"Three minutes have passed now," Qiao Yu gently reminded him.

Lu Shenghui's gaze, tinged with intense coldness, swept over him, his tone slow and deliberate, "Are you threatening me?"

Qiao Yu fell silent. Lu Shenghui glanced at the phone she was clutching tightly and said casually, "Your phone bill is overdue."

"How did you know?" Qiao Yu blinked in surprise, then said ingratiatingly, "Then, brother, could you be a good person and top up my phone credit this time?"

The consequence of being a freeloader in front of Lu Shenghui was that she was ruthlessly kicked out of the car. The Bugatti Veyron disappeared quickly before her eyes. Qiao Yu coughed wildly amidst the dust kicked up by the car's rear, taking two steps back in time. Qiao Yu stared at the direction the car had disappeared in and gritted her teeth angrily, "They have no idea how to protect minors."

Brushing the dust off her face, Qiao Yu glanced around warily before rushing back to the classroom at lightning speed.

Meng E drifted over to him, "How was it? He didn't do anything to you, did he?"

"Not good at all. The boss of such a big company won't even top up my phone credit." Qiao Yu urged Meng E to turn on a hotspot for her while opening the phone credit top-up page and complaining, "He gives me a five million check without batting an eye, but asking him to top up fifty yuan of phone credit is like asking him to kill himself."

This completely changed Qiao Yu's understanding of domineering CEOs.

Meng E was surprised, "He gave you five million to leave Sister Lu..."

A message suddenly popped up on the phone screen. It was from Tang Shu: "Wait for me at the back of the school after class at noon." This was followed by a meme of Zhen Huan scratching her head, and finally Tang Shu's threat: "If I don't see you by then..."

Tang Shu didn't finish her sentence. Qiao Yu, still unable to reconnect to the hotspot, turned and found Meng E lost in thought. "What's wrong?"

Meng E snapped out of her daze and casually deleted the message, saying, "It's nothing."

Although Qiao Yu sensed something was off, she didn't think much of it and quickly entered the recharge amount of two thousand yuan. She was about to close the page when the system prompted her that "recharge failed." Incredulously, she rubbed her eyes. Unconvinced, Qiao Yu tried another bank card, but even after trying all the bank cards she had, the recharge still failed.

Qiao Yu belatedly realized, "It seems my card has been frozen by my dad."

No wonder her payment failed when she bought breakfast earlier, forcing her to activate Alipay. Qiao Yu felt a sudden pang of heartache, unable to breathe. The five million she had just swindled from Qiao Jinghuai was still in her own savings! That was the dowry she had prepared for herself!

Capitalism has no heart; it even embezzles the bride price money of minors!

This wasn't the first time Qiao Yu's bank card had been frozen, so Meng E wasn't surprised. She casually asked, "How much do you owe?"

Qiao Yu glanced at it, "1,500."

Meng E paused, her hand still swiping the phone screen. "?"

"Happy Beans?"

Qiao Yu said expressionlessly, "Do you think I look like I'm joking with you?"

Meng E's eye twitched. "I only have a thousand yuan left for living expenses."

Meng E was one of the few students in the class who got in with excellent grades. Compared to most of her classmates, her family wasn't very well-off, and she only had a fixed amount of money for living expenses each month. After sitting next to her for two years, Qiao Yu felt embarrassed to take all of her money, so she gave up and said, "Then I'll think of another way."

“However,” Qiao Yu frowned and said seriously, “in the end, it was still my fault.”

Meng E looked puzzled, while Qiao Yu shook her head in regret, "He wouldn't top up my phone credit, did you think I wouldn't know to steal it myself?"

Meng E: "..." Are you a bandit?

Qiao Yu and Song Wanzi had been trending on social media for almost 24 hours. Every time Qiao Yu glanced at it, she felt incredibly terrified. If she had known Song Wanzi was trying to help her in this way, she would have stopped her no matter what. Uncontrollably glancing at her phone, Qiao Yu accidentally saw the related rumors about herself and Lu Shangyi following closely behind. "..."

