Nobody said that teachers at elite academies have to be heartthrobs.

Jiang Lianqing had booked a private room in advance. Although Yu Fuli had chosen the location, since he was going there to apologize, he had to put on a proper show and show his sincerity.

He never makes empty promises.

Just before leaving, the assistant handed over the contract that had been prepared overnight, waiting for the two of them to discuss it and add the terms.

Yu Fuli mentioned it casually, but he had people rush to produce the complete terms.

In Jiang Lianqing's view, verbal agreements are flimsy and easily dispelled, far less reliable than written agreements. It's not that he really expects the contract to have any legal binding force, but rather that in case the other party brings up past grievances in the future, this will serve as a protective shield, clearly stating: the matter of that day was agreed upon and settled.

He got into the car, the scenery outside the window flashed by, and the bright sunlight made his brows and eyes look heavy.

Yunbai's arrival was so sudden that it caught him off guard.

But after that person left, he sat alone in his study and the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.

He knew Jiang Yu's character better than anyone else—he had cleaned up so many messes for his good-for-nothing younger brother over the years, and had long since figured out his intricate thoughts.

Jiang Yu, to put it bluntly, is a sucker for good looks. He judges people by their appearance first, and his liking for someone starts with their face. For him to be so smitten as to resort to such underhanded methods, what must Yu Fuli look like? Could she truly be a celestial being descended to earth, an absolute beauty?

He slowly stroked the contract in his hand, his gaze falling on the ever-changing street scene outside the window, a subtle, enigmatic smile playing on his lips.

He doesn't believe it.

Rather than saying that Yu Fuli was too good-looking, so good that Jiang Yu couldn't control himself, he was more inclined to believe that it was Teacher Yu, who deliberately hid her identity to enter the school, who set a trap for his stupid younger brother.

No matter how handsome Yu Fuli was, he was still just a man.

Moreover, the saying "the Jiang family has produced beauties for generations" has been circulating in the capital for many years and is by no means an exaggeration. Their family's bone structure and appearance are gifts from God. Jiang Yu's face is so striking that it would attract attention wherever it is placed. If he were to be infatuated with beauty, his younger brother could simply look in the mirror. Why would he bother to fantasize about an outsider?

Jiang Lianqing sneered inwardly.

He had never seen Jiang Yu show the slightest interest in men, a fact he knew better than anyone. Even if Jiang Yu had truly awakened to that interest, he wouldn't be so desperate as to resort to such despicable methods. Although his younger brother was a scoundrel, he was an upright scoundrel and would never stoop to underhanded tactics.

Therefore, there is only one truth!

Yu Fuli set a trap for Jiang Yu.

But this scheme was executed too beautifully. Time, place, witnesses, physical evidence—everything was complete, every detail clear, as clean and efficient as a textbook example of framing. In this whole drama, Yu Fuli was an irreproachable victim from beginning to end, so clean that Jiang Lianqing couldn't find a single flaw.

It's too clean, so clean it doesn't look real.

Jiang Lianqing narrowed his eyes and tapped his knee twice with his fingertips.

Yu Fuli's identity was too special, so special that he couldn't help but think deeper and wonder if there was any royal family behind it.

Once this idea takes hold, it grows wildly like a vine.

If the royal family cannot tolerate the growing power of the four great families and wants to make an example of them, then Yu Fuli is the most suitable weapon. With his status, whatever he does is perfectly justified, and whatever he says is believed. Having him orchestrate this scheme, making the Jiang family suffer this injustice in silence, is simply a brilliant move.

The more Jiang Lianqing thought about it, the clearer the picture became.

Of the four major families, the Xiao family has deep roots in the military and political circles. As long as their old general is alive, no one dares to touch them. The Wen family focuses on biomedicine and has connections throughout major hospitals. Offending doctors is a no-brainer, especially since the Wen family's bookish members are busy with internal strife and have no time for external affairs. The Yun family is special; they have a background in the underworld, but their headquarters are overseas. Their strength is not to be underestimated, yet they maintain a low profile, almost invisible.

After counting them all, the Jiang family is the easiest to control.

