My Wife Is Going To Great Lengths/Putting In A Lot Of Effort To Turn Me Gay - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Prying Information

Xu Zhi remained silent, allowing Qi Yaoyao to chatter the entire way behind her.

She silently walked into the staff changing room, opened her locker, took out her bag, found her ID card, and handed it to Qi Yaoyao.

Only then did Qi Yaoyao stop talking, taking the ID card to examine it.

Xu Zhi’s birth year was one year earlier than hers. Although looking at the month, the two were only half a year apart.

But Xu Zhizhi really was an older sister!

While Qi Yaoyao was busy looking at the information.

Xu Zhi had already taken off her uniform, neatly folded it, and put it in the locker. She reached out to take back her ID card from Qi Yaoyao. “Are you done looking?”

“Wait.” Qi Yaoyao dodged her hand backward. “Just a moment.”

Qi Yaoyao stared at the address on Xu Zhi’s ID card. She had heard of the residential complex listed—it felt somewhat familiar. Although the location wasn’t prime real estate, it was considered a mid-range complex, and the housing price wasn’t low.

It was definitely not comparable to the old complex from last night.

Strange…

Qi Yaoyao looked at Xu Zhi suspiciously.

Did something bad happen? Did they just move?

Xu Zhi didn’t know what Qi Yaoyao was thinking. Seeing that she was no longer staring at the ID but at her, she reached out, took back the document, and put it away. “Go home quickly. It’s not safe at night. I need to go home too.”

Qi Yaoyao glanced at the two bodyguards outside the rest area, thinking, I’m very safe. But she only said, “I’ll give you a ride.”

“No need.” Xu Zhi refused. “I ride my own bike.”

Qi Yaoyao didn’t press the matter. She raised her hand to wave at her, looking innocent and well-behaved, using a cutesy voice. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Sister Zhizhi~”

Xu Zhi felt a headache coming on. “I told you I won’t be coming tomorrow.”

Qi Yaoyao replied, “Come on, come on~ Cutting off someone’s source of income is like murdering their parents. I wouldn’t cut off your income!”

Xu Zhi looked at her.

Qi Yaoyao blinked her deep, beautiful eyes, looking very sincere.

Xu Zhi said, “Then you can’t ring the bell.”

“Mm-hmm, I’ll listen to you!” Qi Yaoyao nodded and agreed readily.

…

Xu Zhi took a shower when she got home and lay down on the bed. For some reason, her head felt heavy and dizzy, and she felt a sense of physical and mental exhaustion.

“Zhizhi, Mom is home—”

Xu Zhi heard the voice in a haze, tried to respond, but couldn’t make a sound.

“Zhizhi, why didn’t you eat dinner?” Zhou Weixiang asked as she knocked open her daughter’s bedroom door, but she didn’t see Xu Zhi at the desk. She turned and realized her daughter was lying in bed, her face flushed.

Zhou Weixiang was startled. She quickly walked into the bedroom and touched her face.

It was burning hot.

Zhou Weixiang immediately got up to find the medicine box.

The thermometer read $38.5^circtext{C}$.

This frightened Zhou Weixiang greatly!

Why would she suddenly develop a fever?

Zhou Weixiang quickly found the antipyretics kept at home, poured a cup of warm water, and helped her daughter sit up. “Zhizhi, take the medicine first, then we can lie down.”

Xu Zhi felt heavy-headed and light-footed, very uncomfortable. She leaned weakly against her mother’s neck.

In a daze, she smelled a pleasant perfume on her mother that she had never smelled on her before.

“Take the medicine first. If the fever doesn’t break, Mom will take you to the hospital,” Zhou Weixiang said softly.

Xu Zhi took the cup and drank the medicine herself. After taking it, she lay down sluggishly. She didn’t want her mother to worry and comforted her in a low, hoarse voice: “I’m fine, Mom, don’t worry.”

“Mm-hmm, Mom knows.” Zhou Weixiang gently stroked her daughter’s face, which was still hot to the touch. She got up again to wring out a wet towel to apply to her daughter’s forehead for physical cooling, then went to cook a pot of preserved egg and lean pork congee.

She didn’t forget to measure Xu Zhi’s temperature every ten minutes during this time.

Although Xu Zhi had a high fever, her physical constitution was good. The temperature dropped shortly after taking the medicine, and she regained enough energy to sit up and eat.

After drinking the congee, Xu Zhi was still preoccupied with her unfinished homework and tried to get out of bed.

