Wang Jiajia and the others had stayed in the capital for a week before planning to head back.

Upon learning that they were leaving, Wang Hui made a special trip back from the company to see them off.

She had always been grateful for her daughter’s three best friends. Back when she and Yu Qian had conflicts, it was thanks to these girls that Yu Qian was able to be comforted. If it weren’t for them growing up together and always staying by Yu Qian’s side, Wang Hui couldn’t imagine what her daughter would have become.

At the airport, Qi Yu patted Yu Qian’s shoulder earnestly and said, “Qianqian, you’re in your final year of high school now. You must focus and work hard. Don’t let your mind wander on unnecessary things, understand?”

Over the past few days, she and Fang Yan had already figured out that Jiang Zheng had feelings for Yu Qian, but neither of them wanted to bring it up. After all, Yu Qian was in her senior year, and studying was far more important than anything else.

Looking at Qi Yu’s serious, disciplinarian-like demeanor, Yu Qian was speechless. Had she been too influenced by her parents?

Qi Yu’s parents were both teachers who loved lecturing, and growing up under their influence, Qi Yu had always been the most mature and reliable one among the four friends.

“I got it. I’ll do my best to get into Peking University.” Yu Qian promised firmly, though she wasn’t sure why Qi Yu had suddenly decided to say these things to her.

“Good girl.” Qi Yu patted Yu Qian’s head with satisfaction.

“Qianqian, study hard and make progress every day!” Fang Yan also solemnly patted Yu Qian’s shoulder.

Watching Qi Yu and Fang Yan both speak in such a serious, adult-like manner, Wang Jiajia hesitated. Should she also give Yu Qian a pat?

After sending off her three friends, Yu Qian barely had time to feel down before diving straight into her tutoring schedule.

The only private tutor she had was for mathematics. It was her toughest subject, while everything else mostly relied on memorization, so having a tutor didn’t make much of a difference.

Her daily routine was simple— math in the morning, then memorizing social studies and literature in the afternoon.

But……

Yu Qian stomped her foot in frustration as she picked up her textbook again. Without the focused atmosphere of a classroom, she found it hard to concentrate. Her mind kept wandering, and before she knew it, she would end up pulling out her phone.

She only meant to check the time, but somehow, she always ended up scrolling through Weibo. By the time she snapped back to reality, half an hour had already passed.

There was no helping it, her room just felt too much like a place for relaxation.

Holding her politics textbook with a troubled expression, Yu Qian made her way to the study, hoping that a change of environment might help.

Unfortunately, it didn’t. Without supervision, switching locations didn’t make much of a difference.

It wasn’t until Jiang Zheng noticed her sulking for several days in a row that he finally asked what was wrong.

Upon hearing that she was considering hiring a liberal arts tutor, Jiang Zheng immediately volunteered. “You just need someone to supervise you while you memorize and take practice tests, right? I can do that.”

“You?”

“That’s right.” Jiang Zheng tried his best to suppress the overly eager smile on his face. “We’re classmates, and I’m usually bored anyway. Might as well find something to do.”

Seeing that Yu Qian was still hesitant, Jiang Zheng pressed on. “I can also help explain things to you. You know how good I am at this stuff, don’t you?”

Yu Qian wavered. In the end, she accepted his offer.

“So…… where should we study?” She asked.

“Cough…… well, how about your room?” Jiang Zheng struggled to keep his grin in check as he explained, “It’s more convenient for you to grab your books and papers there.”

Of course, he wasn’t about to admit that he just wanted an excuse to step into Yu Qian’s room.

Yu Qian didn’t overthink it and nodded in agreement. They set their study sessions for 1 p.m. every afternoon.

────ρя


Jiang Zheng walked into Yu Qian’s room, barely able to contain his excitement. His eyes darted around, secretly taking in every detail.

He had been in this room countless times before back when it belonged to Bai Qiming, but never once had he felt this thrilled. The familiar layout remained the same, yet now, everything about it seemed pleasing to the eye.

Suppressing his smile, Jiang Zheng took a seat at the desk.

Yu Qian pulled out her books and began memorizing, while Jiang Zheng blatantly stared at her without the slightest hint of restraint.

By the end of the afternoon, both of them were quite satisfied.

With someone supervising her, Yu Qian finally managed to concentrate on studying. Meanwhile, Jiang Zheng finally had a legitimate excuse to spend time alone with Yu Qian.

When Bai Qiming found out that Jiang Zheng was tutoring Yu Qian, he actually gave him a rare look of ‘admiration’. A guy who couldn’t even be bothered to tutor his own little brother was now willing to sit through hours of listening to Yu Qian recite textbooks.

