Chapter 39

The sun was shining brightly during the activity period. Lu Yan rested her chin on her hand as she lay on the balcony in the hallway.

She tilted her head back, holding the paper airplane up to the sunlight.

The words “I’m sorry” were written in delicate, flowing strokes.

Lu Yan couldn’t help but smile to herself, her heart feeling as though it were full of honey.

Exchanging a paper airplane for a real airplane—that was quite an idea. However, given Shen Kuo’s vast future wealth, maybe she could really exchange this little paper for a real airplane one day.

After all, the title of “Master Shen” wasn’t given for nothing. He was a man of his word, known for his integrity and keeping promises.

Lu Yan didn’t care much about whether the airplane was real or not. She just thought it was romantic, and her girl’s heart was about to take flight.

“Count me in for finding my sister.”

Ye Jiaqi’s voice sounded from behind her, causing Lu Yan to jump in surprise. The paper airplane slipped from her hand and, carried by a breeze, floated down from the fifth floor, landing in the treetops.

“Ah!”

Lu Yan quickly turned around and ran downstairs, eager to retrieve it. But after running a few steps, she suddenly stopped, turned around, and stared at Ye Jiaqi in shock.

“What… what did you just say?”

Ye Jiaqi walked over and said calmly, “That afternoon, I overheard your conversation with Lu Zhen. It wasn’t intentional, I just hadn’t walked far enough.”

Lu Yan felt like she had bitten her tongue. She clutched her chest and took two steps back. “Y-You heard? What did you hear?”

“Everything.”

“…”

“Don’t worry. This matter is too bizarre. I haven’t fully believed it yet.”

Lu Yan immediately let out a dry laugh. “Lu Zhen and I just like to joke around like that, haha.”

Ye Jiaqi raised his dark eyes to look at her. “But I can be sure you’re definitely not Lu Xiaoyan.”

Lu Yan almost choked on her own saliva, coughing. “A-Are you so sure?”

“Mm. She’s my good friend, and you’re very different from her.”

Lu Yan, seeing that Ye Jiaqi didn’t seem to have any ill intentions, felt somewhat relieved. “Everyone says I look a lot like her.”

“You look alike, but the eyes don’t lie. The real Lu Xiaoyan’s eyes are dull and vacant, but your eyes are clear and beautiful.”

Lu Yan was momentarily not sure whether this was a compliment or a criticism. In any case, having him overhear this secret wasn’t good. Lu Zhen would definitely freak out if he found out.

“You don’t have to be so scared.” Ye Jiaqi smiled. “If I were to tell anyone about this, they’d probably think I’m crazy. No one would believe me, just like they don’t believe you.”

“Right, right…”

“So I won’t go around spreading this. I’ll keep this secret with you two—no, with you and your father.”

“Why are you doing this?” Lu Yan asked, confused.

“I already said, Lu Xiaoyan is my friend. I want to help, and I want to work with you to bring her back.”

Lu Yan sighed softly. “Don’t be too optimistic. It’s not something that can be found in a few days or months… it’s not that simple.”

In her past life, her grandfather spent his entire life and resources trying to find her aunt, but he never succeeded.

“Having one more person always means more strength, doesn’t it?”

That’s true.

From what Lu Yan knew about Ye Jiaqi, he had never been a bad person. In her past life, she hadn’t interacted much with him—she’d only seen him a few times at her father’s business dinners.

After graduating from college, Ye Jiaqi took over the Ye Group. He was a young talent who managed the company very well. He had worked with Lu Zhen a few times, and their relationship was neutral—neither good nor bad. After Lu Zhen’s company went bankrupt, Ye Jiaqi had offered him a little support.

After all, at that time, Shen Kuo’s power was overwhelming. If he wanted to take down Lu Zhen, no one in Beicheng would dare openly stand by Lu Zhen.

Compared to those fair-weather friends who disappeared the moment trouble hit, Ye Jiaqi had been quite decent.

