Chapter 41 – If You Like It, I Like It Too (3)
Zhong Yuhuan lifted up her fingers, gauged his bangs a little bit and said, "Mm, the other option can also be tying up your bangs."
Li Jinyuan pushed his now wet head closer to Zhong Yuhuan and said, "Then, HuanHuan, tie them up for me."
As they were chitchatting, others returned gradually.
"Okay, we are all registered!"
"Zhong Yuhuan, let's come here together tomorrow!"
"Yeah, together!"
Suddenly, their conversation registered with Li Jinyuan and he turned and looked at the others while asking, "What did you all do earlier?"
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"To register for the class! Same one as you! If I can pick this up, I'll look cool too!"
Li Jinyuan, "…"
Li Jinyuan found it difficult to maintain the smile on him; his eyes dimmed down immediately.
So, he was no longer unique?
If everybody else learned this too, then how could he use this to gain Huanhuan's fondness?
Does that mean he'd lose his advantage with her and would no longer be able to attract Zhong Yuhuan's attention?
Li Jinyuan stood back up and put his mask back on. Smiling at Zhong Yuhuan, he said, "Huanhuan, I am going to practice some more."
"Mm, okay!" nodded Zhong Yuhuan.
The others around her couldn't help but tug her on her sleeve and ask in a lowly voice, "Zhong Yuhuan, how come your brothers always seem so excitable? Aren't you tired around them?"
Zhong Yuhuan felt odd about that too, but quickly she found a reasonable explanation.
Thinking about it for a while, she said, "Perhaps, they appreciate it more as the opportunities didn't come to them easily."
Everybody else was enlightened, "Oh, I see!"
Li Jinyuan went on to practice for two more hours.
When he returned to the sideline of the gym and took off his mask again, his entire face was wet from sweat. Even his hair was dripping sweat.
He smiled and with a tender and innocent look, he said, "Free combat is quite cool too, you want to go check out Huo Chengming also?"
"Free combat is cool?" someone voiced their doubts.
Li Jinyuan said confidently, "Of course, very cool. That belt on your waist makes your legs look longer. And, once you've picked it up, you can send someone flying with just one kick…."
At that age, everybody was always looking for anything exciting to do. Li Jinyuan's words had definitely ignited everyone's interest in free comba.
"Huo Chengming is taking classes in free combat? What time is his class?"
"Why don't you take us to have a look, Zhong Yuhuan?"
"I guess free combat might be fun too…."
Zhong Yuhuan turned and look at Li Jinyuan. Li Jinyuan lifted his hand to wipe away some of his sweat and gave Zhong Yuhuan a most sunny of all smiles.
The lights from the gym casting on him and his sweat seem to be glistening, making his entire person looked like he was sparkling.
Hmm.
Li Jinyuan actually said Huo Chengming was cool taking classes in free combat.
Great!
Does that mean they are finally becoming friendly with each other?
Excellent, it looked like perhaps the male lead and the villain might actually become amicable with each other instead of following the script in the original book.
Then, perhaps she also wouldn't have to follow the script in the original book and face her own tragic death.
Zhong Yuhuan nodded happily, "Okay, we will go check out Huo Chengming tomorrow!"
Huo Chengming, sitting far away in his tutor section, suddenly sneezed.
The girl sitting next to him immediately handed him a pack of tissues. Huo Chengming took a look at it but didn't take it from her.
Chapter 42 – Buckled Knees (1)
Young Master Nan said he was going to go back to school and he truly did, but he didn't even make it to a month before he gave up.
Sacrificing for love was so damn hard!
That was what Young Master Nan thought to himself.
He decisively gave up on his earlier determination, packed up all his stuff, and snuck out of school.
He knew where Zhong Yuhuan attended school; almost the entire Hai City's upper-class kids went there. He drove over to Murphy High School and stood outside of the school. Many of the students recognized him.
Young Master Nan grabbed one of them and asked, "Is Zhong Yuhuan still in class?"
Recently, Zhong Yuhuan was quite well known in her school as well.
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First of all, everybody had already heard of what happened at the Zhong's. Secondly, when Zhong Yuhuan returned to school, a group of students that weren't that close to her now followed her around all over the place, that had made her stand out more in school.
When they heard Young Master Nan looking for Zhong Yuhuan, they immediately told him, "She went over to Lan Yue Plaza."
"I think she went to the third floor."
"Yeah, I think it is a shop called Dongfeng Society on the third floor."
Everybody offered their insight, but they were finally able to provide him with an address.
Dongfeng Society?
What an odd name, thought Young Master Nan to himself.
He then turned around and got back into his car and have the driver took him over to Lan Yue Plaza.
The plaza wasn't too far from the school, so Young Master Nan arrived quite quickly. He got out of the car and quickly went upstairs. Third floor… he checked each shop as he walked and finally arrived at "Dongfeng Society."
Standing outside the shop, Young Master Nan felt a chill down his back.
He could see the big poster on a rack outside the shop. On the poster it said: Offering discount to new students. We offer boxing, free combat, Taekwondo, etc….
But he went inside anyway.
There weren't a lot of people inside. He immediately walked passed a few empty rooms.
The girl from the registration desk followed him and asked him in a low voice, "Hi, would you like me to walk you through the programs that we offer?"
Young Master Nan pushed her aside impatiently and finally stopped in front of the entrance of a large classroom.
The door to the classroom was wide open, and there were quite a few individuals standing or sitting inside.
Young Master Nan looked around. Eh? Weren't those the same kids that were surrounding Zhong Yuhuan at the Nan's banquet last time?
Right then, a side door to the classroom opened up ,and a girl in the white uniform with her hair pulled back into a pony entered slowly.
She lifted her head slightly. With her bright smile, she looked beautiful and imposing. That's how a girl from a prominent family should look, thought Young Master Nan to himself.
Quickly, Zhong Yuhuan walked onto the platform.
This was when Young Master Nan noticed another boy on the other side of the platform. He had grown even taller than the last time he saw him. With a headband across his forehead, he seemed even more like a tower.
When he turned around, one could see that he was covered in sweat. The sweat made his features seemed more prominent, but also made him looked more vicious.
It was the little fart Huo Chengming!
Young Master Nan gritted his teeth.
The trainer announced, "Okay, start!"
Zhong Yuhuan immediately charged at Huo Chengming.
That's when Young Master Nan realized what was going on – the two of them are dueling.
Chapter 43 – Buckled Knees (2)
Zhong Yuhuan had been taking classes with Huo Chengming and been coming to this Dongfeng Society for a while now and had picked up a thing or two, and she has been itching to give her skills a try.
She had originally picked another second-generation rich kid to practice with but for some reason that was overruled by Huo Chengming.
Zhong Yuhuan figured that it didn't really make any difference, who she was dueling with so she ended up dueling with Huo Chengming.
She hadn't noticed at all the presence of Young Master Nan.
All her attention was focused on Huo Chengming. She swung a punch from the left, then immediately one from the right, a step forward and a sweep with her foot….
But Huo Chengming was good at this.
Zhong Yuhuan was never able to hit him and, quite the contrary, she was making herself out of breath.
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"Forgot it! This isn't fun!" said Zhong Yuhuan as she just stood still. A second-generation rich kid immediately ran up and handed her some water.
"Wait," said Huo Chengming.
"Eh?" Zhong Yuhuan didn't take the water but turned to look at him first.
Huo Chengming took a quick step forward and re-tied her belt for her with his head lowered. He noticed that her belt had came loose when she lifted her foot to kick him earlier, and he could almost caught a glimpse of the white tank top she had underneath.
After he was done tying the belt, Huo Chengming stood up straight and said to her, "Okay, now hit me."
Zhong Yuhuan blinked. Feeling a bit dubious, she lifted her hand, balled up a fist, and swung at his shoulder.
Huo Chengming just stood there and let her fist hit him on his shoulder.
"Okay, you win," he said.
Zhong Yuhuan couldn't help but burst out laughing and said, "Do you think I am a child?"
Huo Chengming said, "To make Huanhuan happy."
Zhong Yuhuan couldn't help but giggle some more.
Were the male lead and the villain blessed with special talents from the original writer? Each one of them was doing better than the last at pampering girls at their young age.
Zhong Yuhuan relaxed her fist and said to Huo Chengming, "Chengming ge ge, you are still too skinny. Your bony shoulder hurts my hand."
Huo Chengming took her hand into his. Rubbing it gently, he said to her, "I'm sorry."
A girl said in a high pitch voice next to them, "Ooooh, I want Huo Chengming to be my older brother too! Zhong Yuhuan, let me borrow your brother!"
Zhong Yuhuan turned and looked at her, "Keep dreaming!"
Zhong Yuhuan pulled her hand free and asked, "You going to practice some more?"
Huo Chengming nodded.
Zhong Yuhuan jumped off the platform and said to one of the boys, "Yang Sen, how about you?"
