Chapter 413: 161 Young Master Jiang: Haven't hugged yet today (second update)_1
One of the books was a problem set brought to her by Jiang Fulai from Jiangjing Affiliated Middle School this year.
Most of the advanced problems were in their problem set.
When Bai Lian and Ning Xiao worked on it, they marked all the useful problems individually.
The other was new problem types they had excerpted from the Jiangjing University app, which were quite challenging.
She had asked Jiang Fulai whether it was okay to show it to others, and upon hearing it was, she originally intended to give it to Yang Lin. Now, she directly handed it to the principal to photocopy the main problems for everyone.
This way, Yang Lin had no reason to refuse.
“What’s this?” The principal asked in surprise, taking it. As he looked down, he saw the bold text—
“Jiangjing Affiliated Middle School Current Students’ Problem Set”
“Snap—”
The cigarette butt he held between his fingers dropped onto the table as he stared in shock at the problem set from Jiangjing Affiliated Middle School, undeniably the best middle school in the country.
The affiliated middle school would invite teachers who set the college entrance exam papers to give lectures and devise practice problems and exams for the students.
It could be said that the value of this problem set, especially for the current students, was extremely high.
The principal looked up, his hands trembling as he flipped through the problem set.
It was indeed from Jiangjing Affiliated Middle School, and he couldn’t contain his joy. He sat down again and continued to peruse the book.
“Principal,” noticing that the principal kept flipping through the problem set without saying a word, Tang Ming couldn’t help but called out, “Should we leave first?”
The principal didn’t lift his head but simply waved his hand, “Yes, yes.”
He continued reading.
Tang Ming: “…”
Almost everyone thought Bai Lian and Ning Xiao’s rapid progress in their grades had something to do with Beicheng’s problems. Little did they know—
Acquiring those problems was something Jiang Fulai or Dean Ma could do at the flick of a wrist.
Their grades improved so quickly entirely because they had two human-shaped cheats.
**
Milk tea shop.
When Bai Lian arrived, Jian Zhe was already there.
The music inside the milk tea shop was playing Yan Lu’s song.
It was Friday, and there were many people queuing up to buy milk tea.
But not as many people were buying cakes.
Bai Lian took out her earphones and answered a phone call.
“Recently, many people have contacted me,” said Sister Xin on the phone, “asking if Teacher Bai Jian has any new songs to sell to them. They’ve offered a high price, one person in particular offered a whopping five million just for you to compose a guzheng piece, no lyrics needed.”
Yan Lu’s last two songs had both been smash hits.
The lyricist and composer were the same person. This bit of big news had just emerged in the entertainment circle, as everyone tried to dig up who “Teacher Bai Jian” was. This person appeared out of the blue and immediately propelled Yan Lu to an unattainable height for others.
News of a genius in the songwriting circle quickly spread, and since these people couldn’t find Bai Jian, they turned to Sister Xin as an alternative.
Many sought Bai Lian for composition, but this was the first request for a guzheng piece.
“I’m too busy,” Bai Lian said as she sat by the window, put on her Bluetooth earphones, reached out to unzip her bag, and took out the reduced notation sheet from last time, “and don’t bother telling me about these requests in the future.”
Writing songs for Yan Lu was because the client was Yan Lu.
“Why don’t you start a Weibo account?” Sister Xin suggested over the phone, “This is what the fans recommend, your lyrics and compositions have attracted a large following.”
“Weibo?” Bai Lian sifted through her memory for the term, “Let’s talk about it later.”
Right now, her main focus was on her studies.
There’s still so much to learn in Chemistry and Biology.
Bai Lian ended the call, took out her notebook, and started writing new problems.
During this time, Dean Jian sent her a WeChat message—
[I bought a train ticket for tomorrow]
Bai Lian: [What time?]
Dean Jian was leaving Xiangcheng: [Are you really going to take the exam for Jiangjing University?]
They had discussed this matter countless times, and Bai Lian couldn’t be bothered to explain again: [1]
**
Beicheng.
Bai Shaoqi put down her pen, having just finished a phone call.
Beside her, Song Min was staring at her, and after she ended the call, he asked, “How did it go?”
“They disagreed,” Bai Shaoqi shook her head.
“They didn’t agree even with five million?” Madame Song was surprised.
Even the most indifferent person to fame and fortune wouldn’t disregard five million, right?
Bai Shaoqi pressed on her temples and continued with the problems on the Jiangjing app, “I’m not sure.”
She had a lot on her mind lately. Her mother’s return to the Bai Family was halted, and because of the guzheng, she had fallen behind in her classes. She had almost no idea how to tackle the current problem.
The pen nearly ripped through the paper.
“Don’t rush,” Song Min comforted her from the side, “This problem is quite difficult to begin with. Even God Jian hasn’t come up with an answer, and I haven’t figured it out either. Don’t get distracted because of Headmaster Jian’s issue.”
He had become acquainted with Bai Shaoqi early on because of the guzheng and later found out that she was part of the Bai Family and Bai Shaoke’s sister, with impressive achievements in mathematics.
Thinking of mathematics inevitably reminded Song Min of Bai Lian.
Bai Shaoqi saw his thoughts drifting away and took a deep breath, bowing her head to continue working on the problem, “I know.”
Song Min snapped back to reality, he pressed a hand to his forehead and continued to open the Jiangjing University app, clicked on a profile, and in less than half a year, he had already garnered over two thousand followers.
