As dusk settled, a gentle breeze stirred the light and shadows.

Jiang Yu came out of the closed-off cram school, where Zhou Yiming and Song Yuxi, who had returned to China for summer vacation, were waiting for him.

His expression flickered, and he stepped forward, looking somewhat tired after a whole day of catching up on lessons.

How did you find this place?

"Brother Jiang."

"Brother Jiang".

The boy and girl spoke at the same time, and then looked at each other.

"Didn't you check your phone?" Song Yuxi pursed her lips, her voice strained. "Something happened to your aunt and uncle."

Jiang Yu's handsome, unrestrained face instantly lost all its fatigue, and his eyes sharpened as he stared intently at her. "What is it?"

To avoid getting distracted, he left his phone with the class teacher. It was the person in charge here who told him that someone was looking for him outside.

Seeing him like this, Song Yuxi felt a strange sense of fear.

"Brother Jiang, calm down and let me finish." Zhou Yiming stepped forward and held the boy down.

The boy took a deep breath, his lean and tall body trembling slightly upon closer inspection. "Go ahead," he said.

“Uncle Jiang and Aunt Jiang have both been investigated. I asked my dad, and he said that their situation isn’t too bad, especially since Uncle Jiang wasn’t taken away, so there’s still room for maneuver.”

Jiang Yu's mind went blank for a moment. He was relieved that their lives were not in danger, but then he worried about what would happen next.

He broke free from Zhou Yiming's grasp and strode forward.

Song Yuxi: "Brother Jiang..."

Zhou Yiming: "Are you going back now?"

The boy has gone far away like a gust of wind, leaving behind only the lingering sound of his "hmm" in the air.

The two who had stopped in place quickly chased after them.

The taxi was speeding along. Song Yuxi, a girl, sat in the front passenger seat, while two boys sat in the back.

She would occasionally turn her head to look back with concern.

The boy turned his head to look out the car window, his profile tense, his features sharp and cold, his thin lips pressed into a straight line.

Could it be him?

Jiang Yu's thick, dark eyelashes trembled slightly.

Fang Zhi's older brother, Qi Shen?

Otherwise, how could such a coincidence happen?

A week ago, Fang Zhi had someone tell him that her brother was going to harm him and that he should be careful.

A week later, his parents both died on the same day, at almost the same time.

Therefore, Qi Shen's target was never him.

Even if he had his legs broken, he would not give up pursuing Fang Zhi as long as he recovered.

Therefore, Qi Shen, in order to eliminate the problem once and for all, directly targeted the people he cared about, his relatives.

On one side is the girl he likes, and on the other side are his parents.

For the first time in his eighteen years of carefree life, the young man experienced the taste of helplessness and felt like a useless piece of trash.

Self-blame and various unnamed negative emotions entangled Jiang Yuzhe like ropes.

—

The entire Nangong Villa area was bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun. The European-style architecture, the large areas of neatly trimmed green plants, and the dazzling flowers made it look like a fairy tale world.

Fang Zhi was on the phone with Liu Siyi, unaware of the changes that had occurred outside in less than a day.

"I'm so nervous, so nervous. Even though my college entrance exam score isn't that important to me anymore, I'm still so nervous."

Instead of worrying about your college entrance exam results, you should focus more on your IELTS exam.

Upon hearing the word "IELTS," Liu Siyi felt an instant headache coming on.

"To prepare for the IELTS exam, I've been staying home all the time, acting like a proper young lady, even dreaming about memorizing vocabulary."

"If this doesn't work? I'll immediately research atomic bombs to attack Britain and make all those foreigners learn Chinese!!"

Fang Zhi chuckled softly, "When I was six, I thought about the same thing as you. Every day I wished that our country would become stronger, so that I wouldn't have to learn English anymore."

After she finished speaking, she froze.

The scene of a handsome 13-year-old boy teaching her English flashed before her eyes. At that time, he patiently and amusedly explained to her when faced with her wildly imaginative questions.

"Waaaaah, the atomic bomb is harder than English." Liu Siyi was on the verge of tears after researching how the atomic bomb was made. "I really want to go back to the fascinating era of my ancestors."

"Although I don't have the elixir of immortality, I can grab a handful of vitamin C for him, and a world map as well."

"Zhizhi, are you still listening?"

"I'm listening," Fang Zhi said, pulling himself out of his memories.

She glanced at the time on her phone and said, "My brother will be back soon, Siyi, I have to go now."

"Mm." Liu Siyi nodded, holding the phone.

"Zhizhi, think carefully about the idea I gave you. If it works, I'll try to get you out later."

......

The last glimmer of light on the horizon gradually disappeared, plunging the bedroom into darkness. Fang Zhi placed his arms crossed on the desk and rested his chin on them.

It felt like a little person was standing in my ear, constantly repeating Liu Siyi's words:

Once Zhizhi's results come out, if your score is high enough, you can apply to Haicheng University, which your brother chose for you, in front of him; then, at the very last minute before the application deadline, quickly change it to University A.

When the acceptance letter arrives, your personal file will have been taken away by University A. What's done is done, and your brother can't do anything about it.

This was the plan Siyi came up with for her—to deceive everyone.

Fang Zhi suddenly realized that it wasn't entirely impossible...

Just as she was lost in thought, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind, and the man's unique woody scent instantly enveloped her, along with his deep voice calling, "Zhizhi."

Qi Shen leaned forward, his tall, straight nose buried in her fair, swan-like neck, his breath hot and ambiguous, carrying a hint of barely perceptible danger.

"What are you thinking about so intently? You didn't even turn on the light, and your brother knocked on the door several times without you hearing it?"

"Brother." Fang Zhi moved his neck slightly, but his body remained still. His voice was soft. "You're back."

"Hmm." Qi Shen's thin lips brushed against the girl's neck, and he suddenly said, "Zhizhi's results are coming out soon."