Lan Rouxue bit her lip hard.
This man, already in his fifties, was a client she had known back when she worked as Ji Zhiyuan's secretary.
When she had fallen on hard times, this man would always come to her door to harass her, making her endlessly annoyed.
The sight of his greasy face filled her with disgust, and she said coldly, "I've told you many times, I'm very busy. Stop coming to look for me."
As soon as the words left her mouth,
the hem of her clothes was tugged by Lan Yue. "Mom, you should go. This uncle's car looks very expensive, and his watch is the same brand as Dad's... he must be really rich..."
Lan Rouxue looked at her with utter disbelief. "Xiao Yue, what are you saying?"
"If Mom gets together with this uncle, I can be a little princess again, just like before." Lan Yue shook her arm. "Mom, for my sake, please go. I'm begging you..."
Lan Rouxue could bear it no longer.
She raised her hand and slapped Lan Yue across the face.
This was the daughter she had loved with all her heart, the person she had protected so fiercely, actually trying to push her into a living hell.
It was true she wanted to rely on a man to live a comfortable life, but that didn't mean she could just close her eyes and latch onto any man who came along.
"Mom, you hit me... you actually hit me..." Tears welled up in Lan Yue's eyes. "I hate you! I don't want a useless mom like you anymore..."
She ran off crying.
Exhausted to her core, Lan Rouxue could only hurry after her.
Ji Jingchuan spent the day at the Ji Corporation, mainly familiarizing himself with the structure of a large conglomerate and learning about business management.
When quitting time arrived, he had just stepped out of the Ji Group building when he heard a car horn. Turning his head, he saw a lady's sports car parked by the roadside, a bright smiling face visible through the window. "Ji Jingchuan."
Ji Jingchuan walked over. "Third Miss Tang, what brings you here?"
"Just call me Tang Jin," Tang Jin said with a laugh. "Nothing to do after work, so I came to ask you out for a meal. Got time?"
Ji Jingchuan opened the car door and got in. "Where to?"
Tang Jin started driving. "My place."
Ji Jingchuan was instantly stunned.
He turned his head, looked at Tang Jin's profile, opened his mouth to say something, but swallowed the words back down.
"Just kidding." Tang Jin parked the car in front of a private kitchen restaurant. "Right here."
The private kitchen was small but elegant. The two sat by the window and had a quiet meal. After dinner, Tang Jin took the initiative to drive Ji Jingchuan home.
Arriving at the Ji family gate, she even got out and went inside to greet Old Master Ji before leaving.
Old Master Ji wore a look of amused interest. "Ah Chuan, what do you think?"
Ji Jingchuan coughed and changed the subject. "After work from now on, I'd like to go to driving school to practice. Is that okay?"
It really wasn't appropriate for a grown man like him to be driven home by a girl.
"Once Fourth Brother learns to drive, we'll go buy a car." Ji Zhouye sidled over. "There's a new model that just launched recently, looks super cool. I'll take Fourth Brother for a test drive later."
Ji Jingchuan asked instinctively, "It's probably not cheap, right?"
"You child, why ask about the price?" Old Master Ji said, his heart aching for him. "Buy whatever car you want. As long as you like it. Lao Wu, this task is yours."
"Received, mission guaranteed!"
Ji Zhouye was overjoyed. Fourth Brother was so easy-going. The car Fourth Brother bought would practically be his car, right?
As long as Fourth Brother wasn't driving it, he could take it for a spin anytime.
"Come on, Fourth Brother, let me find a few more models for you to choose from. Don't worry if you can't decide. Great-Grandma said adults don't choose, they can have it all."
Rong Yu shot him a cold glance. "How many practice tests have you done these past few days? What's your accuracy rate? Have you corrected the mistakes? Will you get similar questions wrong in the future?"
Ji Zhouye silently put down his phone.
As long as he was an academic slacker, he had absolutely no standing in this family.
Why did life have to be so bitter.
Rong Yu, on the other hand, felt quite relaxed.
With no school during winter break and only needing to sign off on things occasionally at the Ji Corporation, she could devote most of her energy to the research institute.
Early in the morning, Rong Yu headed to the institute.
As it was year-end, the institute was holding daily meetings for year-end summaries, with a constant flow of people coming and going.
As she reached the main entrance, she ran into Song Huai and Professor Liu.
Song Huai looked excited and thrilled. "Congratulations, teacher, on being selected as an academician."
Professor Liu—or rather, Academician Liu now—spoke up. "During this period, perform well at the Fourth Aerospace Institute and gain experience. After you get your internship completion certificate, I'll recommend you for further study at the First Aerospace Institute. That's the true birthplace of China's aerospace endeavors..."
Song Huai could hardly contain his joy.
He knew he hadn't chosen the wrong teacher. Becoming Academician Liu's student was probably the luckiest thing that had ever happened to him.
As he lifted his gaze, he suddenly caught sight of Rong Yu's figure.
All the smiles vanished from his face.
He would never forget that the reason he had gained Academician Liu's favor was because, during the national physics finals that day, the experiment led by Rong Yu had been mistakenly credited to him by Academician Liu.
Waves of emotion—guilt, unease—churned endlessly in Song Huai's heart, gnawing at him like tiny insects.
Even though Rong Yu had also entered the Fourth Aerospace Institute now, even though she could access the core area... without being taken on as a disciple by an academician, Rong Yu's future would never be as smooth-sailing as his.
"Teacher..." Song Huai began with difficulty, "I have a classmate who won the national physics competition gold medal. She's very outstanding. If Academician Liu is still looking for students, she might be able to..."
Academician Liu frowned. "I only take one student a year. However, if she's a classmate you personally vouch for, she must indeed be talented. You can bring her to see me. If we click, taking on one more wouldn't hurt."
Song Huai nodded. "Okay, teacher."
He walked towards Rong Yu with a complex expression.
He was glad his teacher had agreed to consider taking Rong Yu as a student—this way, the guilt in his heart might finally dissipate.
But he was also deeply worried. Rong Yu was so brilliant, she would surely satisfy the teacher. What if she surpassed him and became the teacher's most prized disciple? What would he do then?
Just like how the top spot in science at Haicheng No.1 High School had been snatched away by Rong Yu.
Even Teacher Yang, who used to like him so much, had recently started looking at him differently, even calling him a blockhead...
Lost in these hesitations, Song Huai saw Rong Yu's figure disappear through the entrance. He chased after her, only to see her enter the core area—a zone he couldn't access.
It wasn't until evening, at the end of the workday, that he saw Rong Yu emerge from inside.
He put down his work log and went up to her. "Rong Yu, my teacher, Academician Liu, is here at the institute for a meeting. Could we have a meal together later?"
A whole day of mental preparation had finally allowed him to face this matter with some composure.
Rong Yu spoke. "Sorry, I already have plans."
