“Why’s Qiaoqiao eating downstairs with Long Jin and Teacher Wen?” a silver-haired boy asked as he came upstairs with his hands in his pockets. He had noticed it the moment he arrived, but Tang Qiaoqiao was currently holding her face with lovestruck eyes, seeing no one but Wen Yuxian.

The boys and girls lounged across the soft sofas in scattered groups. Over by the dining table, staff members dressed like servers continuously brought out steaming, fragrant dishes, arranging them across the large rotating table.

“With Teacher Wen there, I wouldn’t even be surprised if she ate in the bathroom,” Chen Mo said while playing on his phone. His black hair streaked with white made it look dyed.

“Teacher Wen’s pretty great. I like him too. But her family would never let her marry him, right? Especially after what happened with the Bai family, I doubt anyone likes the idea of finding a poor son-in-law anymore.”

“Speaking of the Bai family, did you hear? Apparently Bai Xinran only exposed Mu Wenxing as the mastermind because she bought information from some information broker. Otherwise, there probably wouldn’t even be a Huang or Bai family anymore.”

Long Ling sat quietly in the corner like an invisible person, silently extracting whatever information was useful to her from their fragmented conversation.

Tang Qiaoqiao and Wen Yuxian’s situation pleasantly surprised her.

That information broker, however, made her deeply unhappy.

So that was the person who ruined her plan?

Where the hell had that Cheng Yaojin popped out from?!

“Long Ling, is there anything you want to eat?” At that moment, Zhou Qian eagerly handed her a tablet so she could order food.

“No need. I’m not picky. Thank you for inviting me,” Long Ling replied without much warmth. “I know you’re worried Long Jin might bully me, but I don’t think she’ll do something like that. Even if she does, I can handle it myself.”

Zhou Qian immediately looked flustered. His cheeks reddened slightly as he muttered softly, “It’s not just because of that… Anyway, just pick whatever you want. If not today, then tonight. If not tonight, then tomorrow.”

Those words were practically a direct confession.

He was basically saying he would bring her here every day. Bring her along with them every day.

Long Ling lowered her eyes to look at the tablet forced into her hands and thought to herself that, fortunately, this trip had at least yielded some gains.

Zhou Qian looked at Long Ling’s profile, his heart pounding wildly.

That night in the hotel in Changhai Prefecture, he had gotten drunk after eating too much of Changhai’s famous wine-marinated rose crab. Whenever he got drunk, his body and mind entered a strange disconnected state. His consciousness remained clear, but his body went out of control and did whatever it pleased.

That was why, in the middle of the night, he had wandered out of his room in a daze and eventually collapsed outside Long Ling’s door.

Long Ling dragged him into her room.

Even when he maliciously suspected her intentions, she simply ordered hangover tea from room service and carefully took care of him the entire night without making a single improper move.

The next morning, when he woke up, he discovered that Long Ling had already quietly left and hadn’t mentioned the incident to anyone, without the slightest intention of taking credit.

For the next several days, he found himself absent-minded and unable to stop learning more about her.

And the more he learned, the more wonderful he found her to be.

She sympathized with and cared about the people outside the school gates. Whenever someone asked her for help, she did everything she could to lend a hand.

Beneath her cold exterior was a warm and kind heart.

They had misunderstood her all along.

…

As Jing Pei walked, she watched Tang Qiaoqiao chattering nonstop beside Wen Yuxian like an excited little puppy, constantly repeating “Teacher Wen this” and “Teacher Wen that.”

Meanwhile, Wen Yuxian desperately tried to maintain distance from her. Every time she moved a step closer, he quietly edged another step away, to the point where he was practically retreating onto the lawn. His face was full of helpless exhaustion.

So after escorting Jing Pei back to the question boards, he immediately found an excuse to leave.

Tang Qiaoqiao puffed her cheeks out unhappily. But when she noticed Jing Pei looking at her, she instantly straightened up again and warned her fiercely:

“I know Teacher Wen is super charming, but just because he’s gentle doesn’t mean he likes you! He’s nice and gentle to every student! You’re not allowed to fall for him—Teacher Wen belongs to me! Got it?”

Jing Pei stared at Tang Qiaoqiao’s appearance, then instinctively glanced toward the top of her head.

