Zhou Yi left as soon as school was over, and the rest of the students also left in twos and threes.

Only Su Qingjiao remained seated in the classroom, simulating an experiment, unmoved. A female student approached her and said, "Miss, aren't you leaving yet?"

"You've been working so hard these past few days, even doing practice tests after school every day."

Hao Min originally wanted to leave, but stopped when she saw someone take the initiative to talk to Su Qingjiao.

She then realized that her relationship with Su Qingjiao had become a bit distant these past few days, mainly because she hadn't tried to curry favor with her.

Although she already knew that Su Qingjiao was a fake, she liked to leave herself an out.

Hao Min then walked over to Su Qingjiao, her attitude as impeccable as ever: "Jiaojiao, let's go together."

"You've been lagging behind these past few days, and I haven't walked with you for several days now."

"If other people didn't know, they would think that we had a fight."

Su Qingjiao, who had intended to refuse them, realized upon hearing this that she couldn't wait until everyone had left before leaving, as that would arouse suspicion.

But her black card was frozen, so she couldn't access the funds to rent luxury cars long-term...

"Okay, I'll pack up." In the end, Su Qingjiao agreed to go with her classmate.

As the group walked to the school gate, some students craned their necks to look at the luxury cars.

There are many cars parked in front of the college, but none of them are top-of-the-line luxury cars.

The female student asked, "Oh, Miss, didn't the luxury car come to pick you up today?"

Su Qingjiao smiled, showing no sign of guilt, and lied as soon as she opened her mouth: "I was having a very pleasant chat with you all just now, and I forgot to call my driver in advance to have him pick me up."

"The main reason is that I've been asking the driver to pick me up a little later these past few days. I feel like my grades have dropped a bit recently, so I want to learn more at school."

Without any doubt, the classmate said with admiration, "So rich and so hardworking, what are ordinary people like us supposed to do?"

"My internship is coming up soon, and there are still so many PowerPoint presentations I don't know how to make!"

Hao Min coldly watched Su Qingjiao's readily available lies, inwardly mocking her. A driver, huh? A luxury car, huh? Acting so convincingly.

But she asked with concern, "Jiaojiao, you work so hard. The entire Zhou Group is yours. Why do you need to compete with us ordinary people?"

"Then how are you going to get home?"

"How about I take a taxi and drive you home?"

Su Qingjiao shook her head and smiled: "No need, I'll just take a taxi home."

"You should all go home soon too."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Su Qingjiao got into a taxi that was waiting for passengers at the school gate.

After giving her the address, Su Qingjiao sat comfortably in the taxi, watching the scenery rushing past the window. She couldn't help but think of her impoverished self from back then.

I had never taken a taxi before.

Only a few times after the bus service ended, when there was absolutely no other way, Su's mother would take a taxi. At that time, Su's mother would keep a close eye on the taxi meter the whole way.

She would always ask the driver to stop early, aiming to maximize the value of the ride when the meter reached one kilometer. She would call for a stop as soon as the meter reached 90 or so but before it was even one kilometer, and she would never let the driver roll the wheels forward even a little to increase the fare.

Now, I don't even need to ask the price when I get on the bus, and I don't even care to look at the watch.

This feeling is really great.

Taxis are not allowed to enter upscale villa areas, so Su Qingjiao had to get off the car outside the community and walk back to the Zhou family villa. After entering the gate, she looked towards the garage but did not seem to see the blue Bentley.

Has Zhou Yi not returned yet?

He left right after school today.

Zhou Yi did leave as soon as school was over, but he was at the Royal Court Hotel at that moment.

He met discreetly with the hotel manager and learned that the hotel had changed managers; the previous manager was now the hotel's deputy manager.

The deputy manager received him, but Zhou Yi waved his hand, not wanting the other people in the hotel to know that he had been there. He only asked the deputy manager to show him the surveillance footage from that night.

The deputy manager invited Zhou Yi to his office, showed him the surveillance footage, and then stood by the wall, waiting for Zhou Yi to give him further instructions.

I blame myself for misjudging Su Qingjiao and believing that she would be Zhou Shao's fiancée.

What terrible luck!

This time, he can't afford to make the wrong decision again.

Zhou Yi pulled up the surveillance footage from the top-floor corridor and then had the deputy manager pull up and watch all the surveillance footage of Shen Bingyan from the moment she entered the hotel until she left.

He didn't know what Shen Bingyan looked like, but he knew all too well what the bodyguard's back looked like.

From the moment Shen Bingyan entered the hotel, her bodyguards seemed to know where the cameras were, and they always stood behind her.

Wherever Shen Bingyan appeared—in the hotel lobby, elevator, or corridor—the bodyguard's tall, broad back would always completely block her view.

Zhou Yi couldn't even see a ghost!

"Can't you even retrieve the identity information of the person who booked the hotel room?"

"Young Master Zhou, we can't get the information. The only information displayed is her name; everything else is blank. Besides, this room wasn't booked using her identity."

Zhou Yi: "......."

It's too difficult.

It's so hard for him to find someone!

If it weren't for a frame capturing Shen Bingyan's profile when they entered the presidential suite, he really wouldn't have seen anything at all.

Shen Bingyan walks very fast, so the captured frame is not very high definition.

He could only see that Shen Bingyan was about 1.7 meters tall, with a very straight and slender back and a good body proportion. Although she was wearing a black mask and his face was not visible, she should be a pretty girl.

What is most impressive about her is her temperament, which is as cold and aloof as a snow lotus on a high mountain.

Zhou Yi thought to himself with a sense of disappointment, "It seems to match her name quite well."

A cold, aloof demeanor... Is it just my imagination? She seems vaguely familiar?

Zhou Yi took a picture of Shen Bingyan's profile with his phone. He then checked the surveillance footage of Su Qingjiao's hotel check-in that day. When he saw Su Qingjiao looking proud while wearing a mask, Zhou Yi's eyes suddenly turned cold.

She really treats the hotel like it's her own!

He spoke with more confidence than the real heir of the Zhou family.

The deputy manager, standing in the corner, was so frightened by the frosty look on Zhou Yi's face that he didn't dare to breathe.

He was terrified that if he took a breath, Zhou Yi would catch him and demote him.

Fortunately, he waited anxiously until Zhou Yi got up and left the office silently. Only then did the deputy manager finally breathe a sigh of relief: "What a load of bull! What a future Mrs. Zhou! She's really ruined my life!"

Zhou Shao didn't say anything, so he figured he probably wouldn't be demoted again, right? He thought anxiously.

Meanwhile, on the other side...

On Zhou Yi's way back from the hotel.

Su Qingjiao was caught red-handed by Butler Cao as soon as she returned to the villa.

Butler Cao sneered, grabbed her hair, and slammed her head against the wall: "You delusional little slut, coming back so late again. Do you think you're still the same person who doesn't have to work?"