Yang Sen was the one who was mocked by Zhong Yuhuan earlier that he couldn't even afford to buy his own race car models. He immediately jumped up from where he was and, rubbing his fist with his palm, said, "Yes, I will do it!"
He climbed onto the platform as he talked.
Zhong Yuhuan sat on a chair on one side with her bottle of water.
Yang Sen, on the other hand, let out a loud cry like he was in a martial art movie before he charged at Huo Chengming.
Huo Chengming immediately changed into a different person.
Strike, leg sweep, every move of his was crisp.
"THUD!" was the sound of Huo Chengming's fist hitting the sandbag stacked on one side after he had struck Yang Sen but before he could pull his arm back.
The dust that rose up from his punch gave Young Master Nan the creeps.
He was even better now than when he had beat him up.
What about next time?
Last time, his bruises lasted over half a month. Next time, he'd need to be hospitalized!
Suddenly, Young Master Nan's knees buckled.
Chapter 44 – Buckled Knees (3)
On the other side, Yang Sen had thrown in his towel, "Aiya aiya, stop stop stop….. Zhong Yuhuan, stop your brother, quickly!"
Yang Sen rolled off the platform after he finished saying that.
"I think I am going to go back to fencing now," said Yang Sen.
Young Master Nan's legs buckled some more, and the chill on the back to his back also intensified.
"Are you done yet?" asked Zhong Yuhuan from under the platform.
Huo Chengming immediately turned and looked over to one side.
Young Master Nan ran off immediately.
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The receptionist was baffled, "Hi, would you like to fill out an application?"
"…. No, no application…" said Young Master Nan as he left quickly.
He should probably go back to school.
Yeah, he should be able to go back to school some more, for love.
Didn't he say that he'd wait 6 – 7 years for Zhong Yuhuan?
Then, he should wait.
What's another 6 – 7 years anyway?
"Did I see Young Master Nan earlier?" asked Huo Chengming with a frown as he walked up next to Zhong Yuhuan.
"Oh really?" asked Zhong Yuhuan as she looked around.
"He ran off," said Huo Chengming.
Zhong Yuhuan smiled, "Good for him. Otherwise, we will have to beat him up all over again."
She genuinely disliked that person.
If that Young Master Nan dare show up in front of her again and hang around next to her, she had no problem beating him up every time.
Huo Chengming tightened his fist a little but didn't show any signs of it. He asked Zhong Yuhuan, "Are you hungry?"
"A little bit."
"Then let's go get dinner."
"Li Jinyuan is still in class," said Zhong Yuhuan after she looked at the time.
"We will bring him some takeout."
Zhong Yuhuan didn't want to starve herself either, so she nodded, "Okay, then let's go."
Huo Chengming said, "Alright, let's go change out of these uniforms first."
Zhong Yuhuan nodded, turned around, and walked toward the changing room. Huo Chengming, on the other hand, walked over the second-generation rich kids, and said to them in a low voice, "Huanhuan and I are going to go pick up Li Jinyuan."
"Okie dokie, you guys go," said the group of second-generation rich kids.
Huo Chengming went to change after that.
When Zhong Yuhuan came out after she had changed, Huo Chengming was already waiting by the door. He even had Zhong Yuhuan's backpack in his hand.
Zhong Yuhuan walked up to him and asked, "Aren't they coming with?"
Huo Chengming lied straight to her face, "I guess they wanted to get some more practice in."
Zhong Yuhuan nodded and didn't say anything else.
The two ended up going to dinner together. Finally, they ended up picking a French restaurant. Of course, they wouldn't be able to pick up any to-go orders for Li Jinyuan.
—
After they had finished dinner, Zhong Yuhuan had to go to a different restaurant and picked up to-go for Li Jinyuan.
The tutoring center that Li Jinyuan was at was not too far from where they were.
The two walked over there and waited for him downstairs. About 10 or so minutes, they spotted Li Jinyuan, and a girl around the same age as him following behind him.
The girl shouted behind him as she was trying to shove some food into his hands, "Wait for me, Li Jinyuan. I want to talk to you …"
Zhong Yuhuan was a bit surprised by what she saw.
She didn't realize kids her age already had romantic thoughts.
Zhong Yuhuan flashed back to her previous life. From junior high school through college, she had never been in a romantic relationship before. She was never interested in someone that way, even.
Huo Chengming said, "Well, it seems he's busy. Maybe we should just take off first."
Chapter 45 – Buckled Knees (4)
"Let's wait for a bit, it shouldn't take too long." Zhong Yuhuan looked over at Li Jinyuan's direction just at the same time he was looking over in her direction. He picked up his pace as he walked toward her. Towards the end, he ran the remainder of the way until he was standing in front of Zhong Yuhuan.
"Here!" said Zhong Yuhuan as she handed over the food to him.
Li Jinyuan took the food from her and grabbed it tightly in his hands. With a shy look, he said to her, "Thank you, Huanhuan."
Zhong Yuhuan turned and started walking out. As she was walking, she couldn't help but grumble, "Why are both of you referring to me like that now?"
"Is something wrong with that?" asked Li Jinyuan as he followed and completely forgot about the girl behind him.
"Well, no, nothing is wrong…." Zhong Yuhuan sighed. It's just that… she had wanted to be the older sister.
The three of them slowly walked and waited in the street for the chauffeur to come pick them up.
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As soon as they got home, the first thing Zhong Yuhuan did was to send Li Jinyuan upstairs to eat his dinner and Huo Chengming to do his homework.
—
Xu Yushan sat on the couch, looking tired.
As it wasn't going to go anywhere with Young Master Nan, she immediately asked Zhong Chi to set her up with other wealthy young men. Even though there were a lot of wealthy young men out there, there weren't any that wanted to have a relationship with her. Those who were older than her were already done with their crazy days and were just looking for someone of their same caliber or one from an even more prominent family to marry. As for the ones younger than her, sure, a few wouldn't mind being in bed with her, but almost none of them saw her as marriage material.
Xu Yushan had a bad day today.
After her meeting today, the man straight up left a message on her Weibo saying, "You are cut from the same cloth as your mother. We can have fun together, but to get married? You must be kidding."
Xu Yushan used to think that Ding Ruxue, Zhong Chi's first wife was from a prominent family, but it was her mother, Xu Yunhui, who had the last laugh. That went to show that even though Ding Ruxue was born into a prominent family and was pretty, neither one of those things did her any good. Back then Xu Yushan was contend, even proud.
It was only now when she finally realized that her status didn't bring her glory, but a smudge that would follow her for life….
When she saw Zhong Yuhuan and Huo Chengming returning home, she couldn't maintain her smile anymore.
Zhong Yuhuan casted her a glance, reached for her phone, and dialed Lang Jinzhi right in front of Xu Yushan.
Lang Jinzhi just came out of a meeting when Secretary Cheng handed him his cellphone and mouthed the words, "Miss Zhong."
Lang Jinzhi paused for a second.
It had been a while since he had heard from Zhong Yuhuan.
Lang Jinzhi couldn't help but frown slightly.
Oddly, he didn't have much feeling when Zhong Yuhuan was wrecking havocs left and right.
Now that she was behaving herself and he stopped hearing news about her, he felt odd. Especially when he was signing documents with the pen that she gave him. He felt almost a little bit of emptiness.
Lang Jinzhi gripped the cell phone tightly.
Did she need a doctor appointment again?
Chapter 46 – Landmine for Zhong Chi (1)
"Cousin?" said Zhong Yuhuan as she sat down with her back to the couch. Her voice had a hint of crispness that could only belong to a young girl.
Xu Yushan, sitting across from her, almost immediately sat up straight and stared intently at the cellphone in Zhong Yuhuan's hand as if she really wanted to trade places with her and be the one on the phone with Lang Jinzhi.
Other the other end, Lang Jinzhi replied, "Yeah, what is it?"
Zhong Yuhuan was already used to his very business-like, don't-bother-me-unless-you-have-something-to-say tone so she just went on, "…. Xu Yushan."
As soon as she heard her own name, Xu Yushan was about to blow up.
What was Zhong Yuhuan thinking? Did she want to tattle to Lang Jinzhi?
Are you a child? Tattling at your age?
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Then, through gritted teeth, Xu Yushan thought to herself, at Zhong Yuhuan's age, she was still a child.
Zhong Yuhuan slowly looked over Xu Yushan and just when she was about to say something else, Lang Jinzhi had already beat her to the punch, "Was it Xu Yunhui and her daughter bullying you again?"
Zhong Yuhuan swallowed what she was about to say and responded with a "Mm".
It was just a "Mm" with no undertone, but it was done in a young girl's voice, and it was low and weak through the phone, so it really sounded like she was wronged and emotional.
Lang Jinzhi immediately said to her, "I will send Secretary Cheng right away."
