"The district actually has a scholarship fund, too. For years..." Director Wang glanced at the rearview mirror from time to time.

Xue Rui listened for a while. It seemed Director Wang was just making empty promises.

One moment it was some district award, the next it was a municipal one...

Everything he mentioned was about things that would happen after the college entrance exams.

"Director Wang, you can give it a rest," Xue Rui interrupted.

"Alright." Director Wang gave an awkward laugh. ’This kid, Xue Rui, is obviously not easy to fool.’

He could already tell that where Lin Ruoxi went to school depended mainly on Xue Rui’s opinion.

If a public school were to compete with a private school on scholarships, they really wouldn’t stand a chance.

Especially when the other side was offering such a high price, he had no confidence at all that he could convince Lin Ruoxi to stay.

But he never expected that in the end, Lin Ruoxi would stay at No. 2 High for Xue Rui.

The drive from the school to the residential complex was short, only taking a few minutes.

"Lin Ruoxi, go on ahead and buy the groceries."

"Okay."

Lin Ruoxi nodded, scanning her surroundings before getting out of the car.

Director Wang drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. After Lin Ruoxi closed the car door, he whipped his head around and asked, "You live with her?"

Xue Rui jumped. Director Wang’s glare looked like he wanted to eat him alive.

"I just walk her to and from school every day and occasionally grab a meal at her place," Xue Rui explained hurriedly.

Director Wang was famous for his bad temper. He had almost gotten into a fight with those people from the private schools earlier.

"Hmph. You’re doing a great job," Director Wang said through gritted teeth.

He suddenly remembered something and asked, "Don’t you have a crush on Gu Muxue?"

The whole school knew about it. He’d even caught Xue Rui in the act several times.

"Uh..." For a moment, Xue Rui didn’t know how to explain. The director was a wily old fox; he couldn’t be fooled.

Director Wang waved his hand dismissively. "I don’t care about your messy affairs. Just make sure you keep Lin Ruoxi here. And don’t get her pregnant. Also..."

Xue Rui swallowed hard. Director Wang was way too blunt.

’Also, what on earth has he been through to make him worry about something like that?’

"Got it. Goodbye, Director Wang." Xue Rui didn’t want to talk anymore, so he got out of the car and went into the grocery store.

He didn’t know how Director Wang interpreted his relationship with Lin Ruoxi.

But Xue Rui was sure Director Wang wouldn’t go around gossiping. After all, he was the key to keeping Lin Ruoxi, and it was already generous of him not to ask for some kind of reward.

Xue Rui picked up a bunch of greens, walked over to Lin Ruoxi’s side, and said with a smile, "What’s this about someone trying to ’abduct’ you? Did your kindergarten teacher teach you that?"

Lin Ruoxi’s choice of words was really something else. Those people just wanted to make a deal with her, and in the next moment, she had "falsely accused" them of being human traffickers.

Lin Ruoxi thought for a moment. "I... I never went to kindergarten. Grandma said that if someone offers you nice things to go with them, they’re a child abductor."

Xue Rui thought about it carefully. ’She actually has a point.’

Lin Ruoxi was probably surrounded by that group of people the moment she left the school.

And those people weren’t all from the same place; they were competitors.

While trying to outbid each other, they must have used some poor wording that made Lin Ruoxi misunderstand.

Normally, they should have approached the student’s parents for something like this. But Lin Ruoxi didn’t have parents, and she had already moved out of the village, so those people could only stake out the school gate.

"You never went to kindergarten? Then what did you do when you were little?" Xue Rui frowned.

’What kind of kid doesn’t go to kindergarten? That scumbag probably thought picking her up was too much trouble...’

"Uhm... I caught bugs in the fields, fed the chickens..."

The more Xue Rui heard, the more his heart ached for her. He cut her off, "Okay, you don’t have to say any more."

"They’ll probably be back in the next few days. If I’m not free, you can ask Director Wang to take you home," Xue Rui instructed.

"Wouldn’t that be too much trouble for the teacher..."

"It won’t be."

Xue Rui was sure Director Wang would be more than happy to run the errand. Lin Ruoxi was a glorious achievement on his professional resume; what was escorting her to and from school?

Under the smiling gaze of the grocery store owner, the two paid and left.

"Do you feel bad about losing that million?" Xue Rui asked with a smile.

Without hesitating, Lin Ruoxi shook her head.

Xue Rui smiled and patted Lin Ruoxi’s head.

This girl had given up a huge sum of money for him, just to be by his side.

Lin Ruoxi’s dependence on him had already reached a somewhat unhealthy level.

If it were any other girl, Xue Rui might have thought she was being calculating. After all, his family’s fortune was worth far more than a simple million.

Although he was poor now, the future was his for the taking sooner or later.

But Lin Ruoxi... she was too pure, you could see right through her with a single glance.

Her only reason for refusing was to stay by his side.

And what was that about "you’re not for sale"?

Xue Rui felt Lin Ruoxi’s way of thinking wasn’t quite right; she saw herself as his property.

But given Lin Ruoxi’s upbringing, it was normal for her to have some psychological issues.

As the two arrived downstairs, Xue Rui spotted a familiar license plate number.

’Oh, crap.’ A bad feeling welled up in Xue Rui. That was his mom’s car.

He wanted to sneak away, but a furious shout came from behind him. "Xue Rui!"

Xue Rui froze and slowly turned around. "Mom, what are you doing here? I was just about to head back to school."

Lin Ruoxi jumped in fright, but she didn’t understand why Xue Rui wanted to run.

’Back to school? Isn’t he staying for dinner...?’

"Hello, Auntie."

She had met Xue Rui’s mother at the hospital before, and she had been very gentle with her.

