Chapter 373: Chapter 373: The Classmates’ Jealousy
"Mom, is Cousin completely better now?" Wang Yuting asked innocently.
"Not completely. The poison is all gone, but I don’t know if Ziquan’s legs... if he’ll ever be able to stand again!"
"Mom, you don’t even know how he’s doing?" Wang Yuting asked, clinging to her mother’s arm coquettishly.
"He just went to the hospital for a check-up today. I don’t know either," Mu Qingtong said truthfully.
"Mom, why don’t we go to Grandpa’s house and ask? I’m really worried about Cousin."
"There’s no need to go over. We can just call your grandpa and ask; that’ll tell us what we need to know." Mu Qingtong didn’t think much of it.
She thought her adopted daughter was only so concerned because she liked Ziquan so much. ’If Ziquan’s legs really can’t recover, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for him to marry Yuting.’
After all, Yuting was the daughter she had carefully raised; she was not only beautiful but also cultured and well-mannered.
"Mom, put it on speakerphone. I want to hear Cousin’s voice too," Wang Yuting said shyly.
"Haha, what if your grandpa is the one who answers?"
"Mom! I’m not talking to you anymore!" Wang Yuting was furious. ’This idiot is taking forever.’
"Alright, alright. I’ll put it on speaker so you can hear Ziquan’s voice." In the end, Mu Qingtong always gave in.
And it was indeed Mu Ziquan who answered the phone. He had taken Gu Jiaojiao’s words to heart last time and was now on his guard.
"Aunt, the test results aren’t out yet. Professor Xia said... I might never be able to stand again in this lifetime."
"Ah! *Sob*... Ziquan, your life is so hard... *sob*..."
"Aunt, please don’t cry. I’m hanging up now."
Seeing her adoptive mother still crying long after the call had ended, Wang Yuting said impatiently,
"Mom, stop crying and go make dinner. Dad and my brothers will be back soon. I’m going to ask a neighbor about our homework."
"*Sob*... Yuting, then you remember to come back quickly for dinner." Mu Qingtong felt her adopted daughter was so incredibly considerate.
Wang Yuting didn’t go looking for her classmate. Instead, she went to the post office to make a phone call, then dawdled for a while, only heading back when it was about time for dinner.
She was a pampered young lady who had never lifted a finger to do chores, so she had never learned to cook. Every time she was supposed to help with a meal, she would find an excuse to slack off...
After Gu Jiaojiao hung up Sheng Shiwu’s call, she took some dried river snail meat from her space and soaked it in cold water.
She then caught and butchered a chicken from her space and picked some fresh greens and peppers. It had been a long time since she had cooked a meal herself.
Thinking that she would have even less time to cook once school started, she decided to make a delicious meal to treat Su Shuochi.
She busied herself in the kitchen for over half an hour and finally produced several dishes that were a feast for the senses.
Just then, the sound of a car horn came from outside. Gu Jiaojiao knew Su Shuochi was back.
When Su Shuochi saw that his wife had already prepared dinner, he sent Geng Haoyi and Fu Junyuan on their way.
There was no way he was letting those two eat the meal his wife had worked so hard to make.
The couple enjoyed another sweet, candlelit dinner. Su Shuochi ate until he was stuffed, and they took a walk in the courtyard afterward.
Then they went into the space to practice their skills for a while, feed the chickens, and water the vegetables. Though they were mundane chores, doing them together as a couple felt very meaningful.
「The next day.」
Gu Jiaojiao officially started her classes. Since none of her acquaintances were in her section, she felt quite at ease.
Although some of the girls in her class were jealous of her stunning beauty, they were still strangers and weren’t about to start a fight with her on the first day.
It wasn’t until lunchtime, when the two handsome heartthrobs, Han Jingyi and Xiao Rui, were waiting for her at the classroom door, that she incurred the collective wrath of the girls in her class.
Only after Gu Jiaojiao, Han Jingyi, and Xiao Rui were a good distance away did the girls in her class begin to speak, their voices dripping with envy.
"I heard Gu Jiaojiao is from some small town. How did she get to know the young masters of the Han and Xiao families as soon as she arrived?"
"Who knows? Didn’t you see how pretty she is?"
"All pretty girls are vixens who only know how to seduce male students," a girl with a face full of acne said hatefully.
Her own father had been captivated by a beautiful woman and hadn’t been coming home lately, leaving her mother to cry her eyes out every day.
Their class president was from one of the great families of the Imperial City. While his family wasn’t on the same level as the Xiao, Han, or Mu families, they were still quite respectable.
He glared at the girl with the acne-covered face. "What nonsense are you spouting! A student like Gu Jiaojiao, who has both looks and talent, is bound to have many admirers."
Another, more upstanding male student saw their class president speaking up for Gu Jiaojiao and immediately chimed in.
"Yeah! Even if there’s nothing going on between her and Han Jingyi, other guys would definitely be trying to get on her good side."
"Hmph! You men are all the same, only judging by looks. Your eyes light up whenever you see a pretty woman," the acne-faced girl said resentfully.
The only reason she dared to complain so loudly was that her family background was also extraordinary. Unfortunately for her, she had a face full of acne instead of beauty.
A male student who knew her teased, "Li Yanping, Gu Jiaojiao is so beautiful. Why don’t you try to get on her good side and introduce her to your older brother? She could be your future sister-in-law."
"Tch, don’t be ridiculous. If she looks like that, how good-looking could her brother be?" the class president jeered, his words sharp as ever.
"You... You all..." Li Yanping’s face went pale with anger. Stomping her foot, she pointed at Xu Bo’s nose. "Say that again! I... I..."
She was so flustered with anger that she couldn’t even manage to stutter out a complete sentence.
In reality, her older brother was quite handsome. It was her own acne-covered face that made her seem repulsive.
The male students, led by the class president Xu Bo, roared with laughter before heading off to the cafeteria together.
As they walked, one of them said loudly, "Those girls are just putting down Gu Jiaojiao because they’re jealous of her."
"Of course they’re jealous. Why else would they talk bad about her for no reason?"
A girl following behind was practically fuming. ’When did I ever get jealous of Gu Jiaojiao? I really admire her, okay?’
Li Yanping had a few followers. Seeing that their "snack provider" was unhappy, one of them said placatingly, "Yanping, that Gu Jiaojiao really is a vixen."
"Gu Jiaojiao must have seduced Han Jingyi. The Han family seems to be close with your Li family. Is he your fiancé?"
"Keep dreaming. It would be a miracle if Han Jingyi ever looked twice at an ugly freak like her," a male student who’d had a crush on Li Yanping since childhood said, ruthlessly crushing her hopes.
His family’s status wasn’t as good as Li Yanping’s. Although they had been classmates since they were little, their families were not of equal standing.
He had always relied on putting Li Yanping down to get her attention.
"Haha, the way I see it, it must be Han Jingyi and his friend who are shamelessly pestering our classmate Gu Jiaojiao."
Xu Bo shot the tactless student a glare. "Do you even know who Han Jingyi is?"
"I don’t care who he is," the student from the less influential family said huffily.
Xu Bo looked at him and shook his head. ’My dad used to think highly of this guy and wanted to mentor him. But with an attitude like this? Forget it.’
At that moment, the male student had no idea what a great opportunity he had just lost.
Meanwhile, Gu Jiaojiao was already in the cafeteria. Han Jingyi went to stand in line for food, while Xiao Rui went to save a table.
"My Lady, I got all the dishes you usually like. Try them and see if they’re to your taste."
