The school-organized activity sounded boring, but the parents had no objections. Through such activities, their children could make different friends and lay a solid foundation for the future.
Several school buses drove onto the main road one after another.
Li Xiaoya sat in the "first-class seat" eagerly offered by her classmates. While fastening her seatbelt, she listened to them discussing what food they had brought.
"Our family chef made snowflake beef and crispy duck."
"We had a five-star restaurant chef prepare black truffle salt-baked chicken, foie gras golden congee, and runny yolk green rice balls."
"Our dishes are from the Black Pearl restaurant, including chicken juice mini fried buns, longan cold shrimp, and braised goose."
...
Every dish sounded better and more normal than Li Xiaoya's.
"I wanted to bring two chefs along."
"My mom wanted me to bring one too, but the school said it's not allowed. My mom said the school has issues, always fussing about cultivating independence. I won't need to be independent when I grow up anyway, I can just hire chefs and servants."
The classmates continued chattering.
Li Xiaoya suddenly asked, "Didn't your parents make the food?"
"Huh?" Everyone was taken aback. Their instinct was to mock her, but they quickly remembered that Li Xiaoya was now their boss, so they swallowed their ridicule and honestly replied, "That's what the school says, but they won't care if our family chefs made it. It's just a formality."
Li Xiaoya: "..."
Now she really regretted it.
Li Xiaoya put her thermos on the table and said, "Mine is exotic cuisine. Do you want to exchange with me?"
"Sure, sure!"
After arriving at the activity site, they first visited an ice sculpture exhibition, then participated in ice skating.
Afterward, the teacher organized them for a picnic on the outdoor lawn.
Although it was called an outdoor lawn, it wasn't cold.
Hot air continuously gushed out of large machines, covering the entire lawn.
Although the heat would quickly dissipate due to the open space, it didn't matter; the machines just kept running at full power.
The nearby swimming pool was also constantly heated, steaming with hot air.
This was the extravagance of the rich.
The other children were already used to it, only Li Xiaoya's expression changed from curiosity to a frown.
At this time, the others eagerly came over to exchange food with Li Xiaoya.
This way, Li Xiaoya obtained their crispy duck, braised goose, fried buns...
They were also happy, but when they opened the thermos, they looked at each other in confusion: "What a strange smell..."
"But Li Xiaoya's father is so impressive, the chef he hired must be amazing too!"
They said as they picked up their chopsticks to try.
A moment later.
"Yuck..."
They opened their mouths but swallowed their words.
Now Li Xiaoya was the boss, and her father was terrifying. If they spat it out, would she think they were challenging her authority?
Wuwuwu.
They tearfully took two more bites, but it was really too awful to eat.
The teacher came over and asked, "What's wrong?"
They said, "Not hungry, not hungry, we're full."
Li Xiaoya sat at the end, taking a bite of the fried bun. It was fragrant and crispy, not softened from being in the box, with chicken juice filling her mouth, very delicious.
Li Xiaoya tilted her head and thought.
Following Ke Muning, she seemed to have become a little bit naughty.
Not far away, Li Qingqing was shocked.
It was one thing for Li Xiaoya to attend an elite school... but these little rich kids were actually surrounding her like Sheng Yuxiao did!
Why?
They even contributed their own food to Li Xiaoya!
Shouldn't it be like in TV dramas? They should look down on her for coming from a mountain village, hate her for not knowing any upper-class etiquette, she should struggle to keep up with the elite school curriculum, even the teachers would belittle her... then she would be isolated, mocked, even bullied at school!
Isn't that how it always happens in TV dramas?
Li Qingqing found it hard to accept that the real plot was so different.
She felt uncomfortable, so she wanted to make Li Jiang uncomfortable too.
"Uncle Li Jiang, Little Ya is really popular, isn't she? She's always surrounded by people. I don't think you'll have a chance to reunite with her. Why don't you just turn yourself in?"
"She is very popular, a bit beyond my expectations," Li Jiang sighed.
At this moment, a fifth-grader suddenly ran up to Li Xiaoya.
The little third-grade radishes immediately became alert: "What does he want?"
The boy handed Li Xiaoya an exquisite box of pastries and said, "Young Master Mu asked me to give this to you."