If she weren't currently short of money, she would definitely spend a huge sum of money to remove these two trending topics.

The agent turned around with the iPad in hand. "Wanzi, do you really not need to suppress this news?"

Although Song Wanzi is already a top-tier female celebrity, the sudden rumors of a romance with a wealthy heiress have still had some impact on her. For example, some brands that were originally interested in Song Wanzi have subtly indicated that "we still need to consider this matter."

While they said they were considering it, they were actually observing how the team would handle the situation and how much this would affect Song Wanzi.

If the team handles the situation poorly, or if Song Wanzi's popularity is significantly affected, then the deal that was almost done and was practically in her mouth will fall through.

Song Wanzi slowly closed the lipstick cap, thought for a moment, and then said in a sexy voice, "The little girl didn't come to me today, I must have scared her a bit." Song Wanzi pursed her lips gently, her full, red lips as bold as fire, "Could you take a gift and go see her for me?"

The agent nodded, then Song Wanzi suddenly said, "Never mind, I'll go by myself."

“But you have an event tonight,” the agent said instinctively. Song Wanzi turned her head slowly, her narrow eyes curving slightly, her smile bright and charming. “Then I’ll cancel it.”

Song Wanzi was always a woman of her word, and her manager, knowing he couldn't change her mind, looked even more worried. How could such a good female celebrity become so confused in middle age? Of all the people she could like, why did she have to fall for an undeveloped little kid?

If it were to be exposed... the agent couldn't help but shudder; it would be enough to shake the entire entertainment industry.

Qiao Yu's address wasn't hard to find. When Song Wanzi drove up to the villa, she inadvertently met Lu Shangyi's eyes as he sat by the French windows. She opened the door and got out of the car, her high heels clicking pleasantly on the floor. "You haven't gone home yet?"

Putting away the financial magazine in her hand, Lu Shangyi calmly replied, "She asked me to stay a couple more days."

Song Wanzi narrowed her eyes, the curve of her eyeliner dangerous yet alluring. Lu Shangyi gently placed the magazine on his lap. "She's still in school."

“I know.” Song Wanzi walked slowly to her, looking down at the calm and collected woman. “However, what I find strange is that Lu Shenghui actually agreed to let you leave her sight.”

As she spoke, Song Wanzi's alpha pheromones slowly dissipated, only stopping when the woman on the single sofa turned pale and frowned uncomfortably. Song Wanzi pulled up a chair, her index finger pressed against her cheek, a half-smile on her face, "If I were him, I wouldn't be so careless."

Lu Shangyi smiled slightly, her expression distant and indifferent. "Aren't you busy lately?"

"It's alright." Song Wanzi gazed at her. "But even if you're busy, you should still make time for my little darling, right?"

Their eyes met, and an unspoken undercurrent of tension simmered within them.

Qiao Yu sneezed five times in a row, wrinkled her nose, and said, "It must be Sister Song's fans taking turns to scold me."

She was filled with worry. "Won't they tamper with my car? I'm only seventeen, not even eighteen yet. I don't want to leave this beautiful world so soon!" She hugged Meng'e and wept bitterly. Suddenly, she straightened her back, her eyes filled with hesitation. "You're also a fan of Sister Song..."

Meng E was clearly distracted, and upon hearing this, she said helplessly, "If I want to scold you, I'll just do it to your face. Why do I need to do it secretly?"

Qiao Yu: "..." It was minimally harmful, but highly insulting.

Meng E looked a little listless. "A classmate just saw Jiang Mei's aunt at the school gate. She doesn't seem to have given up." Meng E looked at Jiang Mei in the corridor. "Keep an eye on her these next few days and make sure she doesn't get bullied."

"She dares to come again?" Qiao Yu stood up excitedly. "I'll send someone to teach her a lesson right now..."

