Chapter 65 Who the hell parked right in front of your father's spot?!

As a major province for civil service examinations, Shandong is never short of anything, and test-prep institutions for graduate school entrance exams and civil service exams are particularly ubiquitous.

Never underestimate a Shandong native's lifelong pursuit of a secure government job, nor underestimate their yearning for higher educational credentials. For instance, in Qingdao's subway stations, the most common advertisements you will see are for Seven-Second Reading and Zhibo College Upgrade Programs.

On a weekend evening, around eight o'clock—prime dinner time—the restaurants on the fourth floor of the shopping mall were packed to capacity. Surprisingly, the newly opened graduate and civil service exam prep institution located in the northwest corner of the fifth floor also had a considerable crowd outside its entrance. As he passed by, Gu Yin noticed several people holding books, standing in the hallway by the door, and silently muttering to memorize the content.

"How truly hardworking." Gu Yin couldn't help but sigh in admiration. To be honest, perhaps because he never had any intention of taking graduate or civil service exams himself and had always been subjected to the class-based prejudices and discrimination from his elders, he occasionally held certain biases against civil servants and public institution personnel.

Yet, he had to admit that everyone who successfully landed such a position deserved respect.

Of course, Chen Yunjin was the exception.

Shaking his head, and feeling an urgent urge to use the restroom, Gu Yin didn't linger. He merely glanced hastily at the institution as he passed by and strode away.

Only...

Not long after he left, a girl wearing a pure black turtleneck sweater and glasses, with a slightly plump figure, emerged from the entrance. She walked out to the hallway, poked her head out, peered far off in the direction Gu Yin had taken, and scratched her head.

"Yan Hua, what's wrong?" a girl's voice came from inside the institution, clear and devoid of any particular emotion.

The bright lights at the entrance of the institution illuminated her face—a very striking, poised, and elegant face with delicate skin, dignified features, and jet-black hair tied back at the nape of her neck, presenting an image of refined grace.

Wearing clean jeans, a white inner top, and a light gray long woolen trench coat, her slender and tall figure exuded an extraordinary aura of elegance.

"It's nothing..." The girl called Yan Hua shook her head and said softly, "I thought I just saw an acquaintance."

"An acquaintance?" The girl glanced in the direction Gu Yin had gone.

"Gu Yin, our high school classmate. Do you remember him?" Yan Hua said casually, "Jiang Xun and I were out shopping a couple of days ago, and she said Gu Yin is doing pretty well these days, even dining with female celebrities."

The dignified girl paused slightly at those words, her gaze briefly losing focus, as if recalling something...

After a moment, she shook her head slightly: "You weren't that close to him anyway. So what if you recognized him?"

"I want an autograph!" Yan Hua said excitedly. "When Xia Qianyi held her concert last summer, I rallied ten friends to help me grab tickets and we still didn't manage to get any. Jiang Xun said Gu Yin seems quite close to her, so maybe he could help me get one."

"Then you could check the alumni chat group. Wouldn't it be more convenient to message him directly?" the girl asked.

"Alas, he quit the group the moment we graduated. You know he was never very social back then..." Yan Hua pursed her lips.

"..." The girl didn't reply, only nodding slightly.

"Forget it, let's not talk about him."

Yan Hua turned to look at the girl, grabbed her arm, and said excitedly:

"Hey, Yu Jie, that idea you came up with for me is simply brilliant. If I successfully pass the exams this time, I won't worship Guanyin Bodhisattva anymore; I'll worship you instead!"

...

When Gu Yin returned, Mengmeng was not there, leaving only Xia Qianyi at the table.

"Where's your pet?" Gu Yin asked.

"Went to the restroom," Xia Qianyi replied.

At some point, a green bottle had appeared on the table—shaped like a liquor bottle, it looked like soju.

"How did you start drinking?" Gu Yin asked, slightly surprised.

