"I'm so happy. Have you finished your work? Why do you have time to pick me up?" Murong Xue lifted her head to look at him.

"I miss you, and let's go." Shangguan Mo took her hand and was about to go.

"Wait a minute, I have to tell my teacher." Murong Xue let go of his hand.

Shangguan Mo held her hand. "No need. Ye Feng will handle it. Get in the car!"

"..."

The two of them went back to Shangguan Mo’s villa. But he didn't accompany her for long and was rushed away by countless phone calls only half an hour later. Before leaving, he apologized to Murong Xue. She was not a petulant 19-year-old girl. She knew that it was not easy for him, and she wouldn’t get on his nerves.

She was just a little bored by herself. The competition wouldn't start until two days later. The school arranged for students to arrive in the capital today to set aside enough time for them and to avoid being delayed by all kinds of problems that might occur. This was not only about the honor of the school but also about the honor of the nation.

Soon, Murong Xue received a phone call from Mr. Huang, asking her to get the information of opponents and get prepared for the competition.

Murong Xue soon arrived at the hotel arranged by the school. School leaders and students were in the same room, discussing the competition. Murong Xue obviously felt the unfriendliness of some students when she went in.

"Some are so laid-back and don't take the competition seriously at all." The voice was small but enough to be heard.

"Perfectly right. One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch." They were all top students in the school. They plugged away day by day, trying to strengthen themselves in various aspects in the hope of winning this competition. However, some could be exempted from exams and classes just because they were daughters of well-known families. They could even drop out of such an important competition on a whim and left their team alone. How could they not feel unfair?

"Silence! Now that all the participating colleges are here, let's discuss the events of the competition and the opponents. In this international competition, students from every country are top-notch. The ones that you should pay attention to are the top five on the roster in your hands." The president sat opposite the students with the pamphlet in hand.

Murong Xue opened the pamphlet, and the first one on the list was Ai Luoqi, a student from Country B. He didn't look that special, but he had bright green eyes, making people impressed at first glance. As an A-student, he started to compete in world games at the age of 8 and won numerous awards.

The second was a girl named Aina Jueluo, a native of Country C. She looked beautiful with yellow hair and blue eyes. Unlike Murong Xue's beauty, she looked more mature. What surprised Murong Xue was that she looked a bit like the man of Country C who kidnapped her before.

The rest had nothing special about them, just normal top students.

"This competition is mainly an academic one. It includes three events: Math, Memory, and Debate. 12 students will take part in this competition, and all of them had been assigned to certain events yesterday, except Murong Xue who will compete in all the three events. It’s a tough task."

Murong Xue was speechless. They wanted to squeeze out all her values. Every student present would only compete in one event while she had to join in all the three. She rolled her eyes and looked at Mr. Huang silently...

Mr. Huang shrugged to indicate that he had no choice. Murong Xue did a wonderful job when she came to school for training. The school hoped its students could give full play to their strengths and decided to let Murong Xue participate in all three events. In addition, different events would be held separately, which meant she could join each of them.

The president said some matters that needed special attention and so on, and then the meeting was over.

"Murong Xue, please wait." A pretty girl in a white dress stopped Murong Xue when she was about to leave.

"What's up?" Murong Xue turned around in confusion.

"My name is Wu Min, and I am in the class next to yours in the same grade." The girl said softly.

"So?" She was still confused.

Seeing her detached expression, Wu Min felt somewhat miffed, and her tone grew sharp. "Shouldn't Miss Murong stay and practice with us? The competition is not your own business, is it? The debate competition includes a team round. If you don't practice, how do we cooperate then?" What she said was also true. The president's praise for Murong Xue made her feel even more unfair. They practiced hard every day. Shouldn't they get some credit instead of Murong Xue, who just lazed around all day long?

Hearing what Wu Min said, the other 10 students began to point at Murong Xue's direction, sizing her up with peculiar eyes.

