The group entered the dining room. Seeing a few of her favorite dishes on the table, Yu Qian’s fondness for Bai Jin increased slightly.

“Originally, I was supposed to pick you up today, but something came up at the company a couple of days ago, so I had to let your brother go instead. Qianqian, did you have a good chat with your brother on the way?”

Bai Jin sat on Yu Qian’s left, not touching his chopsticks. He simply watched them eat.

“Uh…… well.” Yu Qian glanced at Bai Qiming, who had barely spoken along the way, unsure of how to respond. “Brother Ming is pretty good.”

Bai Jin glanced at his silent son. He knew his son’s temperament well, but hearing Yu Qian’s words, his smile softened a little.

Throughout the meal, Bai Jin casually chatted with Wang Hui and Yu Qian, while Bai Qiming remained silent from start to finish.

As they ate, the household staff had already carried Yu Qian’s luggage upstairs to her room.

“Qianqian, your brother specially vacated his room for you and moved to the one on the left.” Wang Hui said while pulling Yu Qian along, eager to earn some favor for her stepson.

“He said his room faces the garden and there’s a crabapple tree outside the window. You’ll definitely like it.”

Yu Qian’s mouth twitched slightly at her mother’s words. If she hadn’t read the novel, she might have believed that the male protagonist was a cold-on-the-outside, warm-on-the-inside type who welcomed her arrival.

But in reality, he had moved to the left-side room simply because the window faced the female protagonist’s bedroom!

His original room, on the other hand, faced the second male protagonist’s room— the male protagonist’s childhood best friend.

The three of them— male protagonist, female protagonist, and second male protagonist— had grown up together, and their families were extremely close. Their villas were even built side by side.

Yu Qian’s emotions were incredibly complex. Glancing at Bai Qiming, who remained expressionless, she suddenly felt like playing a little prank. “Brother Ming has lived in that room since he was a kid. How could I take something he’s used to? Why don’t you move back, Brother Ming? I can stay anywhere.”

“No need. It’s already changed, so there’s no need to go through the trouble again.”

“But this way—”

“It’s decided. No need to change it again.” Bai Qiming’s voice was cold, his response crisp and decisive.

Yu Qian watched his unwavering expression and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. As expected of the male protagonist. This level of mental fortitude deserved a double tap and a like.

Since she couldn’t mess with him, Yu Qian forced a fake smile and said, “Then I’ll just have to thank Brother Ming.”

After dinner, Bai Jin originally wanted the housekeeper to help Yu Qian organize her room, but she firmly refused.

She preferred arranging her own space. If someone else did it for her, she would feel uncomfortable.

Seeing that she was serious, Bai Jin didn’t insist. He simply said, “Your mother and I are often not home. If you need anything, just ask your brother.”

Since both he and Wang Hui were usually busy with work, they might not always be available when something happened at home.

He had already instructed Bai Qiming to take care of Yu Qian, who was still unfamiliar with her surroundings. Though his son had a cold personality, he could at least manage to look after his sister.

Yu Qian quickly nodded.

────ρя


Yu Qian spent the rest of the evening unpacking, and by the time she was mostly done, it was already eight o’clock. Looking at the few remaining packages, she decided to deal with them tomorrow.

After taking a comfortable shower and changing into the pajamas her mother had prepared, Yu Qian wandered downstairs.

She saw Baibai sleeping soundly in its new bed, snoring away, and heartlessly shook it awake.

Watching the confused dog stare at her in a daze, Yu Qian grinned, showing her teeth.

“Baibai, goodnight.”

After patting its head, she returned to her room, satisfied.

Lying on her bed, Yu Qian took out her phone and opened the pinned group chat [Fairy Squad], then happily chatted with her best friends.

【It’s Yu^[1]余, Not She^[2]佘: This is my new room. [Picture] [Picture]】

【Yuyuyu^[3]玉: Looks pretty nice.】

【My Husband is Lei Shen^[4]immortal; deity; holy: Ohhh, it’s so big!】

【My Husband is Lei Shen: I love that vanity table!】

【It’s Yu, Not She: I met Uncle Bai today. He seems like a nice person.】

【Gorgeous Lady: Drop a pic! I still haven’t seen what a real domineering CEO looks like!】

【My Husband is Lei Shen: +1! I want to see the domineering CEO in person too!】

Yu Qian chatted with them while lying in bed, and without realizing it, she drifted off to sleep mid-conversation.

────ρя


The next morning, when Yu Qian woke up, she saw a long string of unread messages, along with goodnight texts from her friends.

She glanced at the time and saw it was nine in the morning. After struggling in bed for another ten minutes, she finally dragged herself up.

Since she had nothing to do today, she thought about visiting Peking University to help Wang Jiajia check the campus.

After freshening up, she went downstairs. The house was empty except for a few household staff. Seeing her, Auntie Wu, the cook, quickly brought out a breakfast plate.

Yu Qian gave the other party a smile, thanked her, and began eating.

Ever since she came downstairs, Baibai had been circling around her non-stop. After finishing her breakfast, she played with the dog for a while. Seeing how eager it was to go outside, she hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to leave it at home.

She wasn’t familiar with the area, and if public places there didn’t allow dogs, it would be a hassle.

Yu Qian refused the butler’s offer to call a driver and instead relied on navigation to walk toward Peking University while sightseeing along the way.

One hour later……

Yu Qian was still wandering inside Shengyuan.

Would it be too late to ask the butler for a driver now?

But she didn’t have the other party’s contact information. Could she summon him through sheer willpower?

Sitting on the edge of a green belt, Yu Qian rubbed her slightly sore calves, feeling utterly defeated. This was a well-known wealthy district in the capital and even calling a taxi was impossible.

Just as she was losing all hope, a black sedan stopped in front of her. The rear window slowly rolled down.

“You’re going out?”

Bai Qiming’s cold voice came from inside the car.

“Brother Ming, can I hitch a ride back?”

This time, she called him ‘Brother Ming’ with complete sincerity.

Yu Qian shot up from the curb in excitement, her eyes full of expectation as she sent out a distress signal.

“Aren’t you heading out? We’re going back—”

“It’s fine, it’s fine! I’ll go back with you, then take another car out afterward!”

Yu Qian quickly interrupted Bai Qiming. She didn’t expect him to let her have the car, but at least riding back would only take ten minutes— far better than being stranded there.

“There’s no need to go through all that trouble. We’ll just get off here and let Qianqian take the car instead.”

A sudden female voice startled Yu Qian.