Chapter 21.1

“I want you… I want you…” Fu Jing thought for a long while before finally saying blankly, “I just want you, that’s all.”

Gu Qingci leaned back with her arms folded, looked at her, and said slowly, “If you truly need something, it’s best to make a request the other person can fulfill. Otherwise, the only four words they can give you are—powerless to help.”

Fu Jing nodded and said with great sincerity, “You don’t have to exert yourself. Being a pillow princess works just fine.”

Gu Qingci narrowed her eyes slightly.

Fu Jing immediately changed her words. “Let me think again!”

She tried her very best to think, then tentatively said, “Then from now on, can you leave two days free every week to eat with me?”

“…”

Gu Qingci lowered her lashes and stared at the wineglass, seeming to ponder.

Sensing that there was hope, Fu Jing immediately reached out with both hands to gently hold Gu Qingci’s sleeve and shook it left and right. “Sister, can you? Please?”

After a long silence,

“Yes.” She lightly said those two words.

Gu Qingci raised a hand and pressed the corner of her eye, feeling that she ​unauthorized copy​truly was drunk. She had actually developed the thought of indulging all of Fu Jing’s wishes.

Only after a moment did she add, “…Starting next month. This month is too busy.”

—

Fu Jing practically counted on her fingers every day, counting how many days remained before the month would end. She was endlessly delighted, simply wishing she could fast-forward with one click to the days when she could have fixed meal dates with Gu Qingci.

Recently, the temperature had been getting higher and higher. It clearly was not yet summer, but the campus was already filled with the sound of cicadas, chirping in bursts and then suddenly falling silent. The curtains in the lecture hall were very thin, and the early morning sunlight filtered halfway through them.

As soon as Fu Jing entered the classroom, she turned on the air conditioner.

She organized the photocopied handouts.

Suddenly, someone came over, raised a hand, and knocked on the podium. In a commanding tone, she said, “Stay behind later. We need to talk.”

Fu Jing lifted her eyes and saw a girl with medium-length hair. Her appearance was ordinary, and she wore simple black-framed glasses. Heavy makeup covered her face, and there was an obvious color difference between her pale face and her neck.

Someone she did not know.

“Teacher, you are?” Fu Jing asked.

The girl’s expression changed slightly, but she quickly said, “I’m not a teacher.”

Fu Jing found it strange. “Then which student are you?”

She picked up the attendance book and flipped through it, reminding her, “I haven’t seen you before. Did you walk into the wrong classroom?”

“I’m Fang Jing!”

The girl named Fang Jing seemed to think that reporting her name was enough for Fu Jing to understand everything. After dropping those words, she directly turned and walked to the last row to sit down.

“…”

Fu Jing was baffled. Watching her sit there and start playing on her phone, she raised a hand and scratched her face. Feeling puzzled, she took out her phone and sent Qin Zijin a message.

[That Fang Jing came to find me. I don’t know what she wants. Is she arguing with her boyfriend? But why come find me?!]

As Fu Jing typed the latter half, she felt irritated.

She thought that later, she absolutely would not pay attention to her.

Once class ended, she would just leave directly.

Very soon, the class bell rang.

Fu Jing began teaching as usual. She had been substitute-teaching for so many days and almost never took attendance. She had originally planned to catch attendance if there were too many empty seats, but the semester was almost over.

The attendance rate had always been quite good.

When Fu Jing picked up the chalk to write formulas, she absentmindedly wondered whether this counted as her substitute-teaching ability being decent.

Jiang Jianhua said she was very capable, and that ten of her senior brothers combined could not compare to her.

But he had also said before that even if all ten of her senior brothers were mixed together, they still would not be able to hold up a human shape.

From this, it could be seen that Fu Jing could barely be considered at the level of a normal person?

“…”

When Fu Jing turned around, her brows and eyes were calm as she continued seriously teaching her junior schoolmates. She always held the textbook in her hand, but she did not simply read from it.

She would follow the logic she had used when learning this course herself, helping them understand the knowledge more easily.

Moreover, when Fu Jing faced girls, her attitude was always patient and gentle. She was soft and adorable all over, completely lacking the natural sense of distance that other professors carried. So the junior girls especially liked listening to her lectures.

As for the boys, there was no need to say. Even those who usually loved skipping class listened eagerly.

While Fu Jing was lecturing, she suddenly saw someone walk into the back of the classroom.

Most late students would slightly bend at the waist to minimize their presence, tails tucked, and quickly sit down.

Yet this person stood straight and upright.

