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"Grandpa will stand up for you."

Sang Ya nodded firmly. "Okay. With Grandpa here, no one can make me suffer."

Back in her room, Sang Ya took out her phone and opened Xie Zhiyu's private contact information. She stared at it until the screen went dark, unable to work up the courage to contact him.

The screen lit up and went dark, then lit up again. At last, Gu Yeliang sent her a message: "Good night, Ya Ya."

Sang Ya fell into a deep sleep with a sweet smile on her lips.

Early the next morning, her alarm rang seven or eight times before Sang Ya dragged herself out of bed. As she hurried to the company, she called Xie Zhiyu several times, but he never answered.

"Is he that busy?" Puzzled, Sang Ya settled for calling Xie Zhiyu's assistant. He picked up quickly. After learning that Xie Zhiyu was in a meeting, she arranged a time to see him and asked the assistant to pass along the message.

After hanging up, Sang Ya felt immensely relieved about her decision. If even a call and a meeting between an engaged couple had to go through an assistant, life together would be terrifying.

A workaholic like Xie Zhiyu was better off spending his life with his job. Fortunately, she had chosen Gu Yeliang. No matter how busy he was, he never missed her messages, and he always made her feel valued.

Shen Baili's high school life was just as she had imagined: quiet and uneventful, yet fulfilling. After unlocking the latest chapter, she wanted to warn Xie Zhiyu, but she did not see him for the next week. Apparently, he was busy with a major project that took up nearly all his time and energy.

He left early and came home late, working overtime on the project. Sometimes he slept at the company.

As the time drew closer, Shen Baili looked at the private number she had never called and pressed the call button.

"Beep... Beep... Beep..."

The phone rang for a long time without an answer.

Just as Shen Baili was about to hang up, someone picked up. A deep, resonant voice came through the phone, a little hoarse and tired. "Suìsuì?"

Shen Baili's heart skipped a beat. "Eldest Brother, it's me."

"I... I wanted to ask if you're coming home today." She struggled to find the right words.

Some things were better said in person, but how was she supposed to tell Xie Zhiyu?

She had no evidence. Who would believe her?

Besides, Shen Baili had never even met Sang Ya before yesterday. Bringing it up out of nowhere would either tip her off or make Shen Baili seem calculating. But ignoring the matter went against her principles.

Xie Zhiyu had truly helped them. When she had suddenly developed appendicitis, he had gone with Shen Wan to take her to the hospital. He had found time to visit her there, and the millet porridge he made had been delicious. Sometimes he brought home little desserts after work...

Everything he had done might have seemed small, but he had genuinely helped them and welcomed them into the Xie Family.

Every little act had been sincere.

Shen Baili could not ignore any of it. She could not accept his kindness with a clear conscience and then turn a blind eye to the crisis he was about to face.

"I... I have something I'd like your help with, Eldest Brother." Shen Baili could not think of a better approach on the spot.

Xie Zhiyu was a little surprised. This was the first time Shen Baili had asked him for help.

He explained without waiting for her to ask, "I have to work late at the company tonight. Can we talk about it over the phone?"

"If it isn't urgent, I'll be home tomorrow."

Xie Zhiyu ran through his schedule. The details of his current project were mostly settled, so he could make time.

"It's not urgent," Shen Baili said. "Take care of your work first, Eldest Brother."

His assistant knocked to remind him of the time. After saying a few more words to Shen Baili, Xie Zhiyu went back to work.

Shen Baili hung up and considered how to warn him without making it obvious.

The system, which had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke. "Host, you should focus your energy on the lingering wishes."

"They have nothing to do with you, do they?"

Shen Baili shrugged. "I just want a clear conscience."

"I've been working on the lingering wishes all along."

She studied diligently every day and racked her brains trying to figure out what the other wish was.

Besides studying, what else had "she" wanted? Love?

But she now had the warmest love in the world, and the Energy Bar had not changed at all.

It had stayed the same for almost two months, so steady that the system had nearly thought it was broken again.

The system did not understand. It only knew they had hit a wall.

"Things will work out when we get there. Midterms are coming up, so the Energy Bar should rise a little."

Shen Baili was anxious about the unmoving Energy Bar too. For now, all she could do was make the most of what she had.

"Have you found your bug?" she asked, suddenly remembering it.

"I've checked myself five times," the system said, "and I still haven't found the bug."

"The program is running normally. So where did it go wrong?"

"Oh well. Things will work out when we get there." The system spoke with great solemnity, mimicking Shen Baili's tone.

Shen Baili: "..."

The system: "Hee-hee~"

A-Deng seemed to be growing more and more human.

The next day, as soon as Shen Baili got home from school, she saw Xie Zhiyu, who had returned not long before. "Eldest Brother!" she said in delight.

The girl wore a blue-and-white school uniform, her long black hair tied in a high ponytail. She radiated youthful energy.

Xie Zhiyu nodded. "You're home."

"Come sit down, Suìsuì."

Shen Baili put down her schoolbag and sat across from Xie Zhiyu, looking a little stiff.

"What trouble have you run into?" Xie Zhiyu asked patiently.

That was just an excuse.

Shen Baili racked her brains. "I... I'm not very good at chemistry. Could I get a tutor?"

Xie Zhiyu felt an odd sense of nostalgia. It had been years since he had felt like a parent. "Of course."

"Do you have any requirements for the Chemistry Tutor?"

"Strong subject knowledge and good teaching skills," Shen Baili said. "That's... that's all."

"All right. I'll arrange it," Xie Zhiyu said.

He did not ask why she had come to him for help instead of Shen Wan. It was a good thing that she wanted to improve.