The Counterattack of a Wealthy Family's Substitute

Yao Yingxi's face stiffened, and by the time she came to her senses, Min Yue had already left.

She shook her head and walked towards the classroom.

At 5:30 p.m., Yao Yingxi came out of the school and unexpectedly saw Xi Yuanchen's car. She was stunned and thought she had mistaken him for someone else.

Xi Yuanchen didn't tell her, but judging from yesterday's signs, he was probably very busy at the company, so he couldn't possibly have time to pick her up.

Just as Yao Yingxi was about to leave, she suddenly heard someone call out, "Yingxi."

She glanced sideways, following the sound to its source, and saw that the back window of the car had been rolled down, revealing Qi Yuanchen's handsome face.

Her eyes immediately lit up with a strong smile. Yao Yingxi ran over, opened the car door, and got into the car.

In the past two days, after meeting her in person, Yao Yingxi has become a celebrity at school. Her photos are all over the forum. So when everyone saw Yao Yingxi running towards a car with a handsome man sitting inside, they stared in amazement.

Yao Yingxi opened the car door, and Xi Yuanchen was already sitting in the innermost seat. Before she could get in, Xi Yuanchen gestured for her to hand him the back of her seat.

Yao Yingxi handed it over casually, asking, "Yuanchen, what brings you here? Aren't you busy at the company?" Although she asked this, she was very happy to see Xi Yuanchen.

Xi Yuanchen reached out and took her hand, leading her into the car. The door closed. "I'm picking you up on the way home. Today..."

Just as he was about to ask another question, a cell phone rang, interrupting Xi Yuanchen's words.

He had no choice but to take out his phone from his pocket and answer the call, while Yao Yingxi obediently sat down beside him.

"Continue, remember to keep it secret, don't let anyone find out." Xi Yuanchen instructed over the phone, then replied, "Okay, that's fine, I'll check it now."

After hanging up the phone, Xi Yuanchen took a laptop out of the door panel and started working.

When Yao Yingxi saw him get busy, her eyes dimmed, but she remained seated beside him without making a sound to disturb him.

When they arrived at the apartment, Xi Yuanchen was still busy. The car was parked to the side, and Anan didn't say anything to disturb him. Yao Yingxi saw that he was focused on his work, so she naturally didn't say anything either.

After working for about half an hour, Xi Yuanchen noticed that the car had stopped moving. He looked around and saw the familiar building. He glanced at Yao Yingxi and said, "Why didn't you tell me we're here?" His eyes were full of affection, and his tone was unconsciously gentle.

Yao Yingxi smiled slightly: "Seeing that you're busy, and there's nothing urgent, I'll just wait."

Xi Yuanchen closed his laptop, nodded, opened the car door and got out, placing his hand beside the door.

Yao Yingxi placed her hand in Xi Yuanchen's palm, got out of the car, said goodbye to Anan, and then walked into the building with Xi Yuanchen.

Before the two could exchange a single word, Xi Yuanchen's phone rang again. Yao Yingxi frowned slightly, her expression showing some displeasure, but she quickly concealed it and followed Xi Yuanchen into the elevator.

For several days in a row, Xi Yuanchen was so busy that he was constantly on the go. He would leave work on time to pick up Yao Yingxi, but the two of them didn't have much interaction. He was so busy that he was even on the phone during his mealtimes.

Yao Yingxi had many questions in her mind, but she never dared to ask them.

On the fourth day, when Xi Yuanchen was eating, the phone rang. Yao Yingxi, unable to bear it any longer, slammed her chopsticks down heavily on her rice bowl.

Xi Yuanchen was surprised and looked up at her.

"I've been wanting to ask you, what have you been busy with lately? Why... why do you have to answer the phone even when you're just having a meal with me?" Yao Yingxi's eyes reddened slightly as she spoke.

Because of classes, the only time the two of them could spend together was in the evenings, but he was always busy, and she couldn't share the interesting things that happened in class or her classmates with him.

Every time she fell asleep, Xi Yuanchen was still in the study. Occasionally, when she went to the study to find him before going to sleep, he was either video chatting or on the phone.

"Sorry." Xi Yuanchen sat back down. "Yingxi, I can't tell you this right now. I'll tell you later, okay?"

Yao Yingxi stared at him for a long time before finally letting out a breath: "Okay, I won't ask anymore."

She kept her head down as she ate. Xi Yuanchen looked at the whorl of hair on her head, hesitating to speak.

The phone beside him was still ringing. Xi Yuanchen hesitated for a moment, then got up, picked up the phone, and walked outside.

As Yao Yingxi watched his retreating figure, tears streamed down her face. She buried her head and continued to eat her rice, the tears falling into the bowl and making her feel even more listless.

After Yao Yingxi finished her meal, Xi Yuanchen still hadn't answered his phone. She came out of the restaurant and couldn't hear Xi Yuanchen's voice or even see him in the living room or on the balcony downstairs.

She sighed and walked upstairs until she reached the study door. Her hand hovered over the doorknob, hesitating whether to open the door and go in.

Finally, Yao Yingxi withdrew her hand from the doorknob, turned around, and quietly walked into the bedroom.

She lowered her head, her heart and mouth filled with bitterness.

Faced with Xi Yuanchen's concealment, Yao Yingxi didn't know what to do. She walked into the bathroom in a daze, and when she came out after taking a shower, Xi Yuanchen had not returned to the room.

Yao Yingxi walked out of the bedroom, glanced in the direction of the study, and finally went down the stairs.

She saw her backpack on the sofa, took out several professional books, and at the same time, several envelopes were also taken out and scattered on the floor.

Yao Yingxi was stunned for a moment before she belatedly realized that these were love letters that had been stuffed into her books and desk earlier that day. Because Xi Yuanchen had picked her up today, she hadn't had time to throw them away.

She squatted on the ground, holding the love letters in her hands, a slight smile playing on her lips. How wonderful, to like someone and still keep something as precious as love letters as a keepsake.

Xi Yuanchen went downstairs and saw Yao Yingxi squatting on the ground with a slight smile on her lips. The things scattered in front of her looked somewhat familiar. He frowned and went downstairs.

Yao Yingxi picked up what was on the ground and stood up before noticing someone standing next to her. Xi Yuanchen's gaze fell on the object in her hand, and he asked, "What is this?"

He remembered that he had received similar envelopes during his school days, mostly pink ones, similar to the blue, black, and light green ones Yao Yingxi was holding. Weren't those love letters filled with confessions of love?

Yao Yingxi shrugged: "I don't know." As she spoke, she turned around to put the things in her backpack.

Xi Yuanchen stepped forward and grabbed her arm: "Don't you know you put it in your backpack?" He was slightly angry as he spoke. He didn't believe that Yao Yingxi had never received such a thing before, so it was impossible that she didn't know what it was.

Yao Yingxi knew, but she had never actually received any from them in her life. Her education only went up to high school, and she squeezed in time every day, running around doing part-time jobs after class. It was clear that she spent almost all her free time sleeping. Even if she did receive some, she usually threw them away without knowing it.