The banquet was over. Sheng Mumu was holding Qi Mo's arm as they walked out of the venue.
As soon as they were out of everyone else's sight, Sheng Mumu retracted her hand and kept some distance from Qi Mo.
When not in front of others, there was no need to keep up the act.
"Are we going back in the same car or separately?"
Sheng Mumu asked in a casual, relaxed tone, with a hint of "finally off work" delight.
The lingering warmth on the inside of his arm felt unfamiliar, making Qi Mo a little distracted.
He loosened his tie with long, slender fingers and said softly:
"Together."
The car slowly drove towards Xiyu Yueding.
Considerate driver Wang raised the privacy screen, giving some personal space to his boss and madam in the backseat.
The backseat of the luxury car was very spacious. Sitting there made the man's legs look even longer.
The streetlights outside shone in, illuminating his chiseled side profile even more handsomely.
Sheng Mumu looked away, stunned by Qi Mo's visual attack.
To avoid the awkwardness of being alone with her "fake husband", she conspicuously picked up her phone.
But she had just left the banquet, and there were already many reports about her online.
- "Wow, Mrs. Qi is so beautiful, she could totally become a celebrity!"
- "What a perfect match, a talent among men and a beauty among women!"
- "The person above didn't say it right. He's talented, rich, good-looking AND kind-hearted!!!"
- "Hahaha, I admire them so much. Mr. Qi and Mrs. Qi look so in love."
- "I can't even imagine how gorgeous their child would look if they have one. Hurry and have a baby!"
Seeing the words "have a baby", Sheng Mumu choked.
A thought suddenly popped into her head.
Was Qi Mo going home tonight?
Just as she was thinking about it, her phone rang.
It was the housekeeper calling.
His first sentence after she picked up made her eyes widen in shock.
"Madam, young master got into trouble at school."
Sheng Mumu was puzzled. "???"
Qi Shaobai caused trouble at school. Why didn't he call his father and called her instead?
Sheng Mumu reflexively looked at the man beside her, whose expression was calm and unperturbed. She was about to say "Your son got into trouble at school", but before she could speak, another ringtone sounded.
It came from Qi Mo's suit pocket.
Qi Mo took out his phone with his long, elegant hand.
He answered the call and spoke in fluent British English to the person on the other end.
Hearing it, Sheng Mumu was amazed.
She knew he had an attractive voice, but didn't expect his English to sound even more pleasing to the ear.
Listening felt like a massage to her ears.
It made her temporarily forget that she was also on a call.
"Madam? Madam?"
The housekeeper called her carefully when Sheng Mumu didn't respond for some time.
Actually, the housekeeper agonized for a long time before calling her.
The housekeeper felt bitter inside.
The man of the house was busy with work and often wasn't home. In the past when the young master got into trouble, he always called the executive assistant to handle it.
Now there was a madam in the house. Calling the executive assistant didn't seem right by emotion or reason.
Sheng Mumu returned to her senses and shifted her attention away from Qi Mo. She said to the phone:
"Um, go ahead."
Housekeeper: "The young master chased away his cram school teacher."
Sheng Mumu: "......So?"
The housekeeper's voice gradually softened: "The school said a parent still needs to go over. Sir is busy with work. Madam, do you think you could..."
Before he finished speaking, Sheng Mumu heaved a long sigh.
What kind of thing was this?
They just pretended to be a loving couple, and now she had to "work overtime" to keep acting as a virtuous stepmother?
She felt exhausted.
The problem was, only she and Qi Mo knew about their agreement.
She couldn't refuse however she wanted. She could only reply: "Alright, I know."
After hanging up, she had wanted to hand over the matter to Qi Mo since he happened to be there.
But unexpectedly, when the car stopped outside the mansion, Qi Mo showed no intention of getting out.
Qi Mo lowered the car window halfway. His tone naturally carried an aura that brooked no refusal.
"I still have work to handle and will be away for a few days. You go home first."
After he spoke, the car drove away, heading straight for the airport.
Sheng Mumu watched the exquisite rear lights of the luxury car and mouthed: FML
How sweet.
Turns out he was sending her home!
What a "good" husband!
Although extremely reluctant, the next day, upholding the belief that "not cooperating properly would get her kicked out", Sheng Mumu still went to Qi Shaobai's school.
What else could she do if she didn't go? How else would she get to be a rich, leisurely madam and live in luxury?
Anyway, being called in by the school was just a formality.
She didn't need to spend too much effort.
She might as well just get it over with.
Even though she had imagined that the high school the young master of a wealthy family went to would be very big and prestigious, she didn't expect that after driving in through the front gate, it took a full fifteen minutes before they reached the classroom building.