From that day on, Jiang Zheng showed up at Yu Qian’s place every afternoon, right on time. Even when Yu Qian occasionally tried to slack off, he would immediately pull her back in line with a lecture.

Yu Qian looked at Jiang Zheng, who not only refused to accept any tutoring fees but was also so diligent and responsible, and she almost felt like he was a saint radiating a divine halo.

────ρя


After lunch, Jiang Zheng, as usual, came to find Yu Qian for her study session, but he happened to see her getting into a car and about to head out.

Jiang Zheng quickly called out to her, “Little Fish, where are you going?”

Yu Qian stuck her head out of the car window. “Sorry, Jiang Zheng, I won’t be studying today. I need to go to my mom’s company to get something.”

Last night, she had gone out for a while, and when she came back, she realized her wallet was missing. The money inside wasn’t much of a concern, but her ID card was also in it.

An ID card was an important document, and Yu Qian didn’t dare delay. As soon as she noticed it was missing, she planned to get a replacement. However, the household registration book and other necessary documents were with her mother at the company, so she had to go there to retrieve them.

Without another word, Jiang Zheng pulled open the car door and sat down beside her. “I’ve got nothing else to do anyway, so I’ll go with you.”

Yu Qian didn’t argue with him and simply let it be. The two of them took the car to the Bai Group’s headquarters.

Wang Hui’s company had initially been in business dealings with Bai Group. Now that she had married Bai Jin, she planned to merge her company under Bai Group’s umbrella. At present, the transition is underway, and she has moved her office there as well.

This was Yu Qian’s first time coming to the building. She had called her mother in advance, and now an assistant was waiting for them downstairs.

Following the assistant, the two of them went upstairs. As soon as they stepped into the office area, they were met with a variety of gazes.

“You go ahead. I’ll wait outside.” Jiang Zheng leaned against the wall, clearly not planning to go in.

Yu Qian nodded and entered the office. The moment the door closed, the people outside immediately started whispering among themselves.

Not far from Jiang Zheng, two well-dressed women sat chatting. Seeing the office door shut, the long-haired woman spoke sourly, “As expected, when one person rises to power, everyone around them benefits. Tell me, why would CEO Bai fancy an old woman with a burden from her past?”

Her companion glanced at Jiang Zheng and quickly hushed her. “Shh…… keep your voice down. There’s someone outside.”

The long-haired woman gave Jiang Zheng a once-over, scoffed, and deliberately raised her voice, “What’s there to be afraid of? He’s just a little kid. What, is he going to run off and tattle to CEO Bai?

If you ask me, Director Wang is nothing more than a sparrow that got lucky and turned into a phoenix. That girl is a fake rich miss at best. Just some upstart— what’s there to be proud of?”

Jiang Zheng listened to the arrogant woman and sneered inwardly before walking toward her.

“Hey there…… Grandma.” He said, his tone full of mockery, “Your skincare routine must be top-notch. That Botox really smoothed out all the wrinkles on your face. If it weren’t for the lines on your neck, I would’ve thought you were an Auntie.”

The long-haired woman’s face darkened instantly, but before she could retort, Jiang Zheng continued with an innocent look, “Did you make your face this thick on purpose? Is it for extra warmth in the winter?”

“You—!” The long-haired woman was so furious that she couldn’t even form a comeback. She stood up, seemingly about to raise a hand against him.

Jiang Zheng smirked sarcastically. “With that sharp-tongued and bitter look of yours, not even plastic surgery can fix your cheap personality. All you do is sit around gossiping about others. What else can you do? Call a sugar daddy? But I doubt any man would want an old hag as his daughter.”

In Jiang Zheng’s world, there was no such thing as ‘gentlemanly conduct’ or ‘not stooping to argue with females’.

Especially when they dared to insult Yu Qian and her mother right in front of him. If he could tolerate that, he wouldn’t be Jiang Zheng.

The long-haired woman was almost in tears from rage. She had never been insulted like this before. Just as she was about to snap back at Jiang Zheng, the office door suddenly opened.

Standing at the doorway, Wang Hui asked Yu Qian once more, “Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?”

Yu Qian quickly shook her head, took the documents, and stepped out of the office.

Wang Hui glanced around the office, noticing the strange atmosphere, and frowned slightly.

Jiang Zheng, seeing that Yu Qian had come out, instantly returned to his usual carefree self. Ignoring the two women, he strolled over and asked, “Got everything?”

“Yeah.” Yu Qian nodded.

Jiang Zheng politely bid farewell to Wang Hui, then left the Bai Group’s building with Yu Qian.

The entire time, he never once mentioned what had transpired outside the office. He simply accompanied Yu Qian as they went to get her ID card replaced, acting as if nothing had ever occurred.