The little radishes' eyes widened: "Wow!"
"Li Xiaoya, you're so amazing."
Li Xiaoya was completely confused.
Why? Could getting beaten up lead to affection?
The fifth-grader quickly ran back to his own class, looking eager for praise: "I gave the pastries my family made to that Li Xiaoya in third grade. I even said it was from you!"
Young Master Mu's face darkened: "Why did you give her anything?"
The boy shrank his neck: "But, but you said you liked her, so I..." He couldn't understand why his attempt at flattery had backfired.
Mu Bai could only swallow the rest of his words.
What could he do?
He had said it himself.
With a stiff face, he patted his little follower's shoulder and said, "Next time... next time let me deliver it myself."
The follower suddenly understood and immediately started flattering again: "Young Master Mu is right!"
Now that even the fifth-graders were sending food to Li Xiaoya, she became even more eye-catching.
These elementary school students looked curiously and admiringly in Li Xiaoya's direction. Although it was just among a bunch of little kids, it could be considered the focus of attention.
It seemed even harder for Li Jiang to see Li Xiaoya face to face now.
He looked at Li Qingqing: "You go."
Only then did Li Qingqing realize her role. Her face changed: "Me? I can't go."
Once Sheng Yuxiao and Qin Sui, those two young masters, found out, she would be finished!
"If you want to get benefits... you have to pay a price," Li Jiang said coldly. "What Li Xiaoya has now is more than you can imagine. If you want a piece of the pie, instead of looking up at her from the mud for the rest of your life, then go."
Li Qingqing glared at him, but finally walked towards Li Xiaoya.
Li Qingqing was also a child, so her actions didn't attract anyone's attention.
"Little Ya," she called timidly as she approached.
"Who's she?" The children around Li Xiaoya glared at Li Qingqing.
They were all smaller than Li Qingqing.
But perhaps because they were all from rich families and used to ordering people around, when they stared at Li Qingqing, it actually made her feel a bit intimidated.
Li Xiaoya asked puzzledly, "Why are you here? Shouldn't you have gone back to Li Family Village?"
Li Qingqing said with a bitter face, "I don't want to leave. Can you help me?"
"No."
"What if... I have something of your mother's?"
Li Xiaoya's eyes flickered. She looked at Li Qingqing and asked, "Did you find someone to kidnap me?"
Li Qingqing hurriedly waved her hands: "How could that be possible?"
"You sound like you're trying to lure me now."
At this point, the children around were already clamoring: "Is she some kind of bad guy?"
"She must be one of those poor relatives who came looking for money!"
"Let's go find the teacher!"
"No, we should call the police!"
Li Qingqing looked panicked.
She didn't know how Li Xiaoya's brain could work so well... she had never noticed before! Well... she had rarely interacted with the dirty Li Xiaoya before.
But Li Xiaoya stopped their actions: "Don't shout. Be quiet."
These kids actually obediently stopped.
Then Li Xiaoya looked at her and asked, "You need to tell the truth. Maybe after I consider it, I'll choose to listen to you."
Li Qingqing had no choice but to say, "Your father is here."
The children immediately shrank back in fear and started chattering: "Your father is here?"
"Where, where? Let's not see uncle, okay?"
Fully demonstrating their psychological trauma from Ke Muning.
Li Qingqing found this inexplicable.
Why were they afraid of Li Jiang?
Of course, Li Xiaoya knew who the "father" in Li Qingqing's mouth was.
She paused for a moment and said, "Let's go."
Now it was Li Qingqing's turn to be stunned.
It was... that easy?
After much thought, Li Qingqing could only come up with one reason—Li Xiaoya was, after all, still just a little kid. No matter how smart she was, she was still a child. Unlike Li Qingqing, who had been reborn, children naturally crave fatherly love. Especially since Li Jiang, despite being a jerk, had always been good to Li Xiaoya before he left, and had painted a rosy picture of the future when he departed.
It was something along the lines of, "Daddy's going out to make money to support you."
So it was perfectly normal for Li Xiaoya to want to see him!
"Well... let's go then," Li Qingqing said, turning to lead the way.
She had no idea what kind of formidable presence she was about to encounter.
