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The next day.
As soon as Lin Jiayu arrived at school, she said to Xu En’tang, “I dreamt about that red bean bread and milk last night!”
Xu En’tang: “What kind of dream was it?”
“It was a nightmare!”
Lin Jiayu pulled out a chair and sat down. “I dreamt I had to find out which bread and milk Tan Jili bought from a pile of them for an exam. If I picked the wrong one, I would fail. It scared me awake.”
Xu En’tang: …
Lin Jiayu lamented, “If you’d told me earlier that it was Tan Jili who paid, I wouldn’t have eaten it. I would have saved it for the monthly exam.”
Upon arriving in Class 2, she felt clearly that her classmates were exceptionally capable, and the teacher would explain deeper knowledge points and problem-solving approaches.
Her performance in last semester’s final exam had a bit of luck involved, and she was worried her results in this monthly exam wouldn’t be as good.
Xu En’tang: “By then, the bread would have expired.”
Lin Jiayu, reminded of this, paused for a moment, then said, “I could keep it as a good luck charm or an offering!”
Xu En’tang: …
Lin Jiayu: “I didn’t expect my deskmate to know Tan Jili. By association, I know a big shot too!”
Xu En’tang: “We’re not close; it’s mainly that my grandfather knows his grandfather.”
Lin Jiayu: “That still counts as knowing him. Don’t worry, I won’t spread rumors.”
Even if they were close, she wouldn’t spread rumors.
Last night, after finishing her homework, she glanced at that group chat and saw they were discussing the girl from the convenience store.
With this kind of situation, if she got found out, it would be trouble.
Her deskmate was a quiet and diligent person.
Whenever Lin Jiayu felt tired from studying, seeing her deskmate so focused motivated her again.
Choosing the right deskmate was important.
She didn’t want her deskmate to be disturbed.
So, Tan Jili was fine in every way, but it was a pity he had such a face.
In the evening after school, Xu En’tang returned to Fuyuan and noticed an extra car outside.
She recognized the license plate.
It was Lu Jin’s father’s car.
The numbers on the plate were memorable at first glance.
Sure enough, when she went inside, she ran into Aunt Zhou, who informed her that Lu Jin’s parents were visiting.
“They came for dinner, and it’s a good chance to see you.”
Xu En’tang nodded. “I’ll go put my backpack away first.”
After putting her backpack in her room, Xu En’tang didn’t linger.
To get from her room to the dining hall, she had to walk through a winding path, then up a corridor, following along the corridor.
At the intersection of the winding path and the long corridor stood a wood hydrangea.
As Xu En’tang reached the wood hydrangea, she saw Lu Jin coming from the other side of the corridor.
She instinctively paused, not wanting to run into him.
However, Lu Jin didn’t walk directly past her but stopped instead.
The landscaping of Fuyuan was styled after the exquisite southern gardens, with even the ground carefully designed, paved with auspicious patterned gravel, each section different, resembling woven brocade on the ground.
Exiting Xu En’tang’s room led her right into a section of the cross-shaped begonia patterned street.
She stood still in the middle of a four-petaled begonia.
Lu Jin tilted his head to look at her, a familiar air of indulgence and indifference in his brows, casually teasing, “Did they install traffic lights here? Green light for east-west, red light for north-south?”
Xu En’tang: …
Lu Jin smirked slightly, withdrew his gaze, and continued forward.
Xu En’tang walked up the corridor, following him at a distance.
The two of them arrived at the dining hall, one in front of the other.
The Lu family’s grandfather, grandmother, and Lu Jin’s parents were all there.
Lu Jin…
He first called out, “Grandpa, Grandma,” and then looked at his parents, saying, “Mom, Dad.”
That “Mom, Dad” sounded distinctly perfunctory.
After greeting them, he casually sat down nearby.
Lu Shengtao frowned at his behavior, disapprovingly saying, “No manners at all.”
Lu Jin ignored him, taking out his phone and scrolling through the screen with his fingertips.
Since there were others present, Lu Shengtao restrained himself from saying more.
Xu En’tang was not surprised.
Lu Jin’s relationship with his parents had always been poor.
“This must be Tang Tang?” Lu Jin’s mother, Wei He, looked at Xu En’tang.
Grandmother Lu introduced Xu En’tang, saying, “This is A Jin’s mom.”
Xu En’tang: “Hello, Uncle and Aunt.”
Wei He smiled. “I’ve been wanting to see you for a long time. I’ve often heard the old man mention you.”
Wei He then asked a few questions about her recent situation.
“Are you getting used to living in Fuyuan?”
Xu En’tang nodded. “I’m used to it.”
“Are you adapting to the new school?”
Xu En’tang: “It’s okay, I’ve already adapted.”
Wei He’s tone was very gentle.
But Xu En’tang knew this was just for the sake of her grandfather and grandmother.
In reality, Wei He didn’t like her.
In her past life, Xu En’tang had tried to please her, wanting to change her opinion, but it had never worked.
Later, she learned that Wei He looked down on her background.
She was wary of someone like her trying to seduce or climb up to Lu Jin.
Xu En’tang’s grandfather was a principal before retirement, and her grandmother was a university professor; the Xu family was considered a scholarly family.
However, in this circle, that wasn’t enough.
Her humble attempts to please only made Wei He look down on her even more.
But later, Xu En’tang still married Lu Jin.
After the marriage, Wei He still looked down on her.
At that time, Xu En’tang didn’t care, thinking that as long as she fulfilled her duties as a daughter-in-law, it would be fine.
She had married Lu Jin and just wanted to live well with him.
Who knew that Lu Jin had married her just to go against Wei He?
After a brief chat, dinner was served.
During the meal, the elders talked, and when Xu En’tang was asked about herself, she would respond, while Lu Jin hardly spoke.
Lu Shengtao and Wei He had clearly come tonight to discuss something with the elders.
Xu En’tang was perceptive; after finishing her meal, she sat for a while before excusing herself under the pretext of needing to do her homework.
Once out of the dining hall, Xu En’tang didn’t return to her room but instead went to the pond.
It was already late in the season for blooming water lilies in autumn, and she could only see oval leaves floating on the water.
Xu En’tang sat by the pond, staring at the nearly full moon reflected on the water’s surface.
Wei He’s appearance reminded her of events from her past life, leaving her feeling somewhat melancholic.
Just now, watching the three generations of the Lu family sitting together, she suddenly thought of her own parents.
Both of her parents were humanitarian doctors.
When she was eight years old, they tragically died during an air raid while on a mission.
Due to their work, they often traveled abroad for months at a time, and Xu En’tang lived with her grandparents for most of her childhood.
As a child, she always thought she didn’t need her parents and was happy living with her grandparents.
But when the news of her parents’ deaths came, she cried heartbrokenly.
She had become a child without a mother and father.
A breeze brushed against her cheek.
Xu En’tang returned to reality, realizing her eyes were already wet.
She collected herself and wiped away her tears.
Hearing some movement, she turned her head and met Lu Jin’s gaze.
The light illuminated Xu En’tang’s teary eyes, making them shine like autumn water shattered within.
Her eyelashes trembled as she quickly masked her emotions, averting her gaze back to the water.
Her clear profile was distant and unapproachable.
Lu Jin pretended not to see, indifferently shifting his gaze back to the messages on his phone, not intending to meddle.
Xu En’tang heard footsteps approaching, growing louder as they passed behind her.
Suddenly, the footsteps stopped.
After a moment, Lu Jin’s low voice, laced with casualness and accompanied by the chirping of insects, came through.
“Are you not happy living here?”