On the way back, the conversation between the two boys from earlier kept popping into Shu Qingqing's mind.
She made a point to recall the past. Ever since the original owner forced Lu Yu to live on campus, he had been staying at the school even on weekends.
So, was the "Lu Yu" the two boys mentioned earlier the same Lu Yu she knew?
Preoccupied with these thoughts, she did not even eat much for dinner.
When Nanny Li came over to clear the table, she could not help but ask, "Madam, was tonight's dinner not to your liking?"
"No, it was fine," Shu Qingqing shook her head. "By the way, Nanny Li, do you know how Lu Yu gets along with his classmates at school?"
The original owner did not have a good relationship with Lu Yu, and Lu Bochuan was often away on business trips. Furthermore, since Nanny Li had worked for the Lu family for over a decade, school matters were handled half by Lu Yu's grandmother and half by Nanny Li.
Nanny Li answered straightforwardly, "Xiao Yu should be getting along quite well with his classmates. He has good grades and is handsome; the girls in his class all really like him."
Shu Qingqing asked, "What about the boys?"
Nanny Li replied, "The boys should like him too. Xiao Yu is very generous. Have you forgotten? When he was in eighth grade, Xiao Yu went on a trip to Country M with his grandmother. When he came back, he brought gifts for the whole class. I remember it seemed to be earphones, the newly released ones from that Fruit brand phone. They cost around a thousand yuan each, and you could not even buy them domestically at the time. He specially brought them back from Country M."
Shu Qingqing instantly caught the keyword. "Earphones?"
Nanny Li nodded, then suddenly thought of something. "Speaking of which, it reminds me that Xiao Yu's school is holding a parent-teacher meeting this Thursday. The old madam has something else to do that day and told me to go instead. Look at me, I almost forgot."
Shu Qingqing thought for a moment and said, "Nanny Li, let me go this time."
Nanny Li was so surprised that her voice went up an octave. "Madam... you want to attend Xiao Yu's parent-teacher meeting?" It was not an exaggeration on her part; it was mainly because the relationship between this stepmother and stepson had truly been poor in the past.
"Yes." Her intuition told Shu Qingqing that the two boys had been talking about the Lu Yu she knew. It was not that she wanted to be a busybody, but rather that when she was in high school, she had also been falsely accused of stealing.
Because she had grown up in an orphanage, and because she was poor, whenever money went missing in the dorm, she was the first person everyone suspected. It was not a lot of money, just one hundred and thirty yuan. Later, when it simply could not be found, the homeroom teacher took out his own money and gave it to the student who had lost theirs. As for her, right up until her high school graduation, she was never able to find evidence to prove her innocence.
She would never forget the feeling of being wronged.
Since she had no way to ask Lu Yu directly, she figured she could find out more through his homeroom teacher.
On Thursday morning, she arrived at Lu Yu's school on time.
The main purpose of this parent-teacher meeting was to remind parents to pay attention to their students' mental health. Because a freshman boy had nearly attempted suicide due to immense academic pressure, the school had already organized relevant experts to give lectures to the students. Therefore, only parents were participating this time.
After it ended, Shu Qingqing voluntarily stayed behind. She waited until the homeroom teacher had finished dealing with the other parents' questions before walking over.
The homeroom teacher smiled and asked her, "And you are Lu Yu's...?" The people who usually attended the parent-teacher meetings were either Lu Yu's grandmother or his nanny. She had never met Lu Yu's parents, but the woman in front of her was so young, she probably was not his mother.
"Hello, Ms. Zhang, I am Lu Yu's older sister." Before coming, Shu Qingqing had already decided on her identity. Since she did not know how Lu Yu described his family situation at school, it would not be good to say she was his stepmother. Claiming to be his sister was much more convenient.
After speaking, Shu Qingqing put on a distressed expression. "It is like this, Ms. Zhang. When Lu Yu came home this weekend, he was clearly acting off, as if something was weighing on his mind. We asked him, but he refused to say anything, which has us worried sick. The child spends most of his time at school, and nothing major has happened at home, so I wanted to ask you if something happened to him at school?"
Upon hearing this, Ms. Zhang frowned. "Oh, this child, he did not even tell his family? Here is what happened..."
The weather in May had already begun to gradually turn hot. The long recess between classes lasted for twenty minutes, and many students teamed up to go to the campus store to buy drinks.
Zheng Binyang took a sip of orange juice and naturally threw an arm over Lu Yu's shoulder. "By the way, Lu Yu, has Li Xincheng's broken earphone been found yet?"
Lu Yu looked at the sports field and said nothing.
Zheng Binyang pressed, "I am just looking out for you, say something."
Lu Yu swatted the hand off his shoulder in disgust and said flatly, "No idea."
Zheng Binyang clicked his tongue. "How come you care even less than I do? If you ask me, Li Xincheng is deliberately framing you. You are the dignified eldest young master of the Lu family; would you really steal his crappy two-hundred-yuan earphone? He is just jealous that your midterm scores were higher than his again, and that the girl he likes happens to like you. How about this: I will get someone to tie him up and interrogate him. I do not believe he will not tell the truth."
Lu Yu's voice was cold. "Do not mess around. I did not steal his things, so I have a clear conscience."
Zheng Binyang was extremely displeased. "You might not care, but do you know this matter has already spread throughout the entire grade? The girls in our class have not even called you the school idol these past few days. They are saying your character is flawed and want to vote for the class monitor of Class Three as the new school idol. Damn it, if it were not for the fact that you do not want to reveal your identity, I would have told them off ages ago."
Lu Yu shot him a glance. "If you are too bored, go do a couple of practice tests. I will say it again: leave this alone. After a while, it will naturally blow over."
Knowing that his mind would not be easily changed, Zheng Binyang had no choice but to change the subject. "Right, has your dad not come back? You do not have to worry about that stepmother of yours anymore. When are you going to move back home? Living with someone like Li Xincheng, you will eventually run into more trouble."
The more Zheng Binyang spoke, the angrier he got. "If you ask me, it is all your stepmother's fault. If she had not forced you to live on campus, would this crap be happening now?"
Lu Yu lowered his eyes, recalling how Shu Qingqing had brought Lu Xun to see him yesterday. He wondered how much sincerity there was in her telling him to come home.
Seeing him stay silent, Zheng Binyang also dropped the topic. There were too many messy affairs in Lu Yu's family, and Lu Yu did not like talking about his stepmother to begin with, so it was best to just shut up.
On the way back to class, they happened to pass by the school auditorium. He remembered that there seemed to be a parent-teacher meeting today. "By the way, Lu Yu, who came to your parent-teacher meeting today? Your dad just got back, so he must be incredibly busy. It should be your grandmother again, right?"
Lu Yu looked up. He was just about to say that his grandmother did not have time and that Nanny Li came instead, when he caught sight of a beautiful silhouette not far away.
Why did she look so much like Shu Qingqing?
Lu Yu immediately shook his head. It could not be her.
The last period on Thursday afternoon was a study hall.
Normally, no teachers would come over; the students would just study on their own.
But this time, after the bell rang, the homeroom teacher walked in.
"Class, I have an announcement to make." Ms. Zhang held up the earphone in her hand. "Li Xincheng, your earphone has been found. Come up and get it."
