Rumor Has It I Don’t Follow A-Class Morals - Chapter 33

Ming Muyao booked a table at a hotel and treated An Jinyao and the rest of the employees to a nice meal with good wine and food.

An Jinyao had just returned from a business trip and brought back an investment of about thirty million yuan. For the company, that money helped solve a pressing crisis. Though it wasn’t enough to completely turn things around, combined with the company’s existing income, it could keep them afloat for another six months.

As for what might happen after six months, they’d deal with that when the time came. An Jinyao had initially thought this was going to be some kind of ambush dinner, but it turned out to be nothing of the sort—just a simple meal. At the end, everyone even received a big red envelope.

It wasn’t a huge amount, but it wasn’t small either.

Standing beside the table, Ming Muyao raised her glass and said to the employees, “I won’t paint a pretty picture for everyone, but I still want to say this—if the company gets better, everyone’s benefits won’t be lacking…”

In addition to the usual benefits, Ming Muyao was planning to distribute extra year-end bonuses and performance-based rewards to employees who had been with the company for years, just to help balance out their income.

Of course, all of this depended on the company actually recovering. Right now, it was still barely hanging on.

Knowing how exhausting the business trip had been for An Jinyao and her team, Ming Muyao gave them three extra days off.

All these unexpected moves left An Jinyao wide-eyed. She couldn’t figure out what kind of game her boss was playing this time.

But after thinking about it and getting nowhere, she gave up trying to guess. She simply called a car and went home. The rest of the employees were also sent home by Ming Muyao one by one.

During the meal, Ming Muyao hadn’t drunk much, so she was still sober.

“President Ming, are you going back to the office this afternoon?” her assistant asked, kindly handing her a cup of ginger tea. Ming Muyao took a sip and said, “Not today. Just take me home.”

“Got it.”

“Before we go home, let’s stop by somewhere,” she added as she put down the cup. “I want to buy a gift.”

At 5 p.m., Su Yin was the last one to leave the classroom after finishing up her things.

After a full day of classes, her mind felt like a mess. Maybe it was because she’d been away from school for too long—she couldn’t remember a single thing the teacher had said at the podium.

Staring at those dizzying math problems, she suddenly felt a little disheartened. Can I even keep up with this pace?

Ms. Li stood at the front desk, seeing off each student as they left. When she saw Su Yin coming over, she smiled and greeted her, “Su Yin, how were your classes today? Are you managing to keep up?”

Su Yin looked at her and hesitated before answering, “Not really…”

The phrase “not really” was already sugarcoated. Honestly, she hadn’t absorbed anything today. Her notes were all over the place and barely made sense.

Ms. Li noticed her discomfort and smiled kindly. “It’s okay if you’re struggling on the first day. Go home and preview and review your lessons. Senior year is a tough one—you need to be well prepared.”

Su Yin nodded.

Just then, Ms. Li glanced through the glass doors and saw someone standing outside. She smiled and said, “Your parent’s here to pick you up.”

Parent?

Su Yin turned around and saw Ming Muyao standing outside the door, holding a bouquet of sunflowers and waving at her.

“She’s… she’s not my parent…”

“Isn’t that your sister?”

Su Yin’s ears turned red as she quickly shook her head.

Ms. Li looked puzzled, but before she could ask more, Su Yin had already dashed outside.

“How were classes today?” Ming Muyao stood in the mall hallway with a bouquet in her arms, attracting quite a bit of attention.

When she saw Su Yin coming over, she naturally handed the flowers to her and said, “Picked these up on the way. I thought they suited you perfectly.”

Su Yin hugged the bouquet tightly, feeling the stares from passersby. She nervously grabbed Ming Muyao’s sleeve and pulled her away from the training center.

Being tugged along, Ming Muyao glanced at her curiously. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

This is a training center, not a regular school… Could she have gotten bullied on her first day?

With Su Yin’s shy personality, it wouldn’t be surprising if she struggled to fit in. But bullying? That seemed unlikely. Su Yin was reserved, not clueless.

Looking at her red ears, Ming Muyao’s mind suddenly drifted to those trending photos online—those ambiguous shots of the two of them. Some of the poses she hadn’t even noticed at the time, but the photos made them look very close.

Did I really act like that…?

Staring at the girl in front of her, Ming Muyao’s thoughts started to wander. But she quickly stopped herself.

She’s like a little sister to me. I can’t let my mind go there.

Su Yin pulled her to a more secluded spot, making sure no one from the training center could see them. Then she finally looked up at her.

Ming Muyao blinked and teased her with a smile, “What are you doing? Picking you up from school feels like some covert operation.”

Su Yin held the bouquet and stared at her, puzzled. “Why’d you buy flowers just to pick me up?”

“Because I saw them on the way, and they looked nice. Thought they’d suit you,” Ming Muyao lied with a straight face.

