Marrying the Ugly Woman of a Rich and Powerful Family - Chapter 10

Cang Yan, momentarily startled, settled her mind and accepted this new identity somewhat confusedly. This was her first time being a parent figure, and she wasn’t sure what to do. She sat up straight and asked in a businesslike manner, “Hello, may I ask if something has happened to her?”

Her tone sounded concerned, but her face showed no trace of worry.

“Hello, it’s like this. We need to discuss something with you. Your child is disobedient at school. By the way, are you Shen Qingyuan’s mother?” The counselor on the other end, apparently noticing her young voice, politely added the question.

Cang Yan: “…”

“I am her… I am Cang Yan.” Cang Yan’s voice turned cold, and she spoke almost through gritted teeth.

She was only eight years older than Shen Qingyuan. While there was a generation gap, she shouldn’t immediately be mistaken for Shen Qingyuan’s mother. Cang Yan grew increasingly irritated the more she thought about it, until her face became icy, devoid of any expression.

“You are Cang Yan?” The counselor was clearly aware of her name and sounded somewhat surprised.

Cang Yan didn’t speak, already on the verge of hanging up.

The counselor, perhaps sensing her bad mood, quickly got to the point: “Shen Qingyuan has been late and left early repeatedly during her year of enrollment and has failed several courses. If she doesn’t pass the remedial exams this year, the faculty will apply to the higher administration to have her withdrawn.”

Cang Yan was not surprised by the result, but she was surprised that she was treated as Shen Qingyuan’s parent, and her mother at that.

It must be Shen Qingyuan who intentionally gave her number without clarifying the identity.

A fake smile appeared on Cang Yan’s face as she said, “Thank you for your trouble, Teacher. I will urge her to study hard.”

“You’re welcome.” The counselor hung up, still feeling bewildered.

Cang Yan hung up, her forehead furrowed with dark lines, and her gaze was so gloomy it seemed a storm was about to break.

Her mind was buzzing with the words, “Are you Shen Qingyuan’s mother?” She was so angry that she wanted to immediately call Shen Qingyuan over and clarify the matter face-to-face.

“Ms. Cang?” The assistant beside her was trembling.

She was already considering writing her letter of resignation.

“A relative’s child is doing poorly in school, and the call came to me.” Cang Yan immediately collected her thoughts, gave the assistant a cold glance, and then became annoyed with herself again.

Why did she explain?

And to her subordinate, no less.

Cang Yan grew even more exasperated.

Shen Qingyuan should be the one to explain how she managed to fail countless courses in her freshman year. This kind of academic trash was unworthy of sharing a household registration book with her.

Oh, right, they hadn’t actually registered their marriage yet.

The assistant indicated that she had heard everything.

Cang Yan asked flatly, “Do you need something?”

The assistant hurriedly said, “Ms. Cang, here is your schedule for the week.”

Cang Yan quickly scanned it. It was mostly the company and home, with occasional discussions with partners.

These matters shouldn’t even require her attention. Her health was weak, but her father was still quite robust. However, such a large company couldn’t rely solely on professional managers below the board level.

Cang Yan said with little interest, “You arrange it as you see fit.”

The assistant carefully took notes.

Close to quitting time, Cang Yan left early and slowly returned home. The extra pair of shoes at the entrance indicated that Shen Qingyuan was already back, but she wasn’t in the living room. She asked, “Where is she?”

Aunt Cai said, “Upstairs. She said she needs to study hard.”

Cang Yan: “…”

If Shen Qingyuan intended to study hard, that phone call wouldn’t have come to her phone.

Cang Yan went upstairs to the study. Shen Qingyuan was looking down, rubbing her neck, revealing a fluffy head, like a Golden Retriever. In front of her was a stack of books, upon closer inspection, all related to Chinese Language and Literature, as well as past CET-4 (College English Test Band 4) practice papers.

