Chapter 61: Xia Rui's Transformation

In the end, Xia Yu's attempt to make an appeal yielded no results, because Xia Rui's face remained dark and stern throughout, terrifying Tan Li so much that she no longer dared to stick up for Xia Yu.

During breakfast the next morning, Xia Rusheng did not see Tan Li and her daughter, so she asked Aunt Chen, "Are they not coming down to eat?"

Aunt Liu, who had always taken care of Tan Li, chimed in, "Madam is feeling a bit unwell, so she won't be coming down. After Madam wakes up later, I will bring her breakfast upstairs."

Old Madam Xia had not planned to say anything initially, but upon realizing that Xia Yu was also absent from the table, she suddenly asked, "Where is Xiao Yu? Why isn't she coming down either? After wasting so many days lingering at the hospital, it's about time she went back to school."

"The Second Young Miss is in Madam's room taking care of Madam," Aunt Liu replied.

"Taking care of her? She can't even take care of herself, let alone a pregnant woman! Call her down right now. Stop letting her cling to her mother all day long—she's just becoming more and more ignorant!" the Old Madam snapped harshly. The surrounding servants were so frightened into silence that Aunt Liu immediately hurried upstairs to summon Xia Yu.

As Xia Rusheng ate her breakfast, she was already secretly gloating. Could it be that this mother-daughter duo refused to come down simply because they couldn't scrape together that 1.7 million?

No sooner had this thought crossed her mind than Xia Yu trudged downstairs, looking utterly reluctant.

"Good morning, Grandma; good morning, Dad; good morning, Cousin." Xia Yu greeted her elders one by one with a sweet voice, and the moment she finished, she began clinging to Xia Rui. Since Tan Li was not downstairs today, the seat right next to Xia Rui happened to be vacant, and Xia Yu seized the opportunity to sit beside him.

Xia Rusheng simply pretended not to see, taking small, dainty bites of the porridge in her bowl. Across the table, Xia Rui glanced at his two daughters in turn, suddenly frowning as he stared at Xia Yu. "Why didn't you greet your sister? So mannerless! That is not your seat, move over there!"

Everyone at the table and the surrounding servants were stunned by Xia Rui's sudden roar. Normally, he doted on Xia Yu immensely; even when he was angry, he had never spoken to her so harshly.

Xia Yu felt deeply aggrieved, but she could tell that her father was truly displeased with her today, so she dared not court further disaster. Tremblingly, she moved to sit in the chair below Xia Rusheng. With a forced smile, she muttered, "Good morning, Sister."

"Mm." Xia Rusheng responded indifferently, not even sparing Xia Yu a glance as she focused entirely on the porridge in her bowl.

Seeing Xia Rusheng's aloof and dismissive attitude infuriated Xia Yu. Before even picking up her chopsticks, she complained to Xia Rui, "Dad, look at Sister! I greeted her and she completely ignored me! She's the one who has no manners!"

"Your sister's mouth was full of porridge, how was she supposed to answer you? Do not speak while eating and do not speak in bed—those are the most basic rules of etiquette! Just how does your mother usually teach you?" It was rare for Xia Rui to see Xia Rusheng eating with such appetite, and his own hunger had been stimulated as well. Yet this wonderful atmosphere had been utterly ruined by a single sentence from Xia Yu.

Xia Yu pouted, on the verge of tears. How was this her fault, too?

"All right, that's enough from both of you. Eat your breakfast," Old Madam Xia intervened. Hearing this, Xia Rui ceased his reprimands against Xia Yu. Choking back a stomach full of resentment, Xia Yu lost all appetite and, after poking at her food for a few symbolic mouthfuls, prepared to return to her room.

Xia Rusheng had no intention of letting her off so easily. Taking advantage of the fact that everyone was still present, she reminded her, "Little sister, don't forget about the 1.7 million you owe me in compensation. A person must keep their word; I'm waiting to use that money."

Wait to use it my foot!

Xia Yu almost cursed out loud. It was precisely because she was afraid Xia Rusheng would bring up the money that she had cooped herself up on the second floor and refused to come down! How could someone who had inherited so much wealth possibly care about such a paltry sum?!

"Sister, you're so rich, surely you don't care about a mere million or two? Besides, I never said I wasn't going to pay."

Xia Rusheng raised an eyebrow. "Me being rich is my business. Does that have anything to do with whether you pay your debts or not?"

Completely cornered and left speechless, Xia Yu could only curse Xia Rusheng inwardly for being petty. Seeing that the two of them were about to lock horns again, Xia Rui asked, "What money is this about?"

"Compensation for the ruined fur and evening gowns. Dad surely hasn't forgotten, have you?"

