Surprise! The Fake Heiress is Actually an Ancient Master of Metaphysics! - Chapter 14

After wolfing down several mouthfuls, Tan Lingyin finally felt less ravenous.

She took small sips of porridge and glanced at Huo Jingyan across the table. “Mr. Huo, could I trouble you with something?”

“Speak.” Huo Jingyan’s gaze remained fixed on his tablet, his fingers gliding swiftly across the screen—clearly busy.

“Could you have the driver take me to school later? It’s Monday, and I have classes.”

Only then did Huo Jingyan look up. “Fine.”

Since he’d already decided to take her in, helping her with school was the least he could do.

After all, the villa was quite remote, and the elite school she attended was quite a distance away.

Tan Lingyin’s cheeks were stuffed full like a little hamster’s as she gave him a closed-mouth smile, her bright and clear fox eyes radiating innocence.

Despite her strikingly alluring features, every expression on her face carried an air of pure simplicity.

Huo Jingyan’s brow lifted slightly before he lowered his head again to work.

After breakfast, Li Heng drove Tan Lingyin to school.

She carried no school supplies—just a small, worn-out bag containing talisman paper, cinnabar, and a calligraphy brush.

Spotting a stationery store by the roadside, Li Heng asked, “Miss Tan, would you like to stop and buy some supplies? We won’t be late.”

All her textbooks and such were already in her desk at school. She never brought them home because her duties as a live-in maid left her no time to study.

She smiled. “No need. The school has everything.”

The understated yet luxurious Rolls-Royce soon pulled up at the gates of the elite academy.

Here, luxury cars were a common sight, and since Huo Jingyan’s vehicle was just a temporary purchase in Nancheng—nothing limited edition—it didn’t draw much attention.

Tan Lingyin stepped out of the car unnoticed.

After waving goodbye to Li Heng, she slung her canvas crossbody bag over her shoulder and headed into the school.

Along the way, a classmate spotted her and hurried over. “Tan Lingyin!”

The girl, beaming, moved to link arms with Tan Lingyin, who deftly sidestepped the gesture.

Tan Lingyin gave a polite nod but said nothing more.

This was her classmate, Li Lele—a textbook social climber who only befriended those from wealthy families.

Li Lele often tried to ingratiate herself with Tan Lingyin, only to be met with lukewarm deflections.

Yet, undeterred, Li Lele persisted with her cheerful advances.

Like now—her hand frozen mid-air, she simply giggled and withdrew it. “Lingyin, why didn’t you come in the Bentley today? Just how many luxury cars does your family own?”

This elite academy combined middle and high school, spanning six years—plenty of time for family fortunes to change.

Li Lele had been a wealthy heiress in middle school, but by high school, her family’s business had faltered, and their lifestyle had declined. Now, she barely maintained a facade of affluence, though she pinched pennies in private.

The only reason she hadn’t left this school was that her family wasn’t poor enough to send her to a public institution—where, in her eyes, the students were all peasants.

Tan Lingyin replied coolly, “It wasn’t my family who brought me today.”

“Oh? Then who was it? The guy driving looked pretty handsome!” Li Lele probed further. “Could it be a fiancé your family picked out for you?”

In elite circles, men and women rarely mingled outside their own. Even without affection, they’d obediently become tools for loveless arranged marriages.

Li Lele guessed that the man driving must come from a good family, and his friends were surely wealthy as well…

Tan Lingyin paused in her steps, frowning at her. “Classmate Li, we’re in our final year of high school now. We should focus on our studies, not on puppy love.”

With that, she quickened her pace, leaving Li Lele behind.

Li Lele clenched her nails and gritted her teeth, her face burning with humiliation.

Her family’s financial situation wasn’t great these days, and they’d been pressuring her to find a boyfriend at school who could help support them.

But everyone at school knew her family’s business had failed. Even if someone dated her, it would only be to toy with her. She refused to let herself become tainted before she could secure a good match.

The man who had driven Tan Lingyin earlier clearly looked mature—he might not even be from Nancheng.

If she could get to know him…

She refused to believe that with her skills, she couldn’t outshine that wooden-faced Tan Lingyin.

When Tan Lingyin entered the classroom, she immediately noticed the strange looks her classmates were giving her.

Mockery. Contempt.

The kind of gaze reserved for watching a joke.

And the seat that had once been hers was now occupied by someone else.

Tan Yayue was dressed in an exquisite outfit, her hair adorned with clips worth tens of thousands—luxury items, not to mention the various small accessories she wore.

It was as if she was desperate to prove she was the true heiress of the Tan family.

Tan Yayue raised an eyebrow at Tan Lingyin, malice gleaming in her eyes.

“Well, if it isn’t the Tan family’s adopted daughter?”

“Adopted daughter? More like a stray dog kicked out of the house, hahaha…”

“Yayue just told us—the Tan family took her in, but instead of being grateful, she tried to steal the identity of the real heiress! That’s why she got thrown out!”

Classmates who had once been decent to Tan Lingyin now turned against her.

Tan Lingyin swept a calm gaze over their faces, unfazed.

Each of them would face their own misfortunes sooner or later—she couldn’t be bothered to waste words on them.

When Li Lele entered and saw Tan Lingyin still standing at the door, she quickly put on a smile. “Lingyin, come in! Class is about to start.”

“Does she even deserve to come in?”

“Li Lele, Tan Lingyin’s been expelled. Don’t bother with her!”

Li Lele blinked in confusion. “What?”

“You didn’t know? Tan Lingyin was just an orphan the Tan family adopted. Now that the real heiress is back, she’s been thrown out!”

“Li Lele, hurry over here—don’t let her poverty rub off on you.”

Li Lele glanced around the classroom and immediately spotted Tan Yayue, decked out in luxury brands.

That seat used to be Tan Lingyin’s.

Quick-witted, she instantly understood the situation.

She walked past Tan Lingyin into the classroom, deliberately bumping into her shoulder on the way.

Tan Lingyin staggered slightly, her eyes turning cold.

But Li Lele just snorted and announced loudly, “Sure, she got kicked out, but she knows how to latch onto a rich man!”

Someone immediately asked, “Latch onto a rich man?”

Li Lele took her seat, then turned to Tan Yayue with an ingratiating smile. “You must be the real Tan family heiress! I’m Li Lele—so happy to be classmates with you!”

“Tan Yayue.” The girl feigned elegance, maintaining a faint smile as she nodded at Li Lele.

The classmate next to her eagerly pressed, “Li Lele, come on, tell us! Did Tan Lingyin land herself a sugar daddy?”

Li Lele cast a disdainful glance toward Tan Lingyin at the door and sneered, “I just saw her at the school gate—she stepped out of a Rolls-Royce!”