When Jiang Zheng learned the whole story from the police, he felt both speechless and relieved. No matter what, it was just a false alarm. Fortunately, nothing had happened to Yu Qian.

To take someone out, identity verification was required. Jiang Zheng handed over his ID card to the police officer. As the officer registered the information, she suddenly noticed something.

“The Bugatti parked outside— did you drive it here?” The officer glanced at the ID, then at Jiang Zheng.

“I did.” Jiang Zheng replied, a little puzzled. Why was she suddenly asking this?

The officer’s expression turned strange. Then, she called out toward the back, “Captain Wang, we’ve got a case of an underage driver without a license here. How should we handle it?”

Yu Qian: “……”

Jiang Zheng: “……” Damn. In the rush, he hadn’t thought about the fact that he was still three months shy of eighteen and technically still a minor. He also didn’t have a driver’s license.

And so, the person receiving a lecture on legal responsibilities was switched to Jiang Zheng.

Yu Qian stood to the side, watching him with a pained expression, as if she could hardly bear to look.

In the end…… Bai Qiming came with the butler to take the two of them away. Since it was Jiang Zheng’s first offense, he was only fined 500 yuan and wasn’t detained.

After Bai Qiming paid the fine, Yu Qian and Jiang Zheng obediently followed him out of the police station.

Once inside the car, Bai Qiming gave the two of them a sideways glance as they sat quietly like quails, so dumb that he was almost moved to tears.

“Brother Ming, can you keep today’s incident a secret and not tell my mom?” Yu Qian looked at Bai Qiming with pleading eyes.

“Hmm.” Bai Qiming agreed coldly. Then he asked, “Why did you call Jiang Zheng first?”

Yu Qian hadn’t expected that question. She froze for a moment, while Jiang Zheng, who had been silent, suddenly perked up. He turned his head toward her expectantly, waiting for her answer.

Today, Yu Qian had thought of him first when she was in trouble.

“Uh…… My phone got water-damaged and the only number I remembered was Jiang Zheng’s.” Yu Qian said, her expression awkward. Seeing that neither of them seemed satisfied with that answer and were staring at her intently, she covered her face and decided to just go all in.

“Fine, I admit it. It’s because Jiang Zheng’s phone number is ridiculously silly. I memorized it the first time I saved it.”

“What’s silly about my phone number?!” Jiang Zheng protested. He had carefully chosen that number himself.

Yu Qian rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Every time you say your number out loud, it sounds like you’re swearing. Just listen to the last few digits— 18854188. It sounds like ‘I’m your dad’ when you say it fast.”

Jiang Zheng repeated his phone number under his breath. Wait…… it really did sound like that.

Bai Qiming blinked in surprise before silently looking away. The air around him grew heavier.

Since Yu Qian’s phone was broken, Bai Qiming had the driver take them directly to a phone store.

Seeing Yu Qian hesitate over her choice, Jiang Zheng pointed at a white phone and said, “This one. It suits you.”

With someone making the decision for her, Yu Qian didn’t bother overthinking it. She had the store clerk get the phone and switch to it on the spot.

Watching her pick up the white phone, Jiang Zheng felt inexplicably pleased. They had matching models. His was black and hers was white. Anyone looking at them would think they were a couple, right……?

After transferring her SIM card, Yu Qian pinched the phone strap from her old, water-damaged phone. The small red lucky pouch had gotten soaked.

That phone strap was a gift from Jiang Zheng. Initially, she hadn’t wanted to use it, but Jiang Zheng had nagged her about it for so long that she eventually gave in.

Noticing her reluctance toward the strap, Jiang Zheng’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly said, “I gave that to you, so you’re not allowed to throw it away, got it?”

“I know, I wasn’t going to throw it away.” Yu Qian replied, exasperated. She just didn’t like how uncomfortable a wet strap felt on her phone.

Hearing her assurance, Jiang Zheng breathed a sigh of relief.

