Chapter 869

True or False Heiress: Becoming a Vicious Supporting Female Character (32)

Chu Xiang lowered her head again and began writing the answers one by one. Shao Yan looked at her and interpreted her words as meaning that she had hidden everything to stay and study. He mentally calculated his pocket money. He wondered if the tuition fees were expensive and if his pocket money would be enough to cover Chu Xiang’s tuition. He didn’t want to switch desks.

Chu Xiang’s focused demeanor always had an impact on others. Shao Yan quickly refocused and began concentrating on the problems.

Downstairs, Mrs. Shao was still thinking about Shao Yan taking the initiative to hold Chu Xiang’s hand. She had a somewhat bewildered expression on her face. She thought for a moment and said to the housekeeper, “Did Xiao Yan really walk with Xiangxiang just now? Was I seeing things?”

The housekeeper nodded heavily and said, “It was Young Master who took the initiative to hold her hand, Madam. Young Master is willing to interact with others now!”

Mrs. Shao hesitated and said, “Is it because Xiao Yan… finds me taking up their time? He… he wants to play with his friends, right? I was just rambling so much earlier. Ah, I’m so foolish!”

Mrs. Shao felt remorseful. The housekeeper advised her, “Madam, it’s the first time Young Master has hosted a friend. After a few more occasions, you’ll understand his intentions. I don’t think Young Master will be angry. You made Miss Chu feel the relaxed and warm atmosphere in the house. Maybe she will come over more often, and Young Master will be delighted.”

Only then did Mrs. Shao nod and stop dwelling on it. “You’re right. The young girl said she wouldn’t come back if she wasn’t interested. Oh, by the way, send some food and drinks up to them. Remember to deliver it and quickly leave, so as not to disturb them. Oh, no, you can choose two alert ones to wait outside the door. It won’t disturb them and they can be easily found if needed, understand?”

“Understood. I’ll take care of it right away.”

“Good. Go and arrange it. I’ll go to the kitchen and take a look, make a couple of dishes.” Mrs. Shao didn’t know how to cook when she was young, but later she learned many dishes while taking care of her son at home. It was just to make him happy. This was the first time she had met her son’s friend, so she attached great importance to it. The ingredients were delivered fresh from a Michelin-star restaurant, aiming to make her son’s friends happy as well.

While she was cooking, her assistant had already gathered and investigated Chu Xiang’s background information. She put on her headphones and listened attentively as the assistant reported in detail, gradually understanding Chu Xiang’s situation. When she learned that Chu Xiang had been saved from drowning by Shao Yan, her hand slipped, and the blade cut her index finger.

The kitchen servant hurriedly approached her. “Madam, let me handle this. Please go and tend to the wound.”

Mrs. Shao shook her head. “It’s nothing, just a small cut. I’ll just apply a band-aid.”

Her face turned serious as she asked her assistant on the other end of the phone, “What exactly happened back then? Did Xiao Yan jump into the water? How did he save Chu Xiang? Did he say anything? Did he have any other reactions?”

“Madam, there was no surveillance near the swimming pool. The details that came from Young Master’s classmates were that after Miss Chu started drowning, Young Master’s face turned somewhat pale. He stared at the water surface while clenching his fist. Later, one of their classmates named Yu Nan jumped into the pool and rescued her. After performing CPR on her, it was said that she had stopped breathing.

Everyone was scared at the time, and some were even crying. Young Master suddenly walked over and said, ‘Let me do it,’ then pushed Yu Nan away and performed CPR on Miss Chu with proper techniques. He even did mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and shortly after, Miss Chu regained consciousness.

Afterward, Miss Chu seemed to rely on Young Master. She stayed close to him, holding onto his arm. After confronting Chu Xuan, she even asked Young Master to carry her upstairs to get her bag and escorted her into the ambulance. Young Master watched the ambulance leave and then directly returned home.”

Mrs. Shao remembered now. On that day, Shao Yan stayed in his bedroom the whole afternoon and only came out during dinner. Since nothing seemed out of the ordinary, she didn’t think much of it. But now knowing that it was related to Chu Xiang almost drowning, she felt worried, afraid that Shao Yan might recall something unpleasant.

No wonder Shao Yan treated Chu Xiang differently. It turned out they both had experienced near-drowning incidents, and Chu Xiang was saved by Shao Yan.

Was Shao Yan concerned that Chu Xiang, like him, would be reluctant to interact with people due to the scare? Was he worried that Chu Xiang would face criticism from the Chu family when she returned home? Did he feel a sense of closeness to her because he had saved her? Did he consider themselves to be in similar situations, sharing a common bond?

Mrs. Shao had many speculations in her mind, but she had no way to verify them. Her son had not spoken at home for years, so she had to rely on observing his expressions and constant probing to find out what he liked or disliked. Speaking of which, the phrase “Let me do it” that Shao Yan said by the poolside was surprisingly the only words he had spoken in many years.

Chu Xiang was indeed special to Shao Yan. At the very least, she was the only person who had been able to enter Shao Yan’s world in the past ten years. Based on that alone, she couldn’t allow anyone to bully Chu Xiang.

As for Chu Xiang’s character, she believed in her son’s judgment.

Cases of mistaken identity rarely occurred in wealthy families, but they were not unheard of. In the past, the Chu family’s and the Chen family’s conditions were similar, but due to some twist of fate, their children ended up with different destinies. Mrs. Shao had conducted her own investigation and, of course, learned about the history of mistreatment that Chu Xiang had endured in the Chen family and the numerous punishments she received after being recognized as their daughter.