In truth, she’d visited several flower shops before she found one that sold sunflowers. It wasn’t easy to find fresh flowers in their city—sunflowers were even rarer. Once she got them, she’d rushed over and nearly missed school pickup.

The sunflowers were bright yellow, paired with green hydrangeas and tiny daisies. The whole bouquet looked vibrant and full of life—like holding a little sun in her arms.

Su Yin had never received flowers before. Hugging the bouquet, she felt as if something had filled up her heart all at once.

After staring at the sunflowers for a moment, she looked at Ming Muyao and shyly said, “Thank you. This is the first time I’ve ever gotten flowers.”

Ming Muyao chuckled. “Do you like them?”

Su Yin nodded. What girl doesn’t like flowers—especially ones this pretty?

“If you like them, I can get you more in the future,” Ming Muyao said, turning to head off. “Let’s go. Aunt Chen made your favorite dishes at home.”

Still hugging the flowers, Su Yin hurried after her.

The whole way home, Su Yin never let go of the bouquet. Even in the car, she held it close, unable to hide how much she loved it.

Gently touching the soft petals, she had a smile in her eyes the entire time.

When Aunt Chen opened the door and saw Su Yin carrying that big bouquet, she was surprised. “Wow, what a huge bunch of flowers! Who got those for you?”

Su Yin turned to glance at Ming Muyao—no words needed.

Ming Muyao didn’t hide it either. “It’s Su Yin’s first day back at school. I thought I’d get her a little something.”

Aunt Chen was delighted. She found an empty vase, filled it with some tap water, then scooped half a bowl of water from the backyard pool and mixed them together.

“You can’t use only tap water for flowers—they die faster,” Aunt Chen explained while she and Su Yin tended to the bouquet in the kitchen. Ming Muyao went upstairs to change.

By the time Su Yin placed the vase in the living room, Ming Muyao had just come downstairs for dinner.

Aunt Chen had made a big dinner and even joined them at the table this time. The three of them sat down together.

“Yinyin, how was your first day at school?” Aunt Chen asked warmly, putting food on Su Yin’s plate. “Was it hard to adjust?”

“I’m having a little trouble keeping up,” Su Yin said shyly. “I couldn’t really follow what the teacher was saying.”

Memory was a limited thing. Even though Su Yin had only taken a year off school, a lot had happened during that time. It was perfectly normal that she couldn’t jump right back into learning.

Ming Muyao picked up a piece of meat and added it to Su Yin’s bowl. “The tuition’s already paid, so just give it a try. If it really doesn’t work out, we can wait until September and enroll you in a high school closer to home. You can start fresh.”

Looking at the food in her bowl, Su Yin glanced at Ming Muyao, her expression hinting she had something to say.

“What is it?” Ming Muyao asked curiously. “Even if you’re not doing well, I’m not going to blame you. Don’t stress over it.”

But that wasn’t what Su Yin was worried about. She looked at her and nodded, quietly said thank you, then kept eating.

After dinner, Su Yin took her textbooks back to her room. Ming Muyao had nothing else to do, so she sat in the living room and watched TV.

Aunt Chen brought over some sliced fruit and placed it in front of her, smiling as she said, “Yinyin’s mood has really improved these past few days. It’s good to let her get out more and have something to focus on.”

Ming Muyao stabbed a piece of apple with a toothpick and smiled. “Yeah, kids should be out and about. My little sister…”

She stopped mid-sentence. Seeing Aunt Chen’s curious expression, she smiled and corrected herself, “If I had a little sister like Su Yin, I definitely wouldn’t keep her cooped up at home.”

Aunt Chen wiped her hands on her apron and sat down on the sofa across from Ming Muyao. “Muyao, I’ve been meaning to ask you this. It’s been almost a month since you got out of the hospital. You really haven’t remembered anything from before?”

“The past?” Ming Muyao looked at her. “Why are you asking about that all of a sudden?”

“I just think… life is really good right now.”

Aunt Chen looked nervous as she continued, “I know losing your memory is supposed to be a bad thing, but I just feel like things are going really well now. I can’t help worrying that if you get your memories back…”

Ming Muyao understood what she was trying to say. She calmly replied, “Honestly, it’s a shame, but it doesn’t seem like I’ll be able to recover my memories.”

Aunt Chen’s eyes lit up, but she still asked cautiously, “Really?”

“Mm.” Ming Muyao finished her apple and said, “The person I used to be is gone. From now on, we’ll live like this—peacefully. There won’t be any more surprises.”

“That’s… that’s really wonderful.”

Aunt Chen gave her a deep look and added, “Muyao, there’s something I wanted to tell you. I’ve been taking Yinyin to the hospital recently, and the doctor said the gland on the back of her neck isn’t healing very well.”

“No improvement?” Ming Muyao sat up straight at that. She still remembered the hideous wound on the back of Su Yin’s neck—and had taken her to the hospital for it.

“Yeah. The doctor said the treatment isn’t working very well. If it keeps up like this, she might need surgery.”