At three a.m. in the morning, Xu Wei had a nightmare. She jolted up from her bed, her forehead filled with sweat.

  She then reached out for Lu Jingqing and pushed him to wake him up.

  “What happened, honey?” Lu Jingqing’s muffled voice wafted over to Xu Wei’s ears. She made a grunting noise and said, “I dreamed of Zhizhi. She was dating a man over the internet, but the man conned her out of her money and dignity.”

  Lu Jingqing could barely keep his eyes open, so Xu Wei’s voice sounded distant to him. He did not know what she was talking about, so he just replied, “Yeah, yeah.”

  “In the end, she was abducted by one of her classmates and taken to the mountain. He forced her to marry him, and Fu Zhi was crying for me……”

  When Xu Wei realized Lu Jingqing was not listening, she nudged him again and added, “As her mother, can you understand how I feel right now?”

  “Yeah, yeah. It was just a bad dream.” Lu Jingqing’s voice grew even fainter, as if he was about to fall asleep at any time.

  “My heart hurts, and I can’t breathe. Am I dying?”

  Lu Jingqing felt that he would pass away if she did not stop pushing him.

  He rubbed the center of his forehead and comforted her. “Alright, alright. Whatever we see in our dreams is the opposite of what’s happening in real life. If you really are worried about her, I’ll apply for leave tomorrow. Let’s check how she’s doing at school, okay?”

  “Alright.” Xu Wei’s eyes were misted over. Since she had just woken up, she still could not quite come back to her senses. She then said blankly, “Hubby, you’re such a good man.”

  Lu Jingqing was speechless, as he did not know what to say.

  He pulled Xu Wei into his embrace and patted her shoulder as he comforted her. “Alright, let’s sleep.”

  ****

  At 7 a.m. in the morning, like a bunch of kids who had finally had enough of playing in the playground, the dark clouds slowly dissipated, giving way to the sun and letting it bake the ground with its heat.

  A black Range Rover stopped in front of No.1 High School. The door was opened, and a slender leg emerged from inside.

  “Yumo, wait for your sister!” A woman’s voice came from the car. The voice sounded sleepy and faint, but it was intimidating.

  “Alright, alright.” The tall, lean boy replied with a lollipop in his mouth. He placed his arm on top of the car and leaned against the door. With his head bent, he snarled, “Can’t you move faster? Are your legs broken, or are your hands injured? How are you going to compensate me if I fail to get into Tsinghua University because of you?”

  “Yumo!” Xu Wei shouted sternly. “Stop daydreaming in front of your sister!”

  Lu Yumo was stumped.

  ‘Damn it! I’ve had enough of this!’

  He snatched Fu Zhi’s bunny bag over, draped it over his back, and then stormed away.

  It had rained heavily in Yu City the previous night, so the air in the morning was fresh.

  Fu Zhi wiggled the two ponytails that Xu Wei had made for her as she hopped out of the car. She then turned around and said, “Brother and I are off to school.”

  After saying that, she closed the door and walked into the school.

  As she looked at her back, Xu Wei felt that her daughter was the most adorable young girl in the universe. The most beautiful flower would attract more bees than other flowers. Thus, it went without saying that many people would go after an adorable girl like her daughter.

  The more Xu Wei thought about it, the bigger her headache got.

  She turned around to look at Lu Jingqing and said, “Yumo said the man Zhizhi is dating over the internet is called Shen Cizhou.”

  Truth be told, Xu Wei also suspected that Fu Zhi had a boyfriend behind their back. After all, she had been watching her WeChat at dinner last night.

  However, Xu Wei was worried that she might hurt her daughter’s feelings if she asked her about that. Therefore, Lu Jingqing took her inside the school by using his identity as one of the investors of the school to check on their daughter.

  The school’s monitoring room was on the 8th level, and they could observe the situation in the class through the camera.

  “Your daughter doesn’t have a strong background in every subject, so she applied to go to Class 21 herself,” Director Liu explained, facing the steely gaze of Lu Jingqing and Xu Wei as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.

  Lu Jingqing was extremely protective of his family. Even though he looked gentle and kind on the surface, deep down, he was actually a cruel and cold-blooded person.

  Just as Director Liu was about to add something, Xu Wei interrupted. “Look at the boy in the third column of the first row. Why is he staring at Zhizhi? Does he want Zhizhi? Doesn’t the school have a clear rule against puppy love?”

  Director Liu’s heart leaped into his throat. He followed Xu Wei’s finger to the screen of the monitor. Then, he frowned.

  After a short silence, he replied, “I’m sure he doesn’t want your daughter. That student is the math teacher’s assistant. Fu Zhi has never handed in any homework ever since she enrolled at our school. The math teacher asks the assistant for her homework, so the assistant has no other choice but to ask her to hand it to him. He’s just doing his job.”

  Xu Wei was stumped. “Is…… Is that so?”

  Director Liu shrugged and said, “Of course.” However, inwardly, he thought, ‘Do you really think your daughter is a knockout? Do you think that everyone is attracted to her?’

  As if he could read Director Liu’s mind, Lu Jingqing chimed in, his voice low and cold, “So are you saying that he doesn’t like our daughter?”

