Chapter 4: Shang Ying Did the Right Thing

While the forum was abuzz with excitement, the parties involved were discussing where the meal card had gone. Shang Ying herself had no idea about any of this, as she had no concept of a meal card and hadn't used one yesterday either.

Shang Yi saw her frowning in distress. After hesitating, he couldn't help opening his mouth.

"School bag."

Shang Ying shook her head.

"No, I checked when I put my books away."

Realizing Shang Yi had actually spoken, even if it was just two words, Shang Ying couldn't resist teasing him.

"Oho, so you are willing to speak?"

Shang Yi’s slightly parted lips instantly snapped shut. He stood there stiffly, placed his meal card on the table, and quietly walked away with his salad to distance himself.

Xia Zhi, who was completely ignored at the side, stared blankly at Shang Yi's retreating back. Her eyes held a deep, heavy gloom, as if she had entered a realm meant only for herself. It took Shang Ying calling her name several times to pull her back to reality.

Sitting in her seat, Xia Zhi absentmindedly ate her noodles, occasionally looking up to observe Shang Ying. But Shang Ying didn't notice. Her attention was entirely focused on a variety show playing on her phone, occasionally bursting into laughter.

Finally, as she was about to finish her noodles, Xia Zhi hesitantly brought up the question she couldn't make sense of.

"Yingying, when did you and Shang Yi get to know each other?" How had she never noticed before?

Shang Ying gave a casual "Mm" and replied, "I've known him forever."

Biologically, she had known him since they were in their mother's womb. Though in reality, it was just since yesterday.

With a little bit of noodles left in her bowl, Shang Ying put her chopsticks down, unable to finish, and picked up a nearby Coke to drink.

Hearing this answer, the fork in Xia Zhi's hand accidentally scraped against the plate, making a sharp, grating sound.

"So that's how it is."

Shang Ying nodded.

"Yep, remember to pay him back."

Xia Zhi froze slightly.

"Huh?"

"That was Shang Yi's money. Remember to repay it. Also, bring your own card from now on. I probably won't be eating at the cafeteria anymore."

In the past, the original host had a good relationship with Xia Zhi, so treating her to meals was fine. But to the current Shang Ying, she had only known Xia Zhi for half a day, and she didn't like cafeteria food anyway, so she was stepping down from her role as a long-term meal ticket.

Yep, this step back was for good.

Xia Zhi was even more bewildered, submissively lowering her head.

"...Oh, okay."

In the distance, Shang Yi sat in a corner. Raising his head, he could see Shang Ying clearly. He hadn't touched the salad in front of him, merely staring at her with those quiet eyes.

It was very strange.

He had placed that card down as a test. If it were the old Shang Ying, she wouldn't have bothered to touch it. Yet now, that meal card had been put into her bag by her own hands.

Such anomalous behavior caused a flash of coldness to pass through Shang Yi's dark eyes.

Why had Shang Ying suddenly invited him to share a ride, why was she willing to call him over at school to help swipe her card, and why did she keep his card?

Was it to bully him better later on, or...

He couldn't figure it out. His brows furrowed slightly, as if he had encountered an extremely difficult problem. No, Shang Ying was far harder to comprehend than any test question.

After finishing her meal, Shang Ying stood up. The girl sitting opposite her walked out beside her intimately, conversing with her from time to time.

Shang Yi took a cold look at that girl, withdrew his gaze, lowered his head, and ate a bite of finely shredded salad.

After school in the afternoon, Shang Ying threw on her backpack at top speed and dashed out of the classroom. The moment she stepped out of the school gates, she precisely located the car with the license plate Jing A11111 amidst a line of luxury vehicles.

Once she settled inside, the driver started the engine, preparing to leave. Shang Ying let out a short "Hey" to stop him, pointing toward the school gate.

"Shang Yi hasn't come out yet. Don't drive off yet."

There was a reason why Shang Ying came out earlier than the other students, it went back to her sleeping during chemistry class. After class, the chemistry teacher had told her to visit the office after school.

Naturally, she didn't listen and ran off like the wind.

The driver had a sudden stroke of insight and kindly reminded her.

"The young master participates in club activities after school, so another car will come to pick him up."

"Club activities?" Shang Ying scrolled through short videos, nodding in realization.

"Then let's go."

Leaving school to go to a club instead of rushing home to hug her big bed was something completely incomprehensible to a late-stage school-hater like her.

