Chapter 52 – Study Company
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Lu Huaiyu appeared relaxed and lazy, but his unique aristocracy remained when he said those words.
Ning Li's heart raced for a moment.
Liang Heng was familiar with Lu Huaiyu's temper, so he was not surprised to learn the answer. He then looked at Ning Li through the rearview mirror and smiled brightly.
"I guess so."
Some people wanted to be in Lu Huaiyu's debt though he did not deem them worthy; some people did not want to be in his debt and yet they were.
A few days ago, Liang Heng heard that Lu Huaiyu started a fight at the Chengs' because of a girl. He did not expect to meet the girl so soon.
"Ning Li, you are in the third year at Second High, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am."
"How are your studies? Can you manage? Is it tiresome?"
"It's fine, I guess."
"Great. You should take your third year casually. If you run into problems in your studies, just ask around for help."
Ning Li giggled. "Thank you, Uncle Liang."
The man was not merely a temporary driver for Lu Huaiyu. Not only did he sound kind and generous, but his presence was also comforting. He must be someone important.
Lu Huaiyu shot a glance at Liang Heng.
"Uncle Liang, for your first meeting, you sure are asking Lili a lot. If I didn't know better, I might have thought that you are trying to do a background check on her."
Liang Heng laughed out loud. "Ning Li and I are having a comfortable conversation. You are the one acting like a strict parent."
It sounded wrong to Ning Li for some reason.
Before Lu Huaiyu could say a word though, Liang Heng asked, "Ning Li, have you thought about your choice of university?"
Lu Huaiyu's lips parted for a moment. His words were stuck in his throat for a moment before he swallowed them back. He had forgotten to ask Ning Li about that.
"Xijing University, I suppose," she replied.
Liang Heng was first surprised before he smiled. "Xijing University? That's great! It's the best tertiary education inst.i.tution in the country!"
More importantly, Xijing University was located in the capital.
Lu Huaiyu turned to Ning Li. "Why would you want to get into Xijing University?"
There were two top universities in the country. One was located in the capital while the other was located in Haicheng.
If Ning Li chose Xijing University, it would mean that she chose to stay in the capital.
She smiled. "I think that's a good place to go to."
In her past life, she had wanted to get into Xijing University too.
However, after being reported for cheating in the Physics compet.i.tion, she landed in a difficult situation. The fact that she could get into Xijing University without a problem given her results remained, but she missed her English paper at the end.
Dai Li had chosen to spring on her that day, and Meng Jiang had also been there. Even though she escaped, she had missed the exam for good.
She tried to retake the exam, but her files were taken away by a normal school in Yunzhou.
Su Yuan had told her back then that she could stay by her side, which was even better. It really did seem like a better choice for a while.
Ning Li had already suspected a lot of things during that time, but when Su Yuan held her hand and told her to stay, Ning Li had chosen to compromise.
The first wrong step would eventually result in a cascading failure. Now that the cards were reshuffled,
"Speaking of which, Second Master used to study in Xijing University. If you get into Xijing, he will be your senior!" Liang Heng said with a smile.
Lu Huaiyu had entered Xijing University when he was 16. He had finished and aced all his subjects within a year and graduated in advance.
If Liang Heng wanted to put it that way, he might be right.
Lu Huaiyu raised his brow and said in a lazy tone, "Then, you'd better work hard, junior."
At the Ye residence, Su Yuan and Ye Ci were already home when Ning Li came back.
The entire family decided to keep quiet about the incident. It was not something glorious after all, thus no one wanted the news to get out.
On top of that, Ning Li going off with an outsider and leaving Ye Ci in the station alone made Su Yuan furious. She decided to give Ning Li the cold shoulder, thus she did not speak a word to her after she came back.
However, to Ning Li, that was great because she could finally enjoy peace and quiet.
After she cleaned up, changed into her pajamas, and got into bed, it was already midnight. She held her phone and checked her call history.
The call with Lu Huaiyu lasted for 27 minutes 31 seconds. She tried to recall the time when she had left school with Ning Li.
"Great."
Lu Huaiyu must have heard everything, from what Meng Jiang said to the thuds she caused when she had thrown Meng Jiang on the ground.
Annoyed, Ning Li grabbed her hair. Her temples suddenly fell swollen.
How could she have been so careless with her phone back then?
She did not care how Ye Ci or Su Yuan looked at her or what they thought of her when she beat Meng Jiang up, but Lu Huaiyu was different.
Some thoughts later, she decided to send Lu Huaiyu a message.
[Second Brother, thank you for what you did today. Goodnight.]
"I hope I didn't disturb him…"
Lu Huaiyu replied almost instantly.
[It's nothing. Try to be careful with your school jersey next time. Your phone might get faulty if you mishandle it like that.]
Surprised, Ning Li soon thought of something.
"Second brother didn't hang up the phone?! I must have accidentally hung up the phone when I took my jersey back!"
Ning Li felt extremely embarra.s.sed, especially when she recalled her calm expression when she had admitted to Lu Huaiyu that she made the call.
Lu Huaiyu sent her a reply.
[Goodnight.]
At last, Ning Li covered her face in disappointment.
The next morning, Ning Li went to school as usual, but when she entered the cla.s.s, she noticed something strange in the atmosphere.
The cla.s.s usually studied quietly during the morning, but it was extremely lively at the moment.
The students were huddled in groups of three to five, talking about something excitedly.
Ning Li heard Meng Jiang's name and she paused walking for a moment. When she walked past He Xiaochen, she asked, "What are you guys talking about?"
He Xiaochen looked at her, surprised that the most beautiful girl in the cla.s.s would be interested in gossip. She said excitedly, "Ning Li! Did you know that Meng Jiang of Seven High got expelled?"
Ning Li was slightly startled. "Expelled?"
"Yeah. Seven High sent out the notice early in the morning. Meng Jiang and two of his lackeys were expelled together."
Schools nowadays would usually approach a problematic student in a subtler way. The teacher responsible would normally try to talk to the student about a potential transfer or dropping out.
It was rare to see schools expelling students so brazenly.
Moreover, Meng Jiang was not the first school gangster and he had always gotten away scot-free.
This time, however…
"The announcement only stated that Meng Jiang severely disrupted the rules, so they were forced to expel him. But actually…" He Xiaochen signalled Ning Li to get closer. She whispered, "Actually, Meng Jiang was caught breaking the law, and I heard that he's still in the lockup!"
"Breaking the law?"
"Yeah! He committed armed robbery and hurt someone badly before, and this time, someone snitched on him and told the police everything he had done. They've got solid evidence on him, so what else can Seven High do?"
The high school students had not stepped into society, so breaking the law was something that seemed like a foreign concept. When they heard about Meng Jiang, they were stirred. No wonder even He Xiaochen was talking about it.
He Xiaochen grunted. "Hmph! I knew that Meng Jiang is a bad egg! He got what he deserved!"
While the news spread like wildfire, nothing about Ning Li was mentioned. No one even knew that she had also been in the station because of the fight with Meng Jiang.
Ning Li nodded. "I guess you are right."
Cheng Xiyue had just gone upstairs when he heard Lu Huaiyu talking on the phone. He was still some distance away but was able to hear Old Master Lu's firm voice through the phone.
"Dr. Gu said your body is fine now, so why aren't you back in the capital? You told me you were handling some proper matters. Was that a lie?"
Lu Huaiyu smiled. "How could I lie to you? It's true."
Just when Cheng Xiyue wanted to go back down and wait for him, he heard Lu Huaiyu saying something shameless, "I'm a study companion. Isn't that something proper?"