"Don't worry, I already paid for it when I took it." Xia Qianyi's look seemed to say, *As if I wouldn't know you're an iron rooster who never plucks its feathers?*

"What do you take me for?" Gu Yin couldn't help rolling his eyes. "Am I really that stingy in your eyes?"

"You probably lack any clear self-awareness." Xia Qianyi picked up a wine glass and poured herself a full cup with her slender fingers. A little was left in the bottle, so the young girl raised her fair, swan-like neck and poured the rest straight into her cherry-like lips.

The warm-toned lighting inside the restaurant shone upon the girl's fair and delicate face, where a faint flush bloomed imperceptibly, making her exceptionally captivating.

"You're blushing from the alcohol," Gu Yin mentally supported his forehead, deciding he couldn't be bothered to argue with a drunkard.

Xia Qianyi let out an unconcerned "Hmph," pushed the glass toward Gu Yin, and asked, "Want some?"

Gu Yin raised his hand to make a "no" gesture, stating, "He who drinks does not drive, and he who drives does not drink."

"What?" Xia Qianyi was stunned, wondering if she had drunk too much and misheard due to bad ears.

"I'm driving!" Gu Yin couldn't help but pinch her ear playfully.

"Oh." Xia Qianyi pouted. To be honest, a female celebrity who had drunk just a little bit was actually quite cute, shedding her usual celebrity airs and idol baggage to reveal a more playful side.

[Wow~]

Many viewers watching the program from Gu Yin's side expressed that they had been sweetened to the core by the goddess.

"Hey..." Suddenly, Xia Qianyi asked Gu Yin, "Can you sing?"

"Is there anyone who can't sing?" Gu Yin thought to himself that the group of old timers in his residential compound yelled every night, and if they had the nerve to say they could sing, Gu Yin certainly had nothing to be embarrassed about.

Xia Qianyi didn't refute him, only asking, "Then can you write songs?"

"Nope," Gu Yin answered naturally, shaking his head.

Xia Qianyi frowned, a tiny crease forming between her brows under the lights. She asked Gu Yin in an exasperated tone, "Then what are all those things you hum blindly all day long?"

"That's just..." Gu Yin was stunned at first, then found it somewhat amusing, and casually replied, "I dreamed them up. Do you believe me?"

"Total nonsense!" Xia Qianyi rolled her eyes so hard she practically looked up at the ceiling.

The two of them chatted back and forth. As it turned out, men always had a habit of keeping their hands busy while chatting, loving to fiddle with things at random. A couple of days ago, Gu Yin had scrolled through a video posted by a college student who said he grew succulents and cacti on his balcony, only for his wicked roommate to unconsciously pinch off all the thorns on the cactus while talking on the phone with his significant other, sticking every single one of them onto the succulent...

Gu Yin had laughed at the guy back then, but now, deep in conversation, he had almost reached out to pick up the wine glass and drink.

"Wok," Gu Yin thought to himself, that was a close one; he almost wouldn't have been able to drive.

"I was so busy talking to you that I forgot the important business." Before leaving after the meal, Gu Yin took out a small pink notebook and handed it to Xia Qianyi.

He had forgotten two important things: one was that his phone was dead and he forgot to charge it, and the other was that he almost forgot to ask for an autograph dedicated to his younger sister.

"What's your sister's name?" Xia Qianyi asked.

"Gu Yue," Gu Yin replied. "Gu as in taking care, and Yue as in joy."

"Better sounding than your name," Xia Qianyi remarked.

Gu Yin: "?"

Even that could be used as an attack?

Fine, the two of them had truly become a bickering pair of comedic enemies.

Amidst laughter and smiles, the meal came to an end. When they reached the underground parking lot, Gu Yin originally intended to take off the camera for the show *Reconciling with Life* pinned to his chest—it was about time, after all—when...

Just as he reached his car and saw the scene before him, he instantly became so furious he forgot all about that matter.

"Who the hell parks their car right in front of your daddy's parking space?!"