260: Chapter 260 Si Yao's Unsolicited Request

Upon hearing this, Shen Jianan stopped chatting with Ye Ziming, turned around, and walked quickly toward the door. Ye Ziming shrugged sheepishly and followed her.

Before long, Qin Yi and his group of three appeared at the parking lot exit.

Qin Yi held Xu Qian's hand, while Xu Qian intimately held Xu Zilin's arm as they walked toward the School of Economics.

On the way, Qin Yi acted as a guide, constantly introducing the locations of the various colleges of Modu University to the siblings.

Some passersby who didn't know their relationship couldn't help but steal a few glances at them. But when they saw Xu Zilin's boyish face, they were relieved and didn't give it any further thought.

"Zilin, look over there. That building is the School of Materials building," Qin Yi said, pointing to a greyish-white building not far away. "Once we're done here, I'll take you over there for a look so you can get familiar with the environment."

"Brother Yi, you go ahead with your business. I'm in no hurry," Xu Zilin said politely, though his eyes were full of excitement.

Soon, the group of three arrived at the steps of the School of Economics.

"Young Master Qin~" At that moment, Ye Ziming waved at Qin Yi and hurriedly ran down the steps. Si Yao and Shen Jianan followed closely behind and arrived in front of Qin Yi.

"Haha, Young Master Ye is here too. Sorry I'm late; I've kept you all waiting." Qin Yi pressed his palms together in an apologetic gesture.

Immediately after, he stepped aside to introduce the others. "Let me formally introduce you. This is my girlfriend, Xu Qian. This is Xu Zilin, Qianqian's younger brother. I went to pick him up earlier. I'm telling you, Zilin is a top student; he'll be a student of Modu University from now on."

"Whoa, not bad, Young Master Qin. Your brother-in-law will be your fellow alumnus in the future." Ye Ziming joked with a smile, then took the initiative to reach out to Xu Zilin and introduced himself, "Hello, Zilin. I'm Ye Ziming, a friend of Young Master Qin."

Xu Zilin had already learned about this Young Master Ye's family background while in the car, and now that he saw the Immortal Master in person, he couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive. Seeing Ye Ziming reach out to him, he didn't have time to overthink it and nervously reached out his hand, his smile slightly stiff as he greeted him like Qin Yi did: "He—Hello, Young Master Ye."

Ye Ziming nodded, then turned his gaze to Xu Qian. He shook her hand briefly and let go, displaying a gentlemanly demeanor. "I've long heard that Young Master Qin's girlfriend is very beautiful, and today I finally get to see the Immortal Master in person. It's truly worth the trip. A pleasure to meet you."

Being praised to her face by Ye Ziming, Xu Qian's face turned slightly red as she responded shyly, "Young Master Ye, you flatter me."

Afterward, Qin Yi took over the conversation and continued the introductions for Xu Qian. "Qianqian, this is Young Miss Si Yao. You should be familiar with the person next to her, Officer Shen, Shen Jianan."

Xu Qian maintained her smile and shook hands with Si Yao and Shen Jianan one by one.

However, while shaking hands, she noticed that the look Shen Jianan gave her seemed a bit complicated, mixed with envy and a hint of inexplicable regret. Xu Qian's heart stirred slightly, but she didn't say anything.

As for Si Yao, Xu Qian had already learned before coming that this Young Miss Si Yao seemed a bit different from ordinary people in certain aspects; the hand she held in hers wasn't released until a good while later.

In the gap while Xu Qian was exchanging pleasantries with Si Yao and Shen Jianan, Qin Yi took the opportunity to lean in toward Ye Ziming, a hint of teasing in his eyes. "Young Master Ye, you're moving fast. You've already won over Officer Shen?"

Ye Ziming had a bitter look on his face as he slightly turned his head and responded in a very low voice, "It's not that easy; nothing is set in stone yet. Uncle Shen contacted me last night and said Jianan was coming to Modu University today, and he wanted me to accompany her to create some opportunities for us..."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yi patted Ye Ziming's shoulder and encouraged him, "Isn't that great? Your father-in-law is already paving the way for you. Won't chasing Officer Shen be a piece of cake?"

