26 Is the grade of the transferred student 013 good?_1

"Auntie Song, goodbye."

Bai Lian saw Ji Shaojun come out and politely bid farewell to Mrs. Song.

Mrs. Song stood at the door, watching Bai Lian and the other person leave.

She returned to her car, took out her mobile phone, and after a long while, finally dialed a number.

The call was answered quickly: "Mrs. Song?"

It was Bai Qiming.

Mrs. Song instructed the driver to start the car, "Mr. Bai, I just saw Alian. She came to Beicheng to register her residence, on the 10:35 train. Once she returns, she will no longer be part of the Bai Family. She's just a child in temperament, would you want the butler to pick her up first?"

On the other end of the phone, Bai Qiming put down his pen.

He looked out of the window. It had been nearly ten days since the butler reported Bai Lian's departure, and he had not heard from Bai Lian since then.

In the end, Bai Lian had taken the apprenticeship token with her—a trait quite like her mother's. She would rather ruin it than give anyone else an advantage.

In fact, over the ten days, half of Bai Qiming's anger had dissipated.

But—

"Thank you, Mrs. Song, for informing me of this matter," Bai Qiming retracted his gaze, "but Bai Lian is already eighteen. She can decide for herself whether to stay or leave."

After speaking, he hung up the phone.

The Bai Family was large; supporting one more Bai Lian was not difficult.

But Bai Qiming was also aware of the conflict between Bai Lian and Bai Shaoqi.

If Bai Lian, who had taken the apprenticeship token, were to be brought back now, Bai Shaoqi would inevitably feel uncomfortable.

Bai Qiming was thinking long-term. Now that Bai Shaoke's future looked bright, he couldn't afford to lose the watermelon for the sake of a sesame seed like Bai Lian.

So he could only act as if he hadn't received Mrs. Song's call.

Today was also when he made a choice between Bai Lian and Bai Shaoke, but obviously...

There was no need to choose at all.

The Bai Family.

The Grand Elder, the highest in seniority at the family ancestral home, took some interest in the matter, "Find an auspicious time tomorrow, and remove her name."

"Remove it tomorrow?"

"Of course," the Grand Elder pondered briefly, "make sure to let Shaoqi and Shaoke know."

Erasing Bai Lian's name was a minor matter.

What mattered was to show her siblings the Bai Family's stance.

Making a simple mark to erase a name was, after all, nothing noteworthy to them.

**

Elsewhere.

Although Mrs. Song had anticipated it, she still sighed softly upon hearing Bai Qiming's words.

She had phoned Bai Qiming not only to inform him of Bai Lian's whereabouts but also to see what Bai Qiming would decide.

Mrs. Song took out her mobile phone, thinking that Song Min should be in class by now, and just sent a WeChat message—

[Come home early tonight, I have something to tell you.]

Song Min usually stayed with Bai Shaoqi at the library to discuss the challenging problems of the Jiangjing Preparatory Camp.

But when Mrs. Song wanted to see him, he would come straight home after school.

When he returned, Mrs. Song, pruning her flowers, slowly began, "I wanted to talk to you about Bai Lian."

Song Min, looking indifferent, showed no change of expression upon hearing this name, "Her?"

"Yes," Mrs. Song's voice was gentle: "She has officially been removed from the Bai family register. There's the engagement arranged since childhood between you and her. If you have no objections, we'll find a time to speak with the Bai Family and then clarify things with Bai Lian. How about that?"

Song Min didn't even think about it: "Whatever."

Mrs. Song didn't have much of an opinion about Bai Lian; Bai Lian was good-looking.

She had watched Bai Lian grow up since she was a child and had some fondness for her.

But that was all.

Compared to Bai Shaoqi and Bai Shaoke, this fondness seemed insignificant.

Mrs. Song snipped off an excess branch.

Shaking her head, she thought that Bai Lian was still too young and impetuous, not understanding what was truly important.

**

On the train, Bai Lian was also in a very good mood.

Not only did she transfer her residence, but she also resolved the matter with Song Min.

She was well aware that Mrs. Song had specifically stepped off the train to inquire about something.

Ji Shaojun, however, was extremely silent throughout the journey. He had thought that accompanying Bai Lian would mean encountering the Bai Family and hoped that if the Bai Family wanted Bai Lian to return, he could help negotiate terms with them.

But unexpectedly, the Bai Family never made an appearance from beginning to end.

It was nearing eleven at night.

The train finally arrived at Xiangcheng Station.

At this time, the buses had already stopped running, and even taxis were scarce near the station.

The two of them exited the station and were about to look for a taxi on the roadside when upon exiting, Bai Lian saw Jiang He squatting by the road, staring at a tree.

"Why are you here?" Bai Lian approached him and then introduced him to Ji Shaojun, "This is the first friend I met when I came to Xiangcheng."

"Waiting for you. My brother hasn't come back yet," Jiang He looked up, somewhat blankly, "Hello, Uncle."