An Siyao: Puppet

"Good morning." An Siyao's voice rang out.

"Morning." Xia Yu looked around and saw An Siyao walking towards the dining hall.

Good, he didn't miss breakfast.

Xia Yu got up a bit late today, worrying if he could make it in time for breakfast, but it turned out perfectly.

After finishing breakfast, Xia Yu went to the piano room and played piano for a while.

His mood was a bit tumultuous. Tomorrow was the college entrance examination. After the exam, it would be university, and he could meet An Siyao and Xu Youxiang there.

After playing a more intense piece, Rebel Prince, Xia Yu closed the piano lid.

Leaving the piano room, he wandered over to the painting studio and the flower arrangement practice room. In the afternoon, Feng Yu Jia and Feng Yu Mo came over for afternoon tea.

As he spent the day wandering around, at night, after having dinner and getting ready to leave, Xia Yu asked An Siyao about her future plans: "What major do you plan to apply for at university?"

Hua University was the largest university in the first district, with three campuses catering to different specialties.

"Do the schools divide by major?" There was surprise in An Siyao's words.

"…Of course, what were you expecting, for the school to give you a Sorting Hat when you arrived?" If it were anyone else, Xia Yu would think they were joking, but since it was An Siyao, the girl might really have no concept of majors.

"What is a Sorting Hat?" An Siyao asked curiously.

"That's not something children need to know. First, think about which major you want to choose." Xia Yu sighed, suddenly worrying about An Siyao's life in university.

"Can you help me choose?" There was a hint of coyness in An Siyao's words.

"How would I know what you like?" Xia Yu refused.

"I'll like whatever you choose for me." An Siyao answered without hesitation.

"Really?"

"Actually, there are some things I don't like." An Siyao felt a little uneasy for telling lies, "Sports are too tiring."

"Although Hua University has a sports college, you didn't participate in the physical examination, so you can't enter." Hearing An Siyao's words, Xia Yu couldn't help but feel an itch to pinch An Siyao's little face, but An Siyao's body was his, so pinching An Siyao was pinching himself.

"Then you choose!" The girl sighed with relief.

Xia Yu didn't like making such decisions for others.

The girl didn't plan to inherit the family business and had no particular hobbies or interests, so choosing a major depended entirely on Xia Yu's preference.

Before, Xia Yu had interfered in An Siyao's life a lot, either to give her freedom or for his mission. What major An Siyao chose had no impact on either side.

Deciding for An Siyao under these circumstances would leave her with no control over her own life. Xia Yu didn't want to control An Siyao's life; she wouldn't be the person he wanted.

"You need to learn to make your own decisions; otherwise, you'll be manipulated by others step by step, turning into a puppet." Xia Yu said to An Siyao while eating biscuits by the bedside.

"Then I'll be your puppet."

Xia Yu's biscuit-holding fingers paused.

"Not a beautiful and exquisite puppet dressed in a gorgeous Gothic gown, but a wooden puppet with joints clacking, and a jaw that goes clatter." He replied, "Becoming like that would be ugly."

An Siyao couldn't understand the deep meaning in Xia Yu's words, but she could understand his thoughts.

"You can make your own decision." Xia Yu opened his notebook, searched for all the majors at Hua University, and said, "Look at these, and start choosing now."

Fifteen minutes later, after looking through all the majors, An Siyao pondered for a moment and gave Xia Yu her answer: "I'll choose piano."

An Siyao hadn't participated in the interview, so she shouldn't have been able to enter the music academy. However, with her skills and the influence of An Tianfeng and Yu Liang, it wasn't a problem.

"Alright." Xia Yu glanced at the school district where the piano major was.

Like An Siyao, it didn't matter to him which major he chose, so he decided to pick one in the same school district as her.

He then checked the time—it was already six in the afternoon, and the eight-hour gaming session had long passed.

"I'll be waiting for you at Hua University." With that, Xia Yu pressed the logout button.

Back in his own body, Xia Yu was still thinking about An Siyao.

He wondered what kind of reaction she would have after he left those words behind.

In theory, he should have brought it up earlier and then answered the girl's many questions, but emotions sometimes got in the way of rational decisions. Even Xia Yu couldn't remain calm and follow reason all the time.

He used to be able to do that.

Lying on the balcony of the villa, Xia Yu tried to shift his attention but couldn't maintain composure.

Taking out his phone, he sent a message to Xu Youxiang, asking about An Siyao's current situation.

Five minutes later, Xu Youxiang sent a message back, saying that An Siyao had been rolling around on her bed for several minutes and was now looking at a photo of her mother.

Xia Yu didn't know if this was the news he wanted, but it eased his mood a bit.

It was much better than the effect of looking out from the balcony.

After calming down, Xia Yu felt something was off.

Picking up his phone, he asked Xu Youxiang:

How do you know what An Siyao is doing?

The maids were talking about it in the group chat

How did you get into the maid group?

To join the maid group, Xia Yu had to work hard to win the maids' favor.

I changed a few clothes for them

Is there an easier method for this?

After some thought, Xia Yu realized that this method wouldn't work for An Siyao. Xu Youxiang was a guest, while An Siyao was a host, and the maids' vigilance towards the two was different.

Why is An Siyao looking at a photo?

Xia Yu asked about another key point.

Go ask An Siyao yourself!

You're not friends with the other party, unable to send messages

After deleting Xia Yu, Xu Youxiang picked up a pillow from the bed and punched it, saying, "An Siyao, An Siyao, An Siyao, all you care about is An Siyao!"

After venting for a while, Xu Youxiang still didn't feel relieved. She added Xia Yu on her chat again, sent several nasty and silly messages, and prepared to delete him.

At that moment, Xia Yu replied to her.

Can I send a voice message?

No, get lost, pervert! Xu Youxiang opened the voice message and cursed.

After deleting Xia Yu again, Xu Youxiang's mood had improved significantly.

Could An Siyao do this!

On the other hand, Xia Yu's mood was not as calm as it seemed in the chat. He wasn't a fool; he knew what Xu Youxiang meant.

Whatever, they would deal with it in college.

Tossing his phone aside, Xia Yu went to bed and played games for a while before falling asleep.

The next morning, before the alarm clock went off, Xia Yu was awakened by Yuxue.

"Don't speak!" Yuxue covered Xia Yu's mouth and said seriously, "First, say good morning to bring in good luck for the day."

Pinching the girl's face, Xia Yu said "Alright, alright" obediently.

For breakfast, Yuxue bought rice dumplings for him, implying success in his exam. She had originally made them herself, but they fell apart into a leafy porridge once cooked.

Before Xia Yu left the house, Yuxue stuffed three protective amulets into his hand.

Accepting the amulets, Xia Yu put on his shoes and said, "I'm leaving."

"I'll walk you there."

"Are you my mother?" Xia Yu knocked on Yuxue's head and turned down her offer.

At 8:45, Xia Yu entered the examination room, and the first subject was Chinese.

Upon receiving the test paper, Xia Yu glanced over it and knew that Gui Zixiao would probably score at least ten points above the first-rate line this time.

Xia Yu had guessed correctly on the essay question, and he knew the key points of the reading section. However, he guessed wrong on the Classical Chinese section, as the teacher who set the questions had changed the style.

Quickly finishing the test paper, at 11:30, the teacher issued a supplementary question, and Xia Yu correctly guessed another six-point short answer question.

At 12 o'clock, after finishing the exam, Xia Yu walked out of the examination room, picked up his phone, and saw that his class's group chat on the Penguin platform had exploded, all discussing him.