Her gaze swept around the room, scanning the seats before sitting. That attitude—those who did not know better might think she was there to inspect the class.

She sat beside Fang Jing in the last row.

Fang Jing’s gaze lifted slightly from her screen. The second she saw her, she clearly looked startled.

“…”

Qin Zijin also took out her phone.

She turned her face sideways, as if she had only just happened to notice Fang Jing at this moment. With a smile that did not reach her eyes, she greeted her. “Hi. You also came to sit in on Fu Jing’s class?”

Fang Jing: “…Mm. What a coincidence.”

Qin Zijin lifted the corner of her lips and smiled, staring straight at her for several seconds without saying anything.

Fang Jing also did not make a sound and lowered her eyes to continue playing on her phone.

“…”

The two of them did not speak again.

The class bell rang.

Fang Jing picked up her crossbody bag and directly left through the back door, her steps hurried.

Qin Zijin looked completely unconcerned.

She stepped on the crossbar beneath the desk, sitting in a carefree posture as she sent a text message.

Seeing Fu Jing slowly walk over, she finally raised her hand with a smile and pointed at the back door. In an emotional tone, she said, “I really like the little sheep in school. Mixed among them, I am the king.”

“You always are.” Fu Jing gave her a thumbs-up and could not stop praising her. “Beautiful as a flower, Qin Zijin! Best popularity, Qin Zijin! No one dares provoke Qin Zijin!”

“That’s enough.” The corner of Qin Zijin’s lips twitched. She put away her phone and said, “Hurry up and go eat. This old lady is starving. I rushed over on an empty stomach.”

“But I have to go to a team gathering. Are you coming?”

Fu Jing showed her the message and said, “Sister Anjiu bought a house and officially moved into her new home, so she’s inviting us over at noon for hot pot. Do you remember her?”

“I remember her…” The carefree delight Qin Zijin had felt earlier when she easily intimidated that classmate vanished completely. She carefully asked, “Then… will Gu Qingci go?”

Fu Jing’s brows drooped. “She won’t.”

Qin Zijin immediately beamed. “Great, then I’ll go!”

Fu Jing: “…………”

—

The house Tao Xian bought was two or three stops away from the bar. This area was in the city center, where there were very few new properties, and the price of a fully furnished apartment was jaw-dropping.

Qin Zijin was a little amazed. “As expected, a boss who can afford to open a bar is actually frighteningly wealthy.”

Fu Jing stared at the name of the residential complex for a long while, vaguely remembering something. “I think my family also has a house here. I heard Mom mention it some time ago.”

Qin Zijin: “…”

The two of them arrived a little late. The kitchen was already packed with people washing vegetables, so they could not really help with anything. Besides preparing the hot pot, Lu Jiuping had also carried in a large bag of live crayfish, saying she was going to show off her cooking skills.

Tao Xian brought them around the house for a casual tour.

The house was not too large. With three bedrooms and two living rooms, its area was about the same as the place Fu Jing currently lived in. Tao Xian had arranged the living room simply and brightly, with a clear layout. Paired with the European style that came with the furnished apartment, it had a low-key, comfortable sense of luxury.

Even the occasional little ornaments revealed a cultural atmosphere.

After looking around, Fu Jing’s eyes shone. “Sister Anjiu, your taste is actually so good. Incredible!”

“‘Actually’ is very unnecessary,” Tao Xian immediately accused her. “And ‘incredible’ is even more unnecessary!”

“That is actually Xie An’s calligraphy,” Qin Zijin said, studying the decoration on the wall as she cut in. “Nowadays, nine out of ten people hang Wang [unauthorized copy]Xizhi. Sister Anjiu, your taste is so good it’s incredible!”

A smile instantly appeared on Tao Xian’s face. She waved a hand. “Aiyo, I just bought it casually. You’re really good at praising people.”

Fu Jing rested her chin in her hand and pondered. “So unfair. She clearly also said ‘actually’ and ‘incredible.’”

“You can come eat now,” Lu Jiuping shouted from the living room. “The crayfish are ready. Eat the crayfish first.”

Tao Xian said, “I don’t like eating that stuff. You all go eat.”

Qin Zijin immediately asked, “Why don’t you like it?”

“Because when I was little…”

Fu Jing followed behind them, watching as the two of them began chatting back and forth.

They already seemed very familiar.

She sighed a little inwardly.

Qin Zijin had been good at socializing since childhood. She was not afraid of strangers at all. Fu Jing felt that no matter where Qin Zijin was thrown, she could mingle with the people in that circle to at least a surface-level familiarity in a very short time.

