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"Don’t ask questions you’re not supposed to ask."

Yun Tianlan glanced at the young secretary beside him and said in a cold voice.

"Yes, Young Master Yun."

The young secretary immediately shut her mouth, a flicker of fear flashing in her eyes.

Yun Tianlan, however, continued to look at the report before him. The corners of his mouth curved slightly as he sighed softly, "This time, the Jiang Family is in for a hard time..."

...

「At the same time.」

Ye Ling, however, paid little attention to the news about the Jiang Family. Instead, he took Ning Ruoxi out for breakfast, after which the two of them went to Modu University together.

The Jiang Family’s situation no longer required his intervention. After all, he had already lit the fuse. All that was left was to wait for those watching from the shadows to plant the rest of the explosives.

It was safe to say the Jiang Family’s downfall was now inevitable. This time, they had truly crossed a line the Xia Country Government could not tolerate.

They could get away with some minor shenanigans; for the sake of the bigger picture, the Government could turn a blind eye. But this time, they’d actually gotten involved with the overseas Dugan Consortium?

Well then, sorry, but they had crossed the red line.

It was around ten o’clock when Ye Ling and Ning Ruoxi arrived at the university. Ning Ruoxi had a class that morning, so Ye Ling went to the library.

Lately, he had been exceptionally diligent in his studies. Not only was he reviewing for his final exams, but he was also teaching himself courses on finance.

’Government Economics’

’International Economics’

...

These courses were proving quite helpful to Ye Ling. Even if the effects weren’t immediately apparent, they would definitely be of great use in the long run.

From a little after ten until noon, Ye Ling was completely immersed in his studies. He had a powerful memory, one that could even be described as photographic.

As a result, he absorbed all sorts of financial knowledge with incredible speed. It had been, to say the least, a fruitful morning.

’Time to find that girl and get some lunch.’

Ye Ling mused for a moment, then set down his book.

The body of knowledge in the field of finance was simply too vast and complex; trying to master it all at once was unrealistic.

More importantly, finance required practical application. Theoretical knowledge alone was far from enough. Only through hands-on experience could one claim true mastery.

This was the reason for the common saying online: if you don’t have capital or connections, don’t study finance. The barrier to entry for this field was incredibly high.

Take international economics, for instance. If you came from a wealthy family, you might have direct exposure to many of its concepts in your daily life, making it naturally easier to grasp.

But how was a student from a remote, mountainous region, who might not even know what "international trade" is, supposed to grasp it?

It was like trying to explain airplanes and cell phones to someone from a few centuries ago. No matter how detailed you were, they’d never seen such things and simply couldn’t comprehend them.

If you said it could fly, their first thought would probably be of a kite.

Ye Ling took Ning Ruoxi to the Modu University cafeteria for lunch. In the afternoon, their roles were reversed: Ning Ruoxi had no classes, but Ye Ling did.

So, Ning Ruoxi went to the dance club to practice and wait for Ye Ling to finish his class so they could go home.

When Ye Ling got to his classroom, he was met with a shocking sight. Class hadn’t even started, yet there sat He Jian and the other two, actually studying.

"No way. What’s gotten into you guys? Did you actually get so worked up that you decided to start studying hard?"

Ye Ling walked over to them, unable to help but marvel.

When they had said in the group chat that they were going to study hard, he’d thought they were just screwing around. He never expected them to actually go through with it!

"Brother Ling, it’s almost finals, damn it. If we don’t start studying now, we’re going to fail," He Jian said, looking up with a pained expression.

"This is brutal. My dad said if I fail any of my classes this time, I shouldn’t even bother coming home," Yang Yu added, looking equally miserable.

"I genuinely want to study," Yang Yefeng announced, raising his hand, his expression seeming to say, ’I’m not like these two clowns.’

"’Fengzi’ is getting more and more shameless," He Jian and Yang Yu both muttered under their breath.

"Failing a class? No way, you’re kidding me. People still fail classes these days?"

Ye Ling’s eyes widened in mock disbelief, as if he’d just discovered something unbelievable.

"Brother Ling, you really are the king of sarcastic bastards."

"When it comes to sarcasm, I bow to no one but Brother Ling!"

Yang Yu and the others immediately chimed in.

"But... Brother Ling, it seems like all you do is go on dates. Plus, you’ve skipped the last few days of class. Aren’t you worried about failing?" Yang Yefeng asked.

Hearing this, Yang Yu and He Jian nodded in agreement.

To be honest, their Brother Ling wasn’t exactly a diligent student. Take Zhou Xing’s class, for instance—Ye Ling had basically stopped showing up entirely.

Speaking of which, this brought to mind the trio’s own tragic history.

Initially, when they saw that Zhou Xing didn’t seem to care that Ye Ling was skipping class, they began to wonder if the horror stories on the school forums were just exaggerations.

So, one day, the three of them decided to test the theory and skipped Zhou Xing’s class together.

The result, naturally, goes without saying.

While the three of them were still sleeping soundly in their dorm, their counselor, Duan Lingfei, burst in and dragged them out of bed.

And you have to understand... these guys usually slept naked.

That day truly became a dark Chapter in the history of Dorm 3222; calling it a black day would not be an exaggeration.

The three of them were hauled out of bed by Duan Lingfei, hastily threw on some clothes without even time to change their shoes, and were dragged to Zhou Xing’s office for a vicious tongue-lashing.

"Because I’m a top student," Ye Ling said with a smirk.

"Oh, get out of here!"

He Jian and the other two immediately expressed their disdain.

Just then, Zhou Xing entered the classroom, and He Jian and his friends instantly sat up straight, on their best behavior.

Ever since their telling-off from Zhou Xing, they had become even more terrified of the old professor.

Of course, there was another reason for this ostrich-like behavior... they wanted to see how Zhou Xing would react when he saw Ye Ling, the guy who’d been skipping class for ages.

After all, they had skipped for just one day and had been hunted down, fiercely reprimanded, and almost slapped with official disciplinary action.

Yet Ye Ling had skipped for so long without any consequences. They couldn’t wrap their heads around it, no matter how hard they tried. The only conclusion they could come to was...

’Maybe Zhou Xing is just charging up a super move?’

However, in the next moment, a shocking scene unfolded.

When Zhou Xing saw Ye Ling, not only did he not unleash his long-awaited "super move," but he actually offered a smile—something they had never seen before.

He even nodded, as if in greeting?

This... this... this...

He Jian and his friends stared, dumbfounded, their faces a picture of utter disbelief, as if they had just seen a ghost.

’That old demon can actually smile?’

Meanwhile, Ye Ling shot his friends a glance, a faint smile playing on his lips.

’You don’t get it, do you?’

’A bunch of mere mortals!’