Extra 1

This translation is by Pocketrobbin at S h a n g h a i f a n t a s y . c o m

Xu Wenyin was very angry now!

Looking at Xu Youyou, who was sitting on the opposite sofa while smiling fawningly, and Lu Chenjun sitting beside her with a proper posture, Xu Wenyin couldn’t help but feel that her system life was really too difficult.

Last night, whether it was Qin Yiren or Xu Youyou, they did indeed recount most of what had happened in the past six months. However, for some reason, whether they forgot about it or something else, not a single one of them told her this one thing.

The tender little cabbage she had raised was eaten by a pig^[1]it compares a great lady to a cabbage and a bad man to a pig/boar; the couple isn’t a good match!

Half a year, she was only away for half a year, how come they have gotten together so quickly? It must be the fault of this sly and cunning Xiao Juanmao!

So infuriating! She took another look but it’s still infuriating!

The matter had to be traced back to earlier.

Perhaps it was because she had been really tired lately, but after confirming that her mother was okay, Xu Youyou completely relaxed, and the next morning, she hadn’t woken up until nearly ten o’clock.

At nine thirty, when Xu Wenyin ‘saw’ Lu Chenjun at the door, she decided to come out. She wanted to learn more about what had happened in the past six months, as Xu Youyou might have hidden some things from her to prevent her from worrying. This boy is clever, he should know, right?

“Aunt Xu.” Lu Chenjun politely greeted. “Is Xiao Lu still sleeping?”
 
Xu Wenyin nodded. At this point, she hadn’t noticed anything wrong yet. After all, when they were in Jiang City before, Lu Chenjun often came to their house to wait for Xu Youyou to wake up. Then the two of them would jog around the villa for exercise.

Afterward, Xu Wenyin and Lu Chenjun began a question-and-answer session. Lu Chenjun’s language was concise and he answered every question, grasping all the key points, causing Xu Wenyin to look at the young man who was already taller than her with approval.

After all, she had also watched Lu Chenjun grow up. Although this guy seemed to have some ulterior motives towards Xu Youyou, as long as Xu Youyou didn’t mind, Xu Wenyin could let it go.

After all, her Youyou is so outstanding that attracting admirers was just normal.

Up to this point, nothing had happened yet.

At ten thirteen.

Xu Youyou stumbled out of her room, half-awake, and greeted Xu Wenyin and Lu Chenjun with half-closed eyes, seeming not fully awake yet.

She slept for nearly ten hours, which was a long time for Xu Youyou. Her head was now as heavy as if it was stuffed with cotton.

She was still wearing pajamas at the moment, but because it was winter, even though the room’s heating was on, she was tightly wrapped. So Xu Wenyin didn’t feel that there was anything inappropriate. The two were childhood friends so she didn’t have a strong sense of wariness towards Lu Chenjun.

Plus they were just too familiar with each other.

Immediately after, Lu Chenjun stood up.

The next moment, Lu Chenjun reached out to Xu Youyou, extending his dog paw! He grabbed Xu Youyou’s hand with one hand and placed his other hand around her waist as they moved towards the sofa, as if afraid that Xu Youyou’s current state might cause her to stumble or something. The two of them were extremely close!

Xu Youyou didn’t resist at all. The familiar atmosphere made her instinctively relax her body, leaning her head against Lu Chenjun’s chest. She even nuzzled against it.

Her eyes, which were already half-closed, closed completely, and she entrusted herself to Lu Chenjun with great peace of mind.

With such skilled movements and a cozy atmosphere, Xu Wenyin wouldn’t believe for a second that this was their first time being affectionate like this!

“Y-you two? Juanmao! Move your paws!”

Either she exploded in silence or suffocated in silence.

Although Xu Wenyin was somewhat clueless about her own emotions, she was incredibly insightful when it came to Xu Youyou’s matters. It was as if she had suddenly unlocked her hidden potential, like opening the gates of a dam. Lasers could practically shoot out of her eyes.

Xu Wenyin’s shout snapped Xu Youyou back to reality.

Seeing her mother glaring at Lu Chenjun, she finally remembered that she seemed to have forgotten about this matter.

Juanjuan! What should we do?

Adapt to the situation as it comes.

The two quickly exchanged glances and began to face the parent’s anger!

“Honesty brings leniency, resistance brings severity.”

Xu Wenyin crossed her arms, her gaze sharp, as if possessed by the spirit of a high school disciplinary teacher.

Xu Youyou was about to speak up and confess, but Lu Chenjun beat her to it, saying, “Aunt Xu, we—”

“You’re truly in love?”

Xu Wenyin gave a disdainful look and interrupted, her eyes seemed to be saying, ‘Little guy, you’re still too young for this’.