Then, immediately after that, he changed his mind, "Forget it, I'll make a trip myself. Better if Zhong Chi is home."
Zhong Yuhuan stood up and said slowly, "No, that won't be necessary, cousin…."
On the other end, Xu Yushan was tensed.
She was somewhat interested in Lang Jinzhi and wanted to see him, but she didn't want to see him under this situation.
"Zhong Yuhuan…." Said Xu Yushan in a weak voice.
Zhong Yuhuan just walked passed her and headed up the stairs.
She had to do that. She didn't want Xu Yushan to keep thinking that she could do anything she wanted to her whenever Zhong Chi wasn't around.
But, the real reason that Zhong Yuhuan called Lang Jinzhi wasn't to threaten Xu Yushan, that was just icing on the cake.
Zhong Yuhuan walked up to the third floor. Leaning over the banister, she said to Lang Jinzhi in a low voice, "Really, cousin, there's no need to come over. Even if you stop Xu Yunhui and her daughter from doing anything today, that's just a temporary fix. People are willing to give up their lives in front of a large sum of money. As long as I am still around, I will be like a fishbone stuck in Xu Yunhui and her daughter's throats."
Lang Jinzhi didn't think he would hear these words from her.
And she was right.
Even if he went over to back up her, that wasn't a long-term solution. And with his status, he wouldn't be able to really make Xu Yunhui and Xu Yushan stop with what they were doing. He didn't represent the Ding's; he represented the Lang's.
"So your thought was…."
"I am going to have to rely on myself sooner or later. I want to set a landmine for Zhong Chi before I can be independent."
Lang Jinzhi wasn't surprised at all that Zhong Yuhuan referred to Zhong Chi by his name, "What do you have in mind?"
He figured that if there were holes in her plan, he could help her patch them.
"Zhong Chi enjoys having control over others' fate, but he never thought about whether Xu Yunhui and her daughter wanted to be controlled by him as pawns that could be tossed away any given moment. Back then Xu Yunhui was the third person in my parent's marriage, so she didn't have a lot to lose and always served Zhong Chi wholeheartedly. But, things have changed. She has a different title now and she already had doubts in her mind. As long as she felt that her and her daughter would be abandoned by Zhong Chi at any given them, then she'd take actions," said Zhong Yuhuan in a soft and slow tone.
Anyone who didn't know better would think she was just whining to the person on the other side of the conversation.
Chapter 47 – Landmine for Zhong Chi (2)
Zhong Yuhuan paused for a bit and went on, "Xu Yunhui had put up with Zhong Chi for 20 years and finally became his legally wedded wife. She doesn't say it, but she was proud of her achievement. If she suddenly realized that what she had been working on for 20 years could just disappear like that, she would go crazy. She would look for an alternative and go after Zhong Chi's pocket book."
Lang Jinzhi listened to her long speech and showed no signs of being impatient. After this very moment, he was finally certain that his cousin had changed greatly, from her personality to her ability to plot, everything about her had changed. And, the best part of it all was that she was still able to maintain such a clear mind amidst all this and not let hatred and revenge cloud her eyes. She still remembered that she needed to plan for a better future for herself.
Lang Jinzhi carried on nonchalantly, "She would first want to make Zhong Chi give her son the legal rights. Once the opportunity arose, they can do away with Zhong Chi. By then, her son would be the Zhong's legal heir."
Original translation is from fuyuneko dot org. If you're reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.
Zhong Yuhuan laughed. Her girly laugh reached the other end of the phone and got to Lang Jinzhi's ear, it tucked on his heartstring and softened him up.
Zhong Yuhuan, "Yes, and I will be out of the country just to leave them ample amount of time to carry out what they have in mind. They would want to have everything taken care of when I was out of the country. But they won't know when I will return."
Lang Jinzhi held the cellphone tighter, walked into his office, and sat down. "Do you really think they will have the courage to do that?"
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"Twenty years she had been waiting for this. Now that she was finally Mrs. Zhong, her tolerance would continue to decline. In order to get her repayment for the past 20 years, she will become bolder and bolder. As long as Xu Yunhui bring it up, Xu Yushan would for certain buy into it as well," said Xu Yunhui.
For greed, Xu Yunhui was willing to be someone's lover and didn't even let go when he got married. She gave birth to two kids out of wedlock, and still she wouldn't let it go. His wife died from anger because of her, she was yelled at, beaten, still she wouldn't let it go…
Therefore, because of greed, they would never let go of the Zhong's empire.
"I understand what you are trying to say now," said Lang Jinzhi.
"Then, do I need to tell cousin specifically how to proceed?" asked Zhong Yuhuan.
Lang Jinzhi paused for a second.
If it was the past, perhaps he would, but now….
Lang Jinzhi looked down at the fountain pen on his desk.
He said in a low voice, "No need. There are men who can take care of it."
Zhong Yuhuan immediately switched away from her sophisticated self and resumed her normal light-hearted tone and asked, "How much would that cost?"
"You can keep your money," said Lang Jinzhi.
Zhong Yuhuan stuck her tongue out, "Then how can I repay you, cousin?"
Lang Jinzhi paused for a second. He rarely ever received gifts, and definitely did not have any experiences asking for gifts. He thought about it for a while and finally said, "My fountain pen is out of ink."
"Okay! I will go buy some for cousin tomorrow after school!" said Zhong Yuhuan in an even more cheerful voice.
"Mm."
Zhong Yuhuan asked in a low voice, "When are you free, cousin?"
"Huh?"
"I want to go have dinner with grandpa at Yue Lan Mansion. And I want to take Huo Chengming and Li Jinyuan with me. They should go meet their grandfather too."
Zhong Yuhuan wanted to strengthen the two boys' sense of home.
She wanted them to know that they were truly, truly tied together and would never be apart. That was why she needed to introduce them to her family.
Lang Jinzhi paused on his end, probably looking at his calendar.
Chapter 48 – Landmine for Zhong Chi (3)
"Does next Sunday work?"
"Yes, that works!"
Zhong Yuhuan said some more pleasantries like "take care" etc. before she hung up.
Everybody knew how to say pleasantries.
And their only cost was additional saliva.
After she hung up the phone, Zhong Yuhuan finally turned around and walked inside the door.
Downstairs, Xu Yushan was pale and anxiously wonder when Lang Jinzhi would be coming over.
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In the past, Zhong Yuhuan's cousin and grandpa were never engaged in any of her matters, whatever had happened …?
Then, Xu Yushan recalled her mother's comment that someone was giving Zhong Yuhuan pointers behind her…. Who could that be? Xu Yushan was pulling her hair out but she still couldn't figure it out.
When Xu Yunhui finally returned home, she was startled by how pale her daughter was looking.
Zhong Yuhuan told Huo Chengming and Li Jinyuan about having dinner at Yue Lan Mansion.
"To see our grandfather?" This was probably the first time that word has left Huo Chengming's mouth, he could barely enunciate the word.
"…. Is it really okay that we meet him?" Li Jinyuan pursed his lips and looked hesitant.
He didn't want to cause her any trouble.
Having been there for a while, they now have a pretty good idea what kind of family is the Zhong's and what kind of family is the Ding's.
Naturally, they also understood that…. They were not welcomed in this type of family.
"Mm, of course you can," Zhong Yuhuan turned and looked at them. "Are you worried?"
"No, not at all!" said Huo Chengming immediately.
Li Jinyuan said right after him, "Yes, I worry that we will cause you trouble."
Huo Chengming," …."
Zhong Yuhuan smiled and said, "There are no troubles that I couldn't solve here, unless…."
"Unless?" asked Huo Chengming.
"Unless one of you are in an accident one day, then that would be big trouble."
The two boys shut their mouth and didn't say anything else.
But, both of them blushed to different extents, especially Huo Chengming. He balled his hands into fists and tightened them.
"Okay, let's go! It's time to go to school!"
"Mm."
—
Xu Yushan was worried that Lang Jinzhi would come over to their house, so she had no choice but to make herself scarce every day. She did that for a whole week and finally relaxed when she didn't see Lang Jinzhi showing up.
"What the hell, so Lang Jinzhi wasn't going to come over after all!" Xu Yushan gritted her teeth and hated Zhong Yuhuan even more that she did before.
And then it was Sunday.
After their tutorial section and fencing classes, the three of them changed and headed toward Lan Yue Mansion.
Zhong Yuhuan brought gifts with her this time as well.
She brought with her a set of tea cups for her grandfather and ink for Lang Jinzhi's fountain pen.
After they arrived outside of Lan Yue Mansion, Zhong Yuhuan immediately saw Lang Jinzhi coming to pick them up in his car.
"Cousin!" said Zhong Yuhuan as she waved at him.
Lang Jinzhi closed his car door and walked toward them. He eyed Huo Chengming and Li Jinyuan up and down.
The two boys were also sizing him up at the same time.
