After Moving in With the Aloof, Conservative Beauty - Chapter 12

The staircase consisted of sixty-eight steps in total.

It was class time, and students were dispersed throughout the teaching block. Some were absorbed in theoretical subjects like science and mathematics, while others engaged with the classical Confucian curriculum introduced after the Jiang family took over.

Admitted to Bamboo High without exception were elite students…solemn or mesmerized, their minds racing through a vast sea of knowledge.

Not a single soul could have guessed that at this very moment, an alumna completely out of step with the current atmosphere of Bamboo High was unhurriedly climbing those sixty-eight steps…the ultimate symbol of the school’s authority.

Her light-brown, wavy curls swayed softly in the brilliant sunlight, catching the light in effortlessly stunning arcs. Free-spirited and unbothered, her posture was captivating and fluid…a mature allure that the young students of Bamboo High had never encountered before.

At the very top stood Zhuzheng Hall, a building that struck fear into the hearts of students, parents, and the public alike.

Yet the person walking up the steps moved as if strolling down the red carpet of a stock exchange…relaxed, leisurely, her eyes fixed firmly on the woman waiting at the apex.

The dark green embroidered cheongsam suited Jiang Yanqing impeccably. Cold, dignified, and self-restrained, every refined quality of a classic beauty was brought out to perfection by the garment.

She had been standing quietly in place all along. As Gu Lingyi cleared half the steps and approached the top, Jiang Yanqing’s delicate, icy features and pale, jade-like skin under the sunlight came fully into view.

A flash of pure, unadulterated admiration flickered through Gu Lingyi’s fox-like eyes, though she suppressed it just as quickly.

“Director Jiang. I am Gu Lingyi, Chairman of Chiyin Group.”

Gu Lingyi extended her hand, palm facing up. It was a gesture of respect, yet carried the subtle air of inviting someone to hold hands.

Two tall, slender silhouettes stood at the ultimate center of power in this top-tier global institution. Lean, muscular forearms crossed in front of them, bridging the space between them and linking their shadows tightly together.

The security guard at Zhuzheng Hall kept her eyes glued to the school director.

She couldn’t understand it. The visitor wasn’t anyone particularly distinguished; in fact, she belonged to the category of people the school actively disdained. Why would Director Jiang personally step out to greet her?

When the heated arguments from the conference room echoed into the hallway, realization struck the guard.

Was Director Jiang trying to get away from the noisy parent inside?

It really is loud in there, the guard thought to herself. Yet in that brief moment of reflection, Director Jiang had already led the guest inside.

She hadn’t caught whether Director Jiang had actually shaken the guest’s hand or not…a slight pity.

As the guard stood up and bowed respectfully, Director Jiang and the visitor beside her returned the courtesy in unison.

Privately mocked by the teachers and students of Bamboo High as the most shameless and loose woman in the country, this very ‘guest’ had been the subject of vile rumors across campus ever since Chiyin Group went public yesterday.

Yet now, she offered a faint, gentle smile and nodded politely toward the guard.

The guard froze in surprise.

Gu Lingyi had returned the gesture purely out of habit, completely unaware of the inner turmoil she had triggered in the guard, or how her polite demeanor had just flipped a bystander’s perception by a full three hundred and sixty degrees.

She didn’t care about anyone’s attitude toward her…good or bad…except for her family and Jiang Yanqing.

Following behind Jiang Yanqing as if attending a banquet, Gu Lingyi narrowed her fox eyes slightly, casually scanning Zhuzheng Hall.

The directory sign indicated three floors in total: the top floor housed the Director’s Office; the second floor contained offices and conference rooms for the principal and senior staff; and the first floor was for general administrative offices and meeting spaces.

Their destination was the main conference room on the second floor.

The moment Gu Lingyi stepped into Zhuzheng Hall, she caught the shrill, piercing voice of the secretary from the President’s Office.

“Jian Yan! Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?! How old are you to act so cheap and vile?!”

“You have zero self-respect! Is this how your parents raised you?! Is this what your teachers taught you? Don’t you know how important your first time is?!”

“Your precious first time is meant for your future husband’s family, not for some evil piece of trash! Do you realize your whole life is ruined?!”

It was the same repetitive tirade, blaming the girl named ‘Jian Yan’ from every angle.

But… an evil piece of trash?

Was she really describing a legally launched product available to the public market by a listed company like that?

Gu Lingyi was exasperated to the extreme…so much so that she almost wanted to laugh.

