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Shen Baili quietly committed Meng Jiu'an's face to memory, deep in thought.
What neither of them knew was that the boys on the field had started talking about Shen Baili.
"Shen Baili is so pretty."
"She's No. 1 High School's undisputed school beauty. My goddess!"
"She's miles ahead in the forum's school beauty poll, and one of those votes was mine."
"Why isn't she in our class? Transferring from Class One to Class Two shouldn't be hard, right?"
Thinking of the girl's gaze from a moment ago, Meng Jiu'an pricked up his ears.
Ji Qi ran over carrying a bag and tossed him a bottle of water. Meng Jiu'an caught it without thinking.
"Why are your ears so red?" Ji Qi noticed.
Meng Jiu'an gulped down half the bottle. "It's hot."
Ji Qi handed the remaining bottle to Lu Mingqian. "It really is hot. You brought this on yourselves. You could've played indoors, but you had to come out here."
Lu Mingqian took the water. "Thanks."
"There's a breeze outside. It feels better to play out here," he explained.
Meng Jiu'an tapped his water bottle against Lu Mingqian's and grinned. "I agree."
Ji Qi rolled his eyes. "You two are ridiculous."
Then he got smacked by both of them.
Ji Qi seethed but didn't dare complain. "Oh, right, An. Isn't your grandpa's birthday coming up?"
Meng Jiu'an said, "Yeah. His birthday banquet is on November ninth."
"That's just over a month away!" Ji Qi counted it out.
Lu Mingqian said, "My dad's been preparing a birthday gift lately. He's lost a lot of hair over it."
"Hahaha, mine too. He's practically bald," Ji Qi said with a laugh.
Meng Jiu'an said, "I'm trying to think of a birthday present for Grandpa too."
"How about I give him a pair of limited-edition sneakers?"
"No."
"...For once, I agree with Ji Qi."
Meng Jiu'an fell silent.
... A few days later, Shen Baili went to pick cherry tomatoes with Shen Wan after school.
Shen Wan suddenly brought up Xie Liuzheng, looking a little troubled.
Xie Liuzheng was easy to get along with. Over the past few days, she had often had afternoon tea with Shen Wan and talked about Xie Chengyue's childhood.
Today, her sister-in-law had left her with a difficult task.
Curious, Shen Baili asked, "What's wrong with Aunt Xie?"
Shen Wan said softly, "Liuzheng and Duan Xing are planning to adopt a child from the Welfare Institute. She asked me to sound out your Uncle Xie about it."
Ding!
Shen Baili had triggered a key plot point.
The Schemes of a Social Climber. Early morning, in a spacious apartment in downtown Haicheng.
Xie Liuzheng had a rare day off and slept until she woke naturally.
Sunlight streamed through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, lighting every corner of the room.
By the time she woke, Duan Xing had already gone out. A pink heart-shaped sticky note was stuck to the bedside table.
Xie Liuzheng rolled over, took down the note, and lay on her back to read it.
"To my dear wife: I've gone to work. There's a sandwich in the fridge. Remember to heat it in the microwave before you eat. Love you. —Your husband." "P.S. Things are busy at the company today. I'll be home around eight tonight, so don't wait for me to have dinner."
Warmth filled every line. Xie Liuzheng sat up, found her phone, took a picture of the note, and saved it to her photo album.
Another lovely day had begun.
After eating the breakfast he had made for her, Xie Liuzheng drove to a private Pilates studio nearby.
She had been busy touring for the past few months and hadn't trained regularly in a long time. Now that she had the chance, she wanted to get back to working on her figure.
After an hour and a half at the studio, she headed to the Xie Residence feeling refreshed. She had arranged to have lunch with Shen Wan and couldn't be late.
At first, Xie Liuzheng had approached Shen Wan because she wanted to gauge her brother's attitude through her.
But after spending these past few days together, her impression of Shen Wan had changed enormously.
When she first met Shen Wan, Xie Liuzheng had thought she was beautiful and gentle. Her beauty was undeniable, understated as a lily whose faint fragrance lingered after the breeze had passed. Beyond that, she hadn't formed much of an impression.
Xie Chengyue had been single for so many years. He had met women prettier, more educated, and more poised than Shen Wan, but he had shown them no interest. Even when he dated someone, he had never thought of marrying her.
Shen Wan was the exception.
Xie Liuzheng hadn't understood why her brother had remarried until now. She thought she was beginning to get it. She liked spending time with Shen Wan too. It was comfortable and easy, and even an ordinary day with her was a happy one.
When Xie Liuzheng arrived at the Xie Residence, Shen Wan was sketching in the courtyard.
Shen Wan had never had the money or time to study things like this before. Now that she had the chance, she wanted to make the most of it, so she studied diligently.
She was taking basic drawing and design courses at the same time.
The courtyard's grass was lush and green. Shen Wan wore cotton loungewear, her long black hair pinned up with a simple hairpin. She sat cross-legged on a chair, with asters in full bloom swaying gently in the breeze behind her.
She was painting, unaware that, to Xie Liuzheng, she herself was part of the scene—a painting come to life.
Xie Liuzheng didn't disturb her. Instead, she slipped into the living room and leaned by the window, openly admiring the beautiful view and the woman in it.
An hour passed in the blink of an eye.
Shen Wan added the final stroke, stood, and stretched. She admired her work, thoroughly pleased.
She didn't put the painting away at once. She left it where it was to dry slowly.
Shen Wan walked back into the living room with a spring in her step, then stopped short.
On the sofa by the floor-to-ceiling window lay what looked like a sleeping beauty... No, wait. That was her sister-in-law, Xie Liuzheng.
When had she arrived?
Butler Lin answered her unspoken question. "Miss Liuzheng arrived over an hour ago. She saw you painting in the courtyard and didn't want to disturb you."