Chapter 140: Chapter 140: Became a Complete Joke

But soon, he wouldn’t have to worry about that anymore.

Because in less than a year, Shanshan had devoured the entire middle school curriculum.

Immediately after, she asked to skip ahead to high school.

Tutors were constantly coming and going from their home, a fact all their friends and relatives noted.

That child was truly shooting up like a rocket.

Her study schedule was jam-packed every day, but she never once complained about being tired.

On the contrary, her energy only seemed to grow, and her mind became sharper and sharper.

Everyone nodded in agreement with every idea Shanshan had.

After submitting the request to the school, Shanshan took a test designed exclusively for her.

The exam was held in an empty classroom set aside just for her.

The proctors were three senior department heads.

The test paper covered all the material from middle school, and its difficulty even surpassed that of the standard high school entrance exam.

This exam was, in effect, her high school entrance exam.

On the day of the test, the teachers gathered to grade her paper, and the results were out within an hour.

Shanshan got a perfect score and passed with flying colors.

A few of the veteran teachers checked it several times before finally confirming the score was real and valid.

"Congratulations, Ling Xueshan. You are now officially a high school student."

After the head examiner announced the results, the teachers in the office all stood up to congratulate her.

"Thank you, teachers. Shanshan will miss you all."

She stood up and bowed, her tone sincere but without a hint of pretentiousness.

The female teachers, their eyes red, came up one by one to hug her.

The male teachers were quite eager to go up and give her a hug, too.

But one look at Ling Anxun staring from the side, and they gave up the idea.

But Shanshan never played favorites and didn’t leave anyone out. She turned and gave the male teachers a little wave.

The gesture immediately lightened the atmosphere.

From that day on, the news of Shanshan transferring to the high school division caused a huge stir at the school.

When Ling Anxun came to pick her up, even the school administrators crowded around, showering her with praise.

Everyone came forward to greet them, their faces beaming. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"I’ve been teaching here my whole life, and this is the first time I’ve ever met such an outstanding child."

"Isn’t that the truth! It’s an honor for our school to have Ling Xueshan as a student. We’re basking in her glory! She’s bound to make newspaper headlines in the future!"

As the group was talking, the dismissal bell for the lower grades rang.

The campus instantly became lively.

Children swarmed out of their classrooms.

Cao Jiajia spotted the familiar tall figure at a glance.

She glanced left and right, and seeing that Shanshan wasn’t with him, she immediately broke into a run.

She caught her breath as she reached him, then looked up with a sweet smile.

"Uncle Ling, you’re here! Are you here to pick up Shanshan?"

Her overly familiar manner stunned the administrators standing nearby; they thought she must be some relative of the Ling family.

A female teacher quietly tugged her colleague’s sleeve and whispered, "Whose child is that? I’ve never seen her before."

No one answered. They all just looked at each other in confusion.

"Is this... Mr. Ling, is this your child?" a vice principal finally asked tentatively.

"No, I don’t know her."

Ling Anxun answered calmly, without even knitting his brows.

He didn’t even glance at Cao Jiajia as he spoke.

Cao Jiajia froze on the spot, her eyes instantly turning red.

Shanshan happened to overhear this as she walked over.

On the way home, the more she thought about it, the funnier it became, until she finally burst out laughing.

"Dad, you’re so ruthless! Saying you don’t know her in front of all those people... she looked so mortified. I bet she wanted to find a hole to crawl into, didn’t she?"

Her laughter echoed through the car, one peal after another.

"I was just afraid someone might get jealous."

Ling Anxun said, his tone still nonchalant as he held the steering wheel.

After speaking, he glanced at the rearview mirror and happened to catch his daughter turning her face away.

Ling Anxun shot her a sidelong glance. Shanshan puffed out her cheeks and pretended she hadn’t heard.

She stuffed her hands into her coat pockets.

Her giggles could be heard intermittently inside the car.

Ling Anxun didn’t respond further, but the corner of his mouth lifted in an almost imperceptible smile.