However, God Jian only followed one person.
Song Min clicked to open the list of whom that person followed and saw a casual ‘L.’
“This ‘L’ has to be a core figure from Jiangjing Laboratory,” Bai Shaoqi watched him motionless for a while and couldn’t help but glance over, “To be mutually followed, God Jian must also be a core figure in the laboratory.”
Everyone knew this.
Song Min nodded, his finger tapped to open the chat window with Bai Jian. Scrolling down from the top, he had sent many messages, while the other party had not read a single one. He couldn’t help but send another message—
[God Jian, what are you busy with recently?]
**
Today, as always, Jiang Fulai came to pick up Bai Lian.
Tomorrow, the two were supposed to meet Zhang Shize.
Jiang Fulai also had the day off and arrived early today, at seven, accompanying Bai Lian in homework until nine.
During that time, he received a phone call.
Jiang Fulai looked at the phone, furrowed his brows, not wanting to disturb Bai Lian’s studying, so he went outside to take the call.
On the other end was Xu Nanjing.
His voice was casual and flamboyant, with a hint of teasing, “On behalf of your butler, I am tasked to collect your blood; I hope you won’t be at the laboratory when I come.”
“Hmm,” Jiang Fulai was not as resistant to this as before. He stood coldly outside the milk tea shop, his voice indifferent, “Bring an extra collection tube.”
“An extra tube?” Xu Nanjing on the phone sounded surprised, “You need two tubes?”
Jiang Fulai, looking at the floor-to-ceiling window, had no interest in further banter with Xu Nanjing, “Yes.”
He hung up the phone.
On the other end, Xu Nanjing, heir to the Jiangjing Xu Family, stared at the phone that had been hung up, dumbfounded, “He just hung up on me like that?”
“Look at you,” his mother glanced at him, “It’s quite normal for Young Master Jiang to hang up on you. I remember the first time I went to see you study. What did he say? ‘Xu Nanjing, I’ve said it a hundred times, bring your brain when you come!\'”
Thinking about this still made Mrs. Xu laugh.
The young master of the Xu Family had been as haughty as Jiang Xijue since he was young; no one at home could control him except for Jiang Fulai. Not to mention Xu Nanjing, even Xu Nanjing’s father felt apprehensive around him.
Even though Xu Nanjing’s father belonged to the same generation as Jiang Fulai’s father, he dared not utter a word in front of the younger man.
Hearing Mrs. Xu mention this, Xu Nanjing couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
“Now that I think about it,” Mrs. Xu suddenly spoke, “Isn’t there a rumor that he has a girl…?”
Xu Nanjing tossed a peanut into his mouth, “Seems like it, from Xiangcheng, a high school senior.”
“Ah?” Mrs. Xu was taken aback, “A senior, that’s rather young… Is she at the affiliated high school?”
When it comes to high schools in Jiangjing, the affiliated high school was the top institution with half of Jiangjing University’s students hailing from there, so naturally, Mrs. Xu would assume that the girl by Jiang Fulai’s side was from that school.
Xu Nanjing gave her a look, “She attends high school in Xiangcheng; that’s where they met.”
Today is Friday, and early in the morning, Jiang He went to Ji Heng’s place along with Director Chen.
“Xiangcheng?” Mrs. Xu had only recently come across this place; it was trending, but that didn’t hide its remoteness, on the outskirts, “Will she come to Jiangjing in the future?”
“I don’t know.” Jiang Fulai had kept things so secretive that Xu Nanjing had learned of it only through hearsay. It seemed the girl’s academic performance was quite ordinary—passing the entrance exam for Jiangjing University would be a challenge for her. Would Jiang Fulai scold her when teaching her problems?
Knowing nothing, Mrs. Xu waved her hand in irritation, “Remember to take a photo for me, bring over some practice problems… I don’t know what kind of person she is.”
She was best friends with Jiang Fulai’s mother.
“But what matters are the elders in Jiang Family and the Gao Family…” Mrs. Xu sighed. Given the status of the Jiang Family, she could understand why Jiang Fulai kept information about the girl secret. If this child truly came to Jiangjing, she wondered whether the Jiang butler would be able to protect her.
The battles between the families in Jiangjing were fraught with danger, truly troublesome.
“You’re worrying too much, she might not even manage to pass the exam,” Xu Nanjing raised an eyebrow.
**
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Fulai returned to Bai Lian.
Today is Friday, and early in the morning, Jiang He went to Ji Heng’s place along with Director Chen.
At nine, Jiang Fulai took Bai Lian back.
“I’ve given the practice problems to the principal.” Although Jiang Fulai had said that she could do as she pleased, Bai Lian still told him, sitting in the passenger seat and fastening the seat belt.
Jiang Fulai tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, dressed in a white shirt today, glanced sideways as she buckled up, and said casually, “You may give them to whoever you want.”
The car slowly made its way towards Purest Street.
Jiang Fulai got out of the car and escorted her inside.
Stopping at the same bend as last night, Bai Lian paused there; whenever Jiang Fulai escorted her, she would stop here and watch him leave first.
Today, however, he just stood there silently without leaving.
Bai Lian raised an eyebrow, “What’s up? Going to take Jiang He back with you?”
“No,” Jiang Fulai’s figure was shrouded in shadows cast by the solar lights, his cold, distant features lowered, he softly said, “I didn’t get a hug today.”