That evening, Jiang Qionghua didn’t come home. Alone in the massive villa, Jiang Yi felt an unparalleled sense of joy.
Of course, even with Jiang Qionghua away, Grandma Xu Lan, the Jiang family cook, still prepared a lavish spread for dinner.
After eating her fill, Jiang Yi followed her routine, heading to the home gym for a two-hour workout.
Perhaps because the girl from earlier had bitten so hard, sweat irritated the wounds, making them sting unbearably. Finding the pain intolerable, Jiang Yi took a shower. Afterwards, she went downstairs to ask Grandma Xu Lan if there were any bandages in the house.
As she reached the landing, she saw Grandma Xu Lan handing a food container to Jiang Qionghua’s assistant and paused.
Once the assistant left with the container, Jiang Yi descended the stairs and met Grandma Xu Lan, who was slowly walking back. “Grandma Xu Lan, do we have any bandages?”
Hearing the question, Grandma Xu Lan immediately tensed. “Bandages? Yes, yes… Xiao Yi, where are you hurt? Is it serious? Let Granny see…”
Seeing the old woman’s anxiety, Jiang Yi chuckled dismissively. “Not serious, not serious… Just got bitten a few times.”
Grandma Xu Lan’s voice shot up instantly. “Bitten! Did someone bully you at school?”
Realizing the misunderstanding, Jiang Yi quickly recounted the day’s events.
After listening, Grandma Xu Lan fetched the first-aid kit, muttering, “Xiao Yi is such a good child. I knew no one would bully such a good kid.”
“Come, come, let Granny put these on for you.”
Jiang Yi felt embarrassed and quickly refused. “No need, Granny, I can do it myself.”
Grandma Xu Lan grasped her arm. Her thin, withered hand clamped down like pliers, surprisingly strong, pulling Jiang Yi onto the sofa. “You can’t see back there yourself. Granny will help.”
Jiang Yi, generally respectful of elders, obediently knelt before Grandma Xu Lan, allowing her to apply the bandages.
Grandma Xu Lan pushed Jiang Yi’s shirt down her shoulder, revealing the bruised, purple marks on her right shoulder. She clucked sympathetically, “How could that child bite so hard? It’s broken the skin and drawn blood.”
The old woman sighed sadly as she unwrapped the bandages.
Jiang Yi hated this kind of grandmotherly concern most. “It doesn’t hurt that much,” she said quickly. “I have thick skin.”
She swiftly changed the subject. “Right, Granny, I just saw my… my mother’s assistant. Was she picking up a late-night snack? Is my mother working late again?”
Jiang Yi had only lived in this house for about ten days, but Jiang Qionghua seemed to work late almost every single night.
Grandma Xu Lan squinted as she applied a bandage. “Not for your mother. It’s for Xianxian…”
She paused, realizing she might have said too much, and fell silent.
Xianxian? Ning Wenying’s daughter? The “peer” who was supposed to move in with her soon?
Jiang Yi felt a certain curiosity about this “peer,” but Jiang Qionghua never elaborated. Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Yi pressed on. “Xianxian? Auntie Ning’s daughter? What happened to her?”
Feigning the intense curiosity of a teenager about her peers, Jiang Yi persisted, “My mother mentioned her many times, but only called her Xianxian. What’s her full name? Have you met her, Granny? What’s she like?”
Faced with this barrage of questions, Grandma Xu Lan couldn’t very well refuse. She finished applying the last bandage and sighed, “Xianxian… Her full name is Jiang Sixian. She… sigh… like you, she’s had a hard life.”
Jiang Sixian? Hearing the name, Jiang Yi frowned. It felt strangely familiar.
Confused, Jiang Yi turned to look at Grandma Xu Lan. “Hard life?”
Grandma Xu Lan sighed. Seeing Jiang Yi’s genuine curiosity, she decided to spill the beans. “Like you, she was raised by her mother. Her mom… your Auntie Ning, divorced your Uncle Jiang when Xianxian was five.”
“Your Uncle Jiang and Auntie Ning had a childhood betrothal; their families were very close. But… your Uncle Jiang… he really crossed the line, fooling around outside, having an illegitimate child, and even wanting to bring the child home.”
“His behavior was so outrageous, your Auntie Ning divorced him. But it was hard on Xianxian, having such a disgraceful father, growing up with just her mother, constantly being pointed at and whispered about.”
At this point, Grandma Xu Lan glanced at Jiang Yi, explaining, “Your mother… Miss Qionghua and your Auntie Ning are close, so she’s always felt sorry for Xianxian.”
“Of course, Xiao Yi, that was before Miss Qionghua knew about you. Now that she’s brought you home, she values you very much too.”
Jiang Yi nodded, indifferent to Grandma Xu Lan’s words.
In truth, she expected nothing from this birth mother, Jiang Qionghua. She had only returned to the Jiang family because she’d promised her deceased mother that Jiang Qionghua would be her guardian until she turned twenty.
There was no love between her mother and Jiang Qionghua, only a one-night stand.
Between Jiang Yi and Jiang Qionghua, there was only a blood tie, no deeper emotion.
