Chapter 2: 002 Did the Eldest Miss Make a Mistake?

The ancestral hall door was shut.

The heart that had been in Butler Bai’s throat slowly settled back down.

He looked at Bai Lian, his expression complex.

Xiangcheng was the most remote city in the North, a border town furthest away from Jiangjing.

It was filthy, chaotic, and the most degenerate place in the country; it didn’t even have a train station.

Bai Lian was looking at the Bai family’s spirit tablets, which only had a history of two hundred years, with a thoughtful expression.

With complicated feelings, she asked the butler, "Is 'The White-Clad Journey' still played these days?"

"The White-Clad Journey" was one of the ten great ancient masterpieces and the school anthem of Jiangjing University. Even a primary school student would know it. Thinking she was just trying to make conversation, Butler Bai said, "Eldest Miss, why must you make such a scene? A person’s fate is set the moment they are born. Look, some people are born in adversity and still manage to turn things around, while others, even when given the best conditions, only squander them..."

The eldest young master had grown up in a poor environment, yet he had become the city’s top scorer, entered Jiangjing University, and had a doctoral supervisor as a mentor. With the backing of the Jiangjing family, the Bai family’s status in the North had become increasingly secure. Everyone knew the eldest young master was no ordinary person.

Bai Qiming was waiting for the siblings, Bai Shaoke and his sister, to bring honor to their ancestors and get into Jiangjing; it would be best if they could be recorded in both the prefecture and city annals.

In contrast, Bai Lian...

"What isn't yours will never be yours. Besides, the Second Miss’s achievements today are due to her own ability." After Butler Bai spoke for a while, he felt it was a waste of time to continue with her and turned to leave.

He had to deliver the apprenticeship letter to the Second Miss immediately.

Just as the butler turned, he heard Bai Lian speak faintly: "Where are you taking my things?"

The butler was stunned. "I..."

Before he could finish his sentence, suddenly—

Bai Lian reached out and grabbed his collar, her slender, fair fingertips exerting a slight force.

A distinct sensation of suffocation gripped his neck. The butler involuntarily hunched over, his heart feeling as if it had been seized by a hand, and he was forced to look up and meet her dark, heavy eyes!

He vaguely remembered that Bai Lian’s mother was Ji Mulan, whose beauty had once shocked the entire North.

It seemed everyone felt Bai Lian hadn't inherited any of Bai Qiming or Ji Mulan’s strengths, and he felt the same.

At this moment, however, he wasn't so sure.

Bai Lian admired the sight for a moment, then suddenly laughed. She tightened her grip and asked in a leisurely tone, "Do you know what happened to the last person who provoked me?"

Butler Bai’s face turned red rapidly from the lack of oxygen.

She released her grip on his neck and calmly straightened his collar, her voice low and gentle: "Look, I was just making a little joke. What are you afraid of?"

Her movements could be described as gentle.

However, Butler Bai felt a chill in his heart, and the alarm bells in his head were screaming frantically!!

He clutched his neck, coughing incessantly.

When he looked at Bai Lian again, his eyes were filled with terror.

Bai Lian pushed him away and suddenly stopped smiling.

It was like the surface of boiling water suddenly freezing over.

She unhurriedly used two fingers to lazily pinch the apprenticeship letter from his hand, coldly blew the non-existent dust off the name card, and said with ambiguous meaning: "Make arrangements. I’m going to Xiangcheng."

**

Two days later, Xiangcheng.

The most remote border town in the country; three years of poverty alleviation efforts hadn't even reached this place.

There was no developed transportation here, and there weren't even many buildings of any significant height.

Bai Lian stood beneath the city gate, pulled back the hood of her hoodie, and looked up.

The city walls had weathered thousands of years of wind and frost; stones had collapsed, and moss grew in the shaded areas. Two rows of lazy banyan trees lined the road, and light and shadow flickered through the gaps.

She carried a black backpack in one hand, and five incense sticks were lined up at her feet, the smoke curling toward the clear sky.

Not far away, a little boy squatting on the ground staring at a large waterwheel glanced at her twice. Seeing that Bai Lian didn't leave, he continued to stare at the waterwheel.

