Chu Qianli studied the outcome carefully and said, “Second Uncle, I want to win the red envelope from you so we shall not form a team. You should form a team with my brother.”

He Yuanyang, who had been tossed aside cruelly, wasn’t sure what to make of that. “…… You know, many out there want to form a team with me…”

He Zhenghe looked at the dice curiously and teased, “Are these the newest tools in financial investment? They are able to replace Yuanyang? I thought only AI would be able to do that.”

He Zhenghe managed a networking company and his specialty was in artificial intelligence.

Chu Qianli nodded, “They are to me.”

He Yuanyang, remember the purpose of today’s gathering, quickly adjusted his subject. He smiled and asked, “Is Qianli interested in this at all?”

He Shichen, consuming his meal slowly, perked up his ears for her answer.

Chu Qianli shook her head, “Not a whole lot.”

He Yuanyang, “Any basic understanding? As in basic understanding of the stock market?”

Chu Qianli, “Green and shiny Chinese chives?”*

That was exactly how she felt. The only thing the stock market reminded her of was the color green.

“This is etiquette!” He Shichen couldn’t care less about Chu Qianli’s deportment but he had his own to adhere to when he rode in a car. He had standards when riding in cars with ladies and elders, etc. He would open the door for them and also give up the right back seat.

When the two of them went to school today, He Shichen would open the door for Chu Qianli beforehand and be the first to get out of the car after they had arrived. When they got out of school, he had already broken his own rules once due to Chu Qianli chitchatting with Tan Muxing. He wasn’t going to let that happen a second time.

At the entrance of the mansion, Aunty Li brought back all of the deliveries, opened them up, and delivered them to each individual’s room.

Chu Qianli couldn’t wait until Aunty Li delivered them to her room and came out to pick them up herself. After thanking Aunty Li, she unwrapped the bubble wrap, pulled out the little wooden box inside and started examining it. This shop located in the same city and their delivery was fast.

Aunty Li couldn’t see the content of the box. She asked curiously, “What did you buy?”

He Shichen was sitting inside of the car parked in front of the school. He watched as Chu Qianli said goodbye to Tan Muxing. He could not begin to comprehend the abrupt friendship between the two. He drummed his fingers impatiently on the car door.

Tan Muxing was from a wealthy family but he, himself, was not a very capable one. He was not particularly good looking in appearance either. His hobby was making clothing for dolls. He was the opposite of an elite. He was a pushover and was made fun of by Wang Zheng and the others all the time. Did Chu Qianli find him easily manipulable?

He Shichen was sitting inside of the car parked in front of the school. He watched as Chu Qianli said goodbye to Tan Muxing. He could not begin to comprehend the abrupt friendship between the two. He drummed his fingers impatiently on the car door.

Tan Muxing was from a wealthy family but he, himself, was not a very capable one. He was not particularly good looking in appearance either. His hobby was making clothing for dolls. He was the opposite of an elite. He was a pushover and was made fun of by Wang Zheng and the others all the time. Did Chu Qianli find him easily manipulable?

Tan Muxing flipped through all sorts of arguments online and finally backed downed. “I am not certain whether astrology is a science but I believe in your ability in astrology and I will admit that it’s very magical……”

Tan Muxing had no intention of diving into the technicality of it all; he merely had faith in Chu Qianli. As much as it was vastly different from what he had known in the past, deep down inside of him he could accept her ability.

Chu Qianli was pleased. “That’s good enough. We will agree to disagree. That works.”

He Shichen was stunned speechless. He had no idea why someone who was sound asleep in class could be so strong when it came to physics. Was she a genius?

The foreign physics teacher knew nothing about her identity or background. He praised her in English, “I see that you are very strong in physics from your previous school.”

Chu Qianli nodded shamelessly, “That’s correct. The school in our village is very strong in physics.”

Everybody in the class was shocked. Nobody expected her to freely admit that she came from a village and that the school there had a stronger physics program then even their own school!

Dazed, Qiu Qingkong asked, “Where is this village? I’ll go there to have my physics tutored.”

Tan Muxing had first-hand experience in this. Once a person had exposed one’s flaws and weaknesses, mocking and teasing would follow. He didn’t want to see Chu Qianli gone through what he had gone through.

Chu Qianli said reflexively, “Isn’t that cheating?”

Tan Muxing lowered his head shamefully. Troubled, he said, “Oh, if you feel that that is inappropriate then……”

Chu Qianli, “That’s appropriate. Too appropriate. Participation is the key!”

Tan Muxing, “?” What a creative and unique way to call cheating.

The foreign teacher spoke in English to Chu Qianli. He gently encouraged her to give it a try and reassured her that the question was very simple.

Tan Muxing glanced over at her stealthily. He wrote the answer down on a piece of paper and quietly pushed it over next to her hand. Nevertheless, Chu Qianli never lowered her head and, therefore, did not see the note.

Chu Qianli, “Sorry.”

The foreign teacher looked disappointed but did not press the issue. He turned to someone else for an answer.

How long does it take a new person to blend into a group of strangers?

That answer varies depending on the individual. There is something called “ice breakers” when it comes to introducing someone to a group. Nevertheless, no ice breakers are as efficient as what Chu Qianli had done. It only took her the duration of lunch for her to get to know the girls in class and also became the center of discussions.

