Going home for Chinese New Year, I squeezed onto a bus with three energetic young women.

The bald teacher got more and more excited as he talked, while Bai Li rolled her eyes.

If you don't want to wait, then get out. Why do you have to stay here and explain elementary school math problems to me?

He turned his head to look at Jiang Ruyue, asking with his eyes.

Does this mean: should we spray directly or follow the proper procedures?

Jiang Ruyue had her hands in her coat pockets, her long hair slightly disheveled by the wind.

She met Bai Li's gaze and nodded subtly.

The meaning is clear: Go all out and start showcasing the art of language, do whatever you want.

With the approval granted, Bai Li was no longer inclined to indulge him.

"You old dog," Bai Li interrupted Mediterranean's math lesson, "according to your calculations, if your mother found a hundred husbands, you'd be born in three days, right?"

The wind on the street paused for a moment.

The bald teacher's face first turned red, then turned pale.

His hand, which was pointing at the watch, froze in mid-air, his lips trembling as he said, "You... how can you be so vulgar! You have absolutely no manners!"

He turned and glared at Jiang Ruyue in a fit of rage:

"Ruyue! You're a top student at No. 1 High School! How could you associate with such shady characters?"

"Next time there's a parent-teacher conference, I'm going to tell your parents everything that happened today!"

This sentence hit Jiang Ruyue's sore spot perfectly.

She had run away from home without her family's knowledge.

Her father works at the Education Bureau, where he's even stricter than a jailer;

Her mother is busy with her business every day.

She finally managed to sneak out for a breather today. If this bald guy tells her parents what happened, getting a scolding is the least of her worries. If they install a security camera at home, she'll never be able to get out again.

"Why do you always use parents as leverage?" Bai Li spoke up before Jiang Ruyue could: "I hated teachers like you the most when I was in school. Can't we just talk things out and resolve them openly?"

"I'm doing this for the students' future!" the teacher raised her voice, speaking with absolute conviction.

"Ruyue comes from a good family and has excellent grades. If she wants to make friends, she should associate with high-class, influential, and wealthy elites!"

"Instead of hanging out with a foul-mouthed thug like you!"

Just as he was getting into the middle of his rant, the bald teacher's gaze passed over Bai Li and landed on Li Mengmeng.

He was so focused on lecturing others that he didn't notice there was another person there.

After seeing Li Mengmeng's outfit and height, the teacher's voice caught in his throat, and his eyes widened in surprise.

Li Mengmeng, who is only 1.55 meters tall, is wearing a light blue short down jacket and white stockings. She is too short.

The teacher didn't think of Li Mengmeng as an adult at all; instead, she quickly imagined a whole drama of child abduction in her mind.

He frantically reached into his briefcase, pulled out his phone, and started tapping the screen wildly.

Bai Li still couldn't figure out what was wrong with this old guy.

The phone is on.

The teacher yelled at the top of his lungs, "Hello! 110? I'm reporting someone by name! There are people trafficking children here! Yes, I'm right across from the school! And this guy is dressed like a thug..."

The moment the words were spoken, the air on the street went completely cold.

"Fuck you!"

A sharp shout suddenly erupted from the ground.

Li Mengmeng was already angry, and Bai Li brought her out to see other women, which fueled her anger all the way.

Now, this bald guy is calling her a child?

She strode angrily up the steps in her round-toed leather shoes, pointed at the teacher's nose, and began to berate her:

"Are you blind?! Who are you calling a child? I'm twenty-four this year!"

To prove her adulthood, Li Mengmeng even puffed out her chest.

The exaggerated curve of the fifth gear made the short down jacket look bulging.

"Have you ever seen a child this big? Huh? Have you wasted all your education?"

The teacher was so shocked by the outburst that she took two steps back, frozen in place with her phone in hand. The operator's voice came through the phone, asking questions:

"Hello? What happened? Please keep the call connected..."

