Chapter 19 Part 3

She stayed half a step ahead of Shen Han, body slightly turned in polite deference, enthusiastically leading her in.

Once inside the campus, Shen Han hummed. “Aren’t you curious what kind of meeting it is?”

Su Mi replied, “It must be some important business meeting with the school. I won’t pry!”

Shen Han smiled.

“It’s for the parent-teacher conference.” She drawled slowly.

Su Mi slammed on the brakes, freezing in place.

She turned back in shock to look at Shen Han.

No—you—I—this…

Did the antagonist have an illegitimate daughter at the school?

Su Mi’s expression was too obvious. Shen Han glanced at her, her face darkening a bit. In a warning tone, she said, “Su Mi.”

Th-then that meant…

Su Mi swallowed hard, incredulous. “Whose parent-teacher conference are you here for?”

Shen Han smiled gently. “Guess.”

Su Mi didn’t want to.

She shook her head heroically. “Suddenly not curious anymore, Sister.”

Shen Han took half a step forward and leaned down. Her fingers gently brushed Su Mi’s bangs.

Her styled, wavy long hair draped over her shoulders. The pearl necklace swayed. Shen Han’s eyes softened with an unreasonably gentle look.

She said, “After all, my little sister is so caring and thoughtful. As her big sister, I have to show some care too, right?”

Su Mi: ……

……

No.

Sis, you’re actually insane.

————

This whole ordeal made Su Mi sincerely feel like it was the kind of thing that would have her sitting up at 3 a.m. to curse out the antagonist for being insane.

The parent-teacher conference she’d looked forward to for so long had brought her the antagonist. Su Mi’s mind was on the verge of collapse.

It was just a casual offhand comment about an elder—did she have to be this petty?

Su Mi felt aggrieved but didn’t dare say it.

She kept her head down, looking all pitiful as she trailed behind Shen Han toward the teaching building.

She opened her light brain and finally saw the message from Su Ciyu and the others.

They’d said there was a sudden emergency meeting that required them to go out of town, and Wen Zisu had a project issue to handle too. They’d entrusted Shen Han to come to the parent-teacher conference in their place.

After it ended, Su Mi had to go pick up Su Yi from the nursery class and take him home.

Su Mi sniffled. Thinking about how she could go home and hug her little brother after dealing with the antagonist made her mood a tiny bit better.

She stared dazedly at Shen Han’s high heels.

The antagonist was something like 5’8″ or nearly 6 feet tall—half a head taller than her.

And these heels were about 5 or 6 centimeters.

Even taller now. More oppressive.

The heels clicked crisply against the stone path of the tree-lined walkway.

Then they suddenly stopped.

Su Mi nearly crashed into Shen Han’s back.

She quickly stepped back two paces, clutching her nose—which had barely stopped in time—and yelped on instinct.

The high heels pivoted, now facing her uniform shoes head-on.

Su Mi looked up and blinked.

“Sister?”

Shen Han’s face was calm, her mood unreadable.

She reached out. Her pretty fingers pinched Su Mi’s cheek and lifted it up a bit.

They locked eyes. Shen Han narrowed her eyes slightly. “So aggrieved? You’re unhappy that your sister is here for your parent-teacher conference?”

Su Mi wanted to shake her head, but with her face pinched, she couldn’t move.

She mumbled her loyalty. “How could I be! This is my greatest honor!”

Once Shen Han let go, she racked her brain for compliments, flattering her from every angle.

She even insincerely gushed about how much she’d been looking forward to Shen Han coming to her parent-teacher conference.

Of course, it didn’t seem insincere at all. The girl’s eyes sparkled as she spoke, punctuated by exaggerated gestures now and then.

Pretty cute.

Shen Han crossed her arms and listened with great interest, like she was watching a sitcom.

After Su Mi stopped talking, she hummed in acknowledgment, as if praising her, and said: “That’s pretty good. Have you considered going into performing arts?”

Su Mi: “Doesn’t Prime City University have a performing arts department?”

Shen Han was stunned for a moment.

She gave Su Mi a look that said it all.

She raised her hand, crooked her index finger, and knocked on her forehead.

“Let’s go.”

The force wasn’t heavy, but Su Mi still pretended to groan. The figure ahead, walking briskly, showed no reaction. She followed with small steps.

Why was the antagonist so fond of getting physical now?

They had dawdled a bit going in and out at the school gate earlier. By the time they reached the front of the teaching building, quite a few parents were already there. Previously, only student council members had been setting up the welcome corridor, but now many parents and students were touring around.

Compared to the other parents who had already arrived, Shen Han’s outfit didn’t stand out at all. In fact, because it was mainly black and white, it even seemed a bit low-key.

But with her height and presence, she drew everyone’s attention wherever she went.

On the stretch of road into the teaching building, plenty of people were watching them openly and covertly.

Amidst all those gazes, someone actually came up to greet them.

“President Shen!”

The newcomer was a slightly plump noblewoman wearing a cheongsam whose fabric alone screamed expense, complemented by an extraordinarily luxurious gem necklace. She looked affluent and enthusiastic.

“President Shen, what brings you here?”

Shen Han stopped in her tracks. Before the noblewoman got close, she let out a soft sigh and whispered to Su Mi: “See? We shouldn’t have dawdled. Got caught, huh.”

Su Mi was baffled: Caught what?

