Chapter 28

Zhao Jiu waited a moment, felt that the time was about right, and asked, "Little Uncle, why did you come?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Renhe took a sip of tea, prepared to start probing, and smiled at Zhao Jiu: "You're asking me? You suddenly transferred, and didn't even tell the family."

Zhao Jiu leaned against the sofa: "Wasn't it agreed that I could do whatever I wanted during my three years of High School?"

"Do I need to report to the family just to transfer schools?"

The corners of Zhao Renhe's mouth twitched slightly; what high school student transfers schools on their own without consulting their family?

But Zhao Jiu was just able to be this casual; after all, he had the old man to back him up.

The old man just loved this temperament of his, where not even the King of Heaven could make him feel a shred of fear.

Zhao Renhe had no choice but to continue looking at Zhao Jiu with doting eyes: "Fine, whatever you say. But Little Uncle was on a business trip these past few days and passed by Shengde; I originally wanted to go see you, but only found out you had transferred after I got there."

He helplessly took a box out of his pocket and opened it: "Here, this is a gift I bought especially for you."

Su Li glanced at it—car keys!

She withdrew her gaze; it was a car she could only afford if she went bankrupt.

Zhao Jiu took a look, bent down to pick up the keys, and toyed with them in his hand, seemingly very interested in them.

Zhao Renhe said: "I knew you liked it, so I bought it for you. The car is parked at the school gate."

Zhao Jiu toyed with the keys with his fingertips: "Thanks, Little Uncle."

He stuffed the keys into his pocket.

What kind of family would gift a minor a luxury car?

And even give him the car keys?

This was clearly an attempt to get him into trouble.

Zhao Jiu didn't expose his little scheme; if he wanted to give it, he could give it.

Most of the money he had came this way, because these people all wanted to raise him to be a waste.

Occasionally, he would reveal a bit of a "lost in frivolous pursuits" appearance, and the money would come even faster.

Fortunately, he knew that the premise for them wanting to raise him as a waste was that his grandfather treated him as the heir; if he were truly a waste, these people wouldn't give him even a single coin.

So, he had known since he was a child how to gauge the degree, and then continuously rake in money.

Seeing him accept the car, Zhao Renhe finally got to the point: "Are you used to staying at No. 1 High School? I heard the progress is different."

He asked with concern; in Zhao Jiu's mind, a pile of test papers and books that were finally not so brand new surfaced, and the veins on his forehead jumped slightly.

"It's alright, I'm working hard to catch up." Zhao Jiu steadied his emotions and spoke in a light and breezy manner, as if catching up on the progress didn't cost him a shred of energy.

Zhao Renhe set down his teacup, his eyes drooping slightly; according to the information he had people look into, Zhao Jiu had been studying like his life depended on it these past few days.

It was evident that the difficulty of No. 1 High School was not ordinary, so much so that it made this young master, who had always been very proud, work so hard.

"That's good. So why are you suddenly interested in No. 1 High School? Isn't Shengde more free?" Zhao Renhe would never believe that Zhao Jiu would torture himself for no reason.

Zhao Jiu raised his eyes to look over and said calmly: "Shengde is too simple. I was bored and wanted to challenge something with difficulty."

Zhao Renhe: "..."

At this moment, Su Li checked the time, hugged Zhao Jiu's school uniform, and walked over: "Zhao Jiu, it's time for class."

"Xiao Jiu, is this classmate very close to you?" Zhao Renhe immediately looked at Su Li with affection.

Zhao Jiu looked up at Su Li, then withdrew his gaze and said casually: "Oh, my front-desk classmate; we are relatively close."

Su Li also nodded and said: "Classmate Zhao just arrived, and the head teacher asked me to show him around."

Zhao Renhe smiled without a word; what head teacher would ask a girl to show a boy around?

Not afraid of puppy love?

Zhao Jiu was telling a lie to distance himself, which showed that this young girl's status in his heart was not low.

But if that were really the case, he definitely wouldn't have deliberately called him over. Zhao Jiu had been smooth sailing since he was a child; if he really wanted to protect someone, he would just tell the whole world directly that this person was under his protection.

"Is that so?" Zhao Renhe smiled with the look of someone who had already seen through it, "But I have never seen a girl by your side."

"The sisters and cousins in the family, and those girls around your age—you never like to bring them along when you do anything."

