With the authorities stepping in, all the “rumors” about Mi Jingzhou vanished from social media within an hour.
Meanwhile, news that Yu Guan had been rushed to the hospital slowly climbed up the trending list.
Netizens watching all this unfold noticed how decisive the officials were this time. When it came to discussing Mi Jingzhou, everyone acted far more cautiously. But when Yu Guan came up... they didn’t hold back at all.
Just after finishing breakfast, Qin Jingzhou received a call from Chief Wang, the official who had visited last time, asking if he was available for another visit. They wanted to come by again.
Qin Jingzhou agreed cheerfully, confirmed the time, and then hung up.
Ling Jing turned and asked, “Since your patents have been approved and the experts have confirmed how valuable your little 'gadgets' are, of course, they’re coming back for more questions.”
Qin Jingzhou replied with a quiet “Mm.”
Ling Jing walked over to the small bar in the corner of the living room—using just one hand didn’t stop her from brewing coffee with the semi-automatic machine. Once she had made a cup, she called out, “Yours.”
A moment later, her own coffee was ready.
She took a sip, the sweet, cool cream blending with the slightly bitter, warm coffee as it slid down her throat. Eyes narrowing in delight, she said, “These coffee beans are pretty good.”
Qin Jingzhou tasted his as well, agreeing, “Really good.” He reached out to wipe a bit of cream from the corner of Ling Jing’s mouth.
Ling Jing was momentarily stunned. In the past, when Qin Jingzhou took the initiative, all he’d do was throw his arm around her shoulders. After all, that wasn’t exactly a gesture reserved for couples. So, she used her communicator to say, “I thought dating you meant we’d go straight to the old married couple stage... So you actually know how to flirt a little.” As soon as she said it, she suddenly realized that ever since she’d come to this world—specifically, since she’d rested her head on his knee yesterday—his demeanor had shifted!
Qin Jingzhou simply looked at her and smiled, not saying a word.
It was as if Ling Jing understood.
She quickly reached out to her own system for advice. “Do you think... he’s been waiting for my response all along?”
The System saw through this faster than even its host. “You only allowed him to pursue you before.”
As a Nascent Soul cultivator, Ling Jing wasn’t prone to forgetfulness. “It’s just that I never said anything like ‘Since you passed the test, I’ll let you be my boyfriend’...” She thought back to last night, when she’d instinctively rested her head on Qin Jingzhou’s knee and covered her face with her good hand. “Lap pillow... Alright, I get it. But at the time, the atmosphere was just right. I’d already used his shoulder, so putting my head on his knee didn’t feel unreasonable at all!”
The System kept fanning the flames. “So you agreed.”
Ling Jing had zero hang-ups. “Yes, I agreed.” She lifted her head, looked at the grinning Qin Jingzhou, and lightly tapped his lips with her index finger, tilting her head with a smile.
Qin Jingzhou’s eyes lit up.
By the way, these very coffee beans had been a gift from Gu Zhiwei.
Gu Zhiwei was currently huddled on the sofa with Mi Xiaoxiao. Hearing his little aunt and Uncle Mi both praise his coffee beans, he eagerly waited for more compliments—and then saw... his little aunt and Uncle Mi making eyes at each other.
Right then, his right hand was grabbed, and he heard Xiaoxiao whisper, “Let’s get out of here.”
The two of them quietly got up and slipped away.
Half an hour later, Xiaoxiao got a message from her dad, asking the two to come downstairs to pick up a delivery.
They obediently went down to the gate, only to see two delivery guys hauling “tons” of textbooks and exercise books to the door.
Alright, “tons” was an exaggeration, but several dozen kilograms was no joke.
Faced with the pile of books nearly as tall as himself, Gu Zhiwei kept smiling, but every movement as he helped carry the books reeked of bitterness.
His mood was as heavy as the textbooks in his arms. After arriving at the Mi family home, he could tell Uncle Mi thought well of him, apparently approving of him dating Xiaoxiao... Okay, fine, he admitted he’d gotten a little carried away.
But that didn’t justify Uncle Mi using all these endless practice books to keep them apart!
He and Xiaoxiao worked together to haul the study materials into the living room one by one, when Uncle Mi said, “It’s fine to date, as long as you don’t fall behind in your studies. Xiaoxiao, Dad is still waiting for you to take over someday.”
Gu Zhiwei let out a long sigh of relief. As long as they weren’t being separated, he could study!
Hauling all those books like a pair of ants, Gu Zhiwei took the cup of water Xiaoxiao handed him, took a sip, and announced, “I’m transferring schools.”
Mi Xiaoxiao’s eyes curved with laughter. “Sure! But will your parents agree?”
Gu Zhiwei pulled his girlfriend close. “I’ll ask them now.”
He posted the situation to their family group chat, and Gu Dad was the first to respond, “Why don’t we just move the whole family to the Capital City?”
A minute later, Gu Mom replied, “We can.”
Mi Xiaoxiao hadn’t thought transferring schools would be a big deal for her childhood friend, but even she was surprised at how quickly her uncle and aunt agreed.