"Get in, I will bring you over," said Lang Jinzhi as he stopped looking at them and opened up his car door.
Naturally, Zhong Yuhuan would have to take the passenger seat next to the driver and let Huo Chengming and Li Jinyuan sat in the back. If she sat in the back, that would turn Lang Jinzhi into their driver.
Chapter 49 – Landmine for Zhong Chi (4)
The car arrived quickly outside the Ding's mansion.
Zhong Yuhuan got out of the car and gave her grandfather a hug.
"Huanhuan has gotten taller," said Grandpa Ding as he rubbed her on her head.
Zhong Yuhuan smiled and said, "Yes, I have been much happier later and also ate more. So I had grown taller."
"How was school?" asked Grandpa Ding.
He had never cared about his daughter's schoolwork before, let alone his granddaughters. It was only recently that he has been learning to care about someone of the younger generation as someone senior to them.
"It is alright," said Zhong Yuhuan as she waved at Huo Chengming and Li Jinyuan.
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The two boys immediately walked up to her.
With a majestic look, Grandpa Ding eyed the two boys up and down for a while before he said, "Good! Both of them are quite good! If Ruxue was still around, she would like them as her sons too…."
Zhong Yuhuan wrapped her arm around his and said in a low voice, "Let's go inside, grandpa. I am so hungry!"
Moments like these were a rare treat for Grandpa Ding. He picked up his pace with his cane and also awkwardly picked up his granddaughter hand and said softly, "Okay, okay, let's go have dinner."
Lang Jinzhi was the one walking in the far back.
—
At the dinner table.
Zhong Yuhuan said, "Hang on."
After last time, grandpa already knew that this was when Zhong Yuhuan would give out her gifts.
So he waited anxiously.
What could it be?
Lang Jinzhi already knew what he would be getting, yet he still couldn't help but look over at Zhong Yuhuan.
Zhong Yuhuan opened up her bag and pulled out the tea set and the ink.
"Wait, there's more."
Having said that, she pulled out a rare collector's edition of Tea Classics along with a jade ornament that said on it "luck, wealth, and longevity".
"These are from Huo Chengming and Li Jinyuan," said Zhong Yuhuan as she pushed them toward grandpa.
This was their first meeting, of course she had to be as thorough as possible.
Grandpa Ding was already smiling when he saw the tea set. Now, he was nodding nonstop and said, "Good, good. Everything is wonderful.
The way Grandpa Ding looked at Huo Chengming and Li Jinyuan was even more tender during dinner.
As far as he was concerned, no matter how much money was spent, or whether it was the Zhong's money, it was the thought that counts. The thought was trumped everything else, and that was more than he could say about Zhong Chi.
Dinner lasted well over 2 hours.
After dinner, Grandpa Ding was already getting tired, so the maids helped him retired into his room.
Lang Jinzhi fished out his key and said, "I will drive you."
Zhong Yuhuan cocked her head and smiled, "Okay!"
On the other end, Xu Yunhui went with Zhong Chi on another one of his business trips.
Xu Yushan was the only one left in the mansion. She let out a sigh of relief. Looking back, she had run around all week long, avoiding to go home, worried that she'd run into Lang Jinzhi. At the end, she was just fooled by Zhong Yuhuan. Lang Jinzhi never showed up….
Xu Yushan was very annoyed. She felt that she was fooled by Zhong Yuhuan.
After Zhong Yuhuan went to dinner, she invited 2-3 friends to come over to the mansion.
"Can we spend the night over here?" Her friends were her former coworkers. They have never seen anything as grand as the Zhong's mansion, and they looked around full of envy.
Xu Yushan also wanted to show off to make herself feel better.
So she smiled and said, "Of course."
Right after she finished saying that, she could hear engine sounds coming from the yard.
Butler Lin went up to the front door.
Xu Yushan's friends also looked in that direction, "…. So handsome, Shanshan, who is that?"
Who's so handsome?
Xu Yushan turned her head and looked over just in time to see a tall man getting out of the car. The man walked over to the passenger side, opened the door, and out came Zhong Yuhuan.
Xu Yushan was so shocked that she almost lost her soul.
Lang Jinzhi!
Ugh, he…. He was here.
Chapter 50 – Xu Yushan's torment (1)
"We won't squish them with our fingers, but we must still teach them a lesson," said Lang Jinzhi nonchalantly as he looked at Xu Yushan.
Zhong Yuhuan looked at Xu Yushan and smiled when she heard Lang Jinzhi's words.
Her smile gave Xu Yushan the goosebumps.
Xu Yushan's body stiffened; the only one thought that she had was to turn around and run away.
"Aren't you going to say hi to them? Who is that?" Her friend grabbed her by her arm and looked at Lang Jinzhi, her eyes were filled with admiration.
Xu Yushan was a little anxious too, so she quickly replied, "That's Zhong Yuhuan's cousin!" And she continued to walk toward the inside of the house.
By now, Lang Jinzhi was already in front of her.
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"Is Mr. Zhong not home?" asked Lang Jinzhi, interrupting what she was doing.
Xu Yushan had no choice but to turn around, put on a smile, and answer, "Hi, Mr. Land. Dad is overseas for the next few days."
Lang Jinzhi gave her a look. He was calm, but for whatever reasons, Xu Yushan felt intimidated. Did that aggressive presence just come naturally to anyone born with a silver spoon, she thought to herself enviously.
"Has Mrs. Xu not taught Miss Xu?" asked Lang Jinzhi politely.
"What?" Xu Yunhui's face was burning. She couldn't tell why, but she felt like he was teaching her a lesson.
"Mr. Zhong wanted to remarry, that is his business. But if Mr. Zhong's second marriage made Yuhuan unhappy, then that's the Ding's business and the Lang's business. Miss Xu has a younger brother, but Yuhuan has an older brother too. There are things that cannot keep on happening; the next time Yuhuan was bullied…"
Xu Yushan felt ashamed, her cheeks burned even more and her heart started pounding suddenly. All of a sudden, she even felt difficulty breathing.
Lang Jinzhi said nonchalantly, "If that happens again, I will come and pay Mr. Zhong a visit and ask for an explanation. There might be a room for a Mrs. Zhong in this house, but not necessary for a Miss Xu. One real daughter in this house is quite sufficient."
Now, he was just openly threatening her.
Xu Yushan felt that all her limbs were trembling, but she dared not say anything in return.
Lang Jinzhi didn't expect that Xu Yunhui's daughter would be so easily intimidated by just a few simple words.
That was good, at least Zhong Yuhuan wouldn't have too much to worry about.
After he was done talking, he turned and looked at Zhong Yuhuan.
Zhong Yuhuan had just caught up to him. With his hand on his back, Lang Jinzhi saw her onto the steps in front of the mansion before he said softly, "I am taking off."
Zhong Yuhuan gave him a sweet smile and said, "Thank you, cousin."
As she watched their exchange, Xu Yushan dug her nails deeply into her flesh.
After Zhong Yuhuan had walked inside of the mansion, Lang Jinzhi slightly nodded at Xu Yushan's female friends like a perfect gentleman before he turned and got into his car.
Now, Xu Yushan was even more angry.
Lang Jinzhi could even be a perfect gentleman to her friends, but he was cold and fierce to her. Why? Just because she was the daughter of Xu Yunhui? Or that he thought she had bullied Zhong Yuhuan?
When she thought of that, Xu Yushan began to hate Lang Jinzhi a little.
Would things change after Zhong Chi admitted her and her brother as his children?
On the other hand, Zhong Yuhuan, Li Jinyuan, and Huo Chengming had already gone upstairs.
Huo Chengming asked, "Did Xu Yushan bully you?"
Zhong Yuhuan turned and looked at him and saw that the end of his brows sank a little with an aura of fierceness coming from him.
Zhong Yuhuan shook her head, "How could she possibly bully me?"
Huo Chengming pinched his mouth shut and didn't believe her. It looked as though he already firmly believed that was the case.
Seeing that the two boys weren't looking too happy, Zhong Yuhuan had no choice but to say, "Eh? How come Chengming ge ge and Jinyuan both look upset? Is it because I bought gifts for both grandpa and cousin but not the two of you?"
"I don't want gifts," said Huo Chengming dryly.
Li Jinyuan recollected himself and smiled at Zhong Yuhuan, "I'll buy gifts for Huanhuan when I can earn money."
"But there are so many things that I want," said Zhong Yuhuan as she sank into the couch.
"What does Huanhuan want?" asked Li Jinyuan softly.
Chapter 51 – Xu Yushan's torment (2)
Shamelessly, Zhong Yuhuan started listed them out, "Pretty dresses, purses, shoes, lipsticks, a boat, private plane…."
The two boys listened attentively and made mental notes of them.
Zhong Yuhuan yawned and said, "Oh, I am so sleepy."
Huo Chengming squatted down suddenly and helped her take her shoes off before saying in a low voice, "Go to bed soon."
