After their bout of exercise, Sheng Tianqi leaned against the headboard, one arm around Ji Mingyue's shoulders, his fingertips idly stroking the hollow of her shoulder.
"Mingyue," he said, his voice low and lazy with satisfaction, "the marriage alliance between Shengshi Group and the Ji family will be announced in a couple of days. When are you going to come home with me and meet everyone?"
Ji Mingyue nestled in his arms, her long hair spilling over her shoulders, her face carrying a hint of grievance and displeasure.
"Tianqi, it's not that I don't want to go back with you now and make our relationship known."
She looked up at him, her eyes glistening with moisture.
"Who wouldn't want to stand openly beside the person they love?"
Her voice dropped.
"But Tianqi, my father only has eyes for the son and daughter my stepmother gave him. I stopped existing in his heart long ago.
If I go back now, I'm afraid he'll stand in the way of us—and swap me out for Ji Mingyu instead."
She stole a glance at Sheng Tianqi.
At the mention of "Ji Mingyu," Sheng Tianqi's brow furrowed slightly.
A flicker of smugness crossed Ji Mingyue's heart.
Ji Mingyu, your devoted husband from your past life—I'll gladly take him off your hands.
She lowered her lashes, the smugness in her eyes vanishing instantly, replaced once more by that pitiful, delicate look.
"Tianqi, didn't you say before that you wanted to announce our engagement on Grandpa Sheng's birthday? Let's make it public that day."
"What was said before was a marriage alliance between Shengshi Group and the Ji family—but no one ever specified which Ji.
It's just that everyone only knows Ji Mingyu, and has no idea that I, Ji Mingyue, am the real eldest daughter of the family."
She smiled inwardly.
Ji Mingyu, I'm going to make you the laughingstock of Nanjing City's high society on the day of the engagement.
Don't you love taking what's mine?
My father, my identity as the Ji family's eldest daughter—you've snatched them all away from me, one by one.
In that case, I won't be polite either.
Sheng Tianqi looked down at the thin mist of tears in her eyes, and a wave of tenderness rose in his heart. He bent to kiss her forehead, his arms tightening around her.
"All right. We'll do it your way."
His voice was low and resolute.
"As long as I'm here, no one will ever bully you again."
In her past life, it was because Ji Mingyu was the one married into Shengshi Group that she could sway their father, meddling in her marriage at will—and she wouldn't even spare her a dowry.
Left to suffer every hardship at her in-laws' home, with no one to stand up for her.
Early the next morning.
Ji Mingyu stood before the mirror in her walk-in closet, studying herself for a long while before finally choosing a minimalist satin midi dress with a cinched waist.
Old Zhou had told her to dress up nicely, but the place he was taking her was likely a cultural exchange event or some salon—anything too flashy would only look cheap.
Satisfied with her reflection, she picked up her bag and headed out.
The white Porsche pulled out of the Ji family estate, heading toward Nanda University.
Passing Yuzhen Zhai, she slowed down.
This pastry shop was famous throughout Nanjing City—it didn't take delivery orders, so if you wanted their pastries, you had to line up like everyone else.
The last time she visited Professor Zhou's home, she had overheard Grandma Liu—Professor Zhou's wife—mention offhandedly how hard it was to get Yuzhen Zhai's pastries these days.
Ji Mingyu had made a mental note of it at the time.
This time, she'd had someone queue up in advance and bought a whole box.
The car turned into the Nanda University faculty housing compound. After parking, Ji Mingyu carried the pastries up to the third floor.
Liu Wenxin stood at the doorway, and the moment she saw her, she broke into a smile: "Well, if it isn't Mingyu! Come in, come in—your teacher was just talking about you."
Ji Mingyu stepped inside with a smile. "I'm sure it wasn't anything nice. Grandma Liu, you have to help me out."
She handed over the pastries she'd brought.
"Grandma Liu, these are from Yuzhen Zhai. I happened to hear you mention them last time, so I figured you must like their pastries."
Liu Wenxin took the pastry box, her smile deepening.
It wasn't about the gift itself—it was that someone had taken the trouble to remember what she liked. Being thought of like that was always something to be happy about.
"Oh, our Mingyu is so thoughtful." She patted Ji Mingyu's hand. "I only mentioned it in passing, and you remembered."
Zhou Chongli came out of the study just in time to see the scene.
He gave a cold snort.
"No time for real work, just fooling around with things like this."
He walked over and looked Ji Mingyu up and down.
"When are you going to put your energy into your studies? I have no intention of having a student who can't graduate on time."
Ji Mingyu just smiled, not the least bit intimidated.
"Teacher, how can this count as slacking off?"
She blinked.
"I'm buttering up Grandma Liu so she'll put in a good word for me."
Zhou Chongli was momentarily at a loss for words. He glared at her, but the corners of his mouth curved upward despite himself.
Liu Wenxin laughed out loud and nudged Zhou Chongli.
"All right, all right. The girl is being thoughtful and you're still finding fault. Hurry up and go—don't waste any more time."
In the car, Zhou Chongli leaned back against the passenger seat and, in an unhurried tone, briefed her on the day's event.
"This is the West District Old Town development and historic district project, jointly undertaken by the Nanzhou municipal government and the Culture and Tourism Group."
He glanced sideways at Ji Mingyu.
"Today is just a meet-and-greet. Watch, listen, and don't speak out of turn. Other than that… do as you like."
"There will be quite a few cultural professionals there today, and plenty of well-established companies too. So many outstanding young people—we'll take our time picking."
The girl knew nothing yet; a little exposure to the world would fix that.
The car came to a stop.
Ji Mingyu got out, following behind Zhou Chongli.
The moment they entered the venue, someone came up to greet them.
"Professor Zhou, you're here!" A middle-aged man approached with a beaming smile. "Please, come right in."
His gaze landed on Ji Mingyu, appraising her with just the right degree of curiosity.
"And this is?"
Zhou Chongli turned slightly, a hint of affection in his voice. "This is my doctoral student, and also a junior I've watched grow up—Ji Mingyu."
The words had barely left his mouth when the expressions of several people around them changed.
The upper circles of Nanzhou weren't big, but they weren't small either.
The name Ji Mingyu was familiar to nearly everyone present—daughter of the Ji Group, after all.
Only, this heiress had rarely appeared in public before.
Some people used to whisper privately that it was because her looks weren't presentable, so she was too embarrassed to show her face and could only prop herself up with academic credentials.
Now, seeing her in person for the first time,
quite a few people secretly clicked their tongues. The hazy-blue satin dress was sharply tailored, the cinched waist outlining a slender figure. Standing beside Zhou Chongli, she was neither servile nor arrogant—poised and graceful.
Some were already mentally calculating whether their families had any eligible young men of the right age.
Ji Mingyu followed behind Zhou Chongli, quietly playing the part of an ornament. When people greeted her, she would stop and exchange a few soft words.
When no one came looking for her, she didn't mind.