Qin Xin opened her laptop and spent a while writing the outline and plot setup for "The Starry River with You." Remembering that Song Anjing had been clamoring to make a cameo appearance, and wanted to play a female villain, she added it in casually.

It was quite a while before she realized what she had done.

She thought she had completely said goodbye to her life with Lan Qingxin, but some things, once rooted in the heart, aren’t so easily erased.

She pinched the bridge of her nose.

She might forget, eventually.

Her friends would soon get used to life without her; after all, she was just a passerby.

She was just about to close her laptop.

An unread email suddenly popped up in her inbox.

Seeing the charming and alluring avatar, Qin Xin remembered she had promised a certain woman to design a legal case query system, but hadn’t started yet.

Sure enough, opening the email, there was a string of the woman’s urgings:

"Huo Tingzun, you’re not keeping your word. Are you even a man?"

"Huo Tingzun, you’re not replying to my WeChat or my emails, that’s pretty unprofessional, isn’t it?"

"Huo Tingzun, let’s meet at the Imperial Mansion at five in the afternoon, there are some details I want to discuss in person."

Uh, she even set the time and place for the meeting.

This woman really is action-oriented.

For some reason, though the woman was so aggressive and persistent, Qin Xin didn’t find it annoying. Instead, she somewhat admired her—

Having the courage to fight for what you want isn’t something everyone can do.

Qin Xin thought for a moment and replied: "Not today, I have to tutor my younger brother. I’ll get the system done for you as soon as possible, and then we can talk about meeting."

After all, this client was introduced by Hu Yi, so she should try to handle it properly.

A second later.

She received a reply, the overwhelming spoiled yet aggressive tone practically leaping off the screen: "... Fine, remember what you said! If you don’t meet, you’re not a man!"

Qin Xin: "..."

Was it her imagination?

Why did it feel like she wasn’t making a system for a client, but instead was a heartless jerk being pursued by a woman for a debt?

＝＝

Imperial Mansion.

Xiao Bailu finished her emails in the café, gulped down a large glass of iced coffee, and zoned out at her seat.

Huo Tingzun had agreed to meet her.

Though not right away.

But he agreed nonetheless.

Fine, she’d see what he’d say when they met then? Why did he pretend not to know her that day?

Is he good at pretending in front of women and children?

She zoned out for almost an hour, and as the sun was about to set, she still didn’t feel hungry. Thinking about it, she dialed a number for Huo Zhen: "Little Zhenzhen, is your academic performance that bad now?"

Huo Zhen was baffled: "It’s... okay, I guess. Sister Lu Lu, do you need something?"

Even though last time outside the exam building, Xiao Bailu had intimidated him a bit, Huo Zhen didn’t dislike her. He just thought... she seemed kind of pitiful.

Xiao Bailu: "If your grades aren’t bad, why is your brother tutoring you?"

Huo Zhen was dumbfounded for a few seconds, then asked: "Are you... mentally okay? My brother’s been dead for three years, and you still haven’t accepted it?"

This time it was Xiao Bailu’s turn to fall silent.

After a few seconds, she said irritably: "He’s back from the dead! And he told me he’s going to tutor you. Since he didn’t go find you, it means he’s lying again, damn man."

Xiao Bailu hung up the phone, fuming.

Damn man is really damn.

She raised her hand and asked the waiter for another glass of iced coffee, gulping down half of it in one go.

He actually lied to her.

If you don’t want to meet, just don’t meet. Why seriously say you’re tutoring your brother?

Heh.