The weakest in strength, yet the most prone to causing trouble, and the family head even has a useless twin brother. If he were in that position, he would definitely target the Jiang family first if he wanted to attack the four major families.

He just didn't expect that the other party would choose Jiang Yu as their breakthrough point.

He lowered his eyes, a faint curve forming the corners of his lips, carrying a hint of self-mockery and a touch of coldness.

He underestimated that person.

Yu Fuli is a member of the royal family, and a tool of the royal family. Her scheming is so deep, and her methods so skillful. She hides everything perfectly from beginning to end, just waiting for her prey to step into the trap.

He admitted defeat.

Jiang Lianqing leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and repeatedly sketched the face he had never met in his mind. What kind of person could act so realistically and make such a mess of things?

He suddenly became curious.

If Yu Fuli, completely unaware of this, knew the intricate schemes Jiang Lianqing was currently plotting, she would probably just lift her eyelids expressionlessly and ask, "Are you alright?"

Jiang Yu?

Why would we need to set up a scheme?

He beckoned with his finger, and the man came running over, wagging his tail like a puppy seeing a bone.

Setting up a trap? That's pointless.

Unfortunately, Jiang Lianqing couldn't hear this complaint, nor did he have the chance to witness his brother's worthless demeanor in front of someone. He was immersed in his own brainstorming, finding it increasingly flawless and logically sound, wishing he could award himself a trophy for being a logical genius on the spot.

Look at this! The whole story, the cause and effect, is so clear and understandable. The royal family, Yu Fuli, the setup, the leverage—the whole reasoning fits together perfectly.

He leaned back in his chair, a hint of smugness in the curve of his lips.

Just then, the car slowly came to a stop at the intersection.

The red light is on.

Jiang Lianqing glanced out the window listlessly, and then his gaze fixed on something.

In that instant, it was as if the world had been muted.

The surrounding noise receded like the tide, and the scenery around him blurred into a hazy halo in his eyes. He could hear nothing, see nothing, and all his senses lost their meaning—except for the person in front of him.

The person was standing on the other side of the zebra crossing, holding a cup of milk tea, seemingly waiting for the red light.

The white shirt and black trousers accentuated his exceptionally tall and slender figure. Half of his face was hidden in the interplay of light and shadow, yet his features seemed to have been meticulously sculpted by the Creator. When his eyes were lowered, a breeze would blow, lifting the stray hairs on his forehead to reveal a glimpse of his fair skin before they quickly fell back down.

He tilted his head slightly, as if he had noticed something, or perhaps not.

That one breathtaking glance was enough to make Jiang Lianqing forget to breathe. So men can be this beautiful!

He suddenly felt that the world had brightened.

It truly shone. Not just any ordinary brightness, but an overwhelming light that surged in from all directions, a sudden burst of blooming flowers across the mountains and fields, the cool elegance of magnolias, the intense fragrance of roses, the gentle tenderness of apricot blossoms—it was the accumulation of all the beauty in the world that could depict even a fraction of its splendor.

He heard the chirping of a hundred birds, yet he heard nothing at all. He saw a myriad of colors, yet he saw only that one person.

All reason, all doubt, all conspiracy theories vanished in an instant.

The car restarted and slowly drove through the intersection. The person was left behind, getting farther and farther away, becoming more and more blurry, until finally disappearing completely from the lingering gaze.

Jiang Lianqing remained motionless, her head tilted to the side.

After a long while, he slowly withdrew his gaze, lowered his eyes, and his chest suddenly began to pound erratically.

"……Hold."

He muttered a curse under his breath, but his voice was inexplicably hoarse.

Then he raised his hand and pressed it against his chest, where his heart was still pounding wildly.

He, Jiang Lianqing, the eldest young master of the Jiang family, who had been a womanizer for twenty years without ever getting attached to anyone, was someone who always attracted others' attention at first sight—but he had fallen in love.

Just now, at the intersection, during the thirty seconds the red light was on.

He didn't even know the person's name.

The car continued forward, heading towards the private room that had been reserved in advance.

But only one thing remained in his mind: would that person ever appear again?