"Qin Jiao? A guy or a girl?"
"A girl," Xu Wei replied. After a moment’s thought, she added begrudgingly, "The really pretty one."
The moment she mentioned a pretty girl, the guy instantly knew who she was talking about.
He immediately adopted an exaggerated tone. "Oh, you mean that pretty girl! She left the exam half an hour ago. No idea if it’s because she answered everything or because she didn’t know anything at all."
Xu Wei froze.
’What? She left the exam half an hour ago? How is that possible!’
After a moment’s thought, she gave a slight smile. "She probably didn’t know any of the answers, so she left early."
The guy said, "I wouldn’t know about that. By the way, Miss Xu, do you know her? What’s her major? What year is she?"
"I don’t know!" Xu Wei huffed, then turned and stomped away angrily.
The guy was a bit speechless. After all that, it turned out she didn’t even know the girl.
The exam results wouldn’t be out for a while, so Qin Jiao and Shen Yi began preparing for their trip to the South. They didn’t have many classes the following week, and with the weekend, they wouldn’t miss much.
Once they had arranged everything for school, they started sorting out things at home.
Fortunately, the clothing factory was now on track and the renovations were nearly finished. With Qin Zhonghui keeping an eye on things there and Su Yun taking care of the house, Qin Jiao had nothing to worry about. She packed her bags and set off with Shen Yi.
They navigated security with practiced ease and boarded the plane. As the aircraft took off, they both, as if on cue, pulled out their books and started to read.
They were all-English books on computer science.
The internet boom was still several years away, but there was no harm in preparing early—both in terms of capital and knowledge.
Flying was fast and, just as they expected, much more comfortable than taking the train. However, when they arrived at the hotel they’d booked, they were told they couldn’t share a room without a marriage certificate.
Shen Yi’s handsome face darkened on the spot.
Qin Jiao couldn’t help but smile. She quickly booked an adjacent room from the intimidated young receptionist, then pulled a sulking Shen Yi upstairs.
Even though their rooms were adjacent, Shen Yi was still quite displeased.
He sighed. "There are downsides to being young. There’s a lot we can’t do."
Qin Jiao gave him an exasperated kick. "Oh, stop it. What more do you want to do? We’re going to be busy for the next few days, and we still have to head over to Shenzhen later."
They had to seize every advantage their foreknowledge gave them. That was how they could ensure their families, and everyone they cared about, could live a good life in this lifetime.
This, in fact, was the difference between Qin Jiao and Lin Nian.
Qin Jiao was singularly focused on working hard to change her own life and the lives of her family, ensuring her loved ones could live well.
Lin Nian, on the other hand, used all her cunning to try and win over the male lead, Shen Feng.
When Sun Lili went to the hair salon to confront Lin Nian, it might have looked like Sun Lili came out on top, but in reality, Lin Nian was the one who won.
After the incident, Shen Feng actually made Sun Lili apologize to Lin Nian. He told Sun Lili that Lin Nian had a very difficult life—that her parents favored her brother, had long since stopped caring whether she lived or died, and that as her ex-boyfriend, he was only helping her find a job and open a salon out of pity.
Sun Lili wasn’t entirely convinced, but she couldn’t bear to let go of Shen Feng, so she chose to believe him.
What she didn’t know was that behind her back, Shen Feng frequently visited the apartment he rented for Lin Nian.
So Lin Nian knew that Shen Feng was just biding his time. He couldn’t leave Sun Lili yet, supposedly because his father, Shen Zhengfeng, needed her father’s help with his business in some areas.
But Lin Nian was certain that Shen Feng’s heart belonged to her.