"Sigh~" Ye Ziming sighed, continuing somewhat dejectedly, "It's not that easy. I was just wondering when I could train to be like you; maybe then Jianan would give me a kind look."

Qin Yi smiled and comforted him, "Don't be in a rush. Kung fu isn't something that can be mastered overnight."

"Sigh, true."

While the two were whispering, Si Yao walked over and directly interrupted them: "Young Master Qin, a word in private!"

"Uh~" Qin Yi was stunned for a moment, then nodded and turned to Xu Qian, saying, "Qianqian, why don't you take Zilin to find Xiao Yue first? The interviews should have already started."

Xu Qian gave a gentle smile. Although she was quite curious about what Si Yao wanted with Qin Yi, the priority right now was to handle the special recruitment fair. Thus, after bidding them farewell, she took Xu Zilin into the School of Economics.

Qin Yi gave an apologetic smile to Ye Ziming and Shen Jianan, then walked side-by-side with Si Yao toward a less crowded area.

Watching their retreating backs, Ye Ziming muttered to himself with a face full of confusion, "Hey, that's truly strange. How could Miss Si have such a good attitude toward Young Master Qin? Could it be that there's something going on between them?"

Hearing this, Shen Jianan's heart tightened for no reason, and she turned her head curiously to ask, "What could possibly be going on between them?"

Seeing that Shen Jianan seemed interested in the topic, Ye Ziming immediately seized the opportunity, leaning closer to her to mysteriously gossip about Si Yao.

After hearing him, Shen Jianan's delicate brows furrowed, and she subconsciously wanted to look in Si Yao's direction. Seeing this, Ye Ziming nervously blocked Shen Jianan and lowered his voice, saying, "Don't look. If Si Yao finds out we're gossiping about her behind her back, she might even manifest Life Qi. Si Yao knows kung fu, and even Young Master Qin might not be her match."

Shen Jianan naturally knew that Si Yao knew kung fu, since she was from the Southwest Si Family. However, the fact that Si Yao's kung fu was even more powerful than Qin Yi's truly came as a surprise to Shen Jianan.

Meanwhile, Qin Yi and Si Yao had reached an empty area. With no one around, the two finally stopped.

Qin Yi looked at Si Yao, his brow showing a hint of curiosity. "Young Miss Si Yao, if there's something on your mind, just say it."

"Um..." Si Yao nodded, her lips pressed tightly together, looking as if she found it hard to speak. Only after taking a deep breath did she finally open her mouth: "I have a presumptuous request, and I hope Young Master Qin can agree to it."

"A presumptuous request?" Qin Yi raised an eyebrow, even more confused. What kind of difficult request would the dignified Young Miss of the Southwest Si Family have? Despite his thoughts, he maintained a polite smile and responded, "Please speak, Young Miss Si Yao. We are friends and business partners; as long as I can help, I will certainly do my best."

Hearing Qin Yi say this, Si Yao no longer had any reservations and said directly, "To tell you the truth, I want to ask Young Master Qin to cooperate with me in a play and pretend to be my boyfriend for a few days."

Qin Yi was stunned, his eyes widening in disbelief. "What? Be your boyfriend? Young Miss Si Yao, you're not joking with me, are you?"

"Keep your voice down!" Si Yao glared at him and looked around, afraid of being overheard.

Qin Yi immediately lowered his volume and pressed further, "Young Miss Si Yao, may I ask why?"

"Why what? It's just acting; it's not like I'm really going to do anything to you. Just say whether you agree or not!" Si Yao frowned, seemingly unwilling to give too much of an explanation.

Qin Yi rubbed his nose and gave a bitter smile. "No, Young Miss Si Yao. Even if I agree, I still have to ask why, right? You saw it just now; I have a girlfriend. It's no problem for me to act with you, but I need to know who I'm acting for, right? That way I can explain it to my girlfriend, can't I?"

Si Yao thought about it and felt that what Qin Yi said made some sense, so she explained, "Sigh, fine. Since that's the case, I won't hide it from you. It's like this..."

