Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Lu Xia comforted her in her soft voice and said, "Mom, I know what I am doing. Don't worry. I'll be okay."

Couple of seconds later, she asked her a question. "There is something that I find strange, Mom. Didn't you say that Yaoyao is poor in studies?"

He Xiaoman was enjoying her daughter's massage with her eyes closed. She only answered after a moment. "Yes. What about it?"

Lu Xia kept kneading her shoulders while she said, "I think she is going to join No.1 Middle School."

He Xiaoman opened her eyes all of a sudden with an astonished look on her face. She leaned sideways and craned her neck to look at Lu Xia who was standing behind her. "What did you say?"

He Xiaoman was genuinely in shock.

Looking at her reaction, a glint of suspicion arose in Lu Xia's eyes. "Huo Yanxi came to me tonight and told me that Huo Yao would be attending No.1 Middle School. He asked me to look after her at school."

Lu Xia blinked and couldn't help but say, "Mom, did you and dad pull some strings on her behalf? How else could she get into No.1 Middle School?"

He Xiaoman sneered and replied. "No way! Given her grades, not even the mediocre schools would accept her, let alone No.1 Middle School. Why would your dad and I pull any strings for her. She is not a part of this family."

"So you were not the ones who helped her. Then how did she get into No.1 Middle School..." Lu Xia was even more curious now.

He Xiaoman pulled a long face and lowered her voice, subconsciously. "Are you sure about this?"

Lu Xia nodded. "Absolutely sure. Huo Yanxi told me himself. He didn't have any reason to lie to me."

He Xiaoman sat up straight. After a moment of contemplation, she grabbed her phone from the table.

*

Huo Yao was fiddling with some ancient-looking vessels. All of a sudden, her phone began to ring. She stopped what she was doing and looked at the handset, lying on the bed. But after a moment, she ignored it and went back to her work.

After the first call, the caller was unwilling to give up. Her phone kept ringing incessantly.

But Huo Yao was not distracted by the noise. She was fully absorbed in her work. Soon, she channeled the extraction from the utensil into a ceramic bottle. Soon after, she removed her gloves with care.

Her phone was still ringing, only this time, Huo Yao did not turn a deaf ear to it. She walked to the bed and grabbed it. When she saw the caller ID, she was visibly surprised.

She swiped her finger on the screen, and the call was connected. The first thing she heard was He Xiaoman's utterly annoying voice. "What took you so long? I have called you like a thousand times already."

Huo Yao moved her phone a bit away from her ear. She did not care much for her foster mother's accusing voice. "What is it?"

On the other side of the phone, He Xiaoman's expressions became awful. "What is with your tone?"

Huo Yao rubbed her forehead with impatience. She had no time for He Xiaoman's nagging. In a cold voice, she threatened. "I'll hang up if you have nothing else to say."

He Xiaoman knew that this ex-daughter of hers had changed drastically in terms of her personality during the past year. She had become really rebellious. It felt as if she were not the same person. Therefore, He Xiaoman did not scold her any further.

"I don't know what you did for you to get into No.1 Middle School. But listen to me carefully. I don't want to see you at that School. Your existence in that place will be a joke for the No.1 Middle School and the Lu Family."

"Apart from that institute, you can choose any other middle school in the city. We can pull some strings to get you in. Moreover, we can even pay your tuition fee. However, you are not supposed to tell anyone that you were once a part of the Lu Family!"

These words intrigued Huo Yao and she asked in all earnestness. "Is the Lu Family the richest in the world?"