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nTranslator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

nFeng Ci graduated from First Middle School. Back in the days, Principal Xu had taught them Mathematics and even held private enrichment classes for him when he was participating in Mathematics competitions. He could somewhat be considered Principal Xu’s disciple.

nHe hadn’t put much thought into it, and only until he started up his own firm in the capital city did he realize how this “status” really came in handy.

nHe slowly learned more about Principal Xu’s status and identity as well.

nThere was only one family in the whole of the capital city that could have Principal Xu address as Young Master Lu.

nAs for this Master Juan…

nFeng Ci did not know much about him. Although he was a relatively big shot in his own city, the capital city was full of people from the high society, and he was nowhere close to that league. Even with Principal Xu’s name, he could only get access to general information such as finding out who were the people he couldn’t afford to offend.

nFeng Ci looked away.

nCheng Juan was leaning against the doorframe and had his eyes on the computer screen. His expression was unreadable.

nAbout a minute later, he looked up and said firmly, “Not too sure, there haven’t been any suspicious parties yet.”

nBased on Lu Zhaoying’s understanding of Cheng Juan, he’d probably been able to go through the entire mental list of people he knew in that one minute.

n“Then that’s too bad.” Lu Zhaoying felt it was a pity. He turned to the computer screen, churned out some data and sent it out to the relevant parties.

nSeeing that they seemed to have unfinished business to discuss, Feng Ci politely excused himself.

nLu Zhaoying leaned back in his seat and smiled as he fiddled with his ear stud. “Hold up, we are about to leave too. Let’s exchange our Wechat account details.”

nFeng Ci wasn’t expecting these Young Masters to be so friendly.

nThe three of them walked downstairs together and Cheng Juan led the way with both hands in his pockets. The sun had not set completely, and it cast long shadows of the school buildings.

nHe walked slowly and quietly, without the youthfulness of the First Middle School students. But judging by the girls who only dared steal glances at him but not approach him directly, one could tell that the pride that ran deep in his veins was unmistakable.

nLu Zhaoying was consistently about half a step behind Cheng Juan as he spoke to Feng Ci.

nNot too far away, Lin Siran and Pan Mingyue were going to the Dean’s office together to get some scripts.

nLu Zhaoying knew Lin Siran as an acquaintance; he’d seen her a few times at club activities.

n“Schoolmate Lin, where’s your deskmate?” Lu Zhaoying called out to her. He then caught sight of Pan Mingyue and smiled. “Hey, do you always make friends based on looks?”

nLin Siran and Qin Ran had bumped into Lu Zhaoying a few times. He’d even bought them milk tea before.

n“She’s busy.” Lin Siran responded with the scripts held tightly in her hands.

nCheng Juan hesitated for a while before nodding slightly towards Lin Siran and then taking his leave.

nFeng Ci was walking towards the school’s main gate. Seeing the two Young Masters taking interest in speaking to a girl, he wondered who she was. He walked over.

nLin Siran was a little uncomfortable. She quietly said, “Mingyue, let’s get going…”

n“Why have you moved into the dormitory to stay on campus?” A low voice stopped her mid-sentence.

nLin Siran was a little shocked. She glanced at the smart-looking Feng Ci opposite her and then turned towards Pan Mingyue. Something felt wrong.

nPan Mingyue was holding onto the scripts with one hand and grabbing Lin Siran’s hand with the other. Her huge glistening eyes were beautiful.

n“The workload for Third Year students is heavy. It’s more convenient for me to stay on campus.” Pan Mingyue tightened her grip on the scripts and answered coldly.

n“Mingyue…” Feng Ci furrowed his brows, wanting to say more.

nBut Pan Mingyue pulled Lin Siran aside and made a move to leave. “I’m going to distribute the scripts.”

nFeng Ci stood on the spot for a while longer before deciding to leave.

nPan Mingyue only slowed down her footsteps when she was certain that Feng Ci had turned around to leave too.

nLin Siran looked at Pan Mingyue in shock and excitement. “Mingyue, you actually know Feng Ci! He used to be the man of the moment in our school!”