After eating hot pot, they played games for a while. A group of them discussed where to go sing karaoke.

It was getting late, and someone also suggested just going directly to the bar.

Fu Jing received a text message: [Nannan, are you at school? Dad is coming to see you now.]

Fu Jing froze: [Is something wrong?]

Fu Zheng: [We’ll talk in person.]

Fu Jing had no choice but to stand up and calculate the time it would take to go back and forth. “I have to go back to school. I’ll leave first.”

So Qin Zijin also stood up, said goodbye, and left with Fu Jing.

—

Fu Jing and Qin Zijin got off the bus. One of them went back to the dormitory, while the other went to the school gate, so they parted in two different directions.

She heard two girls passing by say, “That car is so flashy. He’s holding flowers. I wonder who he’s waiting for…”

“Does our school have that kind of thing too?”

“Who knows…”

Fu Jing already had a faint bad premonition in her heart.

She turned the corner and truly saw an especially familiar figure holding a large bouquet of roses.

Fu Jing: “…”

When Fu Zheng saw her, he immediately smiled. His face could still be considered handsome and refined, carrying a gentle and tolerant air.

He gave the flowers to Fu Jing.

Fu Jing received them and did not pause for even half a second before raising her hand and tossing them into the car. She widened her eyes and said angrily, “Who gives roses to their daughter?!”

Fu Zheng raised his brows and said with a serious expression, “Who decided roses are only allowed to represent love? Does Dad have to hold carnations? My good Nannan is as brilliant as a rose. Other flowers don’t match.”

Fu Jing pondered for a few seconds. “Don’t carnations represent mothers?”

“What about fathers, then?”

“It seems like there aren’t any.”

“How could this be—” Fu Zheng slightly dragged out his tone, as if very wronged.

Fu Jing was speechless and no longer wanted to pay attention to him.

“You specially came to school to find me. What’s the matter?”

“What kind of words are those? Dad can’t come find you without a reason?” Fu Zheng pulled open the passenger door for her. “Today, I came [read the original at bailiantales.com]to pick up my little princess for dinner, and also discuss your future studies.”

Fu Jing got into the car and fastened her seat belt vigilantly. “What happened? Don’t tell me your hospital failed in management and you need me to switch fields to study medicine and save the family?”

“…”

He froze and froze again, waiting for her to add something else. But seeing her staring at him with a serious expression,

he finally understood that she had not been joking.

Fu Zheng helplessly rubbed his brow. “Nannan, even if Dad’s hospital were about to close down, relying on you to study medicine wouldn’t save it.”

“Then I’m relieved. The textbook says that a breakthrough in a technology can save an enterprise. As expected, an enterprise is an enterprise, and a hospital is a hospital.”

Fu Zheng was silent for a few seconds, then decisively changed the topic. “Dad booked a French restaurant. It’s opened by a friend. The chef and ingredients were all brought over from France…”

Fu Jing completely did not care about such things. “I don’t understand, and I have no opinion.”

The flashy convertible sports car soon arrived at the restaurant.

Someone specifically helped park the car.

When they entered the restaurant, even the music was in French, which Fu Jing could not understand. The environment was upscale, and almost all the guests were formally dressed. Fortunately, today was Thursday, so Fu Jing was not wearing a T-shirt with jeans.

Around the corner, a slender beauty was sitting and playing the piano.

They sat down and ordered.

Fu Jing looked at the wines written in several languages on the menu. Beside them were descriptions whose differences she could not understand. Suddenly interested, she said, “Dad, can I order wine?”

“Of course.” Fu Zheng was surprised, but he did not think there was any problem. “When did our little princess start drinking?”

“I haven’t started drinking yet…”

Fu Jing’s gaze was still on the menu as she weighed whether to order the recommended one or the most expensive bottle. “Dad, is the most expensive one the best?”

Fu Zheng laughed. “The most expensive one isn’t on the menu.”

He raised his hand and called a server over, instructing, “Bring over the red wine I previously stored here.”

“…”

Fu Jing closed the menu. “You people have so many tricks.”

She simply handed everything over to her father to order.

Fu Zheng always knew a lot of random things. He was clearly a doctor who ran a private hospital, yet he was also proficient in eating, drinking, and having fun.

The waiter soon came over to pour the wine, one hand placed behind his back, his posture proper.

At the dining table, Fu Zheng brought up serious matters with her.

