The Class Teacher's gaze was exceptionally firm, as if she were taking an oath under a red flag.
The Class Teacher nodded, confirming, "That's exactly right. I'll add you to our small group chat soon. Remember, sharing is a traditional virtue of the Chinese people. When you come across any gossip, be sure to share it with your classmates."
Entering a new school and class, surrounded by a group of rich second-generation students, Song Ying was initially quite anxious, fearing her classmates might be difficult to get along with. The internet was often filled with negative news about the behavior of rich kids.
However, her nervous feelings were quickly overshadowed by the Class Teacher's shocking revelation. In an instant, she found herself thrust into a different kind of chaos.
After returning to the classroom with the Class Teacher, Song Ying was added to the group chat. As a new member joined, there was a notification message.
Upon Song Ying's entry, she received a warm welcome, with everyone congratulating her on being able to hear Shi Li's inner thoughts as well.
Song Ying thought to herself: They're really committed to this act.
She scanned the group members list and indeed, Shi Li wasn't part of the chat.
There were no secrets in the class; everyone knew that Song Ying was Shi Li's uncle's stepdaughter.
Song Ying had expected her classmates to mock this complicated relationship, but to her surprise, they were all envious of her connection to Shi Li.
Everyone's focus wasn't on Song Ying's mother, who had remarried into a wealthy family with a child, but on the fact that Song Ying could frequently interact with Shi Li. They insisted that if she ever heard Shi Li discussing any gossip in her thoughts, she must share it with everyone in the group.
Then the group flooded the chat with a "hungry" emoji.
These people were acting so convincingly that Song Ying was almost starting to believe them.
Despite the Class Teacher's presence in the group, the class president remained the most mentally mature person among them all.
He said, "You might not believe what the Class Teacher said, but that's okay. Time will prove everything. You just need to watch patiently. Sometimes Shi Li gets distracted in class and says some strange things. You just need to wait and see."
Song Ying thought to herself that if she could hear Shi Li's inner voice today, she would never doubt it again.
So she paid extra attention to Shi Li's behavior that day, wanting to confirm the authenticity of being able to hear inner thoughts.
To Song Ying's anticipation, Shi Li was particularly attentive in class that day. She didn't think about her "Yun He brother" during the lesson, nor did she internally respond to the teachers' comments.
The class president: Well, that backfired.
Though proven wrong, the class president refused to admit it. He just told Song Ying to keep waiting patiently, saying that triggering Shi Li's inner voice required some luck.
Apart from the Class Teacher's bomb attack early in the morning, Song Ying's first day at the new school went quite well, much better than she had expected.
The teachers and classmates were all friendly. Although the teaching style was different from her previous school, Song Ying could accept it and keep up with the progress.
After school, Shi Li was responsible for taking Song Ying home.
Sitting in the car, Song Ying looked embarrassed.
"Sister, thank you for taking me to school on my first day. From now on, I can go to and from school by myself. There's no need for you to pick me up and make the driver take such a long detour."
Of course, Shi Li couldn't possibly pick her up and drop her off every day, spending at least an extra hour on the road.
She nodded and said, "Of course. From now on, you can have Uncle Bai drive you to and from school. Uncle Bai is an experienced driver, he's very skilled."
Uncle Bai was Shi's Grandmother's driver. Shi's Grandmother rarely went out, and even when she did, she wouldn't choose to go out during the morning and evening rush hours. This schedule worked perfectly with Song Ying's school times, making Uncle Bai the most suitable person to drive her.
Hearing Shi Li suggest that the mansion's driver should take her, Song Ying quickly waved her hands, "No need, I can take the bus to school myself."
Hearing Song Ying's words from the back seat, the driver couldn't help but laugh.
[What a joke, there's no bus that goes directly to the hillside villas]
At this point, Song Ying had completely forgotten about the notion of hearing Shi Li's inner thoughts. She just assumed it was something Shi Li had said out loud.
"If there's no bus, I can ride a bicycle to school. I'm very fast on a bike."
Shi Li turned her head to look at her, "It takes twenty minutes to drive to school. Guess how long it would take you to cycle?"
Song Ying's big eyes curved into a smile, with a hint of mischief, "That's easy to solve then. I can ride an electric scooter to school. Cars easily get stuck in traffic jams, but electric scooters don't."
Shi Li fell silent. It was rare for anyone to render her speechless. After a while, she squeezed out a sentence, "Your mind works really fast."
Song Ying thought Shi Li was complimenting her. She shyly puffed out her chest, "Thank you for the praise."
This really threw Shi Li off balance.
She could only dryly say, "You're welcome."
Having never interacted with her in her previous life, Shi Li discovered for the first time that Song Ying was quite an adorable girl.
Since they had arrived at the old mansion, Shi Li got out of the car with Song Ying, intending to visit Shi's Grandmother as well.
The sunset was particularly beautiful. Shi's Grandmother was dozing in a rocking chair by the floor-to-ceiling window, with a tablet silently playing videos in front of her.
The sound of the front door opening woke the old lady. Shi's Grandmother noticed she had fallen asleep, and the video had moved on to the next episode. She reached out to pause it.
As the TV drama's sound stopped, her granddaughter's crisp voice came through, "Grandma, I'm back from school!"
Shi's Grandmother turned her head to see a young and beautiful face, "Ah Li has come to see Grandma."
Shi's Grandmother stood up from the rocking chair and asked Sister Cui to wash some fruit for Shi Li to eat. "Are you hungry? Sister Cui bought some very sweet strawberries today. Have some before you start your homework."
Shi Li had originally planned to just drop Song Ying off and leave, but now it seemed she would be staying for dinner at the old mansion.
But when the old lady wanted Shi Li to stay, Shi Li couldn't refuse, "I am a bit hungry actually. Let me taste if Sister Cui's strawberries are as sweet as she says."
Sister Cui smiled as she brought over the freshly washed strawberries, placing them in front of Shi Li and Song Ying. Shi Li, being family, didn't stand on ceremony. Sister Cui encouraged Song Ying, "Little Ying, you try some too. I'm particularly good at picking fruit."
The large, red strawberries looked expensive, and Song Ying felt too shy to reach for them. So she said, "I'm not hungry, so I won't eat any."
Although this was Hong Yan's daughter, Shi's Grandmother didn't dislike this well-mannered girl. She said, "Even if you're not hungry, have a taste. You young girls all like fruit. It's good for beauty and health, you should eat more."
Shi Li pushed the fruit in her hand towards Song Ying's mouth, "Eat up, eat up. Otherwise, Grandma and Sister Cui will be upset."
The originally harmonious atmosphere was interrupted by a woman's voice, "Ah Li, don't persuade her. This girl has a lowly fate, she doesn't deserve to eat good things."
A fleeting shadow of sadness crossed Song Ying's face. She took two steps back, "Thank you for your kindness. I'll go do my homework now."
Hong Yan's appearance had soured the mood. Shi's Grandmother's expression darkened, her dislike for Hong Yan barely concealed.
[As long as Song Ying lives for three more years, she'll be recognized by her birth parents]
[I'd like to make a reservation for the 'Dragon King returns to slap the adoptive mother's face' plot]
