Life at school was a completely different world from the one outside.
It was April.
The grass was growing, the orioles were in flight, and the weather was pleasant. The whole world was impossibly warm.
Chen Yuan rushed back from Kyoto early in the morning, arriving at the school gates just after seven. The sun was already high in the sky, bathing everything in brilliant light. The tree-lined avenue was quiet, as most students were still in their dorms, sleeping in.
The few who were rushing back from off-campus, their faces haggard, were presumably the night owls who hadn’t made it back to their dorms at all.
Stepping onto campus, Chen Yuan felt a profound sense of relief. The feeling was, of course, a direct result of his trip to Kyoto. He’d had two meetings a day, each lasting over an hour, argued with Jiang Zhengfeng in the afternoon, and then been dragged to greet a crowd of board members in the evening.
He wasn’t much of a drinker, and after a few glasses, he was flushed from his face down to his neck. His head was buzzing for the entire second half of the reception.
As Jiang Zhengfeng’s only son, Chen Yuan had never been presented to the board of directors before. His sudden appearance to familiarize himself with the entire leadership of the Jiang Corporation was a necessary evil.
Even though he hated it, he endured it.
’A person has to learn to adapt.’
But once he was on campus, everything felt so wonderful, so fresh. Everywhere he went, there was a bright, clean air, a world away from the debauchery of the cocktail party. The more he was exposed to the turbulent world of business, the more he cherished attending his classes. In the classroom, he could absorb the purest form of knowledge. Studying without distraction, completely focused, had surprisingly become a kind of pleasure.
Today was Friday.
It didn’t take long for Chen Yuan to reach his dorm. A smile touched his lips as he imagined how he’d startle the lazy bums awake.
"Time for your 8 AM class! Get up!"
BANG! He burst into the dorm, startling Liu Nan, who was dozing bleary-eyed in his bed and jolted at the sound.
...
"Obviously! He knew how serious it was, so of course he put on a big show of remorse, crying and begging for our forgiveness. Those were crocodile tears, don’t you get it?"
"The president of the class next door was about to beat him up. Yuan, you should’ve seen it."
As soon as class let out for lunch, Liu Nan and the others started walking out of the academic building, excitedly talking over each other as they recounted the story of catching the food delivery thief from two days ago.
"So did he get beaten up in the end?" he asked curiously.
"Of course not. We just made him pay the money back and sign an IOU."
"We’re classmates, after all. Everyone’s a bit soft-hearted. But now half the school knows, so he’s too ashamed to show his face."
"You don’t just resort to stealing food deliveries for no reason. That guy clearly got mixed up in something bad. He can’t even afford to eat, and he’s skipping class. He used to be a decent guy, too."
"I bet it’s—"
They were chattering on excitedly, but Chen Yuan glanced at the time and cut them off, saying he had to go. He’d promised he would be home for lunch.
Besides, he hadn’t been home since yesterday.
Chen Yuan found himself missing the two sisters at home.
He had no classes this afternoon, and the weekend was right after. It was the perfect chance to drive Jiangg Yao to a pet store. During a casual chat once, Yaoyao had revealed that she wanted a cat, but her sister had always been against the idea.
Chen Yuan planned to surprise her. He would pretend they were going to buy something else and then drive straight to the pet store.
Imagining Jiangg Yao’s happy expression, he hastily said goodbye to his friends.
"Man, seriously. We haven’t hung out in forever, and he won’t even grab a bite with us before taking off."
"He’s got a girlfriend to get back to. Not like us, who’ve got nothing better to do."
"Forget it. Let’s just go back to the dorm and play some games. No point trekking all the way to the cafeteria. Let’s order in!"
The three of them watched Chen Yuan’s retreating figure, their hearts a mixture of envy and a faint bitterness.
...
"I’m home!"
Chen Yuan hadn’t wasted a second on his way, rushing back nonstop. Even the elevator seemed to be moving much slower than usual as he waited for it.
When he was with the two sisters, he never felt such a sharp sense of longing.
Only now, after a day and a half apart, did he realize how much he needed their warmth.
Especially after bringing up the matter of marrying both sisters to Jiang Zhengfeng, he’d wanted to fly straight home and look at their faces to steel his resolve.
However, as he changed into his slippers in the entryway and peeked into the living room, he was met with an unfamiliar silence.
A few seconds later, the door to the secondary bedroom opened, and a girl in bunny-print pajamas stepped out.
Her hair was tied up casually, half of it tucked into the pajama hood. Her long, delicate neck was exposed, and one could even see the graceful line of her collarbones.
It was a simple outfit that did nothing to accentuate her features, yet the girl’s natural beauty made even the pajamas look chic.
For a fleeting moment, Chen Yuan thought it was Jiangg Ning. Her slightly dazed expression and the look in her eyes didn’t seem like Yaoyao.
"Young Master, you’re finally back? I was starting to think you weren’t coming home to have lunch with me."
The moment the girl spoke, her coquettish tone and the sweet smile on her face made Chen Yuan pause for half a second before he quickly recovered.
"Of course not. I rushed back the second class ended. I’m exhausted. I hate being out; it’s so much better at home," Chen Yuan sighed, flopping onto the sofa. "Is Ningning not here?"
She answered naturally, "Didn’t she tell you? She went back to Mingzhu City. Her flight was just a little while ago."
"Huh? She didn’t."
"Something came up with my mommy, so she was called back in a hurry."
"No wonder she didn’t reply to my message. She usually gets home from her classes before I do."
"My sister came home in a real hurry," she said, walking over and sitting cross-legged on the sofa, revealing the soft soles of her feet. A thoughtful expression crossed her face. "She packed her things and left right away. I’m not too clear on the details myself."
"It was that urgent? Why didn’t she let me drive her... I’ll give her a call."
Without a moment’s delay, Chen Yuan pulled out his phone to call Jiangg Ning.
What he didn’t know was that the real Jiangg Ning was sitting right in front of him, mimicking her sister’s mannerisms and watching him without blinking.
The two sisters had been up nearly all night, discussing their various strategies and hashing out the details until after four in the morning.
An electronic tone beeped steadily from his phone.
Naturally, the call wouldn’t go through.
He lowered his phone, a hint of worry creasing his brow. He murmured, "She’s not answering my texts, and the call won’t connect... She couldn’t be on the plane already, could she?"
Then he turned his head and asked, "Yaoyao, did she say anything before she left?"
"Nope. She just told me not to worry. Young Master, there’s no need to keep calling. My sister is so thorough; she’ll definitely get back to you as soon as she lands."
As Jiangg Ning imitated her sister’s way of speaking, she lowered her gaze and looked away, seemingly in low spirits.
Her anger from yesterday and her unwavering resolve to demand an explanation... somehow, in the short time she’d been with him, that determination had begun to waver.
In that moment, she even began to doubt herself.
Looking at Chen Yuan’s clear eyes and his worried expression, Jiangg Ning’s heart softened uncontrollably. This was, after all, the man she loved.
She couldn’t reconcile the image of the bastard who was two-timing them with the man before her now, and her heart was thrown into turmoil.
"Sigh, so your sister’s not home."
"Mhm..." she hummed softly in agreement.
"Good thing she’s not here, then. I’m exhausted, and I drank way too much last night. Yaoyao, come give my legs a massage."
"???"
Chen Yuan’s utterly natural request made Jiangg Ning freeze, abruptly cutting off the complex swirl of her emotions.
’Wait, Yaoyao didn’t say anything about *this* happening last night, did she?’
’He just asks for a leg massage right off the bat? Is her status really this low...?’