The next morning, An Xiulan woke up first as she slept early last night. When she came downstairs dressed in her school uniform, An Qinyan raised her brow in surprise.
“Good morning, mom, ” An Xiulan greeted and went to the cabinet to take out cat food to give to Betty and Augustine.
“Good morning, ” An Qinyan said in bewilderment. Each morning she had to force her daughter to feed the cats but this morning her daughter did so without her forcing her. “How was your stay at your dad’s house?”
“It was good, ” An Xiulan replied, tiredly. She slept all night yet she felt so exhausted. She didn’t want to go to school but she didn’t want to stay at home either.
“You slept early last night. Did you finish your homework?” An Qinyan asked.
“Oh, I didn’t, ” An Xiulan realised that she had yet to do her homework.
“Shangyan and Lu Xuan are still asleep. Let them wake up. You can take their help, ” An Qinyan said. “Until then, I will serve your breakfast.”
An Xiulan didn’t say anything but still followed her mom to the breakfast table.
“I know you would have eaten a lot of junk food at your dad’s house. No fried food or sugar for you for the next week, ” An Qinyan said and pushed a plate full of healthy food in front of her daughter who quietly ate it. Now, she was getting more and more worried seeing An Xiulan not arguing about food.
“Do you want more?” An Qinyan asked.
An Xiulan shook her head. She had her breakfast in just five minutes and once again, she had nothing to do. She headed to her bedroom and came downstairs with her school bag and laptop. Sitting next to her mother who was reviewing some files, she began doing her homework.
“What are you doing, Lanlan?” An Qinyan gently asked her.
“Homework, ” An Xiulan replied.
“But your brothers are still asleep, ” An Qinyan sighed.
An Xiulan pointed at her laptop screen where she was getting help with homework.
“Oh, that’s good, ” An Qinyan reacted. She took her coffee from the house help and once again looked at her daughter who was doing homework on her own for the first time. She didn’t know why but she had a very uneasy feeling in her heart for some reason. An Xiulan looked the same yet she didn’t not. She didn’t know why she didn’t like seeing her daughter calm and well-behaved.
“Do you want to have coffee?” An Qinyan tried to initiate a conversation.
“Drinking coffee in the morning makes me nauseous, “An Xiulan replied, her head buried in her books.
“Oh, ” An Qinyan didn’t know what to say next. She had this feeling of kept talking to her for some reasons that she wasn’t aware of. “Does your belly and back hurt?”
An Xiulan looked up at her mother and then shook her head. “I took pain relievers after breakfast.”
“Okay, if you don’t feel good, tell me about it, ” An Qinyan said. “And if you need something, you can say so.”
“Can I not go to school today?” An Xiulan asked.
“Why?” An Qinyan asked.
“I don’t feel like going today, “An Xiulan stared at her and said.
An Qinyan sighed. “You already have to take so many days off for your shoots and stuff. You can’t miss school or your teachers will complain. Do you understand?”
An Xiulan nodded her head and didn’t say anything.
“Do you want my help with any subject like maths?” An Qinyan asked her.
An Xiulan shook her head. She could do it with the help of the internet. Although it was taking her double the amount of time and effort to understand on her own, it was fine this way, without depending on anyone. Her mother left the couch when Gu Yanxi came from his morning run. She sighed as she looked at the homework that she was unable to finish. However, she still tried her best to finish.
First, she completed English, which was her strong subject and then she did mathematics homework. When Gu Shangyan and Lu Xuan came downstairs, she was on her second last subject– history.
“Auntie, where is Xiulan?” Gu Shangyan asked. “Has she woken up?”
“Oh, she is doing her homework in the living room, “An Qinyan replied.
Gu Shangyan sat next to An Xiulan and said with a smile, “Tell me where you need help?”
An Xiulan closed the geography notebook and blinked her eyes. “Nowhere. Only history is left.”
“What about mathematics?” Gu Shangyan furrowed his brow.
“Already done, ” An Xiulan replied and opened her history notebook and textbook.
“Show me your answers, ” Gu Shangyan said. He took her mathematics notebook and began reviewing her homework. He was impressed to see that all her answers were right. “All are right but don’t you think this method is too complicated?”
“Oh, is it?” An Xiulan blinked her eyes.
”Of course, do you want me to teach you another method?” Gu Shangyan asked her.
“Maybe some other time. I only have fifteen minutes to complete my history homework, ” An Xiulan told him.
“Do you want help in history?” Gu Shangyan offered.
“Thank you but you are a science student, ” An Xiulan reminded him.
“But I have read books on Chinese history, ” Gu Shangyan assured her.
“Once again, thank you but the syllabus is world history, ” An Xiulan replied to him with a polite smile. She didn’t look at him again and began reading the chapter to find answers to her questions. She was underlining the important points with a pencil.
Gu Shangyan sighed as he looked at her underlining her book with a pencil. He didn’t say anything even though he knew how much she hated someone dirtying her books with pencil or pen underlines.
、 “Then, see you at the breakfast table, ” Gu Shangyan replied.
“I already had breakfast, ” An Xiulan said, without looking up.
_____
Inside the car, An Xiulan was quickly writing while waiting for her history homework. When she could not solve it all on her own, she had to ask Shen Yue to help her. She had decided last night to stop taking help from anyone else but once again she failed herself.
Lu Xuan sneakily turned to look at the girl sitting next to him in the back seat of the car writing her homework.
“Young Miss, do you want to stop by the dessert store?” The driver asked as they were on the road to her favourite dessert shop where she would buy something for her every day.
“No, uncle, ” An Xiulan answered without looking up.
Lu Xuan raised his brow at her reply. “But I want to buy something.”
Thus, the driver stopped the car and Lu Xuan got out. He thought An Xiulan was only playing aloof and indifferent to get his attention but when she didn’t even look at him when he exited the car, he signed. He entered the store and looked at the desserts in a depressed gaze.
He didn’t know why but he chose An Xiulan’s favourite doughnuts and boba tea. When he returned to the car, he quietly passed her the small bag of doughnuts and strawberry boba tea.
She looked at the dessert and drink and then at him before saying, “Thank you, Lu Xuan.”
Lu Xuan just shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. He was too proud to admit that he was hoping for her to fight with him. It was better when they fight than the time when they sit awkwardly having nothing to talk about.
When they reached school, he got out of the car first. Actually, he wanted to talk to her but he didn’t know what to talk to her.
An Xiulan dragged her tired body inside the school building, her eyes shone when she saw Han Zixin parking his bicycle and she strutted to him.
“What’s up?” Han Zixin asked, looking at her pale complexion.
“I’m sulking, ” An Xiulan said in a tone that belonged to a spoiled child.
Han Zixin rubbed her head gently and took her school bag. “Everything will be fine.”
She nodded her head and placed her head on his shoulder. He took the desert bag from her hands and sipped her boba tea.
“It’s good, ” Han Zixin said, sipping on the tea. “Do you wanna taste it?”
An Xiulan nodded her head. He passed her the drink and she sipped on it. “Too cold. You can have the rest.”
Han Zixin shrugged and accepted it. She took out the doughnut from the packet and fed him. With innocent and happy eyes she asked, “Is it good?”
“Too good, ” Han Zixin said. “Eat it.”
An Xiulan shook her head. “I have to lose five pounds in a week. I am taking part in a show.”
From the distance, Lu Xuan, who was watching the scene, was so angry that the throbbing vein on his forehead could burst anytime. She had been sitting next to him all the drive like a dying cabbage and now that she saw that boy, she was shining and smiling like a blooming boy.
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