Chapter 12
Soon, the first early morning class arrived in a rush. It was a large advanced math lecture taught by a very strict, white-haired senior professor. Everyone sat down and listened attentively of their own accord.
With everyone clutching their textbooks and rushing to make it to the 8 a.m. class, that subtle misunderstanding from earlier continued to spread.
In Lin Chuan’s mind, Shi Yu was practically a legend—first, he’d coolly turned down Tsinghua or Peking University to come to Jiang University, and now, he’d quietly ended up with a rich older woman… only to be coldly discarded after being used!
By the end of the morning classes, Shi Yu was starting to feel a headache coming on. Deep in his mind, a taut string was plucking at his nerves—an urgent signal from his overdrawn body to his brain, pleading for rest.
He looked down and lit up his phone screen. In his WeChat chat list, there was only one pinned conversation. Tapping into it, the profile photo showed a woman in a deep emerald backless evening gown, standing on the winding steps of a grand staircase. One hand rested on the golden railing as she turned her head slightly, chin lifted, her deep eyes gazing into the camera.
Even through the screen, it felt as if she were looking right at him—Shi Yu’s breath caught.
But the chat window remained empty. All morning, he hadn’t received a single message from her.
After class, everyone rushed toward the doors. Having sat through an entire morning of lectures, they were starving and eager to get to the cafeteria to grab a good seat.
Only Shi Yu remained seated, holding his phone and zoning out—until a sweet voice rang above his head: “Classes are done for the day. My sister’s waiting at the school gate to take me to a French restaurant. She told me to ask if you want to come.”
Shi Yu quickly turned off his phone screen and, without hesitation, stood up and followed her.
There was still a good flow of people at the school gate, chatting and walking in small groups. College life was far more relaxed than high school—students could easily leave campus for meals or even to hit the gym during breaks.
The two of them didn’t talk much and simply walked quietly side by side. Jiang Yinting had already heard from her sister that Shi Yu was the student she sponsored, but she didn’t know when the two had gotten so close—close enough that her sister would invite him to dinner.
“Tingting, over here.”
Jiang Shangwan stood by the car, wearing a face mask and cap. Today, she was dressed very casually, arms crossed as she leaned against the car door and waved them over.
She had switched to a younger-looking silver-white sports coupe. The sleek design looked like a stylish, poised panther on the verge of pouncing. The cool, metallic silver had a futuristic, high-tech vibe. Many passersby couldn’t help glancing at the car, only to quickly look away and keep their distance after seeing the logo.
If they bumped into it by accident, they definitely couldn’t afford the damages.
From a distance, Jiang Shangwan could already see the two figures walking over—recognizing them at a glance. They stood out too much in the crowd, a handsome guy and a beautiful girl walking side by side looked like a scene straight out of a behind-the-scenes idol drama shoot, complete with invisible caution tape.
“Did you sleep well last night?” Jiang Shangwan asked casually.
Shi Yu’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, and he gave a small nod. “Mm… it was fine.”
In fact, he hadn’t slept at all.
“Our department’s so brutal,” Jiang Yinting complained. “They always stack all the classes in the morning. I have to wake up early every day, and I never get enough sleep. I’m exhausted from all the 8 o’clock classes.”
“Oh? You can’t get up on your own, so now you’re blaming the class schedule? You should be made to suffer a little,” Jiang Shangwan replied knowingly, then turned to Shi Yu and said, “No wonder I always see you arriving for your internship in the afternoons.”
Shi Yu paused for a moment at her words—so she had been paying attention to his movements in private too?
Once the three of them got in the car, Shi Yu noticed that there was no driver today. Jiang Shangwan was driving herself—this was the first time he had seen her behind the wheel.
“I got my license as soon as I turned 18. I just don’t drive very often,” Jiang Shangwan explained, as if she’d noticed the hint of surprise in his eyes.
“Why do I feel like I’m the extra one here?” Jiang Yinting said, sounding a bit speechless. She was supposed to be the one closest to her sister, but somehow it seemed like these two were more in sync.
“How could that be? You’re the star today.”
Very quickly, Jiang Yinting understood what she meant. They arrived at a modern white building with a sleek design. A staff member led them into a private room filled with black and pink balloons and fresh flowers. On the table were fine ceramic plates with invitation cards placed on them. A large standing backdrop read: “Welcome to Tingting’s 19th Birthday Party.”
“Wow! BLACKPINK theme—I love it!” Jiang Yinting beamed. “I totally forgot today’s my birthday!! I love you so much, sis!”
Jiang Shangwan took the shopping bag handed over by the staff and passed it to her. “See if you like it. Happy birthday, sweetheart.”
Jiang Yinting glanced at it—it was a Cartier ladies’ watch she had posted on her Moments a few days ago. She happily put it on her wrist.
“Thank you, sister! I really love it!”
“If you’re happy, I’m your sister; if it’s just okay, then I’m just an older female friend, right?” Jiang Shangwan had already sat down and handed her a gift box: “Go to the bathroom and change into the dress and jewelry.”
Jiang Yinting was so touched she started to sniffle, then quickly ran off. Her thoughtful sister even prepared a battle outfit for taking photos—she had completely forgotten it was her birthday.
Now, only Jiang Shangwan and Shi Yu remained in the private room. Shi Yu was restless. He had thought this was just an ordinary meal, not knowing it was Jiang Yinting’s birthday. Coming empty-handed without a gift was truly rude.
