Li Liping, who was on the warpath, hardly registered who was in Cao Ying's room before she stormed in, loudly voicing her complaint. Only when she saw her Aunt Wang Yueqin there, along with a flushed and mortified Cao Ying, did Li Liping freeze, completely caught off guard.

"...Auntie, you, you're here too?" Li Liping blurted out nervously as she fixated on Wang Yueqin, struggling to find the right words. Seeing her cousin's expression, Li Liping knew she had messed up. Her aunt was usually very strict with her cousin, so Cao Ying would never have told her about Lin Feng. Yet, she had just inadvertently exposed her cousin's secret.

Li Liping really hadn't expected to see Wang Yueqin upon opening the door, and she cursed herself for being so careless. Now her cousin would surely think she had come deliberately to trap her. How could she even consider complaining about Lin Feng? She was certain to be scolded mercilessly by her cousin.

As expected, Wang Yueqin fixed her gaze on Li Liping with grim displeasure, questioning in a firm voice, "Li Ping, what were you saying just now? Who is this Lin Feng? What did you mean by 'sneaking around behind Little Ying's back'?"

"Well…" Li Liping was flustered, looking helplessly at Cao Ying as she stammered uncertainly. She dared not disobey her aunt, but if she were to admit everything honestly, who knew if her cousin would even let her live!

Cao Ying gave Li Liping a speechless glare, then, acting like a spoiled child, she wrapped her arms around Wang Yueqin's and said, "Mom, don't listen to Li Ping's nonsense. Lin Feng is just one of my students, there's nothing going on between us... Let's talk about our holiday plans instead. I'm thinking of going to Australia for a trip…"

"Humph…" Wang Yueqin gave Cao Ying an unhappy glance and said sternly, "Little Ying, do you think I'm senile? You keep quiet. Li Ping, tell me honestly who Lin Feng is and what his relationship is with your cousin—no hiding anything!"

"Uh…" Terror flickered across Li Liping's features, her pleading eyes darting towards Cao Ying.

Cao Ying was already livid inside. She was less afraid of her father, Cao Tiannan, discovering her ambiguous relationship with Lin Feng than she was of her mother, Wang Yueqin, finding out. Cao Tiannan was much more open-minded and wouldn't interfere too much with her life.

Wang Yueqin, however, was a strict mother. Ever since Cao Ying started middle school, she had kept a close eye on her beautiful daughter's love life. She would invariably gather information about any male classmates who admired her daughter. Then, she would subtly approach their parents, reveal her identity, and gently warn them to discipline their sons strictly, cautioning them against jeopardizing her daughter's future.

Even now, when Cao Ying was of marriageable age, Wang Yueqin maintained this habit. Her standards for selecting a son-in-law were much higher than Cao Ying's own standards for a husband. Of course, given Cao Tiannan's status, even if Wang Yueqin wasn't overly demanding, the single prerequisite of finding a socially compatible match barred most young men from the Cao Family.

Both Li Liping and Cao Ying knew Wang Yueqin had high standards. Since they were unaware that Lin Feng was the son of Commander Lin Zhonghua of the military district, they instinctively assumed Wang Yueqin would never accept him. They figured that the first thing she would do upon learning of Lin Feng's existence was to find him and tell him to leave Cao Ying alone.

This had happened many times before. Cao Ying frequently discovered that some male students who had been very attentive to her would, after a period of absence, keep a respectful distance or even show signs of aversion towards her. Some even transferred to other schools and disappeared from her sight.

This was one of the reasons why Cao Ying gradually began to despise her own status, leading her to keep a low profile in her school life afterwards.

"Just confess! I won't blame you for keeping it a secret from me all this time…" Wang Yueqin said lightly, sitting elegantly on the chair.

Li Liping wore a bitter expression. Wang Yueqin's meaning was clear: if she confessed now, she wouldn't be blamed for her previous cover-up. But if she continued to resist, Wang Yueqin would certainly tip off her parents. Li Liping had hidden many somewhat improper things she had done from her parents. If Wang Yueqin wanted to investigate, she could easily have the mayor's secretary help her find out. When her father, Li Hong, received a call, Li Liping would have no choice but to become an obedient girl!

She had no choice. In desperate times, it was everyone for themselves. Li Liping shot an apologetic glance at Cao Ying, then said with a bitter smile, "Auntie, Lin Feng is a classmate of both mine and my cousin's. When my cousin was a substitute teacher before, she taught him English. Besides that, there's nothing much... we're just friends who hang out together."

"Oh... also a student of Jiangzhou University?" Hearing Li Liping's explanation, Wang Yueqin's expression visibly softened. If Lin Feng was still a university student, dealing with him should be straightforward. "What year is he in? What's his major? What's his family background..."

This string of questions, much like a census taker, was casually thrown out by Wang Yueqin. This had become her habit — every time she learned of a male student getting close to Cao Ying, she would immediately ask for his details.

"I'm not quite sure…" Seeing Cao Ying's increasingly furious expression, Li Liping lowered her head and dared not speak anymore.

"Mom, if you really want to know, I'll tell you!" Cao Ying blurted out, her face flushing. I can just make up some details about Lin Feng according to Mom's wishes and get through this questioning, she thought.

"Hmm, go ahead, I'll just listen..." Wang Yueqin responded with a crafty smile, fixing her gaze on Cao Ying.

By 'just listen', she meant that she would send someone to verify it later.

Facing such a cunning mother, Cao Ying looked dismayed, and she increasingly resented Li Liping for revealing Lin Feng, blaming this careless girl for creating all this trouble for her.

Left with no choice, Cao Ying vaguely explained to Wang Yueqin, "Lin Feng is also a new student this year, studying Business Administration. His father seems to be a military officer in Jiangzhou, and his mother is probably an official at the Bank of China. I'm not too sure about the specifics..."

"Both fresh postgraduates then? And their parents are all officials... hmm, not bad…" After hearing Cao Ying's explanation, Wang Yueqin looked pleased. This Lin Feng sounds pretty reliable! He and Little Ying are close in age and come from families of officials, so at least they shouldn't have a communication gap. Of course, whether he's truly suitable will depend on further investigation... I won't easily give away my obedient girl.

"He is not a postgraduate... Lin Feng is an undergraduate..." Cao Ying corrected, her face blushing.

"Ah? An undergraduate... doesn't that mean Lin Feng is three or four years younger than you?" Wang Yueqin exclaimed in surprise, her eyes wide in disbelief as they rested on Cao Ying. She couldn't believe that Cao Ying could have chosen a boyfriend three or four years younger than herself!

This was a sore spot for Cao Ying. Even though her mother had brought it up, she nodded, her expression dark. I'm actually three years older than Lin Feng! I feel so old!

"Hmph... unacceptable, I need to talk to Lin Feng's parents!" Hearing that Cao Ying was significantly older than Lin Feng, Wang Yueqin immediately felt that she should put a stop to Lin Feng's intentions.

"Mom! Don't!" Cao Ying exclaimed in shock.

Sorry for the late update today. Merry Christmas Eve and Merry Christmas to all!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.