"Oh." The boy reluctantly agreed, and hugged Qiao Zhen for a while longer before entering the stairwell, looking back every few steps.

Ten minutes after Qi Yijuan left, Qiao Zhen tidied herself up and entered the stairwell.

A student's first year of university is a mandatory evening study session, which ends at 8 PM. Since it wasn't Qiao Zhen's turn to be on duty today, she packed her things and prepared to leave around 5 PM.

Li Mei watched Qiao Zhen packing her things and casually asked, "Teacher Qiao looks very young. May I ask how old you are?"

Qiao Zhen slowed down her packing, and looked at Li Mei with a smile, "Me? I'm twenty-eight this year."

"That means you're twenty-six or twenty-seven years old."

“No, I’m twenty-eight years old.” Qiao Zhen retorted to Li Mei with a serious expression, and said meaningfully, “Moreover, I think that when people have a choice, they should do fewer things that they know are presumptuous.”

Li Mei smiled somewhat awkwardly, and lowered her head slightly. "I'm sorry, Teacher Qiao, I'm just a talkative person."

Qiao Zhen pursed her lips and shook her head, "Being talkative isn't a good habit."

She packed her things and left with her bag.

Li Mei looked a little embarrassed. She sat back down and buried her head in her work, pretending to write a lesson plan, but actually thinking about the matter that Professor He had asked her for help with. She looked at the office door with a smug smile on her lips.

As soon as Qiao Zhen stepped out of the school gate, she was ushered into a limousine of an unknown brand. The bodyguard told her, "Mr. Qi invites Miss Qiao for tea."

Almost everyone who is about to demonstrate says these high-sounding words.

For example: "Our master invites the young lady to have a chat," or "XXX invites the young lady for a cup of coffee."

Such words.

Qiao Zhen said she was fearless, so she got into the car on her own and looked around the car with great interest.

The driver took Qiao Zhen to an antique-style house, probably an ancestral home.

This surprised Qiao Zhen. If it were just a demonstration, it wouldn't be in such an important place.

Is he trying to show off his wealth to her?

The bodyguard gestured for Qiao Zhen to enter, and then gave her directions.

Qiao Zhen walked along the winding pebble path. Perhaps because she had walked through many traditional courtyards, she had a special impression of this kind of path.

Upon arriving at a lush bamboo forest, the bodyguard extended his arm to guide Qiao Zhen, then bowed and stepped back.

Qiao Zhen walked over unhurriedly in her six-centimeter high heels. She was decked out in clothes worth hundreds of thousands of yuan, with her face alone costing tens of thousands, and she walked with an air of inexplicable confidence.

With each step she took, a gust of wind was stirred up, and the bamboo leaves rustled as they fell, giving her the air of a refined lady.

An elderly man practicing Tai Chi among the bamboo grove closed his eyes, listening intently to the sound of bamboo leaves falling to the ground. He didn't stop his movements, but casually remarked, "Miss Qiao has arrived?"

Qiao Zhen replied, "You invited me here, so why ask such a question?" She raised her hand to check the time, "I'm very busy, please just say what you want to say."

The old man calmly lifted his leg, saying, "Young man, sometimes slowing down is a good thing."

Qiao Zhen stared blankly at the old man in front of her, who seemed to be up to no good. "Hmm..."

If you don't know how to deal with it, then just assume the old man is right.

The old man sensed the perfunctory tone in Qiao Zhen's words. He opened his eyes and suddenly reached out to strike Qiao Zhen's neck.

Qiao Zhen dodged to the side, and reflexively pulled the old man's arm and kicked him in the back of the knee.

Thus, the situation came to this—Qiao Zhen twisted the old man's arm, and with one leg braced against the back of his knee, she forced him to kneel down.

"Ahem." Qiao Zhen coughed awkwardly. She looked at the old man who seemed to be Qi Yijuan's grandfather and immediately removed his hands and legs. "I'm sorry, this was just a conditioned reflex."

The old man was utterly humiliated. He stood up, his face flushed, and said, "Is this how you treat your elders?!"

Isn't this the same attitude you have towards younger generations?

Such impolite words should never be uttered, but one thing is certain: the old man in front of me is Qi Yijuan's grandfather, so I can be completely ruthless when I confront him.

"...No, I was just being a scoundrel to your grandson. Strictly speaking, you and I have no relation whatsoever. Generation has nothing to do with age. If we go back in time, who knows who is the elder and who is the younger?"

Old Master Qi said bluntly, "I will not let you marry into our Qi family."

Qiao Zhen stretched out her hand and placed her fair palm in front of Old Master Qi.

Grandpa Qi was completely baffled.

Qiao Zhen said incredulously, "Where's the check? At least give me a check before you say what you just said, right?"

"..." Old Master Qi was also incredulous upon hearing Qiao Zhen's shameless words, finding it hard to believe that such a shameless and beautiful woman could exist in the world. "You don't deserve her!"

This threat sounded like a joke, probably not sincere. Qiao Zhen didn't want to lose her composure and make it real. "Marry into your Qi family? Impossible. I could never marry into your Qi family in this lifetime. I can only marry Qi Yijuan, which would be a stretch."

A cross appeared on Old Master Qi's forehead, and his wrinkles deepened. "Is there a difference between the two?"

Qiao Zhen replied seriously, "Of course there is. If I marry into the Qi family, I have to please every single one of them. But if I'm only marrying Qi Yijuan, I only need to steal him away."

"..." It seemed to make a lot of sense, and he couldn't refute it, but he wouldn't admit defeat. Old Master Qi stroked his beard. "Miss Qiao's identity seems to be quite extraordinary. None of the security cameras near A-Juan's villa captured any images of Miss Qiao, yet she appeared inside A-Juan's villa."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!