Chapter 3: 003 Grandfather, Rushing to Study Literature

Bai Qiming hung up the phone as soon as he finished speaking.

From ancient times to the present, Jiangjing has always been the capital and the economic center of Asia.

Most of the major families with long-standing legacies in the country are located in Jiangjing.

With Jiangjing as the center, and the four cities of the southeast, west, and north as secondary, a distinct circle of powerful aristocrats has been formed—a chasm that remains impossible to cross to this day.

Almost everyone, from the moment they are born, strives toward Jiangjing University, an institution that represents status and prestige.

And Xiangcheng—

A small border city where all kinds of people gather, a place where international fugitives run rampant and countless people go missing every year. Most people there earn a fixed salary, and once they enter that city, their lives are essentially set in stone.

Naturally, Bai Qiming did not believe Bai Lian would go there.

Merchants value profit, and his affection for Ji Mulan had worn away day by day.

Bai Lian’s status had declined accordingly.

Even ordinary families struggle to treat everyone equally, let alone a wealthy clan like the Bai family.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have failed to notice that Bai Lian had long since left the Bai residence.

The servants downstairs were also uneasy after receiving the call. Not understanding what Bai Qiming meant, they could only look at each other in dismay.

Where were they supposed to find another young miss to bring back?

A short while later, the servant who had answered the phone tremblingly went upstairs and knocked on the study door.

"Where is she?" Bai Qiming glanced at him.

The servant was on the verge of tears. "Miss, she... she..."

Steward Bai stood to the side, his voice slightly hoarse as he explained with a complex expression, "Sir, the eldest miss... she left for Xiangcheng that very night."

As for the ancestral hall, she hadn't even glanced at it.

The study instantly plunged into an icy silence.

"Good, very good indeed!" Bai Qiming’s face was as cold as water. He said indifferently, "Since she’s so stubborn, let her move her household registration out as well. From now on, whether she lives or dies, whether she finds honor or disgrace, it has nothing to do with my Bai family."

It wasn't as if Bai Lian hadn't caused scenes before; back then, Bai Qiming and Ji Mulan would sometimes indulge her. But now, wasn't she overestimating herself a bit too much? Did she really think the Bai family would go to Xiangcheng to beg her to come back?

Bai Qiming’s rage could naturally not be hidden from the others.

Soon, the eldest patriarch of the clan, who held the highest seniority, learned of the matter.

"Forget it, don't worry about it. Let her fend for herself," the patriarch waved his hand, unconcerned, as long as Bai Shaoke remained on the genealogy. "It’s just a pity about that letter of apprenticeship; it’s like feeding peonies to a cow."

When the Bai family first discovered Bai Shaoke’s existence, the patriarch had visited him three times to invite him back to the Bai family. But to the Bai family, Bai Lian’s departure was of no consequence at all.

In the eyes of the patriarch and the others, Bai Lian wasn't even worth as much as that letter of apprenticeship.

**

By the time the Bai family servants received the news, Bai Lian had already arrived at her uncle’s residential complex.

She swiped away the message, indifferent.

Bai Lian’s uncle lived in the old district of Xiangcheng. Unlike the high-rise buildings in the center of Beicheng, the complex was very old.

Her uncle’s home was on the fifth floor. There was no elevator, and the stairwell was dark and dim.

When she knocked and entered, her aunt stood up to greet her, wearing a dress. The fawning look in her eyes was obvious as she reached out to take Bai Lian’s suitcase. "Ah Lian is here. Why didn't you call and let me help you with your luggage?"

Bai Lian didn't let her take it, and her aunt retreated with a sheepish smile.

Bai Lian raised her eyes. "Hello."

A lazy yet exceptionally striking face.

Aunt Ji instantly felt that this hundred-square-meter dilapidated home and the dim stairwell were completely incompatible with this niece.

"Let's eat first, Ah Lian. This is your grandfather; you probably haven't met. Your uncle is still teaching students how to paint and won't be back until evening. Do you remember your eldest uncle..." Aunt Ji remained very enthusiastic, introducing Bai Lian to the grandfather sitting on the sofa.

Bai Lian’s gaze fell upon her grandfather, Ji Heng.

In the original owner’s memories, Ji Mulan did not have a good relationship with the Ji family. She had only returned once in all these years, and Ji Mulan had stood at the door waiting for a long time.

Ji Heng hadn't opened the door back then, nor had he seen them.

This was their first meeting.

Ji Heng sat on the fabric sofa, his eyes fixed on the television playing the news. He wore reading glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, and the jacket he wore was washed until it was somewhat faded, yet it featured exquisitely embroidered patterns. His back was very straight, and he held an old-fashioned tobacco pipe in his hand.

The aunt went to the kitchen. After a long while, Ji Heng spoke in a muffled voice, "Has your mother contacted you in the last two years?"

Bai Lian looked at the exquisite patterns on his clothes, lowered her eyes, and sat on the sofa with her legs together. She looked obedient and harmless, her fingers idly winding a red ribbon. "No."

The original owner’s mother had been out of contact for two years.

Ji Heng nodded, lowered his head, and silently took a puff of his dry tobacco, saying nothing more.

Bai Lian sat obediently for a while. Seeing that no one was looking at her, she simply leaned against the sofa and lazily took out her phone to browse the news.

Lunch was sumptuous, all to Bai Lian’s taste.

"Has your school registration been transferred?" In the silence, Ji Heng asked.

"It's being processed. It should be transferred over in a couple of days."

