102: Chapter 102 The Battle in the Clouds and the Human Touch

If the online revelry seemed a bit surreal, like a collective dream sequence across screens,

then in the Real World, those who truly held resources and the power of discourse were already making tangible moves.

And much faster than anyone could have imagined.

The first to come calling was none other than Professor Lu Zhixing.

To be precise, it was Jiangcheng University standing behind Professor Lu Zhixing.

The day after international consensus confirmed the preprint, the deans of Jiangda University's math and Physics schools spoke separately with Professor Gu Nanzhou and Professor Lu Zhixing.

And then, it was the university president's office.

Jiangda University was actually very clear about its current situation.

Fortunate? Yes, incredibly so.

This youth, who had stunned the global mathematics world and set off stormy waves on top academic forums, was a temporary visiting member of Professor Lu Zhixing's research group.

More than that, he had stepped into the global spotlight step by step right out of Jiangda University's math discussion room, using Jiangda University's scratch paper.

This tie of goodwill was already deep enough.

But Jiangda University was equally clear about how awkward its position was.

Jiangda University was certainly not weak, but in the specific direction of pure mathematics, it was ultimately not one of the top centers in the country.

After speaking for a long time during the meeting, Jiangda University's president, a veteran scholar who had spent half his life navigating academia, let out a sigh.

"We can't keep him, nor should we force him to stay. The only thing we can do now is act as his maiden family, helping him guard the gate so that he isn't snatched away by people using the wrong methods for utilitarian purposes."

At almost the exact same time, thousands of miles away in Beijing, two smokeless wars had already broken out.

The admissions office of Peking University's School of Mathematical Sciences urgently convened an ad-hoc meeting.

Several prominent figures, who usually kept their heads down focusing solely on research, gathered together.

The core agenda of the meeting was singular: how to secure this high school senior affiliated with Jiangcheng No. 7 High School at the earliest opportunity without violating any current admissions regulations, and under no circumstances letting him fall into the hands of the neighboring school.

Meanwhile, Tsinghua University's moves were even more aggressive.

The person in charge of the Yau Shing-Tung Mathematics Leadership Program checked flight schedules overnight and directly booked the earliest flight to Jiangcheng.

A senior professor at Qiuzhen College posted a short but weighty message in the core internal work group:

"Standard procedures no longer make any sense for him. Going to negotiate with those things would be an insult to him and an insult to our own judgment. We need a special proposal. And we must be fast—leave immediately, or it will be too late."

Over the next few days, Jiangcheng, a second-tier city that usually wasn't particularly prominent on the national academic map, welcomed batch after batch of people who would normally never appear there during this season.

Most of them dressed low-key, looked stern, and moved in a hurry.

They didn't alert the media, nor did they hang banners with great fanfare.

Through Jiangda University, through Professor Lu Zhixing, through Professor Gu Nanzhou, and through the Jiangcheng Municipal Education Bureau, multiple groups of people converged on this city within almost the same time window, relying on their respective astounding influence.

Morning of June 3rd.

Jiangcheng University, Physics Building B.

Inside Professor Lu Zhixing's office, the atmosphere was a bit subtle.

Jiang Lin sat on the sofa, with Professor Lu Zhixing sitting across from him.

On the other side of the office sat two distinct groups of people, clearly divided.

The representative of one group was a forty-something professor sent by the math department of Peking University.

The representative of the other group was one of the heads of the Yau Shing-Tung Mathematics Leadership Program.

These two groups had originally used their own tricks and separate channels.

Both wanted to bypass each other and be the first to secure this once-in-a-century talent.

But Jiangcheng was only so big, and there was only one Jiang Lin.

In the end, these two teams representing China's top academic institutions ended up crashing right into each other in this office where even the air conditioner was somewhat aged.

The scene was momentarily quite awkward.

As Jiang Lin's nominal mentor and sole current protector, Professor Lu Zhixing could only bite the bullet to mediate.

"Professors, let me make things clear first," Professor Lu Zhixing pushed up his glasses. "Since Jiang Lin is willing to take the Gaokao and is preparing to take it, the current situation is that no proposal and no discussion should affect his normal participation in the Gaokao."

The professor from Peking University immediately nodded, demonstrating great sincerity as he said, "Of course, we completely understand. Coming here today is definitely not to put pressure on Jiang Lin, nor to force him to make a decision right away."

He turned his gaze to Jiang Lin, the sharp competitiveness he had shown toward his peer instantly melting into a gentle, affectionate warmth.