Zhong Yuhuan gave a sluggish response, got up, and headed toward the bathroom.
As they have been growing bigger and taller, Zhong Yuhuan's back was now looking more and more slender and fragile.
As though all they needed to do was to reach out their hands and put their arms around her waist.
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Downstairs, Xu Yushan's friends were still sighing, "What a perfect gentleman? And so handsome. I gathered he must be rich too?"
"Don't let him slip away, Shanshan."
"Exactly, Shanshan is the prettiest of us all. And with such a nice body too. And now she had also become part of the Zhong's…."
They did that on purpose.
They had all witnessed how he was threatening her earlier so obviously they were just mocking her now….
Xu Yushan's face turned. She got angry and shouted, "Get out of here! All of you!"
"Why are you so upset, Shanshan? We are just giving you some suggestions. We only have your best interest in mind…. Don't you like such a wonderful man?"
So what if she liked him?
Yes, she liked him, but she couldn't have him.
Xu Yushan looked worse than before and was even more enraged, "Are you leaving? If you don't, I am going to call security."
"Man, what is up with you? Weren't you the one who invited us over? What is the meaning of this? You are just the stepdaughter. Do you really think you are now the rightful Miss of this family?"
"Alright, alright. Stop it already. Let's go. Shanshan, let's get together some other time."
And her friends were gone before long.
Yet the shame and anger inside of Xu Yushan would not go away.
She needed to join into the social groups of the upper class girls and stop hanging out with her poor friends.
A few days later, Zhong Yuhuan, Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming went to school as usual.
Yang San, leaning on top of Zhong Yuhuan, said mysteriously, "I got a joke for you."
"What joke?" asked Xu Yunhui dubiously.
"Remember Lu-jie jie was hosting her birthday party on a boat? That Xu Yushan wanted to go, and they really brought her along. She made a fool out of herself repeatedly, and they almost tossed her off of the boat. If it wasn't for the status of your father, they just might have. But, they still froze her out and laughed about it for a long time. I gathered that Xu Yushan wouldn't want to leave the house for a while," chuckled Yang San.
All these second-generation rich kids were raised in glass houses. They were all mean in nature, unless they grew up together, otherwise they could be quite brutal to outsiders.
The incident made Zhong Yuhuan laughed out loud, "For real?"
"Yeah, I heard it from Lu Shaowen. He said he heard it from his sister, and she was complaining to him up and down and said how come that Xu Yushan was so clueless."
Zhong Yuhuan smiled and said, "She was born out of wedlock, this is as good as she is going to get."
Yang San nodded, "Exactly!"
Zhong Yuhuan chatted some more with Yang San before she turned her attention back to her textbook.
Chapter 52 – Xu Yushan's torment (3)
Zhong Yuhuan thought; this was good. The more bad experiences Xu Yushan had, the more she'd be discontented with her current situation. Xu Yunhui might not love her daughter all that much, but appearance was important to her. Now that she was the new Mrs. Zhong, naturally, she would want to be treated as Mrs. Zhong. She could take the low stance at home in front of her husband, but not outside. The more bad situations that Xu Yushan got into, the more Xu Yunhui would feel that she was being slapped on her face.
When Xu Yunhui couldn't stand it anymore, she would work on Zhong Chi to resolve these situations.
There would be a lot of dramas from these three in the time to come.
Zhong Yuhuan was not unhappy about it all.
When the school bell rang, Zhong Yuhuan quickly tossed aside her English textbook, grabbed her backpack and ran downstairs.
She didn't care what was going on with the Zhong's, but she still needed to raise her male lead and villain! When they became rich and famous in the future, she could leech off of them and cruise for the rest of her life.
Huo Chengming and Li Jinyuan was waiting for her downstairs as usual.
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Zhong Yuhuan gave her backpack to Huo Chengming.
She had noticed that they quite like to carry her backpack for her. Whoever that didn't get the backpack duty looked like they felt very uncomfortable. Zhong Yuhuan was too lazy to carry her backpack anyways, so she resorted to just handing it over to them from the get go. Each person would have the opportunity to carry her backpack for her 2-3 times a week, quite fair!
As soon she handed over her backpack today, her cellphone rang.
Huo Chengming fished out her cellphone from her backpack and handed it over to her. Zhong Yuhuan picked up the phone and on the other side was a female voice that she had never heard before, "Hi, is this Miss Zhong? I am CEO Ding's secretary."
Zhong Yuhuan had to think about it for a moment before she figured out who this "CEO Ding" was.
She gathered CEO Ding was the older sister of Ding Ruxue, her was also Lang Jinzhi's mother, and the current boss of Ding's family business.
The original owner had rarely any contact with her previously, so Zhong Yuhuan naturally didn't remember much about her.
Zhong Yuhuan, "What seems to be the matter?"
"CEO Ding's car is waiting in front of Murphy High School. She would like to have dinner with Miss Zhong."
Zhong Yuhuan accepted the invitation after thinking it over for a little bit.
After all, she's a relative of the original owner. Come to think about it, she had only met Lang Jinzhi and her grandfather since she has transmigrated.
"What's the matter?" asked Li Jinyuan after she had hung up.
Huo Chengming was also looking at her.
"My aunty wanted to take me to dinner. Why don't you two head to the tutorial center first?" said Zhong Yuhuan as she reached for her backpack.
"Let's walked over to the front of the school first," said Huo Chengming as he avoided her hand.
"Eh, okay."
The three of them walked toward the outside together and quickly arrived at the entrance of the school.
Zhong Yuhuan saw the red BMW that the secretary had mentioned to her earlier. She took her backpack and walked over to it.
Huo Chengming and Li Jinyuan didn't leave right away, but stood there and watched her get into the car.
"Those were the two kids that you have adopted?" asked a middle-aged woman inside the car. Her voice a bit coarse, a clear indication that she was a chronic smoker.
"Mm," nodded Zhong Yuhuan, who made herself comfortable in the car before she turned and looked at the woman.
The woman was in a dark purple tube dress along and wearing a diamond necklace. Long and wavy hair fell over her shoulder.
She had on thick makeup, brown eyeshadow and darkish red lipstick.
With a closer look, her features were grand and pretty. She and Ding Ruxue did not look too much like each other.
"Aunty," said Zhong Yuhuan like a well-behaved child.
But the woman's reaction was a bit cold. She only responded nonchalantly, "Mm, we will chat when we eat."
What could she possibly chat about with a child?
Zhong Yuhuan had a little bit of an idea.
Chapter 53 – Meeting Ding Qiuyue (1)
The woman's name is Ding Qiuyue. She married the second son from the Lang's right after graduating college and had Lang Jinzhi.
Zhong Yuhuan had slowly found out about her aunt from her grandpa Ding.
Sitting in a private room of an elegant but small restaurant, they had just finished placing their order.
After the servers had left, Ding Qiuyue begin, "I heard dad said that you adopted two children from the social services for your mother."
Zhong Yuhuan nodded, "Mm."
"Were they registered after the Ding's or the Zhong's? Did Zhong Chi agree with that?"
"Under the Ding's, but externally, they're considered as part of the Zhong's," replied Zhong Yuhuan.
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"Did your mother really leave such a will? To have you adopt two boys from the social agency for her?"
"Yes," replied Zhong Yuhuan. Then, after a slight pause, she couldn't help but say, "If you have something you want to say, why don't you just tell me?"
"You have adopted two children who are not related to you…. Have you thought about the future?" Ding Qiuyue paused, cleaned her hands on a handkerchief and continued, "Your grandfather had his will done a few years back and his inheritance is to go to your mother and I, proportionally. Now that you have placed the two children under the Ding's, then they'll be considered heirs of your mother. Meaning, they will also receive part of the inheritance."
That had confirmed what Zhong Yuhuan had in mind.
Yup!
She was here to talk about money.
Ding Qiuyue was worried that the two additional kids would be entitled to a part of the Ding's money.
Zhong Yuhuan understood what she wanted to say, but she still put on a baffled look and asked, "And what is the problem with that?"
Ding Qiuyue was stunned for a little before she continued, "Handing out our money like this to someone unrelated, do you think that's worth it?"
"Aunty, I don't have a mother anymore. My dad has a new family and grandpa is not getting any younger. I don't have any family to rely on anymore. They will become my family and be by my side in the future, of course it's worth it."
Ding Qiuyue almost found that funny. She said in a low voice, "Yuhuan, you've grown up in money so you don't understand its importance. You will regret it in the future. What about your cousin and I? Aren't we your family?"
"Both you and cousin are very busy people."
"You can call us. If your cousin and I are busy, we will send our assistants to help you out."
"But that's not the same. They will be by my side all the time; when I am sad or unhappy, or when I need someone to share my joyful moments, they will be there… or do you think I can count on your assistants for those as well?" Zhong Yuhuan pursed her lips. If the woman in front of her wasn't Ding Ruxue's sister, she would have put it in a very different way.