"It seems the only time you brought a girl along was when you were learning taekwondo as a child, and there hasn't been one since, right?" Zhao Renhe said.

There were countless people who wanted to marry into the Zhao Family, and they had originally wanted to pull strings regarding Zhao Jiu's marriage.

But this young master was shrewd; he didn't associate with any girls, leaving them with no way to start.

Zhao Jiu remembered that incident, raised his eyes, and said indifferently: "Little Uncle, are you referring to the time they insisted on learning taekwondo with me, ended up getting hurt when I threw them, and just ran away?"

Su Li: "???"

Is he even human?

She had been wondering why there were so few people willing to go on a blind date with Gouzi; it turns out he had thrown away all his romantic prospects when he was a child.

Zhao Renhe: "..."

So that was why Zhao Jiu was scolded by the old man back then—because he had thrown a girl.

Zhao Jiu didn't want to drag up the old, stale matters of his childhood with him, so he picked up his teacup again and took a slow sip.

Su Li understood and said: "We should go back to class."

Zhao Renhe hadn't probed anything yet, and he couldn't stay at No. 1 High School for too long; how could he let Zhao Jiu go back at a time like this?

"Classmate, sit down and let's chat together."

Su Li felt troubled for a moment, then decisively shook her head, seeming a bit urgent: "Uncle Zhao, we are almost at the Midterm Exam, we have to seize the time to review."

Zhao Renhe didn't quite understand this girl's train of thought; she was close to Zhao Jiu, so shouldn't she stay a while longer at a time like this and build up favor in front of him?

Why care about the Midterm Exam?

Did she not want to get a connection with the Zhao Family?

Zhao Jiu stood up and explained: "Little Uncle, my front-desk classmate doesn't have a good relationship with her sister. You know how it is; high school students just compare their grades."

Zhao Renhe: "Hmm?"

He looked at Su Li; the girl bit her lip, then nodded aggrievedly.

For a moment, Zhao Renhe wondered if he was getting old and had become too worldly.

Being on good terms with the Zhao Family wasn't enough to beat her sister?

Did they really have to compete on grades?

Su Li clutched Zhao Jiu's jacket tightly, lowered her head, and said forlornly, "My sister has a private tutor at home, but I can only stay in the school dormitory on Saturdays and Sundays; I don't even have a place to review. If I miss classes on top of that..."

Zhao Renhe frowned: "The classroom isn't open?"

Su Li nodded: "There were theft incidents at No. 1 High School before, and since very few students stay on campus, the Grade 1 and Grade 2 classrooms are locked on Saturdays and Sundays; they only open on Sunday afternoons."

After all, almost no students stay on campus.

Zhao Jiu said: "Then Uncle, we'll head back first."

Seeing that he really intended to go back because of Su Li, Zhao Renhe said: "Isn't it just a matter of an extra study room? I'll find the principal..."

Zhao Renhe paused, suddenly enlightened; don't tell him that he lured him over just to get him to spend money to set up a study room for them?

But that wasn't right; Zhao Renhe frowned slightly, the time he posted on Weibo was the day of his entrance exam, before the weekend had even arrived.

If that was the case, it only meant that his puppy love was fake, and studying hard was the real thing.

Although the old man liked him, if he didn't achieve results while training outside, the old man would replace him too.

Was he trying to secretly follow the college entrance exam route now? Then get an astonishing score to earn himself some extra points with the old man?

Given the old man's level of affection for him, it wasn't impossible.

So the study room wasn't for the girl's convenience, but for his own.

Zhao Renhe's eyes deepened; his nephew, at such a young age, truly had a scheming mind that others couldn't compare to.

"Uncle? What's wrong? It's just a word to the principal." Seeing his expression, Zhao Jiu knew he had started overthinking again, but they were in a hurry—could he stop guessing now?

Zhao Renhe noticed his expression, stood up, and smiled faintly: "I'll go out and talk to the principal; I can't let you have a hard time here."

After learning his intent, Zhao Renhe felt much more relaxed.

"Thanks, Uncle." Zhao Jiu stood by the sofa and said.

Su Li hurried to the door, opened it, and said to Zhao Renhe obediently and urgently: "Thank you, Uncle Zhao."

"You're welcome." Zhao Renhe looked at the obedient girl; it seemed like she was expressing gratitude from the bottom of her heart.

"You two wait for me here, I'll be back in a moment."

