### Chapter 261: Back to School
After handing in her homework and returning to her seat, Gao Xiaotian couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief as he looked at Xia Yu, who was still playing with her little doll. “I never thought you’d actually do your homework. What a miracle!”
Xia Yu: “….”
“Great job, Xia Yu! You really nailed it this time. Keep up the effort! Even if you make mistakes, it’s no big deal; the most important thing is that you turned in the assignment.” “Exactly! You don’t seem like the type who wouldn’t do homework. Keep pushing forward next time!”
The two girls in front couldn’t resist chiming in with encouragement. In their hearts, Xia Yu had already been tagged as a girl, and they could help this little cutie out.
After all, they had promised to take care of Xia Yu as her “sisters.”
Receiving compliments made Xia Yu a bit uneasy, though. She felt it was strange, so she explained hesitantly, “It’s not like I wanted to write it—Sister Little Ning made me do it.”
“Sister Little Ning?”
Upon hearing this term, Li Jia and Guo Yao couldn’t help but exchange glances, clearly very interested in this name. Gao Xiaotian, sitting next to them, was equally intrigued.
So, the shameless Li Jia pressed on, “Xia Yu, is this Sister Little Ning you mentioned Jiang Kekai? I heard she’s Jiang Hanhang’s sister and comes from a wealthy family.”
Xia Yu nodded earnestly, “Yeah.”
“How do you know her? What’s she like? I heard she’s really cold; it’s hard to be friends with her.”
Now that they guessed Xia Yu was indeed a girl, Guo Yao felt even freer to chat, spinning around in her seat, resting her arms on Xia Yu’s desk as she engaged in conversation.
“Is she really cold? I think Sister Little Ning is pretty nice. We met by chance on the street.”
Thinking about her sweet memories with Jiang Kekai made Xia Yu feel all warm and fuzzy inside, forcing a shy smile from her lips. Such a delightful mix of embarrassment and sweetness! The others noticed her blissful state and were stunned. When had they ever seen Xia Yu this happy?
You see, since Xia Yu got to school, she hardly ever smiled, but now… she was genuinely grinning with happiness! What a rare sight. This only piqued their curiosity more, especially Gao Xiaotian the gossiping prince: “So, what’s your relationship since you’re living together?”
This question was getting a bit too personal, but Xia Yu still answered, “Um, I live with Sister Little Ning, so she’s really nice to me. As for our relationship…”
In that moment, Xia Yu recalled Jiang Kekai’s boldness during their mealtime confession and felt a rush of surprise.
Her cheeks flushed in reality: “It’s sisterly. She always treats me like her younger sister, so I call her Sister Little Ning.”
If Gao Xiaotian hadn’t already guessed that Xia Yu was a girl, he would have been so jealous! Imagine sleeping with such a beautiful young lady? What a dream!
But alas, Xia Yu was also a girl. What was the point of sleeping with the young lady? Not like they could do anything anyway, right? Just then, their head teacher, He Gongxing, entered the classroom with textbooks in hand.
“The class monitor is counting how many people are here, see who’s absent. Xia Yu, come with me to the office for a bit.” Xia Yu: “???”
Turning back, she saw Xia Yu still in a daze, and Guo Yao couldn’t help but whisper, “Xia Yu, the teacher is calling you!” “Huh? Oh~”
Xia Yu stood up and slipped out the back door under the class’s watchful gaze.
Seeing Xia Yu had left, He Gongxing exited through the front.
In the office, He Gongxing first found a chair for Xia Yu, then sat down in his office chair, “Let’s talk.”
Not knowing what He Gongxing wanted, Xia Yu obediently sat down in the chair he had brought over, watching him expectantly.
He Gongxing glanced around; there was another female teacher grading homework far away. As long as they spoke quietly, she wouldn’t hear them.
Then, he confidently looked at Xia Yu and said, “I checked with the nurse about your situation. I understand what you’re dealing with. If you ever feel unwell or have any difficulties, please let me know. Don’t try to be strong, okay?”
