Cassie agreed.
When the driver came to pick her up again, there was no one else in the back seat.
He explained, "Young Master went to the company yesterday, coincidentally at the same time as your school dismissal, so he detoured to pick you up."
Cassie didn't say much, just asked softly, "His legs..."
The driver looked at her with a complex expression and then sighed deeply.
"It was close to the Chinese New Year at that time. Young Master came back from abroad to have a reunion dinner with the Old Master, but something unexpected happened... Now, Young Master is paralyzed in both legs and can only use a wheelchair."
He had been a driver in the Qi family for almost thirty years, witnessing Qi Yan's growth. The fate of Qihan was truly heart-wrenching.
Qi Yan's father was notorious for his romantic escapades. Despite having a wife, he frequently had women showing up at the door with pregnancy test reports. Qi Yan's mother couldn't bear this situation and chose to end her life. The Old Master of the Qi family, feeling disappointed with his son, took Qi Yan in, announced that the family fortune would belong solely to Qi Yan, and denied the legitimacy of Qi Yan's father's other children.
But no one expected Qi Yan to emerge out of nowhere.
The Old Master always said that his son was dissolute and useless, bringing disgrace to the Qi family. However, he also claimed that the only good thing his son had ever done was having Qihan.
It turned out that the twist of fate came in the form of a sudden car accident for Qihan.
The larger the tree, the more likely it is to attract the wind. Many people wanted to witness the downfall of a genius.
The driver only shared part of the story. The cause of the accident involving Young Master was complex. On that day, as he was rushing, he drove alone, without any accompanying witnesses. Later, the Old Master received a call and rushed to the hospital. Qi Yan was undergoing surgery, having barely survived, but losing the use of his legs.
The driver, just a salaried worker, couldn't delve too deep into the intricacies of the matter.
"Miss Cassie," he said, "since the accident, Young Master's mood has not been good. If he said anything unpleasant, please don't take it to heart."
"But, we all believe that Young Master's legs will surely get better."
Fortunately, Qi Yan's legs didn't deteriorate to the point of amputation. Even if they recovered, it would still depend on the cooperation of Qi Yan himself.
Tonight's midnight snack was white fungus soup.
The housekeeper's cooking skills were excellent. The lotus seeds melted in the mouth, and the white fungus was stewed to perfection, offering a sweet and delicate flavor.
With this bowl of midnight snack, Cassie felt invigorated and thought she could tackle a few more pages of math problems.
Unfortunately, setting small goals always started with enthusiasm, only to fizzle out later.
She looked at the numerous math problems, and her head began to ache. All these English letters seemed to twist into a jumble, mocking her incompetence.
She tore off the sheet and tucked it into a history book, then held the book and went to the balcony.
Cassie had an excellent memory, having listened to her mentor's recitation in the previous world. Learning the knowledge from the liberal arts should be a breeze for her.
However, transforming that knowledge into scores was another challenge.
Moreover, she was about to face a new death sentence—midterm exams.
Scheduled at the end of the month.
As the weather cooled down, the sea breeze hit her face, making her shiver.
Cassie, holding the book, went to the kitchen to put the bowl away and poured herself a glass of water.
The living room light was still on.
The crystal lamp cast a soft orange glow on the man, highlighting his figure gently. He kept his head down, concentrating on flipping through the documents. When he heard the footsteps coming downstairs, he glanced faintly in her direction.
The little girl, holding a history book, seemed a bit dazed, as if stunned by his sudden appearance.
How oddly cute.
After the car accident, Qi Yan reduced his interactions with others. Their eyes carried too much—glee, sympathy, and pity.
Only this little girl had clear, watery eyes.
The clock on the wall pointed to half-past twelve.
Cassie circled around him, placed the history book on the table, and poured herself a glass of water.
The test paper tucked into the book fell to Qi Yan's feet.
Before Cassie could react, he had already bent down, his long fingers picking up the thin paper. "Math?" he asked.
Cassie: "..."
"Oh my, leave me a little dignity," she thought.
The paper was filled with basic high school math problems. In the past, Qihan wouldn't spare them a glance, as he was about to graduate from the finance department at this age.
He just glanced over it, and his eyebrows slightly furrowed. "Why so many mistakes?"
Cassie: "..."
She would use a red pen to correct each column after finishing it, making it convenient for her to grasp the knowledge promptly. Unfortunately, she wasn't familiar with this knowledge point, so the situation looked disastrous. Constant failures in the beginning resulted in a sea of red crosses.
The girl's face turned into a bun, the corners of her eyes were red, as if she was about to cry.
Qi Yan's heart trembled slightly.
No wonder they always said they wanted to pinch her cheeks.
She had baby fat, and when she smiled, she even had two dimples. Her curly bangs bent playfully into curls, cute and charming.
His tone unconsciously softened. "You don't know any of them?"
Cassie softly said, "Um."
Limited by the resources she could utilize, she could only learn from scratch. The exercise book naturally looked bleak since she wasn't familiar with the knowledge in the first place.
For the first time facing a setback, she felt a bit aggrieved.
"Starting from tomorrow, come to my room every night at eleven," the man paused and said indifferently, "Now, go to bed."
Staying up late was not a good choice.
If she couldn't figure it out and blindly consumed time, she would only be wasting her own time.
Maybe feeling that his tone was too harsh, Qi Yan turned his wheelchair to her side, handing the test paper to her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to mock you."
She obediently uttered an "okay."
Black hair hung in front of her eyes like soft satin.
He almost couldn't suppress the impulse to reach out. He felt that they were getting too close, and the sweet fragrance on her body was overwhelming, making it hard to distinguish whether it was a sweet scent or the clean fragrance of shampoo.
Qi Yan squinted his eyes slightly, suppressing the surging inkiness in the depths of his eyes.
A little fox accidentally trespassed into someone else's territory. How should he catch this fox?