Chapter 51: Is the Shi Family’s Upbringing Truly That Strict?

Gao Cheng met her gaze for a moment before speaking.

“Alright.”

Shi Kezhen nodded gently.

“Thank you.”

She withdrew her gaze and cast a glance at Jiang Zhexi.

“May I leave first?”

“Uh…”

Jiang Zhexi looked toward Gao Cheng; without Gao Cheng giving the word, how would he dare let her go?

Gao Cheng nodded slightly.

Jiang Zhexi breathed a sigh of relief.

“Go ahead if you want.”

“Then I’ll take my leave first.”

Shi Kezhen stood up, smoothed her long skirt, picked up her tray with both hands, turned, and walked away with steady steps.

The three men watched her retreating figure, only withdrawing their gazes after she had walked far away.

Jiang Chengshuo looked at Jiang Zhexi.

“Is the Shi family’s upbringing truly that strict?”

Jiang Zhexi’s face darkened.

“I don’t live in the Shi household; how would I know whether their family rules are strict or not?”

Jiang Chengshuo turned his head to look at Gao Cheng again.

“Bro, did you confirm it clearly?”

“Is she really that Yao you’ve been dating online?”

Gao Cheng nodded, his feelings complex.

“I video-called her this afternoon and saw the butterfly stamp on the back of her finger; it’s confirmed, it’s her.”

Jiang Chengshuo wore an expression of disbelief.

“A modern person, a young person, without a single friend—do you two actually believe that?”

Jiang Zhexi also wore an indescribable expression.

Gao Cheng glanced at Jiang Chengshuo and said meaningfully:

“I’m not on her WeChat list.”

When looking at her phone earlier, he had examined it closely: her WeChat name was her full name, Shi Kezhen.

Her profile picture was also different from the one Yao used.

Evidently, Yao was her secondary account.

Or perhaps, was Yao actually her primary account?

Her WeChat friend list only had Shi family members; perhaps this was the secondary account, and all her real friends were on Yao’s account.

Jiang Chengshuo caught on immediately.

“You mean the one she showed us just now was actually an alt account?”

Jiang Zhexi had an epiphany.

“If it’s an alt account, then having only family is completely normal.”

Gao Cheng shook his head.

“Not necessarily.”

“Maybe the one she showed us was an alt, but it’s also possible that Yao is the alt.”

Jiang Chengshuo felt like having a breakdown.

“If this one isn’t an alt, wouldn’t that mean she has even fewer friends on Yao’s account?”

Gao Cheng didn’t reply.

Previously, when he didn’t know who Yao was, he had found her mysterious.

Now that he knew, he found her even more unfathomable.

Why would a person choose to live two completely different lives?

***

After returning to the dormitory and exchanging polite greetings with her roommates, Shi Kezhen sat at her desk, pulled the desk curtain shut, and turned on the desk lamp.

For the marketing course she had attended that afternoon, the professor had assigned a case study analysis after class.

He provided the case of an influencer brand store, asking them to analyze its target demographic, selling points, pricing strategy, strengths, flaws, and potential improvements.

This kind of assignment required on-site market investigation, typically done in groups of three or four with divided tasks.

The professor allowed the students to form groups freely, neither forcing specific pairings nor micromanaging how the teams operated, so long as the assignment was submitted within the designated deadline.

Shi Kezhen had always kept to herself, never forming teams with any classmates.

Even for group projects that required teamwork, she completed them entirely on her own.

She didn’t socialize, so she naturally wasn’t suited for running around doing field research.

Instead, she relied on looking up information online and adding a few of her own personal insights.

She didn’t aim for it to be exceptionally brilliant, just so long as she could finish on time and submit the work.

Opening her laptop, she began searching for materials related to this influencer brand, checking netizen reviews and reputation.

This wasn’t something she enjoyed doing—it was tedious and dry.

However, since she had returned to school, homework had to be done; otherwise, it would be no laughing matter if the professor docked all her coursework points.

Between searching, cross-checking, collecting, and compiling, the entire evening slipped by.

At nine o’clock, Shi Yanzhou called her.

Extremely uncharacteristically, he asked if she wanted to join his group to complete the assignment together.

– “Don’t overthink it, I don’t mean anything else.”

– “I just saw that you missed two weeks of class and feared you wouldn’t keep up and couldn’t finish the assignment, so I’m kindly carrying you.”

Shi Yanzhou’s tone was very arrogant, acting as though he were bestowing great mercy.

Without hesitating for even a second, Shi Kezhen directly refused.

– “No need, I’m used to completing it by myself.”

– “Don’t be ungrateful.”

Shi Yanzhou’s voice rose slightly.

– “This assignment isn’t that easy to finish; there’s only one week, and you can’t handle it alone.”

– “It’s fine, I can manage.”

– “Shi Kezhen, do you not understand human speech?”

– “What are you stubbornly holding out for?”

– “Can you go do field research alone?”

– “Can you run market surveys?”

– “These all require several people cooperating to finish.”

– “I don’t have the habit of accommodating others, and I can’t adapt to a group mode.”

Her voice was not loud, but every word was crystal clear.

– “Don’t worry about me; I can do it on my own.”

– “Shi Kezhen, you…”

Shi Yanzhou was infuriated by her, snapping in exasperation:

– “If I ever care about you again, I’m a pig!”

With that, Shi Yanzhou hung up the phone.

Shi Kezhen didn’t take it to heart at all.

Tossing her phone casually onto the desk, she continued researching online.

Since she had already torn down the facade in front of Mother Shi, there was no longer any need to feel aggrieved before Shi Yanzhou.

Shi Kezhen’s body was still somewhat frail.

Once ten o’clock passed, she shut down her laptop and went to bed early.

For the entire night, aside from answering Shi Yanzhou’s call, she hadn’t looked at her phone again, much less found the energy to switch to the Privacy Space.

This made things miserable for Gao Cheng, who waited in his dorm for her to come online for the entire night.

***

After leaving the canteen, Jiang Chengshuo had suggested going out to play billiards, and Jiang Zhexi had agreed.

However, Gao Cheng was constantly preoccupied with the thought of gaming with his wifey tonight, so he hadn’t gone with them and returned to the dorm alone.

Past ten at night, Jiang Chengshuo and Jiang Zhexi returned to the dorm carrying late-night snacks.

Pushing the door open, what greeted them was a foul-faced Gao Cheng.

Jiang Chengshuo set the snacks on the table, leaned over, tilted his head to inspect him, and spoke with dramatic exaggeration:

“Yo, bro, this expression doesn’t look quite right, does it?”

“Get lost.”

Sitting on the beanbag chair, Gao Cheng didn’t even bother to give him a glance, extending his long leg to kick at his shin.

Jiang Chengshuo dodged nimbly, avoiding the kick, and shook his head repeatedly.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, looking like an abandoned husband; looks like you got stood up by that wifey of yours again.”

Teasing him alone wasn’t enough, so he tried dragging Jiang Zhexi into the mud as well:

“Xizi, see that? That’s the classic fate of your cousin prioritizing women over brothers.”

Jiang Zhexi took only one look at Gao Cheng before decisively shaking Jiang Chengshuo off:

“Get lost, get lost, get lost. If you want to seek death, don’t drag me with you.”

Having followed his older cousin—who was only a few months older than him—since childhood, he knew best when Gao Cheng could take a joke and when he was absolutely not to be provoked.

Right now, Gao Cheng was enveloped in low pressure, his thin lips pressed tightly together, his eyes carrying a hint of hostility, clearly in a foul mood.

Whoever dared provoke him right now would likely end up as the punching bag delivered to his doorstep for him to vent his rage.

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