Bought It!

"Sister Qin'er."

Li Zhiwei was the first to speak.

Looking at the stunned Lin Qinrou, she forced a faint smile and took the initiative to greet her.

Lin Qinrou came back to her senses.

However, rather than respond to Li Zhiwei immediately, she first cast a long look at Jiang Xiaobai.

Her gaze still clearly held traces of her earlier astonishment.

Indeed, even now, she could not understand why Master Song treated Jiang Xiaobai so differently.

It certainly was not because of his family background. There had to be another reason.

Unable to figure it out, she did not pursue the matter. Instead, she looked at Li Zhiwei and asked bluntly, "Zhiwei, what exactly is going on... between you and him?"

At this point, Lin Qinrou paused slightly. A rare seriousness appeared on her usually cool, composed face.

"You... you haven't really... really fallen for him, have you?"

Back where the wooden essay plaques were displayed, Li Zhiwei's declaration that she liked Jiang Xiaobai had caused quite a stir.

Yet she had always felt that something was off.

The moment she asked this, the atmosphere in the room grew rather strange again.

Li Zhiwei's clear eyes visibly flickered.

Then a trace of awkwardness she could not conceal swept across her face.

Indeed.

With anyone else, she might have been able to play along and muddle through.

But Lin Qinrou was different. She was Elder Lin's granddaughter.

Some things simply could not be hidden from her.

Rather than keep covering it up, it would be better to lay everything out.

With that thought, Li Zhiwei lowered her voice. "No. The two of us... are putting on an act."

Hm?

Lin Qinrou froze for a moment at those words.

Standing beside them, Jiang Xiaobai's gaze shifted slightly, but he did not speak up to stop her.

Indeed.

He also knew there was no point in stubbornly hiding this from Lin Qinrou.

Letting Li Zhiwei explain it outright would actually be more natural.

Once Lin Qinrou recovered, the slight tension in her expression finally eased considerably.

Even her brow relaxed of its own accord.

Indeed.

To her, putting on an act made sense.

What sort of reputation did Jiang Xiaobai have?

Who in the entire Capital City did not know?

A profligate heir, outrageous and frivolous, with no restraint in his conduct.

And what sort of reputation did Li Zhiwei have?

She was an acknowledged talented lady of the Capital City.

Whether in learning, family background, or breadth of vision, she ranked among the very best.

How could someone like her truly fall for Jiang Xiaobai?

Now that she knew it was an act, it made sense.

But scarcely had she breathed a sigh of relief before something else seemed to occur to Lin Qinrou, and her brows knitted again.

"Wait. If it's an act, why would you debase yourself like this?"

Lin Qinrou looked at Li Zhiwei, her expression turning noticeably more serious. "Saying those things in front of so many people just now won't do your reputation any good."

Though Lin Qinrou's voice remained calm, her tone clearly carried a measure of disapproval.

Nor did she deliberately keep Jiang Xiaobai from hearing her.

In her view, some facts simply did not need to be hidden.

To put it plainly.

She felt that Jiang Xiaobai was not worthy of Li Zhiwei.

Even if it was only an act, that remained true.

Furthermore, she could not understand why Li Zhiwei would disregard her own reputation to play along with Jiang Xiaobai.

It made no sense at all!

"Because... because..."

At those words, Li Zhiwei looked even more awkward. She opened her mouth, genuinely at a loss for how to explain further.

While she hesitated, Jiang Xiaobai's unhurried voice suddenly sounded beside her. "Because we're already betrothed."

That simple sentence fell.

The entire room went silent for a moment.

Lin Qinrou's otherwise cool, composed face visibly stiffened.

Then utter disbelief filled her eyes.

"What?"

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

It was as though she wanted to confirm whether she had misheard.

Li Zhiwei's expression was likewise somewhat awkward.

But in the end, under Lin Qinrou's gaze, she gave a small nod.

"Yes."

With that nod.

Lin Qinrou was left completely speechless.

Betrothed?

The word circled in her mind for quite some time, yet she still could not take it in.

After all, this was no ordinary interaction between a man and a woman, nor some joke made at a family banquet.

This was a betrothal!

How could anyone possibly make something like that up?

But the problem was...

Who was Li Zhiwei?

And who was Jiang Xiaobai?

How could these two possibly end up together?

For a moment, Lin Qinrou was visibly dazed.

Her cool eyes were filled with astonishment and shock.

While she was still immersed in that shock, Li Zhiwei spoke again. "Sister Qin'er, we actually came here to ask a favor of you."

Their betrothal could not be explained in a few words, and the purpose of this visit was what mattered most.

Hearing this, Lin Qinrou finally managed to recover somewhat from her earlier shock. "What is it?"

Li Zhiwei continued, "When you became the Top Graduate and had your audience with His Majesty, the circumstances involved, and the etiquette you had to observe..."

"Could you tell him about them?"

As she spoke, Li Zhiwei could not help glancing toward Jiang Xiaobai. "He'll be having an audience with His Majesty tomorrow."

"If he learns about it from you beforehand, it should keep him from making any mistakes when the time comes!"

"Tomorrow?"

Lin Qinrou froze for a moment.

Then, as though something had suddenly occurred to her, her eyes widened slightly.

Right.

Tomorrow was the day the results would be posted.

And Li Zhiwei had just said that Jiang Xiaobai would be meeting His Majesty tomorrow...

Wouldn't that mean...

At that thought, Lin Qinrou looked at Jiang Xiaobai and asked in shock, "You made the list?"

"Yes."

Jiang Xiaobai nodded, his expression quite calm. "I did."

"What place?"

Lin Qinrou pressed.

"Top Graduate."

As soon as Jiang Xiaobai said those words, Lin Qinrou froze again. The astonishment in her eyes was almost tangible.

"You?"

That single word held more than surprise. It even carried doubt and an inability to accept it that she could not suppress.

Indeed.

Never mind becoming the Top Graduate; she found it inconceivable that someone like Jiang Xiaobai could even make the list.

Top Graduate?

How was that possible?!

Yet faced with Lin Qinrou's shocked expression, Jiang Xiaobai merely gave a soft, dry cough.

Then Jiang Xiaobai rubbed his nose. "Ahem... I bought it!"