  Director Liu was very skillful in answering this kind of tricky question. With a grin plastered across his face, he replied, “Oh, please don’t get me wrong. Your daughter is a good girl, and everyone in the class likes her very much.”

  Xu Wei suddenly tensed up. “So he wants our daughter after all! Does he not know that it would be bad for them to fall in love at their age?”

  Director Liu was speechless.

  ‘What’s wrong with this couple?’


  The Mysterious Heiress: Researcher In Disguise  

  Chapter 48: Fu Zhi Won’t Get It No Matter How Hardworking She Is

  Ma Mingquan knew Fu Zhi’s grandfather had just passed away. He waited until the class was over before passing a set of question papers to her. With a pair of swollen eyes, he said, “This is for you, Fu Zhi. Try your best to answer the questions, and if you don’t understand anything, come and ask me. About your grandfather……”

  Fu Zhi raised her head. Her skin looked particularly fair under the shower of the morning sunlight. She picked up the set of question papers and replied, “He passed away peacefully. He died of natural causes. I guess you should forget about it. It would be good for both you and him.”

  Ma Mingquan’s eyes turned red around the rims again. “Say no more. I understand.”

  After saying that, he comforted Fu Zhi for a while longer by telling her that everything would be fine. Then, he turned around and walked out of the classroom, leaving Fu Zhi standing there in confusion.

  It was as if someone had taken away the script she was supposed to recite.

  Su Xing then explained, “Mr. Ma’s father had a stroke and was paralyzed. I heard from my friend that his condition is pretty bad, so I’m guessing your grandfather must have reminded him of his father.”

  ‘Stroke?’ Fu Zhi thought inwardly. However, she did not make a comment.

  Su Xing waited for a long while but she did not receive a response from Fu Zhi. She then handed her the cup of bubble tea and continued to do her homework.

  Sipping on the large cup of bubble tea, Fu Zhi focused on her stuff again.

  By the time she’d almost finished her large cup of bubble tea, Director Liu, Lu Jingqing, and Xu Wei passed by her class as the director walked them to the entrance.

  As she was standing several meters away, Xu Wei waved her hand at Fu Zhi. Then, she raised the cup of milk in her hand, which she had brought along to cover up their true intention for coming to school.

  When she opened the cup, Fu Zhi frowned. “I can’t drink anymore.”

  As if she was afraid that others might overhear this secret, Xu Wei went closer and whispered into Fu Zhi’s ear, “You have to drink it. All smart kids like to drink milk. If you want to be at the top of the class, you have to drink it.”

  Fu Zhi did not reply.

  Across from them were two people at the 6th level. One of them was Zhou Tingting, while the other was Tian Nuo, who was holding the former’s arm. They could see clearly the interaction between Lu Jingqing, Xu Wei, and Fu Zhi from where they were standing.

  Tian Nuo curled her lips and commented sulkily, “The Lu Family took her in because they pitied her. She is not related to them by blood, so I don’t understand what makes her feel so good about herself. She even asked the Lu Family to come and visit her at school to flaunt her relationship with them!”

  Tightening her grip on Zhou Tingting’s arm, she added, “This is so unfair! You’re Lu Yumo’s girlfriend and the child the Lu Family sponsored. You’re the one who should become part of the Lu Family, not some shameless peasant who appeared out of nowhere! She’s robbed you of your life and love. They should’ve been yours!”

  Zhou Tingting pressed her lips firmly. She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails stabbed into her palm. After she heard what Tian Nuo had said, tears started welling in her eyes, but she held them back. Straightening her back, she said, “Let’s stop talking about it. Every human has their own life. I don’t have to lower myself to her level and argue with her.”

  Even though Zhou Tingting spoke as if she did not care at all, Tian Nuo was a different case. She continued to complain exasperatedly. “No, we can’t let it go just like that. Fu Zhi is a thief. She took everything from you, and Lu Yumo escaped from his own home because of her too! I just feel sorry for both of you!”

  It was only then that Zhou Tinting felt better. “Yeah, you’re right. Luckily, I still have Yumo on my side.”

  Her voice was faint as she added, “No matter who Mr. and Mrs. Lu adopted, I’ll never forget the love and care they’ve shown me. For me, they are already my parents.”

  Throughout the six years she had been sponsored by the Lu Family, she had picked up many skills and had grown into a fine lady. A lot of people were after her, which was something Fu Zhi could never catch up to no matter how hard she tried.

  Tian Nuo felt that Zhou Tingting was right as well. “You and the Lu Family have known each other longer than they’ve known Fu Zhi. I’m sure they care about you more than they do about her.”

  Zhou Tingting thought for a while and said, “Since I’m going to hand in the match schedule to my English teacher, let’s go and say hello to them first.”

  When the two of them approached the Lu Family, they saw Fu Zhi holding a bottle to her mouth while Xu Wei was helping her fix her clothes.

  The sight of them standing together looked harmonious, but it made Zhou Tingting’s eyes sting.

  Lu Yumo loved her, and the Lu Family was willing to provide financial support to her. She was more qualified than Fu Zhi to become the Lu Family’s foster daughter. Everything Fu Zhi was enjoying should have been hers, but she could only be a bystander right now!

  The Mysterious Heiress: Researcher In Disguise