Li Mengmeng snatched the phone, changed her tone, and spoke in a soft, sweet voice with a hint of spoiled rich girl's arrogance:

"It's me, Li Mengmeng! Yes, yes, Li Fugui's daughter."

"It's nothing, some lunatic keeps saying I've been kidnapped and it's ruining my date with my boyfriend. Please block this number, it's so annoying."

The police officer opposite clearly recognized Li Mengmeng's father and quickly tried to smooth things over with a smile.

"Oh, it's Miss Li. What a scare. Alright, alright, this old man wasted police resources by making a false report. I'll block this number right away and have the local police check his bank account. Have fun, Miss Li."

With a beep.

Li Mengmeng hung up immediately and slapped her phone into the teacher's arms.

Jiang Ruyue, who was watching closely from the side, burst out laughing.

That usually aloof and detached face was now flushed red from trying to suppress a laugh.

She leaned closer to Bai Li and lowered her voice, saying, "It's still more fun being with you. No matter what we're doing, I can laugh happily."

Bai Li rolled her eyes and didn't reply. "Is Pingxian Little Conan bragging to you?"

Li Mengmeng was still venting her anger when she put her hands on her hips and launched an attack on the teacher, whose legs were already shaking:

"Who are you calling a hoodlum? Listen up, Bai Li and I both live in the Heavenly Palace on the Clouds!"

"If you have any complaints about this, feel free to come to the Heavenly Palace on the Clouds and argue with us. We've reserved the address for you; if you don't dare come, you're a coward!"

Those words are incredibly damaging.

Heavenly Palace on the Cloud Top.

Pingxian is a tiny place, and anyone with a bit of influence knows what that villa district represents.

Although Jiang Ruyue's family members are leaders in the Education Bureau, at most they are just bureau chiefs who can manage the school.

The people who live in Cloud Palace No. 1 are top-tier nobles who could be crushed with a single finger!

What did I just do?

Calling a top-tier tycoon who drives a Panamera a small-time hoodlum? And even calling 110 to arrest the daughter of a big shot?

The teacher was pale, and beads of sweat trickled down his forehead, forming a bald patch.

He held his phone in both hands, his body hunched over like a ripe shrimp, not even daring to look up at Bai Li, muttering apologies that no one could hear.

It's one thing to fail to get a professional title today, but to keep my job is a blessing from my ancestors.

"Let's go, are we really going to wait for him to treat us to dinner?"

Bai Li didn't even bother to look at the bald man, opened the door of the Panamera, and beckoned the two women to get in.

The engine roared.

The car drove off the auxiliary road, leaving the teacher with a cloud of exhaust fumes.

The old man was still standing there trembling, his mind filled with prayers that these powerful figures wouldn't come looking for him to settle scores later.

The heater was on in the carriage, and the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

Jiang Ruyue sat in the back seat, leaning slightly forward, and sized up Bai Li in the driver's seat:

"Where are we going now?"

"Let's go grocery shopping." Bai Li replied casually, one hand on the steering wheel. "Mengmeng and I agreed to cook dinner tonight. Do you want to come with me to pick out the groceries?"

Jiang Ruyue didn't reply, but instead stared at the back of Bai Li's head with a clear yet slightly strange and suspicious gaze, and asked softly:

"So what do we do after we eat?"

Without a second thought, Li Mengmeng, in the passenger seat, turned around and blurted out a single word:

"Dry!"

Chi-

The wheels made a short, sharp scraping sound as they slid across the asphalt road.

Bai Li's back was covered in sweat.

What kind of rubbish did Li Mengmeng watch at home during the Chinese New Year?

Why are you talking like a little girl now, even more like a little girl with a youthful spirit?

He quickly steadied the steering wheel and explained repeatedly:

"No! It's just a proper stir-fry."

After saying that, Bai Li, taking advantage of Jiang Ruyue's inability to see, frantically winked and made faces at Li Mengmeng, his eyelids almost twitching.

The meaning was clear: Take it easy! This girl is still an innocent student; don't corrupt her!

Li Mengmeng understood Bai Li's implication and snorted indignantly.

