Little Graceful Beauty

It was nearly ten o'clock at night when Qin Ning and the other two returned to the villa.

He first took a shower, then went to the living room to guide Qin Fei and the others in their cultivation.

Lately, everyone's cultivation base had been improving quite well.

Especially Qin Fei. With the help of a massive amount of spirit stones from Qin Ning, she was now on the verge of breaking through to the eighth level of the Body Refining Realm.

At this rate, she should be able to attempt a breakthrough to the first level of the Pulse Condensation Realm in less than half a year at most.

The transition from Body Refining to Pulse Condensation was a major hurdle.

It not only meant that spiritual power could be released externally, but one's lifespan would also be significantly extended.

More importantly, only after Qin Fei reached the Pulse Condensation Realm could Qin Ning use certain special methods to infinitely increase her lifespan.

Otherwise, if she remained in the Body Refining Realm, the help Qin Ning could offer her wouldn't be as great as one might imagine.

Besides Qin Fei, Su Xingwan, Cheng Weiyang, and the others were also improving their cultivation at a fast pace.

This was mainly because they could engage in dual cultivation with Qin Ning without any reservations. Now, their strength was roughly on par with Qin Fei's.

In comparison, Wang Er and Xia Fei were lagging quite a bit. To this day, they were still only around the third or fourth level of the Body Refining Realm.

However, even this level of cultivation was enough to grant them power beyond that of ordinary humans.

Without exaggerating, unless missiles were deployed, ordinary technological weapons truly couldn't do a thing to them.

After guiding Qin Fei and the others, Qin Ning had them go cultivate in the hot spring pool in the backyard, while he returned to his room and went to sleep early.

Ring, ring, ring...

Early the next morning, while still fast asleep, Qin Ning was woken up by the ringing of his phone.

He picked up the phone from his bedside table and took a glance. Seeing it was an unknown number, he didn't hesitate and answered it directly.

Hello, Brother...

A slightly timid voice came from the other end of the line. It sounded like a girl around eighteen years old.

Qin Ning was taken aback for a moment.

Because other than Qin Fei, it seemed no one had ever called him that before.

More importantly, he found the voice somewhat familiar.

Quickly, Qin Ning realized who it was and smiled, Is this Lihua?

Mhm, it's me!

On the other end of the phone, hearing Qin Ning call out her name, her face immediately lit up with joy.

Shen Lihua.

This was the daughter of his cousin-uncle, Shen Zhijian.

The last time his sister-in-law Pan Xinran's daughter, Tang Ningfei, had her one-month-old celebration banquet, his cousin-uncle had also attended. He had sought Qin Ning's help to treat his mother, who was also Qin Fei's great-aunt.

Why did you call me all of a sudden? Did something happen? Qin Ning asked curiously.

When they last met, Shen Lihua didn't have a phone yet, so Qin Ning naturally couldn't save her number. He had simply written his own number on a piece of paper and handed it to her, telling her she could call him anytime if she needed anything.

It's just... it's just... she stammered, hesitating to speak.

Just say it boldly if something's up. Your brother can sort it out for you, Qin Ning encouraged.

It's like this, I, I... I wanted to borrow some money from you...

Borrow money? Qin Ning was stunned. You shouldn't be short on money right now, right? Did something happen?

He heard Shen Lihua take a deep breath on the other end of the line. Then, no longer hesitating, she told him the whole story from beginning to end. I came to Jingcheng University to register two days ago...

After listening, Qin Ning learned that she had been admitted to Jingcheng University and had received quite a few scholarships. However, out of filial piety, she had left all the money for her grandmother and father, taking only a small portion for herself before heading to Jingcheng University alone to register.

Tang Zhengwei and his sister-in-law Pan Xinran had also given her a considerable reward.

But Shen Lihua had left all of those rewards at home as well.

During her two days at the university, she had gotten into some conflicts with her roommates, which gave Shen Lihua the idea of moving out and living on her own.

But this was the capital, so rent was inevitably expensive.

The money she had on her was naturally not enough, and she didn't want to ask her family for it.

So she planned to borrow some from Qin Ning first, do some part-time jobs later, and then pay him back.

You don't need to worry about the money. The main issue right now is, you've just started school, so how did you end up in a conflict with your classmates?

Qin Ning frowned slightly, seemingly thinking of something, and then asked, Are you being bullied?

No...

From her voice, Qin Ning could tell that his guess was most likely correct.

Where are you right now? Qin Ning asked.

Shen Lihua replied, At school.

I'll come over in a bit. If you're not busy, wait for me at the gate.

After saying that, Qin Ning casually gave a few more instructions before hanging up.

Soon, he finished washing up and went downstairs, where Qin Fei and the others were getting ready to eat breakfast.

Qin Ning briefly explained the situation, had a quick bite with them, and then headed to the capital city alone.

At the university gate.

About ten minutes after hanging up the phone, Qin Ning appeared there.

Shen Lihua had already been waiting there.

Seeing Qin Ning walking over from a distance, she quickly waved her hand, Brother, I'm over here!

Qin Ning approached and looked her over.

Shen Lihua was wearing a light yellow dress. It wasn't brand new, and one could tell that she had taken great care of it, probably rarely bearing to wear it in the past.

Her hair was tied in twin tails resting over her shoulders, giving her the look of a sweet, humble girl next door.

Have you had breakfast? Qin Ning asked with a smile.

Not yet. She shook her head. I was just about to go eat.

I brought you some. Xiao Fei and the others made it themselves, and it's still hot.

Qin Ning lifted the paper bag in his hand. Inside were two steaming hot steamed buns, a bowl of porridge, and a cup of soy milk.

The two found a place to sit down.

While Shen Lihua was eating her breakfast, Qin Ning asked her, Tell me, what exactly happened? Did those roommates of yours say some nasty things to you?

She kept her head down, using a spoon to scoop the porridge into her mouth.

Hearing Qin Ning's words, her hand paused involuntarily. She remained silent for a long moment before nodding gently and murmuring an agreement.

Although Shen Lihua had always had excellent grades since she was little, coming from a rural background naturally made her a bit timid and insecure in character.

When she was studying in her hometown town, she didn't feel any different because everyone was from the same place.

But now, coming to a place like the capital with new classmates and a new social circle, the inferiority complex in her heart was naturally magnified infinitely.

Moreover, those roommates came from wealthy families. Shen Lihua couldn't interject into their topics of conversation at all. In just two days, she had been isolated, and one of the roommates had even gone too far by calling her nasty names.

Shen Lihua?

Right at that moment, a voice called out from not too far away from the two of them.

At this moment, Qin Ning and Shen Lihua were sitting in a tea restaurant not far from the school, so many students usually chose to come here to eat as well.

Looking ahead, two girls of roughly the same age as Shen Lihua could be seen approaching, dressed in vibrant and gorgeous attire.