Ding Qiuyue's face turned cold, she said, "Okay, if that's how you feel, I wouldn't say anything else. But when you regret about this in the future, don't say I didn't warn you."
Zhong Yuhuan smiled and said, "Don't worry, when I dreamed about my mom next time, I will let her know that aunty has been very nice to me."
Ding Qiuyue froze a little on the spot.
Just then, the servers knocked on the door and came in with their dishes.
Zhong Yuhuan didn't feel like eating anymore. She stood up and said, "Aunty, I don't feel very well. I will excuse myself."
"Don't you want to eat first?"
"No, it's alright," said Zhong Yuhuan as she placed her hand over her stomach and walked out quickly. She did not even turn around to look at Ding Qiuyue again.
As soon as she walked outside of the restaurant, she texted Huo Chengming and Li Jinyuan.
"Are you in class?"
She sent the message to the both of them.
Huo Chengming and Li Jinyuan were already in class. It was their English tutoring class today. When their phone beeped, they reached out to their phones almost at the same time.
They had very few contacts in their phones, just Zhong Yuhuan and a few classmates.
In order to prevent missing anything from Zhong Yuhuan, they have custom ringers for her and their phones were never set to silent mode. They just lowered the volume to almost only audible to them.
Chapter 54 – Meeting Ding Qiuyue (2)
The two read the text from Zhong Yuhuan, and they immediately thought that something wasn't right.
Zhong Yuhuan never used her cellphone during meals, not even when she was dining with them, let alone with someone her senior.
Huo Chengming stood up immediately.
The foreigner teacher was startled by him and asked in his poor Chinese, "What's the matter, classmate Huo?"
"Something urgent. I apologize." Said Huo Chengming as he ran down the stairs.
Li Jinyuan, on the other hand, replied to her text message, "I am in class. Do you not like the food?"
Zhong Yuhuan received his returned text and lowered her head to read it.
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She replied immediately, "Why aren't you paying attention in class? Put your cell phone away?"
After she had responded back to him, she navigated back to the inbox screen but did not see anything from Huo Chengming. Did he not see it? As much as she was impressed by how focused he was in class, she was also a little bit disappointed.
What she said to Ding Qiuyue today wasn't a lie.
She may have adopted the male lead and the villain with the intention to alter the course of actions in the original owner's life at the beginning, but after spending all this time with the two boys, both of them had been very good and also very nice to her.
Over time, in her mind she had already separated the two of them from the characters in the book and started looking at them as real individuals. She meant it when she said she wanted to grow up with them and have them as the only two individuals that she could rely on in this place that was strange and new to her.
Oh, of course, she also relied on money. Days wouldn't be good without money.
Zhong Yuhuan put away her cellphones and slowly walked forward.
Should she go wait for them to get out of class or go home first? Maybe she should just go home. She could at least play with the new toys at home. She had bought yet another new box last month.
Zhong Yuhuan had barely taken a couple of steps when her phone rang.
Eh? Who was calling her?
She fished out her phone and saw three glittering words: Huo Chengming.
Huo Chengming was calling her?
Wasn't he in class?
She hesitated for a little bit and picked up the phone.
Just when she was about to ask whether he was in class, Huo Chengming had beaten her to speaking first. His voice came pouring out of the phone, "Huanhuan, where are you?"
"Mm, I just left the restaurant. It's Shiwei Xuan, the one that we have been to before."
"Stay there… unless you want to start walking toward the school's direction…"
Zhong Yuhuan suddenly realized what he was doing, "Are you coming to look for me?"
"Mm," said Huo Chengming before he hung up the phone.
Zhong Yuhuan looked around and saw a coffee shop nearby.
She couldn't possibly just stand in the middle of the street and wait. She thought about it for a second and walked inside the coffee shop.
Zhong Yuhuan didn't have to wait very long. It had only been 10 minutes before she saw Huo Chengming. She had barely drank a few sips of her coffee.
Since Zhong Yuhuan hadn't had dinner yet, the few sips of coffee started giving her an upset stomach.
She rubbed her stomach as she walked outside of the coffee shop slowly.
Huo Chengming was just about to call Zhong Yuhuan when he turned and saw her.
He had grown much taller than he was before and he ran in front of her in just few steps. He panted and asked in a low voice, "No dinner?"
She shook her head, "No dinner."
"Was the food bad?"
Zhong Yuhuan shook her head.
Huo Chengming pursed his lips. His tall body towering her like a giant tree. "Did she say something bad?" asked Huo Chengming.
Zhong Yuhuan tugged on his sleeve, "Chengming-ge ge, my stomach hurts."
Huo Chengming looked concerned immediately. He turned around and has his back to her, squatted down, and said, "I'll carry you. Let's go get some porridge for dinner."
Zhong Yuhuan climbed onto his back slowly and wrapped her arms around his neck before she started talking slowly, "My aunty asked me today whether you and Li Jinyuan were the ones that I have adopted…"
Huo Chengming let out a small grunt to indicate that he was listening.
Chapter 55 – Meeting Ding Qiuyue (3)
Zhong Yuhuan summarised the rest of the conversation for him.
"I'm just a little bit upset." Zhong Yuhuan bent her little thumb in front of Huo Chengming to gesture, "Just a little bit."
She felt bad for Ding Ruxue and the original owner.
She immediately thought about her family in her previous life, they were so nice to her!
But she was in a strange world now. There was no way for her to go back.
Huo Chengming carried her on his back. While walking forward slowly, he said to her in a low voice, "I am sorry."
"Why do you have to apologize?"
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"It was our fault."
"No way!" she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck and talked into his ears softly, "If they weren't good people to begin with, that isn't going to change whether I adopted you or not. I should look on the bright side, I get more money now."
Huo Chengming's face darkened, his mouth shut tightly, and his eyes became watery. He couldn't say a word.
He put his hands on her back, tightly, as if it was some world-class treasure that he was carrying on his back.
"Is this going to hinder you from growing taller?" asked Zhong Yuhuan softly as she laid on his back.
"No, it isn't."
"Then you should carry me more often."
"Okay," said Huo Chengming as he stopped. "We are here."
Zhong Yuhuan looked up, they were already in front of the porridge shop.
She tried to slide off of Huo Chengming's back, but he gripped her tightly and walked inside the restaurant with her on his back.
That was probably the first time the server had saw anyone entering into their shop like that. He was stunned for a second first, before he recollected himself and asked, "How many?"
Zhong Yuhuan, from a higher position on Huo Chengming's back, turned and said to the server, "We want a private room."
The server immediately led them to the private room.
Huo Chengming placed her on the chair and took off his uniform jacket.
Zhong Yuhuan looked up and saw that Huo Chengming had sweat all over his neck and chest.
Her cellphone rang again.
Could this be Li Jinyuan?
Zhong Yuhuan fished out her phone and looked. It was, indeed, Li Jinyuan.
"Hello?"
"Huanhuan, where are you?" Li Jinyuan's voice came from the other end.
"In the porridge shop, what's up?"
"The one by our school?"
"Yeah."
"Huanhuan, I took the rest of the night off. I am coming over."
Li Jinyuan rarely received texts from Zhong Yuhuan, so he felt that something was off. She rarely texted them during these hours.
Finally, he couldn't wait any longer so he walked out of the classroom and gave her a call.
Zhong Yuhuan said, "Okay, I will be here."
"Alright," said Li Jinyuan as he hung up the phone.
"Li Jinyuan is on his way," said Zhong Yuhuan to Huo Chengming.
Huo Chengming said, "Screw him, let's start."
Zhong Yuhuan already had an upset stomach, so she nodded and placed the order right away to have the server bring the food sooner.
When Li Jinyuan arrived, Zhong Yuhuan just had two spoonfuls of porridge.
Li Jinyuan quickly walked to the other side of Zhong Yuhuan, took a seat before he looked at Huo Chengming and asked, "How long have you been here?"
Zhong Yuhuan swallowed her food and said in a low voice, "Chengming ge ge came after I walked out of Shiwei. Eh, he carried me here."
"What happened?" Li Jinyuan paused for a second and asked anxiously, "Are you not feeling well?"
"Stomach ache, but I feel better now after I had some food."
Li Jinyuan let out a sigh of relief and said, "Then have some more."
Zhong Yuhuan nodded.
Zhong Yuhuan was hungry and so were the other two boys. They devoured all the food quickly.
After they have paid, they walked out of the restaurant together.
As soon as Zhong Yuhuan reached the top of the steps, Li Jinyuan suddenly squatted down in front of her and said, "I'll carry Huanhuan back." Having said that, when he turned and looked at Zhong Yuhuan, his eyes beaming with tenderness and anticipation.
Chapter 56 – Apology (1)
Zhong Yuhuan hesitated for a little while then finally climbed up onto his back.
