Obsessive Tycoon and His Swan Girl
Chapter 319: The Taste of Being on High

Chapter 319: Chapter 319: The Taste of Being on High

For Jiang Zhe, Xia Mingli also had an air of superiority.

He believed that a girl from Jincheng couldn’t refuse his help.

Everyone wanted to stay in Beijing, but not everyone could stay in Beijing.

School was one thing; future employment was even more so. To stay in Beijing, one needed a lot of favorable conditions and connections.

When Jiang Zhe heard what he said, she lazily raised her eyebrows, "I don’t need help."

Xia Mingli’s chopsticks paused, clearly not expecting her to be so cold and firm.

Even Xia Tang and Xia Zhen, who had been earnestly eating, couldn’t help but look up at Jiang Zhe.

The two usually didn’t like to get involved in these women’s conflicts but felt Jiang Zhe’s attitude these past days was very pronounced.

Her demeanor reminded them of the calm and unflustered opponents they encountered in their daily dealings.

But how old was Jiang Zhe?

Xia Mingli’s mother couldn’t bear to see her son rejected and huffed, "Mingli, there are plenty of others who need your help, just save your energy."

Xia Mingzhu thought to herself, could it be that Jiang Zhe has connections with Fu Qifang to stay in Beijing for school?

But on second thought, an old scholar like Mr. Fu despised such connections and only valued genuine talent and learning, so he wouldn’t be interested in someone like Jiang Zhe.

Jiang Zhe really overestimated herself.

Xia Mingli lost his appetite and left his chopsticks, returning to his own yard.

Soon, the entire second branch of the family left as well.

"Everyone continue to eat at your leisure. I’m going to rest," said the old Xia matriarch, who didn’t have much energy and couldn’t deal with these issues. Accompanied by the servants, she returned upstairs.

Jiang Xiruo and Xia Enci had no doubts about Jiang Zhe’s abilities and just found the second branch of the family amusing.

Mrs. Xia, however, became genuinely anxious, "Xingzhi, could you ask around for any teachers to see if there is a suitable college for Jiang Zhe to attend?"

"Mom, Jiang Zhe has her own plans, and I don’t need to worry about her," Xia Xingzhi said after asking Jiang Zhe privately. Since she had no intentions, he didn’t want to interfere with someone else’s freedom rashly.

Mrs. Xia turned to Jiang Zhe, "Did you really finish the test in less than an hour?"

"Hmm, the questions were a bit difficult," Jiang Zhe said truthfully, and comfortably too. She had used several methods for some questions, which naturally took more time.

To Mrs. Xia, however, it sounded like the questions were difficult, incomplete, and she simply gave up early.

She didn’t want to crush Jiang Zhe’s confidence and said, "Well, if there’s anything you need help with later on, just speak up."

Jiang Zhe agreed, but had no intention of seeking help.

...

Even though Xia Xingzhi said he wouldn’t meddle with Jiang Zhe’s affairs, he still made several calls to his school.

"Xingzhi, you know how strict our school is about admitting students. If your friend wants to come here, no matter what, she needs to prepare some documents for us to assess her potential and suitable majors," they said.

"Okay, I’ll do it as soon as possible," Xia Xingzhi responded.

But getting Jiang Zhe to prepare a resume, he feared she wouldn’t be willing.

Xia Xingzhi could only wait for an opportunity.

However, he could see that Jiang Zhe was intelligent and well-qualified; she was a good prospect.

All she might lack was a serious and diligent direction.

The next day at the exam, the news that Jiang Zhe had handed in her paper very early quickly spread throughout the independent admissions testing department.

"Really, it’s her!"

"Jiang Zhe, right? I heard that yesterday she didn’t even spend a full hour on either test and left early," they said.

"Yes, I was working on the questions when I saw her turning in her paper, which scared me. I thought the time was almost up, but when I checked, not even an hour had passed. Thank goodness, you nearly scared my soul out of me."

"With such a difficult question, it’s normal for her to want to step out early to get some fresh air."

"Yeah, actually, when I first saw the exam paper, I almost gave up. It took me a good while to calm down before I could steady myself and start working on the problems."

Ding Xuexue listened to this and couldn’t help shaking her head secretly. How could Jiang Zhe be like this? Not finishing the paper?

Ability is one thing, but attitude should also be taken seriously, shouldn’t it?

Like this, how can she study in Beijing in the future?

"Xuexue, what do you think about this question?" someone asked Ding Xuexue.

"It’s alright, a bit difficult. But the harder it is, the better it is for selecting qualified classmates. Since we will be studying together in the future, naturally, the better the people around, the better." Ding Xuexue was spirited.

"It looks like you must have done very well, Xuexue."

Ding Xuexue replied with a modest smile, "I don’t know about that, but I gave it my best effort."

...

Because Xia Xingzhi wanted Jiang Zhe to prepare some information for a friend, he mentioned it to Mrs. Xia.

"I see that Jiang Zhe is a girl with her own thoughts; she might not be willing to accept arrangements from others," Mrs. Xia said.

Xia Xingzhi agreed deeply, "Indeed, we shouldn’t interfere with her personal freedom and choices. However, she is after all the niece of my third sister-in-law, and now that Enci has the opportunity to pick a good school, Jiang Zhe is just a bit less fortunate. I was thinking it would be good to have one more opportunity. If she really isn’t willing, we won’t force her."

"Okay, I’ll ask her again," said Mrs. Xia.

She took a liking to Jiang Zhe and treated her as her own niece.

The thoughts of mother and son were much the same: to help her a bit where they could, all depending on Jiang Zhe’s own will.

After finishing her last exam, Jiang Zhe left the school before three o’clock.

Seeing Mrs. Xia’s car parked outside didn’t surprise her.

She approached and greeted, "Auntie."

Standing in the sunshine, she was glazed with a layer of light gold, as if she herself were glowing.

Mrs. Xia felt pity for the girl; with no parents around, why had she suffered so much?

"Get in the car, exams are exhausting. I’ll take you to have some afternoon tea."

Jiang Zhe understood her intention and didn’t refuse, getting into her car.

She herself was a bit restless and wanted to drink something cool.

At the café, Mrs. Xia saw her about to order an iced drink and said, "Drink something hot; it’s good for a girl’s energy and blood."

This meant she really did treat her as if she were her own daughter.

Jiang Zhe changed her order to brown sugar ginger tea. Usually lazy to be managed by others, today was rare as she took the advice.

Perhaps it was truly because Mrs. Xia looked so kind.

She ordered ginger tea and was drinking it when she heard the voice of Mrs. Xia’s sister-in-law nearby: "Aiya, sister-in-law, Xiaozhe, you’re here too?"

"What a coincidence," Mrs. Xia responded casually upon seeing her sister-in-law.

"If you had told me you were coming, I would have asked the driver to pick you up as well. Jiang Zhe, out of the exam hall so quickly again?"

Mrs. Xia said indifferently, "Xiaozhe’s matters have nothing to do with you. Take care of your own business."

Mrs. Xia’s sister-in-law huffed softly, "I indeed should take care of my own business. But whether or not you are here today, I must attend to mine."

Today, she came to meet a distinguished lady and establish a good relationship.