Chapter 13

“It’s you.” Yan Ning smiled faintly.

Lu Fengfeng stood under the banyan tree, holding a freshly bought milk tea. His beautiful eyes curved like sparkling little moons. “This look of yours is completely transformed.”

Yan Ning walked up to him and waved her hand. “It’s just thanks to a few props. You’re still the better-looking one—anywhere you stand is a picturesque scene.”

Lu Fengfeng was momentarily stunned. This was the first time he’d heard such straightforward praise. Curling his lips into a smile, he pulled out his phone. “Let me take a picture of you. This stunning beauty deserves to be preserved.”

“Ah? Then I’ll trouble you. Should I stand under the tree?” Having finished the interview, Yan Ning felt incredibly relaxed. She assumed the “stunning beauty” he referred to was her current attire.

At noon, sunlight filtered through the lush branches and leaves of the banyan tree, casting scattered patches of light on the ground.

Lu Fengfeng pointed to a spot. “Can you stand there? And then strike this pose.”

Yan Ning obediently moved to the sunlit spot and posed as directed.

With a “click,” the scene was captured. Lu Fengfeng checked the photo and was satisfied. He then turned to the four confused onlookers nearby. “Could you take a picture of us?”

He addressed the group of four who seemed puzzled by the situation. Zhao Xiaolu was the first to react, walking over to take his phone.

Lu Fengfeng stood beside Yan Ning, and the two posed side by side.

“Click!” The moment was recorded.

At this point, Qiao Yingxue also caught on and hurriedly pulled out her phone, handing it to Lu Fengfeng. “Hey… classmate, could you take a few pictures for us too?”

Lu Fengfeng readily accepted the phone as the four grouped around Yan Ning.

After taking the photos, Lu Fengfeng handed the milk tea in his hand to Yan Ning. “Strawberry flavor. I don’t know if you like it.”

“Ah, thank you. But no need, these guys have been waiting outside, and I’m planning to grab a drink with them later.” Yan Ning paused for a moment, politely declining.

Qiao Yingxue tugged on Zhao Xiaolu’s shirt from behind, making frantic gestures over Shi Lei. Zhao Xiaolu gave her a meaningful look in return.

“Is that so?” Lu Fengfeng’s expression didn’t change.

Suddenly, his phone rang. He glanced at it and waved his hand toward Yan Ning. “You go ahead.”

Yan Ning nodded to acknowledge him and walked with her companions toward the school gate.

—

Second floor of the ^[1]“Bifeng Tang” (避风塘) is a popular Chinese restaurant chain known for its seafood, particularly dishes like “避风塘炒蟹” (Bifeng Tang stir-fried crab), which is a … Continue readingBifeng Tang, in a small private room.

“So, you changed your style because you noticed you were wearing the same outfit as that person earlier?” Qiao Yingxue asked, sipping her strawberry milkshake.

“Mm,” Yan Ning replied, taking off her jewelry as she spoke.

At this point, it was impossible to put all the jewelry back into the jewelry box, so she wrapped each piece and packed it into her bag instead.

“Did you already expect my plan wouldn’t work?” Shi Lei asked.

“No, I just thought that anything could happen, and it’s better to be prepared, so I wouldn’t be flustered if something unexpected came up.”

“Yan Ning, you really stunned me earlier. I thought a member of some royal family was walking out of the auditorium,” Qiao Yingxue said.

“By the way, all of this is real, right?” Zhou Ye asked, curious.

The others’ gazes drifted over the pile of jewels in front of Yan Ning, but none of them reached out to touch them.

“Mm… you could say so, they’re collectibles I’ve gathered out of interest,” Yan Ning replied.

Collecting rare gems and metals from various planets is one of her hobbies. Another is designing and crafting jewelry using these gems and precious metals. Each piece is her labor of love, and it takes considerable money and time.

But she doesn’t know the exact value of her collections. To her, these jewels and stones serve as a way to relieve stress.

Just like some people relieve stress by eating or shopping, she enjoys collecting beautiful stones, polishing them, and then storing them. Occasionally, she takes them out to admire or, like today, uses them to amaze everyone.