Lu Chenjun, who originally intended to say ‘We have carefully considered our future’, suddenly found himself at a loss for words. However, he quickly recovered and continued, “Please—”

“Give you my permission?”

Just as Lu Chenjun uttered a word, Xu Wenyin cut in again.

Lu Chenjun: “……”

Xu Youyou: “……Pffft.”

Unable to hold back her laughter, Xu Youyou earned a ‘loving gaze’ from her mother. She quickly straightened her posture and cleared her throat lightly. “Mom, do you think there’s something wrong with Juanjuan? I’ll make him change it!”

Xu Wenyin opened her mouth, “He-, he……”

Is there anything wrong with Lu Chenjun? Xu Wenyin fell into silence for a moment, contemplating.

From the perspective of human mate selection standards, it all boils down to family background, appearance, character, and how well they treat their partner.

Even Xu Wenyin, couldn’t, in all honesty, say that Lu Chenjun didn’t measure up in these aspects.

Especially in terms of how well he treated Xu Youyou, Lu Chenjun had proven over the course of fifteen years that when it came to this, he excelled without question.

Even with the mother-in-law issues that many human women worry about, Xu Wenyin dared to guarantee that Qin Yiren would definitely favor Xu Youyou more.

Mother-in-law issues? Non-existent!

But-, but does that mean she had to entrust her precious child to this stinky boy?

Xu Wenyin’s face turned serious. “He breathes, that’s not good!”

That’s right, she’s just being unreasonable.

Xu Wenyin’s words stunned Xu Youyou. She turned to look at Lu Chenjun beside her. “Then, Juanjuan, how about it?”

Lu Chenjun: “……” No, he really couldn’t do anything about that!

However, when Xu Wenyin said that, Xu Youyou, who understood her well, naturally knew that her mother was no longer angry.

The initial agitation was probably due to the suddenness of the news, making it difficult to accept all at once, right?

Very dutifully, Xu Youyou abandoned her boyfriend and squeezed onto the single-person sofa where Xu Wenyin was sitting, wrapping her arms around her. “Mom, don’t worry, I’m not a lovesick fool.”

Taking a step back, even if Lu Chenjun really changed in the future, Xu Youyou would be upset and sad, but she definitely wouldn’t be devastated.

Xu Wenyin looked at Xu Youyou, then at Lu Chenjun. The balloon of her anger, which had been inflated to its fullest, suddenly deflated.

The little cabbage jumped into the pig’s mouth on its own. What could she do? She could only menacingly threaten the pig, “If you dare to treat Youyou badly, I’ll…… I’ll pluck out all your curly hair! I’ll make you into a big baldy!”

Faced with such a threat, Lu Chenjun felt as if a chill ran down his spine. To prevent Xiao Lu from having no hair to touch, he nodded solemnly.

Xu Youyou was helpless. No, really, there’s no need for that! How was it the hair’s fault anyway?

The love between the two young people can be considered to have cleared a path. Although Xu Wenyin was still unhappy, she didn’t do anything to break up the couple.

She had seen too many similar examples on TV. Generally, young people of this age are rebellious. The more their parents oppose, the more they want to be together. When pushed to the limit, they might even run away from home, have a pregnancy before marriage, and then one of them might have amnesia from a car accident. Several years later, they would reunite with their cute child……

No, no, Xu Wenyin shook off the images in her mind. She would absolutely not allow the two to renew their relationship then!

A good horse will never turn round to graze on an old pasture.

Completely unaware of what her mother might be imagining, Xu Youyou was busy celebrating the success of her art exhibition.

Among them, the painting 《Mother》 received high praise, and many people who wanted to buy it with a large sum of money were rejected.

It was not for sale. Xu Youyou had painted it specifically for Xu Wenyin, and no matter how much money was offered, it was not for sale.

In addition, several of Xu Youyou’s new works were sold on the spot, with the highest-priced one directly exceeding one million.

For a painter who was only eighteen years old and still alive, this was simply a rarity.

Regardless of whether this had brought face to herself or the Qin family, Xu Youyou was very happy. She wasn’t the kind of person who shunned the joys of life, and she understood that this was a society built on interpersonal relationships.

All she could do was focus on her artwork and strive to improve, and she didn’t mind the additional tasks like promotion and marketing.

Compared to many talented but obscure veteran artists, she was fortunate. She had the right timing, the right place, and the right people. If she still couldn’t make it under such favorable conditions, then it would be entirely her own fault.

The good news didn’t stop there. Just before the university’s winter break, the laboratory where Lu Chenjun was finally made a significant breakthrough. This achievement alone represented at least a fivefold return on the investment made by the Qin Group and Xu Youyou. Not to mention the potential for further research.

Now, even if some people want to invest, they no longer have the opportunity.

The laboratory politely declined most offers. After all, how can icing on the cake be better than sending charcoal in the snow?