Then she watched as the woman approached, trailed by who must have been her daughter, dressed in the academy’s standard uniform. Her long, straight black hair gave her a quiet and refined air, somewhat like Xu Nanqiao.

An unfamiliar face—probably from another class.

Shen Han nodded politely. “Madam Zhang.”

“Oh my, President Shen remembers me! Are you here for the parent-teacher meeting too?” Madam Zhang beamed, enthusiastically complimenting Shen Han’s outfit and presence that day.

Shen Han said: “Yes, this is my sister, Su Mi.”

Su Mi was suddenly pulled forward and said obediently: “Hello, Madam Zhang.”

Madam Zhang smiled as if she hadn’t noticed Su Mi’s surname at all. “Ah, no wonder she’s President Shen’s sister—she’s just as beautiful as you.”

Su Mi: …Huh?

Shen Han said faintly: “You’re too kind.”

Madam Zhang continued: “Why didn’t you head to headquarters today? Before I left home, Old Ren mentioned wanting to discuss the East City project with you this afternoon.”

Shen Han replied: “It doesn’t matter if I’m not at headquarters. The project has a dedicated department handling it, and I won’t interfere in the early stages.”

Madam Zhang’s smile didn’t falter. “Ah, then I’ll have to tell Old Ren later so he doesn’t waste a trip… Oh, right—this is my daughter, Yueyue. Come here, sweetie. Her name is Ren Yue. She just transferred to Lolan this semester. Has President Shen’s sister met her?”

Su Mi racked her brain but came up empty—no such person.

She had virtually no experience being dragged into social situations like this, so she awkwardly scratched her cheek and greeted the girl across from her.

Madam Zhang clearly wasn’t interested in her response and pressed on: “President Shen, do you remember? Yueyue used to play on the swing with you at the Old Residence when she was little. You even said she was delicate back then. Now she’s differentiated into an omega, and her pheromones smell just like…”

Ren Yue hurriedly tugged at Madam Zhang’s wrist. “Mom! What are you saying?”

Madam Zhang dramatically patted her own mouth. “Look at me—I almost said something I shouldn’t have.”

She pivoted: “Last time we went back to the Old Residence for dinner, Wanwan was there too. The Old Madam took a real liking to her. I heard she’s graduating from Lolan Academy and even suggested she seek your advice. How about adding her on Guangxun? You young folks love using that for chatting…”

…Wait, what?

Su Mi listened in a daze, overwhelmed by the sudden info dump.

She couldn’t help shrinking her neck.

Was this some elite family secret she’d just overheard? The original plot had nothing about any Old Residence or Old Madam!

And was this straight-up matchmaking? If the Old Madam was Shen Han’s elder, didn’t that mean it was arranged from the top? Uh, could you even call it that?

Su Mi felt a surge of nervousness and turned to look at Shen Han with wide eyes.

Shen Han seemed to glance back at her, her expression still calm. She said: “I rarely use those apps. Besides, the Old Madam must be mistaken. I didn’t return to school after graduating—there’s no need for anyone to seek my advice.”

Undeterred, Madam Zhang grinned at Ren Yue. “Then how about adding your sister’s Guangxun? You’re at the same school; it’ll be easy to keep in touch.”

Now it was Su Mi’s turn.

She couldn’t think of a good reason to refuse. After a moment’s hesitation, she reached out and added Guangxun with Ren Yue.

Once they were done, Shen Han nodded. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take Su Mi to the classroom first.”

Without waiting for a reply, she turned and walked off.

The two entered the elevator. As soon as the doors closed, Shen Han turned her head, a trace of irritation creasing her brow.

Shen Han said: “Delete her.”

Su Mi: …Huh?

Su Mi stared blankly at Shen Han before catching on.

She looked down at her wrist device, deleted the new contact, then raised her wrist to show Shen Han. “Deleted.”

Truth be told, Su Mi was curious about these two.

In the original text, the antagonist was arrogant beyond measure—the sole head of Prime City’s Shen Family and a one-in-a-billion ss-grade alpha. She never showed weakness to anyone.

So why did she seem somewhat wary of this shrewd, profit-driven Madam Zhang?

It probably had something to do with that Old Residence Old Madam who never appeared in the original text.

It made sense. A massive conglomerate and family like the Shen Family couldn’t possibly be ruled single-handedly by Shen Han. Just like in so many novels, there had to be a bunch of collateral relatives scheming for the inheritance, maybe even some illegitimate kids…

Perhaps there’d be a family banquet, with a horde of Shen relatives gathered around. One saying, “President Shen, what do you think of my daughter?” Another chiming in, “President Shen, can my son get into headquarters?”

Then Shen Han would deliver face-slaps left and right.

Or go berserk on the spot with a mental power crush!

Su Mi happily fantasized.

The elevator reached the floor with Su Mi’s classroom, and they stepped out.

Shen Han pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled. “I’ll go sit in the lounge for a bit. You head to the classroom first.”

Su Mi knew the antagonist was in a foul mood and agreed obediently. After taking two steps toward the classroom, she suddenly remembered to check the blackening value.

…?!

A few days earlier, when they left Hot Spring Manor, it had been at 85%.

It hadn’t climbed much lately, only up to 88%.

But now, the black-red digits of the blackening value trembled faintly, like numbers on a slot machine—twitching twice before ticking up one notch: 89%.

Then both digits started shaking, on the verge of rolling over into the 90s.

W-what?!

Su Mi froze in shock.