Song Mengtang had come in second for the preliminary rounds in C Province.
She clearly did not consider Ye Ci as a competitor. That was why she had not reacted when she heard Ye Ci’s name.
Song Mengtang only cared about Ning Li, who had come first in her province.
Although they were all in the National Finals, there was still a gap between the contestants.
There was still judgment here among these geniuses. Since the competition was more intense now, the discrimination here was even stronger than anywhere else.
Ye Ci had come in fifth and barely qualified to join the finals, so she was the lowest-ranked here.
Ye Ci suppressed the frustration she felt and took out her phone to call Su Yuan.
“Hello? Mom? Sister Ning Li and I are at the dormitory now.”
Song Mengtang froze and glanced over at Ye Ci again.
‘It sounds like Ye Ci and Ning Li’s relationship seemed to be more than that of just ordinary classmates?’
However, Song Mengtang did not care much about it and quickly went back to her book.
Su Yuan seemed to be very concerned on the phone. She asked a lot of questions, and Ye Ci answered them all with a sweet and soft, but slightly petulant voice.
Ning Li put on her headphones.
After some thought, she clicked on her chat with Lu Huaiyu.
[Second Brother, I’ve arrived at Capital First High].
Lu Huaiyu seemed to be busy and did not reply to her message immediately.
Ning Li waited for a short while before putting her phone away.
….
After a long conversation, Ye Ci reluctantly hung up the phone.
This was indeed her first time going away alone. With that little episode with Song Mengtang, Ye Ci felt uncomfortable and became even more homesick.
“Ye Ci.” Song Mengtang called out to her.
Ye Ci turned her head. “Hmm? What’s wrong?”
Song Mengtang pulled the earphones out of her ears, looked at her, and said bluntly, “Can you please take your calls outside next time? Or perhaps shorten your conversation?”
Ye Ci’s face flushed red for a moment as she said in a small voice, “Right…I’m sorry. I’ll take note next time.”
Song Mengtang nodded.
She had always been a very straightforward person.
Everyone came here to train, so time was precious. If Ye Ci did not want to learn, the least she could do was not to distract others.
Song Mengtang had come here to get a prize.
Since they would be living together for the next two weeks, it was better to bring this up early on.
Ye Ci felt very embarrassed.
She gingerly unpacked her suitcase.
Originally, Ye Ci had wanted to look around the campus in the afternoon, but after seeing Song Mengtang studying so diligently, she felt very pressured.
After some thought, Ye Ci also took out a paper and started doing it.
The whole dorm was quiet.
…
Capital Airport.
As soon as Lu Huaiyu came out, Fang Qingyun was already waiting at the exit.
“Second Young Master.”
Fang Qingyun came forward to greet him with an unconcealed smile on his face.
“You’re finally back! Old Master is already waiting for you at home.”
This was the first time in almost a year that Lu Huaiyu had returned to the Capital on his own initiative.
“How is Grandpa’s health lately?”
“Haha, the Old Master is doing great, especially when he knows that you’re coming back. He had someone clean the house again several days in advance!”
Lu Huaiyu’s lips curved slightly.
“That’s good.”
Fang Qingyun asked, “By the way, the Old Master said that you are going to be spending Chinese New Year at home this time. Is it true?”
Lu Huaiyu looked down at his phone and saw that Ning Li had sent him a message an hour ago.
[Okay. Have a good time at the Capital.]
After sending this message, he looked at Fang Qingyun and nodded. “Mm.”
He had already made a promise to his grandfather, so of course, it was true.
Fang Qingyun thought, ‘No wonder… The Old Master has been extra energetic these few days when he gets up in the morning for his exercise.’
Second Young Master was staying in the Capital for Chinese New Year, so the Old Master must be happy.
The two of them got into the car and drove towards the Lu Mansion.
Fang Qingyun looked in the rearview mirror and saw that Lu Huaiyu was playing with his phone.
He had seemed to be sending someone a message earlier and had a rare warm smile on his face.
The last time the Second Young Master had been back in the Capital, he seemed to have had that expression as well.
Fang Qingyun suddenly made a bold guess but did not know what to say.
Lu Huaiyu lifted his eyes slightly. “Just say whatever you want to.”
Fang Qingyun coughed and spoke carefully, “Umm… Second Young Master, do you have a girlfriend?”
The way Lu Huaiyu looked was just too suspicious and had given him such an impression.
Lu Huaiyu laughed. “Not yet.”
Fang Qingyun was a little dubious.
He had worked for the Lu family for so many years and had watched Lu Huaiyu grow up, so he could more or less perceive that something was off about him.
‘Hmm… He looks like a person who’s dating… Wait… Did the Second Young Master just say ‘not yet’? What does that mean?’
Fang Qingyun was shocked.
“Second Young Master, do you mean…she hasn’t accepted you yet?”
If he was not dating someone, he could have just said “no”.
However, with Lu Huaiyu’s conditions, who would not accept him?
Lu Huaiyu raised his eyebrows slightly. After a long time, he let out a low chuckle.
“Not really.”
That girl probably did not have a clue about his feelings for her.
…
Ning Li only stayed in the room for a while before she went out and casually walked around the campus.
It was the holiday season, so there were not many people around here.
Somehow, Ning Li found herself at the Wall of Fame again.
She stood there and looked at that photo.
After a moment, she took out her phone and snapped a picture.
She looked down for a while, before realizing that her phone felt a little hot.
Ning Li turned off her phone screen and put her phone away.
A voice suddenly came from behind, “Ning Li?”
