Jiang Cheng and Grandma Shen were so engrossed in gossiping that they were reluctant to stop. However, as it was already late and they needed to wake up early, they eventually went to bed.

The next morning, Jiang Cheng got up at four o’clock as usual and arrived at Old Xu’s place around half-past four. At a glance, she noticed a stack of books on Old Xu’s table. A quick count revealed there were eight books. It seemed today would be a “show-off battle”! Coincidentally, she absolutely loved it!

“Teacher Xu, let’s begin,” Jiang Cheng said, diving straight into the topic without wasting a second. Old Xu, too, had an intention to test her. He knew Jiang Cheng was smart, but today he wanted to see just how smart she was.

Both of them were very serious as they started with the first book.

“Goode Na—”

“Teacher Xu, how about we try a different approach? I’d like to read on my own, and if there’s anything I don’t understand, I’ll ask you,” Jiang Cheng suggested.

Old Xu looked at Jiang Cheng, who met his gaze calmly and without arrogance.

“Alright,” Old Xu agreed, handing the book to Jiang Cheng.

After taking the book, Jiang Cheng read it quickly and quietly, asking about any words she didn’t know. Once she asked about a word, she never needed to ask again.

The first book, which wasn’t very thick, took Jiang Cheng forty-three minutes to finish. Then she started the second book, followed by the third, the fourth…

In three hours, Jiang Cheng had read four and a third books.

“Teacher Xu—”

“Jiang Cheng, do you have a photographic memory?” Old Xu finally asked the question he was most eager to know.

Jiang Cheng shook her head with a pained expression. “Unfortunately, when it comes to languages, I can only remember 99.999%. As for other subjects, it’s even more embarrassing—I need to read them one or two more times! Sometimes I wonder why I don’t have a photographic memory. It would save so much time!”

Old Xu finally understood the mixed feelings of frustration and admiration that Teacher Lü had experienced. If yesterday Old Xu was unsure whether Jiang Cheng was boasting or not, today he realized that this girl was indeed showing off! The most infuriating thing was that her boasting was based on facts!!

“Teacher Xu, I’ve taken the day off today. Let’s finish the remaining books so we can catch up to the progress before you leave. I won’t let you leave with any regrets!” Jiang Cheng’s sparkling eyes made Old Xu swallow back the words about taking her as his disciple.

Also, why did her words sound so awkward??

Finally, the old man squeezed out a word through gritted teeth: “Study!”

Jiang Cheng spent the entire morning proudly finishing the eight books.

Uncle Zhong happened to walk in at that moment, holding an envelope in his hand.

“Old Xu, this was sent from the capital.”

“Quick, quick! Bring it here!” Old Xu immediately forgot about taking a disciple and hurriedly opened the envelope, pulling out a stamped document.

“Good! Very good! That guy finally did something useful.”

Old Xu motioned for Jiang Cheng to sit down and handed her the document.

“From today onwards, you can openly read foreign books.”

Jiang Cheng was genuinely happy. “Great!”

She put down the document, stood up, and bowed to Old Xu in gratitude.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. I just hurried things along. The main credit goes to Teacher Lü.”

“Take this back and keep it safe. It was sent through special channels. When you see Teacher Lü, make sure to tell her that I didn’t steal her credit.”

Jiang Cheng promised to explain everything clearly to Teacher Lü and then left Old Xu’s place with the document.

After seeing Jiang Cheng off, Uncle Zhong asked, “Did you forget to bring up the matter of taking her as your disciple again?”

Old Xu slapped his thigh in frustration. “I forgot!!”

*
After leaving, Jiang Cheng returned to the courtyard house and had lunch with Grandma Shen and Shen Xing.

The meal consisted of sorghum rice, scrambled eggs with cucumbers, and stir-fried bean sprouts with pork fat.

After eating, Jiang Cheng took her money and coupons, ready to go to the department store.

