Xie Tang inexplicably took the blame.
She vaguely remembered that the first time she, Xie Qian, and Wen Ying visited Professor Shen and his wife, Xie Qian had already planned to study in Shanghai.
She didn’t want to expose her cousin’s little secret about who he was doing it for. It definitely wasn’t for her, his cousin~
But no matter why Xie Qian wanted to go to Shanghai, it was his own business. Did he really have to achieve it in such a roundabout way instead of saying it openly?
You couldn’t blame Xie Qian. You could only blame Third Uncle Xie Jinghu for being a world-class scumbag!
Xie Tang silently shouldered the sudden blame. “If you really want to apply to Aurora, that’s fine too. The school has great programmes and it’s in Shanghai, convenient for managing your two companies.”
Xie Yuping naturally objected.
The old lady was also reluctant.
Her eldest granddaughter was already far away. Now Xie Qian wanted to leave too? She would barely see her grandchildren!
Xie Jinghu was secretly delighted that Xie Qian had taken the bait but still pretended to persuade him. “You can always hire people to manage the companies. There’s no need to spite me like this.”
Xie Qian ignored him completely.
Because of Xie Qian’s insistence, Xie Yuping and the old lady eventually had to respect his choice.
The very next day happened to be the final deadline for submitting preferences.
Early in the morning, Xie Qian received countless calls. To both Huaqing and Jingda admissions teachers, he expressed his apologies.
Huaqing thought he had chosen Jingda.
Jingda thought he had ultimately picked Huaqing.
When Aurora University’s admissions teacher received Xie Qian’s call, he was completely stunned.
“Student Xie, you’re applying to our university?”
“Yes.”
Regardless of why Xie Qian had chosen Aurora, the teacher hung up and raced straight to Xie Qian. He had to personally oversee the submission before the other schools recovered!
Xie Qian’s university application was settled.
He had transferred to Rongcheng as a temporary student; his official registration had always been at a very good high school in Beijing.
He had never attended a single day of class there in three years, yet he brought the school a provincial science champion. The school had invested zero teaching effort yet gained immense prestige. Of course they adored Xie Qian.
So when Xie Qian submitted his form, not only was Aurora’s admissions teacher present, the school leadership was there too.
Xie Qian ultimately chose mathematics at Aurora University, which surprised everyone.
The school leaders kept glancing at Aurora’s teacher, whispering, “Your recruitment work this year has been outstanding!”
The teacher thought: If I said I’d been slacking the whole time, would you believe me?
Sometimes strength alone isn’t enough. You need a bit of luck too~
Watching Xie Qian fill in and submit the form, the teacher approached with a beaming smile. “Student Xie, are you free tonight? I’d love to treat you to dinner and chat, help you get to know Aurora University better.”
Dinner was secondary. The main thing was to keep Xie Qian under watch so no other university could poach him.
The submission window closed that evening anyway. Even if Xie Qian regretted it later, he couldn’t change it!
“That would be great. Thank you.”
Xie Qian was unusually agreeable today and really left with Aurora’s teacher.
The moment they walked out, news of Xie Qian’s choice was immediately leaked to the other schools.
Huaqing was genuinely baffled: they hadn’t lost to Jingda?
Jingda was questioning life: for mathematics, shouldn’t he have chosen Jingda?!
HKU couldn’t understand either: did Aurora have a huge budget this year for massive scholarships?
Other universities sighed in regret.
After all, everyone agreed the top two were Huaqing and Jingda. As for third place, several universities believed it had to be them.
If Aurora could do it, why not them?!
Following Xie Qian’s instructions, Peng Guoqing began spreading rumours in their circles: Xie Jinghu was such a scumbag. He claimed to be returning to the family but kept pressuring his own son, coveting Xie Qian’s two companies in Shanghai and wanting to send people to take them over!
End of June, many universities were already on holiday, including Tai Wu, who studied in Shanghai.
The rich kids gathered again.
Including Tai Wu, naturally including Zhang Nan.
Hearing that Xie Qian had been forced by his scumbag father to change his university choice, Zhang Nan’s head snapped up. “Change to which school?”
Peng Guoqing fumed indignantly. “Aurora University, obviously. Not that Aurora is bad, but with Xie Qian’s score he could’ve gone to Huaqing or Jingda. Instead he picked Aurora.”
Even a slacker like Tai Wu thought it was a shame. Everyone chimed in.
Only Zhang Nan said nothing.
She remembered Uncle Zhang Zhijun’s warning.
Even I’ve heard little Wen is Xie Qian’s girlfriend. You really didn’t know?
You already know exactly what kind of girl he likes!
Zhang Zhijun had said that wanting Huaqing was just a smokescreen. Xie Qian would end up in Shanghai anyway.
It didn’t matter which university Xie Qian chose. Why spread false information? Just to trick her?
Was Xie Qian… really that afraid of her clinging to him?
And Wen Ying.
Wen Ying must have known all along. That was why, at dinner that night, she had advised her to think carefully about her choices and not pick Capital Forestry just because it was close to Huaqing.