After talking to Ye Jiaqi, Lu Yan hurried downstairs to retrieve her paper airplane. Now there was no wind, and the plane was stuck in the tree.

Ye Jiaqi followed her, looked up at the paper airplane stuck in the treetop, and asked, “Is this… very important?”

“Of course it’s important, very important!” Lu Yan rolled up her sleeves and prepared to climb the tree.

Ye Jiaqi thought for a moment, then borrowed a basketball from a passing boy and threw it at the paper airplane in the tree.

“Hey, don’t break it!” Lu Yan shouted.

The basketball hit the ground, and the paper airplane gently floated down. Lu Yan quickly picked it up and inspected it closely.

Fortunately… it wasn’t damaged.

Ye Jiaqi returned the ball and politely thanked the boy.

Lu Yan watched as the boy blushed, clearly flustered by Ye Jiaqi’s gratitude.

Ye Jiaqi really was a standout—handsome, charming, and polite. No wonder he quickly overshadowed Lu Zhen when he entered school. Whether it was the students or even some of the female teachers, no one could resist his charm.

He was simply too impressive.

The two of them walked toward the school gate, and seeing Lu Yan carefully inspecting the paper airplane with a smile, Ye Jiaqi couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Is this… really that important?”

“Of course it is,” Lu Yan said, carefully folding the plane again. “It’s worth a super-luxury jet.”

Ye Jiaqi also smiled. “Then when you get your luxury jet, can you invite me for a ride?”

“No problem.”

As they walked out of the school gate, Ye Jiaqi suddenly asked, “Lu Yan, I want to ask you a question.”

“Go ahead.”

Ye Jiaqi thought for a moment and asked, “What’s the future like?”

Lu Yan stared at Ye Jiaqi in surprise. She hadn’t expected him to ask such a question.

When Lu Zhen and Qin Hao found out about her secret, the first question they asked was what the lottery numbers would be, the second was when he’d become rich, and the third… was whether his wife was obedient or if her wife was more obedient.

Ye Jiaqi’s question was quite profound, even broad, and Lu Yan didn’t know how to answer him.

“The future… the future is…”

Seeing the little girl struggle to organize her thoughts, Ye Jiaqi gave a soft smile. “Forget it. If you know what the future is like, you’ll lose the excitement of looking forward to tomorrow and the surprise that comes with it.”

“Hmm…”

That made sense. No wonder he was the kind of man who had traveled the world with his father.

Zhong Kai met Shen Kuo at the school gate and excitedly said, “Bro, I’ve got a great idea! We can definitely make a lot of money!”

Shen Kuo kept his hands in his pockets and walked ahead, seemingly not hearing him.

“Hey… didn’t you hear me?”

Shen Kuo’s mind was occupied with the scene he’d just seen at the school gate—Lu Yan and Ye Jiaqi walking together—and he felt extremely irritated.

Zhong Kai didn’t care whether Shen Kuo heard him or not, and continued talking to himself. “So, with Christmas coming up, and people getting more into foreign holidays these days, I’m thinking of selling some small things for the holiday. The problem is… I don’t have any capital left. Shen Kuo, how about you invest in me?”

Shen Kuo casually asked, “What are you planning to sell?”

“I haven’t figured it out yet—Christmas trees, Christmas hats, candy lights… stuff like that.”

“Those things are too expensive. Christmas is only one day, and if they don’t sell, they’ll just end up as waste.”

“True,” Zhong Kai sighed. “In China, people still value food the most. I mean, for the Mid-Autumn Festival, we eat mooncakes, for the ^[1]Dragon Boat Festival, known as 端午节 (Duanwu Jie) in Chinese, is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month. It typically falls in June on the Gregorian … Continue readingDragon Boat Festival, we eat ^[2]Zongzi (粽子) are a traditional Chinese food made of sticky (glutinous) rice wrapped in bamboo, reed, or lotus leaves. zongzi… so for Christmas, what should we eat?”