“You’re not well yet,” Zhou Weixiang stopped her, saying, “As long as you understand the key concepts, you don’t necessarily have to finish the test paper. Rest well tonight. Mom will call your teacher tomorrow to explain.”

Xu Zhi said in a slightly hoarse voice, “It’s fine, I can still do it tomorrow morning when I get to school.”

Zhou Weixiang: “Mm, then go to sleep early tonight, and rest well to regain your energy and health, okay?”

Xu Zhi nodded obediently.

Zhou Weixiang stroked her sweating cheek, looked at her, and said, “Be good, sleep. Mom will stay with you.”

Xu Zhi closed her eyes, but soon opened them again. “Mom.”

“Hmm?”

“I genuinely support you developing a new relationship, finding someone reliable, trustworthy, and who treats you well.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.” Zhou Weixiang looked at her, smiling helplessly, her tone gentle and affectionate. “Mom has enough with Zhizhi. Don’t overthink things, sleep.”

“Mm…”

Xu Zhi rarely got sick and didn’t have much drug resistance. The medication soon took effect, and she fell into a deep sleep.

…

Meanwhile, Qi Yaoyao, seeing the WeChat message that had received no reply, got bored and opened her email. She hadn’t expected the investigation results to come out so quickly, but she saw a new unread email.

She clicked to open it. It was from the “Private Investigator.”

Inside, there were thirty-seven PDF files, listing the information for all female students named “Xu Zhi” across six public high schools in Lihai City, from grades 10, 11, and 12.

Qi Yaoyao looked through a few pages, and her eyes glazed over.

She sent a message to the detective: [I have a photo of her. I’ll send it to you, and you help me find out which one she is.]

[Okay, Miss Qi.]

Qi Yaoyao opened her phone album. The first picture was of Xu Zhi.

Xu Zhi was wearing the bartender uniform. Even in the dim light, her features looked exquisite and attractive, and her aura was clean and cool.

Qi Yaoyao couldn’t resist propping her chin up and admiring the photo for a while.

No wonder Lily fell for her at first sight.

A girl like this possesses a very unique and attractive charm.

She couldn’t let it be known that Xu Zhi was working as a bartender in a bar.

Qi Yaoyao copied the photo, brightened the copy, then cropped it. The surrounding environment that couldn’t be cropped was simply covered with heavy pixelation (mosaic). After ensuring only Xu Zhi’s face and features were visible, she sent it to the detective.

Qi Yaoyao typed: [She’s very good-looking and easy to recognize.]

[Okay, Miss Qi. You’ll have the result by tomorrow evening at the latest.]

[OK!]

…

Xu Zhi felt much better when she woke up in the morning. She had slept and sweated out the fever.

She took a hot shower.

Zhou Weixiang had already prepared hot congee and side dishes. Seeing her daughter come out, she took the digital thermometer to check her temperature. It read $36.7^circtext{C}$, normal. She asked, “Is there anywhere else you feel uncomfortable?”

Xu Zhi: “No, I’m all better.”

“That’s good. But why did you suddenly get a fever?”

Xu Zhi said, “Maybe it was stress.”

Zhou Weixiang reassured her daughter: “Don’t stress about your studies. You’re already doing very well, Zhizhi.”

Xu Zhi verbally agreed, Mm, I know, but inwardly thought, It wasn’t stress from studying. The sudden fever was likely due to overthinking—first, worrying about her mother being deceived by the wrong person, and second, being somewhat intimidated by Qi Yaoyao’s threat last night.

If she was reported to the school, her certain end-of-semester scholarship might be jeopardized, and more importantly, if her mother found out, she would definitely blame herself for not taking good care of her and be burdened with psychological stress.

She didn’t want that for her mother.

…

In the afternoon, Qi Yaoyao received a new email from the private detective. Not a single one of the 37 “Xu Zhis” matched the photo! The detective asked if her direction of investigation was wrong.

How was that possible?

Could Xu Zhi be a master of disguise, looking completely different in her school uniform than in her work uniform?

But no, that wasn’t it.

She recognized her instantly the night before last.

Qi Yaoyao opened the previous email and looked through the PDF files one by one, but quickly got confused and bleary-eyed.

As she worried.

Qi Yaoyao’s eyes brightened. She exited the email and sent a WeChat message to Xu Zhi: [Zhizhi, what class are you in? I’m going to order you food delivery!]

