As she rode the elevator down, she lifted the necklace from her chest, a faint, happy smile gracing her lips.

"This necklace is so exquisitely made. You must have spent a long time picking it out, right?"

"It didn’t take me long."

Lin Shen said casually.

"It caught my eye right away. After all, you can trust the quality of Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry."

"It’s a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace?"

Jiang Wan stared at Lin Shen in astonishment, her heart thrumming with a mixture of shock and excitement.

She was well aware that a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace cost at least hundreds of thousands!

’So the gift Lin Shen gave me is this expensive?’

Jiang Wan quickly and carefully tucked the necklace inside her top to keep it safe, her eyes glistening with boundless affection.

"Lin Shen, thank you for such a precious gift. I have a gift for you later, too."

"What gift?"

"You’ll see."

Jiang Wan smiled mysteriously, leaving him in suspense and piquing his curiosity.

’She wouldn’t be giving me some kind of "special" gift, would she?’

’In that case, I’m actually kind of looking forward to it!’

Lin Shen thought to himself.

They left the academic building and went to the parking lot behind it.

However, they had just gotten into the car and hadn’t even started the engine when Jiang Wan gripped Lin Shen’s hand tightly, closed her eyes, and leaned in.

Her intention was perfectly clear.

Seeing this, Lin Shen just gave her a light peck. Jiang Wan, however, was not pleased and pouted slightly.

"Lin Shen, are you seeing another woman?"

"Why would you think that?"

"You won’t even kiss me properly."

Her voice was full of playful complaint.

"You always used to kiss me so passionately, but today you just brushed me off."

"Well, it’s a little cramped in here. Not much room to maneuver, you know?"

Lin Shen chuckled and pinched Jiang Wan’s soft cheek. He never realized she had such an adorable side.

"Besides, we’re on campus. Students walk by here all the time, even at night. Are you sure you want to do this here?"

"Then just take me home first."

Jiang Wan thought about it and decided Lin Shen had a point, so she suppressed the urge to kiss him.

On the way, they chatted and laughed, catching up on recent events.

Military training was scheduled right after the start of the semester. Combined with Modu’s recent scorching weather, Lin Shen worried that Gu Wanqing’s slight build wouldn’t be able to handle it, so he made a point to bring it up with Jiang Wan.

But it seemed she was already prepared.

"Here!"

Jiang Wan said with a smile, pulling a thick stack of leave slips from her bag and showing them off to Lin Shen.

"I already have them ready for Qingqing."

"Will that work?"

Lin Shen asked tentatively.

"Won’t this affect your job?"

"You’re overthinking it. If I, as her counselor, don’t even have this little bit of authority, I’d be a pretty big failure at my job."

Jiang Wan gave a playful wink.

"Besides, even if someone found out, no one would dare report me."

"Why’s that?"

"Because it’s all thanks to you, Lin Shen."

Her eyes were fixed on Lin Shen’s handsome profile, and she felt completely lost in the sweetness of their romance.

"The video you filmed for me blew up on Douyin, and even the university administration found out about it."

"They saw it as positive publicity for the university, so they even praised me during a meeting."

"Oh, really?"

Lin Shen teased with a grin.

"So our dear Jiang Wan is a big shot at Shanghai International Studies University. No wonder no one dares to mess with you." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"I was popular before, too, you know."

Jiang Wan said with a confident smile.

"I’m just even more popular now. I get recognized by fans on campus all the time. They even come up to me and ask when I’m posting my next video."

"So, have you thought about when you want to shoot the next video?"

"I’ve already finished the script. I’m just waiting to see when you’re free. I’ll send it over."

Jiang Wan smiled meaningfully.

"Haven’t you been busy with the Cat Cafe lately? I keep seeing ads for it on my Douyin feed. The place looks really nice. I even have friends asking me if I can get them tickets since they can’t manage to book any."

"I didn’t expect it to get so popular, either."

Lin Shen gave a wry smile, which earned him an eye-roll from Jiang Wan.

"Look at you, playing modest. Isn’t being popular a good thing?"

"Not necessarily."

After Lin Shen explained his various concerns, she began to understand. Business wasn’t just about the volume of traffic.

High traffic had to be backed by quality service, or else all that buzz would just turn into future backlash.

Jiang Wan nodded as if she only half-understood, then softly reassured Lin Shen not to worry.

A short while later, the Jaguar XFL pulled into Wenjing Garden.

"I’m just running upstairs to grab something. I’ll be right back down."

Jiang Wan leaned in and kissed Lin Shen on the cheek. Her eyes crinkled in a small smile, and her soft voice was a tantalizing mix of flirtatiousness and shyness that made his heart race.

"Let’s get a hotel tonight, okay?"

"Okay."

Seeing the excited glint in Lin Shen’s eyes, Jiang Wan felt a genuine sense of happiness well up inside her.

She got out of the car and hurried upstairs. The moment she opened the door, she called out into the apartment.

"Lulu, did that outfit you ordered for me arrive?"

"..."

Jiang Wan waited for a long time, but there was no reply. She froze for a second, then, after searching the entire apartment, she realized Xu Lu wasn’t back yet.

’It’s already 9 o’clock. Even if she had to work late, she should have been back by now, right?’

Puzzled, Jiang Wan took out her phone and dialed Xu Lu’s number.

A moment later, the call connected. Her voice was tinged with worry as she spoke.

"Lulu, aren’t you home yet?"