Jiang Xianrou hid her phone without a trace and forced a smile. She said absent-mindedly, “Nothing. It’s a message from the school.”
She changed the topic perfunctorily. “By the way, why isn’t Brother Xu with you today?”
Jiang Yao saw that her face was pale and her eyes were wandering, but he didn’t think too much about it. He just thought that something bad had happened to her school. He leaned back in his chair and replied casually, “Did you say Xu Jishen? He went to pick up his grandfather.”
“Old Master Su?” Jiang Xianrou asked with concern.
Jiang Yao didn’t hide it from her and nodded. “He said that his grandfather has an important friend in Beijing, so he especially took the time to come and see him.”
Jiang Xianrou couldn’t help but recall what happened at Qiao Nian’s school promotion banquet.
She remembered very clearly that Zhang Yang had mentioned in the group chat that Old Master Su had also attended Qiao Nian’s school promotion banquet!
Could the important friend that Old Master Su wanted to meet in Beijing be… Qiao Nian?
She felt short of breath just thinking about it.
Jiang Yao saw that her expression was getting uglier and uglier. He frowned and asked with concern, “Xianrou, are you really alright? You look pale. Do you want to go to the hospital?”
“No need.” Jiang Xianrou pressed her hand on the chair and took a deep breath. She explained reluctantly, “I’ve been busy with changing majors recently. I might be too tired.”
Jiang Yao had heard her mention how Qiao Nian had offended the Wei family and Wei Ying, causing Liang Lu to be suspended. His frown deepened, but he didn’t say anything.
He wanted to make Jiang Xianrou happy and change the topic to talk about the World Software Competition that was going to be held in China.
Suddenly, his phone lit up.
Jiang Yao was interrupted. He picked up his phone impatiently and saw that it was actually a WeChat message from Xu Jishen.
[How many people in Qing University are called Qiao Nian?]
???
Jiang Yao was dumbfounded.
His long fingers tapped the editor as he returned the question. [Why are you asking?]
Xu Jishen quickly sent another message.
[You don’t know?]
Jiang Yao frowned. He didn’t know what to reply, and the other party was already typing another message.
Soon another message came in.
[You don’t know that the name of the person representing our country in participating in the World Software Competition is exactly the same as your cousin’s. Her name is also Qiao Nian. Coincidentally, they’re both Qing University students. I thought they were the same person, so I’m asking you.]
—You don’t know that the girl representing our country in the World Software Competition has the same name as your cousin. Her name is Qiao Nian, and they are both Qing University students.
Jiang Yao couldn’t believe what he was reading. He confirmed it several times to make sure that he was not mistaken.
Xu Jishen was talking about Qiao Nian.
He recalled that Jiang Xianrou had been playing with her phone and her expression had suddenly changed. He didn’t reply to Xu Jishen’s WeChat message. Instead, he raised his head and stared at the girl opposite him with a complicated gaze.
After a long while hesitating, he finally asked, “Xianrou, do you know about the World Software Competition?”
There was some silence.
Jiang Xianrou had finally calmed down, but now she was provoked again. She was agitated and her expression was ugly.
Jiang Yao didn’t know how tense Qiao Nian was with her family. He asked her again, “Xu Jishen just sent me a message saying that Qiao Nian has won this year’s spot.”
Jiang Xianrou’s body stiffened as she took a deep breath. “I also saw the message the school sent me just now.”
Jiang Yao frowned. He was about to ask her why she hid it from him when he asked her just now.
