My Inner Thoughts Are Heard by the Entire Noble Academy

Chapter 243

When Shi Quan went to the Feng Family Villa for New Year's greetings, he was followed by only three people, one of whom he would soon be able to shake off.

However, by the time he left the Shi Family Villa, he had gained another burden.

Just earlier, he had sent a message to his girlfriend saying that he had family matters today and didn't need to follow the elders for New Year's visits, so he could meet her later.

Shi Quan wanted to recall that message, but it had been over three minutes since sending it, making it impossible to retract.

He could only add that plans had changed and he couldn't meet her, followed by a couple of intimate messages typical of couples.

After sending the messages, Shi Quan resignedly said to his burdensome followers, "Let's go make New Year's visits."

Without elders pressuring her, Shi Ruan had no desire to follow her big brother for New Year's visits.

She entertained thoughts of meeting her boyfriend instead.

"Brother, I want to..."

Being his biological sister, Shi Quan knew her too well. Before Shi Ruan could finish expressing her intention, he immediately cut in, "No, you don't."

If he couldn't see his partner, neither could anyone else.

Shi Ruan could only close her mouth sullenly and obediently follow behind Shi Quan.

Their first visits would naturally be to nearby neighbors.

Though Feng Yunhe wasn't particularly talkative, he considered himself to have a revolutionary friendship with Shi Li, so he asked, "Why didn't uncle and aunt come out? Did something happen at home?"

Feng Yunhe initially wondered if something had happened to Shi Quan's grandmother, but quickly dismissed this thought – if that were the case, the three Shi siblings wouldn't be out making New Year's visits.

Shi Quan smiled faintly, "No, it's just that relatives came to visit, and our parents and aunt and uncle are entertaining them at home. Since they couldn't come out for visits, they asked us three younger ones to go instead."

Feng Yunhe nodded. The reason Feng's Mother had asked him to take her along for New Year's visits was that Feng's Father was unwell, and she needed to stay home to care for him. Since neither parent could go out, they had to let a "high school student" make visits alone.

While Feng Yunhe could handle projects independently at work and deal appropriately with company executives and competitors, his mother still worried about him going out alone for New Year's visits.

Feng's Father's situation was truly unfortunate. Before his fall injuries from last autumn had fully healed, he had slipped in the bathroom and injured his hip.

This injury was more serious than the previous one. Last time he had merely been unwell but could still walk normally; this time he would need to rely on a wheelchair for an extended period.

With his limited mobility, naturally, he couldn't go around making New Year's visits.

Feng Yunhe had noticed something: since his father's injury and confinement to bed, although his mother needed to care for him frequently and worked harder than usual, her complexion and spirits had mysteriously improved.

Feng Yunhe thought that it might be better if his father didn't fully recover.

This would be better for both him and his mother.

Sitting in his wheelchair, Feng's Father had no idea that his filial son harbored such thoughts.

Although Feng Yunhe was much younger than Shi Quan, he had entered the company early, and when they discussed company projects, they found common ground.

During Feng Yunhe and Shi Quan's casual conversation, they arrived at the next neighbor's house.

The young people of this household were vacationing abroad, leaving only an elderly couple in the villa.

The three Shi siblings had often received candy from this elderly couple when they were young, and they had a very good impression of these two seniors.

This was the casual nature of young people making New Year's visits on their own – Shi Quan only visited elders he personally liked.

For neighbors who liked to boast and act paternalistic, even though Shi Quan's uncle would consider them business associates and maintain face, Shi Quan was quite casual about it despite his proper exterior, just like the rest of the Shi family.

The elderly couple was always delighted to see young people. With their own children away, they were especially happy to have five beautiful young people visit for New Year's greetings.

This elderly couple's way of expressing joy and affection remained unchanged over the years – they offered candy to the children.

It wasn't about how expensive the candy was – who couldn't afford to buy candy these days?

It was the elderly couple's thoughtfulness that was precious, and even Shi Quan, who hadn't eaten candy for a long time, took two pieces and put them in his suit pocket.

Under everyone's puzzled gazes, Shi Quan maintained his composure and nodded, "These are for my girlfriend."

Unexpectedly shown off to, the sisters Shi Ruan and Shi Li simultaneously pursed their lips.

Liang Rongrong's eyes widened in disbelief.

The elderly grandmother particularly liked girls, and among all the children in the villa district, she was especially fond of Shi Ruan.

The grandmother had given birth to four sons and never managed to have a daughter, and even among her grandchildren, she only had grandsons, not a single granddaughter.

Shi Ruan was beautiful and sweet-tongued. When she was little, her aunt worried about her teeth and wouldn't let her eat candy, but Shi Ruan was a particularly greedy child who couldn't resist sweets.

The beautiful neighbor grandmother was willing to give her candy from time to time, and Shi Ruan, being someone without much restraint, practically wanted to adopt her as her own grandmother.

With her sweet talk, Shi Ruan managed to charm most of the grandmother's candy away.

When the grandmother heard that Shi Quan had a girlfriend, she asked, "Quan has a partner now? Do you have photos? Let grandmother see."

"Yes, I do." Shi Quan took out his phone and opened his photo gallery, a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

The grandfather, who had been sitting aside pretending to read while actually listening intently, finally came over when he heard his wife wanted to see photos.

"Let me see too."

The sisters Shi Li and Shi Ruan, taking advantage of the grandmother's request, got their first look at Shi Quan's girlfriend's true appearance.

Shi Li couldn't help but curse, "This guy's a pervert, surely she's not underage?"

The girl in the photo looked very young, appearing even younger than Shi Li.

She had an especially sweet face, with two small dimples when she smiled, and just looking at her photo made one's lips curl up involuntarily.

The grandfather was more direct, "We can't break the law, can't date minors."

Seeing similar looks from everyone around him, Shi Quan's mouth twitched, "What are you all thinking? She's actually half a year older than me."

Shi Li's gaze moved back and forth between Shi Quan's face and the girl in the photo, finally concluding, "Brother, when you two go out together, you don't look like siblings – you look like father and daughter."

Chinese people have a saying that you can't be trusted without facial hair, meaning that no matter how capable you are, people will doubt your abilities if you look young.

Shi Quan didn't look old, but to appear reliable at work, command respect from his subordinates, and gain trust from business partners, he deliberately dressed more maturely.

This resulted in Shi Quan, despite his youth, dressing like an old man.

His aunt particularly disliked running into her eldest son at the company, feeling like it polluted her eyes.

Shi Quan's face darkened – what was this girl saying?

The grandmother praised, "This girl is really beautiful, Quan has good taste."

After symbolically showing concern for Shi Quan, the grandmother turned her attention to her favorite, Shi Ruan, "Are there any suitable boys at your workplace? Do you have a boyfriend? My grandsons are all very handsome, see if you like any of them?"

Before Shi Ruan could speak, Shi Quan interjected, "Grandmother, she has a boyfriend."

Hearing this, the grandmother seemed disappointed, "What a waste of my grandsons' six-pack abs then."

The grandmother knew Shi Ruan very well – she had been boy-crazy since childhood and hadn't changed as she grew up.

Shi Ruan held the grandmother's hand, "You're mistaken – since they're your grandsons, they're my brothers. How could I, as a sister, not know my brothers? Although I have a boyfriend now, our Shi Li is still single."