The students remaining in the classroom should have packed their bags and rushed to find their family drivers as soon as the dismissal bell rang.
This time, no one left. Not a single sound was made.
Everyone was quietly packing their bags at 0.01x speed.
All to avoid missing any tiny detail between the two of them.
The quiet environment provided the necessary conditions for everyone to hear their innermost thoughts.
The other students thought to themselves that Shi Li should become a negotiator; she was too good at persuading people.
They all really wanted to go to Wei Yi's house now too.
There are always a few everyday heroes in every class, like Wei Yi's deskmate right now.
The two had the closest relationship in class. She took the lead, not just for herself, but to benefit the rest of the class as well.
She said, "Yi Yi, can I come over to your place for dinner?"
Thirty eager gazes landed on Wei Yi's face. They wanted to go too!
The others had one more reason than Shi Li for wanting to visit Wei Yi's home. Everyone could guess why Wei Yi had invited Shi Li over.
They wanted to verify their suspicions through the strange things surrounding Shi Li.
They couldn't even imagine how sunny and cheerful they would be if they could hear the descriptions of Wei Yongsheng's mistresses.
How could Wei Yi not know what her classmates were thinking? It was absolutely impossible.
She was bringing Shi Li home to catch a mistress, what would she do bringing thirty-some classmates back?
Go on a spring outing?
If the others could help her catch a mistress like Shi Li, then bringing a few more people back wouldn't be a problem.
But clearly, only Shi Li was useful right now.
Get lost, go cool your heels somewhere else.
Wei Yi's eye roll made her attitude clear.
Don't even think about it.
Although they didn't achieve their goal, the group wasn't too disappointed.
After all, if they were in Wei Yi's shoes, they absolutely wouldn't bring the whole class home at a time like this either.
Wei Yi linked arms with Shi Li, and they left the classroom affectionately.
After the two left, the previously quiet classroom exploded like a bomb.
There were all kinds of discussions - the bizarre things about Shi Li, Wei Yi's scumbag dad who kept mistresses...
This bunch, who never wanted to stay in the classroom for an extra second, incredibly hadn't left more than an hour after dismissal today.
The drivers, who hadn't seen their young charges for a while, worried that something might have happened to them at school, so they came looking.
Seeing that everyone was sitting nicely in the classroom, they simply stood in the corridor outside.
Before long, the corridor outside Class 1-1 was filled with drivers waiting to pick up students.
The Dean of Students hadn't left work yet. Seeing a row of burly men standing outside Class 1-1, he thought there might have been a serious incident like campus bullying, and broke out in a cold sweat.
If anything happened to these precious children, how would he explain it to their families?
The Dean's imagination ran wild, from parents demanding explanations, to him being forced to resign, then dejectedly sending out resumes everywhere, but because he had offended powerful people, no company would hire him.
Unable to find work, his later years would be miserable, his wife would leave him, his children would abandon him...
The Dean pushed through the drivers in the corridor and threw open the classroom door.
The brutal scene in his mind hadn't materialized. The students were sitting in their seats, seemingly discussing something.
"Why aren't you going home at this hour? What are you doing?" he asked.
Met with a series of slightly bewildered gazes, the Dean pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
He cleared his throat to save face. "After school, you should go home quickly. Don't linger at school, or your parents will worry."
How could the students possibly imagine the Dean's complex train of thought? They all took it as his usual eccentricity.
The class leader, the backbone of the class, stood up at this point. "Yes, teacher. We're leaving now."
The class leader offered a way out, and the Dean naturally took it, admonishing, "Alright then, be careful on your way home."
Everyone left the classroom in twos and threes. As they got into their cars, they discovered a new chat group had been added to their social media.
This chat group included everyone from Class 1-1 except Wei Yi and Shi Li.
The chat group created that afternoon included Wei Yi, so the others couldn't discuss Wei Yongsheng there.
No matter what kind of person Wei Yongsheng was, he was still Wei Yi's biological father after all.
They weren't stupid enough to discuss a father's faults in front of his own daughter.
While they were animatedly discussing Mr. Wei in this small group, Wei Yi had already brought Shi Li home.
Wei Yi's family was in real estate development, so the villa they were currently living in was relatively new, built in recent years.
In her previous life, Shi Li's relationship with Wei Yi was just that of ordinary classmates. The two weren't close enough to visit each other's homes.
This was Shi Li's first time visiting Wei Yi's home since transmigrating into the novel.
As soon as they pushed open the villa door, Wei Yi called out, "Mom, I've brought a classmate home."
Wei Yi's Mother was a full-time housewife. When the two entered arm in arm, she was cleaning up some potting soil on the coffee table.
The housekeeper was cooking in the kitchen, and the faint aroma of stir-frying wafted through the air.
Having only been at the new school for two months, relationships with classmates weren't yet close.
Shi Li was the first high school classmate Wei Yi had brought home.
