I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

Chapter 163 Found the Villain @Xiao Bonian

Hearing what Xiao Qingxuan said on the other end of the phone, Shen Kang was speechless.

"No, Xiao Qingxuan, it's only been a few days! How could you give up already? You need to pull yourself together! I still prefer the way you were before, the one who would rather die than study."

Shen Kang did not give up and continued to cheer Xiao Qingxuan on.

Xiao Qingxuan, on the other end of the phone, was stunned when she heard this—wait, what is Shen Kang talking about?

Xiao Qingxuan wasn't stupid; on the contrary, she was very clever to have consistently been at the top of her grade. After making the decision to "go back to school," she realized that this was a scheme orchestrated by Xiao Bonian and Shen Kang to get her to return to her studies.

Xiao Qingxuan had to admit that they had won.

Unexpectedly, when Shen Kang learned that he was about to get what they wanted, he actually encouraged him to continue fighting and not give up.

"Are you crazy?!" Xiao Qingxuan couldn't help but say.

She realized that Shen Kang was truly a bit of a lunatic. He wasn't afraid when he saw the knife wound on her wrist; instead, he wanted her to modify it for him. Now, hearing that she had decided to go back to study, he encouraged her to fight back—he was utterly insane!

"Come and curse me if you dare."

"Come on then."

A dozen minutes later, Xiao Qingxuan arrived at the entrance of Anjia Original Store on Xiangping North Road on her electric scooter.

Shen Kang was squatting by the roadside, idly counting the cars passing by. If he had a cigarette in his hand, he would look like a classic petty thug.

Xiao Qingxuan parked the car, came to his side, and squatted down as well.

"Why the sudden change of heart and the decision to go back to school?" Shen Kang asked first, sounding quite regretful. "Aren't you going to reconsider?"

Xiao Qingxuan rolled her eyes.

Actually, she felt quite ashamed of her decision. She was the one who had vowed not to go to school, and no one could dissuade her; they all went back to school after she had tried. But now, she was the one saying she wanted to go back to school, going back on her word.

But now, with Shen Kang trying so hard to win her back, Xiao Qingxuan suddenly felt that she wasn't so ashamed anymore—look, I've only worked here for a few days, and the boss is so reluctant to let me go, which means I'm a real talent! The reason I went back to school wasn't because I was afraid of hardship or fatigue, but simply because I'd figured out some of the underlying logic of how the world works and chosen the right path.

Thinking this way, Xiao Qingxuan felt much better and even comforted Shen Kang, "I know that losing someone as talented as me is a loss for the An family. But don't worry, I'll come back to help you after I graduate from university!"

Shen Kang sighed, "Anjia is developing too fast. If you miss this period of opportunity, I'm afraid that when you come back, your old-fashioned ticket won't be enough to board the new-era ship that is Anjia four years from now."

"Like those uneducated bosses you mentioned before, their success wasn't just because they were more daring than those around them, but more importantly, because they benefited from the era's opportunities. If you put them in today's market, most people wouldn't be able to succeed no matter how hard they tried, because the window of opportunity has already passed."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qingxuan also became a little worried.

During these few days of work, she personally met the employees and clients of Anjia Household Services, and learned about the company's rapid development. As a result, she became even more convinced of Shen Kang's earlier prediction that Anjia would expand nationwide.

She hadn't considered this possibility before. Now, hearing Shen Kang mention it, she realized she did have this concern and couldn't help but ask, "What should we do?"

"Opportunities are very important in a person's life; once missed, they may never come again."

Shen Kang said this first.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qingxuan's heart stirred, and her worry about missing the opportunity intensified.

But Shen Kang immediately changed the subject, "But it's good that you met me."

"I've thought it through for you. Aren't you a senior in high school now? I'll give you a year. In this year, study hard, get into a good university, and study financial management or a finance-related major."

"At that time, you can study while working part-time at Anjia. This way, you can learn theoretical knowledge and practice at the same time. And in a year, Anjia hasn't sailed too far, so you can still catch the last train."

Shen Kang had made all the arrangements for Xiao Qingxuan very clearly, and he had come up with all of these things while waiting for Xiao Qingxuan to arrive.

