Chapter 16: Accompanying the Prince to Study

The next day, Shen Han had Su Mi’s car sent back early in the morning.

Su Ciyu was taking Su Yi out to participate in a parent-child activity. Before leaving, he asked Su Mi if she wanted to join them.

The activity was at a large private children’s amusement park, with many fun toys and over a dozen different kinds of bubble ball slides.

Little Su Yi looked at Su Mi with eager eyes. “Sister, sister! Slides! Big slides!”

Su Mi felt tempted.

But she hadn’t completed her first round of basic knowledge review yet, and the midterm exams were the Monday after next. After three mock exams, there would be the final entrance exam.

Su Mi had to painfully refuse little Su Yi.

Even though she had Shen Han as a backer and could certainly get into First City University even if she skipped the exams, Su Mi wanted to do well on her own.

She planned to continue living in this world after completing her tasks. She couldn’t rely on Shen Han forever, so it would be beneficial to learn more and achieve good grades to have a better resume.

Su Mi’s parents didn’t quite understand this.

When Wen Zisu gave birth to Su Yi, the original Su Mi was about sixteen or seventeen years old, in her rebellious phase. She probably felt that her parents’ attention and love were divided with the arrival of her younger brother, leading her to become distant from them. Communication with her parents also decreased.

It was only after Su Mi came that the relationship with her younger brother improved, and she started to communicate more peacefully and obediently with her parents.

For people in this ABO world, the differentiation period is not just a coming-of-age marker but also signifies the maturation of glands. It leads to the secretion of unique pheromones, and due to hormonal changes, many people experience significant shifts in their thinking after this period.

Su Mi’s parents were pleased with her closer behavior.

They also wanted to use this change in attitude to foster a closer relationship between the siblings, especially since Su Mi would be moving out to attend university in half a year.

Su Mi could tell that Su Ciyu and Wen Zisu didn’t place much importance on the entrance exams.

The Su family, despite a period of decline due to certain events, still had a considerable legacy and influence. Although most side branches had dispersed, only Su Ciyu’s family remained in First City.

Like most students at Lorlan Public School, the entrance exams were not a big deal for the original Su Mi. Even without Shen Han’s help, she could attend Saint Cross Academy or study abroad.

First City University was a great place for Xu Nanqiao to grow, but for the original Su Mi, it even required Shen Han to give her a gift to get her into the university.

Su Mi realized this only recently.

Fortunately, Su Ciyu and Wen Zisu were indulgent in their educational approach to Su Mi.

Wen Zisu was surprised and said, “Have you been seriously studying these past few days?”

Su Mi: “…Yes.”

Wen Zisu smiled. “I’m sorry, Yaya. Your mother and I thought you were watching TV.”

“But whether you’re watching TV or studying, we were both pleasantly surprised and happy that you waited for us to come home yesterday,” Wen Zisu said, patting Su Mi’s head. “Study if you want to, don’t study if you don’t want to, just make sure you don’t overwork yourself. Understand?”

Su Mi: Wow.

She looked up at Wen Zisu. Maybe it was the Omega hormones, but his facial features were soft, his expression gentle, with only slight lines at the corners of his eyes hinting at his age.

Su Mi often fantasized about what her father would be like.

At parent-teacher conferences, she would often give speeches as an excellent student. She could speak off-script, observing the different father figures in the audience—some chubby and kind, some looking fierce, some with stern, expressionless faces…

She had never imagined a father like Wen Zisu, who played more of a motherly role.

But it was especially good.

Wen Zisu asked, “Do you want a tutor? Watching online courses alone might not solve all your problems.”

Su Mi explained, “I have an online tutor, and I’m also on good terms with the top student in our grade. She helps me review every day.”

Wen Zisu: “Oh? Which student? Invite her to our home sometime so we can thank her.”

“You might know her. Her name is Xu Nanqiao.”

Su Mi looked at Wen Zisu.

Wen Zisu didn’t react much. “Nanqiao? That’s a nice name. Ask her when she’s free and invite her over for a meal or to hang out.”

Su Mi felt a bit disappointed. “Okay, but it might have to wait until after the entrance exams.”

Wen Zisu smiled. “Alright, study hard. I’ll bring you some fruit later.”

The next day at school, after morning self-study, Su Mi asked Xu Nanqiao.

“So, did you contact the Yang family yesterday?”

Yang Er’s seat was already empty today.

Xu Nanqiao, who had noticed Yang Er’s absence, nodded hesitantly, not saying much.

She probably thought that the original Su Mi and Yang Er were on good terms and didn’t know what Su Mi was thinking.

Su Mi said, “By the way, I feel like I should apologize. If it weren’t for my close relationship with you, Yang Er wouldn’t have known about your connection with my sister and wouldn’t have done such a thing.”

She looked seriously at Xu Nanqiao, who seemed a bit embarrassed.

“It’s not that. Yesterday… I met with them and found out that Ms. Shen had assigned bodyguards to protect me. Those people were indeed quite scary, and Yang Er cried a lot, saying that Ms. Shen had already closed all their stores in First City. They said they would be leaving in a few days. With Ms. Shen around, they received their punishment, so I decided to let it go…”

Xu Nanqiao asked, “Su Mi, do you think I’m too soft for forgiving her so easily?”

