After Moving in With the Aloof, Conservative Beauty - Chapter 2

“Oh, you flatter us. Our Yile has grown up following his father around since he was little. He acts like a little adult, picking up all those old-fashioned habits.”

Mrs. He let out a soft laugh, delicately pressing the back of her hand against her lips…the absolute picture of a proper high-society lady. Seeing her son respectfully pouring tea for his teachers made her beam with even more pride.

“Your family has clearly put a great deal of effort into Yile’s upbringing,” Principal Li noted. “Mrs. He, you are gentle, refined, and highly educated. I have no doubt that a mother like you would instill upright values and impeccable character in him.”

“Of course! Our Yile’s values are as solid as they come, and he is such a warm-hearted boy. Why, ever since he was little, he’s kept a dedicated box to save every single love letter girls have given him. He always says a girl’s feelings should be treated with utmost care.”

He only kept the love letters from girls, not boys.

It was a blatant hint that her son was strictly heterosexual. Bamboo Heights Academy was notoriously strict on this matter, and Mrs. He knew precisely how to frame her answers.

Principal Li nodded slightly. “That is precisely what Bamboo Heights hopes to see. A child raised in a normal, stable family forms the proper foundation for their future. Now that we’ve learned what we need from you, Mrs. He…where is Mr. He?”

“Oh, look at me! Getting so carried away talking about my son that I completely forgot,” Mrs. He exclaimed smoothly. “My husband was reviewing the annual financial statements with his assistant, which delayed him a bit. He couldn’t come out to greet you all right away, so I’ll head to the study to call him now. Yile, entertain your teachers properly.”

“Alright, Mom, go ahead.”

“Is Mr. He always this busy with work?”

Just as she rose gracefully to her feet, Mrs. Mrs. He froze slightly. It wasn’t the question itself that startled her, but who had asked it.

She had assumed that the true power behind Bamboo Heights would remain silent the entire time. After all, her personal presence at their home was already an immense honor for the He family.

During her eight-year tenure as Trustee Chair of Bamboo Heights, Jiang Yanqing had guided class after class of students who, without exception, went on to make a name for themselves across politics, business, and academia. The academy’s meteoric rise to becoming one of the top elite high schools in the world was entirely credited to her.

Narrow, cool eyes fixed faintly on Mrs. He.

Cold, distant, and unyielding…as if seeing through every calculation in Mrs. Mrs. He’s mind. A wave of tension squeezed Mrs. He’s chest. Truth be told, facing someone like this, even a high-society lady seasoned in cutthroat social maneuvering could only feel a sense of awe, not daring to harbour a single disrespectful thought.

Jiang Yanqing was dressed in an ankle-length, embroidered mint-green Qipao over subtle porcelain white. She wore vintage embroidered heels, her legs crossed neatly at an angle, her back effortlessly straight without touching the sofa cushion. Her posture carried an innate, unteachable elegance.

She looked like a beauty straight out of a classic Jiangnan painting, yet lacked any of the typical softness. The high collar of her Qipao wrapped snugly up to the top button of her long, slender neck. Her cool, refined eyes made her look like a deity atop a snow-capped peak…detached and austere, compelling anyone in her presence to straighten their spine and check their manners.

So when she asked, “Is Mr. He always this busy?” Mrs. He double-checked in disbelief before her heart skipped a panicked beat.

“Ah… no matter how busy he is, my husband always carves out time for our son’s education.”

Jiang Yanqing nodded faintly. Her pitch-black hair was swept up into a sleek bun held by a jade hairpin. Bathed in the soft halo of the setting sun, her hair possessed an impossibly smooth, silky luster.

“Don’t be nervous, Mrs. He. Director Jiang is just asking routine questions,” Principal Li chimed in with a light laugh.

Mrs. He’s sudden paleness was far too obvious. The two department directors also chimed in to soothe the parent’s nerves, while He Yile cast a subtle, dissatisfied glance at his mother.

Jiang Yanqing took in everyone’s expressions and reactions without a word.

“Then please, teachers, chat with my Yile for a moment while I go fetch my husband.”

“Of course—”

Principal Li and the two directors were halfway through their polite response when their voices abruptly cut off. Their eyes widened in unison, staring straight past Mrs. He. Principal Li’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head, the veins on his temples throbbing slightly.

Even Director Jiang, usually so unbothered and distant, locked her gaze on the staircase.

Their eyes met.