She was already wary of Jiang Ruyue, who seemed aloof but was actually quite flirtatious, which was why she deliberately asserted her dominance. She didn't expect Bai Li to protect this little girl.

Jiang Ruyue sat in the back row, her lips pursed, her pure and innocent face filled with undisguised regret:

"That's a shame. I have to go home this afternoon and report back before six o'clock, so I can't join you for the silver party."

She sighed, then changed her tone and made a very serious suggestion:

"But when I get home, I can put my phone on the table. You can video call me when you're doing important business, so I can feel a sense of participation."

Bai Li went crazy.

What does this even mean?!

"Stop, stop, stop!" Bai Li stared at Jiang Ruyue's flawless white face through the rearview mirror, utterly baffled as to how she could utter such thunderous words without batting an eye.

"You're such a high-and-mighty girl, you never even smile at guys, can you please stop being so outrageous?"

"Do your classmates know what you're like behind my back? I'll say it again, it's just regular cooking! Nothing else!"

Li Mengmeng, who was standing next to her, was also quite shocked by what the high school student said.

She thought her quick answer was wild enough, but the person in the back row immediately asked to watch the game via video call.

This girl is definitely a self-taught freak, and the learning materials she finds are extremely unorthodox and unconventional.

Jiang Ruyue rested her chin on her hand and nodded obediently:

"Okay, I got it. It's just grocery shopping, I'm willing to go."

She paused, her eyes clear and straightforward:

"To be precise, I'm willing to do anything as long as I'm with you. Because a lot of interesting things are bound to happen."

That straight shot caught me completely off guard.

Upon hearing this, Li Mengmeng, who was in the passenger seat, immediately sounded the alarm.

Jiang Ruyue clearly had ulterior motives towards Bai Li!

Li Mengmeng reached out and pinched Bai Li's thigh hard.

Then, with a look that only the two of them could understand, he gave Bai Li a stern warning: "Tone it down! Don't let your damn charm run wild! This girl looks like she's just turned eighteen, so tender you could squeeze water out of her skin. You absolutely mustn't go and ruin her!"

Bai Li took a hard blow to the thigh, caught off guard, and gasped in shock.

"Ouch—be gentle."

This subtle movement did not escape Jiang Ruyue's ears.

Her fluffy head peeked out from between the two seats.

Jiang Ruyue gripped the back of the seat in front of her with both hands, blinked her eyes—eyes untouched by the world's corruption—and asked with utmost seriousness:

"Bai Li, are you two secretly being intimate up there?"

She also added her own theoretical basis:

"I've read online that if there are other people around in a situation like this, the fear of being discovered can greatly enhance a person's sensory system, making them feel more excited. Are you experiencing this right now?"

Bai Li fell completely silent.

He gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands, intently watching the traffic lights ahead, trying to minimize his presence.

He had no idea how to respond to that conversation, and he had no idea what websites Jiang Ruyue browsed every day; her knowledge was simply astonishing.

Li Mengmeng, who was in the passenger seat, also felt a tightness in her chest.

She turned her head to look at the receding street scene outside the window, her mind racing with calculations.

Jiang Ruyue has an exceptionally pure and beautiful face, but her personality is quite the opposite. Given time, she will definitely become a formidable opponent.

In addition, with Bai Li's adoring younger sister constantly clinging to him, his position is in grave danger.

Can't wait any longer.

We must cook the raw rice into cooked rice today!

Li Mengmeng clenched her fists, secretly making a decision:

I absolutely have to devour Bai Li tonight! Bai Li is becoming more and more outstanding, attracting women who are increasingly eccentric and formidable. If I keep holding back, I won't even get a proper taste of him!

Even if Bai Li doesn't agree tonight, I'll still drug him and take him down!

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Li Mengmeng turned her head, her gaze like a hook falling on Bai Li, looking him up and down, assessing where it would be most appropriate to start.

Bai Li, who was driving, suddenly felt a chill.

"Mengmeng... I have a feeling you're not thinking anything good."