Zhang Jingdong lovingly ruffled her hair, "Silly girl, if I didn't truly love you, how could I always treat you so well?"
Li Yiran gave a sweet smile and suddenly leaned in to whisper in Zhang Jingdong's ear, "I have a little surprise for you too."
Zhang Jingdong was intrigued, "Oh? What surprise?"
"Close your eyes too."
"...Okay."
Zhang Jingdong said and closed his eyes.
After five or six seconds passed, Li Yiran still hadn't told him to open them.
Zhang Jingdong was just wondering when he suddenly realized what Li Yiran's surprise was.
"Congratulations, Host, for successfully getting the target to complete their studies in a special environment, reward: 1 million yuan!"
Half an hour later, Zhang Jingdong finally opened his eyes.
Li Yiran wiped the fragrant sweat from her forehead and asked, "Do you like this surprise?"
Zhang Jingdong nodded with a grin, "I like it! I really like it!"
Li Yiran breathed a sigh of relief and then leaned against Zhang Jingdong's shoulder with both shyness and joy.
The two lingered affectionately for a while, then Zhang Jingdong said, "Okay, I'll take you back now, so your grandma doesn't worry."
Li Yiran obediently nodded, "Mm."
They then left the room and went downstairs.
Zhang Jingdong drove to the alley entrance, then got out and walked Li Yiran home.
They reluctantly said their goodbyes at her doorstep, and only after watching her go inside did Zhang Jingdong unwillingly return to his car.
He gazed at the ring on his hand for a long time, replaying every detail of the evening with Li Yiran in his mind, a smile of happiness quietly appearing on his lips.
No matter how mature a man is, when he encounters an 18-year-old pure school belle, he always inadvertently reverts to that once immature boy.
Though they may mock such a version of themselves, whenever they recall it, their hearts burn with passion.
He indulged in the memory for a good ten minutes, then restarted the car, heading straight for Spring Breeze Garden.
Half an hour later, as he parked downstairs, Xiao Fei and Lin Shishi happened to be coming out of the building.
After they got in the car, Zhang Jingdong didn't start the car right away but said, "This Friday, I have to go out of town, so tonight and tomorrow night are my last chances to teach you two. I hope you'll give it your all."
Xiao Fei and Lin Shishi were both a little surprised, but they each nodded.
"Yes, Boss Zhang, don't worry, we're fine!"
Lin Shishi echoed, "Don't worry, I can do it!"
Zhang Jingdong glanced at them and smiled while nodding, "I knew you could do it!"
With that, he skillfully maneuvered out of the community.
That night, perhaps to reassure Zhang Jingdong, Xiao Fei and Lin Shishi gave an especially enthusiastic performance on stage, and the audience was thoroughly ignited by them once again!
From the moment they stepped on stage until they exited, the applause and cheers never ceased.
By almost 1 a.m., they first went to a stall to pack some late-night snacks.
Zhang Jingdong originally only asked for six bottles of beer, but Lin Shishi suggested ordering more, surprising him. He then directly ordered two dozen.
Back home, once everything was set on the living room table, they began eating, drinking, and chatting.
Zhang Jingdong said, "Honestly, I was a little worried at first, but after watching your performance tonight, I'm not lying, even if you were performing at the Spring Festival Gala, I wouldn't be worried at all."
Xiao Fei glanced at Lin Shishi and said, "Shishi, let's toast to Boss Zhang and thank him for his personal guidance!"
Lin Shishi gladly said, "One glass isn't enough, let's drink a whole bottle!"
Zhang Jingdong finally couldn't help but say, "Shishi, I sensed something was off with you at the stall, and now you want to drink a bottle in one go, what are you up to?"
Lin Shishi, instead of avoiding his gaze, stared directly at Zhang Jingdong and said meaningfully, "No big deal, you're going on a trip soon, and I still owe you a punishment, so tonight's the night to let loose a bit!"
Zhang Jingdong felt a sudden warmth, "Wow, Shishi, this sudden assertiveness of yours is kind of intimidating!"
Lin Shishi immediately laughed, "Really, this is the first time I've heard you say such things. Boss Zhang, who knew you had moments of fear?"
With that, Lin Shishi suddenly blinked her beautiful eyes, "But it's too late to be afraid now. You brought this upon yourself by provoking me. Tonight you'll learn the price of doing so!"
Zhang Jingdong barely held back his laughter, "Shishi, if you weren't blushing, I might actually be scared of you."
"And now... I'd really like to know what price I'll have to pay?"
Xiao Fei, seeing the opportunity, added fuel to the fire, "Shishi, at this point, he still dares to provoke you. You definitely need to teach him a lesson!"
Egged on, Lin Shishi downed a bottle of beer in one go, then directly grabbed Zhang Jingdong by the collar, "Don't think just because you're a great teacher, today I'll show you who's the real genius!"
She said this and dragged Zhang Jingdong into the bedroom.
Xiao Fei, eager to watch the excitement, followed them into the bedroom.
Honestly, Zhang Jingdong originally thought Lin Shishi was bragging, since she had only studied for three days, including today.
Plus, Zhang Jingdong was sure she had never learned any related knowledge before.
Even if she was a genius, it would be impossible for her to achieve proficiency in such a short time and teach him a lesson.
But to his surprise, Lin Shishi, though average in knowledge, had actually self-studied military tactics.
She spent the entire lesson explaining just one strategy from the "Thirty-Six Stratagems" called 'Pull the Rug from Under the Cauldron', and completely baffled him.
"Congratulations, Host, for successfully completing the teaching in a special environment, reward: 2 million yuan!"
Of course, in the end, Zhang Jingdong pretended to admit defeat to save time.
