What was that supposed to mean?
Ye Shuyun immediately assumed he meant, “She’s okay.”
“If you like her, then you should spend more time with her and try your best to get married this year.”
“I…” Lu Yi was about to say something, but decided against it at the last second. Instead, he asked, “You like Fang Zhu?”
“I do,” Ye Shuyun nodded. “Xiao Zhu is a good woman. She has a competitive streak, but I’ll take that over all the sly, opportunistic women out there any day. She’ll make an excellent wife.” Ye Shuyun paused. She narrowed her eyes as she added, “I’m warning you, don’t you dare bring home one of those loose, immoral women. Look at Lu Qin— he’s been dating models and celebrities, one after another. Those women will never make good wives. If you date one,” Ye Shuyun’s expression darkened, “I’ll disown you. Understand?”
Lu Yi did not reply. He turned around to open the door to his room. Suddenly, he heard his mother give a loud shriek.
“Oh, how could I have forgotten to check?! I have to see whether my darling Yan Huan uploaded new photos today!”
Lu Yi’s fingers stilled on the doorknob. A moment later, he nonchalantly opened the door and walked into his room. He began to go about his usual routine, showering and getting ready for bed.
Just as he was about to lie down and turn off the lights, he got out his phone, feeling like a guilty schoolboy, and checked the site he had been frequenting lately.
There was a new batch of photos.
In the photos, a slender, beautiful lady was bathing a cat in a small basin. The photos captured her pretty looks from different angles, but it was obvious that the cat was not enjoying the experience. There was water all over the place from the cat’s frantic scrabbling, and the young lady was soaked.
I’m_Really_A_Cabbage: “FIRST!!!! Holy moly, my goddess is TOTES ADORBS. You’re such the caring, motherly type. I’m under your spell, I can’t break free! I’m going to be your loyal fan for the rest of my life. When’s your show airing on TV, my lovely goddess?”
CallMeXiaoMing: “^^^ Hey, that’s what I was going to say! I’ll support my goddess for as long as I live, come hell or high water. I love how my goddess doesn’t wear makeup, she’s so much more real than all the other superficial online celebrities. My lovely goddess won’t have any problems showing up on live broadcasts without any makeup— try beating that!”
XiaoHuahua: “I’m a new fan and follower. She’s soooo pretty. I’m obsessed with her. I want to lick my screen and eat my computer.”
The number of comments at the bottom of the page had been steadily increasing with each passing day. As soon as a new photo was uploaded, Yan Huan’s oldest, most loyal fans would immediately show up in the comments section to gush over their “goddess.” Each new day saw a significant increase in her follower count.
Innocent_Auntie: “She’s so beautiful! I want her as my daughter!”
CallMeXiaoMing: “Are you talking about the cat, Auntie?”
I’m_Really_A_Cabbage: “I want her too, haha…”
Lu Yi pressed the red heart symbol.
That was his way of leaving his mark on the page.
He set his phone down and pulled the blanket over him. In a few moments he was already soundly asleep; not even a thunderstorm would be able to wake him.
The next day, Fang Zhu paid him another visit. This was an unmistakable sign of interest from her: he met all her expectations, and she wished to take their relationship to the next level.
Lu Yi made no comment; he neither agreed nor disagreed. Ye Shuyun immediately assumed that he agreed.
Yan Huan held Little Bean in her arms as she walked into her gated community. The cat was extremely lethargic, Yan Huan wondered if she had been overfeeding her. The little cat had been listless lately, too uncomfortable to even meow.
She petted Little Bean on her tiny head. She had taken the cat to the vet just now, but the vet had said there was nothing wrong with her. Little Bean had seemed a little better after the vet fed her some medication, but she still did not move much or meow.
Yan Huan had adopted Little Bean from the streets. Back then, Little Bean had been a tiny, scrawny kitten with sparse, unkempt fur. She had blossomed into a full grown, gorgeous cat, and was now part of the loving little family that was Yi Ling, Yan Huan, and Little Bean.
Yan Huan walked to the elevator and pressed the up button. She was not surprised to see that the elevator was empty when it came as there was barely anyone living in the building. The elevators lay idle most of the time.
She removed her black-rimmed glasses and hung them on her collar. She petted Little Bean on the head as she cooed reassuringly: it’s all right, we’ll be home soon.
The elevator doors were closing when suddenly, they stopped and slid open again. A man and a woman entered the elevator. Yan Huan took a step backwards to make room for them.
A heavy, oppressive feeling suddenly weighed upon her heart. She turned her head away quickly, but it was too late, she had seen from the corner of her eye the faces of the man and the woman who had just walked in.
She had not seen him in a long while.
The last time they had met was when he had saved her, but she had slipped away and run home at the first opportunity. In retrospect, it seemed silly for her to have been so afraid of him, but she had been absolutely certain that she did not want to have anything to do with him. She knew it had been wrong of her to run off without thanking him or paying her hospital bill, but there had been no other way.
As for the woman with him, she knew who she was: Fang Zhu, the woman who had been set to marry Lu Yi in Yan Huan’s previous life.
There were two people in the Lu family that Yan Huan had absolutely loathed in her previous life. The first was Lu Yi: his emotionless, robotic personality had annoyed and scared Yan Huan at the same time. The second was Fang Zhu: back then, the woman had treated Yan Huan like dirt because of the difference in their status.
Yan Huan was the first to admit that she came from an unremarkable family. She had lost both her parents by the time she entered the Lu family, and what was worse, she didn’t even know who her father was. She had never discovered his identity. Fang Zhu, on the other hand, was from a highly-educated and distinguished family. Both her parents were professors, and Fang Zhu herself was an A+ student who excelled in everything, including her career. She had become a lecturer at a university at the age of 25, which was truly an exceptional feat. Most of her students were older than her.
Yan Huan knew it was impossible for her to ever be Fang Zhu’s equal in terms of family background and IQ. In her previous life, Fang Zhu had known it as well, and rubbed it in her face by mocking Yan Huan for being a lowly actress. Fang Zhu had zero respect for those in showbiz.
Naturally, Yan Huan had not liked Fang Zhu either. In her view, Fang Zhu seemed like a haughty, old-fashioned nun. She wondered what Lu Yi saw in her: was it her eternally frozen-in-place nun hairstyle, or that arrogant, holier-than-thou look in her eyes?
Yan Huan gently caressed Little Bean’s tiny head. She felt her throat close up, she was feeling unhappy and nauseated. Her nose began to sting. She felt like crying.
She was surprised at herself. What was she crying over? What did any of this have to do with her, anyway?