"Mm. When your uncle gets back, have him help you contact a teacher at Xiangcheng Middle School."

The aunt felt something was wrong.

"School registration? What school registration?"

"I'm transferring to Xiangcheng for school," Bai Lian said, having only eaten a few bites of rice. She put down her chopsticks. "I've left the Bai family."

The aunt’s head buzzed. "L-left? What do you mean?"

Bai Lian pulled out a tissue to wipe the corners of her mouth, calm and composed. "It means I was kicked out, my household registration is being moved out, and I can't go back."

"What?!" Aunt Ji’s voice turned sharp. "Then what about your father?"

Bai Lian looked at her obediently with a "what do you think?" expression.

She didn't see a hint of a joke on Bai Lian’s face.

The aunt didn't eat much, her mind elsewhere, wondering what was going on. At the dinner table, she couldn't help but take out her phone to search.

Not knowing what she saw in the news, her expression turned sour, and she didn't even wash the bowls.

Bai Lian’s uncle returned quite early. Before he could even greet Ji Heng, he was pulled into the room by his wife.

The soundproofing wasn't very good, and the aunt’s voice drifted out vaguely. "Ji Shaojun, did you know she was going to live here all along, and you even made me prepare a room for her?"

"Keep your voice down," Uncle Ji lowered his voice. "Dad and Ah Lian are right outside—"

"But look at how big our house is..."

Before long, the two came out.

"Alright," Ji Heng picked up the pipe resting on the side and tapped it against the table. The sound was loud. No expression could be read on his wrinkled face. He lowered his head to light it, the smoke blurring his features. "Ah Lian will come to my place."

Ji Shaojun looked at his father and opened his mouth, but he knew that once Ji Heng made a decision, no one could change it.

The aunt was also stunned for a moment.

A moment later, she smiled and smoothed her hair. "Dad, why don't you stay for dinner?"

"No," Ji Heng exhaled a smoke ring and looked toward Bai Lian. "Come back with me."

Ji Shaojun followed a step behind Ji Heng. Only after the others had left did he look at his wife. "Shen Qing, listen to yourself. Listen to what you just said! Ah Lian just got back today; is it appropriate for you to say those things?"

Having been together for many years, he knew his wife wasn't lacking in emotional intelligence. He didn't understand why she had deliberately let Ji Heng and Bai Lian hear those things.

"I said it specifically for your father to hear. Your whole family is the same—if you don't make things final, your father will never understand," Shen Qing picked up a rag, sneering.

She felt incredibly irritable.

She knew exactly what kind of person this niece was—fighting, street racing, clubbing, she did it all.

Ji Mulan had broken ties with Ji Heng at eighteen. No one in the Ji family knew Ji Mulan had married into a wealthy family; Shen Qing had only seen it secretly on Ji Shaojun’s phone before.

The Bai family had never acknowledged these poor relatives, and they had never once visited Xiangcheng.

She had originally hoped that Bai Lian’s return to Xiangcheng would lead to some interaction with the Bai family.

Who would have thought that this Bai Lian was just like Ji Mulan, having fallen out with her wealthy father.

"Let me ask you, she’s in her third year of high school just like Wanxuan, right? If she doesn't pass the exam next year, are we going to keep supporting her? One Ji Mulan, one Ji Shaorong—you don't ask them to help you, and instead, you help her clean up her mess?" The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. She added, "Your family is more high-minded than the next, but can being high-minded put food on the table? No wonder the Bai family likes that illegitimate son."

"This isn't being high-minded; it's having a bottom line," Ji Shaojun opened the door and looked at Shen Qing before heading downstairs. "And don't compare that illegitimate son to Ah Lian."

Shen Qing stood where she was, her face cold as she threw the rag into the sink.

Was she wrong?

Bai Lian’s own mother had discarded her like worn-out shoes. She was just lucky to have been born into a good family with a clan’s protection. How could she compare to that high-IQ illegitimate son of the Bai family?

She didn't understand what Ji Heng and Ji Shaojun were holding onto.

**

Outside.

Ji Shaojun caught up with the two in long strides and silently reached for Bai Lian’s suitcase.

Bai Lian paused. She looked at Ji Shaojun for about ten seconds before letting go.

Ji Shaojun hoisted the suitcase onto his shoulder.

Bai Lian watched his back for a long while before putting on her hat.

She followed behind the two, slowly searching for things that interested her on her phone. A WeChat message popped up at the top of her screen from one of the original owner’s "fair-weather friends." She opened it.

The original owner didn't have many friends; most were rich kids waiting to die. This was the only one who had contacted her in the last two days.

Dog Friend: [What’s going on with your fiancé?]

As she said this, she sent a screenshot.

Bai Lian tapped on the image. It was a screenshot of a social media post.

[Bai Shaoqi: This is the price of looking down on people (playful) [Image]]

The image showed her noble fiancé, sideways, holding a rag and wiping a window.

It was clear that Bai Shaoqi had a wide social circle and was very popular; below the post were a bunch of likes and comments.

In Beicheng, who didn't know the third young master of the Song family, Song Min?

—A sight to behold, our Young Master Song has descended to the mortal world.

—It had to be you, Goddess!

—Haha, insiders say Young Master Song never believes in bad luck, but did he forget that Shaoqi is Senior Bai’s own sister?~

—Exactly! He thought Shaoqi was that young miss who couldn't even last a day in our international class, whose science was so bad that our head teacher couldn't stand it anymore and kicked her off to study liberal arts!