Xu Zhi was listening to the teacher discuss high school entrance exam concepts. She only saw the message after class and replied: [Delivery can’t get in. Don’t waste money.]

YaoYao: [How can that be? Is your school that trashy?!]

Xu Zhi: [Didn’t you already know that?]

Qi Yaoyao saw Xu Zhi’s deflective reply and thought her attempt to trick information out of her had failed.

But the next moment, she saw Xu Zhi send another message—

Xu Zhi: [After all, it’s a very dull school, nothing but studying and exams, with no recreational activities at all.]

Qi Yaoyao: …………

Qi Yaoyao: ??!!!

Qi Yaoyao took a huge, sharp breath. She didn’t reply to Xu Zhi. Instead, she immediately messaged the private detective: [Is Xu Zhi from Lihai No. 1 High School included in these files?]

Detective: [No. 1 High School? Miss He said only common high schools. Student records at key high schools are very confidential. It will take more time to obtain them.]

Qi Yaoyao immediately told him not to bother and settled his outstanding payment.

Then, she sent a string of exclamation marks to Xu Zhi!

YaoYao: [!!!!!!!!]

Xu Zhi saw all the exclamation marks. She knew that she hadn’t found out where she went to school yet, and that Xu Zhi had revealed it willingly.

It doesn’t matter. It was going to happen eventually.

Xu Zhi didn’t care.

Qi Yaoyao’s fingers flew across the keyboard—

YaoYao: [Sister Zhizhi, you’re actually a student at No. 1 High School!!! I truly underestimated you!!!]

Xu Zhi: [Got in by luck.]

YaoYao: [But that’s consistent with what I thought. Students at your school are just strange. They have gloomy personalities and don’t seem good at socializing.]

Xu Zhi: “…”

Xu Zhi needed to keep working on her test questions and wasn’t going to stick around for this young lady to insult herself.

Xu Zhi: [Class started. Bye.]

YaoYao: [Wow, students at your school can bring phones into the classroom!!!]

Xu Zhi saw the message but didn’t reply again.

Qi Yaoyao also had class, but she found an excuse to sneak out and make a phone call.

Qi Nan was in a meeting, so her assistant answered the phone.

Hours later, the meeting ended. Qi Nan learned from her assistant that her daughter had called in the afternoon, urgently asking to transfer to No. 1 High School to study.

Qi Nan found it strange. “Why did she suddenly want to go to No. 1 High School?”

“Perhaps you should call her back and ask, Madam.”

“Forget it, I’ll ask her when I get home tonight.” Qi Nan walked into her office, then suddenly remembered something.

Her meticulously made-up, refined face furrowed her brows.

She muttered to herself, “No. 1 High School… Wei Xiang’s daughter is there…”

…

At the Qi family dinner table.

Qi Yaoyao, afraid the assistant had forgotten to relay the message, brought up the matter again with her mother while eating.

Qi Nan asked, “Why the sudden desire to go to No. 1 High School?”

Qi Yaoyao had already prepared her response and answered logically, “It’s not that I suddenly want to go, Mom. Didn’t you ask me about it before?”

Qi Yaoyao continued, “After that, I thought about it seriously. The study environment at No. 1 High School is indeed better, and the competitive pressure will ignite one’s desire to win and excel, which is beneficial for my academic progress.”

Qi Nan was not easily fooled by a few words. She looked at her daughter, her gaze seemingly penetrating everything. “You said that place was boring and dull, and the students were bookworms.”

Qi Yaoyao was quick to correct herself. “That was my preconceived notion. Everyone said so, so I thought so. But after checking the information later, I realized it wasn’t that exaggerated. I was wrong, Mom.”

Qi Nan didn’t seem intent on truly digging for the root cause and relented. “Since you want to go, I will arrange for someone to help with the transfer process. It will take some time, and you might have to take an entrance exam. Prepare yourself.”

Qi Yaoyao was surprised the process was so complicated. “Mom, with your status as the Chairwoman of Junzhou Group, can’t you just transfer me directly?”

“It’s a key high school. It’s not as simple as just donating a library building.”

Qi Yaoyao acknowledged this, saying “Oh, oh.” Then, she sweet-talked her mother, smiling affectionately. “Okay, thank you, Mom~ I love you, Mom!”

Xu Zhi did not know that Qi Yaoyao planned to transfer to No. 1 High School.

She didn’t want to go to the bar, worried that the foolishly rich Miss Qi would renege on her word and ring the bell again.