Early in the morning, Rong Yu got up.
She went to the dining room, where Ji Liuguang was the first to rise and greeted her, “Miss Rong, good morning.”
He knew that everyone in the Ji Family respected Rong Yu deeply—perhaps even more than the Old Master himself. Since he intended to stay with the Ji Family, he absolutely could not afford to offend this woman.
His attitude was very respectful.
But Rong Yu could see the unwillingness simmering deep in his eyes.
Before breakfast, she asked Steward Yu to summon He Jingchuan and said, “Jingchuan, today is our homeroom teacher’s birthday—a woman in her forties. Could you help me put together a suitable bouquet for her?”
As soon as He Jingchuan entered the dining room, he felt a sharp gaze fixed on him.
Without looking up, he knew it was Ji Liuguang.
From the very first day they met, He Jingchuan had known that Ji Liuguang didn’t like him.
Before, it was just dislike, but today, it felt like that dislike had turned into outright hostility.
Was it because his mother had left the Ji Family?
He Jingchuan hurried off to the flower room.
By the time Rong Yu finished her meal, the bouquet was ready—a bright arrangement that lifted the spirits just by looking at it.
“This bouquet is really beautiful,” Ji Zhouye couldn’t help but admire. “It’s even more eye-catching than the flowers I once bought at a shop for thousands of yuan. The homeroom teacher will definitely love it.”
Old Master Ji cast a puzzled glance, “When did you buy flowers before?”
Ji Zhouye instinctively replied, “I bought roses for Miss Rong, of course. Such expensive flowers, and she actually plucked them and stuffed them in my mouth…”
Halfway through his sentence, he froze as he caught the Old Master’s glare—sharp and fierce like a butcher’s.
“Ungrateful scoundrel, sending roses!” Old Master Ji chased after him, “Stop right there, you better stop…”
Rong Yu couldn’t help but smile.
Yingbao’s health was growing stronger by the day.
He Jingchuan was momentarily lost in thought.
He envied them.
Although the Ji children had grown up without parents, they had the unconditional love of the Old Master, and their personalities bore no major flaws.
As for him, though he had parents, his father had been unfaithful for over ten years and never came home, and his mother neglected him. He often felt his life was worse than that of an orphan.
He really liked the atmosphere in the Ji Family.
Except for one thing…
Once again, he felt the hostile gaze from Ji Liuguang.
He avoided that look and spoke up, “Old Master, Miss Rong, I have to go home soon.”
Originally, Old Master Ji had only asked He Jingchuan to help save the orchids, but after the boy arrived, his maturity made the Old Master reluctant to let him go. “Weren’t you supposed to wait until the fruit ripened before returning?”
Embarrassed, He Jingchuan lowered his head.
Rong Yu noticed his mood. “You’ve stayed with the Ji Family these past few days and are practically one of us. If there’s anything troubling you, just say so.”
She rarely showed such kindness to someone unrelated.
He Jingchuan forced a smile. “It’s nothing troublesome. It’s just that my mother called recently. She arranged a match for me—a bride. We’re already talking about the betrothal and setting a wedding date. I need to go back and see what’s going on.”
When threats didn’t work, she was now trying to control his marriage.
He truly didn’t understand why his mother was so determined to tie him down in that mountain village…
He would never give in; he absolutely refused to marry a woman he didn’t even know.
“Thank you to the Ji Family for taking care of me all this time. I’ll head home now,” He Jingchuan said, bowing in thanks. He grabbed the canvas bag he had come with and started walking toward the exit.
Old Master Ji hurriedly said, “Old Yu, see him off.”
“No need, no need,” He Jingchuan replied. “I rode here on my electric bike last time. I’ll just ride back—no trouble for Steward Yu.”
Steward Yu went with him to fetch the bike and slipped a large envelope into his arms.
He Jingchuan squeezed it and immediately sensed there was more money than expected. He quickly waved his hand, “We agreed on three thousand yuan, but this is at least ten thousand…”
“Take it,” Steward Yu said, patting his shoulder. “Come by the Ji Family more often. Old Master and Miss Rong both like you a lot.”
He Jingchuan’s heart was heavy with complicated feelings.
After dropping out of school, he had taken on the orchard contract, earning about forty to fifty thousand yuan a year. But all that money was taken by his mother under various pretexts.
When he needed money—for instance, to buy this electric bike—and asked his mother, she would say, “Other kids your age are already independent. How can you still be asking your parents for money?”
At that moment, he was truly speechless.
He could only work part-time jobs, saving up eight hundred yuan to buy this second-hand electric bike...
He Jingchuan rode off on his bike.
Rong Yu and Ji Zhouye were going to school.
Ji Zhouye carried two backpacks, while Rong Yu held a bouquet of flowers. The flowers were so beautiful they caught the eyes of many passersby.
Rong Ruoyao happened to get off the car at the same time. When she saw Rong Yu, her heart filled with bitterness.
Before, their father had barely paid any attention to Rong Yu.
But ever since Rong Yu had become more outstanding, their father’s attention gradually shifted away from her, even planning a banquet for Rong Yu...
She truly hated Rong Yu.
She pressed her lips and said, “Sister carrying flowers to school—is she afraid no one knows someone confessed to her?”
Beside her was Song Huai.
Song Huai’s gaze was indifferent. “If it were a confession, it would be roses. These aren’t.”
Yesterday, after his father’s phone call with Rong Wangtian, he learned that Rong Yu had actually joined the Fourth Aerospace Institute and become Professor Lin Rang’s assistant.
At first, he felt guilty.
Guilty that he had taken away Rong Yu’s opportunity and had been looking for a chance to introduce her to Professor Liu.
But now that Rong Yu was connected with Professor Lin, his guilt had eased a little...
Although Professor Lin’s achievements were not as high as Professor Liu’s, he was still impressive. Plus, he was a protégé of Academician Yun. Maybe Rong Yu would even have a chance to meet Academician Yun.
So many people, in their entire lives, never get to meet such national treasures.
He had once thought of himself as a favored child of heaven, a physics genius. But after stepping into the next-level circle, he realized his talent in physics was nothing special.
Talent was just a ticket to enter; geniuses were everywhere in this circle.
But that was fine.
Most geniuses were specialized; he would be the all-rounder.
He wouldn’t give up on math either.
He spoke up, “These days, focus more in the Haicheng Olympiad math training classes.”
After the preliminary round ended, only three students from Haicheng No.1 High School were selected for the Haicheng training camp: Song Huai, Rong Ruoyao, and Zhang Haoyu. They would represent Haicheng at the national math olympiad finals.
Song Huai had already secured a guaranteed admission to Huaqing University. Continuing to compete was more about adding a final flourish to his achievements.
Rong Ruoyao’s expression was somewhat stiff.
She had used a few tricks during the preliminaries to get selected, but once she faced the national finals, her true abilities would surely be exposed...
Still, she couldn’t show any sign of doubt. Smiling, she said, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely put the math competition first.”
Song Huai wasn’t entirely convinced.
He knew Rong Ruoyao well—her true passion was singing and dancing. Math had always been a challenge for her.
But the fact that Rong Ruoyao had made it onto Haicheng’s math training team meant she had indeed put in effort. Song Huai felt it wasn’t his place to say more.
