"What are you looking for? We can wait for you," Qin Tian said with a smile.
"Yes, no rush, no rush," Zhang Peng agreed.
"I, I'm looking for a hairpin I took out at noon. How can it be gone!"
"It's okay, take your time looking!"
"Really, you don't need to wait for me, you guys go ahead." Xia Nuannuan looked up at the two, a hint of anxiety in her eyes.
"The boarding students still have to study here for a while longer. You don't need to rush, we'll wait for you." Zhang Peng said with a chuckle.
Qin Tian, however, sensed something and nodded, "Alright then, we'll be going first."
"Mmmhmm!!" Xia Nuannuan nodded quickly in agreement.
"Let's go, let's go, don't disturb the boarding students' study." Qin Tian pulled Zhang Peng, who looked bewildered, and they left the classroom.
"Tian Ge, what's going on?" After leaving the classroom, Zhang Peng also realized something was amiss.
Qin Tian released his grip on Zhang Peng's arm and shook his head, "I don't know, let's go downstairs first."
Thus, after leaving the teaching building, the two found a secluded corner to stand.
"Tian Ge, are we following her? Isn't that inappropriate?" Zhang Peng asked with a look of surprise.
"Cough cough..." Qin Tian was taken aback by his words and shot him an annoyed glare, "What nonsense are you talking about!"
"Hehe..." Zhang Peng grinned mischievously.
Qin Tian ignored him and turned his gaze back to the staircase of the teaching building. He was also very curious as to why Xia Nuannuan would lie just to leave the school alone.
"Tian Ge, she's here!" Zhang Peng said in a low voice.
"I see." Qin Tian nodded slightly.
They saw Xia Nuannuan walking out of the teaching building with her backpack, heading towards the school gate. Her pace was noticeably slower, as if she had something on her mind.
"Let's go, follow her!" After Xia Nuannuan had walked about two hundred meters, Qin Tian called to Zhang Peng to follow her.
As the two of them walked out of the school gate, they saw Xia Nuannuan getting into the back seat of a black Mercedes-Benz. At the same time, a middle-aged man with facial features somewhat similar to Xia Nuannuan and a slightly portly figure, was opening the driver's side door.
"Is that... Xia Nuannuan's dad?" Zhang Peng exclaimed in surprise.
"It should be." Qin Tian suddenly realized and nodded, finding it both amusing and bewildering. So, Xia Nuannuan was worried about running into her future father-in-law! He could roughly guess the reason. At the very least, if he had a daughter in high school and saw her getting close to a boy, he would definitely be upset.
"Tsk tsk, how expensive must this car be? Xia Nuannuan's family is really rich!" Zhang Peng clicked his tongue in admiration.
"S-Class. A new one should be over a million yuan!" Qin Tian wasn't very knowledgeable about cars, but he could recognize the classic Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
"Over a million? Holy crap, that's incredibly rich." Zhang Peng couldn't help but exclaim. Both his parents worked, but their family situation wasn't much better than Qin Tian's. A luxury car worth over a million yuan was something he couldn't even dare to imagine.
"Tian Ge, what do you think? Do you feel any pressure?" Zhang Peng looked at Qin Tian with a gloating smile and teased him.
Qin Tian glanced at him sideways and said calmly, "What pressure?"
"Playing dumb, huh!"
"You're thinking too much. Whether her family is rich or not doesn't affect me." Qin Tian's tone remained calm and collected. After all, as a reborn individual with system-based advanced technology, he wasn't really pressured by wealth.
"As expected of you, amazing!" Zhang Peng gave him a thumbs-up, genuinely impressed. If it were him, after seeing such a luxury car, he might still act tough, but he would definitely feel intimidated inside. He knew Qin Tian too well; this guy was truly unfazed!
Just then, Xia Zhengping, who was about to get into the car, sensed something and looked towards them.
"Holy cow, he's looking this way." Zhang Peng exclaimed and quickly averted his gaze. Qin Tian merely paused for a moment, his expression composed as he met Xia Zhengping's gaze. From dozens of meters away, the future father-in-law and son-in-law sized each other up for a few seconds. Then, Qin Tian smiled and nodded slightly, as a polite greeting. Xia Zhengping was taken aback.
"Let's go, we're heading back." Qin Tian called to Zhang Peng and turned to leave.
"I'm leaving now? Wait for me." Zhang Peng hurried to catch up.
At the same time, Xia Zhengping also got into the car. He didn't think much of it, just assuming they were two teenagers who were impressed by his car. Because the car was facing in the opposite direction of Qin Tian and Zhang Peng's way home, and Xia Nuannuan in the back seat was lost in thought, she didn't see what had just happened.
"Nuannuan, what are you thinking about?" Xia Zhengping asked curiously, seeing his daughter's expression in the rearview mirror.
"Ah? Nothing!" Xia Nuannuan snapped back to attention, replying somewhat flusteredly.
Xia Zhengping raised an eyebrow. He knew his precious daughter, whom he doted on, too well. His daughter was clearly preoccupied, hiding something from him. Recalling her bringing lunch in a thermal lunch box at noon, he instinctively glanced at the boy walking away in the rearview mirror.
"By the way, are there any classmates you're close to in class recently?" Xia Zhengping asked casually as he started the car.
Xia Nuannuan's heart skipped a beat. She tried to remain calm and replied, "Yes, yes, why?"
"Oh? Nothing much, that's good." Xia Zhengping's face lit up with joy, but he became even more vigilant. Although he had to stay in Jiangcheng for business for long periods, he kept abreast of his daughter's situation at school through his wife. His daughter had never been very popular at school. This had always angered him – his daughter was so beautiful and outstanding, yet she had so few friends at school. But he didn't have many good solutions. After all, no amount of money could buy his daughter genuine friends.
"It's our class monitor and the English class representative, two girls. We've been getting along well recently." Xia Nuannuan realized she might have said the wrong thing and quickly tried to cover it up.
"Is that so? That's good. High school friendships are very precious. Bring your friends home sometime, and your mother can cook some good food to entertain them." Xia Zhengping suggested with a smile, a few more doubts forming in his mind. It was strange; his daughter's tone didn't sound like she was lying! Perhaps... he was just overthinking it? He glanced at the rearview mirror again, but he could no longer see the boy's back.
"Okay, I'll tell you when we have a holiday!" Xia Nuannuan agreed.
"What about the boys? Are there any male classmates you're close to?" Xia Zhengping asked again, unwilling to give up.
"Ah?" Xia Nuannuan was stunned, her eyes darting away, guiltily telling a lie.
"No, no!"
"It's over!" Xia Zhengping almost dropped the steering wheel and hit the curb with a stomp of the accelerator.