Chapter 48: The Real Miss

Chapter 48: The Real Miss

After his date with Ji Mingxiu, Shi Ling once again threw himself into his studies.

He also had to manage the regular testing of the game and launch the second round of internal testing. He was overwhelmingly busy and hardly had any time to interact with Ji Mingxiu. Being able to exchange a word or two with him was considered good enough.

University students tend to have their holidays earlier compared to students in other stages, and even Jing University was no exception.

After nearly half a month of intense review, Shi Ling and his friends finally faced their final exams.

The finals at Jing University were notoriously difficult, so after completing all their exams for the semester, everyone in the 412 male dormitory collapsed onto their beds, not wanting to move a single inch.

Lying on his bed, Shi Ling turned his head to look at the figures on the other three beds. Suddenly, he recalled the day when Fang Lingyun took Mo Jin and Shao Qin to negotiate with Ji Mingxiu at the Ji Family. When they returned, they had also collapsed onto their beds without even turning on the lights.

After lying down for a while, Shi Ling slowly sat up: "I wonder when the results will be out?"

Fang Lingyun turned over on his bed and replied, "I don't know. Why don't you ask Ji Mingxiu? I heard he graduated from Jing University too."

Mentioning Ji Mingxiu made Shi Ling feel that he wasn't quite ready for close contact with him, so he shook his head repeatedly: "Maybe later, let's just wait for the notification."

Fang Lingyun grabbed the railing of his bed and looked at Shi Ling: "Now that the final exams are over, the university dorms won't stay open forever. What are your plans? Are you going to apply to stay on campus?"

However, applying to stay on campus might already be too late.

Moreover, the process for applying to stay was said to be quite troublesome.

Hearing this, Mo Jin and Shao Qin also looked over: "Yeah, Shi Ling, how are you going to spend the New Year?"

Fang Lingyun suggested: "How about you come home with me? There aren't many people at my place during the New Year, so adding one more person won't be an issue, and it might even liven up the atmosphere."

Shi Ling immediately declined: "No, no. You're all spending the New Year with your family. It wouldn't be right to add me to the mix. I'll stay at the studio. Someone needs to keep an eye on it during the holidays anyway."

After thinking about the studio, which had already started official operations, Mo Jin and Shao Qin nodded in agreement: "That's a good idea. The studio has resting areas, and the facilities are quite complete."

Fang Lingyun also nodded: "Indeed. During the New Year, our studio will be closed, so even if the Zhou family wants to cause trouble, they won't be able to find you. That's a good thing."

To be honest, even if Fang Lingyun brought Shi Ling home, it might not be possible to escape the Zhou family. They might even provide the Zhou family with a clear target.

The Zhou family might not be able to directly go to Fang Lingyun's place, but they could still ambush Shi Ling on the way.

Shao Qin said: "On New Year's Day, you might feel a bit lonely, Shi Ling."

Mo Jin didn't quite agree: "A bit of loneliness is good. Every New Year, a lot of people come to my house. I don't know why so many relatives, both familiar and unfamiliar, gather every year. At this time, the last thing I want to do is visit relatives or entertain guests."

Shi Ling waved at the others: "Don't worry. According to the process we set up before, our game will officially launch before the Spring Festival. On New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, I can give the players some special benefits. I'll also need to check the backend feedback and fix bugs. There's always something to do."

After all, during the New Year, Mo Jin and Shao Qin would definitely be at home. It wouldn't be humane to ask them to work overtime at that time.

The game maintenance would have to be handled by him.

Shi Ling sighed and said to Mo Jin and Shao Qin: "After the New Year, your programming team should be set up."

The two nodded hurriedly: "Don't worry. I'll start planning as soon as I board the plane tomorrow."

Shi Ling: "...There's no need to be so urgent. Let's get through the New Year first!"

At that moment, Shi Ling received a call from Senior Jiang.

Shi Ling answered: "Senior, is something the matter at this time?"

Jiang Sijie chuckled on the phone: "What, I can't call you if there's nothing wrong? I heard that your exams are completely over today, so I was thinking of treating you all to a meal before Mo Jin and Shao Qin head home. From the sound of it, you don't want to come?"

Shi Ling looked at the three people on the other beds: "It's not that we don't want to. It's just that we're all lying in bed right now..."

Jiang Sijie nodded understandingly: "I get it, I get it. After exams, you need to lie low for a bit before going out and having fun. I've been through it."

"Just let me know when you all decide on a time. Oh, and I'll also introduce someone to you."

Shi Ling was puzzled: "Who?"

Since it was around the critical time of her graduation, and most of her classmates had gone their separate ways, coupled with the incident of being switched at birth, Jiang Sijie's circle had become very simple.

After knowing her for so long, Shi Ling was only aware of one person in Jiang Sijie's network, her older brother Jiang Sicong.