"Student Jiang Lin, let me first state the stance of Peking University's math department. You should already have some understanding of Peking University's heritage in mathematics. As long as you are willing to come, we will give you the absolute best that this country and this university can offer."

He took a deep breath and laid out his trump card:

"No longer a single-mentor system—an academician will lead a dedicated guidance team composed of core faculty from the math department."

"An integrated bachelor's-to-doctoral program is just the baseline; you will have independent discretion over your research funds. Whatever field you want to pursue, you can pursue it. Whichever international laboratory you wish to visit for exchange, we will handle the arrangements to pave the way."

Hearing this, the head of the Yau class refused to be outdone and chimed in.

"Qiuzhen College of Tsinghua University, through the Yau Shing-Tung Mathematics Leadership Program, offers another, purer possibility."

His wording was equally cautious, but a powerful confidence shone between his words.

"The original intention of our program was to bypass the shackles of conventional exam-oriented education and directly cultivate the most talented individuals according to the standards of future world-class mathematicians. Mr. Shing-Tung Yau himself is paying close attention to your work. As long as you come, you will directly connect to a global network of mathematicians and engage in dialogue as equals with fields medal winners."

He stared intently into Jiang Lin's eyes, his voice deep and forceful.

"Student Jiang Lin, you no longer need any exam to prove yourself. So today, sitting here, this is not an interview, nor a selection process, but a mutual choice. What we want to know is: what kind of environment can truly avoid wasting talent of your level?"

Inside the office, there was a moment of silence.

To be vied for face-to-face by China's two top universities with an almost pleading posture, offering conditions others wouldn't dare dream of...

Any other eighteen-year-old youth would likely have a pounding heart, a flushed face, and even be stammering with excitement by now.

But Jiang Lin's reaction was so calm that all the professors present, who were used to grand occasions, found it incredible.

He didn't look overwhelmed by the favor, nor did he display the arrogance of a young man flushed with success.

He simply listened very attentively to the speeches of both professors, without even a sharp flicker in his eyes.

Then, he stood up and politely bowed slightly to each of the two professors to express his gratitude.

"Thank you, professors. I am very grateful for your sincerity and feel deeply honored."

Jiang Lin's voice was clear and unhurried.

"However, right now, I really cannot give either of you a definitive answer. Not only because I need to take the Gaokao, but even more so because I still need time to think about what I actually want to do next."

Sitting to the side and watching Jiang Lin's expression, Professor Lu Zhixing felt his heart unexpectedly skip a beat.

He understood the youth before him better than these two distinguished guests who had traveled from afar.

Or rather, he had witnessed up close the state the youth was in when constructing that mathematical empire on scratch paper.

Professor Lu Zhixing knew that Jiang Lin's words were by no means a young man's pretentious nobility, nor were they the greed of waiting for a better price to gain more leverage.

He had a faint intuition.

For this special youth, whether he went to Peking University or Tsinghua University, which prestigious palace had the greatest fame, or which luxurious mentorship team led by academicians he followed...

To him, none of that might actually be as important as outsiders imagined.

"Ahem, professors, since Jiang Lin hasn't been able to make up his mind yet, and these next few days are indeed unsuitable for distractions," Professor Lu Zhixing took the initiative to break the silence and smooth things over gently, "how about we sit down and talk again after the Gaokao ends?"

Although filled with regret, the two leaders knew that haste makes waste.

Facing a genius of this caliber, forcing him would only backfire. They could only leave their contact information and temporarily take their leave with complex emotions.

...

If the quiet tug-of-war between universities was recognition from the elite at the top,

then the local education system's response reflected a solemn, almost absurd level of protection from within the system.

A multi-party joint protection mechanism was launched with unprecedented efficiency.

The local police station, traffic police division, and even the subdistrict office where Jiangcheng No. 7 High School was located were all mobilized.

Multiple parties held continuous meetings to coordinate, all for a single goal:

creating a seamless security contingency plan at his exam site.

The streets surrounding the exam site were cordoned off two days in advance.

The Municipal Party Committee's Publicity Department and the Education Bureau jointly coordinated with various media outlets, forbidding interviews, camping out, or secret filming around the exam site before the Gaokao ended.

Director Zhang of the local police station personally led the team.

During the two days of the Gaokao, not only did he concentrate all the station's elite police force at the entrance of No. 7 High School, but he also applied to higher authorities for emergency mobile forces to stand by at nearby intersections.

Old Liu and the principal of No. 7 High School treaded on thin ice over those two days.

