Upon returning to the hotel after dinner, Huang Xiu, her belly round and full, collapsed onto the leather sofa in the living room.
The steak at lunch today had been truly delicious, and Professor Yuan, paying the bill, had placed no limits on her ordering.
Consequently, she had accidentally eaten herself into a stupor.
“Are you going to exercise?” Huang Xiu asked, turning her head towards the left room door upon hearing movement.
Yun Ning emerged from the room, a satchel slung across his shoulder.
Dressed in a tank top and shorts, the smooth, defined lines of his arm muscles were clearly visible.
Huang Xiu watched him, filled with an undeniable envy; this was precisely the physique she had always yearned for.
“Yes, I have a daily exercise regimen,” Yun Ning replied gently, nodding his head.
Exercise was simply his ‘daily routine’.
“Alright then!” Huang Xiu mumbled, smacking her lips as she watched Yun Ning turn left and enter the elevator.
Had she not been waiting for the Senior Female Student to arrive in the room, she would have liked to follow him and see what the gym in a luxury hotel was like.
After spending a while in restless boredom, with truly nothing else to do, she darted into her room, intending to play with Huang Xiaoxian.
To her surprise, the creature had buried itself in a flowerpot and fallen asleep, a green snot bubble even rising from its nose.
‘How utterly charming,’ the girl thought, scrunching her nose, deciding it wasn’t worth disturbing its sweet dreams.
Emerging from her room with a sigh of frustration, she returned to the living room.
A sophisticated woman (TL Note: ‘Yujie,’ referring to a mature, elegant, and often powerful female character archetype) with long, wavy brown hair, clad in a fitted blazer, had appeared at the doorway at some point.
Her lips were painted with a subtle red lipstick, and her expression remained serene, giving her an aura both coolly detached and alluring.
After a stunned half-second, Huang Xiu finally registered her presence, tentatively asking, “Excuse me, are you Senior Female Student Li Qinyue?”
“That would be me.”
Li Qinyue meticulously assessed Huang Xiu from head to toe, occasionally nodding.
“Your raw potential is excellent,” she declared, “you merely lack a bit of styling. Worry not, Junior Female Student Huang, leave it to me.”
‘Wait, ‘styling’?!’
Hearing those words, Huang Xiu instantly felt a surge of panic. ‘What on earth did ‘styling’ mean?! She absolutely refused to wear makeup!’
“I’m just going to buy some men’s clothes! I don’t need styling!”
Her face flushed crimson as she retorted, her words tumbling out rapidly, “Also, please don’t call me ‘Junior Female Student.’ You can call me Axiu, ‘Junior Male Student,’ or ‘classmate’—anything but ‘Junior Female Student!'”
The appellation ‘Junior Female Student’ was truly unbearable for her; the mere sound of it sent shivers down her spine.
“Hmm?” Li Qinyue tilted her head. “Didn’t that old rascal Yuan Fei (TL Note: A colloquial term, ‘lao bu xiu,’ often used affectionately or critically for an older person who is mischievous or unconventional) tell me to give you a proper makeover?”
Huang Xiu remained speechless.
‘Calling her own teacher an old rascal… that’s quite something,’ she mused.
Yet, the term didn’t seem entirely inappropriate, as Professor Yuan’s unconventional behavior was widely known.
Li Qinyue, seemingly having anticipated Huang Xiu’s vehement reaction, maintained her calm expression and continued.
“Furthermore, regarding the address, I believe you need to get used to it. While we are aware of your situation, others are not. Do you intend to correct every single person in the future? If I call you it frequently now, you’ll become accustomed to it, and your reaction won’t be so strong.”
‘Damn it, she’s actually here to give me desensitization training!’
However, Huang Xiu had to admit there was indeed some truth to her words.
Compared to revealing her situation to everyone, accepting the title ‘Junior Female Student’ was truly a minor inconvenience.
“Fine, fine!” Huang Xiu conceded, waving a hand, a look of helpless resignation on her face. “Senior Female Student, call me whatever you like; I’ll do my best to adapt.”
“However, regarding clothes, just buying a simple short-sleeved top and casual pants will be perfectly fine.”
Wearability and affordability had always been her primary criteria when purchasing clothes.
