When something seems off, it usually is.

Jiang Sifan was no fool. He had a nagging feeling that Huang Hui was hiding something from him.

He’d seen plenty of stories about this sort of thing online.

Jiang Sifan believed in true love, and he was ready to embrace it.

He was willing to go the extra mile for Huang Hui.

But that was all based on the premise that they were both loyal and in love with each other.

If.

He was thinking of the ’if’.

If Huang Hui had done something to betray him.

Jiang Sifan would absolutely not tolerate it.

Because his own father had hurt his mother in the exact same way.

He would never allow someone to do the same thing to him.

He had already witnessed that kind of pain firsthand through his mother.

He didn’t want to experience it himself.

But for now, this was all just speculation.

Jiang Sifan decided he had to keep a close, secret eye on Huang Hui.

If she wasn’t cheating, that would be for the best, of course.

He could just make it up to Huang Hui by treating her twice as well.

But if...

At that thought, he called out to Hu Ke, who wasn’t far away. "Hu Ke."

Hu Ke, who had just been about to head upstairs, turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow. "What’s up, handsome?"

"Well, sometimes I can’t get ahold of Huihui," Jiang Sifan began. "I was thinking I could add you on WeChat, just so I have another way to reach her. Is that okay?"

"Of course!" Hu Ke said with a smile. "A handsome guy wants to add me? I couldn’t be happier."

Then, she deliberately probed, "Oh, by the way, where did you buy that bag for Huihui? Where’s the store? I’d love to get one too."

"Er... I had an older relative buy it for me in Hong Kong," Jiang Sifan said, forced to cover for Huang Hui’s lie.

After all, he still didn’t know what was really going on.

"Oh, is that right? What a shame," Hu Ke said, feigning disappointment. "But that bag looked so expensive. I probably can’t afford it anyway."

After they added each other on WeChat, Hu Ke waved and batted her eyelashes. "See ya, handsome! Try not to miss me, haha!"

Jiang Sifan watched her forward behavior, but he felt nothing.

He wasn’t into overly flirty types.

But it seemed like so many girls these days only cared about designer bags and high-end cosmetics. Their values, and their ideas about love, had become warped.

Jiang Sifan decided not to dwell on it. The most important thing right now was figuring out how to make some money!

Once he secured the startup capital for his project, he could be making twenty thousand a month!

’Come on, Sifan! You can do this!’ Jiang Sifan pumped himself up, then headed back to the classroom to keep brainstorming ways to make money.

...

「Meanwhile, in a multimedia classroom at Jinling University.」

Every student from the Department of Landscape Architecture was present.

They sat in the lecture hall, patiently awaiting the arrival of Elder Meng, a titan in the field of landscape architecture.

As a freshman, Jiang Silu had been seated right in the center of the front rows.

A buzz of chatter filled the room.

"Wow, I wonder what Elder Meng is going to talk about."

"No idea. I heard one of the teachers say that Elder Meng’s visit was a last-minute decision."

"He probably thinks the students in our landscape architecture department are exceptional and decided to come impart some wisdom."

"Hahaha, that makes me pretty proud. Our professors are amazing! They managed to invite such a huge name!"

Jiang Silu, sitting amongst the crowd, was also getting excited.

Just a little while ago, Teacher Chen had sought her out privately.

She had told Silu to come to the office after the lecture to speak with Elder Meng.

If her classmates knew, they would be green with envy.

Of course, Jiang Silu wasn’t the type to show off.

Even though she was getting a private meeting with Elder Meng, she kept the news to herself.

「Before long.」

Amid a wave of welcoming applause, Elder Meng arrived.

"Hello, everyone," Elder Meng said with a wave as he sat down at the lectern.

Another thunderous round of applause filled the room.

For the next hour, Elder Meng gave an overview of the current mainstream styles and design philosophies in Chinese landscape architecture.

Before finishing, he encouraged the students to get out and broaden their horizons, to become the next generation of design talent.

「Soon, the lecture was over.」

The students began to file out of the room in an orderly fashion.

Song Miaomiao noticed Jiang Silu heading in a different direction and called out, "Lulu, the dorms are this way."

