Third Brother Was the Best Value for Money

But Shen Banxia soon shook off her gloom.

It was just studying. It wasn't as though she had never done it before.

Besides, she could usually teach herself without any help. With all the resources the Shen Family had now, there was no reason she couldn't do well.

"Banxia, Mommy will hire a few tutors for you. Tell me which subjects you need help with," Shen Shuyi asked with concern.

She was worried that her daughter might struggle to adjust and fall behind after transferring to a new school.

"No need, Mom. I heard Third Brother was the provincial top scorer in science back then. Why don't we have him tutor me?"

Shen Banxia answered with a bright smile, turning her gaze toward her third brother.

Shen Shenxing, who had been about to leave, was so stunned that he tripped over the threshold and nearly fell.

Had he heard that right? This seventh sister who had only just come home had actually singled him out to help with her schoolwork. Did she think he was a free tutor?

Did she have any idea how much money he could make on the stock market in a single minute?

"Shenxing, are you possessed today? Why do you keep messing up?" Shen Jinyan teased, delighted to stir things up.

Naturally, his younger brother shot him an eye roll the very next second, then snapped,

"I don't have time. Look up any questions you can't solve online, or ask Qingfeng."

Shen Banxia didn't argue. She merely smiled at her third brother.

Third Brother, if I get into Jinghua University through the Gaokao, I'll be able to get you out of jail! Otherwise, I'll only be able to visit you there every year!

Shen Shenxing had just looked away and started out the door when he tripped straight over the threshold, landed flat on his face, and lay motionless.

The Shen Family stared at the sight, utterly dumbfounded.

So many shocking things had happened today that they felt as though their mouths were stuck open.

Shen Zhishan hurried over to help his third brother up.

"Third Brother, are you all right?"

Xu Mingyue also cried out and rushed forward to help. She couldn't possibly miss a chance to put on a good show.

"Third Brother-"

Shen Jinyan, meanwhile, quipped,

"Sure enough, all brains and no coordination!"

Once he had been helped to his feet, Shen Shenxing faced Shen Banxia and said through gritted teeth,

"Shen Banxia, if you don't get into Jinghua University, you're dead!"

He now felt that this seventh sister not only knew witchcraft that could curse people, but also some sinister technique that let her strike things from a distance.

Hearing her third brother say that, Xu Mingyue spoke as though she were defending Shen Banxia, though she was actually gloating.

"Third Brother, aren't you asking too much of her?"

If she weren't going straight abroad to study after the Gaokao, even she wasn't confident she could get into Jinghua University on her exam scores alone.

Let alone an idiot like Shen Banxia!

Whether she could even get into an undergraduate program was still up in the air. Still, the Shen Family had money now. They could buy her way into a school, so getting her a diploma wouldn't be a problem.

"Then sorry for the trouble, Third Brother. No time like the present-let's start this weekend!" Shen Banxia replied with a beaming smile, utterly unfazed.

"If Banxia really gets into Jinghua University, Daddy will reward her with a luxury yacht." Hearing that Shen Banxia even wanted to get into Qingbei University, Xu Junshan joined in enthusiastically.

After all, boasting didn't cost a thing.

"Did you hear that, Banxia? If you get into Jinghua University, your daddy will buy you a yacht.

"Mommy isn't asking for quite so much. As long as you get into university, I'll give you a reward!" Shen Shuyi glanced at Xu Junshan and chimed in with a smile.

If Banxia really did get into Qingbei University, all the money in the accounts Xu Junshan controlled would only add up to a few million. How could he afford a yacht, much less a luxury one?

Clearly, he was betting against Banxia. He thought she had no chance of getting in, which was why he dared to make such an empty promise.

"Can I have the cash equivalent?" Shen Banxia blinked and asked in all seriousness.

"Of course!" Xu Junshan agreed generously.

Shen Banxia couldn't possibly get in anyway, so it made no difference what she wanted instead.

