Du Liya nearly dropped the bun in her hand. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Her father, Mr. Du, had already finished his meal and was in the living room reading today’s newspaper. Du Liya glanced in her father’s direction, then turned back to her son and said in surprise, "Xiao Yi, what do you mean by that? Every time your Aunt Ji comes over, she’s here to see me."

Shen Yi lowered his gaze slightly. "Oh, then maybe I was mistaken. It must be another woman who’s always coming to see Dad. She just looks a lot like Aunt Ji."

With that, Shen Yi slung his backpack over his shoulder and left.

He knew his mother wouldn’t figure out the truth immediately, but with these hints, she would at least be more vigilant. She wouldn’t be like in his past life, only discovering her husband’s affair as she lay dying.

Of course, this was only the beginning.

"Oh, right, Mom. I’m giving this back to you." Shen Yi tossed the box that Qin Jiao had returned to Du Liya. Du Liya froze. "That girl didn’t take it? I thought her family wasn’t well-off?"

Shen Yi didn’t bother arguing with his mother about her perspective. Based on the time, Qin Jiao should be leaving for school now, so he pushed his bike out the door.

Mr. Du wheeled himself over and said with a faint smile, "That child is hardworking and driven. Of course she wouldn’t accept something so valuable out of the blue. All I’ve done for her and her sister lately is give them a few new kinds of snacks."

He looked up at his daughter and said meaningfully, "For people who covet your money, no matter how much you give them, it will never be enough. But for someone who genuinely cares for you, even a single bite to eat will make them happy."

Du Liya was stunned.

For some reason, her son’s words came back to her—that a woman who looked a lot like Ji Yuehong was always visiting her husband.

Ji Yuehong was her best friend. They had been classmates in high school and had later married men of similar standing. However, Ji Yuehong wasn’t as wealthy as Du Liya, so whenever they went shopping together, Du Liya was always the one who paid.

’So, even after spending so much money on her, is it possible that I haven’t earned her true friendship in return?’

And then Du Liya remembered—Ji Yuehong had a younger cousin named Li Xiaomei, who was said to look just like her...

**

The seniors’ monthly exams were approaching, but first came the school sports meet. The senior class teachers had wanted their students to sit this one out, but the old principal believed that students should have a healthy balance of work and play.

Still, they couldn’t take up too much of the seniors’ time. In the end, they decided on a few major events that seniors could participate in on a voluntary basis.

Boys’ basketball was one of them.

When Jiang Xiaoyue came looking for Qin Jiao with a notebook in her arms, Qin Jiao was in the middle of a math practice test.

Jiang Xiaoyue said cheerfully, "Qin Jiao, let’s go cheer for the guys in our class!"

It wasn’t that Qin Jiao lacked class spirit, but right now, grinding through practice problems was more important to her than anything else. She was just about to refuse when Jiang Xiaoyue clasped her hands together and pleaded, "Please? Let’s all go. Do me a favor, I’m the one in charge of this. The other classes’ cheer squads have matching uniforms, and we can’t even scrape together ten people? That’s just embarrassing, right?"

It clicked for Qin Jiao. Since participation in the sports meet was voluntary for seniors, it meant that anyone not going was trying to use every last second to study.

That was why Jiang Xiaoyue was still struggling to get even a few people for the cheerleading squad.

Qin Jiao stretched. ’She really did need to balance work and rest,’ she thought. ’And it’s just one basketball game. It won’t take that long.’

She nodded. "All right, then. I’ll help you fill a spot."

But when Qin Jiao got to the field, she regretted it.