My family has been wielding knives for generations, but now it's my turn to wield a pen!

"Sister Qin'er."

At this moment, Li Zhiwei spoke first.

Seeing the bewildered Lin Qinrou, he managed a forced smile and took the initiative to greet her.

Lin Qinrou also came to her senses.

However, she did not respond to Li Zhiwei immediately, but instead took a deep look at Jiang Xiaobai.

The surprise from before was still clearly lingering in his eyes.

Yes, even now, she still doesn't understand why Master Song treats Jiang Xiaobai so differently.

This is definitely not because of family background; there must be other reasons involved.

Unable to understand, she didn't press for details. Instead, she looked at Li Zhiwei and asked directly, "Zhiwei, what exactly is going on between you and him?"

At this point, Lin Qinrou paused slightly, and a rare seriousness appeared on her usually calm and composed face.

"You...you don't really...you really like him, do you?"

At that place with the wooden plaque, Li Zhiwei claimed that he liked Jiang Xiaobai, which caused quite a stir.

But she always felt that something was not quite right.

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the room immediately became somewhat strange again.

Li Zhiwei's clear eyes flickered slightly.

Then, an unnatural look flashed across Li Zhiwei's face.

Yes.

If it were someone else, she might have been able to get away with it.

But Lin Qinrou is different; she is the granddaughter of Elder Lin.

Some things simply cannot be hidden.

So instead of trying to cover it up, it's better to just lay it all out in the open.

Thinking of this, Li Zhiwei lowered her voice and said, "No, between us... we're just acting."

Ok?

Lin Qinrou was taken aback when she heard this.

Jiang Xiaobai, who was standing to the side, merely glanced at him but did not utter a word of protest.

Yes.

He also knew that once he was in front of Lin Qinrou, there was no need to keep this a secret any longer.

It would be more natural to let Li Zhiwei speak frankly.

As for Lin Qinrou, after regaining her senses, her previously slightly tense expression finally relaxed noticeably.

Even the space between his brows relaxed involuntarily.

Yes.

In her view, acting is the only reasonable thing to do.

What is Jiang Xiaobai's reputation?

Who in the entire capital doesn't know this?

A spoiled and dissolute young master, frivolous and irresponsible, behaving inappropriately.

And what is Li Zhiwei's reputation?

She was a recognized talented woman in the capital.

Whether in terms of talent, family background, or vision, he is top-notch.

How could someone like that possibly fall for Jiang Xiaobai?

Now that it's all acting, it makes sense.

But soon after she breathed a sigh of relief, Lin Qinrou frowned again as if she had thought of something.

"Wait a minute, if it's just acting, why are you humiliating yourself like this?"

Lin Qinrou looked at Li Zhiwei, her expression noticeably more serious: "Saying those things in front of so many people isn't good for your reputation."

At this point, Lin Qinrou's voice remained calm, but her tone clearly carried a hint of disapproval.

Moreover, she didn't deliberately avoid mentioning Jiang Xiaobai when she said this.

In her view, some facts don't need to be hidden.

to be honest.

She felt that Jiang Xiaobai was not good enough for Li Zhiwei.

Even if it's just acting, it's the same.

Moreover, she couldn't understand why Li Zhiwei would disregard her own reputation and agree to act in this charade with Jiang Xiaobai.

This is not reasonable at all!

"Because...because..."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhiwei's expression became even more unnatural. She opened her mouth, but for a moment she really didn't know how to explain.

Just as she hesitated, Jiang Xiaobai's voice suddenly rang out: "Because we have already been engaged."

A simple sentence was uttered.

The entire room fell silent for a moment.

Lin Qinrou's face, which had been relatively calm and composed, visibly stiffened for a moment.

Then, a look of utter disbelief appeared in her eyes.

"What?"

Lin Qinrou glanced at Jiang Xiaobai first, then immediately turned to look at Li Zhiwei.

It was as if he was confirming whether he had misheard.

At this moment, Li Zhiwei's expression was also somewhat unnatural.

In the end, however, she nodded gently under Lin Qinrou's gaze.

"Yes."

With that nod.

Lin Qinrou was completely speechless.

Are they engaged?

These three words lingered in her mind for a while, but she couldn't immediately process them.

You should know that this is not an ordinary interaction between a man and a woman, nor is it a joke at some banquet.

It's an engagement!

How could such a thing be made out to be nonsense?

But the problem is...

Who is Li Zhiwei?

Who is Jiang Xiaobai?

How could these two people possibly end up together?

For a moment, Lin Qinrou was clearly stunned.

Those clear, cold eyes were filled with astonishment and shock.

While she was still reeling from the shock, Li Zhiwei spoke up again: "Sister Qin'er, the reason I came here this time is to ask you for a favor."

The engagement cannot be explained in a short time, but the purpose of this trip is of utmost importance.

Hearing this, Lin Qinrou finally managed to recover slightly from her previous shock: "What is it?"

Li Zhiwei continued, "When you passed the imperial examination with top honors and met the emperor, what were the circumstances and rules you should have been aware of?"

"Could you talk to him about it?"

As she spoke, Li Zhiwei couldn't help but glance at Jiang Xiaobai: "He's going to meet the Emperor tomorrow."

"Just so you can find out in advance, in case anything goes wrong!"

"tomorrow?"

Lin Qinrou was taken aback for a moment.

But the next moment, as if she had suddenly thought of something, her eyes widened slightly.

Yes.

Tomorrow is the day the results will be released.

At this moment, Li Zhiwei said that Jiang Xiaobai was going to meet the emperor tomorrow...

Doesn't this mean...?

Thinking of this, Lin Qinrou looked at Jiang Xiaobai and asked in shock, "You're on the list?"

"Um."

Jiang Xiaobai nodded, his expression calm: "Let's go."

"Which number?"

Lin Qinrou pressed for an answer.

"Top scholar"

As soon as the name Jiang Xiaobai was uttered, Lin Qinrou froze again, the astonishment in her eyes almost solidifying into reality.

"you?"

In that "you," there was more than just surprise; there was also a hint of barely suppressed doubt and disbelief.

Yes.

Let alone the top scholar, she found it unbelievable that someone like Jiang Xiaobai could even be on the list.

Top pick?

How is this possible?!

However, faced with Lin Qinrou's shocked expression, Jiang Xiaobai simply coughed lightly.

Then, Jiang Xiaobai touched his nose: "Cough... I bought it!"