13 Sacrificial lamp

As Li Na approached her house, she felt a presence behind her. She turned around and saw her younger sister Li Jing.

"Hey Li Na, what's up?" Li Jing said cheerfully.

Li Na just looked at her without saying anything.

Li Jing tried to strike up a conversation with Li Na, asking about her day. Li Na remained guarded and gave her a silent response, sensing that Li Jing was trying to get information out of her.

"Hey, sis," Li Jing said. "Did you go anywhere after school today?"

Li Na raised an eyebrow and said in a sharp voice, "What's it to you? We aren't that close for me to disclose such information." She wondered what Li Jing was up to. She had a feeling that she was up to no good.

She thought to herself, "Li Jing must have done something for her to approach me. I'm curious to see what this little serpent is planning."

In her past life, she pampered her little sister to no end, only to be betrayed in the end. She would not allow herself to be bitten twice.

Li Jing's smile faltered slightly, and she shifted her weight from foot to foot. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just thought...never mind. It's nothing."

Li Na raised an eyebrow. Her sister's sudden interest in her whereabouts seemed to have confirmed her thoughts.

Li Na gave Li Jing a long, hard look.

With that, Li Na walked into her house and closed the door, leaving Li Jing standing outside feeling anxious.

As Li Na walked in Li Jing's smile faded, replaced by a scowl she glared at her sister.

As Li Jing followed Li Na into the house, she could feel her frustration building up. Her attempts to manipulate her sister had failed miserably, and she was starting to realize that Li Na wasn't the same pushover she used to be.

As Li Na walked into the house, her mother's face lit up with a big smile as soon as she saw Li Jing following behind her.

LI Na greeted her mother only to be met with a cold shoulder as her mother's attention was drawn to her darling daughter Li Jing as she entered the house. Her mother's voice lacked with concern as she asked her precious daughter, "Why are you late again today, Li Jing?"

Li Jing quickly lied through her teeth, "I was on duty today, and I was the last to leave."

Li Na turned to look at Li Jing with a raised eyebrow. Li Jing avoided her sister's gaze.

Her mother looked at her, "Really? You've been working so hard lately.

Li Jing tried to remain calm, "No, mother. I'm just doing my best."

Her mother nodded understandingly before saying. "Li Jing, you should go get changed and start on your homework. I don't want you staying up late again."

Li Jing nodded, heading upstairs to her room. As she walked, she couldn't shake the feeling that Li Na knew something.

Once she was in her room, Li Jing sat on her bed and pulled out her phone. She sent a quick text to her friend, asking if he could help her pull up the surveillance camera in that area to see if Li Na was there.

A few moments later, her friend responded, saying that the footage from the surveillance camera could not be recovered.

Li Jing's heart sank. She quickly deleted the message and tried to come up with a plan.

...

Meanwhile, Li Na couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Li Jing's behavior had been strange, and the fact that she had lied about being on duty didn't sit well with her.

She decided to put Li Jing's strange behavior at the back of her mind.

Li Na sat in her room lost in thought, her mind wandering back to her past life. She remembered how Gong Li's jewelry store had started as a small business and grew to become a household name in the country. Gong Li's unique and innovative designs had caught the attention of international buyers, and her jewelry had made it to the global market.

She thought about her designs. She had been creating beautiful jewelry for a long time, but she had never taken the step to sell them.

She decided to call Gong Li within the week.

Having that in mind, Li Na resolved to take a relaxing shower to wash off the day's stress and prepare for a peaceful night's rest.

...

The sun had just started to peek through the window when Li Na groggily opened her eyes. She realized that she had to get up and start getting ready for school, despite feeling tired from yesterday's events. She slowly got out of bed, stretching her arms and legs, and made her way to the bathroom to freshen up.

Li Na walked down the stairs to the dining room, where the table was set with steaming bowls of congee, soy milk, fried dough sticks, and pickled vegetables.

She greeted her mother, her mother looked up from her bowl, giving Li Na a curt nod before returning to her food. "Don't forget about the banquet this weekend. Your father is counting on you to make a good impression."

