No reconciliation, no forgiveness! Mr. Pei leaves with nothing.

a few days later.

People's Hospital.

“Mr. Pei, thank you for coming to see my mother. The doctor said she is much better. If it weren’t for you, my mother… wouldn’t be alive now. I will pay you back part of the prize money I receive from the competition.”

Pei Zhan was wearing a gray shirt with the sleeves rolled up, revealing a toned and powerful arm. "No need to rush to pay me back. Study hard, and you'll have a chance to repay me in the future."

To Song Qingran, these words seemed to have another meaning, and for a moment, an inexplicable blush appeared behind her ears. She lowered her head.

"Ouch, be gentle, don't hurt her, or... let me tell you, you won't be able to afford to pay for it."

Song Qingran: "This voice sounds so familiar."

The sound came from the direction they were about to leave through, from the medical room whose door was not closed.

"Bear with it, I'll get some medicine soon." Jiang Hua unbuttoned her white shirt, revealing a blue bra underneath. She tilted her head slightly, her long curly hair cascading over one shoulder, exposing a large expanse of her fair skin. The middle-aged doctor, wearing a mask, saw right through her. He was holding a pair of scissors and tweezers, untying the stitches on Jiang Hua's shoulder, but his eyes were caught by Pei Zhan, who kept glancing at Jiang Hua's ample bosom.

Jiang Hua smiled slightly, "Am I pretty?"

Shen Bao'er finally realized what was happening and stomped her foot angrily, "You bastard, if you keep looking around like that, I'll gouge your eyes out!"

A woman this beautiful would be irresistible to any man.

When Song Qingran saw this, her heart skipped a beat. So that's why she hadn't been to school for so many days—she was injured. Oh my god… she must be in so much pain. Then, she suddenly realized something and turned around instantly, covering the eyes of the man standing behind her. He was too tall, so Song Qingran had to stand on tiptoe.

Pei Zhan asked, his tone devoid of emotion, "What are you doing?"

Song Qingran pursed her lips and stammered, "There's a difference between men and women, Mr. Pei, you can't look at me like that." Touching the man's burning skin, she reached out and gently closed the door to prevent anyone from seeing them. Only after doing this did Song Qingran lower her hand.

Shen Bao'er's voice was loud, and she didn't notice the door closing behind her.

A few minutes later, after the stitches were removed, Jiang Hua looked at the wound on her shoulder in the mirror and said with disdain, "It's really ugly."

Shen Bao'er, unusually comforting, said, "Wait a minute, I have a friend who owns a beauty salon. He should be able to remove this scar from you."

"That madwoman is despicable; she actually tried to kill me. Don't worry, my brother is so capable; he'll definitely catch her and teach her a lesson."

Shen Bao'er sent a message, and the other party replied quickly. She told Jiang Hua, "It's done. Once your wound heals, his beauty salon has a scar removal machine. I guarantee that in just half a month, you will be completely restored to your original state."

After dealing with these matters, Jiang Hua returned to school with Shen Bao'er in the afternoon.

Jiang Hua withdrew from the jewelry design competition organized by the Jiang family, and her name was removed from the list. Immediately, there were many different opinions. Most people speculated that Jiang Hua had found a sugar daddy and looked down on the Jiang family's competition, plus she hadn't come to school for so many days.

Song Qingran, who ranked behind Jiang Hua, became the most likely candidate to win first place in this competition.

When Jiang Hua returned to school, everyone looked at her with strange eyes.

Jiang Hua was used to it, but sometimes, that kind of look still made her feel uncomfortable.

The next day, Jiang's Jewelry Group.

There were eight finalists in this design competition, originally nine, but Jiang Hua withdrew.

In the conference room, several senior leaders from the design department and the marketing department participated in the selection process, clearly demonstrating that Jiang's Group attached great importance to this competition.

Zhou Yan is the new head of the design department. She is an outstanding graduate student in overseas design and has a certain influence in the field of jewelry design. She is responsible for designing exclusive jewelry sets for wealthy ladies. Each set of jewelry produced by her is worth tens of millions. As the core department of Jiang's Group, the design department holds a pivotal position in the group, and many departments need to be mindful of her.

"That young lady withdrew from the competition?" Zhou Yan, dressed in haute couture, curled her lips into a mocking smile. As she recalled that face, an unprecedented hatred flickered in her eyes.

Her assistant said, "They said she was a little princess, but she was injured recently and didn't want to participate. So, according to Chairman Jiang's wishes, her name was removed from the list."

Zhou Yan said sarcastically, "She's just a pretty face. Even if she wins first place in the competition with my design, all her future designs will just be a pile of garbage."

"It's better for this little princess to stay in her greenhouse and be obedient in the company's affairs."

The assistant held his breath, not daring to breathe too loudly, after all, the company's name was Jiang.

If they overheard people talking about this little princess, they might cause a huge uproar at the company.

Zhou Yan was a high-achieving student who had returned from studying abroad, but the older employees had witnessed it firsthand.

Suddenly, at that moment, a Jiang's intern in the break room turned around in a hurry and didn't look where he was going, spilling the coffee he was brewing directly on Zhou Yan.

Assistant: "You're so clumsy! Can't you watch where you're going?"

The intern secretary said, "I'm so sorry, Director Zhou."

"Are you alright?" Song Qingran came out of the restroom, holding the prepared speech document in her hand. She happened to see this scene and quickly took out a handkerchief from her bag to wipe the coffee stains off Zhou Yan's body.

The intern secretary said, "The coffee beans in the president's office's water dispenser ran out, and Miss wanted an iced coffee. I was in a hurry and it was an accident. I'm sorry, Director Zhou, I didn't mean to."

Zhou Yan frowned. Jiang Hua is here too?

Perhaps it was a personal vendetta, a hidden hatred that couldn't be vented, that made him blurt out in a cold voice, "You're fired."

The intern assistant was stunned. "Wh...what!"

Zhou Yan wasn't interested; she wanted to see her reaction. "This is coffee; it can't be wiped off. What's your name?"

Song Qingran frowned, as if worried about the coffee stain that couldn't be wiped away. Hearing the voice beside her, she let go of her hand, her face tense, and she didn't dare to look at Zhou Yan. "My name is Song Qingran. I came to participate in the final today."

"Song Qingran... I vaguely remember you. Your design is quite good, and you have a good chance of winning first place this time. Don't be nervous later, just give a good speech."

The moment Zhou Yan saw her, she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. Her eyes... were so similar to someone's, making her feel momentarily dazed.

Zhou Yan glanced at the watch on her wrist and, unusually, said, "Let's go in together, it's time."

Song Qingran pursed her lips and nodded, "Okay."

The intern secretary looked aggrieved, tears welling up in her eyes. "Director Zhou, I really didn't mean to. Please don't fire me. I finally got this interview opportunity."

Zhou Yan frowned and said coldly, "Go to the HR department yourself and submit your resignation report. Don't make me say it a second time."

Don't let me see you tomorrow.