Her voice trailed off as Qiao Yu suddenly realized she was penniless and silently shut her mouth. A few seconds later, Meng E suggested, "Why don't you let her stay at your place for the next few days? If Jiang Jinfeng can't find her, she'll naturally give up after a few days."

"Moreover, she has been eating vegetarian food every day recently, so her nutrition is not quite up to par."

Qiao Yu really wanted to agree with her, but, she said, "Sister Lu is at my house right now."

Lu Shangyi's clumsy flirting skills last night left a deep impression on her. What if—and I mean, what if—Lu Shangyi suddenly tried to steal Song Wanzi's boyfriend? What would that be then? A love quadrangle?

There was no better way to handle it now. Although Jiang Mei was already an adult, the Heaven and Earth Club was a mixed bag, and Qiao Yu didn't feel comfortable letting her live there. After much agonizing thought, Qiao Yu reluctantly nodded, "Fine."

Worried that Jiang Mei wouldn't agree, Qiao Yu secretly planned a spectacular show. As soon as school was over that evening, Qiao Yu pretended to be dizzy and leaned against Jiang Mei, saying, "Jiang Mei, I suddenly feel really uncomfortable."

Her fine eyelashes trembled slightly, and her lips were excessively pale. Jiang Mei instinctively put her arm around her. "Where do you feel unwell?"

Qiao Yu weakly moved her lips, "I feel unwell all over. And I feel like I'm blind now, everything is pitch black and I can't see anything." After speaking, she softly pleaded, "Could you take me to the school gate? My uncle's car is already waiting for me outside."

Her soft, boneless body nestled against her chest. Jiang Mei looked at Meng E, but Meng E shook her head and refused, "I have something urgent to attend to right now, very urgent."

Jiang Mei had no choice but to agree.

After finally getting the person to the school gate, Qiao Yu couldn't find the familiar car and looked bewildered. "Didn't Uncle say he had already arrived?"

Turning her gaze, Qiao Yu suddenly spotted Jiang Jinfeng walking quickly towards Jiang Mei. She quickly flagged down a taxi, pushed Jiang Mei into the car, and after closing the door, she hurriedly said, "Uncle, to Jingxi Mansion."

"Please hurry, I'm in a rush." ​​Qiao Yu said immediately, "My sister... she suddenly fell ill at home. She's the only omega in the house right now, and I'm really worried something might happen to her."

Upon hearing this, the driver immediately floored the accelerator, and the car shot off like lightning.

Jiang Jinfeng lost sight of Jiang Mei just when she was within reach. Furious, she gritted her teeth but had no choice but to give up on following her. She refused to believe that Jiang Mei could hide from her for a while, let alone forever.

Jiang Mei accurately grasped the key point of Qiao Yu's words: Lu Shangyi was staying at her house?

At this moment, Qiao Yu turned around apologetically, "I'm so sorry, I was in such a hurry after receiving the message that I accidentally let you come up with me." Qiao Yu looked completely innocent, "Anyway, I don't have any homework today, so why don't you stay at my place?"

Jiang Mei instinctively wanted to refuse, but looking into those watery eyes, she nodded as if possessed, "Okay."

To keep up the act, Qiao Yu pretended the whole way until the final fare payment, when she finally revealed she was genuinely distressed. After borrowing Jiang Mei's phone to call Lu Shangyi, Qiao Yu said humbly, "Sister Lu, I'm out of money. Could you please come out and pay for my taxi fare?"

I waited anxiously at the door for two minutes, and finally heard soft footsteps behind me.

Qiao Yu was overjoyed and quickly turned around. Her gaze first fell on the ground, but she felt that something was wrong.

One foot, two feet, three feet, four feet...

As she raised her head, Song Wanzi's stunningly beautiful face and Lu Shangyi's frail and delicate figure came into view at the same time. Qiao Yu looked at Jiang Mei almost without hesitation, "I think I can explain."

As soon as the words were spoken, Song Wanzi, Lu Shangyi, and Jiang Mei all spoke at the same time with ambiguous expressions, "Explain what?"