They passed by the tennis court, equestrian field, lavender garden... After a bunch of places she wouldn't have imagined existing in a "high school", they finally saw the classroom building.
Sheng Mumu looked at Manager Zhang in the front passenger seat who had come along, and embarrassingly spoke up slowly.
"Qi Shaobai is..."
Before she could finish, the sensible housekeeper quickly followed up:
"Madam, the young master is in Class 24 of Grade 10."
Avoiding the possible awkwardness for the madam.
Sheng Mumu silently gave the housekeeper's professionalism a thumbs up and got out of the car.
Last night, she had learned about the general situation -
To prepare Grade 10 students at Jing City No.1 Middle School for the pace of Grade 11 in advance, the school had hired famous teachers to run cram classes, charging by the minute, paid additionally by parents.
Qi Shaobai's class was assigned the most famous professor.
Yesterday, at the last class, the professor had kept them behind after class ended.
Qi Shaobai felt unhappy about it, and his face was ugly.
Having to add several classes every day had already greatly taken up personal time. Being kept longer disrupted his plans entirely.
Seeing Qi Shaobai's scowl, the professor felt his ulterior motive to earn more tutoring fees was exposed. He slapped the podium and yelled:
"I kept you longer for your own good. If you don't want to listen, you can leave! No one's stopping you."
After yelling that line, feeling it wasn't cathartic enough, he singled out Qi Shaobai as a typical example to admonish the other students.
"I really don't understand students nowadays. You all are bolder than the last. When I was a student, the teacher's word was law. No one would have dared to talk back. But your generation actually dares to show attitude to teachers. Do you even know what respecting teachers means!"
"It's my class. I can keep you longer if I want. If you don't want to listen, then get out!"
After the professor said this, Qi Shaobai stood up with a dark look.
Everyone's eyes focused on him.
Sitting at the back, Wei Zhaonan whispered urgently:
"Don't be impulsive! You can't get physical, you can't get physical."
Qi Shaobai ignored him completely, picked up his schoolbag, and walked straight to the front.
The professor froze. His original intent was to deflate Qi Shaobai's arrogance a bit. He thought scolding him a few lines would make him settle down, and it could also serve as a warning to others.
He didn't expect Qi Shaobai to not be the "chicken" to pluck as he pleased.
As Qi Shaobai walked past him, the professor looked at the student who was even taller than him and lost some confidence.
"You...what are you doing?"
Qi Shaobai didn't even glance at him. He pulled open the classroom door.
"You said we could leave if we didn't want to listen."
Qi Shaobai was rebellious by nature. He was already unhappy about being kept longer. Now the professor said they could leave—wouldn't he be an idiot not to leave?
Bang. The door closed.
The classroom broke into an uproar.
Everyone didn't dare believe Qi Shaobai had just left so nonchalantly.
Now instead it was the professor who felt he lost face. Furious, he stormed out.
The professor complained to the Dean, saying he couldn't teach this student and with a class like this, whoever wanted to teach it could.
After listening to the housekeeper's vivid recounting,
Sheng Mumu was puzzled.
Excuse me?
So what exactly did Qi Shaobai do wrong?
Wasn't it that professor who told Qi Shaobai to leave?
If Qi Shaobai had talked back disrespectfully, it could be said he didn't respect teachers.
But from start to finish, he only seemed to have scowled because he was unhappy about being kept late.
Seriously, prof?
Is it illegal to have a sour face?
Sheng Mumu deeply sympathized with Qi Shaobai.
At the same time, she had a very off-topic thought—
Perhaps Qi Shaobai growing up to have a gloomy personality didn't entirely have to do with her as his vicious stepmother.
The environment around him also didn't seem too friendly.
For instance, in a situation like this, the head teacher and dean asked no questions and just wanted Qi Shaobai to admit wrongdoing in front of the whole class and write a self-reflection.
If the housekeeper hadn't curiously asked his good friend Wei Zhaonan and learned the truth, perhaps Qi Shaobai really would have been wrongly labeled as an unruly student who dared to anger teachers into leaving.
Sheng Mumu got out of the car and straightened her collar and hem.
She was wearing a small spread collar shirt today, light camel wide-leg pants, and carried a bag with an obscure brand logo from the wardrobe.
It was efficient and low-key, not flashy at all.
It looked like she had come to solve problems.
On the roof, Wei Zhaonan was lazily leaning over the railing spacing out.
He happened to see Sheng Mumu heading towards the teaching building.
Wei Zhaonan sighed inwardly that this was not good.
He turned and said to Qi Shaobai who had his eyes closed sunbathing next to him:
"Qi Shaobai, your stepmother is here!"
