The Glamorous Comeback of the Ousted Heiress

Who would dare speak of that in front of Qiu Boqing? Qiu Boqing was a high-achieving student in the humanities at Beicheng University and was preparing for his PhD exams.

“Boqing!” Qiu Xuezheng put his teacup down on the table and reminded, “That’s enough; come out with me.”

Qiu Boqing pursed his lips and said no more.

A group of people followed Qiu Xuezheng outside.

Bai Lian took a seat next to Jian Zhe, slightly leaning back in the chair, her hand resting on the table, only lifting her chin slightly, “Don’t you really want to get into Jia Yi?”

“I do want to.” Jian Zhe clicked his tongue. Who wouldn’t want to get into Jia Yi?

But even Jian Rong might not be able to get into Jia Yi.

Jian Zhe sighed: “You heard him just now. My calligraphy skills are catching up, and next year I could pass a decent grade, but those ancient phrases, I simply can’t comprehend…”

It was still manageable with the objective questions, but regarding the subjective ones involving ancient texts, sometimes Jian Zhe couldn’t even understand the meaning of the ancient text itself.

“If you want to take the test, that’s enough,” Bai Lian poured herself a cup of tea, her voice lazy, “As for the rest… you don’t have to worry.”

She took a light sip of tea, eyes narrowing slightly in the sunlight.

“Huh?” Jian Zhe didn’t understand and instinctively refilled Bai Lian’s cup with tea.

“I’m saying,” Bai Lian lowered her head, carelessly blowing away the foam on her tea, “after the New Year, find some time to go to the library with me.”

Outside.

Qiu Xuezheng looked at the three people with a stern expression, “What are you three doing here today?”

“The president asked when you will return,” Qiu Boqing said with his head down. Facing Qiu Xuezheng, he was still very respectful.

He meant the president of Beicheng.

“I’ll be at the Xiangcheng Calligraphy Association,” Qiu Xuezheng said lightly, his gaze shifting from Qiu Boqing to Ren Wanxuan, “Are you two not planning to come back?”

Ren Wanxuan dared not look at Qiu Xuezheng and just turned her head away.

Qiu Boqing was also silent; nobody wanted to be trapped in Xiangcheng, “Grandfather, I still need to apply for a PhD at Beicheng University.” What could he do by staying in Xiangcheng?

“Never mind,” Qiu Xuezheng questioned casually, unsure if their return would actually annoy someone. Seeing the two like that, he said, “The three of you go back. There’s no need to pay a New Year’s visit to me this year.”

He didn’t bring up the Xiangcheng Calligraphy Association again, and both Ren Wanxuan and Qiu Boqing breathed a sigh of relief.

**

The next day.

It was Bai Lian’s first New Year in this world.

At the Xiangcheng Building, the same number 12 bus.

The road beside the big waterwheel had been renovated, expanding by three meters. Bai Lian walked all the way to the city wall, stopping at the same spot as last time.

She took out five incense sticks from her pocket and placed them carefully; then, she took out an additional stick and placed it to one side.

This was for the “Bai Lian” who had disappeared in the lake.

Bai Lian lit the six incense sticks, then took out a handful of paper money, watching it all burn up. She then sat to one side, waiting for all six sticks to burn out completely before she got up, patting the dust off her sleeves.

When she returned to Xin’an Community, it was just past ten o’clock. Ji Heng and Ji Shaojun told her to focus on her homework.

When Bai Lian’s exams had been poor in the eyes of the Ji family, nobody let her be distracted by menial tasks. Now that they knew she might get into Jiangjing University, even Shen Qing was afraid that the sound of her cooking would be too loud and disturb Bai Lian.

Bai Lian hadn’t properly celebrated the New Year for two years.

This year, with the Ji family, she had a different experience.

On New Year’s Eve, she sat in the living room watching TV with Ji Heng and the others, holding three red envelopes.

Her phone was flooded with messages of good wishes. Only when Bai Lian unlocked her phone and saw “99+” unread messages did she realize—

In just a few months, she had gotten to know so many people.

Most of them were classmates from Class Fifteen, each of whom she replied to.

Only at the end did she swipe to Jiang Fulai’s page, with the last message he sent still there, a picture.

This year, he was celebrating with Jiang He, Ming Dongheng, Chi Yundai, and two people from their lab.

Bai Lian then sent him a picture of her red envelopes.

Approaching midnight, Ji Heng, who couldn’t keep his eyes open, went to his room to sleep.

The community was filled with the sounds of fireworks and firecrackers. Ji Shaojun went down to set off fireworks and then came up to watch them with Shen Qing from the balcony. Bai Lian returned to her room, where she received a bunch of new messages from those who timed it specifically for the New Year.

She had just opened WeChat.

When a new message popped up—

[Downstairs]

The room Shen Qing had prepared for Bai Lian had a window. She looked down and saw smoke swathing the area below.

Xiangcheng hadn’t banned fireworks yet, and the excessive fireworks made her feel like she was in a fairyland, completely obscuring her view.

Downstairs.

When Bai Lian reached the ground floor, Jiang Fulai was standing on the left side of the road, a tall figure. He was dressed in a white shirt, eyes slightly squinting, his demeanor relaxed.

The white cuffs were loosely rolled up twice, giving off an unapproachable “keep away” chill, as he still seemed too distant to approach.