Jewelry exists to adorn, and when the right opportunity arises to wear it, the sense of satisfaction reaches its peak.

“Well, well, you’re playing the pig to eat the tiger. That’s so bad!” Shi Lei said, feeling embarrassed about his narrow-mindedness.

Why did he ever look down on Yan Ning?

“Stop saying nonsense, I’m not, I didn’t,” Yan Ning said cheerfully, in the mood to tease them.

Shi Lei: “……”

“By the way, what’s the result?” After chatting for a while, only Zhao Xiaolu remembered to ask about the results of the interview.

Yan Ning shook her head. “I don’t know yet. The person who interviewed me said the results will be out this afternoon, and they’ll send a text notification.”

“So what are we doing now?”

“Let’s go home. We should go back and do our homework. Once the results come out, I’ll let you all know right away.”

As soon as Yan Ning finished speaking, Qiao Yingxue slumped on the table, complaining in a playful voice, “Don’t say things like that without any dreams right now~”

The other three pretended not to have heard what Yan Ning said.

“Yan Ning, are you very familiar with that guy from earlier?” Zhao Xiaolu asked.

Yan Ning: “…… Not really, we just chatted a bit while waiting for the interview.”

“Oh~~~”

“What’s up?” Yan Ning asked, puzzled.

“It’s nothing. How’s the preparation for the second round going?” Zhou Ye asked.

Zhao Xiaolu frowned. “The dance is fine, but there are many issues with other aspects.”

According to the traditional format, the second round is usually a talent show, where contestants showcase their personal charm through their skills.

“Ah, I’ll figure that out later, let’s wait for the first round results,” Yan Ning said. She felt that these little classmates were too involved with her business, even more concerned than her parents or anyone else. She didn’t want to take up more of their time.

“What do you have in mind?” Zhou Ye asked, sensing that Yan Ning must have some idea.

“Mm, I’ll discuss it with you later.” Yan Ning indeed had something in mind. If she decided to go through with it, it would be a huge, costly undertaking. Considering the need to comply with the competition rules, she wanted to wait for the first round results to finalize her decision.

—

Uncle Zheng came to pick up Yan Ning at the school gate. Yan Ning said her goodbyes to the small group of teachers and left the café with them.

Shi Lei saw Yan Ning get into the car from the window, turned back, and said to his companions, “Yan Ning’s family is pretty wealthy, that car is even better than the one that picks up the school beauty every day.”

“Oh, you guys didn’t know? That car is actually the school beauty’s family car,” Qiao Yingxue said.

“What do you mean?”

“No, actually, the car that picks up the school beauty every day is from Yan Ning’s family,” Zhao Xiaolu corrected.

“Huh? What’s going on?” Shi Lei was even more confused.

Zhou Ye’s gaze also turned to Qiao Yingxue and Zhao Xiaolu, curious.

“Ah, I’ll only tell you two this, don’t go around telling others, okay?” Qiao Yingxue cautioned, then explained what she knew about Yan Ning’s background and her connection with Yan Wan.

“…No way? Yan Ning is the real young miss of the Yan family, and the school beauty was switched at birth?” Shi Lei found it hard to believe.

“That’s how it is. The school beauty’s biological parents have never been found, so she still lives with the Yan family. Ningning has it tough—on her first day at school, the school beauty caused trouble for her. That day, Xiaolu and I had lunch with Ningning, and we just watched the whole thing. I feel like there’s more to come,” Qiao Yingxue said, biting on her straw.

“Wait a minute, if she was switched at birth, then why haven’t the school beauty’s real parents been found since Yan Ning went back to the Yan family?” Shi Lei picked up on a flaw in Qiao Yingxue’s story.

“Oh, I privately asked Ningning. She was abandoned in a trash can, and the family that raised her wasn’t the school beauty’s parents, but the family who picked her up from the trash,” Qiao Yingxue explained.

In other words, after Yan Ning was switched at birth with Yan Wan, Yan Wan lived as a young miss in the Yan family while Yan Ning was abandoned. If it weren’t for the father of the family who found her, she might have even died.

Shi Lei was stunned. This fact was hard for him to accept.