Su Mi scratched her face. “It’s okay. It’s just not very satisfying, but as long as you’re happy.”

Xu Nanqiao smiled.

“Actually, I was really happy when you came to save me that day.”

…?

Su Mi suddenly looked up at Xu Nanqiao.

As the protagonist of this little world, Xu Nanqiao was naturally very good-looking.

Her clean face, like a little white flower, had a pair of watery, fawn-like eyes, a classic school crush beauty.

Did she steal the male lead’s role and also Xu Nanqiao’s affection for him?

Otherwise, what did she mean by that?

Su Mi hesitated and said, “Nanqiao, even though you’re great, I think you’re more suited for an Alpha.”

“…”

Xu Nanqiao was stunned for a moment, then laughed.

She pinched Su Mi’s cheek. “You, I think I seem more like an Alpha in front of you, saying such things.”

Su Mi: ?

An ABO version of love?

Witnessing Su Mi’s inner turmoil, the system: “…” emitted two electric crackles.

It seemed there was some inappropriate content in the task materials provided to the host.

Su Mi confirmed that her relationship with Xu Nanqiao was purely a BO friendship.

While chatting, two timid female voices suddenly came from behind.

“Su Mi…”

Turning around, she saw two other girls from the original Su Mi’s close friend group.

Ai Yiyi and Wei Wan.

They looked tired, probably having received news about the Yang family. Judging by the dark circles under their eyes, they must have stayed up until the early morning.

Su Mi asked, “What’s up?”

Wei Wan glanced at Xu Nanqiao and said they wanted to talk to Su Mi outside.

Su Mi followed them to an empty corridor.

As soon as they stood face-to-face, Wei Wan’s eyes filled with tears, and it seemed like she was about to cry.

Ai Yiyi quickly said, “We know what Yang Er did, but we were absolutely unaware of it.”

Wei Wan also said urgently, “Yes, you know us. We always do legitimate business, unlike Yang Er, who knows so many people from other schools. We never thought she would take those words seriously.”

Su Mi knew they weren’t involved in this matter.

In the original plot, it was Yang Er who proposed teaching the protagonist a lesson and found the people. Since Shen Han was investigating the matter, the results would not be wrong.

After listening to their explanations, Su Mi hummed and interrupted them.

“I know. If you were involved, my sister would have found out, so you don’t need to explain or be afraid,” Su Mi said seriously. “If you don’t do anything wrong, you won’t fear ghosts knocking on your door.”

Wei Wan and Ai Yiyi: “…”

Ai Yiyi tried, “Do you want to watch a movie with us after school? A new romantic film was released yesterday, the kind you like.”

Su Mi blinked. “No, I have to study. You guys go ahead.”

Wei Wan asked, “What about the weekend? You haven’t hung out with us since you came back…”

Su Mi said, “Because I feel inferior.”

These two had finished their roles in the original plot, and Shen Han had also mentioned being more careful with friends in the car the other day.

Su Mi thought it was a good opportunity to cut ties with them.

Wei Wan and Ai Yiyi: “Huh??”

Su Mi said convincingly, “You both differentiated into Omegas, and I’m the only Beta. Hanging out with you makes me feel inferior. Plus, with the entrance exams coming up, as a Beta, I need to study harder.”

Facing the stunned girls, Su Mi waved her hand decisively. “I won’t chat with you guys anymore. I need to go and prepare for my next class. Bye.”

She turned and ran back into the classroom without looking back, leaving Wei Wan and Ai Yiyi standing in the corridor, their faces alternating between red and white.

Wei Wan sniffed and scoffed. “What a show-off.”

Ai Yiyi pulled out a mirror and touched up her makeup, covering the traces of her tears. She rolled her eyes lightly. “She’s not wrong, though. Differentiating into a Beta and being required to accompany the ‘prince’ to study, of course, she’d cling to Xu Nanqiao.”

Wei Wan grabbed her arm. “Forget about her. I heard that Saint Cross Academy will be admitting quite a few students from Xicheng this year. The people from Xicheng are different from us; their families have real wealth.”

Ai Yiyi’s eyes lit up. “Really? Do you have any intel to share?”

---

Su Mi didn’t overhear their conversation, but even if she had, she wouldn’t have cared.

What concerned her was the upcoming event in a couple of days, the second meeting between the male and female leads.

It was a dessert-making contest hosted by Lorlan Public School.

The contest not only offered generous cash prizes but also provided additional credits.

Lorlan Public School operated on a credit system. Besides the fixed credits from mandatory courses, a portion came from elective courses.

Given that they were electives, many students who didn’t care about them found themselves short of credits by their final year.

This contest was like a small window of opportunity for these students.

Xu Nanqiao, being a top student, had already earned all her credits. She participated in the contest purely for the prize money.

Su Mi knew she couldn’t stop Xu Nanqiao from signing up for the contest, so she asked the class president to sign her up as well. On the day of the contest, she pulled Xu Nanqiao along to the activity room where the contest was being held.

The activity room was sparsely populated, as it was the final term, and most students had already earned their required credits.

After registering their information with the student in charge of the activity, they received their name tags and aprons. Suddenly, a mocking male voice came from the door.

“Hey, isn’t that Young Master Gu? What are you doing at a dessert contest?”

Su Mi: Finally, they’re here!