So it was just him making a fool of himself by reading too much into it?

Wen Huairou brought out the pedagogical arguments taught by her mentors. Under normal circumstances, no one would refuse, as people naturally care about their children's education.

Yet Jiang Li was simply not someone who played by the book.

"Tomorrow I will have Assistant Wang go over. It was Assistant Wang who accompanied Hao Hao the entire day."

In truth, Wen Huairou had already learned from Hao Hao that ever since entering the amusement park, Jiang Li had vanished together with Xu An'an.

Still, she wanted to try making this phone call anyway.

"Oh, is that so? Then you..."

"I have more important matters."

"I see."

"Hang up."

Before the sentence could even finish, Jiang Li hung up the phone, sounding thoroughly impatient. "The old master and the old man of the Wen family are old comrades-in-arms. It is solely because of this connection that Wen Huairou is able to hold the position of director. The old man of the Wen family once saved the old master's life, and since he has lowered his pride to ask, I cannot refuse."

Otherwise, he would never have agreed.

Xu An'an was slightly startled, blurting out, "Why are you explaining things to me in such detail?"

Jiang Li fell silent for a few seconds, then turned his face away in a huff.

At that moment, the Ferris wheel had returned to the ground, coming to a gentle halt.

Xu An'an reached out and tugged at Jiang Li's sleeve. "Let's go down."

Jiang Li let out a cold snort, yet he still let Xu An'an descend first before following behind her, deciding that he would temporarily stop speaking to Xu An'an.

Clearly, he had only bothered to explain because he was afraid she would misunderstand.

What was this? Was he just being overly affectionate and making a fool of himself?

Watching Jiang Li walking alone ahead of her, Xu An'an realized that what she had just said wasn't very nice. She hurried after him and forcefully linked her arm through his.

She batted her watery eyes. "Second Master, you aren't angry, are you?"

"You are a magnanimous man who could steer a boat in his belly; surely you won't stoop to my level, right?"

Although Jiang Li still kept a stern face, the corners of his mouth were actually on the verge of breaking into a smile. "No way. Every time you just say nice things, you have to back it up with some actual action."

"What kind of actual action?"

"That will depend on you."

Between the tokens of gratitude and the apologies, Xu An'an felt that she had unknowingly accumulated a mountain of debts to Jiang Li and needed to find a way to pay them all back.

She thought once again of the pebble she had given him.

Several times, she had almost found the courage to ask Jiang Li whether he had thrown the pebble away, where he might have tossed it, and if it could still be retrieved.

"Alright then, I'll think about it carefully."

Seeing Xu An'an pondering with a serious expression, Jiang Li was finally satisfied. Out of habit, he reached out to clasp her small hand, their fingers intertwining tightly.

Finding that a haunted house was not far ahead, Jiang Li deliberately led Xu An'an on a detour.

Noticing this, Xu An'an felt a warmth bloom in her heart.

She looked at the young couples around her, holding hands just like them, which gave her the illusory feeling that she and Jiang Li were a couple as well.

She just wondered what Jiang Li was thinking at this exact moment.

Back in the hotel room, the moment Xu An'an sat down on the sofa, she heard Jiang Li say, "The matter concerning Teacher Gao has been thoroughly investigated. There is direct evidence proving that her children intended to murder her for her money."

Xu An'an's eyes widened instantly.

Her anger was ignited in a flash, and she clenched her fists tightly.

"What ungrateful wretches!"

"Why would they do such a thing?"

"In a single word: money." Jiang Li walked over and handed the newly acquired documents to Xu An'an. "But calm down first. It's not worth making yourself sick with anger."

How could Xu An'an possibly listen to that? Furious beyond measure, she reached out to snatch the documents.

However, Jiang Li tossed the papers aside.

Before she could even flare up, Jiang Li pressed down on her shoulders, forcing her to look directly into his eyes.

The moment she collided with those pitch-black depths, Xu An'an did indeed calm down considerably, though she awkwardly averted her gaze.

"Fine, fine, fine. I'm calm now, alright?"

Noticing that Xu An'an didn't dare meet his gaze, the corners of Jiang Li's lips curved upward as he pinched her cheek out of habit. "Little firecracker, you ignite at the slightest spark."

Xu An'an let out a hum of annoyance and eagerly grabbed the documents to read through them.

The more she read, the angrier she became.

She never imagined that Teacher Gao would be treated like a beast of burden and tormented by them!

She desperately wanted to ask: Did Teacher Gao slaughter their entire family in her past life? Why treat her like this in the present life, as if each of them had come seeking a blood feud?

A thought suddenly occurring to her, Xu An'an picked up her phone and dialed Xie Che, completely failing to notice the dark expression that had settled over Jiang Li's face beside her.

Was she treating him like a dead man, sitting right here beside her?

What happened to not needing to look for Xie Che anymore?

*Beep... beep... beep...*

The call went through.

On the other end, Xie Che sounded somewhat pleasantly surprised. "An'an? Why are you calling so late?"

The timing felt somewhat intimate.

Xu An'an paid no attention to this whatsoever, instead sharing the contents of the documents with Xie Che in shared indignation, her teeth itching with rage.

"Xie Che, they are simply not human!"

"They must be brought to justice!"

Xie Che felt a trace of disappointment, though he was equally concerned about Teacher Gao's situation. "An'an, don't be too hasty. The key to this whole matter still lies with Teacher Gao. If she is unwilling, it is difficult for us outsiders to interfere too much."

"They are Teacher Gao's own children! As a mother, how could Teacher Gao bear it?"

"If Teacher Gao knew that her children wanted to murder her for her money, would she still refuse to bear it?" Xu An'an countered.

Xie Che fell silent for a few seconds, finding this a genuinely difficult question to answer. "How about this? Are you free tomorrow? Let's go to the hospital and visit Teacher Gao."

Remembering that she still had another day of holiday remaining, Xu An'an agreed without a moment's hesitation.

"Alright, see you tomorrow."

Turning back, Xu An'an found that Jiang Li was staring at her without blinking, making her inexplicably feel a twinge of guilt, as if she had been caught calling another man right in front of her boyfriend.

Xu An'an picked up the documents on the table again. "What are you staring at? Go take a shower already. Once you're done, it's my turn."

"Let's wash together."

Giving her no chance to resist, Jiang Li scooped her up by the waist and strode toward the bathroom, carrying a faint sense of retribution.

Without a doubt, Xu An'an's poor waist was in for a rough time tonight!

...

The next day, Xu An'an arrived at the hospital and met up with Xie Che.

Noticing that Xu An'an was wearing a silk scarf, Xie Che offered a few words of praise. "The scarf is very pretty. It suits you well."

Xu An'an smiled guiltily, cursing Jiang Li thoroughly in her heart.

She had no idea if Jiang Li had done it on purpose, but he had covered her neck with strawberry marks. She had been terrified when she washed up that morning—it looked like she had been gnawed on by a dog!

It forced her to wear a silk scarf, otherwise stepping outside was truly out of the question.

She handed over the files Jiang Li had investigated. "Perhaps you should take a look first."

Xie Che accepted them and suggested they sit down in the cafe, pointing out that standing around like this at the hospital entrance wasn't quite appropriate.

And so, the two of them headed to the newly opened cafe.

Xie Che still ordered a brown sugar macchiato for Xu An'an.

Xu An'an shook her head. "I'll just have a black coffee."

"Very well, two black coffees then." Xie Che placed the order with the waiter, then looked at Xu An'an with a smile in his eyes. "I feel like you've changed a lot."