Since she was going to buy a bicycle, she might as well do it early. The sooner she got it, the sooner she could use it.

“Make sure you keep your money and coupons safe. Be careful,” Grandma Shen reminded her.

Jiang Cheng acknowledged Grandma Shen’s advice, patted Shen Xing’s head, and said, “Wait for me to come back. When I return, I’ll be a person with a bike! I’ll take you for a ride!”

Shen Xing, fixing his messy hair, asked, “Sis, do you know how to ride a bicycle?”

“Nope!” Jiang Cheng replied with such confidence that if Shen Xing hadn’t heard it clearly, he would have thought he misheard.

“Someone as excellent as me will have no trouble with a little bicycle!”

With a confident wave, Jiang Cheng left.

As she stepped out of the house, Jiang Cheng happened to run into Lin Jiaojiao, who was also coming out from across the way.

Lin Jiaojiao snorted coldly and shot Jiang Cheng a glare.

Jiang Cheng wasn’t one to tolerate her nonsense and immediately said, “It’s a pity that someone so young already has eye problems. I guess you’re just taking a shortcut, since you’ll go blind sooner or later anyway.”

“You—Jiang Cheng, what do you mean? Stop right there!” Lin Jiaojiao shouted mindlessly from behind.

Jiang Cheng suddenly stopped and turned around. “I’ve stopped. What are you going to do about it? You can’t out-insult me, and if you hit me, I’ll faint. If I faint, your family will have to pay compensation. So, what’s your plan?”

“You—you’re shameless!”

“You want face? Here, take two. No need to thank me.”

After saying that, Jiang Cheng turned her head triumphantly and walked away.

Lin Jiaojiao was even angrier, so much so that she forgot why she had come out in the first place.

Jiang Cheng, completely unfazed, headed towards the department store.

After separating from the Lin family, she hadn’t had much time to go out and wander around. Every day felt like she needed forty-eight hours.

Yesterday afternoon, on Sister Wang’s suggestion, she had taken the day off to buy a bicycle first.

The department store had four floors.

The first floor was packed with people, a mix of gray, blue, black, and white, some queuing, some milling about.

At a glance, the dense, dark hair of the crowd was full of vitality, showing they were full of energy and in high spirits!

Bicycles were sold on the second floor. Jiang Cheng didn’t waste any time and went straight to the second floor.

On the second floor, there were far fewer people.

A few couples, clearly in love, maintained a half-meter distance while exchanging glances. They were probably there to buy one of the “three major items.”

Jiang Cheng decisively took out her bicycle coupon and stood at the counter, asking, “What models of bicycles do you have?”

The salesperson immediately noticed Jiang Cheng’s bicycle coupon and understood that she was there to buy.

“Right now, we have Phoenix, Flying Pigeon, and Forever. The Forever models are all 28-inch. Flying Pigeon and Phoenix have both 26-inch and 28-inch models. Which one would you like?”

“I’d like to take a look before deciding.”

The salesperson didn’t give Jiang Cheng a hard time. After all, a bicycle was a big purchase, so of course she needed to see it first.

She called over another salesperson to watch the counter and took Jiang Cheng to the warehouse to see the goods.

When the two of them came out, the salesperson was smiling so much that her wrinkles showed, chatting intimately with Jiang Cheng.

“Little sister, take this coupon to the police station later to get a license plate. If you need to buy anything else in the future, come find me.”

“I always meet good people when I go out. Thanks, Sister Zhou.”

After paying for the bicycle and handing over the coupon, Jiang Cheng bid a warm farewell to Sister Zhou and pushed her newly bought bicycle to get it registered.

Another salesperson at the department store asked Sister Zhou, “Is she your relative?”

“You mean Xiao Jiang? No, we just met. She’s such a nice person.”

“…”

A temporary relative?

*
At the same time, Lin Chengyuan chose the busiest time in the courtyard to ride a second-hand bicycle back to the courtyard house.