With this development, Xu Youyou’s assets grew significantly. Even though she didn’t start a company or often engage in investments, her net worth was truly substantial.

If she hadn’t been low-key and well-protected by Xu Wenyin, the media would have probably made headline news about her.

“Mom, what do you think of this?”

“It looks great! Buy it!”

“What should I write on the Spring Festival couplets?”

……

This year marked the first time the Xu family’s mother and daughter were celebrating the Spring Festival in the capital. They chose to hold the festivities at their estate, which was spacious and had beautiful scenery.

And this year, it’s not just Xu Youyou and Xu Wenyin anymore. The whole Qin family had also been invited, including Lu Weizheng and Lu Chenjun.

If everything went as expected, the two families would be in-laws in the future. What’s wrong with celebrating the Spring Festival together in advance?

So this year’s celebration was particularly lively.

Mother Qin, Qin Yiren, and Xu Wenyin personally made dumplings, while Qin Xiao and Lu Weizheng were responsible for sealing them. The fun of doing it themselves was different.

Father Qin also showed the two juniors one of his unique skills, which was making paper cuttings. It’s said that he successfully captured Mother Qin’s heart with this skill back in the day, which was also a unique romantic act of that era.

Receiving a paper cutting with a deer pattern, Xu Youyou pushed Lu Chenjun to join her mother’s team to help make dumplings. However, before she could make many, Xu Wenyin complained about her slow movements and couldn’t bear to watch anymore. Xu Wenyin grabbed a piece of dough and told Xu Youyou to go play elsewhere.

Xu ‘Eighteen-Year-Old Child’ Youyou: “……”

Looking at the dough in her hands, Xu Youyou exchanged a helpless glance with Lu Chenjun. However, they obediently left the adult group and chose some activities for young people!

Playing games!

This was a skill that Wei Xinmiao had taught Xu Youyou, and then Xu Youyou further developed it with Lu Chenjun.

It must be said that both of them were smart and quick with their hands. They could be taken out to play after a little training.

With the joint efforts of Wei Xinmiao, Liu Miaomiao and the others, they soon caught up with other big teams.

Just like now, after saying goodbye to Wei Xinmiao who was forced to go offline to participate in the family cleaning, Xu Youyou then pulled Liu Yanzhi, and the five-member team began to dominate the battlefield on this auspicious day.

Currently, Liu Miaomiao and Qian Xin are overseas, and according to the time, it should be two in the morning. However, the two of them had clearly become night owls, showing no intention of going to sleep whatsoever.

After all, spending the Spring festival abroad at university, they wanted to create some sense of ritual and observe the celebration themselves. And with their parents flying directly to accompany them overseas, they didn’t feel lonely at all.

“Youzi! Hit the road! Quick, someone’s blocking me!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming, hold on, Miaomiao!”

“Brother Juan, slow down a bit, I can’t keep up!”

……

With a victory, the five entered the halftime break and started talking gossip, particularly about the affairs of Liu Yanzhi’s family.

Liu Yanzhi’s father had always been one to follow the money wherever it went. Seeing Lu Haoyu’s thriving career these past two years, he couldn’t help but get involved himself, collaborating on several projects. But now, the Lu family……

The Liu family suffered heavy losses, providing Liu Yanzhi with an opportunity. The friends pooled their resources and bought a significant number of shares from the Liu family. When the time comes, they plan to collectively ‘sell’ them to Liu Yanzhi, which would surely be a big surprise.

As the person directly involved, Liu Yanzhi didn’t shy away from this topic. Moreover, he had just learned something during lunch with a senior figure from the company.

“Youyou, when Lu Haoyu and Yao Yunyou had their conflict, this person happened to be discussing matters with the Lu family, and he overheard a few words between the two. It seems to be related to you.”

Xu Youyou was puzzled. “Me?”

What could she have to do with Lu Haoyu and Yao Yunyou? If there were any arguments, they would likely be related to Hua Duo’er more.

But Xu Youyou really didn’t know what Lu Haoyu and Yao Yunyou had argued about that would make Yao Yunyou resort to violence.

Liu Yanzhi quickly repeated the words he had heard from the senior executive.

“I’ve never claimed to be any ‘Youyou’, it’s you who deluded yourself!”

“Didn’t you say you were in Jiang City back then?!”

“So what? Xu Youyou wasn’t in Jiang City back then either!”

After that, the conversation became unclear. Ten minutes later, there was Lu Haoyu’s agonizing scream. When everyone rushed in, they saw Lu Haoyu lying on the ground, clutching his bloodied lower body.

Xu Youyou: “……Huh?”

Could it be that Lu Haoyu, this idiot, was still foolish enough to confess to the wrong person as they do on TV dramas?

Her mother said that in situations like this, no matter how affectionate the other party appeared, they should be treated as non-recyclable garbage!