Yu Minglang lowered his voice and recounted the incident of Fugui’s injury.

"...After the accident, he was afraid of coming back and delaying Zilong’s exam, so he stayed at Liumei’s place. My mom checked on him, and it’s not a big issue. A month of rest, and he’ll be fine."

"A month?" Mr. Liao furrowed his brow.

Just as Yu Minglang was about to explain, he saw Mr. Liao burst into laughter.

"Good, that’s good."

What kind of... reaction is this?

Xiaoqiang was utterly baffled.

Hearing about his son’s car accident and fracture, is this the usual reaction from a father?

If he didn’t know they were biologically father and son, Xiaoqiang would think this might be a fake dad.

"Uncle Liao, you—"

"It’s nothing. Yun Chang is always too busy with work, constantly working overtime and delaying personal matters. Now that he’s confirmed his relationship with Liumei, taking a break might not be a bad thing. Sometimes, I see him so busy, spinning like a top, and hope he can rest."

Well then, now he has a month to rest.

And from what Minglang implied, it seems like Liumei is caring for him closely, so interacting more before marriage is a good thing in Mr. Liao’s eyes.

This thought process... Yu Minglang thought maybe studying too much law and regulations made his thinking different from others?

That can’t be. His second master’s degree is also in law, and he doesn’t have a different way of thinking.

If Qian knew what he was thinking now, she’d probably give him a big "ha ha."

In Qian’s eyes, Xiaoqiang’s brain is a peculiar one. If Xiaoqiang is the number one oddball, then Zilong is definitely number two.

However, Zilong still can’t match Xiaoqiang. Although Xiaoqiang’s emotional intelligence is sometimes questionable, at least his IQ is high, and he was the provincial top scorer in the college entrance exam.

As for Chen Zilong...

Chen Zilong, trembling with fear, watched his sister enter his room like a queen, giving off the aura of inspecting her territory, and he didn’t dare to make a sound following behind Qian.

Qian walked to the desk, lightly wiped her finger across the surface, examined it, and sneered.

"You really look like you’re prepping for exams, huh? This dust could make dough for buns if you add water!"

"The teacher said to relax before the exam. Don’t study for three days and adjust your schedule." Zilong felt like he was seeing his class teacher when he saw Qian.

No, she’s scarier than the class teacher.

At least the class teacher wouldn’t actually hit him.

Over the years, Zilong had grown quite a bit, looking more like a young man, but standing in front of the shorter Qian, he obediently resembled an elementary school student. Qian just had to glare, and he wouldn’t dare respond; this was a habit formed over many years.

"You think I’m stupid? Is that dust on your desk only three days old? You have a half-month vacation for the college entrance exam, yet you’re just lounging around the house eating and drinking, not even glancing at your books. Now if I quiz you on some formulas, can you even recall them?"

"Sis! I’m sorry!" Zilong feared her words would give him headaches.

Nowadays, there’s a vacation before the college entrance exam, sometimes as long as over ten days, unlike future years where it’s only two or three days before. This period is for students to consolidate their knowledge, but Qian knows her brother surely hasn’t consolidated much knowledge, probably just consolidated a lot of food.

Qian sat on Zilong’s bed, randomly reached out and took out a Slam Dunk art book from the bedding; the cover seemed familiar.

She narrowed her eyes, "Did you sneak over and steal my book?!"

Isn’t this the book she and Xiaoqiang had in their duplex in Q City? This edition was something she’d especially had someone buy; it wasn’t the same as those sold outside!

"I didn’t steal it! My brother-in-law lent it to me! Brother-in-law said I could freely go look at books and even bring them back, just as long as I didn’t wrinkle the cover."

Zilong felt like he had the best brother-in-law in Yu Minglang, the best big brother in Liao Fugui, and the number one fierce sister...

"Alright, you two are up to these antics, and I’ll remember this debt, sorting you both out after the exams!"

Zilong pouted, see, she’s fierce, always going for a group kill with her words.

"So, what’s your plan for the future?"

"Just to do well in exams, I guess."

"What about the school you want to go to? Your future direction, have you decided?"

Actually, he shouldn’t be asked this before the exam; it might stress the candidate.

But Qian knows her carefree brother well; he worries only about food and clothing, never about studying, leaving those around him anxious while he continues eating and sleeping well.

Liao Fugui even developed mouth ulcers after knowing his mock exam scores, and yet this heartless kid reportedly devoured two chicken legs that night, so Qian spoke bluntly to him.

"I was actually thinking of discussing this with you, sis. I planned out three scenarios for myself."

"Oh?" Did the sun rise from the west? This muddleheaded, awkward little brother actually came up with three paths?

Is he sure it’s paths, not massages...

"First, if I score above the bachelor’s line, even if it’s for a third-tier college, I’ll go! But I thought, this is unlikely unless there’s a massive marking error by the judges."

"Ha ha." Qian coldly laughed.

After so many years of schooling, if his knowledge has come to this, she really wishes she could share her IQ with him.

"Don’t laugh at me. I did think of a second option. If I can’t make the third tier, what about the lower-score vocational schools mom showed me? I feel like their learning atmosphere isn’t conducive, more about passing time, so it’s not quite suitable for me, and I don’t even have enough grades for slightly reputable vocational schools."

"Wow, hearing such profound words from you makes me feel a bit anxious." Qian pondered where exactly something went wrong with him, how did his awareness rise so suddenly?

Soon she heard Chen Zilong continue, "I also came up with a third option, which is my favorite. Sis, I want to go work at Mr. Yu’s company."

"Wha...t?!"

Qian thought she heard wrong.

"I want to go work at Mr. Yu’s company!"

"His company requires exams, and even your educational background doesn’t suffice."

The decent roles at Mr. Yu’s company demand qualifications and experience because the benefits are good, so the criteria naturally are high.

"I can’t, but brother-in-law can! Sis, have brother-in-law put in a good word, it’s just a casual request. Let me in, and I’ll have stable work with a salary, saving us tuition money. I’m really fed up with studying; I’m not cut out for it anyway. Besides, my brother-in-law’s family has influence, his word is enough."

Qian’s expression shifted from relaxed to increasingly stern. Hearing Zilong mention the word "influence," her mouth tightened and her eyes were tinged with an unspoken coldness.

"Who told you all this?"

"Zhuzi said it when he visited. He said it’s all about connections now, so why should we struggle when we have them?"

Chen Zilong, lacking Yu Minglang’s intuition, couldn’t tell his big sister was about to erupt like a volcano.

Qian’s face grew darker, and by the end, simmering with anger, she still spoke gently.

"Do you think this so-called societal truth is worthy discussion?"

This rascal better not say yes, else Qian might decide to cut family ties and give him a good beating.