"Go, go, go! What on earth are you talking about? It’s not what you’re thinking!"

She left her sentence half-finished.

Her cheeks slightly flushed, Jiang Yino walked into the bathroom with her clothes. After applying a touch of light makeup, she emerged shortly after, looking stunning.

Without waiting for the two girls who were eager to interrogate her to speak, she preempted them, "I’m in a hurry. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back! I’m off now!"

Picking up her phone, Jiang Yino hurried out, as if afraid of being detained by the two for an exhaustive interrogation.

"Ruanqin, should we follow her to see what’s up? For her to act so out of character, something must be going on! Yino is definitely not herself!" Ou Mingsi said, hurrying to Du Ruanqin’s side as she watched Jiang Yino’s back disappear from sight.

"No need! I don’t even need to guess to know that the call was definitely from Qin Fan! Besides that total weirdo, who else could make our Yino lose her composure like that! Tsk tsk, Mingsi, did you hear her last night? Yino was talking in her sleep, endlessly calling out for Qin Fan! Oh, the way she said it made me, up in the top bunk, feel all fluttery! I almost couldn’t resist climbing down to cuddle with her!" Du Ruanqin teased playfully.

"Ah! Now that you mention it, I do remember hearing something in my daze before falling back asleep! It looks like our Yino has fallen for him! So much for her supposed reserve, sigh!" Ou Mingsi lamented.

"With a god-like man like Master Fan, who could possibly resist? If it weren’t for the rule that a friend’s man is off-limits, I’d be tempted to chase after him myself!" Du Ruanqin said, shaking her head languidly.

「Outside the female dormitory area.」

"Little Fan, is it her? Is it that girl?"

As another girl walked out of Building H, Ji Yi pointed and called out for the eleventh time.

"My dear lady, this is the eleventh time already!" Qin Fan said irritably.

"Good that it isn’t! She doesn’t have the right aura; she’s not a match for you, Master Qin! Fortunately, she’s not the one, otherwise she wouldn’t have passed the Miss’s inspection!" Ji Yi declared haughtily.

If the Qin Fan of today were still the same as the old Qin Fan, then no one would be nitpicking about a woman’s aura. As long as she was a decent person who wouldn’t scheme against or harm him, neither Ji Yi nor Qin Chu and Wei Shuying would set their standards so high. But the problem was that the current Qin Fan had become the founder of No.1 Group, the master of No.1 Villa, and was addressed as "Master Qin" by scions like Chang Yuanyi. With such a status, how could any ordinary woman possibly be worthy of him? It was absurd!

Given the circumstances, it was fortunate that Jiang Yino was not among the girls who had exited Building H in the last ten-odd minutes. Otherwise, Qin Fan would have truly wanted to cry but had no tears, since not a single one of those girls would have passed the test set by the Miss!

"She’s out!"

Just as Ji Yi finished speaking, Qin Fan, who was staring in the direction of the dormitory, involuntarily tensed up. His gaze locked onto Jiang Yino. She was clad in a deep blue fluffy top and a black pleated skirt, her silky, shoulder-length hair cascading freely, and a pair of low-cut boots on her feet. A knowing, warm smile appeared on his face.

"A fluffy top and pleated skirt—is that her?"

Seeing the sudden change in Qin Fan’s demeanor, Ji Yi followed his gaze. Without needing him to say a word, she was instantly captivated by the girl’s striking presence and blurted out the question.

If it really is this girl, that’s not too bad. From a distance, while her features aren’t drop-dead gorgeous, she gives off an air of rare purity and tranquility. In today’s materialistic and restless age, that’s a true rarity.

"Mhm!" Qin Fan hummed lightly, his face glowing radiantly as he met Jiang Yino’s smiling gaze.

"Not bad, she passes the first impression test!" Ji Yi mumbled to herself, her own gaze fixed intently on Jiang Yino.

"Qin Fan, where on earth did you go?"

Quickening her hurried pace, Jiang Yino arrived at Qin Fan’s side amid countless envious sidelong glances and asked in a charming tone. Her sparkling, clear eyes seemed to be filled with countless questions.

"You’re Jiang Yino?" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Before Qin Fan could respond, Ji Yi suddenly linked her arm with his, resting her head on his shoulder before addressing Jiang Yino.

Witnessing this unexpected scene unfold, Jiang Yino felt as if she’d been struck by lightning.

This—! Who is she? Who is she to Qin Fan?

As her thoughts caught up with the scene before her, Jiang Yino’s delicate body began to tremble faintly, and her face instantly turned deathly pale.

"Yes, I am Jiang Yino. And you are?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly as she fought to suppress the emotional turmoil within her.

"Yino, she—!" Seeing Jiang Yino’s strange reaction, Qin Fan could easily guess what was going through her mind.

However, before he had a chance to explain, Ji Yi promptly pinched him and cut in, addressing Jiang Yino, "Walk with me. I have something to say to you. Don’t worry, we’ll just take a stroll around the Jinling campus. Is that okay?"

"I—!"

As the word slipped out, Jiang Yino instinctively stared at Qin Fan, her eyes filled with an immense sense of grievance.

Seeing her look like that sent a pang of heartache through Qin Fan.

"My La—!" He was about to say, "My Lady, stop fooling around," but before he could get the words out, Ji Yi covered his mouth.

"Shut up! No one asked you to speak!"

After scolding Qin Fan, Ji Yi turned back to Jiang Yino. "If you’re okay with it, let’s take a walk and talk."

"Okay!" Jiang Yino replied, her heart feeling as if it were being shredded as she suppressed the sudden, choking sense of grievance.

Hearing Jiang Yino agree, Ji Yi released Qin Fan’s arm and began walking away with an elegant smile.

Her disappointed gaze shifted away from Qin Fan, and Jiang Yino let out a self-deprecating breath. Without another word, she followed after Ji Yi. Her conscience was clear; she had nothing to fear.

Seeing this, Qin Fan couldn’t help but clench his jaw. He had never expected Ji Yi to start her conversation with Jiang Yino in such a manner. Feeling the disappointment and grievance in Jiang Yino’s eyes, he was struck by an unprecedented ache in his heart.

Even though he knew this was only temporary, at that moment, he felt as if he owed Jiang Yino the whole world. But what could he do? On one side was the Miss, and on the other was Jiang Yino. Caught in the middle, what could he possibly say or do? Jiang Yino’s grievance pained him, but he couldn’t bear to let the Miss feel aggrieved either!

"Damn it, I’m such an idiot for starting this!"

Wishing he could slap himself across the face, Qin Fan muttered to himself as he watched the figures of Ji Yi and Jiang Yino grow more distant, knowing it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to follow too closely. His frustrated self-reproach melted into a wry, helpless smile. He knew this was just an act put on by the Miss, simply to probe Jiang Yino’s state of mind. Though Ji Yi could appear careless and flippant on the surface, as one of the most important women in his life, Qin Fan knew that behind her carefree facade, the Miss was more meticulous than many of the gentlest women.

Although he could more or less predict how the situation would unfold, Qin Fan couldn’t stop himself from worrying about the Miss’s famously sharp tongue. He continued to murmur, "My dear lady, please don’t cause any trouble for me!"

With that, Qin Fan began to walk. While it wasn’t right for him to be near the two women, there was no harm in trailing them from a distance.