Xia Yu’s expression flickered. Was this why he called her in? She just hoped this wouldn’t reach her father’s ears. Noticing Xia Yu’s silence, He Gongxing worried she was upset about his discovery. So he continued, “I know you must have your reasons for coming to school like this, so I won’t say anything to anyone. As for the other students, the rumors are already widespread; as long as you don’t confirm them, it should be fine.”
“Mm.”
Finally, Xia Yu responded—her voice weak. This further confirmed He Gongxing’s suspicion that she indeed had her reasons for disguising herself as a boy.
He Gongxing also realized why Jiang Kekai insisted Xia Yu could use the girls’ restroom and guaranteed she’d take responsibility if anything went wrong. He waved Xia Yu off, “Alright, it’s not a big deal. You can head back to class now…”
Suddenly, he remembered something and called Xia Yu back just as she was about to leave, “By the way, do you need me to rearrange your seat? Maybe move you to the front so it’s easier to hear the lessons?”
“No, it’s fine where I am.”
“Okay then! If you need anything, just come to my office; I’ll arrange whatever I can for you.” “Th-thank you…”
Finally, Xia Yu could no longer hold in her nervousness, and her words started to jumble. He Gongxing chuckled, thinking, what a little cutie: “Alright, go back to class now.”
And with that, their chat concluded. Who could guess how relieved Xia Yu felt stepping out of that office?
As she returned to class, Xia Yu quietly slid back in through the rear, not wanting anyone to notice her and spark unnecessary conversation. She preferred to lay low, hoping everyone would just ignore her.
But could that even happen?
Sixth graders are still just kids, so things can get noisy. When Xia Yu walked into the classroom, as expected, it was chaos. Every topic was up for discussion, primarily about Xia Yu’s recent antics, speculating why she was cross-dressing…
Though Xia Yu desperately wanted to stop this, how could she? Resigned, she pretended she hadn’t heard anything as she settled back into her seat. “You’re back? That was quick! What did the teacher say to you?” Gao Xiaotian asked, scooting her chair over, unable to contain his curiosity—he was super intrigued.
At the same time, his question snapped Li Jia and Guo Yao—who had been reading extracurricular books—back to reality, both turning to Xia Yu in unison. “Xia Yu, what did the teacher say?”
“Nothing much. He just asked about your previous questions, seeing if I needed help. I said no.” “That’s it?”
Gao Xiaotian’s gossip-loving heart felt a little unfulfilled, leading to his disappointment. Xia Yu nodded, “Yeah.”
Afterwards, Xia Yu pulled out those fluffy little dolls to play with, since she couldn’t openly use her phone in class; she had to settle for squeezing the toys.
Watching Xia Yu—dressed as a boy yet with that cute little girl demeanor—Li Jia and Guo Yao couldn’t help but laugh. Was she still technically cross-dressing?
Not long after, He Gongxing returned to the classroom.
He could hear the lively discussions, but he said nothing and picked up his textbook to start the lesson: “Now, turn to….”
Taking Sister Little Ning’s advice, Xia Yu was no longer reading that “How to Be a Secretary” book during class since that was an extracurricular topic and could not delay her studies!
Though she could read it during free time because it was an extracurricular book and unrelated to classroom content.
So, Xia Yu followed suit; wanting to avoid disappointing Sister Little Ning, she now had a goal to study. Grasping her two little dolls, she listened attentively in class. Even if she didn’t understand, she wouldn’t drift off to sleep or anything. It was just, “So boring…”
So, Jiang Kekai’s method was quite effective, especially for little cutie Xia Yu.
Meanwhile, Doctor Y, the Huang Family from the capital, and the Jiang Family from Peng City all received news about Xia Yu’s return.
That’s right! They had been searching for her the entire time, only to find out she was away. So they had temporarily given up on their operations, waiting for Xia Yu to return.
And now, the time had come.
The three forces moved quickly. While Jiang Kekai, Jiang Hanhang, Xia Yu, and Xia Ling were in class, they sent a large number of people to lurk around the school, ready to surround their target once she appeared.
As for how they would persuade Xia Yu? Well, that was beyond Jiang Kekai’s concern. They were confident; with enough enticing offers, Xia Yu wouldn’t be too hard to convince!