Their phones were ringing off the hook, receiving double and triple exhortations from various provincial and municipal levels.

All the leaders on the other end of the line repeatedly emphasized one core message over and over:

"At all costs, withstand all pressure and eliminate all interference so that Student Jiang Lin can finish the Gaokao peacefully and stably, just like a normal high school senior."

This absurd yet uniquely heartwarming scene was truly a sight to behold.

...

If the recruiting war among universities was a storm high in the clouds, and the protection from the education system was solemnity from the halls of power,

then in the place richest with the fireworks of everyday life, another kind of clamor and bustle was quietly, and even somewhat uncontrollably, unfolding.

Everyone had actually underestimated how the area under Jiang Lin's apartment building would turn into a check-in spot.

The old residential community where Jiang Lin lived—over twenty years old, with even its exterior wall paint peeling off—became the focus of the entire city almost overnight.

The first to sniff out the scent and come knocking were relatives.

Aunts and uncles who usually barely visited once a year, distant uncles separated by who knows how many generations, and relatives from his hometown whom he hadn't contacted in ages all flooded in like a tide.

Carrying high-end imported fruits and beautifully packaged health product gift boxes, with enthusiastic smiles plastered on their faces, they crammed the Jiang family's already modest living room to overflowing.

Their enthusiasm left Zhang Xiufen, who had lived an honest, quiet life for most of her years, feeling dizzy and overwhelmed.

"Oh, Xiufen, I just saw the news! Linlin has done so well! I knew since he was little that he was special—look at that broad forehead, clearly made to be a top scorer!"

"Brother Jianguo, remember my kid? He just entered eighth grade this year, and his math marks are a total mess. He and Linlin are cousins after all. In the future, when Linlin goes to the big city and becomes a big scientist, he has to mentor his younger brother!"

"Sister-in-law Xiufen, you must share your parenting secrets with me. How on earth did you raise him? What did he eat growing up? Mine plays on his phone every day, driving me crazy. If he had even one-tenth of Linlin's brain, I'd wake up laughing from my dreams!"

Zhang Xiufen navigated through the crowd holding tea cups, a stiff smile plastered on her face, drenched in sweat from coping as she repeatedly said, "No, no, it's just that the child works hard on his own; we didn't really have to worry about much."

Yet inside, she complained bitterly, wishing only that this group of people would leave quickly.

However, relatives were still relatively fine—at least they still observed basic social norms.

What truly proved unbearable for this family, and even the entire residential community, was the internet army downstairs.

After the news of the preprint's international confirmation hit the trending searches, and a several-minute video of Jiang Lin looking cool and calm at the school gate went viral online,

groups of people carrying various long lenses, tripods, and selfie sticks began gathering beneath his building.

Content creators, outdoor streamers, local gossip accounts, and even out-of-town influencers who took overnight high-speed trains arrived.

Most of them couldn't even catch a glimpse of Jiang Lin.

Because of the Education Bureau's order, Jiang Lin spent almost all his time over these few days at home or inside Jiangda University's protective circle, except when visiting the exam location.

But this didn't dampen the fanatical enthusiasm of these people in the slightest.

They staked out downstairs, facing that ordinary residential building hung with a few old clothes, and began livestreaming like a mad circus.

"Family! Right now, your streamer is standing at the spot closest to the world-class math genius Jiang Lin! Yes, right at the building behind me!"

"Although the man himself hasn't appeared yet, just breathing the air the genius breathed and looking at the path he walked gets my blood pumping!"

"Family members who want to get into Tsinghua or Peking University, brothers who want to pass every exam—type 'Pass Every Exam' in the live chat! Press 1 to soak up some of the God of Study's good fortune online!"

Some even held up their phones, aggressively cornering every resident who entered or left the building's entrance carrying vegetable baskets or trash bags with crazy questions.

"Hello, sir! Are you Jiang Lin's neighbor? Can you tell us what he's usually like? Does he recite formulas even while walking?"

"Ma'am, did he display intelligence far beyond ordinary people when he was little, like knowing calculus at age three?"

"Have you ever spoken to him? Even a single word counts!"

The residents of the building went from feeling proud of having a famous neighbor at first, to realizing later that whenever they went downstairs to buy scallions, throw out trash, or pick up their grandchildren, they would have a bunch of camera lenses shoved in their faces and be surrounded by absurd questions, becoming utterly exhausted and annoyed.

And through all this absurdity, Jiang Yao, who lived directly above Jiang Lin, experienced it the deepest and felt the most mixed emotions.

