022
The meeting place agreed upon with Peng Yangyang’s creative team was a café with a unique style. Lu Tian and Peng Yangyang took a taxi there together. It was really inconvenient without a car. She decided to find time to buy a car, but parking at school was inconvenient. She didn’t plan to live in the dorm next year; the house under her name was right near the school, so living outside would be more convenient.
After the taxi stopped, the two walked towards the café. A tall, slender man stood outside the café. In the late autumn season, the golden, dazzling morning sun shone on him. The man wore a thin cashmere coat; thin, but he didn’t appear weak. He was facing away from them making a phone call. Hearing their footsteps, he turned his head, revealing a smile capable of overturning all living beings.
“Yangyang, you guys are here.”
“Lu Tian, this is Si Yan,” Peng Yangyang explained to her in a low voice.
Si Yan? Lu Tian remembered this name. Combined with the blindingly handsome appearance she saw now, she was even more convinced that this person was the demon-like male supporting character Si Yan from the original novel—Yu Ningxuan’s future partner and admirer, with screen time second only to Lu Zhengyang. He was a future explosive traffic star, whose peach blossom eyes could easily hook the souls of thousands of young girls.
“Is he an actor?”
Peng Yangyang nodded and introduced them to each other: “He is our male lead, Si Yan. This is Lu Tian, our new investor.”
Lu Tian began to wonder why the previous investor stood them up. With Si Yan there, were they afraid the movie wouldn’t be a hit?
“The previous investor was Si Yan’s sister. Their family isn’t willing to let him work in this industry, so they ordered his sister to withdraw the investment.” Peng Yangyang was very sad; she and Si Yan were in the same boat—if they didn’t do well in what they liked, they would have to go back and inherit the family business.
Si Yan’s appearance was very enchanting. His superficial personality was very well-behaved, but inside he was a black-bellied demon, purely relying on his harmless appearance to confuse the masses. After greeting Lu Tian normally, he smiled slightly, possessing massive lethality.
“So that’s how it is.” The original novel didn’t describe the roommates’ lives; the world’s focus revolved around the female lead. If the original owner hadn’t cooperated with Peng Yangyang, without funds, their movie might have been aborted, or they might have scraped together funds to shoot it silently, which was why Yu Ningxuan was able to dig up this treasure later and become famous in one stroke.
The creative team sat together to introduce ideas and plans. Lu Tian wouldn’t easily intervene in things she wasn’t good at. Moreover, from the moment she met Si Yan, this investment became a playful experiment. She wanted to test if this world operated according to the real world or revolved around the female lead alone, and to see if Si Yan could explode in popularity without relying on the female lead.
Si Yan pushed a cup of coffee in front of Lu Tian, his eyes full of pure smiles.
Lu Tian knew this person wasn’t as harmless as he appeared, but she still returned a smile, took a sip of coffee, and focused on listening to Peng Yangyang talk about the movie shooting schedule.
If the funds were in place, they could start shooting very soon. Plus, with the winter break coming up shortly, they had plenty of time to finish shooting before the Spring Festival. As for the issues of censorship and release, they would rely on Peng Yangyang’s father’s company to complete them. In short, they would soon be able to see the test results.
“Lu Tian, believe me, I definitely won’t let you lose money.” Peng Yangyang pushed the glasses on her nose and tried hard to promise.
Lu Tian never doubted Peng Yangyang’s ability. She raised her coffee cup and clinked it with hers: “Of course I believe you. Here’s to our success!”
Peng Yangyang felt relieved of a heavy burden and was full of confidence. Lu Tian watched in a daze. She had traveled into a book and become a living person, not an NPC with programmed settings in a game. The world outside the plot was indeed colorful.
——
“Mr. Meng, Miss Lu has recently been investing in a movie.” Song Ci dutifully reported Lu Tian’s dynamics to Meng Jingdong. It was the first time he had seen his boss pay such attention to a girl. Song Ci was extremely curious but dared not ask about his boss’s private affairs.
Meng Jingdong was somewhat surprised. He clicked open the information Song Ci sent. Although the movie she invested in was low-budget and the planning team was all rookies, at least they were professionals and fairly reliable. He just couldn’t figure out what Lu Tian was doing.
Lu Tian had changed a lot and very quickly, and she was frank and undisguised. Meng Jingdong couldn’t imagine why she changed, but he gradually became curious about her. He instructed Song Ci to pay attention to her current situation, not just because of Lu Chengyang’s request.
He picked up his phone, found Lu Tian’s number, and dialed it without hesitation. The other side picked up quickly. Lu Tian’s voice contained heavy panting. His hand shook, and he subconsciously looked at the time—Saturday, 10 AM. Was she…
“Did I disturb you?”
“Is something wrong?”
They spoke in unison. Lu Tian didn’t know Meng Jingdong’s thoughts had gone astray over there. She got off the treadmill, wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel, and listened to him while stretching her legs.
Meng Jingdong coughed lightly to cover up: “It’s like this. My uncle is returning to the US for a while tomorrow. He heard my parents mention you and wants to meet us for dinner on the weekend evening. I wanted to ask if you have time?”
“Sure, today or tomorrow works.” These were all contents agreed upon in the contract that needed to be fulfilled. Lu Tian agreed readily.
“Thank you,” Meng Jingdong said somewhat unnaturally.