Perhaps in the eyes of Bamboo High’s loyal followers, Chiyin held the exact same image as Bamboo High did in Chiyin’s eyes: both thought the other was a bunch of self-righteous lunatics.

Stepping through the door, it was no surprise to see the child the secretary was berating…a young girl named Jian Yan.

She stood timidly in the center of the conference room, enduring the disgusted and contemptuous glares of the school executives, grade-level teachers, and both sets of parents. Head bowed, her tears fell in steady paps.

A small dark pool had formed on the carpet where her tears landed, yet no one stepped forward to comfort the child. Instead, they pinned her down with increasingly judgmental gazes.

By contrast, the other party involved…a boy of the same age…sat silently beside his parents. He kept his head lowered just as low, not even bothering to look up when someone entered the room.

He seemed to be desperately trying to hide, eager to avoid attention and stay out of the storm entirely.

Gu Lingyi took in everyone’s expressions and reactions, letting out a soft, mocking laugh.

Heterosexual double standards were truly unreasonable.

When minors broke school rules by dating, both parties were at fault. Yet everyone directed their full rage and scrutiny solely at the girl, condemning her for failing to remain ‘pure,’ while allowing the boy to slide out of the picture completely unscathed.

Through her blurry vision, Jian Yan suddenly saw a tissue extended toward her. As a tear fell and soaked the paper, she froze in shock, hearing the second normal thing said to her all morning.

“Here, wipe your tears. There’s plenty more if you need.”

The tone was clear and gentle, but to every student at Bamboo High, that voice was instantly recognizable.

Jian Yan’s body went stiff.

Gu Lingyi didn’t mind the girl’s stunned reaction. She shoved a fresh handful of tissues into her hands and, at Jiang Yanqing’s invitation, took a seat on the empty side of the round table.

At the head of the table stood Jian Yan, looking like a punished student. Flanking the sides were the Bamboo High faculty and both sets of parents. Representing her company, Gu Lingyi sat alone on the opposing side.

“Gu Lingyi, Chairman of Chiyin Group,” she introduced herself with a light smile, having brought no assistant along.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Yanqing’s assistant pulled out the soft armchair right beside Gu Lingyi for her superior.

The school director sat down, her back straight and her posture impeccably elegant. Opening her pale lips, she said coolly, “Ms. Jian, if you have any demands, you may present them to Chairman Gu now.”

Her icy tone sounded majestic, strict, and overwhelmingly intimidating to everyone else in the room.

No one questioned why Jiang Yanqing chose to sit next to Gu Lingyi, as that was the only place with enough space.

The woman who had been shouting non-stop earlier…Jian Yan’s mother, an eighth-rank secretary in the President’s Office…arrogantly tilted her chin upward.

“Miss Gu, why don’t you explain first how my child, a seventeen-year-old minor, was able to easily get her hands on a product that Chiyin is only supposed to sell to adults?”

Gu Lingyi’s eyes slowly swept over Jian Yan’s trembling frame. Tapping her fingers lightly on the armrest, she said calmly, “Let the child sit down first.”

At the table, within everyone’s line of sight, every face shifted. They all glared at her with unreserved disgust and disdain.

“Did Chairman Gu lose her mind from the sound of the bell when her company went public yesterday?”

The secretary sneered, prompting nods of agreement from the parents and teachers.

“Exactly. The child did something wrong and needs to be taught a lesson. What good does letting her sit down do for her education?”

“No wonder Chairman Gu was kicked out of her family home late last night. Director Gu and Director Qu must be thoroughly disappointed in you.”

“Precisely. A daughter of the prestigious Gu family, going off to sell such shameless products…how is that any different from selling herself? She’s brought utter disgrace upon the Gu family, and now she has the nerve to dictate Bamboo High’s educational practices? It’s a complete joke.”

“If Secretary Jian hadn’t given her this opportunity, Chairman Gu probably wouldn’t have had the chance to step into her alma mater for the rest of her life, let alone sit as an equal with us.”

The boy’s father held a social status no lower than Gu Lingyi’s…he was a major shareholder in an established, high-tech publicly listed company, someone with genuine clout.

In the eyes of the crowd, his mockery felt entirely justified, and they eagerly chimed in.

Gu Lingyi had heard insults far worse than this over the eight years since Chiyin’s founding; her ears had long grown calloused, making her completely immune to verbal attacks.

She was used to it and didn’t care. Yet, the quiet voice beside her shattered the calm in her heart.

“I must ask Chairman Gu not to interfere in Bamboo High’s educational management affairs.”

The words fell like a stone, sending a sudden, chilling ripple through the room.

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