Wei Yi's Mother greeted her daughter's classmate warmly.
"Oh my, what a pretty young lady," she said with a gentle smile. "You're the first friend our Yi Yi has brought home."
Hearing Wei Yi's Mother's words, Shi Li almost lost it.
She couldn't help but joke internally, [Is Wei Yi's mom reading too many novels? What she just said sounds like what a rich young master's butler would say to the female lead: "You're the first woman the young master has ever brought home."]
Hearing Shi Li's internal quip, Wei Yi couldn't help but burst out laughing. Her mom did indeed love reading novels, even forced marriage and pregnancy tropes - that line very well could have been learned from a novel.
[Here we go, the next line will be "It's been so long since I've seen the young master laugh like this."]
Afraid that laughing again would make Shi Li notice something was off, Wei Yi pinched her palm hard. No, she couldn't laugh.
"Hello, auntie. I'm Shi Li. You're so beautiful! No wonder Yi Yi is so pretty, she clearly takes after you."
Shi Li's flattery successfully made her laugh out loud. "Such a sweet talker."
Actually, what she had just said wasn't entirely flattery. Wei Yi's Mother was very beautiful.
Almond eyes and cherry lips, hair like a cascade of black silk, with a gentle smile always gracing her lips.
Since she was at home, she didn't wear much jewelry, only a jade bead necklace around her neck.
The lustrous glow of the jade accentuated her porcelain-like complexion.
Compared to her mother, Wei Yi's appearance was rather ordinary.
Wei Yi's Mother waved her hand, "Yi Yi, take your classmate to your room to play first. Come down for dinner later."
Wei Yi had invited Shi Li over under the pretense of getting help with her studies.
So Wei Yi led Shi Li to the study, earnestly asking for help with her questions.
While Shi Li was tutoring Wei Yi, the family's housekeeper brought in some cut fruit.
They eagerly awaited dinner time, which finally arrived.
However, disappointingly, only Shi Li and the Wei family's mother and daughter were at the dinner table.
"Where's Dad?"
As there was a guest in the house, Wei Yi's Mother personally served the rice.
She passed the rice to Shi Li while answering her daughter's question, "Your father has a business dinner tonight. He might come home late."
Wei Yi was now suspicious, like the man who suspected his neighbor of stealing his axe. She felt her father wasn't at a business dinner, but rather meeting his mistress.
However, until she was certain, Wei Yi couldn't tell her mother, fearing unnecessary distress and the difficulty of hiding such emotions.
Wei Yi asked, "So when will Dad be home?"
Her daughter had always been close to her husband, so Wei Yi's Mother didn't think much of it. She replied nonchalantly, "I'm not sure."
Wei Yi finished her meal absentmindedly, with only her mother and Shi Li's voices filling the air at the dinner table.
After dinner, Wei Yi asked her mother to entertain Shi Li first.
She slipped into the kitchen to call Wei Yongsheng.
Through the kitchen door, Shi Li could faintly hear Wei Yi's phone conversation.
"Hello, Dad, where are you?"
"I don't like you drinking. It's bad for your health. Can you come home earlier?"
Seeing her daughter's childish side in front of a classmate, Wei Yi's Mother made excuses for her. "This child has always been attached to her father."
Knowing that Mr. Wei was a scoundrel with numerous mistresses, Shi Li felt it inappropriate to comment. She could only force a smile and say, "That's nice, that's nice."
As today's objective hadn't been achieved, Wei Yi naturally couldn't let Shi Li go home yet.
She suggested Shi Li stay the night, "We're about the same height, you can wear my clothes. We have plenty of guest rooms, and if you're scared, you can stay with me."
Wei Yi's Mother chimed in, "Yes, yes, it's getting late. Just stay here, and you two can go to school together in the morning."
"If you're worried about your parents, let auntie talk to them."
With such insistence, Shi Li found it hard to refuse.
"Alright then, I'll accept your hospitality and stay the night."
Wei Yi's Mother smiled, "There's nothing to be modest about. Make yourself at home, and let me know if you need anything."
With both of Shi Li's parents out of the country, only the housekeeper was at her villa. She sent a text to inform the housekeeper that she wouldn't be coming home tonight, so they needn't worry about her.
Shi Li and Wei Yi finished their homework for the day, but Mr. Wei still hadn't returned.
Shi Li was very tired, but to catch a glimpse of Mr. Wei, she didn't even change into pajamas. She curled up on the sofa, yawning while watching a TV series.
Finally, at eleven o'clock, Wei Yongsheng came home.
For Wei Yi, who often stayed up all night, this time wasn't particularly late.
She grabbed Shi Li's hand and ran downstairs.
When Shi Li saw Mr. Wei, only one thought crossed her mind.
[An unattractive man indeed affects the next generation's genes]
Wei Yi smiled: Just say she's ugly.