After taking a bath, Shang Ying lay comfortably on her soft, large bed, starting to map out the plot progression of the novel.

The point in time she had transmigrated to was shortly before the female lead, Lin Yuan, transferred to this school. Lin Yuan was the real heiress of the Lin family who had been lost for many years, returning home to face a situation involving a fake heiress.

As for the male lead, Huo Yunshu, he was a sophomore in high school. The school prince. His true identity was actually an illegitimate son of the Xie family in the Capital, though he hadn't been acknowledged yet. Thus, he took his mother's surname. Suffering endless cold shoulder from the Xie family due to his status, his personality had grown twisted.

The white lotus, Lin Yuan, met the gloomy young man, Huo Yunshu, after transferring to Capital No. 1 High School in a beautiful encounter.

In the original novel's plot, the reason Shang Ying and Huo Yunshu formed a grudge was that Shang Ying accidentally stumbled upon a scene where he was fighting four people by himself. Despite getting beaten to a pulp, he still yelled aggressively, saying he wouldn't let those people off.

Shang Ying, who was passing by, kindly called the police for him, only to be told by him to mind her own business. Consequently, Shang Ying rolled her eyes at him and called him a pretentious idiot.

Looking at it this way, Shang Ying actually did the right thing!

Let us present the "2015 Best..." award to the messenger of justice, Miss Shang Ying... Ahem, getting off track.

So, as long as she didn't get involved in Huo Yunshu's mess, she wouldn't be targeted by this gloomy kid.

‘Damn it,’ Shang Ying vented irritably in her mind. Other transmigrators only had grudges with the female lead. She, on the other hand, managed to provoke both the male and female leads together. Buy one get one free, a happy ticket straight to prison.

Just as she was complaining, a knock came at the door, followed by Aunt Zhao's call from outside.

"Eldest Miss, you can come downstairs for dinner."

Aunt Zhao had worked for the Shang family for over a decade. She was a veteran servant who had watched Shang Ying and Shang Yi grow up. Calling Shang Ying down for meals was always her task because the others were afraid of provoking her.

Even so, Aunt Zhao was still a bit nervous when speaking to Shang Ying, keeping her voice as soft as possible so as not to agitate the young mistress.

Shang Ying responded, got off the bed, opened the door, and went downstairs. Dinner was already laid out on the dining table. Not overly lavish, just enough for four people.

The Shang family had a strict rule against extravagance and waste, so they didn't have the ostentatious habits of other wealthy families.

By the time Shang Ying arrived downstairs, the others were already seated. Shang Heng saw that her hair was a bit messy and couldn't resist scolding her again.

"Shang Ying, watch your demeanor and etiquette! Is this how a young lady from a prestigious family is supposed to look?"

Seeing that the old man was picking fights again, Shang Ying didn't hold back either.

"Whichever prestigious family's young lady you like, go ahead and bring her home. I'll pack my bags and move into someone else's house. Satisfied now?"

Scolding children at the dinner table was a major taboo, why wasn't that in the Shang family rules? Guess adults just love picking on kids.

Ning Wanyuan, having been scolded by Shang Ying yesterday, behaved herself today. She didn't dare interject to mediate their conflict anymore, quietly drinking her beauty soup.

Shang Yi was even quieter. He followed the rule of maintaining silence while eating, his chewing noises practically non-existent. No matter what happened around him, as long as it didn't concern him, he acted as if he hadn't seen a thing.

Shang Heng suppressed his anger, took a sip of tea, and forced his temper down.

"That's not what I meant. I'm just telling you to present yourself a bit more neatly."

"Must you keep talking incessantly while people are eating?" Shang Ying set down her chopsticks, her brows knitted and her lips pressed thin. A classic display of displeasure.

"I'm just trying to eat a meal at home. Why do you have so many issues? Am I an eyesore to you? If I bother you, then fine, I won't leave. If you don't want to eat, feel free to beat it!"

Honestly, it was infuriating. Shang Heng, her cheap father, had been particularly eager to pick fights with her over the past two days, so Shang Ying was also harboring a fire inside, unable to speak without a sharp edge to her words.

She hadn't asked him to eat her hair, so what did it matter if her hair was uncombed or not? Searching for trouble out of thin air, must be menopause!

Watching his youngest daughter's increasingly displeased face and hearing her completely unmannered words, Shang Heng felt his heart beating rapidly, as if he were about to faint from rage.

Why had he never realized before that Shang Ying was so sharp-tongued?!