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(WhisperingBlooms): Brother Qian, I think I met the evil queen bee of our school today! (¬_¬)

Her phone immediately rang, and she answered it quickly before her mom could hear it. She snuggled deeper into her mattress and responded with a coquettish, "Weeeeeii?!"

"Don't wei me, Jiao Jiao! What are you talking about, evil queen bee?"

It was almost midnight, and Li Qian had had a long day, so he was a bit anxious when he received her text.

"Shh! Don't talk so loudly, or my mom will hear!" Jiao Jiao chided Li Brother Qian quietly, then pouted, "I got bullied in the library today, Brother Qian."

He could tell by her tone that she wasn't bothered by the incident. His little flower had come a long way since the start of the school year. He remembered how crushed she'd been during the first week, so the fact that she was bullied today and was still cheerful was a testament to her resilience.

Li Qian chuckled deeply, his tone warm and lovely. "They obviously didn't bother you too badly. Tell me who it was; no one gets to bully you on my watch and get away with it. Names, Jiao Jiao."

She giggled and tucked her pillow under her head. "It was the girl who got bumped out of the elite classes when I got my scholarship. She clearly isn't aware that I took the same placement test as everyone else. How is it my fault she didn't score high enough to get one of the spots in Pinnacle or Zenith?"

"Ah," Li Qian immediately understood. "You'd better get some good sleep tonight then. You need to stay in Pinnacle if you want to teach her a lesson!"

"En." Jiao Jiao let her mind wander for a moment, then asked, "Do you really think I can stay, Brother Qian?"

He could detect a little quiver of uncertainty, still clinging on even after all their work together. His tone carried an intense power as he replied, "I believe in you, Jiao Jiao. I believe in your strength, intelligence, and, most of all, your dear heart. I believe you will stay. Do you?"

His prompting stirred the depths of her soul and raised goosebumps on her arms. Without warning, a vision flashed before her eyes as quick as lightning, but the afterimage burned away before she could make sense of it.

"Jiao Jiao?"

"En, I'm here," Jiao Jiao blinked a few times. "And I do believe, too. I believe I'll stay."

A quiet rustling followed Li Qian's low laugh. "Good girl. Now, I understand your mom is returning to Hunan Village over Golden Week?" Jiao Jiao's cheeks blushed deeply as she realized how late it was. Had she interrupted him getting ready for bed?!

To cover her embarrassment, she cleared her throat. "Um, she has to go back to get some paint that only Old Man Tao makes. It's too fragile for him to send by courier, so she has to make the trip and will be gone all week."

"I see." Li Qian paused briefly, then asked tentatively, "Do you have any plans for the holidays?"

Jiao Jiao thought for a moment. "No, I'll probably just work on the mock exams most of the time. Oh, and I have to do a few commissions for the art gallery. Mr. Kang said all my pieces sold, so he needs more."

"I see."

Jiao Jiao wrinkled her brow at his repeated words, then asked shyly, "Do you have any plans?"

He took the opening and said, "It's just that it's my birthday, so I was wondering if you'd like to celebrate with me?"

Jiao Jiao felt her cheeks warm. "Just us?"

Li Qian laughed, "I'm having a small gathering at Jade Dynasty. Yuan Ming and your idol, Sister Xue, will be there."

"Ah, Sister Xue will be there? Well, okay then!"

Her enthusiasm was so cute. Li Qian couldn't help but tease, "Oh, I see. I'm not important enough to get you there, hmm? Does it take me mentioning Ling Xue to get you to agree? You've hurt my feelings, Jiao Jiao."

Jiao Jiao giggled, and Li Qian continued, "Next Saturday night, seven o'clock. I'll come and pick you up. Now go to sleep, little girl. Good night."

"Good night, Brother Qian."