“Very well, I’ll defer to you on that.”
Li Qinyue offered a faint smile, yet immediately shifted the topic.
“But when it comes to underwear, you absolutely must listen to me,” she stated. “It’s really not good for a girl to go without a bra.”
‘Underwear…’
Gulp!
Huang Xiu’s Adam’s apple bobbed as she swallowed with difficulty.
‘Oh no, this ordeal too!’
She had intended to refuse, but then the embarrassing memory of herself on campus that day suddenly flashed through her mind.
The words of refusal died on her tongue.
After all, she couldn’t go her entire life without wearing underwear.
While she wasn’t concerned about sagging, the constant chafing was truly bothersome!
With these thoughts, Huang Xiu was led downstairs and into Li Qinyue’s vehicle—a striking red BMW sedan.
The car’s interior was impressive, clearly not a base model.
Though Huang Xiu couldn’t identify the exact model, given the brand, a conservative estimate suggested it would cost a significant sum, likely not less than a couple hundred thousand yuan.
‘Senior Female Student Li’s family certainly has considerable means!’ Huang Xiu thought, nodding subtly.
‘A rich woman, indeed. What a pity I no longer possess the ability to be a kept man (TL Note: ‘ChÄ« ruÇŽnfà n,’ literally ‘eating soft rice,’ is a derogatory term for a man who relies financially on a woman),’ she lamented.
“I actually bought this myself,” Li Qinyue revealed, having noticed Huang Xiu’s curiosity.
“Eh? You bought it yourself?” Huang Xiu, who had been curiously poking at the car’s control computer, froze.
‘Senior Female Student Li should only be a junior… no, perhaps a senior, right?’
“I have a part-time job as a stylist, and the school’s scholarships are quite generous, so I managed to save up a good sum of money.”
It was just past one in the afternoon; although they had avoided rush hour, the traffic flow on the main thoroughfare of the first ring road was still considerable.
The red BMW would move for a bit before having to stop again.
Just as they were about to move, a car emblazoned with the slogan “Didi Taxi” suddenly cut in front of them with a sharp left turn.
“By ‘quite generous scholarships,’ what exactly do you mean?”
Huang Xiu was far more intrigued by the scholarships than the part-time job, as these were a tangible goal she could realistically pursue.
“Heh.”
Li Qinyue offered no reply.
She glared at the car that had cut in front, a humorless smile playing on her lips. “Daring to cut me off? If I wasn’t in a hurry, I’d certainly ram you.”
With that, she slammed a fist onto the steering wheel.
Honk—!
The horn blared, sharp and piercing, its sound echoing with Li Qinyue’s fury across the road.
“…” Huang Xiu abruptly recoiled, shrinking her neck. ‘Senior Female Student Li, looking like this, is truly terrifying.’
As the horn’s shriek ceased, Li Qinyue suddenly reverted to her composed self, sweeping the strands of hair from her face behind her ear.
“What was your question just now? Ah, the scholarships, right?”
“They’re awarded every semester, based on overall ranking. The top student, TOP1, receives a first-class scholarship—a full hundred thousand yuan!”
“How much? A hundred thousand?!” Huang Xiu’s eyes gleamed, her neck instantly craning forward again as she began counting on her fingers then and there.
‘A hundred thousand yuan per semester.’
‘Over four years, that’s eight semesters—if I earned it every time, I could accumulate a grand total of eight hundred thousand yuan in scholarships!’
‘That’s enough to buy an apartment over a hundred square meters directly in Ying City!’
‘This isn’t just studying; it’s practically picking up money with a sack!’
“The first-class scholarship, I’m claiming it!”
A fierce blaze ignited in Huang Xiu’s eyes, the unwavering devotion of a poverty-stricken devotee to money.
“Good, very determined,” Li Qinyue chuckled. “You’re an S-rank, you know. I believe you can achieve it.”
“Eh, S-rank?”
Huang Xiu pointed to herself, her face etched with disbelief. “Me?”
‘Though I don’t know how Senior Female Student Li’s ranking system works…’
‘…in novels, anime, or games, an S-rank always signifies the absolute pinnacle.’
‘So, she’s S-rank? A genius?’