“Ask foreigners. How should I know?”

“Didn’t you say a foreigner transferred into your class? He must know. Why not ask him?”

Mentioning Ye Jiaqi made Shen Kuo’s anger flare up again. His face darkened. “I don’t know him well.”

“How can you not know him? You’re classmates, aren’t you? Shen Kuo, you can’t be shy in business. We’re poor, so we have to think outside the box, you know?”

Shen Kuo stopped at the traffic light, pulled out a cigarette, but the light rain began falling, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get it to light.

“I understand how you feel. You’re classmates, so it’s normal to feel too embarrassed to ask for help, but having no money means having no dignity. Didn’t you want to marry that little girl from the Lu family…?”

Shen Kuo angrily threw the lighter away. “Have you said enough?!”

Zhong Kai was so scared that he took several steps back. It had been years since he had seen Shen Kuo lose his temper like this… it was terrifying.

“W-who… who upset you?”

No one upset him. He was just taking his frustration out on himself.

When Ye Jiaqi stood by her side, even Shen Kuo couldn’t deny that they were truly a perfect match.

Ye Jiaqi was perfect in every way. Except for the fact that his exam scores were 18 points lower than his, he seemed to overshadow him in every other aspect.

He had nothing—what could he use to compete with Ye Jiaqi? Sympathy?

After a while, Shen Kuo, his face still dark, picked up the lighter again.

After venting, the knot in his heart loosened a little.

Zhong Kai, terrified by the outburst, didn’t dare to speak. His eyes were fixed on Shen Kuo, studying his expression.

“So, where were we?” Shen Kuo asked calmly.

“We were talking about… you wanting to marry Lu Yan.”

“Who told you that I want to marry her?”

“Huh?”

Did that even need to be said?

Shen Kuo quickly steered the conversation back on track. “How many days until Christmas?”

“The day after tomorrow is Christmas Eve, so I came to talk to you about it. If we want to do this business, we have to move quickly.”

After all, Christmas was still a relatively new holiday at the time, something that gradually came to China after the reform and opening-up. Older generations couldn’t understand it, but young people enjoyed joining in on the fun, thinking it was trendy and fashionable.

“Christmas Eve…” Shen Kuo glanced over at a nearby fruit stand and casually said, “Let’s sell apples.”

“Huh?” Zhong Kai thought he heard wrong. “Sell apples? What’s so special about apples? Who buys apples for Christmas?”

Shen Kuo walked over to the fruit stand, picked up an apple, examined it, and fell into thought. Zhong Kai walked over and patted him on the shoulder. “Brother Shen, what’s going on with you today?”

Shen Kuo didn’t respond. Instead, he pulled out his homework notebook from his bag, tore off a page of paper, wrapped the apple in it, and handed it to Zhong Kai.

The fruit vendor thought they were trying to steal something and eyed them warily.

Zhong Kai was speechless. He quietly asked Shen Kuo, “What are you actually trying to do?”

Shen Kuo took out a pen and drew an ugly smiley face on the wrapping paper around the apple, saying, “A gift.”

“This stupid apple wrapped in paper with a smiley face is a gift? Is this really that easy to fool people?”

Just as he finished speaking, he suddenly smacked his forehead. “Ah! Right! What do you give for Christmas? Gifts!”

Shen Kuo gave a faint smile. At least his partner wasn’t completely clueless.

That evening, the two went to the wholesale fruit market, bought several bags of apples, and also purchased some colorful gift wrap and ribbons. They wrapped the apples as individual gifts.

With just a bit of tinkering, the ordinary apple was transformed into a “Peace Apple” symbolizing safety and peace. As it gained new meaning, its value and price also increased exponentially.

The most important thing was that, for now, no one else had done this before—they had no competitors.

“Brother Shen, you’re so smart! You’re really born to do business!”

“Studying really does have its uses. How did I not think of such a good idea myself?”

“I admire you so much!”