Seeing this, Gu Zhiwei offered an explanation: “My parents already know a little about what’s going on with Uncle Mi. They’re pretty happy about it—probably even more enthusiastic than I am.”
Mi Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but smile. Though her feelings were complicated, her happiness outweighed her worries. She’d never imagined there’d be a day where she’d benefit from her dad’s status.
Then Gu Zhiwei asked, “Hey, Xiaoxiao, have you decided on a school?”
Mi Xiaoxiao said, “I was going to go to a decent private high school. But with things the way they are now,”—after all, her dad hadn’t said a word, but the authorities had handled all the slander and gossip online— “maybe I’ll get into the top public school through special channels... My dad is from a demolition family, so we never lacked money even when I was little, but he always went to public schools.”
Gu Zhiwei gave it some thought. “Looks like I’ll have to get my dad to donate a school building.”
Mi Xiaoxiao’s eyes widened. “You’re so down to earth, thank you.”
Gu Zhiwei burst out laughing. “No one can compare to Uncle Mi. When Chief Wang visits with his team, I bet they’ll offer a whole list of enticing terms...”
Mi Xiaoxiao laughed, “I think at the very least my dad will end up as their advisor, maybe even a teacher.”
It had to be said, Mi Xiaoxiao’s guess was spot on.
Last time, Chief Wang had been polite enough; this time, every sentence included an honorific.
The researchers with him looked at Qin Jingzhou with such respect that “admiration” seemed like an understatement.
After hearing their intentions, Qin Jingzhou asked, “You want to hire me as a consultant?”
Chief Wang could sense the green light in Qin Jingzhou’s tone. “Is that what you’re thinking? Please let us know any conditions you might have—if it’s feasible, we’ll take care of it right away. If we can’t respond immediately, I’ll report it at once and do everything we can to satisfy you.”
Chief Wang never once brought up the way the authorities had stepped in that morning to settle the online mess about him. Qin Jingzhou’s tone was steady. “I’ll need a lab and some additional staff.” He looked over at his daughter and her childhood sweetheart, who were sitting together. “Also, help sort out the school registration for my daughter and her little boyfriend.”
Even someone as composed as Chief Wang couldn’t hide his wrinkled smile. This expert sure knew how to negotiate for benefits.
His tone turned distinctly softer as he asked Mi Xiaoxiao, “Which school would you like to attend?”
Without hesitation, Mi Xiaoxiao said, “I want to go to Dad’s alma mater!”
Qin Jingzhou smiled at his daughter. “Since she says so, I’ll return to my old university as a professor too.”
Besides Qin Jingzhou’s near-obsessive devotion to developing the “exoskeleton,” he was otherwise more than qualified—otherwise, those two exceptionally brilliant ex-wives wouldn’t have chosen him.
For high school, Qin Jingzhou had attended Capital City No.1 High, one of the eight best public high schools in the Capital. For college, he went to the nationally-ranked fifth-best university, Capital City University of Transport, where he and his first wife, Miss Gu the elder, had actually been classmates.
That afternoon, the president of Capital City University of Transport was summoned to a meeting and was essentially handed a pie from the sky. The president practically floated back to his office afterward.
He immediately gathered his colleagues to hold a meeting and got ready to “receive” this semi-reclusive expert.
While this was happening, Gu Sheng left work in the morning and came to his dad’s house in the afternoon, only to find his father packing boxes in the basement together with his girlfriend, sister, and his sister’s boyfriend.
Honestly, he’d had the PR and legal teams of the Gu Group on standby at Elizabeth’s request the night before, ready to back her up and teach that Mr. Zhang a lesson. But before he could do anything, last night’s scandal had evaporated from the internet by noon.
He wasn’t stupid. He knew the authorities had intervened, and if they went out of their way for his dad, then clearly something about his dad’s status had changed.
But Dad moving house just like that—he hadn’t seen it coming.
Mi Xiaoxiao didn’t like her brother much, and when she saw how shocked he looked, she just had to needle him a bit. “Dad’s moving into the expert residence. Next time you want to see him, you might have to put in an application.”
Gu Sheng took a deep breath. “Dad, you wouldn’t treat me like that, would you?”
Qin Jingzhou removed his gloves, gave his daughter’s head a gentle ruffle for encouragement, then picked up the pusher from the small table beside him. Taking a few steps forward, he aimed the pusher’s flat receiving port at Gu Sheng’s chest. The pusher instantly made a loud beep.
Qin Jingzhou grinned. “Lift your jacket.”
Gu Sheng immediately realized what was going on and did as told. He watched as the pusher extracted a button-sized object from the inner pocket of his suit.
He didn’t even need to pretend—he was genuinely dumbfounded on the spot.
Qin Jingzhou casually crushed the tiny thing in his hand. “You’re too careless.” He looked at the thoroughly deflated Gu Sheng. “Sometimes I wonder if you are really my son.”
Ling Jing couldn’t keep from laughing. “That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think? Look how scared you’ve made the kid.”
With just that one line, Gu Sheng went totally pale and looked about ready to faint.
He really wasn’t faking it.