008
Han Yifan was a handsome, wealthy, and talented man. Standing at the bottom of the girls’ dormitory building, he was undoubtedly a magnet for attention. Though not a student of this university, a few people knew him—he was the famously brilliant and handsome student from the neighboring school. He was going abroad for further studies next year, leaving countless girls lamenting the loss of their beloved school heartthrob.
Yu Ningxuan was originally supposed to go abroad with Han Yifan. Their pairing, a golden boy and girl together, was considered a model relationship in their circle. But all this was shattered after Lu Tian exposed the truth about their baby swap. Even though the original owner (Lu Tian’s perspective) was the victim, overly aggressive victims are rarely endearing. A high-ranking pearl falling into the mud evokes more sympathy; in the eyes of others, the original owner was just a petty, triumphant person.
What happened when Han Yifan came to the university to find the original owner is glossed over in the original story. The original owner had a slight affection for Han Yifan and engaged in a brief, ambiguous relationship with him despite her marriage to Meng Jingdong. This was discovered by Meng Jingdong, leading to a complete break. Yu Ningxuan, meanwhile, dumped Han Yifan to meet her “sugar daddy,” while Han Yifan later had a life-altering argument with his mother over his lost relationship with Yu Ningxuan, resulting in lifelong regret.
Lu Tian, in her ten-centimeter heels, stood before him. Already 1.69 meters tall, she could almost meet his gaze.
“What do you want?”
Han Yifan disliked this woman. If she hadn’t exposed the baby swap at their engagement ceremony, his relationship with Yu Ningxuan would have continued, and any later revelations wouldn’t have significantly affected them. But she did…
“Lu Tian, you exposed the truth at my engagement with Xuanxuan. Didn’t you consider Xuanxuan’s feelings? You were best friends!”
As soon as he spoke, Lu Tian looked at him with a condescending, almost patronizing gaze, leaving Han Yifan feeling incredibly uneasy. He tried to maintain his composure. “What? Did I say something wrong?”
“Firstly, Yu Ningxuan and I were no longer friends; otherwise, you two wouldn’t have become a couple. Secondly, you think I shouldn’t have revealed the truth? Should we have just endured Yu Ningxuan’s extremely difficult grandmother?”
“You could have chosen a more subtle approach!”
Lu Tian raised an eyebrow. “Why? Since we were going to expose the truth, we couldn’t be behind-the-scenes heroes. Should we have let everyone believe that Yu Ningxuan’s mother was the real Gu family heiress after the reunion? Why should I consider your feelings?”
In his twenty-odd years, Han Yifan had never argued with a girl, especially not one as sharp-tongued as her. His face flushed crimson as he stammered, unable to find the right words.
“Yu Ningxuan wants to break up with you, yet you come to me? Am I your matchmaker? Am I responsible for you two?” Lu Tian stepped closer, her eyes playful as she stared into Han Yifan’s. “You don’t try to win back Yu Ningxuan, but you come to me? We go to the same school; her dorm is just one building away from mine. Aren’t you afraid people will see you and say you’re a gold digger, that you only came to pursue me, the real Gu family granddaughter, after learning about Yu Ningxuan’s identity?”
“Who’s pursuing you? You, a girl, shouldn’t talk like that…”
Before he could call her shameless, Lu Tian sneered, taking another step closer. “Want to insult me? Believe me, I dare to hit you.”
“You… you’re unreasonable!”
“I think I’m perfectly reasonable! You’d better disappear from my sight, or I can’t guarantee what I’ll say to Yu Ningxuan! Of course, I won’t ruin my reputation for you, but I can make you look really bad. Want to try a hundred ways to make your ex-girlfriend lose trust in you?”
Han Yifan looked at her in disbelief. “Lu Tian, you’ve changed…”
“That’s right, only you haven’t changed,” Lu Tian coldly snorted. (She thinks he’s a mama’s boy!) She didn’t want to enlighten him. With a flick of her hair, she clicked away in her high heels.
Han Yifan, feeling humiliated, stood downstairs for a while before slinking away.
Back in the dorm, Lu Tian faced her curious roommates and succinctly explained, “He came to seek revenge.”
“Oh, he didn’t do anything to you, did he?”
“In public? What could he do?” (Though he might have developed a fear of arguing with her.)
The roommates were relieved and went back to their own activities. Lu Tian took off her shoes, settled into a comfortable position, and started using her phone. Just as she opened a game app, a phone call came in. Seeing the caller ID, she immediately sat up straight, causing He Lianchen to glance at her several times.
“It’s me.” A low, magnetic voice came from the receiver.
Lu Tian cleared her throat. “Say it, I’m listening.”
“Are you free after ten o’clock tomorrow?”
Lu Tian checked her schedule. She only had classes before ten o’clock tomorrow. He must have checked her schedule beforehand. “No.”
“Okay, I’ll pick you up at 10:30 tomorrow.”
Lu Tian agreed. Before he hung up, she asked, “Is there anything I should pay attention to regarding my attire?”
Meng Jingdong was clearly surprised and paused before saying, “No, wear whatever you like.”
He quickly hung up. Lu Tian returned to the dorm. She didn’t like taking calls in the dorm, nor did she want her roommates to see her less confident side. She laid out her clothes, finally choosing a demure, dark green dress.
