Chapter 492: Ji Family’s Medal No. 194, Miss Bai’s Rank_2


    Only Ning Yiruo is like a sunflower.


    Ning Xiao reached out to touch the Jade Gourd on his neck.


    **


    Afternoon.


    Bai Lian sat at her desk, the sun nting in through the window.


    To the right were stacks of books, and under a nearby inkstone, a piece of white papery pinned down, inscribed with several lines of shorthand musical notation.


    The room’s door was open, and Ji Heng entered from the courtyard holding a dark, old wooden box in his hands.


    The box was locked with a small padlock.


    “Take a look inside,” said Ji Heng, seeing that she wasn’t doing homework, and he ced the box in front of her and handed Bai Lian the small key. “These are photos of your grandmother.”


    Bai Lian reached out for the key and bent her head to insert it into the lock.<div>


    Ji Heng stood by and watched as she opened the small wooden box.


    What met her eyes first was an old ck-and-white photo of a woman in a traditional cheongsam, dignified and elegant, her features exuding an extraordinary Eastern charm.


    Besides that one, there were many more.


    Almost every single one featured a cheongsam, and a few thin sheets appeared to have been cut from books, newspapers, or magazines.


    They had been well preserved.


    Ji Heng, who smelled slightly of smoke, let his gaze fall on the photos, his turbid eyes revealing hardly any emotion.


    Bai Lian gently flipped through the pile of old pictures, delicately holding the edges of those cut from newspapers, exceedingly cautious in her movements.


    When the old photos had all been looked through, beneath them in the box, Bai Lian saw two small medals.


    The medals seemed quite old, with a letter inscribed in the middle and two small leaves on either side.


    She had never seen such medals before.


    “Just take a look by yourself, don’t take them out,” Ji Heng remarked casually as he saw her handling the medals, then he withdrew his gaze, looking through Bai Lian’s window at the embroidery stand in the courtyard and suddenly said, “I didn’t expect your uncle and your mother, with so many people in the family, to be uninterested in academia. Instead, it’s you. Do you want to go back to the Mu Family?”


    The Mu Family?


    Bai Lian lifted her head, hearing this name for the first time, “The Mu Family?”


    “My biological parents’ house, though I didn’t grow up in the Mu Family,” exined Ji Heng nonchntly, “The Mu Family… they’re researchers, quite formidable in the past, but their situation isn’t too good now…”


    Ji Heng frowned and paused.


    The Mu Family was indeed on a declining path, even though a skinny camel was still bigger than a horse.


    “Oh,” Bai Lian replied, carefully cing the medals and photos back into the box, “No need.”


    She intended to apply for theboratory at the Ma Institute.


    Ji Heng gave Bai Lian a look, not pressing the issue further: “If you change your mindter, let me know.”<div>


    **


    Five in the afternoon.


    Bai Lian packed up her books and picked up her phone to leave.


    Today, she was going to Jiang Fi’s to print out new materials.<div>


    Jiang Fi hadn’t returned yet, and the courtyard was bustling.


    When Bai Lian arrived, Xu Nanjing was sitting in the pavilion talking to Xiao Bingwen, “You’re saying there’s no news of her?”


    “Shuhe is still inmunication,” Xiao Bingwen replied, putting down his teacup and shaking his head, “You know what kind of ce the White Tiger Auction House is. Didn’t Chief Chen say they had to buy their invitation off the ck market initially?”


    Indeed, Backter Street with its foreign powers made even the Xu Family cautious with exerting their influence.


    Xu Nanjing was contemting this when he saw Bai Lian enter. He stopped his conversation and waved at Bai Lian, “Sister Bai Lian.”n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Beside Xu Nanjing, Xiao Bingwen quickly stood up, slightly awkward, “Miss Bai.”


    Bai Lianzily lifted her hand in greeting, not approaching to disturb their conversation.


    Instead, she went straight inside to print her documents upstairs.


    Ming Dongheng, practicing his boxing on the empty lot, stopped when he saw Bai Lian and walked over, “Miss Bai, why didn’t you call me when you arrived?”


    He was a bit chagrined.


    “I know the way,” Bai Lian replied, her voiceckadaisical as she scanned through the files Professor Ma had sent on her phone.


    Seeing Bai Lian heading upstairs, Ming Dongheng didn’t follow.


    He brewed a pot of tea for Bai Lian and ced it on the table in the pavilion, then sat on a nearby stool and turned on his phone.<div>


    As soon as he opened a video, a notification popped up—a blogger was dramatically narrating—


    “[A certain martial arts school in Xiangcheng has been hottely. Today we’re going to scrutinize theponents of this school. Let’s start with the hall master of the school, who is a fifth dan in martial arts. Yes, despite being a hall master, he only holds a fifth dan…]”


    Since Pu Xiaohan’s time, Xingyi Martial Arts School had seen a surge of enrollment, and with the rise of short video traffic, the school also had an official ount, attracting many followers through Pu Xiaohan’s videos.


    A week after “Come Here Friend” was broadcasted, Xingyi Martial Arts School’s poprity had skyrocketed.