226 This Support is a Bit Clumsy
The afternoon time is the most sleep-inducing, especially for a junior high school girl like Fu Jiu. Sitting at her desk, pen in her right hand, chin resting on her left, she fell asleep facing her math test paper.
The best thing about this posture was that from the side or behind, it didn’t look like she was sleeping at all, unless one saw from the front that her eyes were closed. So Lu Qi, who was sitting next to the girl, waited for more than ten minutes, found no change on the test paper, leaned over to look, and discovered the secret.
“Sigh…” Lu Qi couldn’t help but let out a long sigh, filled with helplessness accumulated over many days.
Before the sound faded, Fu Jiu suddenly woke up with a start, her small head shook abruptly, she opened her eyes, and moved her pen—writing the character ‘Solution’ under that equation problem.
And then, she didn’t know what to write.
Pretending not to see through the child’s difficulty, Lu Qi stood up, walked out of the study, and closed the door.
She first called her mother.
“Hello, Mom, did I ask you to tutor me when I was young?”
Mother: “Of course, have you forgotten? I taught you pinyin in the first grade!”
Lu Qi: “I mean when I was older, like after junior high.”
Her mother on the other end of the line thought for a moment and replied, “It seems that after your third grade, I haven’t tutored you anymore…”
Lu Qi sighed. “People really are different.”
Mother: “What’s wrong? Why did you suddenly think of this? Is tutoring Little Jiu not going well?”
“Forget it, nothing… Mom, you go ahead with your business. I have something to do, hanging up now.”
After ending the call with her mother, Lu Qi dialed a second call. This time, it was Wang Heng’s number.
After the call connected, she heard that the background noise over there seemed a bit loud, so she asked in a relaxed tone like a friend, “What are you doing? Is it convenient to talk?”
Wang Heng: “It’s okay. Just passed security check, waiting for the plane.”
Lu Qi: “Waiting for a plane? Are you going out to play?”
Wang Heng: “I’m preparing to return to Rongdu…”
Lu Qi had anticipated this answer. After all, she had checked Pei Ningle’s updates online and seen the venue and guest list of the Blueberry Music Festival. Estimating the time, Pei Ningle and Wang Heng shouldn’t have returned to Rongdu yet.
The advantage of having information in advance was that at this moment, Lu Qi could guide the topic in the direction she envisioned.
She asked, “I just watched a show called ‘Sing My Song’ and found a singer who seems familiar… Pei Ningle, the girl who encountered an accident with you last year, right?”
Wang Heng: “Yes, you saw her on TV?”
Lu Qi: “Strictly speaking, I saw it on the computer. But there is a question, why was Han Yixuan the one appearing in the family and friends group in the show?”
The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds, seemingly hesitating.
Wang Heng: “…Because they are best friends. Actually, not just best friends, Han Yixuan is also Pei Ningle’s manager.”
“Manager?” Lu Qi was really a little surprised this time. “Han Yixuan is only a freshman too, right?”
Wang Heng: “Because Pei Ningle doesn’t have many activities now, and doesn’t need to find opportunities or announcements, she just needs a trustworthy friend to help.”
Lu Qi: “Then did Pei Ningle not return to her hometown last year?”
Wang Heng: “Yes, she stayed in Rongdu. She was singing in a bar before, and only became a real professional musician after appearing on the show a few days ago.”
Lu Qi: “And she already has a manager?”
Wang Heng: “Yes, they seem to get along well, and became very good friends after knowing each other. Of course, her manager is actually not just Little Xuan, but also me. We are both students and have academic pressure usually, but sharing the burden is no problem.”
It sounded like a natural answer, but Lu Qi had already guessed.
Wang Heng described the process of the two girls getting to know each other quite vaguely, passing it over in two sentences, but Lu Qi knew what Han Yixuan was like—Han Yixuan would definitely be quite wary of a girl who suddenly appeared beside Wang Heng.
In Lu Qi’s view, the process of Han Yixuan and Pei Ningle getting to know each other was definitely not that simple, and their current ‘best friend’ relationship was probably not as pure as Wang Heng said. However, one question was uncertain, that is, Pei Ningle’s attitude towards Wang Heng.
Knowing that Han Yixuan was a love rival, what about Pei Ningle? Did this girl pose a threat?
If, as Wang Heng just said, Pei Ningle and Han Yixuan were friends who ‘got along well’, it seemed to imply that Pei Ningle didn’t like Wang Heng, otherwise she would form a tit-for-tat situation with Han Yixuan. But considering Han Yixuan’s shrewdness, maintaining a superficial best friend relationship wasn’t impossible.
While a series of thoughts and trade-offs flashed through her mind, Lu Qi didn’t forget how to guide the current topic.
“No wonder Tan Meng always says you’re busy lately, so it’s because of this…” At this point, she changed the subject, “But besides being a manager, you are also my financial advisor, right?”
Wang Heng: “Yes.”
Lu Qi: “Mr. Advisor, have you found any particularly good investment opportunities recently? Like Bitcoin and the last stock?”
Wang Heng sighed. “Those excellent opportunities are hard to find. Wait a bit.”
Lu Qi took the opportunity to extend an invitation: “Are you free recently? When you return to Rongdu, let’s have dinner again. I also want to ask you for advice on investment strategies!”
Wang Heng: “Alright…”
Lu Qi: “Can you invite Pei Ningle too? After watching her performance, I count as her fan too.”
Wang Heng: “This should be no problem.”
“Then that’s it. Have a pleasant journey, bye!”
After receiving an affirmative answer, Lu Qi hung up the phone with a smile.
Then, the mature woman looked at the afternoon sun outside the window and murmured, “Didn’t mention Han Yixuan, but both Wang Heng and Pei Ningle are coming. The probability of this girl following is not small… But it doesn’t matter, anyway, it doesn’t constitute an obstacle.”
Han Yixuan couldn’t constitute an obstacle because Lu Qi knew very well that what she had to do this time was just to probe the enemy’s situation, not yet time to launch an official attack.
As for the assistant candidate to probe the enemy’s situation…
Lu Qi returned to the study and saw Fu Jiu still sitting obediently at the desk, holding a pen, facing the math test paper. Looking closely again, after so long, this child’s progress was still on that question. Below the character ‘Solution’ was a large blank area, let alone equations, not even a single letter.
“Sister Qiqi?” Fu Jiu looked up and asked timidly, “How do I do this question?”
Lu Qi said as calmly as possible, “Let’s not do the question first. I’ll tell you something.”
