After pressing the lock button, Jiang Cheng calmly drove Lin Qingxue straight through the crowd and headed off-campus.
All he left behind was a group of people chattering noisily in place.
This was the second time Lin Qingxue had sat in the porsche 918, yet she still wasn't used to it.
Watching Jiang Cheng's handsome profile, his hands resting gracefully on the wheel, she suddenly felt unworthy of him.
A chosen son of heaven like him could reduce even the most beautiful woman to a mere accessory.
After all, apart from a pretty shell, nothing about her matched Jiang Cheng.
But Lin Qingxue's goal was clear: she simply wanted to cure her mother and give her parents a better life.
Besides, she had no intention of marrying; as the family's only child,
she feared that once she married and had kids she might not be able to care for her parents.
And don't preach about supporting your parents through sheer hard work.
She used to believe that—until her mother fell ill and she learned that a lifetime of scrimping and saving couldn't cover a single hospital bill.
Right now she was only a sophomore; after graduation she'd hunt for a job while working part-time.
Even if she slogged for years and finally earned ten grand a month, so what?
Could that money cover her mother's monthly medical fees plus the family's living expenses?
How many years would she have to work to save enough for a kidney transplant?
Where would she find the connections to secure a donor kidney for her mother?
All she strove for with every ounce of strength was nothing to the rich—something they could obtain with a snap of their fingers.
So tell me: what's the point of effort?
She might as well choose a wealthy man; even if she became his accessory, what was so bad about that?
It beat ending up with someone like Hao Liang, who despised her family and called her mother a burden.
Besides, if she stayed with Jiang Cheng, who gained or lost was still up in the air.
Since she didn't plan to marry anyway, why not pick someone handsome and loaded?
Being with such a man was a pleasure in itself.
Once she reasoned it through, Lin Qingxue felt much better.
Noticing her zoning out, Jiang Cheng asked, "Anything you feel like eating?"
"Let's go to the snack street opposite our campus; I know it well, and it's close. You've got Military Training tomorrow, so getting back too late won't be good," she said considerately.
Jiang Cheng teased with a smile, "Didn't you say last night that if it got too late we could just not come back?"
Lin Qingxue instantly caught his drift.
Though she did want something to happen with Jiang Cheng,
she was also scared—things felt like they were moving too fast.
Besides, last night she'd only been teasing him on purpose.
But if he really kept her out all night, she suddenly didn't dare.
Heat flooded her cheeks and spread to her ears; she shot him a quick glance and coquettishly said, "I'm afraid of pain—what if I actually bleed??"
Seeing her flushed ears yet defiant look, Jiang Cheng chuckled.
He nearly said that the first injection always draws blood,
but after that one prick everything's fine—just endure it.
"Relax, I'm a very qualified family doctor; I'll help stop the bleeding."
Those words made her cheeks burn even more out of control.
She was still a nineteen-month-old baby, okay?
And here she was alone with a Handsome Guy discussing such an embarrassing topic.
Lin Qingxue didn't answer Jiang Cheng.
She knew that if she kept talking he'd just keep teasing her.
She switched topics: "Jiang Cheng, sorry about just now. Hao Liang is the Vice-President of our Student Union; we only meet during events. I don't know why we ran into him today—please don't take his words to heart!"
Jiang Cheng shrugged indifferently. "It doesn't affect me in the least."
Soon Jiang Cheng pulled the car up along The Bund.
Clearly he had no intention of grabbing a casual dinner at the snack street near campus as Lin Qingxue had suggested.
By now night had fallen and the lights were coming on.
Sitting in a multi-million-yuan supercar while gazing at The Bund scenery, Lin Qingxue felt a strange sensation rise inside her.
She'd been to The Bund before—but always by metro with classmates.
This was the first time she'd cruised through the glittering nightscape of the Demon City in a luxury car.
The experience was worlds apart from trudging on foot.
Watching the pedestrians' glances and the towering illuminated buildings, her vanity swelled a hundredfold.
So this was how the rich lived?
Money really could buy happiness. Though the car wasn't hers, she tasted genuine joy while sitting in it.
Perhaps this was what life was supposed to be; everything before had merely been survival.
Jiang Cheng parked outside a three-Michelin-star restaurant at Bund No. 18.
A foreign attendant in a suit and gelled hair promptly approached.
After checking Jiang Cheng's reservation, he spoke fluent, respectful Chinese: "Dear Mr. Jiang, welcome. It is an honor to receive such a distinguished guest. Everything is prepared inside; please follow me."
With that, the foreign server gracefully gestured for them to enter.
Lin Qingxue, standing nearby, watched in surprise.
She hadn't expected Jiang Cheng to bring her somewhere so upscale.
The two of them then walked into the restaurant under several staff members' warm welcome.
The Michelin Three-Star restaurant only accepted ten tables each evening; reservations were notoriously hard to get.
Yet Jiang Cheng, as a top-tier CMB member, had secured one effortlessly.
Lin Qingxue obediently stayed by Jiang Cheng's side, saying nothing along the way.
Though she'd never been to such a place,
she knew she mustn't appear timid and embarrass Jiang Cheng.
Following the principle of "if you don't know, keep quiet," she kept her mouth shut.
Only her eyes secretly surveyed the luxurious, refined surroundings.