Chapter 40: Not Necessarily a Happy Ending

Lin Luqing still held a grudge against Shen Yuwan for handing Bai Yaya over to human traffickers, and she had no intention of acknowledging her presence.

But Shen Yuwan acted as though she had discovered a new continent and kept pestering Zhou Xian with questions.

“She was your first love? Really? I never would’ve guessed. Why did you two break up back then?”

With just a single sentence, Zhou Xian dragged Lin Luqing back into the shadows she had carried for years.

“Back then, I was poor and couldn’t give her a good life.”

Lin Luqing could barely lift her head. The label of “gold digger” had been stuck to her like a nail long before she left school.

She was quite well-known in school. Whenever someone mentioned her, they’d say, “Oh, the girl who broke up with the school heartthrob for money.”

She had always wanted to preserve the dignity of that relationship and had never spoken ill of Zhou Xian.

But Zhou Xian, like a lingering ghost, still clung to that story after all these years.

Shen Yuwan feigned pity. “What a shame. If you hadn’t broken up back then, Miss Lin would be enjoying a good life now.”

Li Fan replied coolly, “Not necessarily a happy life.”

Lin Luqing suddenly looked up at her, sensing something deeper in her words.

Li Fan smiled at her. “There are many forms of happiness. Yaya is also part of your happiness, isn’t she?”

Lin Luqing nodded with a smile. “Indeed. After being with Bai Xiaoxian for so long, I’ve had countless regrets, but Yaya is something I’ve never once regretted.”

She shot a cold glance at Shen Yuwan. “Miss Shen probably wouldn’t understand this kind of bond between parent and child. If you did, you wouldn’t have used my daughter to shield you from danger yesterday.”

The jab struck home. Shen Yuwan’s expression shifted slightly, forcing a smile.

“Things happened too fast yesterday. We were all frightened and said things we didn’t mean. Please don’t take it seriously.”

Gu Lanyi sneered. “Pushing a woman and a child out like that… that’s not something any normal person would do. It was cruel, inhumane.”

At the mention of yesterday, both Shen Yuwan and Liang Kang fell silent.

Shen Yuwan bit her lip in embarrassment. She had said she wouldn’t stay, yet Shen Guochang had insisted she remain.

A dispute was about to break out when Ren Xuan quickly stepped in to announce that everyone would go on a boat outing this morning.

Shen Yuwan muttered, “…I’m not going.”

After what happened last time, she now had a psychological shadow over Baima Lake.

Just being near the lake brought back terrifying memories.

Ren Xuan smiled. “This time, it’s a large boat. We’ll have lunch onboard. There’s even a restroom—it’s all very convenient.”

In other words, nothing like what happened to Shen Yuwan last time would happen again.

【I still can’t face Baima Lake. Just looking at it reminds me of Shen Yuwan’s mess.】

【Gotta hand it to Shen Yuwan—her mental fortitude is next-level. She still hasn’t fled.】

【Do y’all even know how popular Peach Blossom Spring is right now? So many celebrities are fighting to be on it. She just left, and someone new took her spot.】

【There’s going to be a second season, right? I’m bookmarking this now. No way I’m missing it. It’s like watching gossip live.】

No one except Shen Yuwan and Liang Kang refused Ren Xuan’s suggestion.

Baima Village, with its scenic lake and mountains, was breathtakingly beautiful.

Dining on the boat was a genuine pleasure.

Liang Kang held her hand. “If you don’t want to go, we won’t.”

Shen Yuwan gripped his hand back, letting out a charming laugh.

“Everyone else is going—how can we not?”

The more people wanted to see her fall, the more she had to act like she was totally fine.

The group boarded the boat. Li Fan found a seat and sat down, stretching comfortably.

Among them, only Li Fan seemed completely relaxed—like she was truly enjoying a vacation.

Ren Xuan’s gaze swept across the guests one by one, silently hoping they wouldn’t end up trending online again and that everything would go smoothly.

Before long, Ren Xuan brought out a new guest from the cabin.

“This is Mr. Qi Jinyun, one of our investors. His family’s in the pharmaceutical business.”

Li Fan lifted her gaze. She had seen Qi Jinyun once before at a dinner party with Han Xuzhou.

What did his family do again?

006: 【Their fortune came from male enhancement drugs. Now they’ve got a whole chain of health supplements and men’s hospitals. Pretty successful. Qi Jinyun is outgoing, like a sunny boy. He was once Shen Yuwan’s type and dated her for a while. But later, Shen Yuwan met a ‘puppy-like’ guy and dumped him.】

Li Fan was a little surprised. Her eyes flitted between Shen Yuwan and Qi Jinyun.

But both of them were pretending extremely well—as if they’d never met.

Qi Jinyun greeted Zhou Xian first. “Vice President Zhou, what a coincidence.”

Compared to Qi Jinyun’s enthusiasm, Zhou Xian’s smile was a bit forced.

“Young Master Qi, long time no see.”

Qi Jinyun laughed heartily. “Not that long. I heard someone say you recently picked up some medicine at our store.”

Li Fan almost spit out her tea. She was the only one who got the joke—and not being able to share the laugh was torture!

This time, Ruan Li dodged in time and didn’t get splashed. She mumbled, “What kind of illness do you even have?”

Li Fan wiped her mouth and smiled. “What medicine was it?”

Zhou Xian’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly changed the subject. “The boat’s a bit boring. Didn’t we plan any other activities?”

Ruan Li nodded. “Yeah, this is kind of dull. At least give us some sunflower seeds or something.”

Qi Jinyun suggested, “How about we play cards?”

【Cards? Meh. I want truth or dare!】

【Truth or dare +1. Maybe we’ll dig up some juicy secrets.】

【I just want drama! Give me gossip!】

【Is no one curious what kind of medicine Vice President Zhou bought from Mr. Qi?】

Some viewers had also caught the hint about Zhou Xian buying medicine, but no one dug further.

Ren Xuan brought up the audience suggestions, but Ruan Li shot them down. “We already played that before.”

And she had been totally exposed—Li Fan revealed she was wearing height-boosting insoles.

Now, Ruan Li had a personal vendetta against truth or dare.

Li Fan didn’t care much for games. She was fine with whatever.

In the end, the crew decided on a “Truth Round.”

The show would ask questions, and the guests had to answer honestly.

This was what the viewers were really here for.

The guests sat in a circle. Some fruit was placed on the table, but Li Fan looked totally uninterested.

The first question from the crew: “Why did you break up with your first love?”

Ruan Li groaned, “You should at least ask if we had a first love. I’ve been single since birth—I haven’t had one!”

Gu Lanyi tried to think of Han Ansu but instead saw Han Xuzhou’s face, and her thoughts became a little chaotic.

“Incompatible personalities.”

Now that she thought of Han Ansu, the pain wasn’t even there anymore.

Li Fan curled her lips. “My husband is my first love. We never broke up.”

Shen Yuwan looked at her and chuckled lightly. “Back when we arranged your marriage, we never imagined you two would be so close.”

Outsiders might not notice, but her mockery was blatant—Li Fan didn’t miss it.

It was like she was saying: You really love a cripple like that?

Li Fan replied with a smile, “Life’s full of surprises. Like, before joining this show, I didn’t know your performances would be so… spectacular.”

Shen Yuwan’s face instantly darkened.