The Yu residence.
Yu Xiaxing was already getting ready for bed at this hour.
Suddenly, her phone buzzed.
She glanced at the screen. Ruan Tian had transferred 27,000 yuan to her.
Yu Xiaxing knew that Ruan Tian had no scruples, and that she had definitely skimmed some of the thirty percent they had agreed on. So when she quoted her price, Yu Xiaxing had deliberately padded it a little above what she actually wanted. Two-tenths would be enough.
After all, she had barely done any work and hadn’t needed to deal with anyone herself. This money was pure profit.
She tapped “Accept,” and the money went straight into her personal account.
No matter how much operating capital she earned in the competition—millions or even tens of millions—it was all project funding. Every expense had to be documented, and even the smallest payment might have to go through an audit process. There was no way to stuff any of it into her own pocket.
She still had to keep fleecing her brothers and sisters!
Only money that made it into her own hands could become her future escape fund!
Once she was eliminated, she would have her severance pay, plus the little nest egg she had saved bit by bit like this. She would find somewhere no one knew her, buy a small house with a courtyard, take Diandian with her, raise two cats, and open a little shop that didn’t open until three in the afternoon.
Now that would be the life.
As for her biological parents…
She wasn’t like the rest of the Yu family. She didn’t believe that people who hadn’t seen each other for twenty years could love each other deeply simply because they shared blood.
If blood ties were really that unbreakable, why were there so many elderly people with children and grandchildren filling their homes, yet when it came time to care for them, every family member pushed the responsibility onto someone else?
So she would try to find her biological parents, if only out of curiosity.
If she found them and they got along, they could live together. If they didn’t, then so be it.
At first, Yu Xiaxing had been afraid of leaving the Yu family. Now, she was beginning to look forward to it.
Once Ruan Tian saw that she had accepted the money, she quickly sent another message.
Ruan Tian: “I told your Fourth Sister about the green-glove incident I investigated earlier, and about the video you took. I can’t wait to see that cheating jerk and his mistress get exposed!”
Ruan Tian: “Your Fourth Sister is a wealthy heiress. Once she starts tearing into them, it should be quite a show, right?”
Ruan Tian: “Let me know when the showdown happens so I can go film it! I’ll sell the footage to the media and make another fortune! I’ll give you thirty percent!”
Yu Xiaxing snorted and replied, “You can forget about it.”
Ruan Tian: “What if I give you fifty percent?”
Yu Xiaxing typed lazily, “It’s not about the money. Obviously, fifty percent is tempting. It’s about Yu Lingyi. She’s famous for always maintaining her dignity.”
Yu Xiaxing: “She’s getting married next month. All her relatives and friends already know, and the wedding invitations have gone out.”
Yu Xiaxing: “Do you really think she’ll dare let a scandal happen at a time like this?”
Ruan Tian: “Seriously? The evidence has practically been shoved in her face, and the wealthy heiress is still going to swallow it?”
Yu Xiaxing: “Exactly. If she ever starred in a show with Su Hao and Qiao Tang, it would definitely be called The Spineless Wife. She’d play the wife who pretends to be asleep beside them.”
Ruan Tian: “I get the feeling you don’t like her very much. Why are you helping her, then?”
Yu Xiaxing: “Helping her? I’m cheating her out of money. A sucker like her can be cheated by that scumbag, and she can be cheated by me too.”
Ruan Tian: “That’s not true. If you really wanted to hurt her, you would have gone straight to the elders. She’s already made such a spectacle of herself—do you really think the Old Master of the Yu family would give her another chance?”
Ruan Tian: “But you didn’t. You only had me ask her for a small sum that means nothing to Fourth Miss Yu, then send her the clues and lead her toward saving herself.”
Ruan Tian: “You really care about this sister of yours. And there was that time you investigated the property management company to save your brother…”
Ruan Tian: “Seventh Miss Yu, it’s rare to see someone in a wealthy family who cares so much about family. You’re always saving your brothers and sisters.”
Yu Xiaxing: “???”
She couldn’t be bothered to explain.
Yu Xiaxing tossed her phone beside her pillow.
She was merely a fake heiress who was racking her brains to bring down the school and waiting to take the severance money and run. How could she possibly have the time to care whether her brothers and sisters lived or died?