Soft brown waves bounced with every step the woman took, catching the pink light of the sunset. She moved with an effortless, carefree lounge, her tailored suit accentuating a figure that oozed understated charm.

Her face had dominated global media billboards just that morning. Now, she was standing right here in the home of a prospective Bamboo Heights student.

Principal Li looked as if the mere sight of her was making him flush with rage. “Gu Lingyi! And you, Yan Ke!”

Unlike Principal Li and the two directors’ shock and fury, Jiang Yanqing’s gaze remained icy. Her eyes met Gu Lingyi’s bewitching, fox-like eyes for a fleeting second before she calmly looked away.

Gu Lingyi peered down, checking the teacups on the table to see if anyone had taken a sip. Just as her eyes reached the rim of a cup, a pair of hands shoved her hard from behind.

Caught completely off guard while inspecting the tea, she stumbled backward.

Giving her zero time to react, the other woman acted like an arrow shot from a bow, violently tackling her from one end of the living room to the far corridor in a flash of terrifying speed.

If Gu Lingyi insisted on being unreasonable and coming downstairs, then she shouldn’t blame her for getting rough.

Mrs. He was practically out of her mind with rage. These two lesbian women who have never tasted the goodness of a man are completely out of line!

Bamboo Heights explicitly rejected any student who showed signs of same-sex attraction. Their parental screening process even demanded marriage certificates and blood-relationship paternity tests. It was so strict that if either parent had a close homosexual friend, the child’s admission would be revoked instantly.

“Director Jiang, Principal Li, please let me explain! These two are uninvited guests! They have nothing to do with my Yile! Chiyin Group went public this morning, and our company is their largest supplier. Their founders are just visiting their supplier! I promise our He family would never produce any kind of homosexuality—”

BANG!

A loud crash echoed through the hall. A mother’s desperate strength was not to be underestimated. Gu Lingyi’s back slammed hard into the door at the end of the hallway, but the momentum didn’t stop…it smashed the door wide open.

The door at the end of the corridor was usually kept shut. Gu Lingyi and Yan Ke had felt free to wander around the open spaces of the first floor, but they weren’t rude enough to push open a closed door.

As a result, they had no idea Mr. He was inside.

And even less of an idea that things would unfold like this…

“Hubby! Why did she come in without knocking?!”

On the king-sized bed, a male assistant…completely stark naked…panicked in terror, frantically pulling up the blanket to cover himself.

Mrs. He’s bold declaration…“Our He family would never produce any kind of homosexuality”…came to a screeching halt amidst the male assistant’s high-pitched, delicate whining.

Gu Lingyi was pinned against the wall by the open door panel. In front of her stood Mrs. He, trembling with rage. Yan Ke was craning her neck to peek inside out of curiosity, while the four educators rushed over to the hallway upon hearing the commotion.

“He Qun! Have you lost your damn mind?! How can you face your mother, your father, your wife, and your own son?!”

Mrs. He was shaking so violently that she grabbed a pillow from the bedside and began thrashing at them frantically. The assistant did everything he could to shield He Qun with his body.

“Ow! Stop hitting us! It’s not like I’m trying to steal your place as Mrs. He!”

“Get out, you filthy homosexual!” Mrs. He shrieked, totally losing her filter.

“Hubby, she’s calling us homosexuals!” The assistant tugged at He Qun’s neck, whining dramatically. “Hubby, say something, hubby~”

“Mom, stop hitting Dad! The teachers are right there!” He Yile snatched the pillow away and stood guard by the bed, warily keeping his mother at bay.

“Yile! Your father is—”

He Yile cut her off impatiently. “So what? Isn’t Dad enforcing monogamy just fine?”

“Yile, have you lost your mind?!”

“Who’s losing their mind? Mom, just because you don’t have a wife doesn’t mean you can blame Dad for finding a husband! Look at the two lesbians standing behind you, they aren’t bad-looking either. Why don’t you pick one?”

The fifteen-year-old boy’s suggestion was Earth-shattering.

Gu Lingyi: “?”

Yan Ke: “?”

“He Yile!”

Mrs. He gasped for air, her finger shaking as she yelled her son’s full name. He Yile maintained his vigilant stance, shielding his father from his mother’s wrath. The assistant clung tightly to He Qun, continuing his high-pitched cooing, while He Qun’s face turned an ugly shade of iron-blue.

The family of four was putting on a live drama far more chaotic than any TV show.