A friend of his who worked at an American university had looked over Fu Jing’s information and suggested that after finishing her master’s degree, she should study abroad, enter the very top schools and programs, build up her background and resume overseas for a few years, then return to teach at a university and apply for professional titles. Everything would go much more smoothly.

Fu Jing shook her head and did not consider it at all. “I want to continue following Teacher Jiang.”

“Not thinking about it further?”

“No.”

“All right.” Hearing this, Fu Zheng did not get angry either. He had always only provided his daughter with help and support, not interfered with her choices. “It just so happens Dad also can’t bear to let you go abroad.”

Fu Jing nodded, then quickly thought of something. “Dad, I have a senior brother who got sick. He’ll be fine if he takes medicine, but his family background isn’t good, and medical insurance can’t fully reimburse that imported medicine…”

She told him about the recent matter at school.

Then she asked whether there was any way.

Fu Zheng first asked, “Is he also Jiang Jianhua’s student?”

Fu Jing nodded.

“That can be done.” So Fu Zheng agreed. “I’ll contact your teacher later and help him solve the problem. unauthorized copy Since you want to stay in China, Dad definitely has to handle this matter.”

Fu Jing was silent for a while. “You’re not planning to directly give money, are you?”

“Of course not,” Fu Zheng said. “A proud son of heaven certainly cares about face. For no reason at all, how could Dad directly give money? First, I’ll find your teacher and ask clearly about the specific situation…”

“Why find Teacher? Can’t I give you Senior Brother’s contact information?” Fu Jing interrupted him, then reacted. “You want to count the favor under Teacher’s name?”

“No. At most, I’ll hint at it. Dad can help that senior brother of yours solve his problem this time, and next time, I can help your teacher’s acquaintances or your teacher himself. So in the future, if there are any good opportunities, your teacher will think of you first.”

Fu Jing was especially gloomy. She picked up her fork and forcefully poked at the foie gras. “My relationship with Teacher Jiang is so good. How come the moment you get involved, it directly becomes an exchange of interests?”

“Silly Nannan, there is no relationship in this world that does not exist on a foundation of mutual benefit, whether teacher and student or lovers. If someone treats you well without seeking any return at all, it can only be family affection.”

Fu Jing lifted her head to look at him and subconsciously asked, “Is that so?”

Fu Zheng furrowed his brows slightly. Then he stopped continuing the topic and pointed at the goblet in front of her. “Why not try it? It’s a treasured bottle from a winery friend. Dad forcefully snatched it over.”

Fu Jing picked up the wineglass, smelled it, then put it down again and said, “Forget it. I still don’t like it. It feels like drinking medicine.”

Fu Zheng immediately put on an exaggerated expression of pained heartbreak and beat his chest. “There’s one fewer bottle every time one is opened. You said you wanted to drink, so I opened it. You said you won’t drink, so you won’t drink… Only a biological daughter can act like this.”

“Then drink it yourself.” Fu Jing could not hold back the corners of her lips and was amused by him. “It’s not like I poured it away!”

Fu Zheng picked up his own glass and had just smiled, about to say something.

Suddenly, a woman in a short black dress ran over. Her face was exquisite, her red lips full, and her low neckline revealed an impressive cleavage. She stared at Fu Jing, her expression full of anger.

Then she turned to Fu Zheng and said, “You said you weren’t free tonight because you were accompanying her?!!”

Fu Zheng’s expression was clearly stunned, but he quickly calmed down and asked, “You’re eating here too?”

The woman slapped her phone onto the table. “If my friend hadn’t happened to see you and remind me, I would still be kept in the dark by you! What do you mean I’m the only one outside? I think you’re playing with me!”

Fu Jing: “…”

She did not make a sound.

The woman turned back and looked Fu Jing up and down, so angry that her chest rose and fell. “I knew you liked younger ones. What, am I already not tender enough for you?!”

Fu Zheng suppressed his anger. “Shut up right now.”

Fu Jing looked at her and calmly said, “Auntie, you’ve misunderstood.”

Who could have known that this form of address would instantly enrage the other party?

She picked up the wine on the table and raised her hand, about to splash it on Fu Jing’s face.

Fu Zheng quickly grabbed the woman’s wrist, his tone unable to [bailiantales.com]suppress his fury. “This is my daughter!”

He stopped her in time.

But the red wine swaying in the glass still spilled out a little, splashing onto Fu Jing’s new dress.

Fu Jing lowered her head and looked at the bow ribbon in front of her chest that had been soaked.

“…”