"Qingtian, are you and Mr. Gu... together?" Li Xiaoxiao crooked her thumbs at each other, grinning mischievously.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Xia Qingtian's earlobes burned as she shot Li Xiaoxiao an exasperated glance. "We're just work partners."
"Really?" Li Xiaoxiao pouted. "I don't think so..."
"Even being hospitalized hasn't cured your overactive imagination. Perhaps we should get you another brain CT and extend your hospital stay," Xia Qingtian said, crossing her arms.
"Oh, please spare me. Hospitalization is too boring," Li Xiaoxiao immediately pleaded. Those people might come under the guise of 'visiting' at any moment, and she'd usually be getting an IV drip or having check-ups, unable to escape!
She felt like a monkey in a zoo, forced to cooperate and put on a friendly act.
It was so annoying.
"See if you dare to talk nonsense again," Xia Qingtian scoffed.
"I won't, I won't! I'm watching 'The Best Intern' right now. Watch it with me!" Li Xiaoxiao pulled over a laptop, brought up the video, and snuggled up with Xia Qingtian to watch the screen.
["An iced Americano, please."
"Don't you have a sensitive stomach? Why are you drinking an iced Americano?"
"Then... I'll switch to a hot latte."
"Yes, please wait a moment." ]
Seeing Xia Qingtian's interaction with Mr. Gu, Li Xiaoxiao's lips twitched. She glanced at Xia Qingtian, only to see her cheeks flushing and her eyes darting away.
Hmph, just work partners?
It was clearly more than that!
Hmph!
Xia Qingtian had initially assumed that all her scenes in 'The Best Intern' would be cut, so she hadn't planned on watching it at all. To her surprise, the scenes were actually retained.
Her moments of absentmindedness and foolishness were all broadcast!
What was this all about!
Her face red, Xia Qingtian watched the entire episode of 'The Best Intern' with Li Xiaoxiao. The thought of her own blunders during filming made her want to crawl into a hole.
Fortunately, Li Xiaoxiao didn't tease her about it. She was just fixated on one issue: "Why do I look a bit fat and so dark on camera?"
"Videos do this. The screen visually widens you, making you appear plumper. Your skin tone is fine; it's just that after being assigned to different departments, you were contrasted with Freya," Xia Qingtian explained. "It's okay, you'll get used to it."
"I don't want to get used to it at all..." Li Xiaoxiao shook her head. "I really don't have the destiny to be a star."
Normally, when she was with Xia Qingtian, she knew she wasn't as beautiful, but it wasn't that bad.
Now, seeing them on the same screen, Li Xiaoxiao truly understood the difference between a celebrity and an ordinary person.
It was a world of difference!
"You're like a fairy! Thank you for being my friend!" Li Xiaoxiao's eyes glistened with tears as she looked at Xia Qingtian, her voice filled with emotion.
"What are you going crazy about now?" Xia Qingtian was speechless. "I really think you need another brain CT..."
Fortunately, Li Xiaozhong returned rather promptly. After lunch, seeing Li Xiaoxiao start to yawn, Xia Qingtian got up, saying she had something to do and needed to leave.
Li Xiaoxiao asked Li Xiaozhong to escort Xia Qingtian out of the hospital.
Once inside the elevator, Xia Qingtian found a topic to break the silence. "How's school been for you?"
"Um, it's been going quite smoothly," Li Xiaozhong replied after a pause. "However, Xia Qingyu hasn't been... very smooth lately."
Because he and Xia Qingyu had started a venture together to earn money, they had been talking more at school recently.
Before, when Xia Qingyu spoke to him, despite the gossip, the main target of ridicule had been him.
They called him a toad dreaming of swan meat, or said Xia Qingyu had poor taste.
Recently, with their parents' identities revealed, and him generally keeping to himself at school except for talking to Xia Qingyu, the tide had somehow shifted to "Xia Qingyu is so scheming."
There were even rumors that Xia Qingyu had known about Dr. Li and his wife's situation from the beginning and had approached Li Xiaozhong while hiding it from others, just like her mother who married into a wealthy family without scruples, bringing along a burden...
These rumors were circulating among the girls, and it was inconvenient for Li Xiaozhong to say anything.
Xia Qingyu had just said that making money was the most important thing and they shouldn't pay attention. But when school ended today, Li Xiaozhong noticed that someone seemed to have started being physical with Xia Qingyu, engaging in school bullying.
This had escalated to another level.
Li Xiaozhong couldn't explain it in detail, only saying that Xia Qingyu had encountered some trouble in class, with someone bringing up her family issues and saying unpleasant things.
Hearing Li Xiaozhong's words, Xia Qingtian recalled the scene at the Xia Corporation's anniversary celebration where Xia Qingyu had been targeted.
Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, Xia Qingtian raised an eyebrow slightly.
How could she, Xia Qingtian's sister, tolerate any stray cat or dog bullying her?
Just you wait! She would teach those with their eyes on the wrong things a lesson, ensuring they never dared to bully Xia Qingyu again!
"Alright, thank you for telling me this," Xia Qingtian said to Li Xiaozhong with a faint smile. "Xiaoxiao is a bit clueless. Thank you for taking care of her too."
"Mm," Li Xiaozhong nodded. Xiaoxiao was his sister, and he would naturally take good care of her.
After leaving the hospital, Xia Qingtian went straight back to the Xia residence. Xia Qingyu was doing her homework in her room. Xia Honglang and Xia Shang had not yet returned, and Aunt Liu was staring blankly at an A4 notice, lost in thought.
"Aunt Liu, what are you looking at?" Xia Qingtian asked, glancing at the notice in Aunt Liu's hand. "A parent-teacher meeting?"
"Yes, it's Qingyu's parent-teacher meeting tomorrow. I just found out, but I already had plans with someone—the wife of an important collaborator of Xia Corporation. It's quite troubling..." Aunt Liu said with a wry smile.
"Is that so?" Xia Qingtian's eyes lit up at the sound of her voice. She directly took the parent-teacher meeting notice from Aunt Liu. "I happen to be free tomorrow. I'll go."
"Oh?" Aunt Liu looked somewhat surprised. "You'll go?"
"Yes, yes. It's my first time attending a parent-teacher meeting. I'll go upstairs and see what I should wear tomorrow." With that, Xia Qingtian headed upstairs to her room.
Watching Xia Qingtian's retreating back, Aunt Liu wore a relieved smile.
It was wonderful that Xia Qingtian was willing to accept them, mother and daughter, from the bottom of her heart.
She would tell Xia Qingyu about this tomorrow; she would be very happy.
The next morning, as Xia Qingyu was having breakfast at the dining table, she suddenly heard Aunt Liu mention the parent-teacher meeting, and she involuntarily shivered.