Chapter 13: “Mom’s Call.” His Tone and Movements Were Completely Natural

“Guaranteed admission?” 

“I remember this isn’t the usual time for guaranteed admissions. Since when did our university start making exceptions like this?” 

Shen Nanzhi was also puzzled, though not particularly curious. 

Messages from Mrs. Jiang kept coming in one after another, reminding her to take good care of herself and mentioning that she was preparing a seafood feast tonight, asking her to come home for dinner. 

As Shen Nanzhi typed a reply, she casually said to Gu Qinghe, 

“There’s probably something behind it, or maybe he has some connections we don’t know about.” 

Gu Qinghe nodded. “That’s not impossible.” 

“But—”

She suddenly thought of something. 

Smiling, she placed a hand on her best friend’s shoulder, lazily raising an eyebrow. 

“Xiao Zhizhi, now that Senior Chi is leaving, this little budding romance of yours has been nipped in the bud.” 

Shen Nanzhi typed the last word, hit send, and shifted her gaze away from the screen, glancing at her. 

“Ancestor, maybe gossip a little less. At this rate, my reputation is going to be ruined because of you.” 

— 

At the Tiansheng Group headquarters. 

Zhou Lin led Gu Wenchuan and Feng Lin inside. 

As soon as they stepped in and saw Jiang Jinnian signing documents behind his desk, Gu Wenchuan, the young master of the Gu family, made himself at home. He propped one leg over the other and casually settled onto the guest sofa, tilting his head with a deliberately sour tone as he looked toward his friend behind the desk. 

“It really is just like they say—work always comes before your brothers. At this rate, if a Mrs. Jiang shows up in the future, we probably won’t even be allowed past the doors of Tiansheng Group.” 

Jiang Jinnian handed the document to Zhou Lin. 

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he glanced at the two of them and said, “Enough nonsense. Say what you came to say.”

The eldest young master of the Feng family, Feng Lin, sat on the other sofa and let out a light chuckle. “It’s nothing important. We were just thinking that since you’ve been back from abroad for two years now, it’s about time we all got together properly. But somehow, we’ve never been able to find the right time.” 

Jiang Jinnian flipped through his schedule for the next two days. After a brief moment, he tapped his finger lightly on the corner of a document and said, “How about the night after tomorrow? Same place as always.” 

Before Feng Lin could respond, Gu Wenchuan was already protesting. 

“Why push it to the day after tomorrow? You’re free tonight, aren’t you?” 

To prevent Jiang Jinnian from finding an excuse to refuse, he even pointed at Zhou Lin, who was tidying up the documents and preparing to leave, blocking off any chance for escape. 

“I already asked Special Assistant Zhou. You have no plans tonight, so why are you making things complicated?” 

Jiang Jinnian closed the file, glanced at his watch, and grabbed his coat, getting ready to leave. 

“Tonight’s not an option. I have to pick up Nanzhi.” 

As he spoke, he glanced at the two of them and suggested, “How about you guys go ahead and meet up tonight? Put it on my tab.”

Seeing that Jiang Jinnian was about to leave, Gu Wenchuan also stood up. “What’s the rush to drink? Everyone’s got a sister. My sister and yours are together right now—let’s go pick them up together.” 

As the two of them headed out, Feng Lin, now left alone, was dumbfounded. “Hey, what about me?” 

Grabbing his coat, he quickly caught up to them, utterly speechless at these two disloyal friends. 

Especially the one with the surname Gu. 

He had made such a big deal about dragging him here to convince Jiang Jinnian to go out for drinks, and now, before they had even gotten settled, both of them were leaving. 

Squeezing himself between them, he said, “It’s still early anyway. I’ll go with you guys to pick them up.” 

Gu Wenchuan shoved him aside without hesitation. “We’re going to pick up our sisters. Why are you tagging along? Go pick up your own sister.” 

Feng Lin nearly cursed. 

What sister? 

The only sibling he had was a younger brother who spent all his time clinging to Jiang Tingxu in Nancheng, completely unreliable.

In the end, looking at these two sister-obsessed friends,

Lin chuckled in exasperation and dialed the number of his troublemaking younger brother in faraway Nancheng.   

— 

After processing the preliminary data for their research project, Gu Qinghe linked arms with Shen Nanzhi as they left the University, scrolling through tomorrow’s class schedule. 

“Tomorrow’s Thursday, and we don’t have any classes. Then it’s the weekend again. Since we’ve already finished our work in the lab, how about we go out and have some fun tomorrow?” 

Shen Nanzhi had no objections. “Sure.” 

Gu Qinghe put away her phone. “Then tonight—” 

Before she could finish her sentence, a black, limited-edition Maybach pulled up two meters away by the curb. 

The window rolled down, revealing Jiang Jinnian’s refined and aristocratic profile, still striking even in the dim evening light. “Nanzhi.” 

Gu Qinghe was momentarily stunned. Before she could react, another eye-catching sports car smoothly came to a stop behind Jiang Jinnian’s vehicle. 

A short yet distinct honk followed, and Gu Wenchuan leaned out, calling to his sister. 

“Qinghe, I’m over here.”

Gu Qinghe: “?” 

She walked over to the silver-gray sports car with a look of suspicion and surprise. Peering through the window, she gave Gu Wenchuan a long, assessing stare. “Brother, what are you doing here?” 

Gu Wenchuan wanted to knock on her head. 

“What else? I came to pick you up.” 

Gu Qinghe: “…” 

In her memory, the number of times her biological brother had personally come to pick her up was as rare as a phoenix feather. On the other hand, the number of times he had dragged her home from a bar to get scolded was too many to count. 

