The women’s fashion section of the mall was being restructured, and the leasing documents were officially sent down. This time, Shi Yang wasn’t in a hurry to negotiate for a space. Instead, he lingered around each brand, coincidentally meeting a few brand representatives, inviting them out for meals with mutual friends to get a sense of the rent increase over the years.
When Shi Yang was too busy to pick up Zhao Meimei from her tutoring class, Qu Chaozong or Wang Tianyu would occasionally take over.
But no matter who it was, they would always walk Zhao Meimei to her door before leaving.
Both Shi Yang and Shi Yang’s father were very busy, with many evening engagements. Generally, when Zhao Meimei got home from school, Shi Yang’s mother was the only one at home.
Shi Yang’s mother valued a high-quality lifestyle. Even if she was home alone, she took extra care in dressing up. In the evening, her skincare routine was meticulous and complex. In her forties, she looked only slightly over thirty due to proper maintenance.
Zhao Meimei was under a lot of academic pressure, with an unstable routine, resulting in acne outbreaks. Shi Yang’s mother immediately treated it as a serious issue, purchasing a complete set of moisturizing acne-treatment skincare products from the beauty salon and buying a lot of flower tea, mostly for heat-cleansing and detoxification. In the morning, she would take a large bottle to Zhao Meimei in a big mug and, after dinner, the first thing Zhao Meimei would do was wash her face and apply a mask.
During that time, the part of Zhao Meimei’s blanket near her pillow was always greasy, smeared with a layer of sleep mask or sometimes nourishing moisturizing cream specially bought from the beauty salon.
Shi Yang’s mother patiently helped Zhao Meimei change her bedding every two days, enjoying the process.
Under Shi Yang’s mother’s consistent beauty care, Zhao Meimei stood out among her classmates, who were drained from academic pressure with dark circles under their eyes.
Her face was as smooth as a boiled egg, fair and rosy. When everyone was in school uniforms with uniformly weary faces, habitually slightly hunched over from the burden of studies, Zhao Meimei in head-to-toe designer wear, even with hair clips matching her T-shirt under the school uniform, immediately appeared distinctively different.
Most importantly, the most handsome guys in school, Xu Xu and Wang Jiayue, always hovered around Zhao Meimei like faithful sidekicks. Whenever the three of them walked through the school, they became a picturesque sight, drawing significant attention.
You can raise all kinds of people from the same grain. In a key city high school like Number One High, there are diligent students focused on academics and those falling behind, uninterested in what they should be doing.
During breaks, when Zhao Meimei accompanied Wang Jiayue to the restroom, they were occasionally stopped by someone, whether male or female. These people either handed her a fervent love letter or verbally asked, "Hey, Zhao Meimei, let’s be friends?"
If it was a girl, Zhao Meimei would be a bit more polite, asking, "Why?"
The other person would surely point to a male classmate peeking over from behind or a few steps away: "My classmate fancies you, how about giving him a chance?"
Zhao Meimei would give a light roll of her eyes, "Sorry, I have something to do, got to go."
If the person was a guy, Zhao Meimei would simply glance at him and walk away without a word.
Over time, even Wang Jiayue became curious and couldn’t resist secretly asking Zhao Meimei, "Meimei, the class representative from class two confessed to you earlier, why did you ignore him?"
Zhao Meimei was indifferent, "I don’t like him."
Wang Jiayue looked at Zhao Meimei, tentatively asking, "Meimei, do you like someone? Could it be Xu Xu?"
When she asked the last question, Wang Jiayue’s hands clenched into tight fists by her sides, feeling extremely anxious.
Zhao Meimei glanced sideways at her, "Why are you asking me this?"
Wang Jiayue, under Zhao Meimei’s gaze, blushed, "I, I was just asking casually."
Zhao Meimei’s face slowly broke into a smile, the subtle lines at the corners of her mouth carrying a hint of mischief, "You’re trying to hide something from me? Who likes Xu Xu? Actually, it’s you who secretly likes Xu Xu, isn’t it? Trying to trick me, huh?"
Wang Jiayue’s face turned beet red, murmuring, "I, Meimei, I..."
Zhao Meimei lightly poked Wang Jiayue’s chest, "You sneaky thing!"
Wang Jiayue was so embarrassed she didn’t know what to do.
Only then did Zhao Meimei stop teasing her, smiling and taking her hand, "Alright, I’m done teasing. Rest assured, Xu Xu is just my buddy, he’s like a best friend to me."
Wang Jiayue smiled, feeling warm inside, leaning closer to Zhao Meimei, "Meimei, you must like someone, too, right?"
Zhao Meimei’s lips curled into a sweet smile, "Of course."
Wang Jiayue was just about to ask who it was, when Xu Xu entered the classroom holding a stack of workbooks, handing the first one directly to Zhao Meimei. His eyes shifted between Wang Jiayue, who was blushing, and Zhao Meimei, who was smiling, "What are you guys talking about that’s got you so happy?"
Zhao Meimei giggled and tossed the conversation to Wang Jiayue, "I’m asking you!"
Wang Jiayue playfully pushed Zhao Meimei, "You’re so annoying!"
Zhao Meimei opened her workbook with a smile, seeing there were no mistakes, tossed it into the desk, and pulled out the textbook for the next class, placing it on the desk.
Xu Xu’s gaze lingered on her face with a tinge of confusion. He paused but didn’t ask further, turning away with a pile of workbooks to distribute according to names.
After a month of tutoring, the effect showed in the monthly exams, with the entire class steadily improving in all subjects, and the gap with top students Xu Xu and Wang Jiayue noticeably closing.
Robber Hao was extremely pleased during that period, and parents in the class felt grateful, lining up at the school to offer their thanks.
This improvement in grades wasn’t something Zhao Meimei mentioned at home; she’d always been somewhat indifferent to these matters.
On Wednesday evening, Shi Yang surprisingly had no social engagements, so he deliberately took time to visit Zhao Meimei’s school, intending to take her out for dinner before sending her to her tutoring class. However, upon entering the teaching building in the name of a parent, he coincidentally saw Robber Hao warmly chatting with a student’s parent in a secluded hallway corner, clearly receiving something from them.
It was then that Shi Yang suddenly remembered, ever since Zhao Meimei started high school, apart from giving Robber Hao two boxes of tea at the very beginning of the school term, he’d been too busy with work, neglecting school matters.
Shi Yang fumbled through his pockets, took out several shopping cards from his wallet meant for gifting, casually picked one with a suitable denomination, stuffed it into his jacket pocket, and wandered the school a bit. Estimating it was almost time, he headed to Robber Hao’s office.