"Thank you, Mom and Dad! And thank you, brothers! You can just give me cash gifts when the time comes!"

Her brothers were instantly bewildered. They hadn't said anything just now, had they?

Still, if their own sister really got into a prestigious university, a cash gift would be the least they could do. Even a lavish present would only be fitting.

Seeing Xu Mingyue standing silently to one side, Xu Junshan added,

"The same goes for you, Mingyue!"

"But I'm not applying to any universities here, so I won't compete with my sister." Xu Mingyue turned toward him and replied with an air of magnanimity.

"You can still take the Gaokao. We'll go by your scores, and whoever scores higher will get the reward," Shen Shuyi announced, leaving her no excuse to dodge it.

Xu Mingyue had originally wanted to study abroad after her high school entrance exams, but Shen Shuyi couldn't bear to let her daughter leave her side at such a young age, so she had refused.

Now she felt that heaven had been helping her all along. In her second year of high school, Xu Mingyue had injured herself in a fall and needed a blood transfusion.

Only then had Shen Shuyi accidentally discovered that Xu Mingyue wasn't her biological daughter. Otherwise, she would still be in the dark.

Hearing Shen Shuyi say they would go by their Gaokao scores, Xu Mingyue's confidence instantly soared. Even if her score wasn't high enough for a Project 211 or Project 985 university, beating Shen Banxia would be a breeze. She said she was going back to the study to revise.

Xu Mingyue went upstairs, and the other brothers left one after another.

"Oh, right. Mom knows we've brought Banxia home. She asked me to take Banxia to see her tomorrow." Xu Junshan, who had been about to return to the study, suddenly remembered and stopped to tell them.

Shen Shuyi hesitated, worried that Banxia would be mistreated.

After all, she knew her mother-in-law's temperament well. She had always favored boys over girls, and Banxia's looks weren't especially endearing.

She says she wants to see me, but she really wants to put me in my place. She's afraid I'll threaten Xu Mingyue's position in the Shen Family.

After grumbling inwardly, Shen Banxia asked eagerly,

"Are we going to see Grandma? Will she give me a big cash gift?"

"Yes," Xu Junshan answered with a slight frown.

Why did this daughter talk about money every time she opened her mouth? Was money all she could think about?

"I'm free tomorrow. Why don't I take Banxia over? I have a few things to bring your mother anyway," Shen Shuyi said, uneasy after hearing her daughter's thoughts.

"That works. I have things to do at the office tomorrow, too. I still have some work to handle, so I'll get back to it." With that, Xu Junshan turned and left.

Still worried, Shen Shuyi tried to prepare her daughter.

"When you visit Grandma tomorrow, don't take it to heart if she speaks a little sternly to you.

"It isn't that she dislikes you. She just has a rather serious personality."

"Don't worry, Mom! I won't overthink it," Shen Banxia replied with a bright smile.

Didn't she know that old woman Xu all too well?

She was the classic vicious mother-in-law: sexist and a snob.

Just because she had given birth to a son who got into a prestigious university, she acted as though she were above everyone and never deigned to give anyone a proper look.

She looked down not only on her daughter-in-law, Shen Shuyi, but on the entire Shen Family.

Some people couldn't stand her attitude and mocked her, saying that no matter how wonderful her son was, he had still married into someone else's family.

Old Mrs. Xu couldn't stomach that sort of provocation. She immediately snapped back that however grand the Shen Family was, it would all belong to her son in the end. She also accused those poor relatives of sour grapes.

Some meddlesome relatives brought the gossip to Shen Shuyi, but she didn't take it to heart, assuming her mother-in-law simply wanted to save face.

She had no idea that her mother-in-law and husband had planned from the very beginning to swallow up the family's entire fortune. That was why he had married into the Shen Family.

Being blinded by love was truly a terrible thing. At best, it left you heartbroken; at worst, it cost you your fortune, destroyed your family, and got people killed.