Su Qingnuan opened the door and saw someone sitting outside.
If she spoke now, would it backfire?
But she really couldn’t afford to fall behind in her courses.
After thinking it over, Su Qingnuan still decided to step out.
Upon hearing the sound of the door opening, Fu Yihan turned his head. Seeing her, he frowned slightly and asked, "What is it?"
"Mr. Fu." Su Qingnuan nervously twisted the hem of her shirt and cautiously said, "The doctor said that I just need to rest for now. Can I go to school tomorrow?"
His frown deepened, making his expression even colder. Fu Yihan raised an eyebrow and looked at her.
"... It’s just that I’m participating in a competition. The school has arranged special training for me, and I’ve already fallen behind by two days. I can’t afford to miss any more."
"Competition?" Fu Yihan withdrew his gaze and asked indifferently, "What kind of competition?"
"A provincial-level competition called the Creative IT Contest. The winner gets priority in choosing their internship placement for the first half of the year."
"Creative IT?" Fu Yihan paused what he was doing and looked at Su Qingnuan. "I’ve heard that this competition is quite hard."
"Yes..." Su Qingnuan gave a bitter smile. "Our province has many IT professionals, and it’s always very competitive. Every year, the participants practically fight tooth and nail."
"Wow, Eldest Young Lady, you’re amazing!" Lianyi clapped her hands and said with a bright smile, "I’m so envious of people with sharp minds!"
Su Qingnuan flushed slightly with embarrassment, pressing her fingers to her cheek. She laughed softly, "It’s nothing, really. I’m just participating; I haven’t achieved anything yet."
"It’s okay! No matter the results, I’ll cheer for you, every step of the way!"
Seeing Lianyi raise her fist with excitement, Su Qingnuan couldn’t help but smile as well.
"Thanking me already? You’re so confident," Fu Yihan’s cold voice interrupted suddenly.
Su Qingnuan quickly straightened her posture and said earnestly, "Actually, I’m not entirely confident. I just want to give it a try, so..."
"So you want to attend class tomorrow?" Fu Yihan cut in.
Su Qingnuan immediately nodded.
"Not impossible." Fu Yihan glanced at Lianyi and said with a serious tone, "Lianyi, you’ll accompany her tomorrow."
"Me?" Lianyi pointed to herself, stunned.
"... Umm, I still have a lot of work to do. I’m afraid I can’t—"
Fu Yihan curved his lips with a hint of mockery and said coldly, "All of it is canceled. From now on, your job is to fully assist the Eldest Young Lady."
Lianyi looked up into Su Qingnuan’s expectant eyes. After hesitating for a moment, she grit her teeth and nodded. "Fine, fine. I’ll go with her. It’s just school, right!"
Su Qingnuan’s round eyes lit up with joy. "Thank you!"
"No need to thank me, Eldest Young Lady."
"Alright, it’s settled then."
Fu Yihan wheeled himself back inside, with Ah Qi following closely behind.
Lianyi got up, patted Su Qingnuan on the shoulder, and sighed. "Eldest Young Lady, rest up early. We’ll head out together tomorrow."
With a smile, Su Qingnuan went to sleep and had a good dream.
On the first day of the month, she woke up early and waited for Lianyi to head to the school together.
However, when she got to the living room, it wasn’t just Lianyi there.
"Mr. Fu... Why are you also here..." Su Qingnuan asked in confusion, looking at Lianyi.
Lianyi shrugged with a helpless expression. "No idea. Maybe the Eldest Young Master wants to visit the campus too?"
Fu Yihan glanced at her and said seriously, "Let’s go. I’m driving you both to school."
"You’re driving us again?" Su Qingnuan’s eyes widened in surprise.
Fu Yihan raised an eyebrow. "You don’t want to go?"
With Lianyi tagging along, Su Qingnuan finally dared to talk normally in the car.
Lianyi wasn’t very curious about Su Qingnuan’s school. What intrigued her more was the competition Su Qingnuan was entering.
"Are you ready for it?" Lianyi asked.
Su Qingnuan shook her head. "Not yet, but I’ve come up with a few ideas. Once I finalize one, I’ll be ready."
"I see..." Lianyi withdrew her gaze, appearing thoughtful.
Afterward, their conversation revolved entirely around the project topics.
From their discussion, Su Qingnuan noticed that Lianyi seemed to know more than she had expected.
The car stopped at the school entrance, and Su Qingnuan and Lianyi got out.
After saying goodbye to Fu Yihan, the two of them turned and entered the school gate.
A worried voice called out, making Su Qingnuan quicken her pace.
"Eldest Young Lady? Why are you walking so fast? Aren’t you still—"
Before she could finish speaking, a figure stepped in front of them, blocking their way.
Shen Lin’an stood there, panting, his gaze firmly fixed on Su Qingnuan.
"Why do you look so pale? Is your heart acting up again?"
His hand instinctively reached out, grazing Su Qingnuan’s cheek.
Su Qingnuan frowned slightly and took a step back.
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?" Lianyi stepped in front of Su Qingnuan, glaring fiercely. "It’s broad daylight—are you trying to harass her?"
Shen Lin’an glanced at her suspiciously. "Who are you?"
"I... I’m..." Lianyi grabbed Su Qingnuan’s arm, straightened her posture, and said seriously, "I’m her friend!"
"Friend? How come I’ve never seen you before?" Shen Lin’an eyed her skeptically. "Qingnuan, are these the kinds of people you’re befriending now? What kind of—"
"What kind of what?" Lianyi flared up, placing her hands on her hips. "Never seen a beauty like me before?"
"..." Shen Lin’an adjusted his glasses and muttered, "Shameless."
"Hey! You—" Lianyi was about to roll up her sleeves in anger.
"Lianyi." Su Qingnuan pulled her back and said helplessly, "This is school."
Lianyi paused, then reluctantly lowered her sleeves again, glaring at him. "You better watch yourself. Because we’re on campus, I’ll let you off this time!"
Shen Lin’an snorted coldly and ignored her.
"Qingnuan, you haven’t been to school these past few days. I was so worried about you. How are you? Were you hospitalized again?"
Listening to his concerned words, Su Qingnuan didn’t feel even a shred of comfort.
"I’m fine." Su Qingnuan looked at him calmly. "I have class soon. Please don’t block my way."
"Qingnuan," Shen Lin’an grabbed her hand and leaned closer, lowering his voice. "I’m truly worried about you."
Lianyi immediately pulled Su Qingnuan back a few steps, eyeing him warily.
Shen Lin’an was momentarily stunned but took a step closer.
"Shen Lin’an!" Su Qingnuan said sharply, staring at him. "How many times do I have to tell you? We’ve already ended things! Just leave me alone!"
"Qingnuan..." Shen Lin’an looked at her with longing, his eyes filled with reluctant hope.
Su Qingnuan turned away and, pulling Lianyi along, walked past Shen Lin’an and continued forward.
A good while later, Lianyi glanced back and noticed he was still following them. She frowned and asked, "Eldest Young Lady, why does that guy stick to you like glue?"
"... Just ignore him. He’ll leave on his own eventually."