“You’re here?” Shen Qingyuan raised her head, squinting, and smiled widely at Cang Yan. There was a raised bump on her forehead, already bruised.

Cang Yan stared at the bump for half a second, then lowered her head and demanded, “Who gave you permission to give out my number?”

She was here to settle accounts. If Shen Qingyuan hadn’t been wearing a collarless shirt today, she would have yanked her tie.

“The counselor actually called you?” Shen Qingyuan was so shocked her mouth was slightly ajar, her eyes wide with innocence.

She had received a warning letter about her academic performance, which the class monitor distributed during the break. The counselor had called her into the office for a reprimand at noon and made her fill in a parent’s number.

She had thought the spot was just for show and had no practical use. After all, it was college, and no teacher would casually call parents.

She hadn’t expected the counselor to actually call Cang Yan. She had filled it in simply to annoy Cang Yan.

Shen Qingyuan looked at Cang Yan weakly, feeling somewhat guilty.

Cang Yan didn’t answer but asked back, “Do you know how many people want my phone number? You just randomly give it out. It will cause me trouble.”

Even though she had separate personal and work numbers, her personal number still received harassment calls. Those bored people always cursed her through the internet, as if cursing her would elevate them somehow.

That’s why she changed her number frequently.

“Did she curse you?” Shen Qingyuan asked guiltily.

Cang Yan paused, then said, “No, she didn’t.”

Shen Qingyuan breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that if she had caused Cang Yan to be cursed because of this, her crime would be truly heinous.

“However, you should know how many core courses you failed in your freshman year. Although I’m not a celebrity, and you are only my wife in name, I don’t want to receive another call from your counselor. You better pass the remedial exams this year, or you’ll be asking for a spanking.” Cang Yan never felt guilty when threatening people.

Shen Qingyuan: “…”

Oh no, she jinxed it.

If she didn’t study hard, she would really be dripped with wax.

“I am already studying hard.” Shen Qingyuan pushed her books forward, spreading them out for Cang Yan to see.

Cang Yan glanced at them coolly. She didn’t believe Shen Qingyuan would study hard. She clearly remembered what kind of person Shen Qingyuan was. Besides wanting to appease her parents, her reason for marrying Shen Qingyuan was largely to exact personal revenge.

“Don’t forget you have another task.” Cang Yan kindly reminded her.

“Studying is the most important thing, you know.” Shen Qingyuan grinned, showing a mouthful of white teeth, looking harmless.

Cang Yan found the teeth blinding. She wondered if there was something wrong with Shen Qingyuan, always smiling so readily. She said, “Studying is important, and the task I assigned is also important. Unless you truly are asking for a spanking…”

Shen Qingyuan immediately sat up straight and said loudly, “I guarantee the task will be completed.”

Cang Yan didn’t want to banter with her. With an expressionless, beautiful face, she glanced at the notes Shen Qingyuan had just been writing and raised an eyebrow, asking, “Aren’t you an academic failure?”

Shen Qingyuan asked strangely, “Do I look like I’m not?”

She bit the end of her pen, tried to think about the erotic novel, but couldn’t come up with a single word, immediately looking distressed.

She was the epitome of a poor student.

Cang Yan knew exactly what Shen Qingyuan was like. She had thoroughly investigated Shen Qingyuan, even knowing her three-measurements, though she had disdained to remember them at the time.

Shen Qingyuan was a genuine academic failure.

Yet, the handwriting didn’t look like that of an academic failure. She had initially thought Shen Qingyuan had practiced her signature specifically, as some celebrities or best-selling authors only have good signatures while their normal handwriting is mediocre.

But Shen Qingyuan’s regular handwriting was also very beautiful, a slightly cursive running script that was truly pleasing to the eye.

Cang Yan asked, “Did you practice calligraphy?”

“I did in elementary school. Then I developed my own style. It’s all just scribbling, really.” Shen Qingyuan was telling the truth. She started by diligently practicing tracing, and after mastering the basic techniques, she developed her own style. Especially when rushing, only she could read her own writing.

