Wang Ying was truly at her wit's end. She looked at Gu Chuanming, but the old man shrugged. She then mustered her courage and looked at Zhang Shouyi, but received no response. She was now discouraged and had no choice.

“Hongmei, you really can take Wang Ying with you. The two of you can drive, and you'll have plenty of time. As for when you go to do things for me, you can have her wait on the side.”

"Brother Zhang, that would be too much trouble."

"No, I'll just drive, and we can chat, so you won't be lonely," Wang Ying said anxiously.

“Hongmei, Wang Ying is right. You should take her with you. That way, Shouyi and I won’t have to worry about you at home. Two girls will have company when they go out.”

Zhang Hongmei was speechless. Hadn't they already agreed on everything? Why were they going back on their word now? Of course, having a companion would be nice, but how was she going to get her supplies?

Zhang Shouyi suddenly grasped Zhang Hongmei's hand. "Listen to me, Wang Ying knows what she's doing."

"Alright, I'd be happy to have company. Since the big boss has no objections, of course I'm willing."

Wang Ying laughed. If her bodyguard wasn't with his master and was just staying at home, what kind of bodyguard was he? He had no value at all.

Now, under Zhang Hongmei's supervision, Gu Chuanming only drinks two ounces of liquor per meal, and nothing more, so he can eat more rice.

"Grandpa, try this sesame seed cake. It's my favorite. If it weren't for the heat, I would have brought a hundred with me to eat on the way."

Just then, the manager brought over some tea and smiled when he heard Zhang Hongmei's words. "Don't worry about it spoiling. These mahjong-shaped sesame cakes won't do. We've just made some new hanging oven sesame cakes. I'll bring them up for you to try. If you like them, I'll prepare some for you."

"Okay, let's try these oven-baked sesame cakes. If they're good, Wang Ying and I won't have to worry about food."

A moment later, the manager brought out the sesame seed cakes. "These oven-baked sesame seed cakes are crispy now and won't spoil even if you leave them for a long time, but the crust will get soggy and they won't be crispy anymore." The manager placed them directly in front of Zhang Hongmei.

"It's not bad, Grandpa, why don't you try some? Everyone should have some."

The manager waited patiently by. "Thank you for your trouble, manager. These oven-baked sesame cakes are fine. I'll let you know in advance when I want some."

"You're too kind, it's my pleasure. Please enjoy your meal." After saying this politely, he withdrew.

After a satisfying meal, the group went home, with Xiao Li and Chengzi being the most content.

On Sunday, Zhang Shouyi also went to work at seven in the morning. He insisted that Zhang Hongmei see him off, holding her hand tightly and refusing to let go.

"Hongmei, you're just reading anyway, what difference does it make where you read? Why don't you come with me to work overtime?"

"No, I'm not going, hurry up and go!" Zhang Hongmei was really fed up with Zhang Shouyi's clinginess.

"Then you can bring me lunch? Or I can come with you."

Zhang Hongmei snapped, "No, I know I'm not going. To get into your office, I have to go through layers of checks. I'm not going. Stop haggling here and hurry up!"

Finally, Zhang Shouyi left. It was really tough. We'd been arguing with him all morning.

He spent the whole day reading. He didn't put the book down until he returned home in the evening. The saying "you only realize how little you know when you need it" is absolutely true. He truly hoped this last-minute cramming would be useful.

When Zhang Shouyi returned in the evening, he still clung to Zhang Hongmei, saying, "I won't bother you. You can study, and I'll read documents. It's enough to just be with you."

Zhang Hongmei is now looking forward to Monday, hoping this guy will act normal soon.

On Monday, Zhang Shouyi insisted on taking Zhang Hongmei to school. Unable to refuse him, Zhang Hongmei got in the car, and they arrived at school in just three minutes. There was nothing she could do but quickly send him away.

"Hongmei, you passed the exam!"

"Thank you!" Zhang Hongmei said, then eagerly got off the bus and ran into the school—she really did run.

Zhang Shouyi watched Zhang Hongmei flee in disarray and laughed heartily behind her, which only made Zhang Hongmei run even faster.

Zhang Hongmei sat down and calmed her racing heart.

Wei Huaqiang leaned closer and asked, "Class monitor, are you confident about this exam?"

"I don't know?"

"Hehe, if you're not confident, then we're even less certain."

"That's not necessarily true. I've missed a lot of classes."

The school bell rang, and the school took this exam very seriously, with three proctors.

The exams, covering ten subjects over three days, left the students completely bewildered.

Zhang Hongmei was also suffering from neurasthenia. Finally, after finishing the exam, she felt relieved.

Zhang Hongmei only had Thursday off, but as the class monitor, she still had to come to school to help the teacher compile the students' grades. Of course, it wouldn't be her own class's grades, but even so, she quickly found out her own score.

Zhang Hongmei was once again surrounded by congratulations. Out of a possible score of 500 out of 100, Zhang Hongmei scored 473, surpassing the second-place finisher by 35 points.

Don't underestimate these 35 points. Although each subject only gets 3.5 points after evaluation, that's for 10 subjects, not the previous 4.

His math score, in particular, caused a sensation in the math department. How could it be a perfect score? It made these tough guys feel ashamed.

Zhang Hongmei, dragging her weary body, finally returned home. It was truly not easy; even though she came in first place, she wasn't as excited as anyone else.

"Hongmei, what's wrong? You look so tired." Aunt Li was startled when she saw Zhang Hongmei looking so listless.

"It's nothing, Aunt Li, I'm just tired. I'm going to take a shower. Tonight I'd like to have some rice porridge and pickled vegetables."

"Okay, I'll make you a few more potstickers, with chives and eggs."

"Okay. I'm going to rest for a while. Call me when Grandpa comes back."

Aunt Li prepared hot water for Zhang Hongmei and then brought in two thermos flasks.

Zhang Hongmei slipped into the spatial dimension, drank a cup of spiritual spring water, and felt much better. After taking a hot bath in the space, she felt completely refreshed.

I washed my clothes from head to toe with the hot water that Aunt Li had prepared before leaving the bathroom.

It was so late and Zhang Shouyi and Gu Chuanming hadn't returned. Zhang Hongmei felt that something must have happened, but she couldn't contact them and didn't know what was going on.

Seeing the new car in the yard, knowing it was for him, he asked Aunt Li for the keys and let Wang Ying drive it. He decided to go find them.

"Hongmei, where should we look?"

"I don't know if my grandfather left any instructions before he passed away."

Uncle Li and Aunt Li were both at a loss, and Wang Ying didn't know either when asked. Zhang Hongmei was really worried and would send someone over to inform them even if something happened.

"Let's go check on the government."

The two drove off, but the government had blocked off the street. Had something really happened?

While Zhang Hongmei was negotiating with the guard, Xiao Li ran over.