To marry into the family in place of his brother? Impossible!

Meanwhile, Jiang Jinhuan looked at the empty private room with a solemn expression.

It's already 9:30, and Professor Ji still hasn't arrived.

He had just taken out his phone and made a call, but the call was disconnected after ringing twice.

If you call again, you'll be blocked immediately.

I tried calling Su Ping, but he hadn't blocked me, and no one answered!

Jiang Jinhuan was puzzled. When it was almost ten o'clock, he got up and left helplessly.

Unbeknownst to Jiang Jinhuan, outside the restaurant, Su Ping was sitting in a car watching Jiang Jinhuan's departing figure.

A sly smile played on his lips: "Don't you even know who you are? You dare to dream of eating with your senior sister? Do you even deserve it?"

"I know my senior sister a bit. Knowing her arrogance, she'll never answer your call, nor will she let the teacher answer it. You'd better get lost, or I'll show you what happens when you offend me!"

The next day, Professor Ji went to a routine meeting.

Professor Chen walked over and asked, "Hehe, Professor Ji, how did your dinner with Jin Huan go yesterday?"

Professor Ji glanced at Professor Chen and sneered, "Very well, very well indeed!"

Professor Chen was taken aback; something didn't sound right.

Professor Ji is angry because he couldn't go due to an unexpected family matter?

"Professor Ji, have I offended you?"

"Not you, it's your prized student!"

"Jin Huan?" Professor Chen thought for a moment, "Professor Ji, how about this, come to my office after the meeting and we'll have a good talk about what happened to make you so angry!"

After the meeting, Professor Ji sat in Professor Chen's office, holding a cup of tea, his expression not exactly happy.

Professor Chen was tidying up the documents on his desk when he looked up at her. "What's wrong? You're being sarcastic. What did I do to offend you? Didn't I call you when I didn't go to dinner? There really was an emergency at home!"

Professor Ji put down his teacup and sighed softly, "Old Chen, I've certainly learned my lesson from your prized student."

Professor Chen paused for a moment: "You mean Jin Huan? What happened to him?"

"It's nothing serious," Professor Ji said casually. "It's just that the other day at dinner, they were more than an hour late. When I left, they hadn't arrived, and I hadn't even heard from them."

I thought something had happened to him, but I specifically asked around this morning, and he's perfectly fine. He even had breakfast with someone today.

As she spoke, she picked up her teacup and took another sip, her tone tinged with sarcasm: "Well, she's a multi-millionaire CEO now, so it's normal for her to look down on a poor schoolteacher like me. I'm the one who's above my station."

Professor Chen frowned, put down his pen, and looked at Professor Ji seriously: "You said Jin Huan was over an hour late? He didn't even send a message?"

"That's right. We agreed on 6:30, but it's almost 8:30 and there's still no sign of them."

Professor Ji shook his head. "Never mind, the contract has been mostly agreed upon anyway. From now on, we can just handle things officially."

I came here today to tell you that regarding the patent licensing matter, you can have him handle it directly with the school.

Professor Chen nodded thoughtfully, without replying.

After Professor Ji left, Professor Chen sat in his office, feeling increasingly uneasy.

He had known Jiang Jinhuan for four years. Although he couldn't say he fully understood the student, he knew Jiang Jinhuan's character well—he was thorough in his work, spoke appropriately, and never embarrassed anyone.

Being an hour late and not sending a message is not like him.

Professor Chen picked up his phone and called Jiang Jinhuan.

"Jin Huan, are you free right now? Come to my office."

Jiang Jinhuan responded on the other end of the phone and appeared at Professor Chen's office door in less than ten minutes.

"Teacher, you wanted to see me?"

Professor Chen looked at him and didn't beat around the bush: "Jin Huan, I have a question for you. What happened with your dinner with Professor Ji yesterday?"

Jiang Jinhuan was taken aback: "Eat? I went yesterday, but I didn't see anyone."

"Didn't see anyone?" Professor Chen raised an eyebrow. "What time did you arrive?"

Jiang Jin Huan said, "Eight o'clock sharp. Professor Ji's student, Su Ping, told me it was eight-thirty when he notified me. It's at Tingyuxuan in the east of the city."

I arrived early, but the private room was empty. The waiter said that the guests at that table had left long ago.

I didn't see Professor Ji. I thought I arrived too early, but even by 10 o'clock I still hadn't seen him.

Professor Chen's expression changed. He picked up his phone: "Say what you just said again. What time did Su Ping notify you?"

Jiang Jinhuan explained the situation again.

After listening, Professor Chen remained silent for a few seconds, and then dialed Professor Ji's number in front of Jiang Jinhuan.

"Old Ji, I have a question for you," Professor Chen said bluntly. "What time and where did you meet Jin Huan yesterday?"

Professor Ji's voice came from the other end of the phone: "Six-thirty, Tingyuxuan. What's wrong?"

"Jin Huan said it was 8:30."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"What? 8:30?" Professor Ji's voice rose noticeably by half an octave. "I clearly made an appointment with him for 6:30, and that's exactly what Su Ping told him."

Professor Chen glanced at Jiang Jinhuan, who shook his head slightly: "When Su Ping informed me, she said 8:30."

The air in the office was silent for a few seconds.

Professor Ji also fell silent, as if he was processing some information.

"Old Chen, wait a moment," Professor Ji's voice deepened. "Let me check, I'll get back to you later!"

The phone hangs up.

Professor Chen put down his phone, looked at Jiang Jinhuan, and said with a knowing look in his eyes, "Someone has tampered with it."

Jiang Jin Huan didn't speak, but he already knew the answer in his heart.

He just couldn't understand why Su Ping was targeting him like this when he had no business dealings with him.

Doesn't he want to collaborate with Professor Ji?

Or is there some problem with the technology patents of this new energy project?

If so, he really needs to reconsider the collaboration.

Patents are the most troublesome thing. If you're not careful, everything you do will just be a favor to someone else!

I'm afraid neither Professor Chen nor Professor Ji knew that Jiang Jinhuan already had doubts about this collaboration!

Ten minutes later, Professor Ji called back.

"Old Chen," Professor Ji's voice was a few degrees colder than before, "I've confirmed it. Su Ping told me he'd notified Jin Huan, but the time he gave me is different from what I said. He reported 6:30, not 8:30 as Jin Huan mentioned."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "I will investigate this matter thoroughly. I will not tolerate anyone engaging in such underhanded tactics right under my nose!"

Professor Chen hummed in agreement, but didn't say anything more.

After hanging up the phone, Professor Chen leaned back in his chair, looked at Jiang Jinhuan, and suddenly chuckled: "You little rascal, you haven't even done anything yet, and you've already earned someone's grudge!"