Hearing Ji Shuiyao’s words, Song Zhenyu felt a bit confused and was momentarily stunned, unsure of how to respond.

Seeing this, Wang Haoran quickly suggested:

“I have an idea. In class, you can be teacher and student, but outside of class, you can call each other sisters. How about that?”

“Sure, that sounds good,” Ji Shuiyao was the first to agree.

“Alright, let’s do that,” Song Zhenyu said, following suit.

“Settled. Let’s eat hot pot,” Wang Haoran announced, signaling the waiter to bring a new set of dishes and chopsticks for Ji Shuiyao.

Ji Shuiyao normally didn’t eat outside of mealtimes, and she would’ve probably declined. But hearing Wang Haoran’s suggestion, she happily joined in for hot pot.

Outside of the research lab, Ji Shuiyao was actually quite reserved in life. As a result, during the hot pot meal, she didn’t talk much. However, Qin Yunhan and Xu Muyan occasionally bickered, which kept the atmosphere lively, so it wasn’t awkward for everyone.

A little while later, Wang Haoran suddenly received two messages. One was from Qin Yunhan, and the other from Qiu Qianwei. Both wanted to meet Wang Haoran later.

This left Wang Haoran in a dilemma. Both had reached out to him, and rejecting either wasn’t appropriate, while agreeing to both at the same time wasn’t feasible.

However, at that moment, Xu Muyan suddenly suggested:

“Qin Yunhan, Zhaozhao, Jingjing, after we finish eating, let’s go back to the dorm and play games together?”

Mu Zhaozhao and Wen Jing both agreed. University courses were much more relaxed than high school, leaving plenty of free time. Recently, when they were bored, they often played games together.

However, Qin Yunhan said, “You guys play. I plan to read after I go back.”

Xu Muyan smiled and said, “Reading? Then let’s read together. I’ll come to your dorm to find you.”

Hearing this, Qin Yunhan secretly gritted her teeth and said, “Forget it, I suddenly don’t feel like reading. I’ll play games when I get back, but I won’t team up with you. I’ll be on the opposite side and beat you up.”

“Bring it on, who’s afraid of who?” Xu Muyan met Qin Yunhan’s gaze.

Both had big eyes and stared at each other, neither backing down.

Faced with this situation, Wang Haoran naturally didn’t take sides and continued eating.

Fortunately, after a while, their eyes got a bit sore, and they finally looked away.

As Xu Muyan looked away, she glanced at Wang Haoran and gave him a mischievous look.

Wang Haoran was momentarily stunned, then understood. Xu Muyan must have seen Qin Yunhan sending a message and deliberately disrupted it to prevent Qin Yunhan from meeting him after dinner.

However, for Wang Haoran, this was actually a good thing. With Qin Yunhan going back to play games, he didn’t have to make a choice.

After finishing the hot pot, Wang Haoran first sent Ji Shuiyao back, then took Qin Yunhan, Song Zhenyu, and the others back to school.

…

Under the night sky.

At the train station.

It was around 8:30 PM, and a train from out of town had just arrived in Qingling. Some travelers were pouring out of the exit.

Among them was a mother-son duo, carrying luggage as they walked out. The mother was under fifty, and the son appeared to be in his early twenties.

They were Song Zhenyu’s mother and brother. At this moment, their faces were full of displeasure and resentment as they conversed.

“That ungrateful daughter, that ingrate. We only asked her for 300,000 to buy a house for you, her brother, and she even changed her number. She’s really something!” the mother complained in a sharp and bitter tone.

The son also expressed his dissatisfaction, “She calls herself my sister, but only gives me 3,000 yuan a month for pocket money. How is that enough? When I asked for more, she made excuses. I didn’t make a fuss about that. But now, I’ve found someone to marry, and I just need 300,000 more to buy a house so I can get married. She won’t even give me that. Does she deserve to be my sister?!”

Seeing this, the mother changed her tone from harsh to comforting, “Son, don’t be angry. It’s not worth getting upset over that ingrate.”

The son snorted and then asked, “Where are we staying tonight?”

The mother replied, “Let’s find a motel to stay in and then get something to eat.”

The son, displeased, said, “We’ve come to a big city, why stay in a motel? I don’t want to. We should stay in a hotel.”

The mother hesitated, “But we don’t have much money with us. Staying in a hotel is too expensive.”

The son nonchalantly said, “Isn’t there still my sister? Once we find her, we’ll have her reimburse us. We’ve come all the way to the city where she works, why should we pay ourselves?”

The mother, delighted, said, “You’re right, you’re right. Let’s find a nice hotel first, then go find your sister.” As she spoke, her tone gradually turned harsh again, “That ingrate, thinking she can avoid us by changing her number. I’ll come to Qingling to find her. Once I do, I’ll slap that unfilial girl a few times. Changing her number without telling us, making us travel all this way to find her.”

The son added, “And she should give more money for the house.”

The mother quickly nodded in agreement, “Yes, we asked for 300,000 over the phone. Now that we’ve come to find her, it should be at least 500,000!”

…

After dropping off Qin Yunhan, Song Zhenyu, and the others at their dorms, Wang Haoran was about to head back to the villa outside the school.

However, while driving his Bugatti back, he saw a stunningly beautiful woman by the roadside trying to hail a car.

Seeing this, Wang Haoran quickly hit the brakes. It wasn’t that he was particularly interested in the woman, but he had a habit of suspecting any beautiful woman he saw might be a female protagonist.

After the car stopped, the long-haired woman walked over to the window and knocked on it.

As the window rolled down, Wang Haoran saw the woman’s face. She had enchanting fox-like eyes and exquisite features. Up close, she was flawless, making one’s heart skip a beat.

At the same time, Wang Haoran communicated with the system. Soon, some information about the woman appeared in his mind.

Female Protagonist: Shao Wanwan

Combat Power: 898

Charm Value: 291

Protagonist Aura: 1102

Skills: Master-level Poison Techniques, Exhaustion Aura (Note: Passive, causes surrounding male creatures to slowly lose vitality within a ten-meter range, effective only on those with lower combat power than herself.)”

Favorability towards Host: -10 (Mild Dislike)

Encountering a female protagonist on the road? And judging by the aura description… she seems to be a witch. Fortunately, my combat power is higher than hers, otherwise, being close would reduce my lifespan.

After investigating, Wang Haoran was surprised and thought to himself.

While Wang Haoran was observing, Shao Wanwan was also sizing him up.

[Ding, female protagonist Shao Wanwan’s favorability towards the host increased by 20, current total favorability is 10 (Friendly).]