"Those two kids will have a good future."

"Our Xiao Lan will have a good future too."

"Of course she will."

The couple rode their bike, their figures slowly disappearing into the night. Finally, only Sun Li’s voice could be heard, saying, "Who says daughters are no good?"

Qin Bogang didn’t say anything more.

**

The next day was Monday. There was a flag-raising ceremony in the morning, so Qin Jiao woke up early. Just as she pushed her door open, she saw Shen Yi also opening his door to leave.

She gave him a nod without saying anything. Shen Yi, however, got on his bike and caught up to her.

"Did you have a lot of people over yesterday? It sounded lively." Shen Yi knew that if he didn’t say something first, Qin Jiao would likely stay silent the entire way to school.

He really wanted to hear her voice, even if it was just to talk about everyday things.

Sure enough, Qin Jiao started talking about what happened yesterday. She said, "My dad isn’t going out to sell breakfast today. He’s taking a day off. He and my uncle are going with my aunt to her home to handle her divorce."

Shen Yi nearly missed a pedal. He was extremely sensitive to the word "divorce." After all, when the accident happened, he and Qin Jiao had been on their way to get a divorce.

He didn’t want a divorce. He didn’t want to be separated from Qin Jiao, but he didn’t know how to express it.

The moment the accident occurred, Shen Yi only had time to turn and shield Qin Jiao. But they were both still caught in it...

"Shen Yi? Be careful, you’re about to hit a tree. Didn’t you sleep well last night?"

"No."

Qin Jiao gave the distracted Shen Yi a puzzled look. ’Maybe he doesn’t want to hear about my family’s trivial matters,’ she thought, and decided to just keep quiet.

Shen Yi didn’t get another chance to start a new topic before they arrived at school.

The first monthly exam was over, and the second one wasn’t far off. The pace for a high school senior never slowed down, and it wouldn’t until the day the countdown to the college entrance exam finally ended.

Qin Jiao, however, was rubbing her hands in anticipation. She wanted to make another huge leap in her scores on the second monthly exam.

The seating for the second monthly exam was based on the results of the first. Shen Yi stared silently at the rankings, thinking, ’When will I be able to be in the same exam hall as Qin Jiao?’

He suddenly spoke up. "If I can make it into the top two hundred this time, it’ll prove your tutoring is working. I want to give you a gift."

Qin Jiao was taken aback.

In reality, she hadn’t studied with Shen Yi more than a few times. After all, they only had time on the weekends.

If she had to say how she’d helped him, it was mainly by giving him the copious notes she’d compiled while burning the midnight oil.

Qin Jiao looked at Shen Yi’s earnest expression and said, "You’re confident you can make the top two hundred?"

"Yeah."

"Alright then. If you really get into the top two hundred on this monthly exam, I’ll accept your gift. But on one condition: you can’t buy anything too expensive."

"Deal."

After their conversation ended, quite some time passed before Qin Jiao finally snapped out of her daze. By then, the English teacher was already going over the reading comprehension section.

’How did I just agree to accept a gift from Shen Yi so easily?’

The ballpoint pen twirled and twirled in her hand. Qin Jiao lowered her gaze slightly and let out a soft sigh.

’Oh, whatever. It’s a good thing that Shen Yi wants to surpass Chen Feng. For Grandpa Du’s sake, I’ll help where I can.’

’Anyway, once the college entrance exams are over, we’ll go our separate ways.’

With that thought, Qin Jiao pushed aside the strange feeling in her heart. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

When she got home after school, Qin Jiao found a pile of things in the living room. It was the stuff her aunt, Qin Na, had brought back.

Qin Na sighed. "They’re too much. They even kept so much of my dowry."

Su Yun said, "No matter what, at least you’re divorced now and you’re free. You can always earn the money back slowly."

Qin Na nodded, then turned to Qin Zhonghui worriedly. "Second Brother, do you think Mom and Dad will be angry when they find out?"