A phone ringtone startled Bai Lian.

"A-Lian, haven't you arrived yet?" It was the original owner’s aunt in Xiangcheng; her voice sounded cautious.

Bai Lian hoisted her backpack onto her back. "Coming back now."

Vaguely, she saw a drop of water fall, sinking into the dust and spreading.

She watched until the five incense sticks burned out before pulling her hoodie hood back over her head and walking toward the station.

Outside Xiangcheng was a moat, diverted into the city. Inside the city gate, a large wooden windmill was set up on the water. As the water flowed, the windmill turned slowly.

The little boy noticed her leaving out of the corner of his eye and finally moved, following her to the bus stop.

Bai Lian stood in the shade of a tree, lowering her eyes to look at the child who didn't even reach her waist. Her slender fingertips tapped casually on her phone.

This child had been following her ever since she got on the bus from the train station.

His eyes were dark and bright. He had a crew cut, wore a white shirt, a small blue knitted vest, and little black leather shoes. He was clean and tidy.

Refined and pretty.

He looked completely out of place in this dilapidated town.

"Why are you following me?"

The child lowered his head, repeatedly unbuttoning and re-buttoning his cuffs. Staring at the buttons, he said, "My brother gave me half a banana this morning. Half a banana, half..."

There were no seats at this bus stop; it was very crude. There weren't many cars on the road, just a few here and there.

Bai Lian leaned lazily against the signpost, dozing off. "I don't understand."

"Oh, I'm waiting for my parents to come pick me up and take me to their world," he said, staring at the piece of red ribbon on Bai Lian’s left hand. "My brother knows where I am; he’s just too lazy to deal with me."

"Ah," Bai Lian tilted her head, stared at him for a moment, then reached out and flicked his forehead. "Your brother is pretty cool, then."

"Oh." The child turned his gaze toward a black car slowly driving toward them from across the road.

He silently resisted her last sentence.

**

Across the road, a black business Maybach.

In the driver’s seat, a driver with a crew cut kept one hand on the steering wheel, remaining extremely vigilant even on this harmless street.

Only when he saw the child across the road did he breathe a sigh of relief and press the Bluetooth headset in his ear. "Everyone retreat. Turn off the infrared. Do not aim at civilians."

There was only one young man in the back seat, with an unmarked laptop in front of him. His white shirt was buttoned strictly to the very top, his eyes were very light, and his skin was cold and pale.

His fingertips swiped casually across the computer screen, opening a file.

The document in the email displayed complex numerical formulas.

He glanced at it, his thick eyelashes drooping slightly, and he typed a comment with one hand—

【Stop sending me trash.】

Jiang Fuli pressed two keys, and a voice pop-up appeared in the bottom left corner of the computer. It was a man in a lab coat who complained, "I'm telling you, Young Master Jiang, what exactly did you do to that group of R-country researchers?"

"Speak." Jiang Fuli was a man of few words.

"Damn," the man laughed uncontrollably, as if remembering something funny. "They collectively filed a joint complaint against you to the Mensa Alliance today. You know I can't reach the threshold of the Alliance, but I heard it from our teacher. Will this have any impact on you?"

The Mensa Alliance, the world’s top IQ society.

The requirements for joining were extremely harsh, with only one hundred members worldwide.

Most countries didn't even have a single person who could meet the threshold.

Only three people in the country had passed the assessment.

Jiang Fuli tapped his fingertips on the desk casually and commented sharply, "Then I wish them success."

The man on the other side let out a short laugh. "OK, I get it."

Jiang Fuli closed the computer screen and turned his gaze lazily toward the window, his light-colored phoenix eyes suppressing an innate coldness.

Through the one-way glass, he could see outside very clearly.

The girl was wearing a white hoodie, her bag hanging casually on her right shoulder.

Her left hand was pressed on the little boy’s forehead.

Because of her movement, her wrist and the red ribbon tied around it were vaguely exposed. The vibrant red ribbon, about a centimeter wide, was loosely wrapped twice around her fair wrist. The ribbon was a striking red, swaying gently with the wind.