—

Zhong Kai flattered him all night, but Shen Kuo didn’t respond, focusing on wrapping the apples.

He couldn’t compare to the other person in terms of background, connections, or even knowledge and sophistication. The only asset he had was his brain.

If he wanted to surpass them, he would have to put in twice, or even three times, the amount of time and effort.

The next morning, Shen Kuo, yawning, entered the classroom and sat by the window, taking out his textbook.

Two minutes later, Lu Yan walked over, leaned on the window, and saw him dozing off with his hand supporting his cheek. She reached out and pinched his nose.

Shen Kuo was instantly jolted awake by the touch, blinking his sleepy eyes and lazily glancing at her. “What’s up?”

“Shen Kuo, tomorrow is Christmas.”

“Mm.”

“Um…” Lu Yan pulled two movie tickets out of her book. “They were a gift with the books I bought. I thought…”

Shen Kuo said indifferently, “Last time, you got movie tickets with a cake, and now you’re getting them with books. You might as well say your family owns the cinema. That would be more believable.”

“…”

Caught off guard and exposed, Lu Yan’s face turned red. She knew the excuse was stupid, but all she wanted was to ask him to watch a movie with her.

She mumbled, “If you don’t want to go, just say so. Why be so mean about it…”

Shen Kuo rubbed his eyes. He hadn’t slept all night and his mood wasn’t great.

He softened his tone and said, “Lu Yan, I don’t have time tomorrow. Can the tickets be refunded?”

Lu Yan felt a bit wronged. She clenched the movie tickets tightly in her hand and, in a huff, said, “Of course they can be refunded. My family owns the cinema, after all. But why should I refund them? If you don’t want to go, I’ll just ask someone else. It’s not like I have to ask you. You’re so busy, I don’t want to waste your time!”

Shen Kuo raised his eyes to look at her, his eyes bloodshot, and asked in a low voice, “Who are you going to ask?”

“None of your business.” Lu Yan turned around and ran off.

Shen Kuo clenched his fist tightly, snapping his pencil in two.

The next noon, Shen Kuo walked out of the school and saw many classmates crowding around Zhong Kai’s stall, eagerly buying apples.

“One for a yuan? That’s way too expensive.”

“But they’re wrapped so nicely. Besides, it’s not for us to eat. The price is just right if you’re giving it as a gift.”

Zhong Kai was grinning widely, “Sold out, sold out! Hey, come back this afternoon.”

“The boss said for sure, you gotta come before school this afternoon. It’s Christmas Eve tonight, I need to buy a few more to give as presents.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll definitely come in the afternoon!”

After the students dispersed, Zhong Kai ran up to Shen Kuo with a pocketful of change, “Guess how much we sold this morning?”

Shen Kuo wasn’t very energetic and responded faintly, “I can’t guess.”

“Ha! Three hundred!” Zhong Kai was grinning from ear to ear, “Three hundred in just one morning! Hahaha, this is great! We’re really lucky!”

He counted out two hundred yuan from the pile of change, thick stacks, and stuffed it into Shen Kuo’s chest pocket, “Here, this is for you. You’re such a good bro.”

“It’s too much.”

“It’s not too much. The idea was yours, the apples were your investment, and you stayed up all night for the past couple of days. This money, really, it’s nothing.”

Shen Kuo didn’t refuse, just saying lightly, “Let’s go, we still have things to do this afternoon.”

“Hehe.”

Zhong Kai caught up to him and threw the last apple to Shen Kuo, “Brother Shen, you made the right choice by not dropping out. You’re really a talent!”

Shen Kuo caught the apple, weighed it in his hand, and kept walking.

Zhong Kai shamelessly patted his chest and gave a thumbs-up, “With your brain, you’ll definitely be a scientist in the future!”

“He’s not going to be a scientist.”

A girl, riding her bike, passed by them and didn’t even look at him. “Someone who only cares about money… could never be a scientist.”

Shen Kuo stopped in his tracks, staring at her retreating figure.