Only the man himself…the Mr. He who was supposed to be in the study reviewing annual financial reports with his assistant…remained completely silent.

At first, when he only saw Gu Lingyi and Yan Ke, He Qun’s eyes had lit up. But the moment he caught sight of Principal Li and realized the situation, his face instantly darkened. He glared at Gu Lingyi with a deathly, bruised expression.

Outside the door, Gu Lingyi stood tall in the corridor, her loose, wavy brown hair cascading over her shoulders as she remained perfectly still. At 175 cm tall, her broad shoulders filled out her tailored suit nicely…and completely blocked Jiang Yanqing’s view.

She shielded all the unsightly sights behind her back.

As the setting sun streamed through the large side window, the two women stood facing each other. The low-saturation bluish-gray suit and the mint-green Qipao looked oddly harmonious under the warm dusk light.

And yet, the former was like a wild, vibrant crimson rose blooming in an open field, while the latter was a pristine white magnolia cultivated strictly within a palace temple.

Unbridled charm versus absolute restraint.

Like land and sky, fire and water…two opposites that could never align.

“Looks like Bamboo Heights picked up a real gem of a student this year,” Gu Lingyi teased with a quiet chuckle.

She reached out, grabbing the nearest department director by the sleeve. She paused for a microsecond, then gently cupped the delicate, pale wrist in front of her, pulling them both behind her back as she lowered her voice to a whisper.

“He Qun has HIV. I’m wearing a suit with nano-protective lining. Let’s get out of here right now.”

Seeing Gu Lingyi take action, Yan Ke grabbed Old Man Li and the other director, not forgetting to stoke the flames before leaving.

“Mrs. He, looks like your husband has really tasted the goodness of a man, huh?”

He Qun’s face turned darker than a thundercloud.

Yan Ke turned around smoothly and sprinted to catch up with the three ahead. Remembering that Gu Lingyi hated being called by her nickname, she caught her tongue just in time: “Gu, wait for me!”

Old Man Li and the director still had no idea why Yan Ke was dragging them along, but they were more than eager to escape such a scandalous sight anyway. Out of sight, out of mind. They rustled their sleeves and followed the young women out.

To make it easier to haul their testing equipment earlier, the Chiyin Group’s luxury van had been parked right next to the main manor. This turned out to be a blessing for the six of them, allowing them to step straight out the door and into the spacious seven-seater.

The black luxury van sped away into the sunset.

“Check protective suit for damages.”

Scanning, please wait… (1/2), (2/2). Scan complete. No damages detected.

“Check body for external injuries.”

Scanning, please wait… Progress (1/6), (2/6)… (6/6). Scan complete. Confirmed no external injuries.

Gu Lingyi briefly explained in a few words that He Qun had HIV and used the equipment inside the van to run a quick scan on everyone. The four educators expressed their gratitude, to which Gu Lingyi casually waved a hand, telling them not to worry about it.

She sat in the front passenger seat, while Yan Ke and the two department directors sat in the back rows.

It wasn’t that Yan Ke wanted to squeeze in with the directors, but rather that she didn’t dare sit next to Jiang Yanqing either. Since Old Man Li was the only male in the car, it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to sit in the back row with the two female directors, forcing Yan Ke to take the middle seat between them.

Fortunately, the van was exceptionally spacious, so even sitting close together, nobody was crowding anyone.

The vehicle exited the private estate and merged into the main road, automatically connecting to the traffic control system. It seamlessly joined the flow of traffic, cruising smoothly at a steady 150 km/h.

Their destination: Zhuyu Academy.

Green foliage flickered past the window glass on both sides of the road. Having just witnessed the He family’s chaotic drama and narrowly escaped the home of an HIV patient, everyone was feeling mentally drained. No one spoke a word, resting with their eyes closed.

“Gu, is your back okay?” Yan Ke broke the silence, her eyes filled with concern as she looked at her childhood friend’s shoulder. “That mother didn’t hold back at all. Pushing a fitness enthusiast like you back by ten whole meters…moms really have terrifying strength.”

Sensing two pairs of eyes on her back, Gu Lingyi slowly opened her eyes, a trace of natural charm swirling in her gaze.

One pair definitely belonged to Yan Ke. Old Man Li and the two directors usually preferred to pretend she didn’t exist, afraid looking at her would taint their vision, so it wouldn’t be them.

So…

She looked up, catching a gaze in the central rearview mirror.

(Gu Lingyi: Is she checking me out on the sly?)

Support