The next morning.

Around a quarter past nine, Xu Ye drove to the drama academy.

But when he messaged Wang Manning, she wasn't in her dorm. She said she'd gone to the gym.

The acting program was strict about students' figures. Even in the stairwells of the classroom buildings, you could see posters about healthy eating and losing weight the scientific way.

Maybe she'd overindulged at New Year. Either way, once she got back to school, Wang Manning had signed up for a gym membership.

As soon as she got his message, Wang Manning grabbed her phone and jogged all the way back to the front of her dorm.

She was in a white tracksuit with her hair up in a high ponytail. The genes in Old Zhang's family weren't bad, and Second Aunt had turned out especially well. Maybe Wang Manning had inherited the best of both her parents, because she was actually very pretty.

But maybe because they were related, Xu Ye didn't see her as a great beauty. It was the same with Wang Yuxin. Even though she'd grown taller and prettier, to Xu Ye she wasn't as cute as before. She'd been cuter back then, with round little cheeks so plump you could practically squeeze juice out of them.

"Cousin, what are you doing here?" Wang Manning was surprised.

Seeing the sweat all over her forehead, Xu Ye pointed at the dorm. "Go change first. Take a shower if you want. We've got time today."

"Are you taking me out?"

"What, you don't want to go?"

Wang Manning laughed. "No, I do. I'll run up first. I got all sweaty just now, so I need to shower. It might take a while."

"That's fine. Your sister-in-law and I will walk around your campus."

"Okay!"

Wang Manning hurried back into her dorm.

Xu Ye and Chen Qingqing went for a stroll around campus.

"Oh, a heads-up. Starting next week, I might have to go out of town on business a few times. If I can make it back on the weekends, I will. If I can't, I'll…