—
The next morning.
Yu Xiaxing went downstairs for breakfast.
Yu Zheng was already sitting at the dining table. He was dressed both formally and informally today.
The formal part was the suit.
The informal part was his overall air. His tie hung loose, two buttons at the collar of his shirt were undone, and his sharp features gave him a devil-may-care look. He was sitting there with terrible posture, looking like a street punk.
Yu Xiaxing glanced at him. “Heading out to collect protection money this early?”
Yu Zheng put down his coffee. “What are you talking about? What kind of thing is that to say? I’m a respectable person, all right? Collecting protection money is something gangsters do. Do I look like a gangster?”
Yu Xiaxing pulled out a chair and sat down, then picked up a steamed dumpling.
Yu Zheng had already finished eating. He could have left, but he had deliberately stayed behind to say hello to his sister. Unfortunately, his sister was still treating him with complete indifference.
Ah. When would his tsundere little sister start openly acting spoiled like she had when she was a child?
Unwilling to give up, Yu Zheng tried again. “Sis.”
Yu Xiaxing: “Spit it out.”
Yu Zheng said, “Don’t go spending that ten million recklessly. At this time of year, the school should already be able to start recruiting students for the next semester.”
Yu Xiaxing knew he was only reminding her out of concern, so she waved a hand. “Don’t worry about that.”
Of course she would find a way to lower enrollment.
And she had to keep spending money recklessly.
Besides the short-term assignments occasionally issued by the evaluation committee, the competition also had an important long-term objective: seeing which project’s account balance increased the most by the final settlement.
In her previous life, her account’s revenue had grown by 8,000 percent by the end, earning her first place.
In this life, there absolutely couldn’t be any money left in her account.
Every time money came in, she would spend it. She would make sure the account stayed completely empty.
After finishing breakfast, the siblings each went off to their respective battlefields.
—
St. De’s Academy.
By the time Yu Xiaxing arrived at school, quite a few people on campus were already talking.
“Have you heard? Shen Zhi is at our school!”
“Really? The Shen Zhi who starred in Spring Tide?”
“Most people our age don’t follow an old-school actress like her anymore, but my mom loves her dramas. I’m going to get her autograph for my mom.”
“What is she here for? Is she filming a school drama?”
“I heard the board director wants to establish an arts entrance-exam class and chose her to teach it!”
“What? A celebrity? I don’t think she’ll know how to teach. The class I signed up for has a teacher with thirty years of experience. I definitely won’t apply to our school for this.”
Yu Xiaxing’s lips curled slightly.
This was exactly the effect she wanted.
High school students weren’t interested in an actress like Shen Zhi, who had some old popular works but hardly any current buzz. Most of them followed trending idols.
And they also knew that Shen Zhi had no teaching experience.
The money was being spent for a perfectly legitimate reason, but the result would be that not a single student enrolled.
Perfect!
Yu Xiaxing returned to the office.
As soon as she entered, Lu Yanzhao came in with the director of student affairs.
The director’s surname was Gao. He was in his forties and Principal Wang’s senior disciple.
However, because the quality of his teaching had been poor, he had stopped teaching long ago and become the director of student affairs instead.
Normally, he was responsible for helping the principal maintain discipline and handling communication between the principal and the teachers.
Lu Yanzhao handed over a thick proposal. “Director Yu, the plan for the arts entrance-exam training class is complete, and the assessment committee has approved the related fees.”
Yu Xiaxing flipped through the thick stack of papers. “You completed such a detailed plan in just one night?”
Lu Yanzhao said, “Last night, when some of the teachers learned that we were going to set up an arts entrance exam prep class, they were all very supportive and volunteered to work overtime to help.”
The director hurriedly nodded. “That’s right, Board Director Yu. We’re all very supportive. This way, students at the school who plan to take the arts entrance exam won’t have to attend outside programs. However, there is one important thing I think you handled incorrectly, and that is…”
Yu Xiaxing had no intention of listening to anyone nitpick. She frowned slightly and turned to Lu Yanzhao. “What’s wrong with you?”
“…” Lu Yanzhao could clearly tell that she was angry, but for a moment, he had no idea what he had done wrong.
