“It’s nothing.” Yan Huan put her things away. She moved in the direction of the bathroom to shower and change her clothes when she suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to inform Yi Ling about their dinner plans. “Oh, right!”
She turned to Yi Ling. “YIyi, Lu Yi’s taking us out to dinner. He’s treating us to hot pot.”
“Really?”
Yi Ling did not wait for Yan Huan to reply; she tossed the cleaning rag in her hands to the side and said, “Well, in that case, the cleaning can wait. Gotta fill my belly first. I’ll clean the place when we get back. It’s not like it’ll take long anyway.”
“Yes, really,” said Yan Huan belatedly. She sighed inwardly at Yi Ling’s habit of dropping everything at the mention of food, but she did not really mind: this was the Yi Ling she knew, and most importantly, she was still alive.
Yan Huan was in an inexplicably good mood. She had been shouldering a heavy burden ever since the day she had woken up to her second chance at life, and now, finally, the weight on her back had grown a little lighter. But she knew better than to be complacent: this was only the beginning of her rivalry with Su Muran.
Su Muran was not the type of woman who would let her enemies off the hook so easily.
Yan Huan was not afraid. In her previous life, Yan Huan had played right into Lu Qin’s hands because she had been naïve and stupid. This time around, she was going to stay far, far away from that scumbag and that witch.
She walked into the bathroom. Before stepping into the shower, she stopped to gaze at herself in the mirror. The face staring back at her was young, pretty, and clean—both literally and figuratively.
“I’m so glad…” she muttered to herself. She was glad that she had met her Mr. Right before it was too late, this time around.
She patted her warm cheeks and let out a soft sigh. After that, she showered and dressed herself.
When she walked out of the bathroom, Yi Ling had already changed into a fresh set of clothes.
Yi Ling pointed to the door. “We’re going out for dinner, right?” She placed her hands upon her growling stomach. “I’m starving.”
“Yes, we’re eating out.” Yan Huan put on a pair of black-rim glasses and a hat. She knew Lu Yi would never take her to a place that was crawling with paparazzi, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The paparazzi were everywhere these days.
Yi Ling bounced off the sofa and onto her feet. She eagerly yanked the front door open and ran out without waiting for Yan Huan.
Yan Huan got out her phone and called Lu Yi. Her heart soared when she heard his voice on the other end of the line, and a gentle, serene warmth washed over her. She could not help smiling.
“We’re ready. What about you?”
“I’m waiting outside.” Lu Yi was already in his car. He was a true man of action: he never wasted a second of his time.
When Yan Huan and Yi Ling had gotten into the car and buckled up, Lu Yi started the car and drove east, towards a quiet section of the neighborhood.
“This place is run by a friend of Qingyi’s. We come here to eat sometimes. It’s a little out of the way, but the food isn’t half bad.”
Lu Yi parked the car. The restaurant was far from crowded due to its remote location, but Yan Huan was not the type to take any chances: she pretended to rearrange her hair as she covertly checked whether anyone had recognized her. Her precautions turned out to be entirely unnecessary; there were only a handful of diners in the restaurant, and they were all busy eating. No one was going to look up from their food just to take creepshots of her.
“Don’t worry.” Lu Yi turned to look at her. Yan Huan suddenly realized that he was standing very, very close.
“It’s safe here. No one will recognize you.”
He was so close to her now Yan Huan could feel his breath upon her face. It was a tingly, ticklish sensation; Yan Huan cupped her cheeks automatically; she could see her reflection in Lu Yi’s dark eyes.
His honest, sincere eyes remained fixed upon her. Yan Huan immediately looked down and kept her eyes on the tips of her toes, too shy to meet his eyes.
She did not see Lu Yi’s lips curve into an almost imperceptible smile.
A moment later, the waiter led them to a private room located at the back of the restaurant. As soon as he opened the door, they were greeted with the sight of Lei Qingyi leaping to his feet.
“Finally!” He checked the time on his watch. “What took you so long? I’m about to die of hunger.”
“You and me both.” Yi Ling automatically sat next to Lei Qingyi, and the two of them began to discuss the menu. Yan Huan did not join in; she was not a picky eater, and anyway they would all be ordering a mini hot pot of their own.
Once they had placed their orders, Yi Ling began to regale Lei Qingyi with stories from the production set.
“Did you know? Su Muran shamelessly stole the role that was supposed to go to my lovely Huanhuan, but she ended up wrecking the entire show. Her family then hired a bunch of shills to try to salvage her reputation online, but it didn’t work.”
“Hahaha!” Before the others could react, Yi Ling was already cackling maniacally at her own story.
“Oh you.” Lei Qingyi poked Yi Ling in the forehead; he did not know whether to be impressed or dismayed by her naivete. “You have no idea how powerful Su Muran is, do you? If Lu Yi hadn’t gotten his grandfather to help out, you’d be eating mud right about now.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Yi Ling’s jaw dropped. She quickly shut her mouth when she realized she was gaping like a fool—the last thing she wanted was to accidentally swallow a fly..
Lei Qingyi rolled his eyes. “What do you think? There’s only one thing the Su family is afraid of in this world, and that’s the Ye family. If it wasn’t for the Ye family, the Su family would have banished you and Yan Huan from showbiz by now.”
Yan Huan knew that was true. The Su family was no ordinary family; they were the local bullies, with a family tree that could be traced back a hundred years. Their foundation was strong, and they had aces up their sleeves. The fact that they had weathered every storm since the founding of the country, plus the fact that Lu Qin had abandoned his wife and sacrificed his own daughter to save Su Muran, were proof enough of the Su family’s power and influence. Lu Qin had not chosen Su Muran because of her qualities, or because she had been a rising star in showbiz, or because he had been head over heels in love with her; he had chosen her simply because she was the only heir to the Su family. As long as Su Muran was with him, he had the support of the entire Su family, thus giving him enough power to compete with Lu Yi for the position of top dog. In her previous life, Yan Huan had helped him amass a large fortune and a vast network of connections; all he had needed was an opportunity to seize real power and influence, and that opportunity had come to him in the form of Su Muran.
She did not know what had happened next. Who had won in the end—Lu Qin or Lu Yi? There was no way for her to know, because she had already turned into a pale corpse lying in a puddle of blood by then.
“What’s wrong?” A voice that was neither warm nor cold sounded from beside her, disrupting her straying thoughts and forcing her to return to the present. She looked up to see Lu Yi frowning slightly at her, a flicker of concern in his eyes.
“Nothing. I was just reminded of something.” Yan Huan smiled at him as she blinked back the tears that threatened to gather in her eyes. She tried to think of other things; the memories of her previous life were just too painful and sad for her right now.
Lu Yi reached out and pinched her cheek. “Don’t be afraid. You have me.”
He meant what he said: she had nothing to worry about, as long as he was around.
His laconic, matter-of-fact statement was all Yan Huan needed from him. She preferred his short and simple vow to the flowery verbiage that often proved to be nothing more than empty promises. Lu Qin had been guilty of that in her previous life: he had been a smooth talker—the kind who could nonchalantly spin a hundred lies without breaking a sweat—and he had unabashedly talked of giving his life to Yan Huan when they had been dating.