The Li family would be hosting her father's business associates this weekend.

Li Na sighed inwardly, knowing that her mother was always preoccupied with appearances and social status. "I won't forget," she said, picking up a dough stick and dipping it into her congee.

Her mother always tries to keep suck up to the rich, and would go to any length to do so. even if it means making her the sacrificial lamp. Li Na sighed, knowing that the weekend would be tough.

After finishing her breakfast, Li Na left for school.

As Li Na arrived at the school entrance, she caught a glimpse of Ning Yu surrounded by a cluster of girls. Upon noticing Li Na, Ning Yu waved at her and beckoned her to join them. Li Na smiled and made her way towards them, and as she drew closer, Ning Yu introduced her to the girls. Li Na exchanged pleasantries with each of them before they all walked towards their classroom together.

As the bell rang, students rushed through the crowded hallway to make it to their classrooms on time.

Li Na and Ning Yu walked through the bustling hallway, dodging students and backpacks. The sound of lockers slamming echoed in the background as the students scurried to their respective classes.

Finally, they arrived at their classroom, taking their seats.

Li Na's English class was always interesting, but today it was even more so..

As the English teacher began writing on the board, a few girls in the back of the classroom started whispering amongst themselves.

"Did you guys see the new teacher? He's so handsome!" whispered one girl, her face turning red.

"I know right? And he's so young too," said another girl with a dreamy expression.

"Ugh, I'm never skipping this class again," declared a third girl. "I need to impress him with my English skills."

Another declared that she was going to start wearing makeup to class.

The first girl giggled. "You're not the only one. We all know he's going to be the most popular teacher in school."

Another girl chimed in, "I heard he's fresh out of college, so he's probably only a few years older than us."

Ning Yu overheard their conversation and said, "Don't get too excited, girls. He's here to teach us, not to date us."

The girls giggled in response, "We know, we know. But a girl can dream, right?"

The girls laughed and teased Ning Yu, "Oh come on, Ning Yu, don't pretend like you're not affected by his charm too."

The teacher overheard their conversation and couldn't help but smile, "Now, now, girls. Let's focus on the lesson, shall we?"

The girls blushed and quickly turned their attention back to the teacher, trying to hide their embarrassment.

Just then, Li Na overheard their conversation and rolled her eyes. "You guys are hopeless," she thought to herself.

The teacher turned around and smiled at the class, causing the girls in the back to swoon even more.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Mr. Sun introduced himself and asked the class to introduce themselves as well. One by one, the students stood up and told their name and a little bit about themselves.

The whispers continued In the background, a group of girls whispered about how they needed to start studying harder, so they could impress Mr. Sun with their grades.

Ning Yu rolled her eyes, knowing that her classmates were getting distracted. She tried her best to focus on the lesson, but couldn't help but feel a little flustered every time the teacher looked in her direction.

After the class ended, the girls couldn't stop talking about the handsome new teacher.

Ning Yu caught up with Li Na and said, "Can you believe how cute our new English teacher is? I'm definitely going to study harder now!"

Li Na turned to her and said, "I thought you told the girls in class not to get too excited."

Ning Yu responded, "That was just for show; I didn't want Mr. Sun to associate me with the rest of the group."

Li Na chuckled and replied, "But I wonder if he's any good at teaching English."

Ning Yu shrugged. "Who cares? As long as he's easy on the eyes, that's all that matters."

Ning Yu even made plans to attend extra English classes just to spend more time with him.

As they walked down the hallway, they saw a notice on the bulletin board that caught their attention. It was a flyer for a school talent show that was going to be held next month.

"Look, Li Na! A talent show!" Ning Yu exclaimed, pointing at the flyer.

Li Na stopped to take a closer look. "Oh yeah, I heard about this. It's open to all students, right?"

Ning Yu nodded. "Yeah, and the prize money is pretty good. You should enter, it will be fun."

Li Na smiled at her friend's enthusiasm. "Maybe I will. And you should enter too."

Ning Yu grinned at the idea. "Okay, you're right. Let's do it!"

The two friends continued down the hallway, chatting and laughing as they made their way to their next class.