He Lianchen, engrossed in her novel, glanced at her, studying her outfit. “Lu Tian, when you bought this dress, I wanted to ask—is this for meeting the parents? You’re so well-behaved?”
“Am I usually not well-behaved?” Lu Tian retorted, fixing her hair in a bun. The dress, with sleeves to the elbow, a high neckline, and a skirt that fell below the knee, was indeed fresh and demure.
“Not this well-behaved, anyway.” He Lianchen returned to her novel. Jiang Feifei was immersed in gossip, while Peng Yangyang, focused on her studies, glanced at Lu Tian preening in the mirror and concluded that she definitely had a date.
That night, Lu Tian washed up early, applied a face mask, and was about to start her skincare routine when she received a video call from Tian Jing. She answered, putting on her earphones.
“Sister, are you a ghost?” Zou Fan walked by, making a ghost face at the camera before running off.
Lu Tian threatened to hit her but couldn’t make any large movements because of her face mask. Tian Jing gently looked at her face and then asked, “Did you…”
“Did you return the two hundred thousand I gave you?”
“Yes,” she replied nonchalantly, seemingly unconcerned about the two hundred thousand.
Tian Jing found this strange. “You have money now?”
Lu Tian glanced at her roommates and mouthed, “Gift.”
“Well, I do have quite a bit of money, but you don’t need to pay me back. Giving it to you was a gift, not a loan,” Tian Jing reflected on whether she had been too strict in the past, causing Lu Tian to envy Yu Ningxuan and silently expose this matter.
“Oh, I’m self-sufficient now; I don’t need the money,” she said. “When I said it was a loan, it was a loan. I can earn my own money; I won’t be a freeloader.”
“Okay, if you ever need money, be sure to tell me.”
Lu Tian raised her hand in a gesture of promise. They chatted for a while longer before ending the video call. She threw down her phone to remove her face mask, but Tian Jing felt uneasy. She casually opened Lu Tian’s Moments to check her status. Recent posts were all about sharing what delicious food she had eaten, with Zou Fan crying and begging her to bring some back. She scrolled down slowly, but then saw a familiar name, and the smile on her face gradually froze.
Lu Chengyang… How long had it been since she’d heard that name?
She clicked on the detailed post where students were praying for Lu Chengyang’s recovery. She covered her mouth in disbelief. “How could this be?”
**
Lu Tian woke up early and went to class with her roommates. She was absent-minded throughout the two classes. After class, she gave her textbook to He Lianchen to take back and, with her bag slung over her shoulder, slowly walked towards the school gate, aiming to arrive at the entrance precisely at 10:30.
However, the lecture hall was close to the school gate, and she quickly reached the meeting point. While hesitating between going to a milk tea shop or waiting by the roadside, a black car quietly pulled up in front of her. Song Ci, Meng Jingdong’s assistant, was driving.
Had Meng Jingdong not come? She breathed a sigh of relief, opened the back door, and prepared to get in. But she saw him in a suit, his posture straight, a laptop resting on his lap.
“Maybe I should sit in the front.”
Meng Jingdong glanced at her, but before he could speak, she obediently got into the car. A hint of doubt flashed in his eyes, but he wasn’t a talkative person, especially not with Lu Tian. His gaze returned to the computer screen.
Lu Tian sat in the car without looking around. The backseat was silent. Song Ci, who had planned to make some small talk, remained silent. The morning traffic was smooth, and they quickly arrived at the First People’s Hospital. Meng Jingdong closed his laptop and looked at Lu Tian, but Lu Tian’s gaze was caught by an ambulance, and she didn’t notice his scrutiny.
“It’s my uncle, my aunt’s husband, who’s sick. He’s always been good to me. We need to appear harmonious in front of him. Do you understand?”
Lu Tian understood. “It’s a show of affection, then.”
Meng Jingdong nodded. “Exactly.”
As they approached the ward, Meng Jingdong gave a cue. Lu Tian, without any hesitation, linked her arm with his, a standard polite yet gentle smile playing on her lips. Meng Jingdong twitched his lips. He was starting to not understand Lu Tian at all.
The upper floors of the hospital were quiet. Only the sound of Lu Tian’s high heels clicking on the floor echoed—a rhythmic tap-tap-tap.
Meng Jingdong stopped at a ward door and looked at her. Lu Tian gave him a look, signaling that she was ready. He opened the ward door. The room was quiet, everything was white, and there was a faint smell of disinfectant in the air. Lu Tian felt a little uneasy; despite her frequent hospital visits, she didn’t like the smell of disinfectant.
A man was lying on the bed. As they drew closer, Lu Tian could see his general features. She found him somewhat familiar but couldn’t remember where she had seen him before. Getting closer, she saw the man’s furrowed brow and sweat-dampened temples. He seemed to be sleeping restlessly.
At this moment, Lu Tian recognized him—the visiting professor at East University, the one He Lianchen and the others mentioned who had leukemia—Professor Lu. But Professor Lu was Meng Jingdong’s uncle! She suddenly felt the world was incredibly small.
Author’s Note:
Due to yesterday’s events, this chapter is a bit late. Tomorrow’s update will be normal, at 6 PM.