Meanwhile, Cao Jiajia held back her tears all the way home. The moment she arrived, she unleashed all her pent-up frustration on her mother.

She burst into the house and threw her schoolbag onto the sofa, her eyes bright red.

"AHHHH! It’s all your fault! If you had managed to keep Dad, I wouldn’t have to stand around pathetically watching other people call someone their father! Do you have any idea how my classmates make fun of me?"

She stood in the middle of the living room, her voice rising to a shriek.

"You shut your mouth! Don’t think I didn’t see what you were doing! The man can’t even be bothered to look at you, and you’re still throwing yourself at him? You talk about that wild brat, but what about you? Aren’t you just trying to find a new dad to take care of you?"

Liu Yingzi slammed her teacup down, sending shards scattering across the floor.

She shot to her feet, pointing a finger at Cao Jiajia’s face as she cursed, her face ashen and her breathing ragged.

Her words grew harsher and harsher, each one like a dagger to the heart.

In the end, Cao Jiajia couldn’t say a word. She could only hug her knees and sob.

For the first time, mother and daughter gave each other the silent treatment.

They didn’t speak a single word to each other for several days.

They sat on opposite sides during meals, washed up at different times, and even quickened their pace when passing each other’s rooms.

Cao Jiajia couldn’t stand it any longer and secretly went to her father’s workplace, hoping to win some sympathy from him.

Who would have thought she’d run into Cao Daqiang on the way there?

She stopped at the corner of the office building, her heart sinking.

Next to him was that woman, and the son she brought with her.

Seeing that boy walking so close to her dad’s side, Cao Jiajia was about to explode with rage.

She watched as her father walked with his head lowered, talking to the boy.

Yet the last time she had asked him to come to the parent-teacher conference at her school, he had said he was busy.

Suppressing her rage, she followed them all the way to the mistress’s home, only to discover it was far better than the rundown place she and her mother were squeezed into!

It was an apartment building in an old residential complex.

Although the exterior walls were mottled, it was a low-rise building and got plenty of sunlight.

The stairs were clean, and the hallway lights were on.

The apartment itself was even cleaner and more spacious, with light-colored tiles on the living room floor.

She peeked through the window and saw a figure moving in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, she and her mother only got to eat meat once a week; on other days, it was just pickled vegetables and congee.

’Who could possibly swallow this injustice?’

The image of her mother staying up late to mend clothes replayed in her mind, along with the sight of her back turned as she secretly wiped away her tears.

They scrimped and saved, all for the sake of their family.

But the person who should have been the most responsible for that family had started a new one here instead.

In that moment, the very concept of fairness became a complete joke.

She couldn’t take it anymore. She spun around and charged toward the lit doorway.

The door had just been closed to a crack when she rushed forward and shoved it hard.

The wooden door slammed against the wall with a loud bang.

The light from inside illuminated her face, revealing a countenance filled with fury.

"Hey, what do you think you’re doing! Who said you could just barge into someone’s home?"

The woman cried out in alarm, steadying herself on the doorframe to keep from falling.

She was wearing loungewear, her freshly washed hair clinging wetly to her shoulders.

One of her slippers had slid off, revealing half of a pale ankle.

Cao Daqiang lunged from the side to pull the woman back, wrapping an arm around her protectively.

When he looked up and saw who was standing in the doorway, his expression changed instantly.

His pupils contracted and his lips parted slightly, his expression shifting from surprise to panic.

He let go of the woman and took an instinctive half-step back. Then, thinking better of it, he quickly stepped forward to stand between the two of them.

Tiny beads of sweat appeared on his forehead as he lowered his voice.

"How did you find this place?"

"Jiajia? What are you doing here?"

He reached out to grab her arm, but she shook him off.

"This is my dad’s home. Why can’t I be here?"

Cao Jiajia said, enunciating every single word.

Her gaze swept across the room, finally landing on the three sets of dinnerware on the dining table.