The Delicate Darling with Her Rough Man

"Jiaojiao, make yourself at home."

Zhu Wanqi led Gu Jiaojiao into the house and gestured to a nearby sofa chair for her to sit down.

The two of them sat down and exchanged a look—one was calm, the other awkward.

Gu Jiaojiao was the calm one.

Although she had come to ask Zhu Wanqi for help, she was only trying her luck. If it really didn’t work out, she would just let it go.

Zhu Wanqi was the awkward one.

Just yesterday, Zhang Tianming had told her not to approach Leng Yuan.

Besides, Lu Yuanbin’s situation was rather thorny, and there was truly nothing she could do to help.

That was why when they looked at each other, Zhu Wanqi was both awkward and sheepish.

Gu Jiaojiao was the one who had helped her with her skin, and now that Jiaojiao had finally asked for a favor, she couldn’t help in the slightest.

Gu Jiaojiao didn’t read too much into it. She turned, about to take out the face masks she had brought, but Zhu Wanqi suddenly stood up. "Let me go wash some fruit for you."

Before Gu Jiaojiao could say anything to stop her, Zhu Wanqi had already disappeared into the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Zhu Wanqi took her time washing the fruit and then poured two glasses of water.

When she couldn’t stall any longer, she finally went back out.

Gu Jiaojiao had already placed the face masks on the table. Ordinarily, Zhu Wanqi would have been ecstatic to see them, but thinking of the favor Gu Jiaojiao was about to ask, she couldn’t feel happy at all.

However, Zhu Wanqi wasn’t one to beat around the bush. She took two sips of water and decided to address the issue head-on.

"Jiaojiao, I know why you’re here, but I really can’t do anything about this."

Gu Jiaojiao was taken aback. She hadn’t expected Zhu Wanqi to know why she had come. Still, she felt a pang of disappointment at such a direct refusal.

She had been about eighty percent confident, so she was surprised to be turned down before she could even say anything.

Nevertheless, Gu Jiaojiao rallied her spirits. "If it’s too much trouble, then let’s just forget it. I’ll figure out another way to handle the school’s problem."

Zhu Wanqi spoke at the same time. "You don’t understand. The An Family has very powerful connections. I really can’t do anything about Lu Yuanbin’s situation."

They both finished speaking at the same time, then froze in unison before speaking again simultaneously.

"The school?"

"Lu Yuanbin?"

In the end, Zhu Wanqi was the first to break the silence. "Jiaojiao, didn’t you come here to ask me about Lu Yuanbin?"

Gu Jiaojiao shook her head.

"No, it’s about the school. The desks are just repaired old ones, and the stools were donated by the students’ parents. After a few years, they’re almost all broken. The principal keeps applying for new desks and chairs, but the requests are never approved."

"The principal is preparing to pay for them out of his own pocket. Most of his salary already goes toward covering equipment costs. This time, he’s planning to do it again, but we need hundreds of sets of desks and chairs, which is a huge expense. That’s why I came to try my luck with you."

Zhu Wanqi hadn’t known about this, but she did know the person in charge of approving such requests.

"Oh, so that’s what this is about."

She said, a little embarrassed, "I thought it was about Lu Yuanbin. It was a misunderstanding."

"Don’t worry about the school. I’ll personally take care of it this afternoon."

Gu Jiaojiao also knew about Lu Yuanbin’s situation. Leng Yuan had told her to just wait for news, so she hadn’t asked any further questions.

Besides, the matter involved the An Family. While she and Zhu Wanqi were on friendly terms, their friendship wasn’t strong enough for her to ask Zhu Wanqi to go up against the An Family for her sake.

Still, she was somewhat surprised.

After all, if it had been about Lu Yuanbin, she would have been fully prepared to be turned away at the door, yet Zhu Wanqi had still let her in.

It meant that Zhu Wanqi was still willing to help, as long as it was within her power.

That in itself was surprising enough for Gu Jiaojiao.