"It's alright, Aunt Zhang." Yang Shule looked up and smiled at Aunt Zhang. "I've been taking medicine recently, and I'm almost fully recovered. I still have to go to school today." 　　Aunt Zhang opened her mouth. 　　"Smack!" 　　It was the sound of Yang Zhi throwing down his spoon. His tone was unfriendly. "Aunt Zhang, you've been in our family for over ten years. When did we have to fight over even a bowl of soup?" 　　Aunt Zhang's face turned pale. 　　Without saying a word, he turned and walked towards the kitchen. 　　Soon, the casserole containing the simmering soup was brought out wrapped in a cloth. 　　Chen Mo, who had been sitting with his legs crossed, stood up to offer his seat and extended his hand, saying, "Let me do it." 　　Less than a second later, there was another sudden "smack!" 　　Chen Mo looked at the shattered clay pot on the floor, its contents—goji berries, red dates, black-boned chicken, and other steaming ingredients—spread everywhere. In the ensuing silence, Chen Mo said regretfully, "I'm sorry, it was too hot, I couldn't hold it steady." 　　Aunt Zhang's chest heaved. 　　He was clearly doing it on purpose, but his half-hearted apology left her speechless. 　　I originally thought he would at least receive some condemnation. 　　Yang Zhi frowned and said, "Still standing there? Can't you see how hot it is?" 　　Zhou Yaoqiong: "What's done is done." 　　Yang Qi'an: "Aunt Zhang, have someone tidy up." 　　Chen Mo casually picked up his backpack from the chair and said, "It seems I'm not cut out for this soup. I'll be going now." 　　As he passed by Aunt Zhang, he glanced again at Yang Shule, whose eyelashes were lowered and whose expression was obscured. 　　"Xiao Le, don't take it to heart. I wasn't targeting you." He took another step back and looked at Aunt Zhang. "This soup takes a lot of time, so I'll have to trouble you to make another pot for my brother. Oh, and Aunt Zhang, I have to remind you of something. During holidays, I inevitably have to come back to meet people as the Yang family's son. I hope you'll arrange a few extra portions then. I don't care about myself, but if you lose face for the entire Yang family, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep you working here for years. I'll feel really bad about it then." 　　Aunt Zhang looked at him with trepidation, and her gaze finally began to show fear. 　　Meanwhile, three or five servants who were secretly observing this area from a distance, especially those who had previously sabotaged Chen Mo, now just wanted to disappear on the spot and pray that he wouldn't cause trouble for them. 　　Chen Mo no longer cared about the expressions on the faces of the people behind him, or what they were thinking. 　　The moment I stepped out the door. 　　Outside, the wind was gentle and the clouds were light, and the sunlight was warm. 　　The driver escorted Chen Mo all the way to school, and when he got out of the car, he was exceptionally respectful in helping him with his luggage. 　　"If you need anything, just send me a message and I'll buy it and deliver it to you." 　　Chen Mo opened the handle of the suitcase and said, "It's okay, you go ahead and do your work." 　　"Okay! I'll wait at the gate on Friday after school." 　　"No need to wait for me." Chen Mo said to the driver, who was staring blankly. "Weekends are short, I'll go back during the long holiday. I'll call you then." 　　Ignoring the driver's troubled expression, Chen Mo dragged his suitcase toward the door. 　　The entrance to Suicheng No. 1 Middle School was bustling on Monday morning. 　　Parents dropping off their children gave them countless instructions, while car horns, breakfast vendors' calls, and school leaders scolding students for not having their student IDs mingled together in a cacophony of noise. 　　The students were all wearing the same school uniform and lined up to enter from the gate. 　　It wasn't the beginning of the school year, and the sound of Chen Mo's suitcase rolling over the stone pavement attracted a lot of attention. 　　Chen Mo joined the line. 　　Two girls were in front of him in line. They turned around to look at him when they heard the noise, but quickly looked away and continued their passionate discussion. 　　"There was a car race in Nanshan last weekend, and I heard that our school won first place." 　　"Are you crazy? People have died racing there before. Who would dare to be so reckless?" 　　"I don't know, the level of secrecy is quite high. I only heard about it from a distant, wealthy relative of mine. Those who go there looking for thrills are mostly rich kids, and there are a lot of bad people there too." 　　"Speaking of money, I've heard about the Yang family in the second year of high school who had that mix-up at birth. What happened this weekend was truly exciting. Someone posted about it on the forum; you can check it out..." 　　The two girls were touching heads, looking at their phones and whispering to each other. 　　I don't know what I saw, but I suddenly became emotional. 　　Chen Mo vaguely heard Xi Siyan's name, and one of the girls excitedly said, "He's actually here too?" 　　“It’s not surprising, everyone says he’s close to that fake son of the Yang family.” Another girl’s tone was slightly calmer, but not without longing. She said, “I heard that when he went straight from junior high, the school teachers suggested he skip a grade, but I don’t know why he didn’t. And he wins first place in competitions every year, making the top students from other schools afraid of him. The key is that he’s also good at sports, has a high IQ, is good-looking, and is rich. People like us can’t even look up to him.” 　　A young girl's dreams always seem innocent and beautiful. 　　By using fragmented information, one can bestow numerous halos upon the person in their heart, as if he were the peerless hero of their dreams. 　　Chen Mo didn't want to discourage them; the person they were discussing was also one of the "rotten people" in Nanshan that they themselves described. 　　Chen Mo learned about Xi Siyan's love for racing by chance. 　　He also knew that during his two years abroad, he had obtained an international professional racing license and participated in many large-scale competitions. 　　Nobody abroad cares that his surname is Xi; they probably wouldn't mind tearing off that facade of a respectable gentleman and revealing his extreme desire for control. 　　Back in China, he continued to be a rising star in the Xi family business, putting on a show of affluence and social graces. When old acquaintances talked about him, they still remembered him as the unattainable sun that had captivated countless young girls during their student days. 　　The girl continued. 　　The conversation took a sharp turn at this point, with one person gently patting the other, as if they were saying something unspoken: "Wake up, he probably doesn't even like girls."

Chapter 18