After the school beauty rejected me, I became her mom's number one fan!

Qiao Jinlin came out of the restroom, his lips adorned with a light pink lipstick, and was taking a picture with his phone's front-facing camera as he walked over.

"Shall we go? I still have a class this morning."

"Walk."

Ning Xiuyang stuffed the unfinished orange into Qiao Jinlin's mouth.

The three people parted ways in the hotel lobby.

Qiao Feiyu's official car was already waiting at the door, a black Audi A8. The driver opened the back door.

Qiao Jinlin ran over and hugged his mother.

"Mom, I'm bringing my senior home for dinner next Saturday!"

"Okay." Qiao Feiyu paused for a moment, then quickly recovered, patted her daughter's back with a smile, and said, "Be careful on the road."

She got into the car, and as the door closed, she glanced at Ning Xiuyang through the window.

Ning Xiuyang nodded slightly to her.

The Audi A8 drove off the hotel driveway.

Qiao Jinlin watched the car drive away, then turned around and looked up at Ning Xiuyang.

"My mom seems to be in a good mood today."

"Yeah?"

"Hmm, don't you think she's smiling more than usual?"

Ning Xiuyang twirled the car key on his finger.

"Maybe."

……

For the next week, Ning Xiuyang gave up almost half of his schedule.

Monday, Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street.

Qiao Jinlin doesn't like shopping in luxury stores. She dragged Ning Xiuyang into a trendy boutique, tried on seven or eight T-shirts, and finally bought a white short-sleeved shirt with the words "Don't talk to me, I'm thinking about something" printed on it. She put it on on the spot and happily circled around the store entrance.

Ning Xiuyang was pulled to the accessories counter next to her and picked out a pair of couple bracelets. They were silver, very thin, and had no fancy designs. Qiao Jinlin put one on herself and gave the other to Ning Xiuyang to tie on.

She lowered her head while tying her hair, and the tips of her ears were red.

Tuesday, Zhujiajiao Ancient Town.

The two sat in a riverside teahouse drinking Biluochun tea. Qiao Jinlin took a video on her phone of a rowing boat passing by on the river, added a soothing piano piece, and posted it on her WeChat Moments. The comment section exploded, with her roommate leaving over a dozen comments like, "You should date that guy with the Mercedes."

Qiao Jinlin did not reply.

She blew on her teacup to cool it down and asked Ning Xiuyang if he had ever been to the ancient town when he was a child. Ning Xiuyang said that his family was poor when he was a child and he had never traveled far; the farthest he had ever been was the park in the county town.

Qiao Jinlin was stunned for a moment after hearing this, but did not ask any further questions. He simply pushed half of the osmanthus cake on his plate to the other side.

"Then eat more, this is delicious."

Wednesday, Zhonghai University Library.

Qiao Jinlin had no classes in the afternoon, so he asked Ning Xiuyang to go study together.

When Ning Xiuyang arrived, she had already secured a window seat, with two Starbucks cups and a bag of Ferrero Rocher chocolates on the table.

She was writing her economics course paper, while Ning Xiuyang was handling company emails nearby.

The two people sat facing each other, with a stack of books between them.

About forty minutes later, when Ning Xiuyang looked up, he found that Qiao Jinlin was not writing his thesis.

Her notebook was open to a blank page with a pencil sketch on it.

It's his profile.

The lines aren't finished yet, but the outline is already there.

The curves of the forehead, bridge of the nose, and chin.

Qiao Jinlin noticed him looking at it and immediately closed the notebook to cover it.

"Didn't you see it!"

"It's drawn quite well."

"Didn't you see!" She stuffed the notebook into her bag, her face flushed red to the roots of her neck.

Thursday, at a Japanese restaurant.

The two of them sat in a private room by the window eating omakase.

When the sixth course of the twelve-course meal was served, Ning Xiuyang's phone screen on the table lit up.

Shen Youyou's voice message.

Even through the screen, you can hear the coquettish tone at the end of the message: "Brother, are you coming back tonight? I miss you~"

Qiao Jinlin's chopsticks stopped in mid-air as he glanced at the three words "Shen Youyou" on the screen.

She put down her chopsticks.

Who is Shen Youyou?

Ning Xiuyang flipped his phone over; it wasn't locked or covered.

When he was out, if Shen Youyou and the others contacted him, they would usually call him "brother" instead of "master" to avoid attracting unnecessary attention.

"Your sister," Ning Xiuyang said with a smile.

Qiao Jinlin looked at him.

Five seconds.

Then she asked a question that surprised even herself.

"Is she the only one?"

Ning Xiuyang shook his head calmly and said, "Not only that."

Qiao Jinlin lowered his head, picked up a piece of salmon, and put it in his mouth.

I chewed it for a long time.

She swallowed the fish only after the oil from the fish melted on her tongue.

"I guessed it."

She wiped the corner of her mouth with a tissue.

"You never denied it that day on the yacht."

Ning Xiuyang put down his chopsticks and leaned forward slightly.

"I won't lie to you, Jinlin. From the moment I met you until now, every word I've said to you has been true."

"I know."

"I have many people around me. Every single one of them is serious. I won't give up the others for any one of them."

"I know."

"But you're in my heart..."

"Don't say anything yet."

Qiao Jinlin raised his hand to stop him.

Her chopsticks were placed horizontally on the plate, her gaze fixed on the unfinished piece of salmon.

There was a silence of about twenty seconds.

"I need time to think about it."

Ning Xiuyang nodded: "Okay."

That night, he didn't take Qiao Jinlin to a hotel; instead, he took her back to her school dormitory.

When Qiao Jinlin got out of the car, he said goodnight to him and turned to leave.

He took a few steps, then stopped and turned around.

"Senior."

"Um?"

Do you think I'd cry and make a scene to break up with you?

Ning Xiuyang did not respond.

"I'm not a three-year-old child."

She adjusted the bag strap on her shoulder, turned around, and walked into the dormitory building.

The next day, Ning Xiuyang did not take the initiative to contact Qiao Jinlin.

My phone rang at 9:30 p.m.

WeChat message.

[Qiao Jinlin]: "Senior, come to my house for dinner on Saturday, my mom will be there too."

Ning Xiuyang looked at the message on his phone for ten seconds.

He then took a screenshot of the message and forwarded it to Qiao Feiyu.

A sentence was added.

"Your daughter is braver than you think."

He thought it would take Qiao Jinlin a long time to recover, but to his surprise, he recovered in just one day and even invited him to his home.

Qiao Feiyu's reply came a full eleven minutes later.

"Yes, she looks like her maternal grandfather."

Ning Xiuyang put down his phone and leaned back in his office chair.

In this completely private setting, will it be possible to break the ice between Qiao Jinlin and Qiao Feiyu at this dinner party?

After thinking it over carefully, he shook his head and rejected the idea.

After all, Qiao Jinlin had just recovered from the shock of knowing that he had many women around him and that he would have many sisters in the future.

She hasn't even healed her wounds yet, and if she finds out that Qiao Feiyu also... she'd go crazy!

We'll have to wait a bit longer!