"I... I’m going to see Teacher Chen," Jiang Silu explained.

"Alright, I’ll wait for you at the dorm then," Song Miaomiao replied.

Clutching her notes, Jiang Silu made her way to an office in the Xingnong Building.

She knocked on the door and called out nervously, "Teacher Chen?"

Inside, Teacher Chen and a few others were chatting with Elder Meng. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Upon seeing Jiang Silu, Teacher Chen immediately pulled her forward to introduce her. "Elder Meng, this is the student, Jiang Silu."

Elder Meng looked at Jiang Silu, a brilliant smile spreading across his face. "So you’re Silu... Excellent, excellent."

"I hear you’re planning to enter the Jiangnan Garden Cup design competition, is that right? Did you bring your design drafts with you?" Elder Meng asked patiently.

Jiang Silu immediately took her laptop out of her bag. "Yes, sir, I did."

"Good. Let me have a look."

And so, the old master and the young student began discussing and analyzing her work right there in the office.

Meanwhile, Teacher Chen was pulled aside by the department head.

The department head inquired, "Last night, Elder Meng specifically requested to see this student, Jiang Silu. Is she a relative of his?"

Teacher Chen shook her head. "I’m not sure, Director. But Elder Meng does seem quite concerned with her."

"Where is Jiang Silu’s family from?" the department head asked.

"Yangcheng, over in Guangdong Province," Teacher Chen replied.

Hearing this, the department head had a moment of realization. "No wonder! Elder Meng is also from Guangdong Province. They must know each other. Why else would he go to all the trouble of coming down from the Capital just to give a lecture to our students?"

"Director, are you saying Elder Meng had an ulterior motive for coming?" Teacher Chen asked tentatively.

The department head was exasperated. "Obviously! I invited him three times before, and he never had the time. Then, last night, he suddenly says he’s coming. Does that sound plausible to you?"

He then gestured toward Silu. "From now on, you must take extra good care of Jiang Silu. Whether or not we can get Elder Meng to visit Jinling University again is all riding on her."

"Don’t worry, Director. I’ll be sure to look after her," Teacher Chen said with a nod.

She glanced over at Elder Meng and Jiang Silu, suddenly recalling that Silu had previously applied for part-time jobs in both the cafeteria and the library.

’Considering the laptop she carried and her connection to Elder Meng, Jiang Silu probably wasn’t from a family with financial difficulties.’

’Yet she still takes on part-time jobs to improve herself on top of her studies. It just goes to show what an excellent family upbringing she must have!’

At this thought, Teacher Chen began to wrack her brain, trying to remember if she had slighted Jiang Silu in any way over the past two months.

’If I’ve upset her,’ she thought, ’given her relationship with Elder Meng, my position as a three-year academic advisor might not be so secure.’

Meanwhile, Elder Meng seemed intent on imparting his entire life’s worth of design experience to Jiang Silu.

Fortunately, Jiang Silu was a quick study, and her design insights were somehow able to keep pace with the venerable master.

This drew high praise from Elder Meng. "You truly are a genius for landscape design!"

"You’re too kind, Elder Meng," Jiang Silu said, blushing.

"Keep up the good design work. When the time comes for the Jiangnan Garden Cup, I’ll personally be there to cheer you on," Elder Meng said with a chuckle.

Jiang Silu was stunned by the offer. "Elder Meng, your time is so valuable. You don’t need to go to all that trouble for something so minor..."

"How could this be a minor matter? If you don’t mind, what would you say to me taking you on as my student? Give me your contact information; add me on WeChat," Elder Meng said with a smile.

For a moment, Jiang Silu was completely floored.

She didn’t know how to react.

It was only with a prompt from Teacher Chen that she shakily took out her phone and added his contact information.

Jiang Silu gave a respectful bow and said earnestly, "I, student Jiang Silu, thank you for your tutelage, Teacher."

"Very good," Elder Meng said with a smiling nod.

And just like that, a simple trip to the office not only gained her new knowledge, but... she also gained a master!!

After she left, Elder Meng watched her retreating figure and remarked with a sigh, "That girl... she looks quite a bit like little Fan."

...