The Operation Was Underway

The next morning, early in the morning.

Xia Yan had slept wonderfully. She drew open the curtains and closed her eyes, savoring the warmth of the sunlight shining over her.

After lazily enjoying it for a while, she straightened her slightly curled chestnut hair and began washing up.

An hour later, after breakfast, Xia Yan arrived at the basement and saw Jiang Xiao, drenched in sweat, sitting on the floor with faint specks of starlight flickering around him. He was obviously absorbing Star Power.

"Are you ready?" Xia Yan did not enter the basement. Although it had a vent and the ventilation worked fairly well, the smell was still unpleasant.

The previous night, Xia Yan had gone to see Lei Jin and clearly told him that she would be taking Jiang Xiao out for a walk today.

Lei Jin had approved the leave slip without a second word. He had practically thanked her profusely, then disappeared without a trace last night. He had probably gone out for some barbecue skewers.

Over the past few days, Lei Jin had mentioned several times that he wanted to eat some street-stall barbecue.

Jiang Xiao reined in his Star Power, raised his head, and looked at Xia Yan with a half-smile. "All right. Oh, give me my phone. I'll let Han Jiangxue know."

Xia Yan panicked inwardly and covered her guilty conscience with an annoyed tone. "I've already told your sister. Just come with me!"

"Mm, all right." Jiang Xiao thought for a moment, then stood and walked toward the bathroom. "Give me ten minutes."

Xia Yan let out a long breath of relief and turned to leave.

Jiang Xiao shook his head with a smile. She was still a child, after all. Sometimes, both her thoughts and her actions were quite amusing.

Yesterday, when Xia Shanhai had left, he had specifically instructed the three people in the household not to tell Xia Yan that he had visited.

As Xia Yan's father, there was nothing the three of them could say about such a request.

Jiang Xiao could figure out what Xia Yan had done with his phone just by thinking about it. From Xia Shanhai's words, it was not difficult to deduce that Xia Yan had been using Jiang Xiao's name to confess her love.

I confessed my love to myself!

Are you scared now? In this world, most actions had a purpose. So what was Xia Yan's purpose in doing this? Jiang Xiao thought it over and over. A goddess of her caliber definitely had no shortage of admirers. She did not need a young Jiang Xiaopi to boost her vanity.

That left only one of the few remaining benefits: Han Jiangxue, who was extremely concerned about Jiang Xiao.

What would Han Jiangxue do when she discovered that Jiang Xiao had confessed his love to Xia Yan time and time again?

Either she would deal with Jiang Xiao harshly, or she would go to Xia Yan and apologize.

Since Han Jiangxue had not come yet, the situation was self-evident.

As Jiang Xiao showered, he thought about how to deal with this matter.

Jiang Xiao could endure these trivial matters, but Han Jiangxue was the one who suffered. She was probably still speaking humbly to Xia Yan. Just thinking about such a cold and aloof young lady having to humble herself before Xia Yan because of him made him feel truly guilty.

Then again, Xia Yan's nature was definitely not bad. She had probably been "frozen" by Han Jiangxue over the years, which was why she had come up with this prank.

No, he absolutely could not let Han Jiangxue continue suffering like this. He could not let this woman keep running wild!

Should he make it clear outright? Wouldn't that be letting this detestable woman off too easily? He had to think of a way to teach her a lesson.

After showering, Jiang Xiao put on a fresh tracksuit and walked out of the basement.

Unexpectedly, the moment he stepped out of the basement, a phone came flying straight at him.

Jiang Xiao hurriedly caught it and discovered that it was his own phone.

This detestable woman had actually returned his phone to him? What was going on? "Go ahead and call her. It would be better if you told her yourself." Xia Yan had evidently already composed herself and spoke nonchalantly.

"Oh." Jiang Xiao held the phone. He did not even check Weibo, simply dialing the number directly.

The phone rang no more than three times before the other end picked up. There was no sound at all—not even a "hello."

Jiang Xiao could not stand the silence and spoke first. "Well, Xia Yan is taking me out to train today, so I wanted to let you know. I've been doing well here this week. You don't need to worry."

"Mm." Han Jiangxue's cool voice came from the other end.

Jiang Xiao hesitated for a moment. Seeing Xia Yan's watchful gaze, he asked, "How have you been these past few days? Are you all right?"

Han Jiangxue finally spoke. "I've gotten your leave from military training approved. You'll go back to class in half a month. Train properly with her and stay focused. Remember your promise to me. Don't let your thoughts wander over meaningless things."

Jiang Xiao opened his mouth, but in the end, he only answered, "Mm."

Meanwhile, Han Jiangxue had already hung up.

"What did your sister say?" Xia Yan asked hurriedly.

"What else could she say? She lectured me, of course, and told me to train properly with you." Jiang Xiao held his phone and opened Weibo. "No, I have to post something to tease her and recover some of my dignity."

Xia Yan did not seem worried at all. "Hehe, that's exactly how you should be taught a lesson. But honestly, your performance these past few days has been impressive. You've really made people look at you differently."

"I have to live up to the money you spent finding a coach for me, right?" Jiang Xiao opened Weibo and found his account completely empty. There was still only a single post, though he had gained some more followers and had already broken the one-hundred mark. They were probably all there to watch the excitement.

