Time flew by, and soon it was Wednesday.
Xu Yinsheng had to beg and wheedle for Zhao Yicheng to finally agree to bring her along.
Early in the morning, Xu Yinsheng was scooped out of bed by Zhao Yicheng, scrubbed vigorously in the bathtub, then dressed properly, fed breakfast, and ushered into the car.
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday—three days in total.
Tianlin City had exactly three famous universities.
One university per day.
The first stop:
Linyu Xinyuan University.
A long, understated yet still luxurious Bentley stopped at the school gate.
The middle-aged chauffeur in a black suit and sunglasses respectfully opened the car door.
A handsome man, looking close to thirty, stepped out of the car, followed by a man and a woman—one a secretary, the other an assistant.
The Principal, along with the School Leadership and Department Directors, had been waiting at the gate for a long time.
When they saw Zhao Yicheng’s group, smiles bloomed on their aged, wrinkled faces as they warmly welcomed the three.
After some polite conversation, they invited the group to the conference room upstairs for further discussion.
The female secretary took the opportunity to excuse herself for the restroom, entered, washed her hands, and exited again—the whole process took only a few minutes, very swift.
Once everyone’s backs had disappeared down the corridor, a figure snuck quietly out of a stall in the women’s restroom.
“Tsk tsk tsk, no matter how clever you are, you can’t beat technology with a single finger.”
Xu Yinsheng tapped her head made of nanomechanical bots, then raised her hand in the direction the group had left and flipped them off.
“Boss, time for defense!”
Her little outburst done, Xu Yinsheng wiped a hand across her face, and in an instant, her appearance changed—youthful and lively, with delicate brows and bright features, rosy lips and white teeth, her big, sparkling eyes full of mischief.
She tidied her hair in the restroom mirror, patted her cheeks to make sure everything was flawless, then turned and headed out, starting her “leisurely stroll” around campus.
But despite calling it a stroll, Xu Yinsheng actually had another goal in mind.
Linyu Xinyuan University, as one of Tianlin City—and even the entire Federation’s—top hundred universities, occupied about 500,000 square meters of buildings, and was located in the northernmost part of Tianlin’s new city district.
Here, it had its own commercial snack street, student entertainment areas, and significant social influence.
Most importantly, this was the university Jiang Shimo attended!
The goal of Xu Yinsheng’s visit today wasn’t exactly big or small—she had just one purpose: to make Jiang Shimo back off!
Even though she herself was like a clay idol crossing a river, barely able to protect herself, with the earlier example of Jin Xinnuo, if that girl kept digging, it wouldn’t matter if she found nothing.
But if she dug up something…
Who knows if Zhao Yicheng would get desperate and do something reckless!
Sure, she was a little wild, a bit of a troublemaker, a little spoiled, but she still had a conscience.
Using the drop of liquid metal she’d left on the other party, Xu Yinsheng didn’t have to work hard to find her.
Inside a dumpling shop, a steaming plate of plump dumplings sat on the table.
Jiang Shimo was sitting on a stool, eating dumplings, a dish of vinegar at her side.
She was accompanied by another girl in a puffer jacket, with average looks and a normal air, but her hair was blonde, eyes large and lively, and her figure curvy in all the right ways—even the thick cotton coat couldn’t hide it, which was definitely a plus.
***
Xu Yinsheng hid in the shadows, secretly scoring them in her mind.
“Shishi, are you going to intern at that company? How about we go together?”
The girl picked up a steaming dumpling from the plate, dipped it in white sugar, and popped it in her mouth.
Her name was Qin Muling, the daughter of a Real Estate Business owner.
“Don’t even get me started on that!”
Jiang Shimo picked up another dumpling, didn’t bother with vinegar, and stuffed it into her mouth, chewing hard as if grinding up her frustrations.
“I originally wanted my dad to just stamp the paperwork, but they insisted I go work as an intern—and at another company, no less!”
“Another company?”
Qin Muling asked, puzzled, “Which company?”
“The Zhao Group—the one that’s been recruiting interns these past few days,” Jiang Shimo grumbled, “And they said if I don’t go learn from them, they’ll freeze my card!”
“So annoying!!”
“All right, all right, eat your dumplings,” Qin Muling placed a dumpling in Jiang Shimo’s bowl, gently comforting her, “Today’s Winter Solstice, cheer up, don’t think about the unhappy stuff. It’s just Zhao Group, I’ll go with you, we’ll slack off together.”
“Yay!”
Jiang Shimo immediately beamed, taking a big bite of her dumpling.
The sweetness of sugar blended with the savory meat—so delicious.
“Xiaofei, you really are the best. My dearest bestie.”
“Mm, besties.”
Just as Qin Muling and Jiang Shimo were happily eating, a girl walked over and took out a phone with a Pleasant Goat case.
“Excuse me, is this your phone?”
Jiang Shimo looked up.
The girl was bundled up in a thick puffer jacket and wore a hat that obscured her face, making her look a bit bulky.
Jiang Shimo waved her hand, refusing—her phone had always been in her purse, how could it have fallen out?
But the girl didn’t pull her hand back, simply repeated her words.
Jiang Shimo frowned slightly, raised her head, and locked eyes with the girl.
Those eyes stared straight into hers, as if with some strange power, like they could draw out a person’s soul.
In a daze, Jiang Shimo took the phone and politely thanked her.
The girl waved, said, “Be careful next time,” and left.
Jiang Shimo snapped out of it only when Qin Muling called her name.
She didn’t think much of it, assuming she’d just caught a chill, and buried herself back into her dumplings.
After they finished eating and paid, Jiang Shimo’s purse suddenly buzzed with a soft sound.
Di di di, di di di!
Jiang Shimo took out her phone and saw a call from an unknown number.
She frowned, but still chose to answer.
“Hello, who’s this?”
There was only silence on the other end, like death itself.
Just as Jiang Shimo was about to hang up, a man’s voice finally echoed faintly from the phone.
A voice Jiang Shimo knew all too well.
“Shimo, it’s me.”
That familiar voice made Jiang Shimo pause, then her eyes widened in disbelief as she exclaimed!
“Cousin?!”
“No, who are you?!”
“Today is Winter Solstice, not April Fool’s Day! I’m telling you, whoever you are, you shouldn’t joke about the dead!!”
Jiang Shimo’s string of agitated reactions startled everyone around her.
Qin Muling, seeing the mood, wisely kept her distance.
Jiang Shimo knew she was in public, so she shot an apologetic look at the dumpling-eaters around her and hurried out of the shop, seeking a secluded spot in a small grove.
“Who are you? Are you a scammer from Northern Burma?! I’m warning you, using the dead to scam people is disgusting!”
“Don’t think you can get away just because you’re overseas. Believe it or not, I’ll hunt you down! I don’t have much in my secret stash, but I can still spare a few million to buy your life!”