[part:gemini-3.5-flash-lite]

She had watched with her own eyes how the open space downstairs from her home had transformed overnight from a tranquil spot filled with the warmth of everyday life into a magical realist circus today.

On the evening of June 4th.

Jiang Yao had just returned from classes at school and turned into the iron gates of the residential complex when the scene downstairs stopped her in her tracks, leaving her completely dumbfounded.

A middle-aged man wearing a bright yellow Tang suit was standing downstairs from their building, holding a massive brass luopan in his hands.

Beside him was an assistant dedicated to lighting, setting up a high-definition phone and passionately live-streaming.

Facing the camera, the man would look at the sky one moment and the orientation of the building the next, constantly calculating with his fingers while muttering under his breath.

"Family members, take a good look. Although this building is old and run-down, its layout holds profound mysteries. Facing south with its back to the north, that winding path in front of the door is known in Feng Shui as the jade belt encircling the waist."

"Everyone look at the orientation of this building once more. It precisely captures the Wenchang position of the Nine Purple Fire Fortune, and its aura shoots straight into the clouds. No wonder, no wonder such a shabby old place could produce a true dragon, giving rise to a world-shaking Wenchang star."

"Those who want your children to rub off on some literary fortune and top the Gaokao, don't rush. Hit follow in the upper left corner and join the fan club. In the next video, I will specially teach you how to spend the least amount of money to arrange your own children's room into such an ultimate Feng Shui setup for producing a study god."

Witnessing this scene, Jiang Yao could only feel a sense of absurdity.

She even felt the urge to rush up and ask this Feng Shui master.

"You say this building can produce a Wenchang star, then why didn't this building infuse me into a mathematical genius as well?"

"I've also lived here for eighteen years, and if you count down to the exact number of days I was born, I actually lived in this geomantic treasure trove a few days longer than Jiang Lin."

Frowning, Jiang Yao tried to bypass the live-streaming team.

But just as she rounded the corner and was about to reach the entrance of the unit's security door, another scene caught in the corner of her eye made her slow down.

It was a mother and daughter.

The mother looked to be in her early forties and was dressed plainly.

The girl beside her looked to be around the same age as Jiang Yao.

That mother, tightly holding her daughter's hand, stood beside a dim street lamp under that building.

They didn't hold a phone, didn't start a live stream, and even intentionally avoided the lenses of those internet celebrities.

The mother raised her head, gazing with an almost devout look at the curtained window of Jiang Lin's home.

Then, the mother herself pressed her palms together and, facing that ordinary residential building, began to murmur a phrase Jiang Yao had heard in countless temples since she was a child.

"Bless our child's Gaokao this year to go smoothly, to perform beyond expectations, and to get a good score."

Pulled by her mother to bow, the girl glanced around somewhat bashfully and complained in a low voice: "Mom, what are you doing? Is this any use? He's a genius, not a god."

The mother straightened up, patted the back of her daughter's hand, didn't argue about whether it was useful or not, and didn't even explain anything about Feng Shui or science.

She just let out a long sigh and said with a voice full of hope: "Mom knows, but bowing makes Mom feel at ease. As long as it benefits you, even if it's just rubbing off a bit of intelligence, Mom is willing to bow."

Suddenly, Jiang Yao couldn't move her feet anymore.

Her chest felt as if it were blocked by something, aching and sour intensely.

She remembered last month when her own mother was just like this, dragging her early in the morning to take a bus for over an hour to the bustling Wunmiao Temple in the suburbs.

In front of the wishing railings polished to a patina by countless parents, beneath the century-old ancient tree covered densely with red prayer plaques, and before the statue of Confucius, her mother had also been like this, lighting a stick of incense and respectfully kowtowing to make a wish.

What she prayed for was nothing more than that exact same phrase just now.

"Bless the child for a smooth Gaokao."

Mothers under heaven were all equally humble and utterly sincere when facing the turning points in their children's destinies.

It was just that the mother before her had shifted the place to pin her wishes from that ancient temple of mud and wood carvings to this solid, tangible building.

She had replaced that otherworldly divine statue with a living, breathing study god living in this building.

Looking at that mother's expression, looking at that unpretentious posture, and listening to the prayer repeated endlessly by millions of families.

At this moment, Jiang Yao didn't find them ridiculous, ignorant, or magical in the slightest.

Instead, because this wish was so pure, so heavy, and so unpretentious, her heart softened fiercely and ached intensely.

...

However, the internet celebrities and followers downstairs were gathering in increasing numbers, showing a trend of turning this place into a long-term check-in spot.