Li Jinyuan just carried her like that, all the way until their car arrived. Then, after they arrived home, he carried her upstairs and finally put her on the couch.
Zhong Yuhuan had totally enjoyed the experience of having an older brother and a younger brother.
Now that her stomach had stopped hurting, she contentedly went to take her shower.
Huo Chengming was the first to go to Zhong Yuhuan.
He would have already figured out the reason behind Zhong Yuhuan's text to the both of them.
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Li Jinyuan did not ask Zhong Yuhuan again for the reason. After they had arrived home and Zhong Yuhuan had walked inside her own room and closed the door behind her, Li Jinyuan turned and looked at Huo Chengming.
Li Jinyuan asked, "What happened today?"
Huo Chengming pursed his lips shut tight but finally repeated Zhong Yuhuan's words to Li Jinyuan.
They were on the same side right now. Both of them were her baggage right now.
Li Jinyuan slowly looked less and less gentle and more and more cold. He said in a low voice, "Huanhuan must have been very upset."
Huo Chengming's face tensed up. Coldly, he said, "We can't wait much longer."
Li Jinyuan paused for a few seconds before he replied, "You are right, we can't."
Grandfather Ding did not know about the meeting between Ding Qiuyue and Zhong Yuhuan, but Lang Jinzhi found out about it shortly. He quickly called Zhong Yuhuan.
"When are you getting out of school? I will come pick you up?" asked Lang Jinzhi.
Zhong Yuhuan replied him with a time.
Lang Jinzhi responded immediately, "Okay, wait for me in front of your school!"
Zhong Yuhuan figured she would probably end up having dinner with Lang Jinzhi, so she let Huo Chengming and Lang Jinzhi know ahead of time and have them head out first.
When school let out, Zhong Yuhuan immediately spotted Lang Jinzhi's car as soon as she walked outside her school.
The car was very low key, but that was exactly why it stood out even more in a line of luxury cars.
Zhong Yuhuan walked up, pulled open the car door, and sat in the passenger seat.
"No Secretary Cheng today?" asked Zhong Yuhuan dubiously.
"Mmmhmm," nodded Lang Jinzhi, but he did not elaborate on the reasons.
Zhong Yuhuan could more or less guessed it; it probably has something to do with Ding Qiuyue.
After arriving at the restaurant and walking into the private room that Lang Jinzhi had booked ahead of time, Zhong Yuhuan saw Ding Qiuyue getting up from her seat.
As soon as she saw Zhong Yuhuan, Ding Qiuyue looked more and more pale.
"Jinzhi, I thought you and I are getting dinner together. How come you brought Zhong Yuhuan with you?"
Lang Jinzhi was calm, maybe even a hint of distant. Nonchalantly, he said, "You are a senior of hers. If words got out that you had bullied her, that would sound bad. Dinner is on me, why don't you apologize to Yuhuan."
Ding Qiuyue was immediately drained of colors. Her fingers digging into the strap of her purse, and she asked coldly, "Why do I need to apologize to her? What did I do wrong? I took her out to dinner, what was wrong with that? I had her best interests in mind, what was wrong with that?"
This scene brought back memory belonging to the original owner.
From the original owner's memory, Ding Qiuyue and Father Lang had been separated for years, and Li Jinyuan grew up in the Lang's. Every time he went to visit his grandfather, Ding Qiuyue was rarely around, so the two of them saw each other less and less.
The scene in front of her confirmed it.
Chapter 57 – Apology (2)
"That is grandpa's inheritance. He had full control over how he'd like it divided up. Grandpa already has a will done, and everything is listed out clearly. There was no need for you to meddle. Last month the two children had already met grandpa at Yue Lan Mansion, so they are now part of the Ding's. How were you able to say what you have said? And commented on whether it was worth it. Was that really having Yuhuan's best interest in mind?" Lang Jinzhi's tone was even, mild, and calm, but his manner was doubtless imposing.
Every single line of his stabbed Ding Qiuyue like a dagger to her heart.
Ding Qiuyue raised her voice and scolded, "Is that how you talk to your own mother? Is that how I raised you when you were a child?"
"I remember clearly how your education from when I was a child, but that has nothing to do with this. Do you want to cause more scandals for the Ding's?"
Ding Qiuyue's face was completely darkened. She was so angry she was shaking now, "Good, good! Who do you think I was doing this for? I was doing it all for you! Have you forgotten that you will get a share of your grandfather's inheritance as well? Don't you want that anymore?"
Lang Jinzhi was as calm as he was before and said, "I get it now. You will never feel that you have done anything wrong."
Holding Zhong Yuhuan's wrist, he said, "Let's go to a different place."
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Having said that, he left with Zhong Yuhuan.
Zhong Yuhuan never said a word the entire time, but seeing the look on Ding Qiuyue, she felt much better.
After they were gone, Ding Qiuyue was so angry she grabbed a tea cup and smashed it on the door.
After leaving the restaurant, the two went back inside Lang Jinzhi's car.
Lang Jinzhi asked, "How do you like Tibet food?"
"Okay," nodded Zhong Yuhuan.
"There's a Tibet restaurant on Huaiyin Road that is quite good," said Lang Jinzhi as he stepped on the gas pedal.
After they have been driving for a while, Lang Jinzhi finally said, "I'm sorry."
"There's no need for you to apologize. That was aunty who said those things, not cousin," said Zhong Yuhuan as she turned to look at Lang Jinzhi. For a brief moment, she thought she saw a dark look cross Li Jinyuan's face.
It seemed like the relationship between Lang Jinzhi and Ding QIuyue was even colder and more awkward than they let on earlier.
Zhong Yuhuan thought about it for a second and said softly, "It's water under the bridge now. I feel much better now, and cousin should too."
"Mmm."
Noticing how tired he looked, Zhong Yuhuan asked, "Busy day today, cousin?"
"I just came back from City of Yun; I went there for a meeting," said Lang Jinzhi softly, he didn't seem to be impatient at his little cousin at all.
"Then you should get some good rest after dinner."
"Mmm."
Zhong Yuhuan could tell that Lang Jinzhi was not happy, but she really had no idea what had happened between the two of them that brought on this deep rift between the mother and son, to the point that they were so cold to each other whenever they meet.
Thinking about it some more, Zhong Yuhuan finally held back all the words she had to comfort him.
Lang Jinzhi was an adult. From the original owner's memory, Lang Jinzhi had always been a calm and mature individual. His emotional state was probably much stronger than hers, he probably didn't need comforting from her.
After they have arrived at the Tibet restaurant, Lang Jinzhi had the menu in his hand and circled a few good dishes as he read them out to Zhong Yuhuan.
Chapter 58 – Apology (3)
The dishes came quickly.
Zhong Yuhuan lowered her head and started eating. Lang Jinzhi, after looking at her for a while, used the communal chopsticks to put some food in her bowl.
His actions were stiff; it was obvious that he didn't have too much experience doing that.
Come to think about it, that made sense. With his status and current position, when would he ever need to serve food for others?
Zhong Yuhuan looked up and smiled at Lang Jinzhi, "Thank you, Cousin." Her voice crisp and sweet.
Lang Jinzhi looked less tired all of a sudden.
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After eating Tibet food, the two walked out of the restaurant.
"I will take you home," said Lang Jinzhi.
"Don't. Call your chauffeur and have him come pick you up. I can get home myself." She thought about it some more and added, "It's dangerous to drive when you are tired."
Lang Jinzhi did not insist on it and called his chauffeur.
The chauffeur arrived quickly and got inside the driver's seat of Lang Jinzhi's car.
Zhong Yuhuan waved at him and said, "I will call my chauffeur as well. You hurry up, go home and get some rest. Bye-bye!"
She rarely talked to him that much.
Lang Jinzhi never liked kids all that much, the reason being that kids talk too much, but now when Zhong Yuhuan talked so much to him, he didn't find that too annoying.
Perhaps that was because Zhong Yuhuan's tenderness seeped into every word.
She cared about him.
Lang Jinzhi said in a low voice, "Okay, I am heading home now."
The Zhong's car arrived less than two minutes after Lang Jinzhi's car had taken off.
Except that Zhong Yuhuan did not get inside the car. She blinked and look at the dessert shop across the street. Was she seeing this right? Was Huo Chengming and Li Jinyuan sitting in the dessert shop and clumsily trying to cover their faces with the menus so they wouldn't be spotted by her?
"Wait for me for a second," said Zhong Yuhuan to the driver. She then crossed the road and arrived at the dessert shop across the street.
She quickly walked inside the door and walked straight up to their table. Reaching out, she grabbed the menus that they were using to cover their faces from them.
"What are you two doing here?" Zhong Yuhuan leaned down a little closer to them.
Both young boys froze.
"To check on you. We were worried." Said Huo Chengming.
"Did you have a stomachache today?" Li Jinyuan decided to answer her question with a question.