Unfortunately, there weren’t two long rabbit ears there.

Otherwise, she suddenly felt she might’ve wanted to grab her by them and lift her up.

“Really?” Jing Pei asked. “But I heard Teacher Wen has a girlfriend.”

“He does not!” Tang Qiaoqiao exploded instantly. “Teacher Wen only says that because he thinks I’m too young and messing around! Once I graduate, he won’t act like this anymore!”

“Have you ever considered the possibility,” Jing Pei continued, “that Teacher Wen genuinely doesn’t like you and really does have a girlfriend?”

Tang Qiaoqiao’s cheeks flushed bright red with anger.

“What’s wrong with you?! Can’t you understand human language?! I said he doesn’t have a girlfriend! You just got here—what would you know?! Ugh, you’re so annoying! Why do you only say things I don’t want to hear?!”

Tang Qiaoqiao stormed off angrily, her twin ponytails whipping through the air.

Jing Pei bent down smoothly and narrowly dodged the swinging hair.

Raising an eyebrow, she thought to herself—

How was she only saying things Tang Qiaoqiao didn’t want to hear?

Hadn’t she already said the thing Tang Qiaoqiao loved hearing most back in the cafeteria?

Turning around, Jing Pei walked toward the question boards again.

A new problem had already appeared.

The moment she saw it, her interest was immediately piqued.

As expected, taking a lunch break first had been the right decision.

Now this problem was actually interesting.

Tang Qiaoqiao stomped angrily toward the lounge area.

What girlfriend?

Wen Yuxian had broken up with his ex years ago. He’d been single ever since, living alone. That so-called “girlfriend” only ever appeared whenever he needed an excuse to reject her confessions.

That Schrödinger’s girlfriend existed solely for the purpose of rejecting her.

…Wait.

How did Long Jin know about that?

She had never told anyone about Wen Yuxian’s Schrödinger’s girlfriend. Wen Yuxian himself had never mentioned it to anyone except her either.

Even the principal believed he was single.

…

The war between Jing Pei and the teachers continued for another entire afternoon.

The crowds of spectators dispersed and regrouped wave after wave.

The teachers even changed the rules so each question alone was worth twenty points. Originally, requiring two questions had been meant to prove students weren’t cheating, but someone like Jing Pei no longer needed such verification. Making her solve two similar problems had become completely unnecessary.

By the time the principal realized Jing Pei was exploiting a loophole in the rules, and that if they let her continue she might actually graduate directly from Twelve Zodiac Academy, she hurried out to stop her.

Fortunately, by then Jing Pei had already farmed enough points for what she wanted.

The teachers were utterly exhausted, emotionally shattered, and metaphorically kneeling inside the office. Meanwhile, the humanities teachers were starting to feel deeply dissatisfied.

“Why won’t she solve our questions?”

“She must have an extremely severe imbalance between subjects. We’ll definitely have to keep a close eye on her in the future.”

“We must make her understand the romance of the humanities!”

The academy’s point-based advancement system was actually very comprehensive. It encouraged students—both actively and passively—to develop morally, intellectually, physically, aesthetically, and practically in all aspects.

Naturally, the school had long known about the loophole involving bonus questions.

They just never imagined that in all their lives, someone would actually exploit it one day.

“You’re certain you want to advance directly to seventh year?” the principal asked.

The principal was a woman who looked no older than forty. Her hair was tied up neatly, she wore a professional business suit, and her left arm was a steel prosthetic. Behind her red-framed glasses, she stared sternly at Jing Pei.

After receiving Jing Pei’s firm confirmation, she stamped the approval papers.

Thus, Jing Pei’s enrollment directly into the seventh year of Twelve Zodiac Academy became official.

“According to our assessment of your overall abilities, the class you’ll be entering is Class One. Your homeroom teacher will be Wen Yuxian.”

Jing Pei narrowed her eyes happily into a smile.

“Understood.”

…

Yunjin Prefecture, Tribunal Division Headquarters.

That same day, Mu Wenxing was sentenced to seven years in prison for attempted incitement of war between two major atavist families and child abuse.

Mu Wenyue, as an accomplice, received a sentence of four years and six months.

Just before the two siblings were escorted away to prison, Bai Xinran arrived in time to see him before they were loaded into the vehicle.