Murong Xue raised her eyebrows. The girl in front of her was still young, and she could see the jealousy in her eyes. "I don't practice because I don't need to. Anyway, I won't hold you back. Don't worry. The teacher said I didn't need to join your training. I have to leave now. Come on!" Even if she stayed, these students probably wouldn't practice with her. She noticed that when she attended the training in school. They always tried to isolate her. At first, she would greet them, but later she simply brushed them off.

Not long after they got out of the hotel, Murong Xue suddenly thought of Chu Yisen. The cooperation with Lizi Pavilion hadn't been settled yet. She happened to have time these two days and decided to sign the agreement with Chu Yisen. By the way, she would give him the jade as promised.

Murong Xue went back to the villa and locked the door once she got inside. She then flashed into the Space. There was the jade named five blessings at door. She decided to use some of them to carve a ring for him. Luckily, she had already got the carving tools prepared just as a precaution before, but now it came in handy.

Fortunately, time passed much more slowly in the Space, so she had enough time to get the carving done.

Because it was her first time carving, Murong Xue was a little rusty. Chu Yisen made her think of the fierce tiger king in the forest, so she decided to carve a tiger.

Time gradually passed. Murong Xue finally put down her carving knife and looked at the carved ring in satisfaction. Although it couldn't match the work made by a specialist, it looked decent, at least not bad. After all, she accidentally made several cuts on her hand.

Murong Xue happily flashed out of the Space with the ring and then phoned Chu Yisen.

"Hey, Xue!" Chu Yisen picked up the call in delight. He didn't expect a call from her.

"Mr. Chu, do you have time now?" Murong Xue fidgeted with the ring in her hand.

"Yes, what's the matter?" He ignored the strange looks coming in every direction in the conference hall.

"I am now in the capital. Is it convenient for you to see me? We talked about the cooperation between Lizi Pavilion and AX company last time. You can bring the contract along by the way!" Murong Xue quickly made it clear.

It was for work. Chu Yisen's feeling of surprise faded a bit, but he still said happily, "OK, how about meeting in Carading Western Restaurant in half an hour?" He said and waved to signal his assistant to make a reservation in the restaurant.

Assistant Zhang had followed Chu Yisen for several years, and he immediately took his cue and booked the seats.

"OK, see you!"

"OK." He hung up.

Chu Yisen coldly glanced at the employees in the conference hall who were stunned but soon bowed their heads. They were pretending they heard nothing.

Chu Yisen said after a while, "The meeting adjourned and we will continue tomorrow!"

He then turned to his assistant. "Print out the contract between AX Company and Lizi Pavilion and other documents. I want them now."

"Okay!" Assistant Zhang replied right away. He knew Chu Yisen well. He'd better not ask too much unless he was looking for an earful. But it was the first time he saw such an expression on Chu Yisen's face, and it was also the first time Chu Yisen ended the meeting halfway through it. The reason was just a phone call. What confused him more was that it was a newly opened company. Was it worth such attention? But he didn't have the guts to ask.

Soon, Assistant Zhang handed all the sorted-out documents to Chu Yisen.

"Put off all appointments from this afternoon to the evening and rearrange the time." Chu Yisen took the file and went out.

Murong Xue and Chu Yisen soon met in a cabinet room booked on the third floor in the Carading Western Restaurant.

"Xue, why didn't you ask me to pick you up when you got to the capital?" Chu Yisen sat down and asked.

"Ha-ha, Mo came to pick me up. I came here this time to participate in the academic competition of the international college, which would start in two days. I just called you when I had time. Did I disturb you?" Murong Xue smiled.

Chu Yisen said with a complaining look, "I thought you finally thought of me, but it turned out you called me for the company. I was hurt. Poor me." He pressed against his left chest, pretending to be sad.

"Mr. Chu, I came here for you, and I deal with the company matter by the way. Oh, this is for you." Murong Xue took out a box from the bag. Inside was the ring she had just carved today.

"What is it?" Chu Yisen asked.

"Open it and you will know." Murong Xue smiled, believing he would like it.