She seemed to sense something and glanced over here nonchalantly.

A fleeting glimpse.

Jiang Fuli’s fingertips paused on the black cover of the computer.

The bus abruptly intruded into the fragmented scene.

The child watched the bus’s swaying exhaust, wanting to follow Bai Lian onto the bus, but he didn't dare.

So he stood where he was.

The car across the road wasn't in a hurry, just parked there unhurriedly.

He unbuttoned and re-buttoned his cuffs, dawdling for ten minutes before finally walking across the road. The rear door opened automatically, and he climbed in using his hands and feet.

"Young Master Jiang He." The driver with the crew cut glanced back and greeted him.

It took a while for the little boy to say "Oh," and reply slowly, "Uncle Ming."

**

Meanwhile, the Bai family in the North.

The family conference room.

The meeting was drawing to a close.

Bai Shaoqi pushed the door open, holding her test paper.

An old man’s eyes lit up, and he immediately spoke: "Shaoqi is back from school. Come in, we just finished the meeting."

The others stood up one after another to greet Bai Shaoqi.

"In your third year of high school now?" The old man spoke to Bai Qiming again. "Qiming, our Bai clan fully supports you. Just ask for whatever Shaoqi needs."

Their Bai clan had a history of two hundred years, but in those two hundred years, only the first generation had produced a *juren* (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations). The genealogy started with this *juren*, who was also their ancestor.

Since then, the Bai clan had never produced anyone famous.

Until Bai Shaoke appeared!

"Thank you, Great-Grandfather. Yes, it's the third year," Bai Qiming smiled, then shook his head. "But the competition in her year is too great."

Just counting the people he’d heard of who could compete for the top scorer spot, including Song Min, there were already ten.

"Why don't I see A-Lian?" The clan’s Great-Grandfather looked toward the open door. Not seeing Bai Lian, he was a bit puzzled.

Talk about bringing up a sore subject.

Bai Qiming’s good mood vanished instantly, and the smile on his lips turned cold.

The conference room went quiet; no one else dared to speak.

"Great-Grandfather, let’s go first." Now that Bai Qiming was riding high thanks to Bai Shaoke, the others in the clan naturally wouldn't want to upset him. Since the meeting was over, they quickly pulled the Great-Grandfather out.

Once they were out of the conference room, someone explained to the Great-Grandfather, "Bai Lian cheated on her exam at No. 1 High School and might be expelled."

North No. 1 High School was one of the top ten schools in the country; it wasn't easy to get in. The Bai family had put a lot of effort into sending Bai Lian there, never expecting such a scandal to emerge.

"I thought that with a talented woman like Ji Mulan, her descendants wouldn't be too bad," the Great-Grandfather said, his face showing annoyance and disdain. He sighed, "Oh well, a small family background, after all, can't be brought into the light."

Inside the conference room.

"You did very well," Bai Qiming took Bai Shaoqi’s test paper, seeing the perfect score without surprise. After signing it, he returned it to her. "Don't bother yourself with your sister."

"I know." Bai Shaoqi nodded faintly.

She had never considered Bai Lian a rival, so why bother?

Bai Qiming comforted his daughter: "Although the competition in your year is great, if you can pass Dean Jian’s interview and be taught and recommended by her, you might just get into Jiangjing."

"I will work hard."

Her expression was arrogant. Bai Shaoqi was very ambitious; she had always believed that she would not be like Bai Lian, trapped in one place and forced to look up to others.

Bai Qiming naturally believed her. These two siblings had been well-educated since childhood and had never given him cause for worry.

He told Bai Shaoqi to go back and study.

After she left, Butler Bai came in to refill Bai Qiming’s tea.

Bai Qiming picked up the teacup and took a sip, suddenly remembering Bai Lian. His expression turned cold. "Where is she? Has she admitted her mistake yet?"

Butler Bai knew "she" referred to Bai Lian.

He didn't dare to speak.

Bai Qiming set down the teacup, picked up the extension phone on the table, and said coldly to the servant on the other end: "Tell Bai Lian to come to the conference room to see me."

Long time no see!

So I'm updating two chapters today. Sending love~

(End of chapter)