“Sorry, I didn’t have time to prepare a birthday gift,” Shi Yu said hoarsely. “It seems like I’ve been apologizing a lot these days.”
He used to get whatever he wanted easily and never felt lost or helpless.
Until he met her.
Lately, he kept feeling powerless, and the self-doubt in his heart was spreading.
He really hated this side of himself.
“It’s okay, don’t think too much. I just thought since you’re in the same major, I had her invite you to come join us for a meal,” Jiang Shangwan said casually, not caring whether he brought a gift or not. “You weren’t really close anyway.”
This seemingly comforting remark made Shi Yu feel even more awkward. Jiang Yinting was a genuine wealthy daughter from a different world—truly two people from completely different worlds.
When Jiang Yinting came back looking stunningly beautiful, she was dressed in a light pink, airy tulle dress with a long train forming a beautiful curve, wearing a crown studded with diamonds that sparkled brilliantly under the lights.
This outfit made her look like a cute and delicate darling—completely different from the innocent white-dress girl she was on university registration day.
She winked at Jiang Shangwan. “Sister, am I pretty?”
“Our Tingting is the cutest and most beautiful,” Jiang Shangwan smiled, raised her phone, and took many photos of her. Then the two of them took lots of selfies together.
“You come over here and take a photo too,” Jiang Yinting happily called out to Shi Yu, who was sitting in the corner. “Come on, come on, let’s take a group photo together.”
So Jiang Shangwan and Shi Yu flanked her in the middle, and the picture looked so harmonious it was like a warm, happy family of three.
Click! The moment was frozen in the photo.
Once the food was served, they sat down. Shi Yu rolled up his sleeves, poured himself a glass of wine, pressed his thin lips tightly, and looked seriously at Jiang Yinting.
“Sorry I didn’t prepare a gift in advance. Happy birthday. If you don’t mind, I’ll transfer my scholarship to you next semester.”
“Pfft—” Jiang Yinting burst out laughing at his way of giving a gift. “Alright, alright, I got your blessings. No need for the scholarship.”
Jiang Shangwan also laughed but then realized Shi Yu had rejected all sponsorships after graduating high school. So where did his tuition and living expenses come from? Could he really be living only on scholarships?
She frowned and said, “Keep your scholarship for yourself. She’s not short on money.”
Shi Yu lowered his head even more, took a small piece of
[efn_note]Wagyu tenderloin refers to a premium cut of beef from Wagyu cattle, known for its exceptional marbling, tenderness, and rich flavor. Wagyu is a Japanese breed of cattle famous worldwide for producing some of the highest-quality, most tender, and flavorful beef due to its intense marbling (fat distributed within the muscle). Tenderloin is a specific cut from the loin area of the cow, known for being one of the most tender parts of beef because it comes from a muscle that doesn’t get much exercise. So, Wagyu tenderloin is a very tender, high-grade steak cut from Wagyu beef, prized for its buttery texture and rich taste.[/efn_note]
Wagyu tenderloin, and put it in his mouth—bitter.
After the meal, Jiang Shangwan took Jiang Yinting back to school and then asked Shi Yu, “Are you going to the Jiang Corporation internship today? I can give you a ride back to the company.”
“Yeah.”
“I forgot to ask before: since you rejected the foundation’s sponsorship and didn’t go to Tsinghua or Peking University, the government probably won’t give you much scholarship either. So how are you handling your tuition and living expenses now?”
“I opened a private tutoring center off-campus to earn commissions, and I’ve also been trading stocks recently.”
Jiang Shangwan sighed in relief. There was no way he was living just on the small scholarship Jiang University gave him. Although the internship paid 5,000 yuan, Jiangcheng was expensive. His mind was definitely sharp—few people his age could make money and support themselves.
“I’ll work hard to earn money,” Shi Yu said.
He looked out the window at the rapidly passing scenery. He needed to speed up his progress. He didn’t want to keep relying on her care and generosity like he did now.
He felt like an ugly duckling stripped of all its feathers, foolishly dreaming of glimpsing the beauty of a white swan. First, he had to grow back his lost feathers.
“By the way, your coat is still with me. I’ve already asked my assistant to take it for dry cleaning. When you get to the company later, go find him and pick it up.”
“Okay.”
Shi Yu suddenly and awkwardly remembered how she looked while sleeping.
She clearly remembered taking off his coat before going to sleep, but after she fell asleep, she tightly held onto his sleeve, not letting him leave, even clutching his hand.
And even…
His fingers itched a little, as if recalling that sticky, damp, and slippery feeling.
A mischievous thought suddenly crossed his mind. He said, “You seemed to talk in your sleep last night. I heard you.”
“What?” Jiang Shangwan was startled. She remembered she hadn’t slept well and seemed to have had many dreams, but couldn’t recall them clearly.
“You said you like my hands,” Shi Yu said softly.
“……”
Jiang Shangwan suddenly wished she could find a hole to crawl into, utterly embarrassed. She had indeed once had some slightly inappropriate, somewhat intimate thoughts about his hands before. She attributed it to not having physical contact for a long time, but it was incredibly awkward to have the object of such fantasies find out.
She hesitated and asked, “Really? What else did I say?”
Although she was the one who had done the “bad” thing, Shi Yu blushed even more than she did. His gaze swept over his fingertips, as if some passionate feeling he had forcibly suppressed last night was rising again.
“You also said you didn’t want me to leave.”
Jiang Shangwan: “……”
Her hand gripping the steering wheel trembled. She really felt like disappearing right then.