"Xixi, have you eaten yet? Auntie will take you guys out to eat."

Ren Qunfang said with a smile, her tone exceptionally gentle, as if that angry roar had come from someone else.

Xue Rui witnessed his mom’s Sichuan opera face-changing act and could only wait obediently on the side.

Because no matter what he said, his mom wouldn’t believe him. It was better to let Lin Ruoxi talk to her while he guided the conversation from the side to boost his own image a little.

"Auntie, I know how to cook."

"Did Xiaorui ask you for rent?" Ren Qunfang asked with a beaming smile, then shot a look at Xue Rui.

"No."

After hearing Lin Ruoxi’s answer, Ren Qunfang’s expression softened a bit, and she gave Xue Rui a slight nod.

"I guess you have some conscience after all," Ren Qunfang said with a smile.

"Mom, you can’t think of me like that. I’m helping a classmate," Xue Rui said, full of righteous indignation.

"Then why aren’t you staying at school?"

"I’m escorting my classmate. It’s not safe for a girl to go to and from school by herself. Right, Lin Ruoxi?"

"Mhm." Lin Ruoxi’s eyes shimmered. To be honest, up until now, she had no idea why Xue Rui accompanied her to and from school every day.

’So, that was the reason...’

"And you even go into her apartment? Lin Ruoxi’s grandmother told me all about what you two are ’up to’ in her room every night."

"What?" Xue Rui’s eyes went wide.

He just had a meal and played on the computer for a bit before heading back to school. He didn’t even close the door!

’That old lady actually made up stuff like that about me.’

"I was studying with Lin Ruoxi! My ranking on the last exam jumped by several hundred places. If you don’t believe me, ask my aunt."

The last time Xue Rui ran into that old woman, he had already prepared for the worst.

He had thought of this excuse long ago. Coincidentally, the test scores came out today, so no matter how Ren Qunfang checked, it was true that he had improved a lot.

"Why didn’t you tell me?" Ren Qunfang frowned.

"I wanted to give you a surprise, of course," Xue Rui said with a laugh.

"..."

Xue Rui’s reasoning was indeed thorough. She had just asked Xue Xiaying, who confirmed that Xue Rui’s academic performance had improved greatly recently, likely because this girl was tutoring him.

Faced with Ren Qunfang’s questions, Xue Rui’s answers were watertight.

Ren Qunfang didn’t leave right away. Instead, she stayed and had a meal with the two of them.

"Xixi, you’re such a good cook. Whoever marries you in the future will be really lucky."

Ren Qunfang didn’t hold back her praise; Lin Ruoxi’s cooking really was delicious.

"Here, this is for Xiaorui’s tutoring fees."

She pulled a stack of cash out of her purse, probably about ten thousand.

It wasn’t as if she hadn’t found cram schools or private tutors for Xue Rui before. No matter how much money she spent, it was basically useless. She even felt this amount was too little.

"No, Auntie, I actually..." Lin Ruoxi felt she didn’t deserve it.

She hadn’t tutored Xue Rui in anything at all. In fact, he was always telling her she was "leading students astray."

To be precise, it was Xue Rui who had guided her a lot with computers, helping her choose a direction and debug her compiling environment.

But before she could explain, Xue Rui shot her a glare. She saw him mouth the word silently: "Take it."

"Oh, thank you, Auntie," Lin Ruoxi said, feeling very guilty.

"Auntie will be going now." Ren Qunfang picked up her bag and gestured for Lin Ruoxi not to see her out.

"You, come out here," Ren Qunfang said, glaring at Xue Rui.

Xue Rui obediently followed her downstairs.

"Aren’t you pursuing Old Gu’s daughter? So what’s the deal with Lin Ruoxi?" Ren Qunfang scolded.

Lin Ruoxi was too easy to read—the way she looked at him during dinner, how she put food on his plate...

No matter how you looked at it, they were like a young couple who had been living together for a long time.

"Mom, how old am I? How can you have such crooked thoughts?"

"I was young and foolish before..."

"My main goal right now is to study hard. They’re both just my good classmates."

Xue Rui put on an innocent face, pretending he didn’t understand a thing.

"Don’t you play dumb with me. You think I don’t know what you’re like?" Ren Qunfang’s eyes narrowed.

Xue Rui dodged the question, using his age and studies as a shield. He was really getting on her nerves.

"You have to choose one. In any case, I like Lin Ruoxi. You’re not allowed to bully her," Ren Qunfang said, glaring at Xue Rui.

She felt that a family-oriented girl like Lin Ruoxi would be low-maintenance and was the perfect candidate for a daughter-in-law.

"What’s this about liking or not liking? I’m still young. We can talk about this after I’m an adult, at least."

"Oh? So you can choose once you’re an adult?"

Ren Qunfang felt that Xue Rui had a point. At his age, how could he understand what love really was?

Friends, lovers... a lot of these things are just phases.

If she had been a good student and gotten into university, she might not have ended up with Xue Jianfeng.

What kind of path one would walk in the future, and who they would walk it with—no one could say for sure.

"No, what I mean is, only children make choices. Adults, of course, want them all," Xue Rui declared with conviction.

"What did you say?!"

Ren Qunfang couldn’t hold back anymore. She took off her high-heeled shoe and threw it at Xue Rui.

"How did I give birth to a thing like you? To say something so shameless!"

"Mom! I’m still your biological son, you know! Don’t use weapons!" Xue Rui yelled as he fled, showing no sense of urgency at all.

In his previous life, Ren Qunfang had pestered him every day to find a girlfriend and bring her home. Xue Rui had failed to do so and got yelled at daily.

This time, he found two, and Ren Qunfang was still unhappy.

Xue Rui felt that his mom’s standards were just too damn high.