Mu Wenyue stood nearby watching her brother and the woman she had never once called “sister-in-law” bend over the side of the vehicle together, signing various documents.

Bai Xinran tucked away the divorce agreement, lowered her eyes, and said calmly:

“What we owed each other has been repaid. We’re even now.”

Mu Wenxing replied just as calmly.

“Mm.”

“I won’t tell Miaomiao about you. I’ll tell her you’re already dead. I’ll also find her a new father. When you’re released in the future, don’t appear before her. And never step foot in Changhai Prefecture again.”

“…Alright.”

Bai Xinran tightened her grip on the documents in her hands before finally lifting her eyes to look at him.

“Good luck. We… should never meet again.”

Bai Xinran turned and left decisively.

Even though her eyes filled with tears in that instant, she never slowed her steps.

Mu Wenyue watched her brother stare fixedly at Bai Xinran’s retreating figure, his eyes reddening as tears fell silently.

Unable to stop herself, her own eyes reddened too.

She knew they loved each other.

Loved each other deeply.

But some people were simply destined never to be together.

Because the hatred standing between them would never disappear just because of love.

The dead would not come back to life.

And the wounded would always carry scars.

Qiu Fa stood by the office window.

Though there was no need for it, half his body still hid behind the wall, like a feline predator lurking in ambush while observing prey.

Expressionless, he watched everything unfold.

The director’s cap sat casually on his head at a crooked angle, giving him an almost delinquent air. A cigar rested between his lips, making him look cold, dangerous, and rough all at once.

Only when the secretary knocked and entered did he shift slightly.

“Director, the screening results are out.”

Qiu Fa accepted the documents and flipped them open.

The previous nationwide search for women named “Yuan Qing” had turned up over two thousand people.

Now, after filtering out those too old or too young, there were still more than three hundred left.

The remaining possibilities could no longer be investigated through government systems alone.

They would have to send people to conduct one-on-one investigations before determining which Yuan Qing was the one worth ten million.

“There’s actually a very serious problem here, Director.”

“Speak.”

“If you don’t enter this matter into the official case system and instead intend to handle it as a personal matter, then all expenses will have to come out of your own pocket. That includes travel reimbursements, meals, lodging, and the cost of any necessary purchases…”

Qiu Fa, who was already beginning to realize the issue: “……”

The secretary said solemnly, “There are more than three hundred people. I’m afraid your money won’t be enough.”

Despite being the powerful Director of the Tribunal Division, Qiu Fa had two fatal traits.

First, he never accepted any form of bribery.

Second, he never gave face to any family. If someone deserved punishment or death, he never showed mercy. As a result, nobody voluntarily tried currying favor with him.

Although many people admired his principles enough to willingly risk their lives following him, Qiu Fa never accepted such repayment either. And because he didn’t want anyone else learning about the Green Ribbon matter, he could only rely on his own wallet.

Unfortunately, his salary was just an ordinary government paycheck.

And he had absolutely no concept of saving money.

Most of it went toward cigars and food.

As a result, his finances were… not exactly abundant.

Qiu Fa’s expression darkened slightly.

The secretary continued, “Director, I’ve been wondering—could it be possible that this information broker is just making things up? Are his sources really that accurate? Is he truly all-knowing?”

Qiu Fa frowned.

“You think I should wait and observe a little longer?”

The secretary nodded.

“News about him has already started spreading because of the Bai family’s public apology to the Huang family. The atavist families are beginning to hear rumors, and so are the atavists who entered the Bubble during the conflict. There’s even a little discussion online now.”

“I think people will soon start approaching him to buy information. We can use that opportunity to verify how accurate his intelligence really is—otherwise, we might just end up being played by him.”

The Puzzle Intelligence Agency had indeed begun spreading through the atavist world.

At present, Bai Xinran was the only firsthand witness who could prove its authenticity.

But there was no way she would publicly step forward and confirm it.

So many people believed the story had probably been fabricated by the Bai family to conceal something else.

The waters surrounding great families ran deep.

Yet at the same time—

There were also people desperate enough to seize upon it like a final lifeline.

Not long after Jing Pei returned to the Long family estate, the watch on her wrist vibrated once.

Oh.

Someone had just sent an email to the Puzzle Intelligence Agency.

Business had arrived.