"Okay." Su Li kept one hand on the doorknob, looking honest and obedient.

Zhao Renhe felt a bit of sympathy for Su Li, being led around by the nose by Zhao Jiu at such a young age.

He walked out.

Su Li immediately closed the door, then with a "click," quickly locked it.

"Boss, hurry!"

Zhao Jiu started pushing the sofa, changing its position.

Su Li pushed the single-seat sofa, also moving it to the previous position.

Although the sofa was different, at least the position was basically the same.

After the two finished moving it, Zhao Jiu sat down: "What time did we start resting back then?"

Su Li was about to sit down as well, but seeing the sunlight on the sofa, she hurried to the window and pulled the curtains shut.

The room instantly went dark.

Su Li: "Around ten o'clock, it seems."

Zhao Jiu glanced at the time: "Adding the time it takes for us to fall asleep, that's about right."

Su Li sat on the other end of the sofa: "Mm, let's start sleeping."

"However, what did Zhao Renhe just imagine on his own?" She was a bit curious.

Zhao Jiu: "Don't know, anyway I've never guessed it right."

Su Li thought that was true; she closed her eyes first, hoping that when she opened them, she would be back twelve years later.

Zhao Jiu estimated the speed at which he read documents that day, waited five minutes, then leaned back on the sofa; he looked at Su Li, she was already still—she fell asleep fast.

It was the same that day; he was still upset because she resigned, he had been sulking for a few minutes, wanting to talk to her, but she had fallen asleep.

Zhao Jiu closed his eyes; once they went back, he could continue talking to her about this.

Twenty minutes later.

Zhao Jiu opened his eyes, looked at the surrounding environment, and placed a hand on his forehead.

Su Li turned her head and said: "Keep sleeping?"

Zhao Jiu looked over, thought for a moment, and nodded: "Mm, sleep one more time."

The two closed their eyes in the same posture again.

Ten minutes later, just as Su Li was about to enter deep sleep, a sound vaguely came from the doorway, and then Zhao Renhe's confused voice gradually became clear: "Xiao Jiu, are you still there?"

Su Li opened her eyes in silence; they were still here.

Zhao Jiu leaned against the sofa, looking at the ceiling, also remaining silent.

Zhao Renhe knocked on the door: "Xiao Jiu?"

Su Li got up to open the door and said indifferently: "Zhao Jiu wants to sleep, so we locked it."

Zhao Renhe was slightly stunned; why was this little girl suddenly so cold?

He looked at Zhao Jiu again: "Xiao Jiu..."

Zhao Jiu stood up and picked up the jacket that had just been draped over the single-seat sofa: "Uncle, I'm going back."

Zhao Renhe: "???"

He wasn't going to ask about the result?

He donated a batch of equipment to the gymnasium, and the principal also prepared to open the Lecture Hall, usually reserved for public classes, as a study room for Saturdays and Sundays.

Zhao Jiu walked over to Zhao Renhe, and in consideration of the trouble he had taken to come, said, "Many thanks, Uncle."

Zhao Renhe smiled and said, "It is nothing."

It was enough to know what he wanted to do.

Su Li followed behind Zhao Jiu, returning with a low mood.

The two of them had missed a class, and when they returned, the fourth period had just begun.

The entire class knew that Zhao Jiu's uncle had an extraordinary status, and he doted on Zhao Jiu immensely!

They looked at the two of them gossiping; they saw Zhao Jiu with his school uniform jacket draped over his arm, his thin lips pressed tightly together, and behind him, Su Li was also pressing her lips together, her face full of disappointment.

"What happened to you two?" Chen Xue asked in a low voice, and Su Li shook her head, "Nothing."

Qian Lei leaned in toward Zhao Jiu, gossiping, "I heard your uncle came to school to find you? What does your uncle do?"

"Qian Lei, the Midterm Exam is almost here! Still not listening properly!" On the podium, the biology teacher tapped the blackboard.

Qian Lei was just about to retract his head when suddenly, the ill-tempered Zhao Jiu beside him abruptly looked up.

Qian Lei: "???"

Su Li took a deep breath; they didn't know how to go back, so they still had to take the Midterm Exam!

The two of them hurriedly opened their exercise books and began to review while listening to the lecture, their focus highly concentrated.

Chen Xue and Qian Lei were confused for a moment; although the two had been diligent before, they hadn't been in a state of studying themselves to death.