If You Are a Dodder Flower Chapter 25 part2

And since Cao Xiong didn't admit her, even though she was protected by Cao Yang, those first and second class families had no interest in her.

Cao Yang didn't much like the Liang Family, yet it was still the best option for Xia Rou.

Cao Xiong saying now to procure a teacher for Xia Rou was showing that he meant to hire an expert in etiquette.

Normal families rarely had a chance to get involved in this sort of occasion, simply due to lack of opportunities. Sometimes they might participate in a large PR event for a company that were also called "banquets," but in reality there were still differences when compared to a real banquet.

In those kinds of PR events, they didn't place that much importance on etiquette.

But in a real high-society banquet, there were many things to be fastidious about. One mistake would shame you deeply.

The teacher hired by Cao Yang to teach Xia Rou etiquette said to him, "Miss Xia is very smart. She picks it up after I teach it to her just once. She's very serious in learning and won't take it lightly just because she understands quickly."

The words were full of praise. Translated by The Novelst

Originally, Cao Yang was worried that it might be difficult for Xia Rou since she hadn't been taught since she was young, like in most families in their circle. Without a solid foundation, he worried she might not be able to catch up since she wasn't very smart. But listening to the teacher now, he was surprised.

"You're not so stupid," he smiled as he praised Xia Rou.

Xia Rou was a little embarrassed.

It wasn't because she was really so smart. It was just that Cao Yang had also hired a teacher for her in the past. This wasn't the first time she was learning these things.

She felt like she was cheating.

But the result of her cheating had actually obtained such praise and a smile from Cao Yang. Inside Xia Rou's heart, there was a tiny bud of happiness slowly breaking through its shell and trying to poke through the soil to grow in the direction of the sunlight.

Cheating… then let's just cheat…

She really had despaired over her stupidity before, having struggled so much that she gave up on all her past struggles and on being "hardworking." But this time she had decided in her heart not to be greedy and not to seek anything else. She would just take whatever she should in her life.

All that didn't belong to her, she knew she must learn to give it up.

But because of that, those things she sought in the past and could never reach, she was able to obtain easily in this life, without forcing it.

Again, when compared to her past, her present seemed like a funny, ridiculous dream to her.

She might laugh until she woke up crying.

In the past, because she wanted one, Cao Yang had hired a teacher for her. He would bring her to banquets of other families, which was how Xia Rou was introduced to everyone.

But in the Cao Family's own banquets, she had never appeared even once. So everyone understood immediately that this lady had no value at all.

That was right. At that time, Xia Rou thought others would measure her identity by considering her valuable or invaluable; she was just a child of Cao Xiong's lover, not his real child, and hadn't been recognized by him either.

That was why she had no value.

In this life, she stood in the Cao Family's wide courtyard, recipient of many observing gazes. She felt the way that these people looked at her was different than in her past.

Before, they weren't even willing to look at her. Now they would raise their cups and smile in front of her, trying to engage in small talk and discern her identity.

This was because she was standing right beside the four brothers in the banquet. As part of the main house, she appeared alongside them to entertain the guests.

Through this method, those who had connections with the Cao Family all learned that they had added one person to their ranks.

A girl named Xia Rou.

She wore a light pink dress that fit her just right, her lengthy hair tied into a bun with a few light pink roses tucked into it. On her left arm was only one bracelet, the small diamonds on it glimmering.

This was given to her by Cao Yang before the start of the banquet. "This is the birthday present I owe you," he said.

Although it was beautiful, they were only small diamonds. There weren't any that were too large, so it wasn't too expensive. It was suitable for her age.

So simply dressed, accessorized by a few diamonds and a few roses. Nothing was too expensive, but she was elegantly dressed.

Cao Yang, as the guest of honor in the banquet, was surrounded by the crowd. He would sometimes take a glance at her.

In those glimpses he would see her standing there gracefully, like a budding rose topped with dew.

After the start of the banquet, Xia Rou was clearly in everyone's sight.

The people who were interested would naturally keep an eye on her.

During the banquet, some noticed that Xia Rou addressed the four brothers of the Cao Family as brothers; big brother, second brother, third brother, and fourth brother.

She addressed them naturally, not even a hint of deliberateness in her tone. Even the brothers of the Cao Family responded naturally, not the slightest bit reluctant.

In the beginning, it was after Cao Yang returned that Cao An noticed that Xia Rou changed her way of addressing Cao Yang. It was then that he told Xia Rou to address him as "fourth brother" as well.

Cao Xing, not wanting to fall behind, also told Xia Rou to address him as "third brother."

Cao Bin was fine either way. But someone as sleek as him had acquiesced to being called "second brother" by Xia Rou in the past. In this life, Xia Rou had made a much better impression, so it wasn't a big deal at all to let her change the way she addressed him.

So in this life, Xia Rou was allowed to address them in a closer manner much earlier than before.

When Xia Rou was left alone, someone would come forward and try to discern where exactly she stood in terms of her identity.

Of course she couldn't explicitly expose the origin of her relationship with the Cao Family, but all she told them were facts: she was an orphan who was staying under the roof of the Cao Family.

Not long after, as the cups circulated, the news was spread from one set of ears to the next.

Some of the elders nodded their heads in understanding.

Under this situation no one knew the circumstances, this girl was able to frankly reveal her own identity. It was very rare to see someone that didn't take advantage of an unclear situation to elevate herself.

It was probably because she was still so young that she hadn't been involved in conflicts of interest before.

Because of her young age, she received a lot of praise when she revealed her identity, her gaze clear and her attitude upright.

This girl had good self-awareness. Translated by The Novelst

Self-awareness was at times considered a very valuable quality.

No one was clearer about this than Xia Rou.

Proofread by: Hannah

Chapter end