Ultimately, the residents in the building couldn't hold out any longer and called 110.

The local police station reacted extremely quickly.

Director Zhang, who was already frantic with anxiety over the security at Jiang Lin's exam center, personally led a team to the scene.

They cordoned off the area, dispersed the live-streaming teams blocking the road, and arranged for police forces to take turns on duty to maintain order.

Standing beside the police car and looking at the cleared area in front of the unit door, Director Zhang rubbed his throbbing temples and sighed to the young police officer beside him.

"I'll be damned if I haven't seen it all. A high school senior, a pen, and a few sheets of paper can actually pull together so many people and such massive traffic all at once."

He paused, looking at the tightly closed window upstairs, his tone a mix of helplessness and something else undefinable.

"But at the end of the day, apart from those riding on the traffic, ordinary folks are all coming for good intentions. Just rubbing off some auspicious vibes, it's understandable."

To say who was most violently stirred up in this storm, besides Jiang Lin who was at the center of the vortex, it must undoubtedly be Jiang Jianguo and Zhang Xiufen.

These two ordinary people, worn down by life for most of their lives, had never even attended a commendation meeting in the district, let alone experienced such a battle array that captured the attention of the entire city.

Their greatest wish in this lifetime was merely for their son to be healthy and safe.

They could never have dreamed in their wildest dreams that their old house, which didn't even have an elevator and whose corners leaked water whenever it rained, would one day suddenly become the most popular tourist spot in Jiangcheng City.

A place where even professors from Tsinghua University and Peking University had to visit in person, a place where anyone was willing to come take a look, snap a photo, and discuss.

Going out to buy groceries, the moment you pushed open the unit door, you might have a camera shoved right into your face, chasing you with all sorts of bizarre questions.

To prevent secret filming, the curtains at home were drawn tightly shut all day long, and they didn't even dare to open the windows for fresh air in broad daylight.

Seeing that there were only two days left until the Gaokao.

In such a depressive and noisy environment, let alone reviewing, even getting a peaceful night's sleep had become an extravagant hope.

This made Jiang Jianguo and Zhang Xiufen resolve that they must move out to live somewhere else for a few days.

After the Gaokao was over and the clout-chasers downstairs dispersed, they would move back.

From beginning to end, the two of them never thought of asking anyone for help, such as calling Lao Liu, their son's head teacher, or telling the people from the school and the education bureau who had been swarming around Jiang Lin these past few days.

This thought was something Jiang Jianguo and Zhang Xiufen didn't even dare to imagine.

In the simple understanding of these two ordinary people who had kept to their duties their whole lives, troubling the school and alarming the government were colossal matters.

People put in painstaking efforts for the child's Gaokao, for such a big matter.

How could they have the face to bring up their own trivial matters of uncomfortable living to add to others' burdens?

They didn't even realize that, given Jiang Lin's current weight, no one would be unwilling to offer help.

With just a word, for those who could even dispatch SWAT vehicles to guard the exam center, arranging a quiet house would be a mere flick of the hand.

Yet the first rule life had taught them was not to trouble others unless it was absolute last resort.

Thus, Jiang Jianguo alone put on his reading glasses, faced his phone, and began clumsily browsing through booking apps.

Then this honest man, who hadn't stayed in many nice hotels on business trips in his life, discovered that things were far from as easy as he thought.

With the Gaokao imminent, those star-rated hotels near the exam centers with good locations, soundproofing, and quiet environments—the so-called Gaokao rooms or top-scorer rooms—had long been snapped up a month or two ago by thoughtful parents who weren't short on money.

The remainder were either too far from the exam center, posing high risks on the way to the exams.

Or they were those presidential suites costing several thousand yuan a night, with prices so high they made one's heart spasm.

Wearing his reading glasses and sitting on the sofa, Jiang Jianguo looked at the glaring red "fully booked" signs on his phone screen and the prices followed by a long string of zeros, his rough fingers suspended in mid-air as his brows knitted into a deep knot.

Right at that moment, the doorbell suddenly rang.

Both of them were startled in their hearts.

Zhang Xiufen looked out through the peephole with the vigilance of guarding against a thief.

After seeing clearly who it was, she froze for a moment, then let out a long sigh of relief and hurriedly opened the door.

Standing outside the door was neither a reporter nor a relative, but Zhou Qin who lived upstairs.

Jiang Yao's mother.

If it were a few years ago, Zhou Qin and the Jiang family actually interacted quite a lot.

