Chapter 69 "Confession"
In the stillness of the night, only the soft, even breathing could be heard in the master bedroom.
Xie Shiyan rose silently, donned a silk robe, and entered the study. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city lights shone brilliantly, illuminating his cold, sculpted profile. He picked up his phone from the desk and dialed a number.
"Secretary Lin." His voice was unusually clear in the quiet study, slightly hoarse from just waking up, but utterly devoid of warmth. "Investigate the Foreign Languages Department of S University, specifically a girl named Su Qingyao, and her associates. Before sunrise tomorrow, I want their entire family to disappear completely from S City. Also, have someone keep an eye on Ningning's school. If anything foolish enough to approach her again, you know what to do."
From the other end of the phone came Secretary Lin's calm, almost rigid, reply: "Understood, Mr. Xie. The debt problem of the small building materials company under the Su family's name is just the right trigger."
"Hmm." Xie Shiyan responded faintly and hung up the phone. His deep eyes gazed at the boundless night outside the window.
The next morning, Xie Shiyan personally drove Jiang Yining to the gate of S University. The black Maybach attracted many glances. He leaned down and placed a light kiss on Jiang Yining's forehead, his eyes gentle: "Focus on your studies, I'll pick you up after school."
Jiang Yining blushed slightly, nodded, and walked briskly into the school. As soon as she stepped into the classroom, she keenly sensed that the atmosphere was somewhat strange. Several girls who were usually quite close to Su Qingyao were huddled together, whispering, their faces showing disbelief and a hint of fear.
"Have you heard? Su Qingyao and her close friends moved out overnight."
"Really? It was still here yesterday."
"It's absolutely true. It seems like the family company suddenly ran into a huge problem. It went bankrupt and is now heavily in debt. There's no other way but to leave."
"My God... this is so sudden! Just yesterday she was..."
The whispers reached Jiang Yining's ears. She paused for a moment, then walked to her seat with a normal expression and opened her book.
A small ripple stirred within her heart. Xie Shiyan's actions... were faster than she had imagined. This thunderous, ruthless approach made her realize once again that the man she relied on was no longer the boy she remembered.
Good. The world is finally at peace.
Life returned to the peace Jiang Yining had longed for. She threw herself into her studies, and soon the results of her professional exams were announced and posted on the most prominent bulletin board in the teaching building.
The crowd was bustling, and students who crowded in front of the bulletin board to check their grades exclaimed in amazement.
"Holy crap, perfect scores in all subjects?"
"Foreign language major? Who's that weirdo?"
"Jiang Yining? Is that the new transfer student?"
"He broke our college's five-year-old record for the highest score. What an amazing person!"
Jiang Yining stood slightly off the edge of the crowd, looking at the prominent perfect score number next to her name at the top of the leaderboard, a barely perceptible smile playing on her lips. Excellent, this was the confidence she had earned through her own hard work.
Just then, the crowd spontaneously parted to make way, accompanied by a burst of barely suppressed cheers and whistles. A boy dressed in the latest trendy clothes, with meticulously styled hair, holding a large bouquet of flamboyant red roses, walked confidently up to Jiang Yining with a triumphant smile on his face.
It was Song Chi from the next class. His family was said to be in the real estate business, and he was quite a prominent figure at school.
"Jiang Yining." Song Chi deliberately raised his voice, his expression filled with theatrical affection, his gaze fixed intently on her as he offered her the roses.
"I noticed you from the very first day you transferred here. Every smile and gesture of yours is deeply imprinted in my heart. I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?"
Wow!
"Say yes, say yes!"
"Young Master Song is awesome!"
"Together, together"
The surrounding jeers surged instantly, almost overturning the bulletin board. Countless eyes were fixed on Jiang Yining, some filled with envy, some with jealousy, and most with the excitement of watching the spectacle.
Jiang Yining looked at the glaring red roses in front of her and Song Chi's self-righteously handsome face, feeling nothing but annoyance. She'd just seen Su Qingyao off, and now this self-important guy showed up? She rolled her eyes inwardly, but maintained basic politeness, her voice clearly cutting through the noise:
"I'm sorry, Song Chi." She paused, and under everyone's expectant gaze, clearly uttered the next sentence, "I have a fiancé. We have a very good relationship, and it's impossible for me to accept anyone else."
Song Chi's smile froze. His hand, holding the flowers, hung suspended in mid-air, unsure whether to go forward or backward. Being rejected so bluntly in front of so many people made him feel utterly humiliated.
"Fiancé?" Song Chi scoffed, his eyes turning unfriendly, filled with a sense of offended hostility. "Jiang Yining, if you're going to reject me, at least come up with a better excuse. You've only been here a short time. What fiancé did you get? Are you looking down on me, Song Chi?"
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