Why was she introducing someone to them now?

Facing Shi Ling's question, Jiang Sijie seemed a bit hesitant. After a moment of pause, she said: "It's not easy to explain over the phone. You'll understand when the time comes. Just let me know once you've decided."

Although still a bit uncertain, Shi Ling nodded: "Alright, we'll discuss it."

In the end, the four of them decided to set the time for the next noon.

After all, in their current post-exam state, they didn't have the energy to go out and have fun immediately. Mo Jin and Shao Qin lived far away, and their flights were already booked for the next day. It would work out perfectly for them to have a meal and then head to the airport.

——

The next day, when Shi Ling and his three friends arrived at the private room with two packed suitcases, Jiang Sijie was already there.

There was another person with her.

The lighting in the room was a bit dim, so Shi Ling and the others couldn't see very clearly, but they could still make out that it was a very gentle girl. She even took the initiative to greet them when they arrived.

Shi Ling looked at Jiang Sijie.

Jiang Sijie cleared her throat and stood up from her seat: "Let me introduce you. This is my younger sister, Jiang Sisi."

Jiang Sisi smiled at them and greeted them again, "Hello."

Fang Lingyun let out an "Ah" and said, "So this is Jiang Sisi!"

As someone in the second-generation circle who loved gossip, he had been curious about Jiang Sisi ever since the Jiang family's mix-up happened. However, Jiang Sisi wasn't someone who liked to hang around in these circles. She rarely appeared at parties and had only attended the one where the Jiang family officially introduced her to the public. Unfortunately, there were too many people around her at that time, so Fang Lingyun didn't get a clear look.

This was actually the first time he had come face-to-face with Jiang Sisi!

But even though Fang Lingyun was curious about Jiang Sisi, he still couldn't understand why she was here and why Jiang Sijie suddenly introduced her to them.

It wasn't just Fang Lingyun; Mo Jin and Shao Qin were also confused.

Shi Ling thought of a possibility, "Does she want to join our studio?"

Jiang Sijie snapped her fingers at him, "Exactly. Sisi hasn't been feeling great at home, always feeling constrained by some people. She happened to see the job posting our studio put online and knew I was organizing our art team, so she found a way to contact me."

Shi Ling immediately understood, "The package?"

Jiang Sijie nodded, "Usually, it's no big deal if she sends me something, but this time it involved her leaving home. She was worried that if she contacted me and then ran away, people might think I lured her away from the Jiang family, which would leave a bad impression on Uncle Jiang. So, she had to ask Big Brother to pass the package along."

Unfortunately, Jiang Sicong couldn't contact Jiang Sijie directly, so the package ended up in Jiang Sijie's hands through Ji Mingxiu and Shi Ling.

Fang Lingyun was utterly shocked after hearing this.

He looked at Jiang Sijie, then at Jiang Sisi, and shook his head, "Wait, is your family shooting a spy thriller? Why does passing a message have to be as complicated as an underground intelligence station?"

Hearing his description, Jiang Sisi couldn't help but laugh, but she quickly returned to her serious expression, "Not only that, but if I join your studio, there might be some trouble because of the Jiang family, so it's better to clarify this in advance."

Fang Lingyun was shocked, "What kind of trouble? Are they going to shut down our studio?"

Shi Ling remained calm and sat down in a booth, "No need to worry too much. I've already offended the Zhou family, so taking on the Jiang family isn't too daunting. If the Jiang family really wants to do something against our project, we can always have Boss Ji step in."

"As long as the skill level is there, there's nothing to worry about. We have backing."

Fang Lingyun nodded, "Exactly, worst case, I'll go home and call in some favors. The people from the Jiang family targeting you won't include Chairman Jiang, right?"

Jiang Sisi shook her head repeatedly, "Definitely not. If my parents were bad to me, I wouldn't have gone back with them in the first place."

Jiang Sijie added, "As for Sisi's skill level, there's no need to worry. Her foundation in art is quite impressive. I had planned to invite her to do the original artwork for my last thesis project, but unfortunately..."

Too many things happened afterward, both at home and at school, which disrupted her entire project plan.

Fortunately, she met Shi Ling, and even starting over didn't leave her flustered.

Now, this project had become a complete, viable game, not just the small graduation project she initially planned.

Jiang Sijie slammed the table and poured Shi Ling a glass of orange juice, "Come, Shi Ling, I'll toast to you!"

Once everything was clarified, the atmosphere lightened.

Fang Lingyun poured himself a drink and suddenly said, "Hey, with this, both of the Jiang family's young misses are in our studio now?"

Shi Ling's actions paused for a moment, "Should I add Jiang Sicong's contact to the blacklist?"

Jiang Sijie immediately agreed, "Add him!"