nLin Siran was from the affiliated stream in Junior Middle School. Back when she was there, she’d heard of Lin Jinxuan and Feng Ci, the two big names in the Senior Middle School.

n“I heard that Feng Ci and Lin Jinxuan are both starting up a firm now.” Lin Siran gossiped with her volume down. “You know, Qin Yu from your class is Lin Jinxuan’s younger sister. Back then, both of them had Qin Yu’s back, and the influence she had was unparalleled. Moreover, you know that our Mayor’s family name is Feng, right? I really never expected you to know Feng Ci, but well, everyone who mixes with him is somewhat outstanding.”

nPan Mingyue shook her head. “I’m a distant relative of the Feng family, but I’m not close to Feng Ci. I’d ever put up at his place before, and I know that they’re all outstanding, but I can’t be compared to them.”

n“Why can’t you! You’re the second in the whole school! You’re always just a few points behind Xu Yaoguang, but tens of points ahead of the third person. Mingyue, don’t look down on yourself this way. Before my deskmate came along, there were even debates about whether you or Qin Yu were the rightful School Belle!”

nBut ever since Qin Ran joined the school, posts like this had stopped appearing.

nPan Mingyue suddenly smiled as her gaze looked distant. “My results used to be terrible. I got a single-digit score for Mathematics.”

n“Don’t lie to me.” Lin Siran wouldn’t buy it. Pan Mingyue’s Mathematics grades were only second to Xu Yaoguang.

nMathematics wasn’t like other subjects, it was based on practice and prior experience. Given her outstanding results now, how could she ever be bad at it?

nPan Mingyue smiled without explaining further.

nShe and Lin Siran parted ways at the foot of the stairs.

nLin Siran looked at Pan Mingyue’s back view. She knew Pan Mingyue because of a competition; they were deskmates in the competition preparation class. She always felt that Pan Mingyue exuded an inexplicable air of sorrow.

nThey’d known each other for two years, and Lin Siran had never heard Pan Mingyue mention her parents.

n**

nA few days later.

nQin Ran rested her head on the desk between classes. It was noisy outside and she couldn’t keep her eyes closed. Eventually, she rested her chin on her palm unhappily.

nLin Siran distributed everybody’s scripts and finally handed the last one to Qin Ran.

n6 marks.

nBetter than the previous time.

nLin Siran consoled herself.

n“We’re welcoming new students in school today, it’ll be pretty bustling.” Lin Siran saw that Qin Ran looked a little flushed and unhappy and asked in concern, “Ran Ran, are you unwell?”

nShe knew that Qin Ran was working part-time outside. It was pouring so heavily last night and she didn’t have an umbrella, she must’ve been drenched on the way back from the milk tea store.

n“I’m fine.” Qin Ran sounded a little down. She turned sideways and leaned against the wall instead.

nLin Siran was a little worried for her.

nShe got another classmate to bring some flu tablets over and made sure Qin Ran ate one.

nQin Ran felt even more drowsy after having the medicine, but she still couldn’t sleep.

nThe sounds of the new students from downstairs buzzed in her head.

nShe put on her earphones and turned the volume up.

nAfter hours, she finally made it through the whole day of school. It was crowded everywhere, except for the school doctor’s office in the corner. Qin Ran heaved a sigh of relief.

nIn the school doctor’s office.

nAs it was the first day of school for the new students, the doctor’s office was unusually empty.

nIt was nice and quiet.

nLu Zhaoying had his laptop on his lap and went onto a site with a full black background. He was chatting with somebody online, and the symbols used were rather strange; an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to make out what they were.

nHe was casually having a conversation.

nUntil the other party sent a reply that almost caused him to choke.

n“M-Master Juan,” Lu Zhaoying widened his eyes at the screen and stammered, “I think t-there’s a clue.”

nCheng Juan was looking through some patients’ documents with a fountain pen in his hand. He was completely calm and hadn’t even raised his head. “Why the fluster, shoot.”

n“Based on Flat Face’s investigation, the person who helped us out goes by code name Q.”

nBam—

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