Chapter 543 - Chapter 543: 218 arrives in Jiangjing, Ji Mulan receives a phone call (Second Update)_3

Chapter 543: 218 arrives in Jiangjing, Ji Mulan receives a phone call (Second Update)_3

Ning Xiao was well aware of who was behind their achievements.

So was Class Fifteen.

Bai Lian switched hands while holding her phone, “…it’s too much, tell them not to go.”

Pu Xiaohan looked vaguely into the camera, “I’m not finished yet. The principal and others want to visit your grandfather as well, along with the people from the Xiangcheng Education Bureau.”

Bai Lian: “…”

She hung up the phone and silently apologized to Ji Heng in her heart.

As soon as she ended the call, Bai Lian saw the photo of the tombstone on her phone.

The tomb was old and dilapidated, unattended. She sighed and murmured, “This won’t do, Third Princess. How can I take you to show my brother.”

A few steps away.

Jiang Fulai didn’t come closer.

Standing by the side of the path, he answered a call. The voice of a woman came from the other end, “I heard you’re going back to Jiangjing?”

“Yeah, I’ll return tonight,” he said indifferently, standing in the sunlight, his profile cold, his gaze fixed in Bai Lian’s direction.

Bai Lian was still sitting in front of the tombstone, dressed in simple loose clothes, looking exceptionally slender. In the light, she seemed enveloped in a halo.

Sitting there casually, she looked beautiful but forlorn like a cat that couldn’t find its way.

“I thought you were going to stay in Xiangcheng for five or six years,” came the surprised tone from the other end.

“I had planned on that,” Jiang Fulai saw Bai Lian getting up and diverted his attention, speaking in an unhurried manner, “Auntie, if there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up.”

**

Jiangjing.

At Ji Shaojun’s residence.

After a day of classes, he hesitated before speaking to the butler.

The butler, holding a cane, looked up, “If you have something to say, just say it.”

“Alian will be in Jiangjing this afternoon,” Ji Shaojun paused, “I’d like her to come here for a meal.”

Bai Lian did well in her college entrance exam. Ji Shaojun and Shen Qing had planned to return to Xiangcheng, but Bai Lian came directly to Jiangjing after her exams. Though puzzled, they did not shuttle back and forth.

Shen Qing and Ji Shaojun had wanted to cook themselves, but since the house was arranged by the Mu Family for Ji Shaojun, they needed to ask the butler first.

Bai Lian?

The butler was taken aback, recalling that Ji Shaojun had returned to Xiangcheng for Bai Lian’s college entrance exam: “She’s coming to Jiangjing this early?”

“Yes, Alian, she…” Shen Qing began to speak.

The butler nodded, cutting her off, “Just her?”

“Not just her,” Ji Shaojun considered, “Xiaojiang would probably come over too.”

The butler stood up with his cane, nodding, “Even if you’re receiving guests, don’t forget your studies.”

**

The news of Bai Lian’s arrival in Jiangjing was not shared with anyone else. She had recently been dreading phone calls, and neither Principal Jian nor Scholar Ma was yet aware.

However, Ji Heng had already informed Ji Shaojun and Xu En in advance; after all, Bai Lian had come to Jiangjing without him, and he was worried.

At the Xu Family.

Old Lady Xu was making arrangements to host a banquet for the guests. Although Xu Zhiyue didn’t score second nationwide, she did come in third.

The venue was set at the Xu Family’s old house.

Old Lady Xu held Buddha beads in her left hand while speaking with the Bai Family’s butler, “Has the news about Zhiyue’s third place been sent to the main family?”

The Xu Family, being extensive, doesn’t pay attention to the college entrance exam every year.

Without explicit communication, the Xu Family wouldn’t know of the achievement.

“Rest assured,” the butler nodded, “I’ve informed the family members, and several of them have confirmed their attendance.”

Old Lady Xu turned the dark Buddha beads, smiling at Xu En, “Bai Lian and the others have also arrived in Jiangjing, right? Invite them over. You should take a few days off too. Don’t be busy with business all the time. This is also a great joy for the Xu Family.”

“By the way,” Old Lady Xu remembered Bai Lian and turned to Xu En and Ji Mulan, “How did Bai Lian do this year? Does she have a chance to get into Jiangjing University?”

Ji Mulan’s expression paused; she didn’t know.

Xu En picked up a teacup, “She did very well.”

Xu Zhiyue also performed well, but Xu En didn’t specifically mention her score during the call with Ji Heng.

Mentioning Xu Zhiyue’s national third place would seem too ostentatious. Xu En simply told Ji Heng that Xu Zhiyue did well.

And Ji Heng only mentioned that Bai Lian did very well.

Both were polite, not bragging excessively.

Ji Mulan stood up, thinking that no matter how well one did, it couldn’t compare to Xu Zhiyue.

Ji Mulan decided to step outside for some air.

As she reached the door, her phone rang with a Beicheng number. She paused and answered.

“Mu Lan,” an elderly voice spoke from the other end, “I’m the patriarch of the Bai Family, you must have met me.”

“Bai Patriarch?” Ji Mulan walked to a flowerbed. She held the phone in one hand and gently touched her belly with the other, her eyes narrowing slightly, her tone far from pleasant, “What do you want from me?”

The person on the line wasn’t surprised by her attitude, their tone somewhat ingratiating, “Mu Lan, you see, do you know where Alian lives? We’ve come to Xiangcheng, but her phone is unreachable and we can’t find her. She carries the blood of our Bai Family, and I hope you could tell her that if she’s willing to return to the Bai Family, the ancestral hall’s central doors will open to welcome her, and whatever her demands are, our Bai Family will agree.”