Looking at the chatty girls, He Shichen couldn’t quite make out how he was feeling at the moment and he needed to spend more time in studying Chu Qianli.

Ruan Ya drew 3 cards and placed them on the dining table in order.

6 of Spades. 7 of Hearts. 4 of Spades.

Taking a quick look at the cards, Chu Qianli said freely, “He finds you charming and have the positive image of being smart and a good student. He likes you a lot right now. But if you are in a relationship, you might have conflicts over school and other real life issues and those conflicts might wear you out in the future.”

Ruan Ya was disappointed. “Does that mean we are not right for each other?”

“No, this is just the foreseeable future. Plus, I am only offering advices. You still have to make your own decisions.”

Chu Qianli was surprised, “You do arts and crafts? What kind of arts and crafts?”

Tan Muxing, “… I knit scraps, make clothes, and some other stuff.”

Chu Qianli, “That sounds amazing. You make them from scratch?”

“Yes, I design and make them…” Seeing that she didn’t find that odd, he asked in surprise, “You don’t find that odd? That I like stuff like that?”

“No. I think being able to make clothes is awesome. And what’s wrong with being like a girl?” said Chu Qianli.

“If one has only one strong suit, that is a handicap in and of itself. Must like some would only define oneself with their sun signs and not be aware that everybody has traits from the other 11 signs.” Chu Qianli shrugged casually, “If you can be like a girl as a boy, that means you are very well-rounded. It’s really a compliment!”

Tan Muxing got curious, “Capricorn? He Shichen is a Capricorn?”

“Not his sun sigh but a few of the stars fell into Capricorn so he has a lot of Capricorn traits,” said Chu Qianli.

Tan Muxing, “A few stars?”

“I am referring to his star chart.” Out of habit, Chu Qianli asked, “Can you tell me your birth date, time, and location?”

Tan Muxing looked at her, at loss. He wasn’t good at turning people down so he proceeded to provide her with his information docilely.

Chu Qianli put together his chart in her head roughly and she was a little surprised. She then pulled over a piece of paper and drafted it out. She looked up at him, amazed, and exclaimed, “You are a character. Same as He Shichen!”

During class, Tan Muxing glanced over at Chu Qianli, who was sleeping by the window, then he noticed He Shichen walking over to them looking very solemn. He panicked a little. Nobody had every paid attention to him sitting in the corner before but Chu Qianli’s arrival brought about much attention.

He Shichen was the top of the class and also top among the entire grade. Even though he had declined the position as the class lead, he was still authoritative within their class. As much as all students were of high status, but being the heir of the He family still made him stand out. Regardless of the status of the He family, his own achievements, too, were impressive in and of themselves.

Granted, the He family’s current heir was, at the moment, sleeping next to Tan Muxing and had no idea the former hair was charging at her.

He Shichen finally couldn’t sit still anymore. He must stop this madness. Standing up, he said in a dull voice, “Teacher, we should start the class now. My little sister had just returned and is still adjusting to everything around her.”

He Shichen really didn’t want anything to do with Chu Qianli but he didn’t want her to continue bringing shame to the family. She was still the He family’s real daughter who had been switched and had just been found.

He had spent years making the He family looked good and didn’t want to her to ruin it in a day!

Chu Qianli went with the teacher to pick out her uniform and other materials. She changed in the dressing room but the teacher was taken aback when she walked out.

Looking at Chu Qianli in pants, the teacher asked, in surprise, “How come you didn’t put a dress on?”

There were dresses for female students but Chu Qianli picked out the pants for the boys.

Chu Qianli looked down at the pants that she was wearing. Not knowing that there were two different styles, she was baffled. “Because I am wearing pants?”

And since she already had pants on, she would not be able to wear a dress also. Was she supposed to wear that on top?

She wasn’t certain whether this was, indeed, the world within the book or just a parallel universe of the novel. After all, she possessed her old memories since she was born and had been taken away by her Grandpa when she was still a baby and had never lived a day with He Shichen or her parents.

Grandpa was He Shichen’s uncle and also a slightly famed scholar in fengshui. He was never wedded, had no children, never had contact with any of his relatives but he went pounding on the door for a change.

“You won’t be able to take care of this child. She was here for a reason.”

Downstairs, He Zhenghe had just finished his call with the school and he was now calling his private doctor to come over and check on He Shichen.

Yu Shen and Aunty Li also came down to check on the injured one and the kitchen. Luckily, He Shichen’s injury was not serious other than some slight scratches on his face, much like those left by a cat.

Yu Shen rushed into the kitchen to check on He Shichen. “Oh, you silly child. Why didn’t you let Aunty Li know when you needed something? Who’d put hot water directly into a glass?”

Aunty Li blamed herself. “Aiya, it was all my fault. I forgot to mention that we don’t use this machine for our drinking water so it’s temperature is higher than normal…”

Chu Qianli was the first to break the silence. She said casually, “Oh, I know Big Brother’s birthday. All I need is Mom’s and Dad’s.”

He Shichen was certainly that she was doing that just to be suggestive.

After lunch, all the adults were busy. He Zhenghe called up the school and Yu Shen went upstairs to check on the room again, leaving only Chu Qianli and He Shichen in the living room.

The two of them each sat on one end of the couch. Even though they were sitting on the same couch, they kept the farthest distance between them possible. The atmosphere resembled the ice at the poles.