The smile on Fang Xiaohang’s face froze for a second before quickly returning to normal. “You are Miss Qiu Xiaoyue’s…?”
“I’m her—”
“Uncle!”
Qiu Xiaoyue hurriedly cut him off.
After shouting, she glanced guiltily at Qi Sen.
His face showed little expression, but his gaze was cold enough to make her heart pound.
Fang Xiaohang smiled even more enthusiastically. “So you’re her uncle. Your family is local, right? Still, living on campus would be better. It’s more convenient and safer. Otherwise, she’d have to rush to catch the bus or subway every day, wasting all her time on the road. Where would she find the energy to study?”
He paused, then smiled gently at Qiu Xiaoyue. “Isn’t that right, Junior Xiaoyue?”
Junior Xiaoyue?
Qi Sen’s brows moved almost imperceptibly when he heard those four words.
He lowered his head and looked at the young man, who was half a head shorter than him. His tone was indifferent. “My Xiaoyue has me to drive her back and forth. She won’t get tired.”
With that, he took Qiu Xiaoyue’s hand. “Let’s go.”
As Qiu Xiaoyue let him lead her away, her palm began to sweat.
His hand was so large and warm.
They had barely taken one step when Fang Xiaohang hurried in front of them and held out an arm to block their path.
“The school has regulations. Students aren’t allowed to commute from home; they must live on campus. Otherwise, they’ll be expelled.”
Expelled?
Qiu Xiaoyue’s heart jolted. She had already waited a year and didn’t want anything else to delay her return to school.
She turned to Qi Sen, her voice a little panicked. “How about… I live on campus after all?”
Qi Sen patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry. He’s lying to you.”
“I’m not lying!” Fang Xiaohang said anxiously. “Everything I said is true!”
Just then, a little old man with his hands clasped behind his back approached from nearby.
Fang Xiaohang’s eyes lit up. He ran over and pulled the man along. “Dean! You came at just the right time! This student wants to commute from home. Tell her about the school regulations!”
Dean Ge’s tiny eyes narrowed into slits, like parentheses hanging beneath his brows.
With his hands behind his back, he cleared his throat. “Young lady, you shouldn’t seek special treatment. University dormitory life is a buffer zone before you enter society. It can help you develop your interpersonal skills and train your…”
“Dean Ge.”
Qi Sen interrupted his lecture. “Do you still remember me?”
Dean Ge froze. He pushed up his reading glasses and finally deigned to open his eyes.
Then he got a good look.
His eyes instantly widened. He had probably never opened them so wide in his life.
“President Qi?!” All the wrinkles on his face spread into a smile. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? Come, come, come—let’s sit in my office!”
Fang Xiaohang stood rooted to the spot.
Who was this man?
The dean usually didn’t even take the principal seriously. Why was he being so courteous to this man?
Qi Sen waved his hand. “No need. Today I’m accompanying my wi—”
He paused and glanced at Qiu Xiaoyue.
She was looking at him with pleading eyes, gazing up at him pitifully.
He changed his wording. “I’m accompanying a child from one of my relatives’ families to register. I’ll also arrange for her to commute from home.”
Dean Ge’s little eyes narrowed again, this time curving into smiling crescents. “Of course, of course! Our school has plenty of students who commute. It’s perfectly normal!”
“Dean, the school clearly doesn’t—”
Fang Xiaohang only got halfway through his sentence before Dean Ge shot him a glare, forcing him to swallow the rest.
Dean Ge turned back to Qi Sen with another genial smile. “However, during military training, unless there are special circumstances, students must eat and stay on campus together. I hope President Qi can understand.”
Qi Sen nodded.
He knew that Dean Ge had already shown him consideration by allowing Qiu Xiaoyue to commute. It would be unreasonable to insist on making an exception for military training as well.
As he watched Qi Sen and Qiu Xiaoyue walk away, Fang Xiaohang simmered with anger.
“Uncle, why were you so deferential to that man?”
Dean Ge stood with his hands behind his back, narrowing his eyes at the black Maybach as it slowly drove away.
“Qi Sen is our school’s largest financier. His older female cousin, Qi Tianmei, is a senior trustee.” He shot Fang Xiaohang a sidelong glance. “He doesn’t often show his face in public, so it’s normal that you didn’t recognize him.”
Fang Xiaohang was stunned.
“For Qi Sen to personally accompany her here…” Dean Ge drawled. “That girl is no ordinary person. Make sure you seize the opportunity.”
Fang Xiaohang frowned. “I just checked her information. Her household registration is in a small mountain village in the north.”
Dean Ge scoffed. “What do you know? It’s a smokescreen. Rich people are all afraid others will find out they’re rich. Wealth shouldn’t be flaunted—they deliberately pretend to be poor.”
Fang Xiaohang suddenly understood. He gave a thumbs-up. “Uncle, you really are something!”
******
Rose Mansion.
Qi Sen skipped dinner and went straight back to the bedroom.
After finishing her meal, Qiu Xiaoyue went upstairs and saw Qi Sen lying on the bed with his eyes closed.
Thinking he was asleep, she tiptoed into the bathroom, sat down on the toilet, and called Yang Zhaodi, completely immersed in the joy of becoming a university student.
When he heard the door close, Qi Sen opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling.
Had she really not noticed that he was angry?
Qi Sen kept his anger bottled up, tossing and turning restlessly. No matter how he lay, he couldn’t get comfortable.
Occasionally, Qiu Xiaoyue’s restrained laughter drifted out of the bathroom. She had already been in there for forty minutes. What could possibly take so long to discuss?!
Eventually, Qi Sen simply sat up and stared at the bathroom door, waiting it out like a hawk, determined to see when it would finally open.
A full hour later.
The lock turned softly.
As soon as Qiu Xiaoyue opened the door, she saw Qi Sen sitting on the edge of the bed, looking like a ghost.
“You’re still awake?”
Qi Sen pinched the bridge of his nose, his expression solemn. “There’s something I want to ask you.”
“Wait a second.” Qiu Xiaoyue turned and walked into the dressing room. “I’ll change into my pajamas first. I’m a little tired today, and I’m worried I’ll fall asleep halfway through the conversation.”
Qi Sen: “…”
Am I really that boring to listen to? Do you treat me like a lullaby?
Just as Qi Sen’s mood was about to drop to freezing point, Qiu Xiaoyue finally came out.
A black, deep-V nightgown wrapped around the curves of her rising and falling chest. The lace edging covered just enough while still revealing plenty. When she turned sideways, half of a full, rounded arc was exposed. The hem stopped at the tops of her thighs, while her entire back was bare.
Strands of hair spilled across her smooth shoulders. One slipped into the neckline, clinging to the soft, undulating shadows there and trembling gently with each breath.
All the moonlight filling the room paled beside the thin sheen of silk on her body.
Qi Sen’s body hardened.
He had told them to prepare clothes, but he hadn’t asked for anything quite so… improper!
He had no idea that Qiu Xiaoyue had bought the nightgown herself.
It was all because the sales clerk had told her, “Once you put this on, a man will instantly lose all resistance. I guarantee he’ll agree to whatever you ask.”
Qiu Xiaoyue’s voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz. “What did you want to ask?”
Qi Sen’s gaze darkened. “Come here.”
Qiu Xiaoyue obediently walked over to him.
His eyes slowly swept over her graceful body. “I don’t know you well.”
Qiu Xiaoyue said, “I don’t know you well either.”
Qi Sen smiled. They really weren’t familiar with each other.
They had met three times and slept together once.
“For the sake of making our married life more harmonious, it’s necessary for us to…”
“Get to know each other a little more deeply.”
He emphasized the words “more deeply.”