Before Grandma Xu Lan could launch into another lament about a “child suffering after years away,” Jiang Yi pressed on, “So… what’s Xianxian like? Do you like her a lot too, Granny?”
Grandma Xu Lan smiled. “She’s a very obedient child, just like you. If she moves in, you’ll have a companion. You two will definitely become good friends.”
Whether they became friends depended on fate. Treating the Jiang household merely as a boarding house, Jiang Yi had no expectations for this relationship.
Still, if they were to live together, getting along would be better.
Jiang Yi just hoped Jiang Sixian was someone she could coexist with peacefully.
Having gleaned information about Jiang Sixian from Grandma Xu Lan, Jiang Yi thanked her and went upstairs to rest.
She slept soundly. The next morning, Jiang Yi was surprised to find Jiang Qionghua at the breakfast table.
Jiang Qionghua looked like she had just showered. She wore a deep purple nightgown, her damp hair loose around her shoulders, sitting at the other end of the table sipping mushroom and chicken congee.
Jiang Yi greeted her, “Morning.”
She didn’t call her “Mother,” and Jiang Qionghua, her face cool, simply nodded in acknowledgment.
With nothing to say to each other, Jiang Yi pulled out a chair and started eating her breakfast—a fried dough stick and plain congee.
Across from her, Jiang Qionghua took small sips of her congee, occasionally glancing up at Jiang Yi, looking like she wanted to speak but hesitating.
Distracted by the staring, Jiang Yi lost her appetite. She took a bite of the dough stick, looked up, and asked, “Something wrong?”
Jiang Qionghua cleared her throat, feigning nonchalance. “Your birthday… it matches the date on your household registration, right?”
Jiang Yi nodded. “Yeah, it matches.”
Jiang Qionghua understood. “Oh… December 25th, Christmas Day?”
Jiang Yi confirmed with a hum.
Jiang Qionghua muttered to herself, “Only fifteen and a half, not yet at differentiation age…”
Jiang Yi had no clue what she was getting at. Eating with her felt awkward anyway, so she quickly finished her dough stick, wolfed down the rest of her breakfast, and got up to leave.
Jiang Qionghua turned and called after her retreating back, “Hey…”
Jiang Yi glanced back. “What now?”
Jiang Qionghua finally spoke, albeit awkwardly, “Last night… I didn’t mean to stand you up. Can we reschedule the dinner with your Auntie Ning for this weekend?”
Jiang Yi was indifferent. “Whatever you decide is fine.”
With that, she walked to the entryway to change her shoes.
Behind her, Jiang Qionghua’s lips trembled. Hesitantly, she added a reminder, “Be careful on your way. Come straight home after school, don’t hang around outside.”
Jiang Yi gave a noncommittal “Mhm” and walked out the door.
The second day of school was dedicated to class meetings, distributing new textbooks, and general cleaning.
As a new student, Jiang Yi received special attention from her homeroom teacher, He Qing. Whatever the class monitor did, He Qing made sure she took Jiang Yi along.
Feeling like a temp worker, Jiang Yi trailed behind the petite class monitor, making several trips back and forth carrying stacks of books.
On the way, the little monitor ran into someone she knew, greeted them, and asked, “Where’s your class monitor? Why is your academic committee member leading everything today?”
As they passed, Jiang Yi overheard the other student whisper conspiratorially, “Our class monitor… I think she differentiated…”
Differentiated?
Jiang Yi instinctively stopped walking as she heard her own class monitor ask curiously, “Differentiated? Wow, is she an Alpha? Your monitor is so amazing, she must be an Alpha, right?”
“Who knows? We’ll have to wait and see her. But if she’s not an Alpha, a lot of girls are going to be heartbroken.”
Her class monitor exchanged a few more words before catching up to Jiang Yi, carrying books back towards their classroom.
Jiang Yi, curious, tilted her head towards the small monitor beside her. “Was that a student from Class A just now?”
The monitor nodded, looking surprised at the stern-faced new classmate beside her. “Yeah, do you know her?”
Jiang Yi shook her head.
She didn’t know the student, she thought, but the word “differentiated” had piqued her interest.
Come to think of it, the girl she’d rescued yesterday was probably the Class A monitor.
Rarely feeling gossipy, Jiang Yi asked, “I heard you talking about the Class A monitor. What’s she like? Why do you all think she’s an Alpha?”
At this, the little monitor perked up. “Oh, she’s incredible. Top student in our year, fencing ace, track star… Her physical abilities are amazing, feels like she’s even stronger than many Alphas. Lots of people at school worship her.”
“Someone like that exists?”
Jiang Yi frowned skeptically, picturing the girl slumped weakly on the classroom floor. She mused that differentiation truly was random.
It didn’t matter how physically capable you were before sixteen; whatever gender you differentiated into after sixteen was what you were.
The thought made Jiang Yi a bit melancholic. When her differentiation day came, what would she be? Hopefully a Beta—not outstanding, but also not burdened by heat cycles like an Omega.
If she could be that, it would be for the best.
With this thought, Jiang Yi began her new semester.
Two days later, in the restroom, Jiang Yi once again encountered the Class A monitor she had carried to the infirmary.