After listening to what Shen Kang said, Xiao Qingxuan's eyes lit up, feeling that it was a really good idea!

"Remember, you only have one year."

Shen Kang watched a Lamborghini drive past on the road and emphasized again, "The An family won't wait for you for long. If you don't get into a good university this year and have to retake the exam, it might be too late."

"Don't worry, that definitely won't happen!"

Xiao Qingxuan patted her chest confidently. She was quite confident in her academic performance.

"It's good that you have confidence. You're lucky you met me."

Shen Kang sighed.

As he sighed, Shen Kang glanced at the buttocks of a long-legged beauty passing by on the roadside. He was indeed not interested in love and romance, but what was wrong with men liking to look at buttocks?

Xiao Qingxuan followed his gaze, then turned to look at Shen Kang with disdain. After glancing at him twice, she looked away and turned her gaze to the street ahead.

Neither of them spoke for a moment.

Just as Shen Kang felt it was about time and was preparing to go back, Xiao Qingxuan suddenly spoke up: "Shen Kang, thank you."

"?" Shen Kang turned his head and glanced at Xiao Qingxuan, only to find that she was staring at the street in front of him with her profile turned towards him.

Xiao Qingxuan continued, "You may not know this, but my father, who is also the younger brother of your teacher Xiao Bonian, has always lived in the shadow of my uncle Xiao Bonian—"

She recounted how Xiao Zhongnian had lived in Xiao Bonian's shadow since childhood, and how no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't overcome it.

After hearing this, Shen Kang realized how much of a shadow Professor Xiao had cast on his younger brother.

After talking about her father, Xiao Qingxuan spoke about herself: "—My dad has never been as good as my uncle, but the one thing he has over my uncle is that he has a daughter. So he pinned his hopes on me, hoping that I could surpass my uncle. So from childhood to adulthood, he has always hoped that I would be the best, the number one, because my uncle was number one everywhere back then."

"Therefore, from first grade to first grade, I was always first in my grade. I was always following in my uncle's footsteps, and I thought I could catch up. Until my second year of high school, I failed for the first time and came in second instead of first in my grade."

"————" Shen Kang thought to himself, thinking, "I didn't get first place in the grade, but I got second place. Is this how you use 'failed to get into the top tier'?"

He was also somewhat surprised, not expecting that the landmine girl next to him who modified the landmine was actually a top student.

Xiao Qingxuan continued her story, seemingly speaking to Shen Kang, yet also seemingly talking to herself: "That time, my dad didn't actually get angry. Instead, he comforted me, saying that it's okay to make a mistake once, and you can try harder next time. That's what I thought too, so I studied even harder. But I never expected that I would never be able to get back to being number one in my grade."

"I study until 1 a.m. every day and get up at 6 a.m. the next morning. I only sleep for 5 hours a day, but no matter how hard I try, it's no use. The first place is always contested by two boys. Back in the first year of high school, they were only second or third. It's just like what people in our area say, boys seem to be born smart. As long as they get serious, girls have no chance."

At this point, Xiao Qingxuan gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Shen Kang didn't say anything, he just listened silently.

"A year passed like this, and I still couldn't get back to the top of the grade. My dad got more and more annoyed and started trying to find all sorts of things to supplement my diet, hiring teachers for me, and constantly saying encouraging words to me, always using my uncle as an example."

"My uncle seems to have become a shadow over me as well."

Hearing this, Shen Kang finally couldn't hold back any longer and exclaimed, "Professor Xiao, you really are a villain!"

It's bad enough that it cast a shadow on my younger brother, but it also cast a shadow on my niece.

Xiao Qingxuan chuckled at Shen Kang's amusing words and continued, "Then I gave up. At the time, I thought I had seen through the truth that going to school was useless. But after these past few days, I slowly realized that I didn't see through it; I was just like my dad back then, crushed by the shadow of my uncle, desperate, and gave up the struggle."

Shen Kang, listening, interjected, "Although I don't know how outstanding Professor Xiao's academic performance was back then, he was indeed a very excellent person. I can't compare to him, so I can only work hard in other areas. You can't compare to him."