Wen Ying’s reminder had been well-intentioned. Zhang Nan was sure of it.
Wen Ying wasn’t mocking her. She might even have pitied her.
Because she knew nothing, while Wen Ying had already won the romance jackpot!
Zhang Nan’s heart ached dully.
She wasn’t sure if she was angrier that Xie Qian had lied to her or that Wen Ying had helped him lie.
Tai Wu was in the middle of cursing Xie Jinghu as a scumbag, spitting as he got worked up, when he accidentally noticed Zhang Nan’s desolate expression. He instantly shut up like a duck with its neck grabbed.
“…What’s wrong?”
Zhang Nan ignored him and asked Peng Guoqing in a hoarse voice, “How long have Xie Qian and Wen Ying been together?”
Peng Guoqing scratched his head furiously.
Tricky question.
If he said they weren’t together, Zhang Nan might not believe him.
But if he said they had been together forever, they had never officially announced anything!
“You mean as classmates? Definitely three years. Wait, no. Xie Qian and Wen Ying are going to be classmates again, just different majors this time. Wen Ying is doing finance, Xie Qian mathematics…”
Peng Guoqing had secretly asked why Xie Qian didn’t pick the same major as Wen Ying.
Wouldn’t going to class together every day, eating together in the cafeteria be super romantic?
Not to mention Xie Qian’s special brand of romance: continuing to tutor Wen Ying!
To that question, Xie Qian had only replied, “You wouldn’t understand.”
Peng Guoqing, soon to be a 211 freshman himself, thought: What wouldn’t I understand? But in front of Xie Qian he didn’t dare act smart and swallowed the question.
Zhang Nan glared at Peng Guoqing. “I’m not talking about classmates… Wait, what did you say Xie Qian’s major is?”
“Mathematics!”
Peng Guoqing mimicked Xie Qian’s tone in a pinched voice. “Because mathematics is the foundation of all natural sciences… I don’t get it, but it sounds impressive!”
Not the same major as Wen Ying?
Zhang Nan was confused.
So maybe he really had been forced by Xie Jinghu to change?
You couldn’t assume they were a couple just because they chose the same university. Apart from Huaqing and Jingda, Xie Qian didn’t have many options. Aurora wasn’t that big a loss!
Zhang Nan wrestled with herself but quickly convinced herself.
The Zhang family was delighted. Xie Qian wasn’t going to Huaqing, but Zhang Nan’s choice was locked. In a way, the two were separated. The Zhangs practically wanted to send Xie Qian a huge red envelope congratulating him on Aurora!
Zhang Zhijun comforted Zhang Nan. “Don’t be too sad. Heartbreak is part of growing up. Without Xie Qian, Uncle will introduce you to other boys!”
Zhang Nan glared: Without Xie Qian, how could there be other boys?
“I don’t want to talk to you. I believe in Xie Qian and I believe in Wen Ying. If they were really together, they would have told me!”
If they hadn’t told her, they weren’t together!
Zhang Nan was extremely stubborn.
Zhang Zhijun was helpless.
Somehow, the news that Xie Qian had chosen Aurora for his girlfriend reached Xie Jinghu’s ears.
Assistant Qi broke into a cold sweat. “Boss, should I investigate…”
Xie Jinghu thought about it and actually smiled. “Investigate what? No need. He’s at that age. Dating is perfectly normal.”
Times had changed; different situations required different strategies.
Xie Jinghu had already achieved his goal: he had successfully stopped Xie Qian from staying in Beijing to seize power. Whether the boy was in love no longer mattered.
Truth be told, Xie Jinghu wished Xie Qian would chase love to the ends of the earth and drown in romance, too distracted to fight him!
Assistant Qi: …What just happened? I was ready to risk exposure to stay loyal to Young Master Xie, and now the boss doesn’t care?!
The boss really was unpredictable!
But the most brilliant one was still Young Master Xie. He had perfectly predicted the boss’s reaction.
Xie Qian’s university choice wasn’t only watched in Beijing. In Shanghai, someone cared just as much.
When Zhao Dong learned Xie Qian had applied to Aurora, he wasn’t surprised at all.
If he were Xie Qian, he would have chosen a Shanghai university too.
The Xie family was already rich enough.
A degree was just icing on the cake for Xie Qian. Any university would do.
Compared to a diploma, every bit of profit Sara Zhuo had stolen was precious.
Of course, now Zhao Dong and Sara Zhuo were allies. Her interests were his interests. Zhao Dong warned Sara Zhuo to prepare for battle:
“He’s coming for you.”
Sara Zhuo corrected him. “In his eyes, you and I are on the same side. If I suffer, you won’t escape either.”
Xie Qian was growing too fast.
Two hundred million in land had been demolished.
The film company was thriving.
It was as if heaven itself was helping him, letting this young man soar!
That couldn’t be allowed.
If Xie Qian shone this brightly, Zhuo Chen and Zhuo Yue would never be acknowledged by the Xie family.
A dark shadow passed through Sara Zhuo’s eyes.
