*

Song Beiting's career is on track quite quickly. The drama he filmed last year was released in May, and he successfully gained popularity with his role as Emperor Jingheng.

But in June, as he and Nan Qing walked out of the teaching building, they ran into someone.

"Hey, isn't this my son?" a familiar voice rang out.

Song Beiting, who had been chatting and laughing with Nan Qing, immediately stopped and instinctively took half a step forward, turning to shield Nan Qing behind him, not wanting her to be seen by this person.

The unshaven, middle-aged man in front of him, still reeking of alcohol, was his father, whom he hadn't seen for almost a year.

"I heard you've become a big star? You must be making a lot of money, right? Hurry up and give me the money." Song Zhiqiang said this as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Looking at him, Song Beiting said calmly without expression, "I will fulfill my obligation to support my parents. I will not give less than the amount due, but I will not give more than the amount due."

Upon hearing this, Song Zhiqiang immediately panicked. Alimony? How much is alimony anyway?!

"You little brat, now that you've grown wings, you don't even recognize your own father anymore, huh?"

"What, afraid I'll embarrass you?"

After saying that, he raised his right hand as if to hit him.

"Sir, please have some self-respect." A cold voice came from behind Song Beiting. Nan Qing took a step to the side, stepped out from behind him, and looked directly at the person who came.

The distance was too close, and the other person smelled strongly of alcohol, which was unpleasant.

Nan Qing frowned, and although there was no disgust in her eyes, her displeasure was evident.

When Song Zhiqiang saw her, he smiled. Before he came, he had specifically asked someone to find out that his son had been signed by some company of the Ning Group to become a star. The Ning Group was the same company whose business card was in that little brat's backpack.

"You're that Ning... Ning something again...?"

"Hey, but that's not important. This is my son, I'm his biological father. My son has been with you for so long, shouldn't you give us some compensation for our hard work?"

Song Zhiqiang grinned lewdly. His words made Song Beiting, who was standing next to Nan Qing, freeze. His face turned ashen, and he clenched his fists tightly, not daring to look at Nan Qing's expression.

Upon hearing this, Nan Qing's expression darkened, and he picked up his phone to make a call: "Downstairs at the Law School building, immediately."

"Oh, you're really protecting him. Why don't you pay for this kid? I don't need much, just 100,000 or 200,000 will be enough. It's nothing to you, right? After all, my son has been with you for almost a year. You rich people can't be so stingy, can you?"

Song Zhiqiang blocked the two of them, chattering on and on, repeatedly asking for money.

Meanwhile, Nan Qing and Song Beiting opposite him had equally cold expressions. One probably still cared about him because he was their father, while the other was too lazy to argue with such a person.

But by this time, a circle of students had already surrounded the three of them, many of whom were taking photos or videos with their phones. Nan Qing and Song Beiting did not respond for a long time, and Song Zhiqiang saw this and came up with a plan.

He pointed at Song Beiting and immediately began to distort the truth:

"Fine, fine, you little brat. I've raised you all these years single-handedly, acting as both your father and mother, and even sent you to the best university. Now that you've made something of yourself, you don't recognize your poor old father anymore. Fine, I'll consider it all for nothing that I gave birth to you and raised you for nothing. I want to see how someone like you, who doesn't recognize his or her parents, can become a big star and how he can graduate!"

Seeing that the two people opposite him remained calm and did not react to his words, Song Zhiqiang was about to light the fire again when he was stopped by several security guards from behind.

Nan Qing glanced at his bodyguard and said calmly:

"Take him to the police station and let him know the consequences of spreading rumors."

After saying that, she took Song Beiting's hand and, under the protection of bodyguards, walked towards the parking lot.

Even after getting into the car, Song Beiting remained silent.

Nanqing gestured to the driver to raise the partition between the front and rear seats, making the space smaller, before she squeezed his hand.

"Song Beiting, can't you speak properly? Don't you want to explain?"

He still didn't speak, and Nan Qing wasn't in a hurry; she just played with his fingers.

"I'm sorry..." His voice was low and hoarse.

He's the one who dragged her into this disgusting situation. She shouldn't have heard those filthy words; he failed to handle it properly.

Hearing him speak, Nan Qing stopped what she was doing and reached out to turn his face towards her.

"Song Beiting, look at me."

He slowly raised his head and met her gaze.

“Song Beiting, I actually think you’re pretty stupid. Do you think I don’t know that your father is an alcoholic, or that you don’t know what kind of life you had growing up?”

Nan Qing's words startled him. Yes, if she wanted to investigate him, it would be a very simple matter.

He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

He had always felt inferior to her.

He thought he would gradually become qualified to stand by her side, but the appearance of Song Zhiqiang brought back the problem that he had been avoiding and refusing to face.

Just as he was falling into his own vicious cycle once again, he heard Nan Qing say:

"Song Beiting, do you think that with the current development of the Ning Group, it needs to find a wealthy family of equal strength for a marriage alliance?"

Song Beiting looked at her, unsure how to respond.

Nan Qing smiled, leaned closer to him, and tapped his chin with her fingertip.

"Remember, in this world, you will only be dominated and entangled by problems when you are not strong enough."

"But coincidentally, I am powerful enough that no one dares to question me."

Her voice was soft, yet it had a powerful quality.

Song Beiting looked at her, his heart pounding, feeling an impulse rising within him that he could hardly contain.

Her eyes remained as aloof as ever, unlike his, which were full of emotion. But that aloofness possessed a captivating power that drew him in.

What she said didn't seem to refer to the present moment; it seemed to have a deeper meaning.

But he still couldn't figure it out; all he knew was that compared to her, he was indeed somewhat cowardly.

“Senior sister…” He leaned down slightly and moved closer to her.

"Can I stay with you forever?"

He even held his breath when he asked the question; he had always known that the senior student liked him too.

But he didn't know if her feelings were temporary or long-lasting.

I don't know if I'm even qualified to stand next to her.

But at that moment, he didn't want to think about anything else.

Whether it's temporary or long-term, he simply can't bear to see someone else standing beside her.