“Hmm, the only thing about you worth looking at is your handwriting.” Cang Yan summarized matter-of-factly.

Shen Qingyuan: “…”

After Cang Yan left, Shen Qingyuan continued reading.

Her plan was to first catch up on the courses she had missed over the entire past year, at least to have a general impression. She could also prepare for CET-4 now. In her previous life, she used English for reading documents and writing papers, so the language wasn’t unfamiliar; she just needed to memorize vocabulary and practice.

As for the core courses, everything was for the exam. Anyway, she didn’t like this major. She would get copies of past final exam papers from senior students and just memorize them.

Shen Qingyuan’s thoughts were simple, but the actual execution was not easy. Going through a sequence of books she had never heard of made her dizzy and fatigued at any moment.

At six o’clock, the alarm rang.

Shen Qingyuan rubbed her stomach and went downstairs.

She absolutely had to eat on time; she didn’t want another stomachache.

Cang Yan had just sat down at the dining table when Shen Qingyuan came downstairs. She knew Shen Qingyuan hadn’t been studying hard at all; otherwise, how would she know it was time to eat? Lack of focus!

“Why are you eating so little?” Shen Qingyuan saw that Cang Yan had already put down her chopsticks. Her appetite was too small, at most one-third of hers. No wonder she was so thin.

Cang Yan retorted unhappily, “Does it concern you?”

“I just think you’re a bit thin…” Before Shen Qingyuan could finish, she noticed Cang Yan starting to shoot cold daggers at her. She quickly stopped herself and said, “I’ll shut up.”

Cang Yan finished eating early and started on a strawberry cheesecake. Shen Qingyuan looked at her strangely. Cang Yan seemed to only love this type of cake. It wasn’t anything special. She took a slice for herself too.

It was too sweet; she didn’t like it.

She sat next to Cang Yan, feeling quite content. Cang Yan was genuinely beautiful, just too thin.

It was a pity she couldn’t say more. Cang Yan was like a firecracker—ready to explode at any moment even before the New Year.

“I’m going back to study.” Shen Qingyuan quickly slipped away. Before studying, she couldn’t resist a moment of slacking off. She found that one of the four people in her QQ group was a bot.

Tang Zhijing was not in their group.

Honestly, having a conflict with Tang Zhijing while living in the same dorm made Shen Qingyuan a little worried about safety. As the saying goes, it’s wise to be cautious of others.

Shen Qingyuan pondered a string of random thoughts, then opened her contacts, planning to rename Cang Yan’s number. Should she call her “Firecracker Fairy” or “Petty”?

She settled on “Petty Firecracker.”

“Is this how you study?” Cang Yan’s voice suddenly rang out. Shen Qingyuan, caught doing something sneaky, felt extremely guilty. She quickly tucked her phone into her chest and said, “Can you stop being so startling?”

“Am I very startling?” Cang Yan sat beside her with a blank expression. She realized she enjoyed picking on Shen Qingyuan’s flaws, even though it gave her the illusion of supervising a child’s studies.

She picked up a frequently read book from the shelf.

The Aesthetics of the Times.

Shen Qingyuan glanced at it, really wanting to tell Cang Yan that aesthetics are subjective and she shouldn’t be influenced by the outside world, but ultimately kept silent. She knew Cang Yan understood this principle better than she did.

She immediately said nicely, “As long as you don’t drip wax on me, nothing you do is startling.”

Shen Qingyuan admitted she was flattering Cang Yan with that statement. After all, personally witnessing a frail beauty needing a book to tell herself: There is no standard for aesthetics, only consensus—that scene alone was easily heart-wrenching.

Cang Yan must be particularly concerned about external opinions of her, right?

Cang Yan felt inexplicably like Shen Qingyuan was condescending to her. She snapped the book shut and said sinisterly, “You don’t think wax dripping is my only method, do you?”

Shen Qingyuan: “…”