Their children were of similar age, and living upstairs and downstairs, they would usually send a bowl over to each other whenever they made good dishes.

But ever since entering high school, Jiang Lin's grades were mediocre while Jiang Yao went to the key class, causing a subtle divergence in their families' circumstances, and interactions suddenly dwindled.

They belonged to the kind of relationship where they would politely nod and greet each other when running into one another in the hallway.

Until the past half year or so, as Jiang Lin's grades soared step by step like a rocket, climbing to a height that even Jiang Yao had to look up to.

Along with that night when Jiang Yao went downstairs with red-rimmed eyes holding a math problem she couldn't solve no matter what to ask Jiang Lin for guidance, the two families' relationship miraculously restored somewhat.

Zhou Qin was a smart person.

She had watched with her own eyes how, ever since that night, her daughter's mathematics seemed to have been suddenly unlocked by an expert, stabilizing her grades and even changing her way of thinking.

How could she not realize how much of a change Jiang Lin's seemingly casual pointers meant for Jiang Yao's Gaokao.

Afterwards, just these past few days, that world-renowned brick completely pushed Jiang Lin to a height ordinary people could never reach.

Looking at the current predicament of Jiang Lin's home, Zhou Qin's feelings were extremely complicated.

There was a belated look of newfound respect as an elder.

There was also a bit of the realistic intention rooted in adult sophistication and human touch to quickly forge a favorable bond.

She didn't shy away from this point herself; who wouldn't want their family to interact more with a child destined to go down in history?

But aside from that, looking at the crazy battle array downstairs and Jiang Lin's impending Gaokao, she inevitably harbored some genuine feelings of worry for this child.

Therefore, she came today to express gratitude.

In the middle of talking, Zhang Xiufen couldn't help sighing and poured out all the embarrassment of these past few days, as well as the difficulty of failing to book a hotel near the exam center no matter what.

Hearing this, Zhou Qin's eyes lit up: "Oh my, why didn't you mention this earlier? I can help."

As it turned out, Zhou Qin always prepared for rainy days in everything she did.

For Jiang Yao's Gaokao, more than a month ago, before the exam centers were finally announced, she had spent a heavy sum to simultaneously book Gaokao rooms in four star-rated hotels with the best environments and soundproof glass near several preset major exam centers in the city.

Now that the exam center had long been finalized and Jiang Yao was assigned to No. 1 High School, the room booked near No. 7 High School naturally wouldn't be needed anymore.

She was originally planning to cancel the room today and get her deposit back.

Hearing about the Jiang family's predicament right now, this room naturally didn't need to be canceled.

Hearing this, Zhang Xiufen was so excited she didn't know what to do, repeatedly saying it was too extravagant, and pulled out her phone to transfer money to Zhou Qin.

"What extravagance or no extravagance!" Zhou Qin grabbed Zhang Xiufen's hand, interrupting her with a sincere and resolute tone: "Xiufen, we've been old neighbors for so many years, don't stand on ceremony with me. To speak from the bottom of my heart, for Yao Yao's grades to have such steady momentum today over the past half year, Lin Lin has helped a tremendous amount."

Zhou Qin took a deep breath and patted the back of Zhang Xiufen's hand: "As a mother, I've always kept this favor in mind. Now that your family is in trouble, I was going to cancel this room anyway. If I can lend a hand along the way, this is heaven giving me a chance to repay a favor, and it's what I ought to do."

Zhou Qin smiled and added half-jokingly.

"Besides, becoming good neighbors with a child like your Lin Lin, who will be seen in textbooks in the future, is a blessing our family cultivated over several lifetimes. This room counts as my early blessing for him to top the Gaokao as an elder."

Listening to these words, Jiang Jianguo by the side saw the expression on his usually sometimes wooden face instantly soften.

He was the kind of person least capable of speaking pretty and polite pleasantries.

He rubbed his hands and nodded deeply.

"Sister Zhou, then thank you, truly thank you. But this room charge is one thing and another; it must be paid by us ourselves, and we cannot let you spend your money again."

"Oh my, Brother Jianguo, it's just a bit of room deposit, what are you arguing with me for."

Thus, on this extremely noisy evening, in this residential building carrying countless marketplace gossips, because of a bit of goodwill between neighbors and a trace of past intersection, the housing problem was readily solved.

That very night, in order to avoid the crowds staking out the place even at night.

The three members of the Jiang family, under the cover of local police officers, carried their extremely simple luggage and, acting like guerrilla fighters, hurriedly slipped into a taxi and moved into the quiet star-rated hotel next to the exam center.