talked about must be special. You paid for him, so why would he need a phone?”

Before the person could finish, his mother grabbed him and said, “Why are you running off? Come meet Uncle Song. Don’t delay.”

The boy tried to turn around and shouted at Tao Sheng: “He likes you, can’t you tell?”

…

Although there’s only a one-year difference between second and third-year high school, it feels like two entirely different worlds.

In the second year, students are still active in clubs and activities, but by the third year, it’s all about studying and preparing for exams.

Tao Sheng was with the class monitor, picking up review materials, and ran into Liang Ting, the study committee member from Class 3.

Liang Ting is well known at school. He has a column in the school newspaper and has won many literary competitions. He’s a popular figure.

The monitor suddenly whispered to Tao Sheng, “He was the first to spread rumors about Ji Yanming being from a single-parent family, saying they were poor. The Class 8 monitor even helped Ji Yanming apply for a poverty subsidy, but it failed, and Ji Yanming lost face.”

They didn’t speak loud, but Liang Ting overheard. He approached Tao Sheng and explained, “I heard his parents were separated for a long time, and his mom is unemployed. Plus, he walks home alone, unlike other students who get picked up. Why else would he transfer here if not because of money?”

He painted a sad picture of Ji Yanming’s life.

Tao Sheng sighed, “His family isn’t like that, so don’t spread rumors. But with your imagination, you could probably become a best-selling author.”

Liang Ting asked in disbelief: “How do you know I’m wrong?”

Tao Sheng replied, “His parents were separated for work reasons, and they moved back to Province W for the same reason. His neighborhood is Fenglinyuan, just two blocks from the school. So, stop talking nonsense.”

At that moment, the teacher gave the review materials to Tao Sheng and the class monitor.

They left without saying anything more to Liang Ting.

Afterward, the monitor whispered that Liang Ting was probably jealous of Ji Yanming. He used to be the most popular at school, but after Ji Yanming came, he lost his top ranking and popularity.

While they were talking, Tao Sheng heard someone calling out “classmate.” It was Liang Ting again.

Tao Sheng blushed, feeling like she was caught doing something wrong.

The monitor was calm, like this happened often. “What’s the matter?”

Liang Ting seemed unsure, but finally asked Tao Sheng: “Are you in a relationship with Ji Yanming?”

Tao Sheng glanced at him suspiciously: “Who told you that?”

“You two go in and out together every day. He picks you up and takes you to school. He copies your notes and buys you milk tea. You’ve been to the capital together a few times…” Liang Ting said.

Tao Sheng was surprised: “You know all this?”

Liang Ting responded confidently: “I just do.”

Seeing his firm expression, Tao Sheng got a bad feeling: “It’s not true, so don’t spread lies.”

But Liang Ting still looked unconvinced: “Then why is he so special to you?”

This question seemed familiar.

Tao Sheng remembered asking Ji Yanming the same thing before.

Ji Yanming didn’t answer directly. Instead, he took her to his room and opened a bookcase.

Inside were all her music records that he had collected, some of which were rare and out of print.

He had also saved her blog, and judging by the comments, he was a big fan of hers.

Tao Sheng felt surprised: “When did you find out?”

She hadn’t used her real name for the music or blog, so how did Ji Yanming know?

“I knew when I saw you play the zither at Chairman Xiao’s birthday party,” he said. “I’ve always been interested in new material research, influenced by my father. I’m talented but still learning. When I met Xiao Ze through my dad’s friend and helped him with research, I was stuck. One day, I heard your song ‘Dawn’ at a convenience store.”

“That was my entry in the competition a few years ago,” Tao Sheng said. “It was quite niche, and later Chairman Xiao liked it and had it released as a single. But it wasn’t widely sold.”

It felt like fate that Ji Yanming found it.

He later bought Tao Sheng’s album and found new ideas. After upgrading his equipment, he got great results.

Tao Sheng now understood why Ji Yanming always seemed to know her preferences.

It turns out, if someone gets along with you well, they’ve probably been watching you closely without you realizing.

Seeing that Liang Ting was still waiting for his answer, Tao Sheng said to the gossipy Class 3 student councillor with a serious face: “Actually, he is my fan, a die-hard fan.”

_

After Tao Sheng’s eighteenth birthday, the first city-wide joint examination for senior high school students, known as the “first mock exam,” was held. This exam was the first major test for high school students.

Following the usual tradition, a parent meeting was held for the entire grade after the first mock exam.

This year was no different.

After the parent-teacher meeting, Tao Sheng and Luo Xin walked out the door and bumped into Sang Fei, Shen Yu, and Shen Ruojin’s family of three.

Although Tao Sheng hadn’t met Shen Ruojin for some time, she had heard many rumors about her. Shen Ruojin had always been the center of attention at school. 

For instance, after studying for two years in the bilingual class of the International Department, where over 80% of students went abroad for their studies, Shen Ruojin gave up all her plans for studying abroad. She transferred to the Experimental Department to take the college entrance exam in China—all because of a man.

This man was Guan Muyun, who had just returned from studying abroad and joined the Guan family’s company.

It was said that during a cocktail party at Guan’s house, Shen Ruojin went out to get her coat. It was raining heavily at that time, and she accidentally ran into Guan Muyun’s arms with an innocent look. That’s when they started their love affair.

This was also why Shen Ruojin gave up studying abroad and stayed in the city.

When rivals meet, they can be extremely jealous. Shen Yu had been praising Luo Xin recently. Sang Fei walked ahead, her chin lifted in a smug manner.

“My husband, Master Guan, told us when he visited that Ruojin is still in school and we can’t involve her too much. After she graduates from high school, we will get engaged. Many girls from the Li and Chen families wanted to marry into the Guan family, but they all failed. Ruojin was different from them since she was young. Many biological daughters would have traded places with her, but she’s an adopted daughter.”

Shen Yu truly believed Shen Ruojin had done well. Once she married into the Guan family, especially after getting engaged to Guan Muyun, she wouldn’t have to worry about money or the family’s property for years.

But since Shen Yu knew about Tao Sheng’s connection to the Xiao family, he looked at Tao Sheng, his biological daughter, with pride. She was truly a remarkable daughter.

He initially agreed with Sang Fei’s words, but couldn’t stand the way Tao Sheng replied later.

“Both of our children are good, naturally. Tao Sheng, you are part of the Shen family. It’s not good for you to live with your mother all the time. She’s always busy with work and travels all over the country. She has no time for you. Now that you’re preparing for the college entrance exam, you must take it seriously. You should come back home. Aunt Sang Fei can take care of you. Ruojin will help you, your brother will protect you, and I hear that your grandmother has been looking for you.”

Tao Sheng found this all very familiar and suddenly had an idea. “Mr. Shen, is your email address from Yahoo? The one with your name and company abbreviation?”

“Yes.”

“No wonder,” Tao Sheng smiled meaningfully. “I think Mr. Shen has sent me these exact words many times, so they sound familiar today.”

“Have you read them?” Shen Yu asked.

“Not really,” Tao Sheng shook her head. “They were finally identified as spam by my email system and placed in the recycle bin.”

Shen Yu could tell Tao Sheng wasn’t being serious. “What do you mean?”

“Even the email system knows there’s no need to say these words to me, so I put them in the recycle bin,” Tao Sheng smiled. “As Mrs. Shen said, Mr. Shen should spend more time on his adopted daughter, who he values more than his biological daughters, and stop wasting time on me.”