Volume One, Chapter 8: The Daughter Is the Fierce CEO’s Female Lead, Part 2

After promising his daughter, Shiyan called the school principal upon returning home and asked him to place Jiang Ruoxue and Shen Tingyu in the same class.

He learned successfully that even without his intervention, based on test scores and the students’ interests, Jiang Ruoxue and Shen Tingyu would have been assigned to the same class anyway.

Some things, some bonds between people, are simply unavoidable. Fortunately, the course of events had already changed, and Jiang Ruoxue would not repeat the mistakes of the original story.

On the way home, Shen Tingyu’s father and mother shared with him their plan to have a second child.

“Tingyu, would you be okay if Mom and Dad had another little brother or sister?” his mother asked patiently.

In her heart, she hoped for a daughter to complete the perfect family, but some things are not always within their control.

“Can I have a little sister as adorable as Ruoxue?” Shen Tingyu asked.

“That might be a bit difficult.”

“A little brother is fine too.” Shen Tingyu sighed.

Back in kindergarten, some classmates already had younger siblings, so he had a rough idea of what having a little brother or sister meant.

“Would the little brother be able to play with Ruoxue and me?”

“Of course.”

“If I become a big brother, can I protect my younger siblings?”

“Yes!” Shen Tingyu nodded.

Previously, Tang Bao had said his little brother was so much fun; Shen Tingyu was sure his own little brother would be even more delightful. Then he could play with Ruoxue and the little brother together.

Many children don’t truly understand the meaning of having siblings. To them, a younger brother or sister might seem like a toy—just a better toy that has feelings and can talk. Over time, they gradually come to grasp the true significance of siblings.

*

“Tingyu, can you be a little quicker?” Jiang Ruoxue sat on the wall, genuinely not wanting to drag Shen Tingyu along.

He couldn’t even climb over the wall smoothly, dawdling so much.

“Coming! Coming!” Shen Tingyu took a running start, then leapt, gripping the wall and pushing off hard with both feet.

Watching him, Jiang Ruoxue propped her head on her hand and sighed.

“I really don’t get you. Why can’t you just stay in the classroom and study? With your slow pace, the patrol will be here any second.” Though annoyed, she still grabbed Shen Tingyu’s arm and pulled him up.

With their joint effort, Shen Tingyu finally managed to get over the wall.

“Hey! What are you two doing?” The patrol arrived, having seen Jiang Ruoxue and Shen Tingyu climbing the wall, and ran toward them, trying to catch them.

Jiang Ruoxue quickly moved the foot still inside the wall to the outside, then jumped down with effort. Shen Tingyu imitated her and leapt down as well.

Having trained in martial arts for years, Jiang Ruoxue had the skill and foundation; Shen Tingyu had the height advantage. Both landed safely.

“Let’s go.” Jiang Ruoxue picked up her backpack, which she had tossed on the ground earlier.

“Good thing this isn’t our school; otherwise, we wouldn’t even be able to sneak out.” She brushed the dust off her bag.

Shen Tingyu and Jiang Ruoxue had come to attend a city-wide high school math Olympiad training camp held at City No. 1 High School.

“Ruoxue, why did you sneak out?” Shen Tingyu asked.

“It’s nothing. I just heard there are many snacks near City No. 1 High School and wanted to try them. Don’t you think staring at those math problems all day is exhausting?”

It was seven days straight, from seven in the morning to ten at night. Except for a little over an hour for meals and showers, all the time was spent solving problems and listening to teachers.

She was a bit overwhelmed and needed a break; otherwise, the pressure might affect her performance.

“Yeah, it’s a lot.” Shen Tingyu also disliked the intensity. Their school started classes at nine and ended at three, so the pressure here was completely different.

He wasn’t opposed to studying from morning till night, even for ten hours a day, but doing nothing but math Olympiad problems all day was draining.

“Why is the training camp unified this year? It wasn’t like this before.” Jiang Ruoxue wondered.

“It seems our city’s Olympiad results have been suppressed, stuck in second place for years. The higher-ups want to reverse this, so even private schools like ours have to join the camp.”

“There are five days left, five days more, and this twelve-day camp will be over. When I get home, I’ll make sure to catch up. I’ve already lost quite a bit of weight these days. You too.” Jiang Ruoxue touched her face.

“Want some milk tea?” Shen Tingyu looked toward a nearby milk tea shop.

“Better not; it looks crowded.” Jiang Ruoxue glanced inside and saw it packed with people, abandoning the idea.

“Let’s order first and pick it up later. Ruoxue, are you still having jasmine green tea with 70% sugar and pearls?” Shen Tingyu swiped his phone screen.

“Yeah, jasmine green tea. Wait! Didn’t you have to hand in your phone?” Jiang Ruoxue’s eyes widened.

“I handed in my backup phone.” Shen Tingyu placed the order as requested and also ordered himself a mango coconut smoothie.

“All done. Let’s get some other snacks first and pick up the milk tea later.” Shen Tingyu slipped the phone into his pocket.

“Hey, Shen Tingyu, you knew we had to hand in our phones for the camp, and you didn’t tell me!” Jiang Ruoxue angrily pinched his cheek.

She even tugged twice.

“I thought you knew.” Shen Tingyu gave a pleading smile.

“You know I’m loyal to you! How could I keep secrets from you?” Jiang Ruoxue recalled how, during her rebellious middle school days wanting to be a heroine and recruiting followers, Shen Tingyu had volunteered to be her follower.

“I guess you wouldn’t dare!” Jiang Ruoxue leaned closer and pinched his cheek again.

Looking up, she realized how close they were. Her face flushed; she coughed twice, pretending nothing happened, withdrew her hand, and straightened up.

Still, her reddened face betrayed her feelings.

“I want to buy some fried skewers. Are you eating?” Jiang Ruoxue pointed to a street vendor and walked briskly toward it.

“When did Shen Tingyu get so handsome? And taller too,” she murmured softly.