“All right, I’ll make an appointment.”
“No need. I’m planning to buy a Volvo.”
“Hm?” Pei Cizhou said helplessly. “You haven’t even passed the exam yet.”
“Even so, I can’t leave anything that could be used against me.”
…Fine.
She really was set on a career in government. So cautious.
Pei Cizhou changed the subject. “When are you going to ask me to tutor you?”
“I’m watching online classes.”
“How are they? Can you keep up?”
Qiuyun rubbed her chin. “Actually, they’re all right. Not that difficult.”
She had chosen History, Politics, and Geography—the standard liberal arts subjects. Memorization-based classes posed no challenge to her. Her main difficulties were math and English.
In truth, her previous impressions of those two subjects had all come from the original owner.
The original owner had suffered headaches almost immediately whenever she studied them. Even looking at the textbooks left her short of breath, and her memories were filled with suffocating anxiety and a deep fear of difficulty.
Besides, she had never intended to take the college entrance exam, so she had never looked at the relevant books.
After deciding to take the exam, she had gone through the textbooks. They were indeed quite difficult—she even had to start with elementary-school English and math—but once she began studying, they did not seem quite as impossible as she had imagined.
When she had apprenticed herself to her master, she could only learn a few things from him each day after finishing everything else she had to do. Whether he felt like teaching her depended entirely on his mood.
Compared with that, the internet was a completely different world. All the knowledge she needed could be found with a search. As long as she put her mind to it, she could master any skill.
While waiting at a red light, Pei Cizhou sent over the information his family had prepared for him, including the cutoff scores for every major at Beizheng over the past several years.
“Take a look at this. Some majors have minimum score requirements for individual subjects.”
Qiuyun tapped to accept the file. “Thanks.”
“It’s nothing.” He started the car. “I won’t be needing it anyway, so it’s perfect for you.”
Speaking of which, Qiuyun asked, “You’ve already been trending. Don’t tell me your parents still haven’t found out.”
“They’re busy every day. Why would they pay attention to some new esports player trending online?” Pei Cizhou said. “Besides, this game isn’t that well-known in China, so it hasn’t spread very widely.”
And since it was still the regular season, they probably wouldn’t find out until after the college entrance exam.
Qiuyun couldn’t help turning to look at him. “You started a company overseas and got locked up for five months. Now you’ve come out and started playing esports. Won’t your parents skin you alive?”
He snorted. “Let them try. If they’re so capable, they can have another child. Having a second child is allowed now, anyway.”
“…” Qiuyun gave him a thumbs-up. “What a filial son.”
“Oh, right. I need to ask you for a favor.” Pei Cizhou took a slip of paper from his breast pocket and handed it to her. “These are my account and password for the Education Examination Authority website. Could you log in for me on the deadline and check whether they’ve changed anything? If they’ve tampered with my application, please change it back.”
Qiuyun unfolded the paper. “Jing University, Computer Science.”
“Mm. I learned programming from several Jing University seniors who work at my brother’s company.”
She tucked the paper into her bag, accepting the task. “It’s much easier to learn when you’re being taught by people from the same school.”
He deliberately adopted a lofty, theatrical tone. “Truly, high mountains and flowing water have brought me a kindred spirit. Miss Qiu understands me.”
“?”
Qiuyun warned him, “Don’t start spouting flowery nonsense at me.”
“Hm? I thought you liked that.” He turned toward her and blinked. “The little ancient-style girl who fantasized about an entire imperial dynasty during her chuunibyo phase.”
“…”
Gnashing her teeth, Qiuyun gave him a sinister smile. “Then guess what else I like?”
“What?”
“I like excitement, too.”
“Oh?” Pei Cizhou straightened slightly.
“Tomorrow morning’s news: A luxury car mysteriously lost control while driving on the ring expressway and crashed into the divider.”
Qiuyun smiled. “Exciting enough?”
“…”
Pei Cizhou promptly shut up and drove on in silence.
The car fell quiet.
Qiuyun gave a smug little snort.
That was more like it.
After safely dropping her off at home, Pei Cizhou waved at her from the driver’s seat with an innocent smile, as though nothing had happened.
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning for the exam. In the afternoon, we’ll go choose a car.”
“I have something else to do tomorrow afternoon. If I’m buying a Volvo, I don’t need a test drive. I can just call the dealership and place the order.”
“What are you doing?”
“Taking Miss Jiang to inspect the house.”
The transfer of the courtyard house was considerably more complicated because it also involved registering the transfer of the land-use rights, paying the land-grant fee, and other procedures. Secretary Zhu was still handling the details, but she had already received the keys. Since she happened to have the day off tomorrow, she planned to go take a look.
The sound of the car door closing partially drowned out her words. Pei Cizhou had only caught the first half and immediately said, “I’ll come with you.”
Qiuyun was exasperated. “Are all high school seniors really this free?”
“It’s almost time for the exam. Studying any more won’t make much difference. It’s better to relax, adjust our state of mind, and stay calm. Some of our classmates are even going traveling.”
“Fine. Come if you want.”
Pei Cizhou was satisfied. “See you tomorrow, Miss Qiu.”
“Goodbye.”
After returning home, Qiuyun showered, tidied up the house, studied an online class for a while, and then added the slip of paper to her schedule.
The next day.
She did very well on the fourth driving test and received her driver’s license on the spot. Coach Huang, who had accompanied her throughout the process, gave her a bouquet of flowers. He also offered follow-up accompanied-driving lessons to help students overcome their fear of driving for the first time and ensure they could get on the road safely.
So Qiuyun had the dealership deliver her new car. She took it for a test drive with Coach Huang and, after becoming familiar with the vehicle, gave him a five-star review.
“Sister Xiaoqiu!” Jiang Chuling called. “My brother insists on coming with me to take a look. Is that okay?”
“Of course. Your Brother Pei is coming too.”
“Oh?” Jiang Chuling’s gossip radar immediately went into overdrive. Her eyes blinked rapidly, but she did not say anything else. “That’s great. It’ll be livelier with more people!”
“When are you planning to leave?”
“We can go right now!”
“All right. I’ll head over immediately.”
Halfway there, she picked up Little Boss Pei, who had asked for a ride. The two of them drove into a secluded, winding alley.
Watching her reverse neatly into a parking space, Pei Cizhou remarked, “Miss Qiu’s driving skills are pretty good. I’d never guess you only got your license today.”
“There’s assisted driving now. It’s not difficult.”
The area was filled almost entirely with private residences, private clubs, and private dining establishments. Security was tight at every entrance, and privacy was highly valued.
The two got out of the car and walked to a side gate in front of a courtyard house.
“This is the house you’re taking over?” Pei Cizhou frowned.
Seeing his expression, Qiuyun grew concerned. “What? Is there a catch?”
He looked serious. “What did you do for the Jiang family this time, Miss Qiu?”
Could it be another case of testing poison—a task so harmful to her health that she had been given this courtyard house worth at least five hundred million yuan in return?
Only after confirming that her safety had not been endangered did Pei Cizhou relax.
He surveyed the exterior walls of the courtyard house. “The location is excellent, and it’s been well maintained. This is a rare, high-value asset. President Jiang is certainly generous—and he has a good eye for talent.”