This girl deleted all the posts she made? No wonder she's so fearless.

Jiang Xiao trusted his judgment. Xia Shanhai had no reason to lie. This bad woman had definitely posted many love letters under his name.

"We're going to the Snowfield today. Prepare yourself mentally." Xia Yan moved closer to Jiang Xiao and said with a smile.

"The Snowfield? Just the two of us? We're not taking Han Jiangxue?" Jiang Xiao raised his head in confusion.

"Mm. Just follow my plan. Why are you asking so many questions? Hurry up and post it. I want to see how you'll retort to your sister." Xia Yan urged him on.

Jiang Xiao muttered, "What's there to retort? Just say you like her and be done with it." As he spoke, he quickly posted a Weibo message.

Jiang Xiaopi Pi Bu Pi posted from a Huawei Maimang C199 just now: The one I love lies beyond mountains and seas; mountains and seas cannot be leveled.

P.S. Day 11 of liking Little Jiang Xue.

"This poem... The tone's a little heavy, isn't it?" Xia Yan said with an odd expression. "Little one, you're teasing her like this. Aren't you afraid she'll get angry?"

Jiang Xiao shrugged indifferently and logged out of the Weibo account.

Xia Yan's smile stiffened. If she logged back in, she would probably have to enter the password. "Come to think of it, I've been here for eight days. How does my phone still have so much battery?" Jiang Xiao muttered. "Does it have such a long standby time?"

Xia Yan was slightly embarrassed. "All the chargers at home are universal. What if someone contacted you? That way, I could notify you immediately."

"Oh." Jiang Xiao sneered inwardly. I don't know whether you'd notify me, but I've already notified your father.

I wonder how Xia Shanhai will react when he sees this post.

Jiang Xiao thought about it, but in the end, he still did not set a lock-screen password. It was just a decoration. If someone wanted to open the phone, a password could not stop them.

Jiang Xiao tossed the phone onto the coffee table, effectively handing it over again, and said, "Shall we leave?"

Xia Yan nodded, completely unaware that Jiang Xiaopi had pulled off a masterful move right under her nose.

At the same time, in an ordinary residence in central Jiangbin City.

Xia Shanhai was sitting by the balcony reading the newspaper when he saw his wife walk onto the balcony with an odd expression and hand him her phone.

Xia Shanhai took it and read it carefully, then shuddered.

Yesterday, after confirming that Jiang Xiao's phone had been confiscated, Xia Shanhai had more or less realized that those romantic confessions had been sent by his precious daughter. As for what her motives had been, that could be set aside for now.

At this moment, there was no doubt that this Weibo post, published under Jiang Xiaopi's name, had also been written by his precious daughter, Xia Yan.

But what had she written? "The one I love lies beyond mountains and seas; mountains and seas cannot be leveled"?

What did that mean? Xia Shanhai confirmed again and again that the second line was "cannot be leveled," but he could still sense the poem's thick resentment.

The emotions expressed by the original poem no longer mattered. What mattered was that Xia Shanhai had already imagined his daughter's tone of voice.

What does this mean? Did she discover that her whereabouts were exposed yesterday?

Is my precious daughter angry? Does she know I interfered?

Although it said "cannot be leveled," Xia Shanhai could not help feeling that she wanted to "level" him.

Xia Shanhai sighed inwardly. No, it's time to have an open and honest talk with my daughter. No matter what kind of one-woman show she's putting on or what kind of foolish dream she's indulging in, I have to talk to her properly.

I can't let my daughter remain immersed in fantasies that provide her with self-satisfaction!

Even if I have to go all out and agree to this marriage, I can't let my daughter develop psychological or mental illnesses.

After all, health is the most important thing. As for happiness, that can be created. Let Jiang Xiaopi marry into the Xia Family! He'll follow the Xia Family's rules! If that brat dares show even the slightest hint of disobedience toward my precious daughter, I'll break his legs.

At the same time, a cuckoo's call sounded from a residence in Garden Community.

Han Jiangxue furrowed her brows. She heard this sound every day, but every time she opened the message, her mood became worse. What kind of ridiculous mess was her troublesome little brother making now?

Unexpectedly, when Han Jiangxue opened the message this time, she was slightly stunned.

Different people would interpret this poem from different perspectives.

Xia Yan thought Jiang Xiao was alluding to the relationship between himself and Han Jiangxue—a relationship that was at once teacher and student, family, and brother and sister.

Xia Shanhai thought Xia Yan was venting her resentment and releasing her anger, as though she were on the verge of going astray.

Han Jiangxue, however, thought Jiang Xiao had suffered a blow.

Han Jiangxue raised her brows. This poem... Did that kid suffer a blow? Was he disciplined by Xia Yan? Has he recognized reality?

Good, good. It's better that he recognizes reality sooner.

How could the eldest daughter of the Xia Family possibly take a liking to you?

Han Jiangxue saw the P.S. at the bottom, and her breathing hitched slightly. He's counted the days quite accurately. I'll reluctantly consider this a change of heart and a return to the right path.

Han Jiangxue tossed aside her phone and gazed at the lush forest outside the window. In a soft voice, she murmured, "Heh, men."