Bai Qiming stood to the side, watching the two bicker without commenting. Once Yu Qian finished shopping, he naturally stepped up and paid for the phone.

Yu Qian didn’t argue and simply thanked him with a bright smile. “Thanks, Brother Ming!”

Watching Bai Qiming pay, Jiang Zheng felt a little sour. He wanted to openly buy things for Yu Qian too, but unfortunately, he didn’t even have a proper title yet.

────ρя


As soon as Yu Qian got home, she rushed to take a shower and change. At the police station, she had worn an outfit the female officer had bought for her.

Even though the weather wasn’t too cold, she had still fallen into the water. Worried about catching a cold, she drank some medicine just in case.

However, the more you fear something, the more likely it is to happen.

Yu Qian still caught a cold.

The next morning, she woke up feeling sore all over. Her head hurt as if it was about to explode.

She took her temperature— 38.5°C. Wang Hui was so alarmed that she immediately called a doctor.

Yu Qian obediently lay in bed receiving an IV drip while trying to brush off her mother’s worried questions.

After receiving the IV in the morning, Yu Qian still insisted on going to class in the afternoon.

With only two months until the college entrance exam, she couldn’t afford to waste time.

Even Wang Hui was surprised by Yu Qian’s determination, but she also felt relieved. What parent wouldn’t want their child to be ambitious?

Yu Qian kept studying diligently until the college entrance exam finally arrived.

In the days leading up to it, the school was on break, but Yu Qian’s anxiety only grew. She wasn’t the only one under pressure— Jiang Zheng was too.

Jiang Zheng was worried that if Yu Qian didn’t get into Peking University, they’d have to endure a long-distance relationship. So, in the final days before the exam, he tirelessly tutored her.

On the big day, Jiang Zheng and Bai Qiming were both up early.

“Admission ticket? Check. ID? Check. 2B pencils, eraser……” Jiang Zheng carefully checked all of Yu Qian’s exam essentials, mirroring Bai Qiming’s actions on the side.

Once everything was ready, Yu Qian was escorted to the exam hall by a whole group— Bai Jin, Wang Hui, Bai Qiming, and Jiang Zheng, along with Lin Niannian and her parents and older brother.

Two intense days passed, and the fate-determining exam was over.

After finishing the last test, Yu Qian stepped out of the exam hall and immediately spotted Jiang Zheng waiting in a prominent spot. She walked toward him.

“Little Fish, you must be exhausted. Come on, I’ll treat you to something good.” Jiang Zheng said, casually taking her belongings as he led her to meet up with Bai Qiming and Lin Niannian.

He wanted to ask how she did but didn’t dare in case she felt bad about her performance.

For the next two days, Jiang Zheng and Bai Qiming tacitly took the girls out to relax, avoiding any talk of scores.

But eventually, Yu Qian couldn’t resist. “I estimated my score— about 658.”

658? Jiang Zheng frowned. The cutoff for liberal arts at Peking University was usually around 650. Her score was cutting it close.

After an anxious ten-day wait, the results were finally released.

The four of them huddled in front of the computer. Too nervous to check, Yu Qian stepped aside and let Jiang Zheng look for hers.

First, they checked Lin Niannian’s score— 686. A guaranteed spot at Peking University.

After refreshing the page several times, they finally found Yu Qian’s score.

“Well? Is it bad?” Yu Qian asked hesitantly.

“667. Nine points higher than your estimate.” Jiang Zheng replied, still dissatisfied. She’d make it into Peking University, but choosing a major would be tricky.

Yu Qian, however, was overjoyed. It was much higher than she had expected. She was content.

When it came time to fill out her college application, Yu Qian chose Finance but opted for automatic reassignment to be safe.

In the end…… she got placed in the Religious Studies program.

Seeing this unfamiliar major, she even looked it up. The more she read, the more confused she became. What exactly did they study? It sounded way too zen.

But at least she had crossed the bridge again— this time further than in her past life. She was satisfied. Finally, she could relax and have some fun.