"Did you hear that!" The principal felt that Si Nian was magnanimous, while Director Li, who should have been the magnanimous one, seemed rather petty.
It was truly embarrassing.
Director Li's face paled, saying she heard.
She was so angry she could almost vomit blood, but she didn't dare say anything, she could only hold it in.
Her old illness nearly flared up again.
That damned Si Nian, who knows what's going on, even the vice principal and the principal speak up for her. She must be relying on her pretty face, that fox-spirit, seducing people!
If everyone knew her true circumstances, she didn't believe anyone would still help her!
...
Class A, Fourth Grade.
"Hey! This is the candy my mom told me to give you, she said don't be angry anymore."
The chubby little girl, Yuanyuan, waited until class was over. Seeing Zhou Zedong still scribbling away at his desk, she really couldn't understand what was so fun about writing.
Hesitantly, she placed a pack of White Rabbit milk candies on his desk.
Zhou Zedong ignored her. In the classroom, apart from attending class and using the restroom, he never went out to play. When idle, he read books or did homework.
That way, he could do more things when he got home.
He didn't like the other kids in class either, always chattering noisily, jumping around, not knowing what they really wanted to express.
Couldn't understand it.
Didn't want to interact either.
He just knew he didn't want to become someone like that.
Seeing him ignore her again, Yuanyuan was at her wit's end.
She couldn't understand how there could be such a strange person.
If it were any other classmate, they would have happily accepted the candy already.
This person didn't even glance at it, acting like an adult. Was he even a child?
Yuanyuan scratched her head, thinking of her mother's words, and pushed the candy a bit closer to him again.
But this time, she used a pencil to push it.
She didn't dare get too close.
Afraid this fierce deskmate would get angry again.
The way he was yesterday was too scary.
She even had a nightmare last night.
"Little Dong, I'll give you all my candy, please don't be angry. I promise I'll never snatch your food again." She pointed at the candy. "Look, these are White Rabbit milk candies, they're really delicious, honestly. My little sister asked for them, and I didn't even give her any."
"My mom said we're deskmates, we should get along peacefully and be good friends. This is my token of goodwill..." Yuanyuan stammered out words she herself barely understood.
Zhou Zedong paused, finally willing to stop writing and tilted his head to take a look.
A small pack of White Rabbit milk candies.
"The candy, I've received it." He reached out and took the candy. "Take your token of goodwill back."
Yuanyuan: "..."
...
Perhaps the principal's warning had an effect.
For several days in a row, Li Fenghua and Li Fengxian would take a detour whenever they saw Si Nian.
Now, Si Nian's image in everyone's eyes grew even more impressive.
Si Nian didn't really mind.
Her teaching schedule was relatively light, with main subjects mostly in the morning.
There were very few classes in the afternoon.
She could go home early every day.
Coincidentally, the formula milk at home had run out.
Yaoyao had grown quite a bit, and Si Nian thought she could stop preparing formula milk; it was troublesome anyway.
Might as well go buy some regular milk, walnuts, and such.
Convenient and healthy.
Just as she reached her doorstep carrying the groceries, she ran into Zhang Cuimei who had come looking for her.
Si Nian frowned. Whenever either of the Si couple showed up, it was never good news.
But it was strange.
The couple, who were usually inseparable wherever they went, had come alone twice in a row now.
Zhang Cuimei stood at the doorway, staring at the large house for a long while.
It took her a good while to snap out of it.
In that moment, she suddenly understood why her husband was so biased towards Si Nian.
She was living the high life now, not only working as a teacher but also living in such a big house in the city.
And to think they had felt so guilty back when they made her marry down to the countryside.
Who could have imagined that in just half a year, her life would be so comfortable.
It wasn't until Si Nian walked over holding Yaoyao's hand that Zhang Cuimei came back to her senses.
Though her expression wasn't great.
The first thing she noticed was the milk in Si Nian's hand.
She had seen this brand of milk before; some children and elderly in the military housing compound drank it.
Extremely expensive.
She couldn't bring herself to buy it.
Zhang Cuimei felt even more sour inside.
However, thinking of her purpose for coming, Zhang Cuimei's eyes darted around, and she took the initiative to greet her.
"Si Nian, you're back. And you bought such expensive milk. Were you planning to visit us?"
"No."
Si Nian said flatly, "This is for the child. Uncle and Aunt, you're not so old that you need these nutritional supplements yet, are you?"
Zhang Cuimei's face darkened. She had hoped to conveniently get something to take back, but this adopted daughter didn't give her any face at all.
Forget it, it's just milk, nothing special.
She smoothed her hair and said with a sigh, "Your uncle is busy all day at the military base, it's exhausting. His health hasn't been great lately. Plus, with Sisi suffering in prison, the worry has made him ill..."
"Aunt, what did you come to see me for?" Si Nian interrupted, not wanting to waste time.
Zhang Cuimei gritted her teeth, feeling very aggrieved, and began explaining.
"Si Nian, ever since Sisi's incident, your father has changed. Not only did he argue with me some time ago, but he's also been staying away from home a lot lately. He was never like this before!"
Zhang Cuimei sighed with worry. She was genuinely concerned this time, otherwise she wouldn't have come to find Si Nian.
She had originally resented Si Nian, after all, what she did to Sisi was so harsh.
But now there was no choice; her husband's change had made Zhang Cuimei panic.
She never had a son, something she was always criticized for, and her in-laws never treated her well.
But her husband had never said anything about it and was quite good to her. Everyone envied her.
Especially when Si Nian was around, she was truly one of the most admired mothers in the housing compound back then.
But now everything had changed.
Her husband's former promises seemed to have vanished as well.
With Lin Sisi in prison, her husband looked down on her; she held no value in his eyes anymore.
She didn't dare imagine what her husband might do.
That's why she had no choice but to seek out Si Nian.
Si Nian raised an eyebrow, a flicker of understanding in her eyes.
She hadn't thought much of it at first, but hearing Mrs. Si's words reminded her of some plot points.
In the novel, regarding Lin Sisi letting the wolf in through the door—the Liu Dongdong incident.
Liu Dongdong, as the third female supporting character, not only schemed against Lin Sisi but also nearly caused Si's Father to have an affair with her sister, almost breaking the Si family apart.
Of course, being just a supporting character, she naturally couldn't win against Lin Sisi, and Lin Sisi would never let such a thing happen.
So, in the end, the attempt to rise in status failed.
But now Lin Sisi was gone, yet the plot seemed to be developing in an orderly fashion.
This Liu Dongdong was really something.
