He said he loved her?

Whether it was genuine affection or just a passing act, it was not yet Xia Yu's turn to ask. After finishing that meal in a state of anxiety, Xia Yu persistently pestered Lin Yichen to find her a role. She was determined to be in this drama!

Understanding that Xia Yu had already turned her hostility toward the innocent female lead, Xia Siasheng chose not to intervene, merely finding Xia Yu's behavior both pathetic and laughable.

Upon returning to the Xia residence, Xia Yu eagerly informed Xia Rui of her acting debut, while Xia Siasheng was summoned by Old Madam Xia into the study.

"I have heard all about what happened at school today, Grandmother."

Xia Siasheng had not expected news to travel this fast, but was the old madam referring to Chen Yuqing's provocation or Feng Yuan?

"I have just received word that the S&Y Group acquired Saint York Noble Academy the day before yesterday, and today President Feng stepped in to defend you at school. Xia-Xia, it is not that your grandmother tends to overthink, but could that person be President Feng himself?" Judging by age, financial power, and operational style, Old Madam Xia felt Feng Yuan was the most likely candidate. Moreover, the timing of Feng Yuan's purchase of Saint York Academy was far too coincidental—happening right after Xia-Xia registered for school, a coincidence too striking not to arouse suspicion.

Xia Siasheng felt a faint urge to laugh. No wonder the old madam had suddenly shown concern for her; it all still boiled down to Feng Yuan.

"I only found out today myself, and Mr. Feng wasn't defending me today. Since such an incident happened at his school, he naturally could not simply turn a blind eye upon seeing it," Xia Siasheng explained.

"Regardless of whether he was defending you or not, President Feng did help you today. You have no classes tomorrow; take a gift and go thank him properly."

Heh, this old fox certainly knew how to push her luck, and had even found out her free schedule...

Since Old Madam Xia had given the order, Xia Siasheng had to comply whether she wanted to or not. Besides, having long ago promised to help Xia Rui secure the S&Y Group's bidding documents, her lack of action had already incurred Old Madam Xia's displeasure, leaving her with no way to back out this time.

Returning to her room, Xia Siasheng first took a shower. As she wondered how to broach this subject with Feng Yuan the next day, her phone suddenly beeped. She hurriedly picked it up, instantly feeling an urge to look up and howl in despair.

"You're welcome."

It actually turned out to be just those three words!

What kind of temporary insanity had possessed her back then to mentally reply with a "thank you"? How was she supposed to continue the conversation now?

After struggling in frustration for a while and racking her brains over whether to send anything else, her phone rang again. "He" had proactively sent a text message.

"I was in a meeting all morning and didn't see your message."

Was he explaining himself to her?

Xia Siasheng suddenly felt a sweet warmth welling up in her heart. Before this sweetness had even faded, another message came in.

"How does it feel on your first day of classes?"

Xia Siasheng edited and re-edited her reply several times, flipping back and forth before finally typing playfully, "Not bad. If I stop going to class, will you expel me?"

"Are you afraid of being expelled?" A smiley face followed the simple words, instantly lifting Xia Siasheng's spirits.

In truth, she had many questions she wanted to ask. She wanted to ask if he was the one who sent her the sports car, if he was the one who sent her the clothes and shoes, and most of all, why he had bought Saint York Academy.

Yet all these questions melted away under that smiley face.

She was certain that the person silently doing all those things for her was none other than him!

Yet the next question arose: why was he doing this for Xia-Xia?

If he loved Xia-Xia, why had he sent her the diamond gown only to have her engaged to someone else? If he did not love Xia-Xia, then all of this became even harder to explain.

Should she ask him directly?

Xia Siasheng found herself in a dilemma once again.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Seeing that Xia Siasheng had not replied for a long time, he took the initiative to check on her.

"Can I stop going to school in the future? Because I have more important things to do." Xia Siasheng ultimately avoided the question she truly wanted answered. In truth, she was afraid of knowing the truth, because she was not the real Xia-Xia after all.

He replied quickly, his words simple yet full of indulgence: "Go ahead and do whatever you want, as long as it makes you happy."

Xia Siasheng's heart felt a mix of sweetness and bitterness. Suddenly, she no longer wanted to deceive herself; if certain things truly did not belong to her, she ought not to harbor extravagant hopes. Gathering her courage, Xia Siasheng asked him a question: "Sir, did we know each other before?"

If he said yes, then nine times out of ten, the person he loved was the former Xia-Xia.

The phone fell silent for a long time—so long that Xia Siasheng could hear her own heartbeat slowing down. Ten minutes later, he gave her an ambiguous answer: "In the past, we were familiar strangers."

Familiar strangers? Did that mean he was very likely someone she, Xia Siasheng, also knew?

Yet such an answer failed to satisfy her and only heightened her curiosity, prompting her to probe further: "I've always studied at an ordinary school in another city; I don't know wealthy people like you."

"We met for the first time in City A."

Looking at this reply, Xia Siasheng could not help but twitch the corners of her mouth. Fine, another uninterpretable answer.

"Have you gotten the answer you wanted?" Just as Xia Siasheng was wondering how to phrase her next question more clearly, he cut off her chance to ask.

Feeling somewhat awkward and secretly relieved that he could not see her current expression, Xia Siasheng replied with a strong tone: "No! Old fox!"

She had a hunch that he was also deliberately hiding his identity, though she did not know why he would do such a thing.

"You don't need to rush to know who I am right now. When the time is ripe, I will naturally appear before you. Before that, Xia-Xia, live your life well, and love yourself as much as I love you." In the end, he still did not clarify his identity, instead telling her directly that he indeed intended to conceal who he was.

Xia Siasheng was completely thrown off balance by this. This man was simply too mysterious and bizarre, and furthermore, did he just say he loved her?

He was practically trying to drive her mad with curiosity!

The man soon ended their first conversation on his own initiative. After putting down her phone, Xia Siasheng tossed and turned in bed, racking her brains without finding any answers, until she finally fell asleep out of sheer frustration.

By the afternoon, Old Madam Xia brought up a large gift box containing the gift prepared for Feng Yuan. With no choice but to play along, Xia Siasheng obediently took the gift to the S&Y Building the next day.

"What is the meaning of this, Miss Xia?" Feng Yuan looked at the ridiculously large gift box and asked Xia Siasheng with utter puzzlement. Although Xia Siasheng had given him a heads-up beforehand, the sheer exaggeration of the box still startled him.

"This was prepared by my grandmother as a token of gratitude, to thank Mr. Feng for helping me out yesterday."

"Just that?" Feng Yuan asked with a smile.

Feeling somewhat awkward, Xia Siasheng mentally organized her language before continuing: "Fengcheng Investment intends to use unconventional means to bid against the S&Y Group."

"So you are an amateur corporate spy sent by Fengcheng Investment?"

Xia Siasheng coughed lightly on purpose, attempting to make Feng Yuan stop teasing her.

"What Xia Rui wants to know is nothing more than our pricing and bidding documents. Even if I handed those two things to you right now, they wouldn't believe them anyway." Feng Yuan looked at her calmly, then directly handed two folders to Xia Siasheng. They were the bidding documents for this contest—one fake, one real.

Xia Siasheng did not immediately open them. What Feng Yuan said made sense; Old Madam Xia was suspicious by nature, and even if a genuine bid book were placed right before her, she would still doubt its authenticity. Therefore, the most crucial task right now was not how to bring the fake bid book back, but how to make Old Madam Xia believe that what she brought back was the real deal.