READ NOVEL FREE Chapter 22 - The Mysterious Father in His Daughters' Eyes Begins to Plan
Chapter 22: The Mysterious Father in His Daughters’ Eyes Begins to Plan
Wang Xueying returned to school, only to bump into a female colleague in the hallway.
Seeing the gift box in Wang Xueying’s hand, the colleague lit up like she’d discovered a new continent. With an exaggerated tone, she exclaimed,
“Oh my gosh… what am I seeing?”
“The most beautiful teacher at our university is finally taken!”
Life at university was monotonous, so students often found entertainment in organizing polls, including voting for the “Most Beautiful Female Student.” Naturally, they extended the rankings to female teachers as well.
Unsurprisingly, Wang Xueying topped the “Most Beautiful Teacher” list.
She already had plenty of admirers, but the title drew even more suitors. Every day, people queued outside her office, bringing gifts in the hope of winning her favor. Yet, Wang Xueying never accepted any of those gifts.
Today, however, her colleague caught her holding a gift box.
What did this mean? It could only mean that the most beautiful teacher had finally accepted a suitor and started dating.
Wang Xueying was momentarily stunned but quickly realized the misunderstanding.
“You’ve got it wrong. This is just a gift from a friend,” she explained.
She could only describe it as being from a friend—how else could she put it? That it was a gift from Xu Hao, one of the school’s board members? If she did, rumors would spread like wildfire the next day:
“Shocking! The Most Beautiful Teacher Uses Her Looks to Get Ahead!”
“She Rejects All Suitors Publicly but Secretly Becomes the Board Member’s Pet!”
Thinking of Xu Hao’s mature and charismatic face and the sense of security his presence brought, her heartbeat quickened. She shook her head to dismiss the thoughts. For the sake of both Xu Hao’s reputation and her own, she couldn’t let anyone misunderstand.
But her colleague wasn’t buying it.
With a knowing smile, she teased, “So… who’s the lucky guy who’s won your heart, Xueying?”
Feeling helpless, Wang Xueying decided it was best to ignore her and returned to her desk to prepare for class.
Yet, she couldn’t help glancing at the gift box in front of her. Curiosity got the better of her. What exactly was the “cheap little gift” Xu Hao had mentioned?
Unable to resist, she opened the box and found a fountain pen lying inside.
The pen was stunning, with sleek, streamlined curves that made it impossible to look away. She picked it up, and it felt perfect in her hand—so much so that she didn’t want to put it down.
“Wait… isn’t this Montblanc’s latest release?”
The sudden voice startled Wang Xueying. She almost dropped the pen. Turning around, she saw the same colleague standing behind her, her eyes sparkling as she stared at the pen.
“Xiaoyun, you know this pen?” Wang Xueying asked.
“Of course!” Xiaoyun puffed up her chest confidently.
“This is Montblanc’s newest model, released this September. It’s a global limited edition—only 100 pieces.”
Wang Xueying’s heart skipped a beat, a sense of dread creeping in.
“How much is it worth?” she asked cautiously.
Xiaoyun gave her a curious look before replying with envy,
“188,888 yuan. But that’s not the point. It’s a limited edition! Even if you have the money, you might not be able to buy it.”
“Your boyfriend is so generous! A limited-edition gift right off the bat? You’ve got to introduce him to me sometime!”
Wang Xueying didn’t hear the rest of Xiaoyun’s words. Her mind was buzzing as she recalled Xu Hao’s words when he handed her the gift:
“Just a little trinket… nothing valuable.”
Nothing valuable?! So 200,000 yuan means nothing to him?!
Wang Xueying quickly put the pen away.
“No, this is too valuable. I must return it.”
She grabbed her phone and rushed out of the office, dialing Xu Hao’s number.
“Mr. Xu, your gift is far too expensive. I really can’t…”
Before she could finish, Xu Hao interrupted her.
“A gift I’ve given doesn’t come back. If you don’t like it, just throw it away.”
“…”
Hearing this, what else could Wang Xueying say?
And Xu Hao wasn’t wrong. Compared to his billion-yuan fortune, a 200,000-yuan gift truly wasn’t much.
“If you feel bad about it, you can do me a favor and take care of Shiqing and Huayi for me…”
He refused to take the gift back but gave her a reason to accept it. With this balancing act, Wang Xueying abandoned the idea of returning the pen altogether.
After hanging up, Xu Hao’s words echoed in her mind. Wang Xueying decided to go check on the two students, Xu Shiqing and Xu Huayi.
Unlike other students, they didn’t live in the dormitory but stayed in a campus apartment.
Knock, knock.
Hearing the door, Xu Huayi opened it with a puzzled expression.
Seeing Wang Xueying, she asked curiously,
“Ms. Wang, what brings you here?”
“I heard you two are participating in the school’s art exhibition. I wanted to check in and see how it’s going. How’s it looking? Do you think you’ll win first place?”
Wang Xueying was invited inside, and Xu Shiqing poured her a glass of warm water.
“Didn’t Ms. Zhang tell you?” Shiqing asked.
“Tell me what?”
“My sister showed her painting to Ms. Zhang, and she’s already decided it’ll win first place. She even wants to submit it to the national art competition.”
Wang Xueying was stunned.
Did her student have such incredible artistic talent? Enough to enter a national competition?
Though shocked, she sincerely congratulated her.
“Being recognized by Ms. Zhang means your painting must be exceptional. Congratulations, Shiqing!”
In her heart, she couldn’t help but marvel. Truly, like father, like daughter.
The Xu family’s seven daughters were all extraordinary in their own way.
However, despite the praise, the sisters looked a little uneasy.
If the paintings were truly theirs and being entered in a national competition, they’d be thrilled.
But… they hadn’t painted them.
Taking a sip of water, Wang Xueying got to the point of her visit.
“By the way, the reason I came to see you is that there’s something I need to discuss…”