"No, not today." Zhong Yuhuan grabbed their sleeves and pulled them up, "C'mon, let's go home."
The two relaxed after seeing that she had no intention to keep probing about why they had followed her and said immediately, "Mmm, let's go home."
Walking out of the dessert shop, Zhong Yuhuan turned to them and asked, "Were you worried that I would be bullied again?"
Huo Chengming and Li Jinyuan went silent for a little bit and said in synchrony, "Mmm."
"I wasn't bullied. Cousin asked me out today to have Aunty apologize to me," Zhong Yuhuan didn't mention that part that Ding Qiuyue was far from apologizing; she didn't want them to be more worried than they already were.
Huo Chengming, his face tensed, blurted out, "Do not forgive her."
Having said that, he felt that his tone was too strong and that Zhong Yuhuan might not like it, so he added, "Do not lightly forgive those who had wronged you."
Li Jinyuan also said in a low voice, "She can hate Huo Chengming and I."
Anything except Zhong Yuhuan being hurt.
From this point forward, they would work very hard to shield anything or anyone who could cause her harm completely from her.
Zhong Yuhuan smiled and said, "Mmm, I hold grudges. I don't forgive easily."
Chapter 59 – The Cousin's Backstory (1)
Zhong Yuhuan found out the next day what caused the rift between Lang Jinzhi and Ding Qiuyue. It wasn't much of a secret in Hai City.
The one who told her about the incident was Yang Sen.
Yang Sen loooved gossiping so he always knew the most about anything that was going on in Hai City.
"It was a big deal at the time, how do you not know about it?" sighed Yang Sen.
Zhong Yuhuan thought about it for a second and said, "That was before I was born, maybe?"
Feeling a bit awkward, Yang Sen said, "Oh, that's right. I learned it from my mom. Um… well, take it with a grain of salt, okay?"
Yang Sen gave her a heads up that there would be content that was not so flattering toward the Ding's.
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Naturally, Zhong Yuhuan was prepared. Nodded, she said, "Okay, go ahead."
"Your mom, and the current CEO Ding, were a well-known pair of sisters in Hai City back in the days. But words had it that CEO Ding never liked your mom much. She thought that your mom's personality was too weak, albeit being beautiful, she always let others walk all over her. Nevertheless, the kids who cry gets the candies. Old Ding was busy with his career and rarely went home. Every time he went home, your mom would be the first one to hug him and cried and showed him how much she had missed him. So, over time, Old Ding became closer to your mom, and CEO Ding and Old Ding's relationship drifted some more. When CEO Ding disliked your mom even more, your mom married your father early in time…."
Zhong Yuhuan interrupted him, "I thought you were going to tell me the story between my aunt and my cousin. Why are you talking about my mom and my grandpa?"
"Aye, be patient and let me finish. This is the backdrop of the story. Everybody in Hai City know this." Said Yang Sen.
Yang Sen took a couple sips of water before he went on, "Your mom and your dad got married early and your dad was very good at what he did. He became successful shortly thereafter so your mom was able to relax at home. At the time, CEO Ding was still working in the Ding's Corporation. She got anxious. Finally, she took a trip overseas and met Lang Xinger's second son and got married. During that time, it was said that wherever CEO Ding went, she'd bring a breeze with her. Your mom, on the other hand, was fragile; she even had a few spontaneous abortions. CEO Ding, however, gave birth smoothly to her first child, and that was your cousin, the now Lang Jinzhi.
"Words on the street had it that CEO Ding was being competitive – she purposefully looked for a better man, kept her career on track, and gave birth to a son first. She also wanted to raise her child to become an elite sooner."
Zhong Yuhuan had an inkling, but she asked anyway, "Then what happened?"
"Then Mr. Lang was transferred to Dong City. CEO Ding insisted on staying in Hai City with your cousin. Later, Mr. Lang was transferred back to Hai City and took over a big role. That's when the incident between the Ding's and the Lang's took place. It was said that during a family dinner between the Ding's and the Lang's, the Lang's noticed something was wrong with your cousin …. He was too well-behaved. He sat there like a puppet, didn't cry, didn't fuss. He was courteous when he talked but distant. When they lifted up his sleeves and looked, he was covered in bruises and he wouldn't say anything when asked."
Yang Sen rubbed his shoulder and said, "Think about it. How awful was that? A 7-year-old sitting there, who didn't cry, fuss, or laugh. He was like an adult under the skin of a 7-year-old. Never mind about the Lang's, I'd freak out too. The Lang's took him to a shrink after that and wanted a divorce. That didn't happen, but they have been separated since…
"Everybody said that CEO Ding wanted her son to become an elite right away, so she wanted him to achieve the adult standards on everything that he does or he would get punished. I think your cousin went to a shrink for some five years before he started getting a little better." Said Yang Sen.
"Don't tell your cousin what I've told you. I'm deathly afraid of him." Smiled Yang Sen.
Chapter 60 – The Cousin's Backstory (2)
"Still, it was effective though. Isn't your cousin the only elite among this generation of Lang's?" said Yang Sen as he sluggishly rocked his chair back and forth. "If you ask me though, I'd rather die than do that."
Yang Sen chuckled and said, "I much prefer Huanhuan's method – talking to us and analyzing for us. See? Now we all know to study hard and plan for our future. So that obviously the only way to go. Regardless, ever since that incident, the relationship between the Lang's and the Ding's barely exist. From that point forward, many families also learned from the incident to not push their kids to that point.
"Come to think about it, your cousin had done a lot of good for the rest of us," said Yang Sen while smacking his lips.
Zhong Yuhuan gave him a stare.
Yang Sen immediately chuckled and shut up, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. That's your cousin. I didn't mean it that way."
Now Zhong Yuhuan finally realized why Lang Jinzhi had always been a very mature person in the original owner's memories.
No wonder Lang Jinzhi and Ding Qiuyue didn't see each other very often.
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Feeling that Grandpa Ding favored her sister more than her, Ding Qiuyue stopped visiting Yue Lan Mansion and the mother and son saw each other even less.
Zhong Yuhuan frowned as she thought about that.
She wondered if the class schedules that she had selected for Huo Chengming and Li Jinyuan were too heavy.
Hmm, she should have an open discussion today when they got home tonight.
And her cousin….
She should buy her cousin another gift next time she saw him.
Something even more expensive.
Zhong Yuhuan looked up and patted Yang Sen on his shoulder, "Okay, better work hard now."
"Yup, yup. Watch me! I am going to become a race car driver… Zhong Yuhuan, you will have to wave a flag and cheer for me in the future, okay?" said Yang Sen as he picked up the book on the table.
The title of the book read "100 Most Common Asked Questions on Car Racing".
Zhong Yuhuan nodded, "Okay, as long as you can win the championship, I will for sure come and wave the flag and cheer you on."
Yang Sen smiled happily and turned around.
After school was out, Zhong Yuhuan contemplated calling Lang Jinzhi. No answer. She figured he must be in a meeting.
Zhong Yuhuan thought about it for a second and sent him a text instead: "How are you feeling today, cousin?"
After she had finished sending the text, she walked over to Huo Chengming and Li Jinyuan.
In her past life, Zhong Yuhuan had received a lot of love and care from others, which was why she didn't find the coldness and Ding Qiuyue's manipulativeness unbearable.
She still cared about those around her.
Lang Jinzhi, Huo Chengming, Li Jinyuan were all characters from a novel.
The tragic stories behind their childhood might have only been mentioned briefly in the book, but now that they had become reality to her, naturally, she was touched by them.
Lang Jinzhi was an adult and didn't need her to care for him.
What she could do, however, was to give Huo Chengming and Li Jinyuan a few good adolescence years!
Thinking about that, Zhong Yuhuan looked up and smiled brightly at Huo Chengming and Li Jinyuan, "Let's go."
Her smile was brighter and sweeter than normal.
Both young boys felt dazzled by her.
The three of them picked a restaurant to have dinner. Over dinner, Zhong Yuhuan broached the subject of whether they felt that their current schedule was too heavy.
"Not at all, we were just about to bring it up to you," said Li Jinyuan as he slowly wiped his mouth with the napkin. Then, in a low voice, he said, "We want to expedite it some more."
Zhong Yuhuan grunted a response and asked, "You think you will be able to handle that?"
"Not a problem," smiled Li Jinyuan tenderly. "We have been so far behind, now we just want to be able to swallow all the knowledge in one big gulp."
"Alight."
Zhong Yuhuan was quite surprised.
She had never seen anyone addicted to learning before, and to this extent no less; as though they couldn't get comfortable if they weren't learning that day.
That must be the biggest strength of the male lead and the villain in the book?
Contrarily, Zhong Yuhuan almost felt that she hasn't been trying hard enough.
She should read a few more books when she got home.
Zhong Yuhuan stood up and said, "Check, please."