Lu Tian realized it belatedly and said somewhat conspicuously, “I was running just now…”
“Okay, then I’ll pick you up tonight.” Meng Jingdong wanted to nod, but remembering the other party couldn’t see, he quickly changed to speaking, his ears slightly hot.
“Tell me the address. I bought a car, I’ll drive there myself.” Lu Tian didn’t like being taken care of all the time; it reminded her of when she was a heart patient, protected like a glass doll.
Meng Jingdong had no objections. He hung up the phone and sighed lightly, continuing to bury his head in work. Song Ci pricked up his ears but didn’t hear any useful content, so he had to pick up his documents and slip away quietly to avoid being caught eavesdropping by the boss.
Lu Tian hung up the phone and continued running. After a while, she imagined Meng Jingdong’s expression and tone when answering the phone, laughing until her stomach hurt, almost falling off the treadmill.
“Sister, what are you laughing at?” Little Zou Fan next door looked terrified, thinking she had gone crazy.
“Little kid, you don’t understand!” Lu Tian turned off the treadmill, still laughing non-stop, startling Tian Jing who came upstairs to see her.
Tian Jing smiled and said, “I haven’t seen you laugh like this…”
Lu Tian waved her hand, stifled her laughter, and returned to a serious look: “I just had a phone call with Meng Jingdong.”
“Really, calling him by his full name, that’s too impolite!”
“He calls me that too. Calling just the first name is too mushy; I can’t bring myself to do it.”
Tian Jing was helpless: “Whatever you want, as long as Little Meng has no objections, you two can do whatever you want! But you’re either at home or at school all day, why don’t I see you and Little Meng go on dates?”
“We do date. He just called to ask me out for dinner tonight.” Lu Tian decided to quickly tidy up a house and move in. If she stayed at home all the time, they would definitely suspect things between her and Meng Jingdong.
Tian Jing frowned slightly. She always felt Lu Tian was too casual with Meng Jingdong, not at all like a couple who had already gotten a marriage license.
“You guys…”
However, before Tian Jing could start, she was interrupted by Lu Tian: “Mom, you’re at home a lot lately. Is there nothing busy at the company?”
She hinted again. Tian Jing usually spent her weekends at the company and rarely relaxed at home. Now she even frequently called her home for dinner. It was obvious she wanted to talk about Lu Chengyang, but she always hesitated and dared not speak, afraid of hurting her. Sometimes Lu Tian felt anxious for her.
“You have an opinion on me taking a vacation at home? Your stepfather is still at the company.” Tian Jing was indecisive. After associating with the Gu family, there were many more people to meet than before. Lu Tian’s background could arouse suspicion at any time. Moreover, the Meng family was old friends with the Lu family. Piercing the veil of that year’s events only required a thin layer of paper, but she was afraid her daughter couldn’t accept it.
Lu Chengyang recovered well after the surgery. Tian Jing met him once. They discussed matters concerning Lu Tian. Regardless of whether she recognized the Lu family or not, she should be told the whole truth about back then, and the choice should be hers to make.
Tian Jing took a deep breath, coaxed Zou Fan who was playing aside to leave, held Lu Tian’s hand, and spoke after hesitating again and again.
“Lu Tian, I want to talk to you about your father.”
Lu Tian hummed a response, stopped stretching, sat up from the yoga mat, and looked up at Tian Jing sitting on the sofa.
“He, he… I met him. He knows about you. I… I never told you who… who he is.” Tian Jing pondered for a long time but still stammered.
Seeing her so nervous, Lu Tian couldn’t bear it. After thinking about it, she took the initiative: “Mom, just say it directly. I’m mentally prepared. I used to think he was dead. No matter how scary it is, it can’t be scarier than a dead person coming back to life, right?”
Tian Jing sat there, hands clasped, in a very formal posture: “Lu Tian, Mom hopes you understand that all this is for your own good. We didn’t mean to hide it from you.”
“Okay.” Lu Tian agreed. Adults always claimed it was for the child’s good, but who knew if it was actually good for the child?
She looked very calm. Tian Jing nervously told the truth: “Actually, you’ve already met him. It’s…”
“It’s Lu Chengyang, right?” Lu Tian calmly said the name.
Tian Jing looked at her in surprise: “How did you know?”
“You hesitated so much and said I knew him. I connected the dots with recent events and guessed casually. It seems I guessed right.” Lu Tian said without blushing or skipping a beat. Indeed, she guessed it, but she guessed it a long time ago. She would never tell Tian Jing what she had done using this matter.
“Then… what do you think?”
Lu Tian shrugged: “I grew up this big with or without him. It doesn’t matter if I know or not.”
“Then do you… still hate him?” Tian Jing asked with a trembling voice, “Will you hate me for never telling you the truth?”
Lu Tian stood up from the yoga mat, knelt on the sofa, and hugged her: “No, I love you very much.”
Tian Jing hugged her back, tears streaming down her face. In the years when they depended on each other, she always thought Lu Tian was a gift left by heaven for her alone, wanting to possess her solely. Now, this treasure still belonged to her.
Recommended Reads
![Those Years When the Son of Destiny Was Severely Scammed [Quick Transmigration]](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/QUICK-TRANSMIGRATION1-214x300.jpg)
the new uploads of chapter 22 parts 1, 2, and 3 are just the exact same content as chapter 21 split into three. It’s not actually a new chapter
Hi, thank you so much for letting me know! There’s indeed a mistake. I’ve changed it. I think I might review it again. There was a mistake in the numbering of the raws.