Recalling those incidents, Xia Rui's expression grew even gloomier. He instructed Xia Yu, "Pay the money to your sister by the end of the day!"

"Dad, I don't have any money!" Her monthly allowance was only twenty thousand, and Grandma had just completely cleaned out her mother's accounts. Where on earth was she supposed to get that kind of money?!

"That is your own problem. A person must learn to take responsibility for their own mistakes." With that, Xia Rui ignored Xia Yu and summoned Xia Rusheng into the study.

"Dad must be wanting to ask about Manager Yang, I suppose? I haven't been able to get in touch with him yet," Xia Rusheng said casually as she sat down opposite Xia Rui. She couldn't move too quickly on this matter, nor could she deliver the results too early; otherwise, Old Madam Xia and her paranoid nature would start getting suspicious.

A flash of profound pain crossed Xia Rui's eyes. Between the two of them as father and daughter, was there truly nothing left to discuss besides exploitation and scheming?

"No, that's not it," Xia Rui denied first. Bringing up files on his computer screen, he gestured for Xia Rusheng to look as he spoke, "In the past, Dad never paid attention to your academics. Now that you've managed to claw your way back from the gates of death, Dad cannot let you continue studying alone outside anymore. I called your teacher last night; he said your grades have always been exceptionally good, and you were even accepted into a foreign university with a full scholarship, but you couldn't register because of the car accident."

"And so?" Xia Rusheng felt a sudden urge to laugh. Was Xia Rui planning to start showering her with all-encompassing concern now?

"Take a look at these two schools. Both are elite academies in City A, encompassing middle school, high school, and university departments. You can choose to go to either of them."

Xia Rusheng looked up at Xia Rui and asked, "What if I don't want to go to either of them?"

Aristocratic schools taught nothing of substance. In her past life, she had graduated from a prestigious foreign university, and the knowledge stored in her mind was far more useful than anything taught in those elite institutions. She refused to waste her time like that.

"Dad knows you must regret not being able to study abroad, but neither of these schools is inferior. Dynasty International Academy is funded by the Lu Family Consortium, offering every type of professional major, and is one of the top elite colleges in the country. Then there's this new elite academy, Saint York; it's an art-focused professional elite school. Xiao Yu is studying piano there, though who the shareholders of this school are, Dad isn't entirely clear."

Saint York Elite Academy?

Why did it start with S and Y? Could it be affiliated with the S&Y Group? Because its establishment timeline coincided almost perfectly with the S&Y Group's expansion into City A...

"Let me think about it," Xia Rusheng found it difficult to make a decision on the spot.

From a time-management perspective, studying art would certainly save more time than anything else. Moreover, since she already knew how to play the piano, she wouldn't even need to study; if someone half-baked like Xia Yu could idle around at home every day, she could easily carve out even more time to pursue her own goals.

However, considering the ownership of the schools, she was reluctant to attend either of them.

Upon returning to her room, Xia Rusheng quickly took out her phone and sent a text message to Feng Yuan: "Mr. Feng, dare I ask if Saint York Elite Academy is an enterprise belonging to you and that man?"

Shortly after, Feng Yuan called her directly and asked, "Why is Miss Xia asking this?"

Without hiding anything, Xia Rusheng replied, "My father wants me to stay in City A for university and gave me a choice between Dynasty International Academy and Saint York Elite Academy."

Feng Yuan immediately understood. She evidently wished to avoid attending the Lu Family Consortium's school, which was why she brought up Saint York Elite Academy.

"Do you need help with admission?" Feng Yuan asked again.

"No, no, my father can handle that. I just wanted to confirm something because I heard the shareholders of this school are very mysterious, and I guessed it might be you guys."

"No, this is an elite school founded by overseas Chinese."

Hearing this, Xia Rusheng let out a heavy sigh of relief. On the other end of the line, Feng Yuan noticed the sudden relaxation in her tense tone and couldn't help raising an eyebrow.

"Well, that's all. I was just asking, sorry to have bothered you. Please continue with your busy work, Mr. Feng." With that, a guilty conscience prompted Xia Rusheng to hang up the phone.

Meanwhile, in Feng Yuan's office, the busy tone drifted from the speakerphone. Feng Yuan leaned back in his executive chair, looked at the man standing with his back to him, and said, "It seems Miss Xia is going to attend Saint York Elite Academy. Furthermore, she doesn't seem very fond of attending schools tied to acquaintances."

The man stood quietly in front of the floor-to-ceiling window with his arms crossed over his chest, calmly uttering a single sentence: "Talk to Sam. Buy Saint York."

Author's Note: If anyone finds any of the chapters a bit too explicit, please let me know in the comments. There's a strict crackdown recently, so we need to mind the boundaries. Sending kisses to everyone~~~~~~~