The security guard promptly apologized and offered several bows to Cheng Wei before ushering her in. “Please come inside, Miss Cheng. I apologize for my lack of courtesy, I hope you can forgive me.”

Cheng Wei almost scoffed, but she settled for a haughty smile. She walked through the door that the guard had opened for her and walked inside.

Liu Liang was quick to come up next to her. He chattered on as he guided her to a seat in the third row from the front.

The Jiangdong Grouphad arranged for the first row to be reserved for their shareholders, while the second row was assigned to the renowned doctors in the country. The third row was for the prodigies in the younger generation.

Cheng Wei learned then thatLiu Lianghad specially arranged for her to be seated directly behindYu Jing.

She looked back at the countless other rows behind her and couldn’t help but grin. This little setup was more than enough to fuel her superiority complex.

So she was still regarded as one of the most brilliant minds of her time. From the looks of it, it didn’t seem like many could even compare to her in terms of skills.

A hint of loneliness came over her eyes, but it was gone in the next second.

It was true what they said; it was quite lonely at the top, at least from time to time.

…

After school that day, Yao Tangwas fetched by a car thatJiang Tianhad sent.

Yu Jing was there, too.

Yao Tang entered the vehicle and glanced at the old man without saying anything.

Yu Jing immediately handed her a cup of milk tea that they had purposely picked up along the way. He was looking atYao Tanglike a little boy eager to please his teacher. “Master, do you think… That is, may we discuss my research report later?”

The girl accepted the drink with an elegant sweep of her hand. She raised a sardonic brow.

“You haven’t finished it, have you?”

Yu Jing shook his head in earnest. “No, no, of course not, Master. It’s just…”

He trailed off with a sigh and looked at his lap in defeat.

Yao Tang paid him no mind and just took a sip of her milk tea. It was mango-flavored pop yogurt. It suited her taste perfectly, and her mood instantly lightened up. “So why, then?” she asked.

Yu Jing pursed his lips, looking rather aggrieved. When he noted her amiable disposition, though, he decided to bite the bullet and tell the truth.

“I—I fear that there might be some errors in my analysis. I don’t want to disappoint you, Master, and…”

He choked up on the last word and struggled to compose himself.

If one didn’t know better, they would think that Yao Tang was bullying this pitiful old man.

Yu Jing pouted and stared down at his lap again.

Unlike most people, he was painfully aware of just how powerful his master was. Her eyes were sharp as a hawk’s. She could pinpoint a mistake with just a single glance at a document.

He would have been fine with getting reprimanded, of course.

Unfortunately, his master had a penchant for bringing up his blunders whenever she fancied.

Yao Tang shot him a wry look and said, “Each mistake will cost you one million yuan, out of your own pocket. Don’t even think about using the research institute’s funds.”

Yu Jing gaped at her in disbelief.

A constant scolding would certainly be better than this!

If his master found even just a handful of errors, his entire pension would be in jeopardy. He would be all wrung out! Yu Jingdoubted if he would even still have tears left to cry then.

Yao Tang cocked her head at the old man and took a long sip of her milk tea.

For quite some time, only the hum of the engine and the sound of slurping could be heard in the car.

Yu Jing had been looking out the window, sulking. When he finally couldn’t take any more of the tense silence, he sneaked a glance atYao Tang.

She caught him in the act and met his wary gaze with a cold, emotionless one of her own.

“Master,” Yu Jingwhimpered. “Surely, you wouldn’t be as cruel to me as last time, right?”

Yao Tang burst out laughing, catching him off guard.

Gone was her aloof expression. She chuckled freely, and appeared to be genuinely enjoying herself.

She nodded at Yu Jing. “Just give me your latest report. Don’t worry, I won’t punish you, even if it’s riddled with mistakes.”