Seeing that Nanzhi had already gotten into Jiang Jinnian’s car up ahead while her own rebellious sister was still standing there with a skeptical look, as if he were setting her up for something, Gu Wenchuan tapped on the steering wheel impatiently and said, 

“Ancestor, are you getting in or not? That bastard Jiang Jinnian has already driven off.” 

Gu Qinghe didn’t hesitate any longer. She pulled open the car door and got in. 

Raised like a pampered princess since childhood—lazy, unruly, and completely unconventional—Gu Qinghe had just fastened her seatbelt when the Gu family’s young master smoothly shifted gears, accelerated, and overtook Jiang Jinnian’s car in one swift move.

Gu Qinghe felt a wave of dizziness from the sudden movement. 

Once the lightheadedness passed, she clutched the seatbelt, glanced at the rearview mirror, and saw her best friend sitting steadily in Jiang Jinnian’s car, looking completely composed. Turning back, she gave her brother a look of pure exasperation. 

“Look at Jiang Jinnian—his brother is calm and composed.” 

Gu Wenchuan scoffed. 

He shot a sideways glance at his nitpicky little sister and retorted, “Look at Shen Nanzhi—she’s obedient and well-behaved.” 

“…!” 

Gu Qinghe fell into complete silence, unwilling to argue further. 

Meanwhile, in the Maybach behind them, Jiang Jinnian had barely settled in when his mother’s name lit up on his phone screen. 

He glanced at the caller ID.

Jiang Jinnian swiped to answer the call and brought the phone to his ear. 

“Mom.” 

“Jinnian, have you picked up Zhizhi?” 

With one hand on the steering wheel, Jiang Jinnian glanced sideways at the girl in the passenger seat, who was casually looking at her phone. 

“Yeah, I picked her up.” 

Without hesitation, he handed the phone to Shen Nanzhi, his movements fluid and natural. 

“It’s Mom’s call.” 

“…?” His action was so effortless that Shen Nanzhi was momentarily caught off guard. 

From the phone’s speaker, Jiang’s mother’s gentle voice could be faintly heard. 

A beat later, Shen Nanzhi took the phone and held it to her ear. 

“…Auntie.” 

On the other end, Jiang’s mother chuckled warmly. 

“Zhizhi, where are you now? How much longer until you get home?”

Shen Nanzhi glanced at the traffic conditions ahead. 

The sky had just darkened, and the roads were busy with vehicles. While it wasn’t quite a traffic jam, the congestion made it difficult to pick up speed. 

“Auntie, it’ll take about another half an hour.” 

On the other end of the call, Jiang’s mother spoke kindly. “No rush, take your time. I’ll be waiting for you at home.” 

Shen Nanzhi acknowledged softly. 

After the call ended, she handed the phone back to Jiang Jinnian. 

He took it from her with ease, as though such interactions were the most natural thing in the world. 

Since the Gu family and the Jiang family were in opposite directions, Gu Wenchuan signaled with his turn signal at the third intersection before turning toward the other road. 

Half an hour later, the car drove into the Jiang family’s villa community.

Jiang Jinnian and Shen Nanzhi entered the courtyard one after the other. 

Jiang’s mother was sitting on the sofa in the living room, flipping through a magazine. 

Seeing them return, she closed the magazine and set it aside, standing up to greet them. “You’re back?” 

“The seafood feast is ready. Everything was flown in fresh today. Come, wash your hands and get ready to eat.” 

Jiang Jinnian took off his coat, and Uncle Li stepped forward to take it from him. 

At the dining table, an array of seafood dishes was laid out. 

Once all the dishes were served, the servants quietly exited the hall. 

Jiang’s mother pulled Shen Nanzhi to sit beside her and personally scooped a bowl of crab roe porridge, handing it over. 

“Nanzhi, I personally watched over this porridge while it was cooking. See if you like it.” 

Shen Nanzhi accepted it with a soft smile, her voice gentle. “Thank you, Auntie.” 

Jiang Jinnian sat down on the other side of Shen Nanzhi.

She had just taken a small sip of porridge when two peeled shrimp appeared on the plate in front of her. 

Following the source of the shrimp, Shen Nanzhi looked over and saw Jiang Jinnian, his expression as calm as ever. The overhead light cast a soft shadow over his eyelids as he looked down. 

Seeing her gaze, he naturally asked, “Which type of crab do you like? I’ll peel it for you.” 

Across the table, Jiang’s father and mother exchanged a glance but remained silent, taking in the scene before them. 

By the time the seafood feast ended, it was already quite late. 

Jiang’s father had Uncle Li bring out some wine and sat on the sofa to discuss company matters with Jiang Jinnian. 

Meanwhile, after finishing her juice, Shen Nanzhi was pulled upstairs by Jiang’s mother to accompany her in selecting jade pieces from an upcoming auction. 

After they had picked out the jade and chatted for a while, it was already close to nine o’clock. 

Returning to the third-floor bedroom, Shen Nanzhi planned to browse Weibo for a bit. But just as she opened the app, a knock came from outside the door. 

She got up to answer it—only to find Jiang Jinnian standing there. 

He held a plate of fruit and a cup of warm milk. 

Seeing her open the door, he handed them over. 

“Milk helps with sleep. Drink it while it’s warm.” 

Shen Nanzhi accepted it, her voice soft. “Thank you, Brother Jinnian.” 

Jiang Jinnian raised his hand and gently ruffled her hair, his voice low and soothing. “Sleep early. If you need anything, just call me.”