Faced with Ji Yi’s irrefutable demand, Qin Fan was out of options. Whether in his past life or this one, other than his parents, the only two people he couldn’t bring himself to refuse were Jiang Yino and Ji Yi. He simply couldn’t muster any words to reject his older sister figure.

It was only a matter of time anyway. Might as well get it over with!

With a resigned chuckle, Qin Fan said, "Sis, hold on tight!"

The moment he spoke, seeing Ji Yi’s nonchalant expression, a mischievous impulse seized Qin Fan. He floored the accelerator, and the four-door Maserati shot forward like a bullet from a gun. He didn’t slow down even as he weaved through city traffic. Attracting countless astonished stares, Ji Yi sat in the passenger seat with her face pale, clutching the grab handle. Her lips were pursed tightly, not daring to utter a single word for the entire ride.

It wasn’t until the Maserati drifted sideways to a screeching halt in a parking spot outside the gates of Jinling University that Ji Yi finally snapped back to her senses. As Qin Fan turned off the engine, her first instinct was to reach out with her slender fingers and swat at him. Her voice trembled with lingering fear as she scolded, "You little rascal! Are you trying to drag your sister with you to an early grave? I’ll have you know I haven’t lived enough yet! You, driving without a license and hitting 120 on these streets... You... you... I’m going to kill you!"

By the end of her tirade, Ji Yi was swatting at Qin Fan with both hands as if throwing a tantrum. Yet, she showed remarkable restraint, never once touching his handsome face. Under her flurry of blows, Qin Fan felt an emotional fulfillment he had never experienced before. In the past, no matter how big a mistake I made, she could never bring herself to hit me. He knew she had always been afraid of inadvertently hurting his already fragile heart. So, isn’t her hitting me without a second thought now a sign that she has accepted the new me? Thinking this, despite the red marks her swats were leaving, Qin Fan felt nothing but warmth.

"Alright, Sis, had enough yet?" Qin Fan chuckled, grabbing her hands.

At his touch, Ji Yi’s face inexplicably flushed. Such interactions had happened frequently before, but they had never stirred any emotions within her. Now, for some reason, her heart was racing like a frightened deer, and she felt a wave of anxiety and fluster.

"Hmph, if there’s a next time, you’ll see how I deal with you! Get out of the car and take me to your little girlfriend!" Pulling her hand away, Ji Yi commanded with a glare.

"You got it! Let’s go!"

Qin Fan opened the car door with a flourish and strode out.

"Sis, are you sure you don’t want to meet somewhere else? Right here on campus?" Qin Fan asked as they walked onto the university grounds.

"No need. The campus is perfect! In a place as big as Jinling University, if I walk a lap with her, I could probably find out her grandparents’ names. Don’t you believe me?" Ji Yi said cunningly, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with him.

"Of course I do! How could I not? I’ve never doubted your powers of persuasion!" Qin Fan laughed, leading Ji Yi toward the women’s dormitory area.

Along the way, unfamiliar faces constantly greeted Qin Fan. He didn’t recognize a single one, but he smiled and nodded at each in turn. It was Ji Yi’s presence, however, that drew everyone’s attention, with people speculating if she was his girlfriend. The clicking of phone cameras was incessant. Qin Fan could only offer a helpless, wry smile.

"Well, look at you. Still a celebrity here at Jinling University!" Ji Yi teased, surprised.

"Of course. I’m handsome and I’m a good student; how could I not be popular? I’m not bragging, but aside from the stuck-up types who act all cold and aloof, there isn’t a single person in this school, man or woman, who doesn’t idolize your big bro here!" Qin Fan boasted. It was only in front of Ji Yi that he could be so relaxed and smug.

"Give you an inch and you’ll take a mile, won’t you? Tell me, whose ’big bro’ are you?" As she spoke, Ji Yi reached out and pinched his ear.

"No, no, no, Sis, I was wrong! I was wrong! Not a ’big bro,’ I’m the little brother! The little brother! Let go, let go! Have mercy, people are watching! You’re going to ruin my suave image!" Qin Fan pleaded for mercy as Ji Yi immediately resorted to her signature ear-pinching.

"I’ll let you off this time! If you ever dare call yourself ’big bro’ again, I’ll pinch it again—right in front of your little girlfriend!" Ji Yi warned, a satisfied smirk playing on her lips as she released him.

Amidst their warm, sibling-like banter, the two arrived at the women’s dormitory area while chatting and laughing. Without going any further inside, Qin Fan stopped, took out his phone, and dialed Jiang Yino’s number.

"Qin Fan?!?!"

The call connected, and Jiang Yino’s delighted voice came through.

"Yeah, Yinuo, it’s me!" A blissful smile bloomed on Qin Fan’s face as he heard her voice.

"Qin Fan, where on earth have you been? I asked my advisor, but she said she didn’t know. I asked the guys in your dorm, and they said they had no news either. I tried calling, but I couldn’t get through! Where did you go?" Having not seen him for days, the longing she had accumulated seemed to burst forth in that single moment, the words tumbling out like a machine gun.

"Yinuo, does this mean you missed me? Worried about me?" Qin Fan’s smile only grew wider at her anxious tone.

His question threw her off completely. Jiang Yino couldn’t help but blush. "Who... who missed you or worried about you! I was just curious! Where... where are you now?"

Having stepped out onto the balcony to answer the call, Jiang Yino subconsciously glanced back into her room. Seeing that Ou Mingsi and Du Ruanqing weren’t eavesdropping, she lowered her voice.

Meanwhile, outside the women’s dormitory area, Ji Yi watched Qin Fan openly flirt on the phone. She couldn’t resist giving his butt a light smack and mouthing angrily, "Hurry up!"

Under her threat, Qin Fan just grinned mischievously before speaking into the phone again. "Yinuo, I’m at the entrance to the women’s dorms. Can you come out for a second?" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Now?" The word slipped out reflexively. Jiang Yino immediately realized how eager she sounded, but the words were already out, and the blush on her face spread like wildfire.

"Yeah, I’ll wait for you," Qin Fan said.

"Okay! I’ll just change my clothes and be right down!" Jiang Yino replied after a moment’s thought.

She hung up and walked into the bathroom, first splashing her face with water to calm the unusual flush. Only then did she go to her closet and pick out her most flattering outfit.

"Whoa, Goddess Yinuo, what’s the occasion?" Du Ruanqing piped up as soon as she saw Jiang Yino pull out an outfit she rarely wore but looked particularly stunning in. "You got a phone call and now you’re changing? Don’t tell me you’re going on a date! You can’t be unfaithful to our campus god, Qin Fan!"

News of Qin Fan’s return had so far only reached the guys in dorm 708 and a few others in C-Block. Most people, including the plucky Du Ruanqing who had managed to get close to Li Qiuzhe, were still in the dark.