That's perfectly normal.

Hearing that even Shen Kang admitted he was inferior to Xiao Bonian, Xiao Qingxuan felt a little better and smiled, "Yes. I've figured it out now. If I can't beat them, so be it, but I can forge my own path. In terms of making money and managing people, maybe I can be even better than Uncle."

"So, Shen Kang, thank you."

Since Xiao Qingxuan said she was quitting, Shen Kang immediately processed her resignation and settled her wages for the past few days.

Since Xiao Qingxuan was no longer an employee of Anjia, Shen Kang drove her home. On the way, he made a special call to Xiao Bonian to tell him about the matter.

Upon arriving at Weixiu Garden and going upstairs, they found that Xiao Bonian's door was open. Xiao Bonian was standing at the door, constantly looking down. When he saw them come up, he looked like he wanted to ask but didn't dare to.

Finally, Xiao Qingxuan spoke up herself, confirming the news with Xiao Bonian again: "Uncle, I've made up my mind, I'm going back to school."

Hearing Xiao Qingxuan's words, Xiao Bonian, who had still been somewhat worried, finally felt completely relieved and nodded vigorously, "Okay!"

After saying that, she looked at Shen Kang with gratitude in her eyes.

After Xiao Qingxuan went into the room, Xiao Bonian closed the door halfway and pulled Shen Kang into the hallway, preparing to express his gratitude.

Before Xiao Bonian could even speak, Shen Kang blurted out, "Professor Xiao, you really are a villain!"

"Huh?" Xiao Bonian was taken aback.

Shen Kang then told him about the shadows cast on two generations of women that he had heard from Xiao Qingxuan.

Xiao Bonian listened silently the whole time, and only spoke up after Shen Kang finished speaking: "I thought only my brother felt the pressure, but I didn't expect Xuanxuan to feel the pressure too."

"You know that yourself?"

"I only know about my younger brother—"

After giving a brief explanation, Xiao Bonian finally expressed his gratitude to Shen Kang: "Thank you very much this time, Shen Kang."

For Xiao Bonian, there are not many important things in the world, but family is one of them. If his niece stops going to school, he really doesn't know how worried his younger brother will be, how exhausted he will be, or how much of a blow it will be to him.

Fortunately, Shen Kang saved everything.

This was the second time Shen Kang had helped him. This child, Si Ping, seemed to be a lucky star, entering his life and helping him solve one problem after another.

"Hey, you're all fucking buddies, why are you talking about this?"

Shen Kang patted Xiao Bonian on the shoulder, and the two looked at each other. For some reason, they both laughed together.

The two chatted for a while longer, and Xiao Bonian also brought up the National Day holiday:

—I was planning to cook you a nice welcome-back meal when you came back for National Day. But then all this happened—

Throughout the entire National Day holiday, Xiao Bonian did not get together with Zhou Man, Shen Kang, and He Qiuzhu.

He was a man accustomed to solitude and shouldn't have felt anything, but for some reason, he felt a sense of regret at that moment.

Shen Kang looked at him and said, "How about we all get together tomorrow?"

Xiao Bonian thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay. Xuanxuan's matter is settled. I'll send her off tomorrow morning, and we can get together in the afternoon."

"Okay, then that's settled."

After making the agreement with Xiao Bonian, Shen Kang left.

Xiao Bonian then went back into the house and entered the living room. Not seeing Xiao Qingxuan, he went to look for her and finally found her in the study.

The moment Xiao Bonian saw Xiao Qingxuan, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, his whole body stiffened, and his heartbeat slowed down.

Xiao Qingxuan sat behind his desk, holding a photo frame in her hand, looking down at it.

Without even looking, Xiao Bonian knew what photo was in the frame—it was a family photo of the four of them at the Olympics. He had secretly printed a copy, framed it, and put it in his bedroom. He had accidentally brought it back while packing, and usually kept it locked. But these past few days, seeing Xiao Qingxuan come home late every night and immediately fall asleep, he had let his guard down. He would take it out and look at it whenever he had nothing to do at home, as if a glance would ease his worries.

>