As Qin Na set the table, she sighed, "Su Yun, I feel like I’ve put on weight just from staying at your place!"

Su Yun chuckled. "You’re still several pounds lighter than me, how can you call yourself fat? Oh, right, how are your night classes going?"

"They’re going great. I didn’t realize how much I didn’t know until I started. The other students are all so hardworking and driven, too. I was a little self-conscious at first, thinking I’d be the oldest one there, but it turns out some students are even in their forties."

It was as if a whole new world had opened up for Qin Na, and she had become much more cheerful.

As the family sat down to eat, Qin Na asked, "Brother, Su Yun, what are your plans for the future?"

"We’ll figure things out after Xiao Jiao gets into college. Once we’ve saved up enough, we’d like to open a small restaurant."

"Brother, Su Yun, if you’ll have me, I’d love to keep working for you then! I’m studying accounting now, so I’ll be able to help out in even more ways!"

Qin Na was starting to feel that it was actually quite nice to be single and only have to worry about herself.

Before, she barely had a dime to her name. She even had to ask her mother-in-law for money to buy sanitary napkins, and her mother-in-law would give it to her begrudgingly, acting like she was wasting it.

She wasn’t earning much now, but she could buy new clothes or pretty hair accessories whenever she wanted.

She had brightened up considerably. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Qin Jiao watched the change in her aunt with a pleased smile. As she ate the fragrant, braised fish, she thought, ’Everything is going to be alright.’

’Everyone is going to have a much better life than they did last time!’

**

The weekend was over, and it was time to dive back into the stressful grind of senior year. Before the college entrance exams, life was like a spinning top—it was impossible to stop.

Qin Jiao, however, had already adapted to the high-intensity academic life. This was thanks to her pocket dimension—a personal time hack—and the body-nourishing treasure that was the Spiritual Spring.

She was actually studying an overwhelming amount every day, yet she always looked vibrant and full of energy.

Shen Yi, however, was another story. He was genuinely sacrificing his sleep to study every day, and on top of that, he had to deal with all sorts of drama at home. When they were biking to school together on Monday morning, Qin Jiao noticed the dark circles under his eyes.

’He’s still handsome, even with dark circles,’ she thought.

Perhaps that was the advantage of being young.

Qin Jiao had previously added some Spiritual Spring Water to the food she sent to Mr. Du and the others, but since it was cooked, the effects were surely diminished.

After they got to school, Qin Jiao took out the large water bottle she always carried with her. "Shen Yi," she said, "if you get thirsty later, you can have some of my water."

Shen Yi had noticed that large water bottle before; it never seemed to leave her side and clearly held a lot of water.

Qin Jiao said earnestly, "I steeped some goji berries and other things in it. It’s supposed to be good for your lungs and eyesight. With all the pressure we’re under from studying, it’s good for you. Hey, if you like it, you should bring a big water bottle, and I can make some for you every day too."

Shen Yi nodded, then took the water bottle directly from her and took a large gulp.

’As long as it’s from you,’ he thought, ’I’d gladly accept it, whether it’s plain water or anything else.’

As he handed the bottle back, it belatedly dawned on Qin Jiao. ’He just drank directly from my water bottle!’

Catching her wide-eyed stare out of the corner of his eye, Shen Yi wiped a drop of water from his lips. Seeing that the teacher hadn’t arrived yet, he pulled a piece of paper from his schoolbag and handed it to her.

One moment, Qin Jiao was feeling flustered—’So much for him being a germaphobe, he just drank right from my bottle!’—and the next, her eyes landed on the familiar-looking piece of paper.

She asked, "What’s this?"