Giving Sister Nian an Old Photo

“Yes, of course.”

Xie Tingyun’s heart almost melted when she found out about Qiao Nian’s background. How could she bear to disagree?

“I didn’t mean to force you into agreeing,” Xie Tingyun said, looking at her with gentle eyes. She rummaged through a drawer on the bedside table and took out a box. Opening it, she took out an old, yellowed photograph, handing it to Qiao Nian. “Nian Nian, this is for you.”

Qiao Nian lowered her eyes and took the photo. The photo pictured a high-spirited young woman.

It was an old, yellowed photo.

A total of six people were pictured in the photo.

One of them was Xie Tingyun.

The man in a green Chinese tunic suit was familiar. She vaguely remembered seeing him once at the First Research Institute. He seemed to be Ji Ziyin’s teacher, Gu Hengbo. Standing in the middle was a young woman. The young woman was outstanding and smiled at the camera in an obviously elegant and carefree manner.

—Ji Qing.

Even if Xie Tingyun didn’t tell her who this person was, Qiao Nian still had a strong feeling in her heart. That feeling came from the throbbing of blood.

She noticed the woman right away.

Xie Tingyun knew that Qiao Nian didn’t want to have anything to do with the Ji family, so she didn’t say it explicitly. She said vaguely, “This photo was taken when we were young.”

She fell into her memories. “At that time, everyone was very young. No one expected things to end up like that. In the end, only this photo was left as a memory.”

Qiao Nian didn’t comment and put the photo away.

Xie Tingyun’s sadness faded like a tide. She smiled and said, “Nian Nian, I don’t mean to force you. No matter if you agree or not, I’ll always be your Auntie Xie.”

“Okay.” Qiao Nian nodded and didn’t give her an answer directly. Her heart was still a mess and she didn’t understand her feelings well.

Nan Tianyi, who was in the middle to mediate the atmosphere, immediately interrupted with a smile. He helped Xie Tingyun up and said, “We’ll talk about it another day. Let’s eat. Let’s go.” Xie Tingyun knew that Qiao Nian had just returned from the research institute and was treating her without stopping. She must be extremely tired.

Blaming herself for being too anxious, she held Qiao Nian’s hand and said softly, “Let’s go and eat first.”

The old butler prepared a table full of dishes.

However, Qiao Nian didn’t have a good appetite.

She didn’t show it, but she didn’t pick up her chopsticks often. However, she still accompanied Nan Tianyi and Xie Tingyun for the entire meal.

Xie Tingyun asked about her situation at the research institute. Xie Tingyun was a little surprised when she heard that Qiao Nian had entered the Level 8 laboratory.

However, she didn’t ask further. She went to the study to get two more books and handed them to Qiao Nian.

One was ‘Quantum Engineering’, and the other was ‘Semiconductor Physics’.

They were heavy.

Xie Tingyun didn’t say anything else after handing her the books. She only said gently and elegantly, “Nian Nian, read these two books.

“They are considered entry-level. Call me if you encounter anything you don’t understand. I’m free anytime. I’ll explain it to you.”

At this point, a rare look of confidence and calm appeared on her usually sickly face.

Xie Tingyun smiled slightly. She was very reserved, but she couldn’t suppress the pride in her bones. “Other than your current mentor, I can barely be considered one of the people in the independent continent who can teach you now.”