Chapter 1011: Worry Under the Stars
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
A few of the girls held back their laughter and nodded.
Unfortunately, Xia Ling was unable to vent, since what they said was true. Se did not have parents. Her little fingers clenched into tight fists on the side of her body and she told herself to endure it no matter what so as to avoid causing trouble.
Pei Jingyu had taunted her enough. She said, “The teacher has taught us to be magnanimous. We don’t want to make things difficult for you. How about this, you pour tea for Jingmei as a form of compensation for one semester and this thing will be over.”
The girl she had knocked over was Pei Jingmei. Her father had even brought some gifts for Xia Ling to apologise to her a few days ago. Xia Ling’s heart sighed with relief. This was indeed not a serious punishment, who told her to make a mistake? Pei Jingmei’s precious cup had been broken by her, and she must be feeling very upset over it.
Compared to this, it was not a big deal to make tea for her for one semester.
Hence, she looked at Pei Jingmei and said, “I’m willing to make tea for you as a form of compensation.”
Pei Jingmei’s upbringing made her very graceful. She looked at her reluctantly and said, “This is the only way you can compensate me. This valuable cup is too expensive for you to afford. If you tell Big Cousin, he’ll punish you. Although you can’t make up for breaking my cup no matter how many cups of tea you pour for me, there is no better way.”
Pei Jingyu smiled. “Pei Jingmei is so magnanimous. Then it’s settled.”
A storm had passed just like this. It was settled with Xia Ling pouring tea for Pei Jingmei for the whole semester.
Xia Ling still felt very uncomfortable. Even though she had been in the wrong, it was still really unpleasant to be lectured on as if they were set up on high and taking pity on her. She felt vexed over it, and her expression showed her worry when she returned home listlessly for dinner.
Pei Ziheng asked her, “What’s wrong, are you sick?”
She gave him a forced smile. “Nothing. I was just not used to the first day of lessons and I’m just tired.”
Pei Ziheng asked, “How are you getting along with the other kids? They’re not being difficult on you, are they?”
She forced herself to be more energetic. “They already know that I was adopted by you, so how would they dare to make things difficult for me? I was just unaccustomed to the class. As you know, I came from the orphanage… I can’t keep up with the pace in a lot of places.” This was not exactly fake. Teacher Gao had said a lot of professional terms that she had not understood. It was very difficult for her.
Pei Ziheng took her words for it and thought that she was just tired from class.
He cut a small steak into tiny pieces for her and squeezed some sauce into her plate. “It’s normal to be unaccustomed on the first few days of class. It will get better. I’ve spoken to Teacher Gao and you can ask her anything you don’t understand. Although she is strict, she’s still a good teacher. All the two generations of the Pei family were taught by her.”
Xia Ling nodded and heaved a sigh of relief internally. Luckily, she had fooled him.
In the classroom, the whispers of the ladies also echoed in her ears—[Big Cousin is such an accomplished man, how could he have taken a liking to her?] [Once Big Cousin sees her true colors, he’ll definitely drive her out.]
Every word pierced through her heart.
She did not dare to tell him about being bullied in class. What if he really started to dislike her and chased her out? Xia Ling ate the steak bit by bit, forcing a smile, her mind loaded with worries.
At night, she lied on her bed and stared outside at the starry sky through the window and could not fall asleep. She got up and took out the exquisite phone Pei Ziheng had given her and dialed Xia Yu. Xia Yu also had a mobile phone that Pei Ziheng had given to her. It was to make things convenient for the two sisters. After a few rings, the line was connected.
“Sister?” Xia Yu sounded a little confused.
Xia Ling suddenly realized that it was already very late. “Xiao Yu, were you sleeping? Did I disturb you?” Xia Ling stared at the starry sky and asked softly.
In the ward, Xia Yu frowned and rubbed her sleepy eyes, feeling a little impatient. However, she still answered the phone in a gentle voice that brought even a hint of joy. “How could my sister possibly disturb me? Even if I have been woken up, I’m still very happy to receive a call from my sister.”
“Really?”
“Really.” Xia Yu smiled. “Is there something wrong?”
“I…” Xia Ling pondered over her matters. Her slender white fingers unconsciously rolled his hair into curls. “Xiao Yu, do you think that one day, Brother Pei wouldn’t want us anymore?”
Xia Yu was shocked awake. “Why would you say that? Sister, did you make him angry?” She asked while sitting up in bed. She was extremely anxious. Her illness had finally turned for the better. The doctor had even said that they could arrange a surgery after resting for a while. He had warned her not to have any accidents at this juncture! But this damn sister, she did not just ruin things for her right!
She cursed Xia Ling in her heart and calculated it. If this stupid sister of hers was to really annoy Pei Ziheng, how would she be able to protect herself? “Tell me quickly, how did you offend him, I’ll help you come up with a strategy!”
After hearing her sister’s anxious and nervous voice, Xia Ling could not help but feel a burst of warmth explode in her heart. Sure enough, her sister cared most for her. The sisters were connected with their hearts, Xiao Yu was simply not the same as the “sisters” from Pei family who did not have any blood relation with her.
“Don’t worry.” She reassured. “It’s nothing big, I was just bullied by the people in class.” She told Xia Yu everything about what had happened in etiquette class. Because she had kept hidden so many grievances in her heart, she ended up talking for a long time without even realizing it.
Xia Yu listened quietly and finally relaxed. Good, it was only this stupid sister not living a good life. But fortunately, Brother Pei was not angry with her! “You must never tell Brother Pei about these,” Xia Yu said. “If he finds out that you can’t do anything well, he’ll definitely detest you! Sister, you have to endure it, you understand?”
“Yes, I know.” Xia Ling felt like crying. “I won’t tell him. I just… I’m just a little upset. Xiao Yu, are we inferior just because we came from the orphanage?”
Xia Yu sneered in her heart.
Who said that people who came out of the orphanage were inferior? She had been living in the hospital these days and had been enjoying the pampering that rich ladies had. All the other patients in the building were all envious of her! Xia Yu could not understand how, even with Pei Ziheng’s support, this stupid sister had landed herself in this pitiful state?
But of course, she did not say this directly to her.
She comforted Xia Ling softly and quietly. “The situation’s not as bad as you think, sister. Even if they’re smarter than you, better than you and have a better background than you… even if you can’t compare to them in all aspects, as the saying goes, stupid birds fly first. As long as you work hard, you’ll be able to make up for the gap.”