Subsequently, Si Yao gave Qin Yi a brief account of her marriage contract with Zhao Lintai and her old man's urging for her to return to the Southwest.

After listening to Si Yao's narration, Qin Yi's heart stirred. From what Si Yao was saying, Zhao Lintai was currently in the Southwest, which was a good opportunity. Moreover, he happened to be going to the Southwest Si Family to find the dragon saliva liquid anyway. If he could take this chance to solve the task of bringing down Zhao Lintai at the same time, wouldn't that be absolutely fantastic?

"That's the situation." Si Yao looked at Qin Yi. "If you agree, you'll come with me to the Southwest in a few days. You don't need to do anything; just pretend to be my boyfriend. Don't worry, no matter the final result, I won't let you come out at the short end."

Qin Yi smiled and reached out his hand toward her. "That sounds like a good deal. So, what kind of benefits does Young Miss Si Yao intend to give me?"

Si Yao raised an eyebrow. "So that means you've agreed? As for the benefits, it depends on what you want."

Qin Yi smiled and reached behind his back, quickly taking out the dagger Si Yao had gifted him from the System Space. He showed it to Si Yao and asked, "Young Miss Si Yao gave me this dagger. I'm very curious to know where the meteoric iron used to forge it came from?"

Si Yao hadn't expected Qin Yi to ask this. She looked at 'clear shadow' and asked curiously, "Why are you interested in the meteoric iron used to forge it?"

"You don't need to worry about that; I have my own purposes," Qin Yi said calmly. "If you can tell me, I'll agree to your request."

Si Yao frowned. "For that, you might have to ask my grandfather. He gave me this dagger. As for where the Materials came from, I really don't know. However, if you come back to the Southwest with me, I can help you ask him."

"Truly?"

"Naturally. I, Si Yao, never break my word."

"Good~ then I agree. But let's have an agreement beforehand: this act cannot become real."

"Pah~ don't be so conceited." Si Yao rolled her eyes. "You're not my type. I only chose you because you know some kung fu, so that my grandfather won't easily see through you when you're pretending to be my boyfriend!"

"Haha, fine. Then it's settled. When do we depart?" Qin Yi asked again.

"No rush. I need to lay some groundwork with my grandfather first; it can't look too fake," Si Yao said. "Once the time is set, I'll notify you."

"Fine~ then I'll wait for your news." As Qin Yi spoke, he put on a troubled look and continued, "However, if that fiancé of yours sees me, won't he be angry? Someone who can get engaged to the Southwest Si Family must have a very illustrious family background, right?"

"Don't worry, with me around, no one dares to touch you," Si Yao said overbearingly. "If his Zhao Family dares to act out, I don't care if he's the King of Heaven himself; I'll teach him a lesson regardless!"

Qin Yi laughed heartily. "Good, with those words from you, I'm definitely helping with this!"

"Then it's a deal!" Si Yao said as she reached out her hand. Seeing this, Qin Yi also hurriedly reached out, and the two shook hands solemnly.

"I came here today specifically to talk to you about this. Wait for my call; once the time is confirmed, I'll contact you." Saying that, she started to walk away.

Qin Yi had a smile on his face. "Hey, don't be in such a hurry to leave. Since you're already here, why not go see the finance company's recruitment fair?"

"No, I already took a look earlier; the scene was quite lively. Oh, right," she changed the subject as if suddenly remembering something, "regarding that 80 million investment we agreed on, once the time is set, send me the business account details and I'll transfer it to you."

Hearing this, Qin Yi immediately smiled. He waved his hand, looking like he wasn't in a hurry. "There's no rush for that. Wait for my news. I have an acquaintance at the bank I still need to help with a small favor."

Hearing this, Si Yao didn't say anything more. She nodded and replied, "Fine, then that's that. I'm leaving now." With that, she turned to leave.

When passing by Ye Ziming and Shen Jianan, Si Yao bid them farewell: "I have things to do, so I'll be going first. You two enjoy your chat." After saying that, she didn't wait for a response and just waved her hand without looking back, walking straight toward the parking lot.