Zhong Kai asked in surprise, “What did you do to upset her?”

“I didn’t upset her. I just acted like an idiot.”

Lu Yan stopped her bike, turned around, and glared at him, shouting, “You idiot!”

Shen Kuo weighed the apple in his hand and shouted back, “Say it again, and see what happens.”

Lu Yan, fearing he would throw the apple at her, quickly pedaled away, fleeing in a panic.

Zhong Kai twitched his lips, “Why are you picking on her?”

Shen Kuo took a big bite of the apple, “Where did you see me picking on her?”

Zhong Kai pointed to his eyes, signaling that he saw it with both of them.

In the afternoon, Lu Yan returned to the classroom and saw a red apple placed on her desk. The apple was carefully wrapped, with a colorful ribbon tied around a light green card.

“Year after year, safe and sound.”

The calligraphy was small and elegant, with strong and vigorous brushstrokes.

Lu Yan took the paper airplane from between the pages of her book, comparing the handwriting. After confirming it was written by the same person, a smile finally spread across her face.

Did he think that giving her an apple would earn his forgiveness?

It wasn’t going to be that easy.

Lu Yan happily smiled for half an hour. As soon as the class ended, she took the apple to the washbasin to clean it. Just as she was about to take a bite, Lu Zhen came up behind her, snatched the apple from her hand, and bit off half of it.

Lu Yan blinked her eyes and screamed, “Ah!” She quickly ran after him and began hitting his back. “Bastard! You jerk! Are you a pig?!”

“Hey, it’s just one apple,” Lu Zhen said, choking on her punches. “Is it really necessary?”

Lu Yan glared at the half-eaten apple, kicked him in frustration, and stormed off.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you?” Lu Zhen looked at her in confusion. “I won’t eat it anymore. I’ll give it back to you.”

“Pig!”

Lu Zhen yelled back, “If you’re going to curse, at least don’t curse your old man. You might get struck by lightning!”

He casually took another bite of the apple and turned around to see a girl standing at the door of the girls’ restroom. It was none other than the punky, long-legged girl he had seen at the clothing store the other day.

However, today she was wearing a neat blue and white school uniform. No, not exactly neat. On the left sleeve of her uniform, she had drawn a chibi version of Sesshōmaru with a pencil.

Her bangs were styled straight across her forehead, and her long hair was tied up on either side of her ears, hanging down to her waist.

Compared to her rocker-punk outfit from that day, she looked very well-behaved today.

“Hey! It’s you!” Lu Zhen greeted her. “We’ve met before.”

She stood by the restroom door, completely ignoring him.

“I didn’t expect you to be a classmate,” Lu Zhen said, trying to be friendly. “I’m Lu Zhen. What’s your name?”

The girl raised her single eyelid and gave him a faint glance but still didn’t respond.

Maybe I’m being too friendly, Lu Zhen thought… They hadn’t actually spoken before, so they were basically strangers. His overly familiar attitude might seem a little strange.

After a while, she saw a girl pass by the restroom door and hurriedly called out, “Classmate, classmate, do you… have it?”

The girl instantly understood, shaking her head. “Sorry, I didn’t bring it.”

“Oh, thanks.”

The girl left, but she continued to lean against the restroom door, not coming out.

Lu Zhen, curious, asked, “What do you need to borrow?”

She gave him a cold glance, showing a hint of impatience. “You don’t have it anyway.”

“Tell me what it is. Maybe I have it.”

Her indifferent expression softened a bit, and she almost smiled but quickly suppressed it.

Another girl walked by, and she quickly asked, “Classmate, do you have it?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Oh, thanks.”

At that moment, the class bell rang. Seeing she was still hiding by the restroom door, Lu Zhen reminded her, “Class is starting.”

“So why are you still… leaving?”

She had intended to say “leave,” but after a slight pause, she switched to a softer word.

The young man’s gaze was clear, not like a frivolous or reckless person, just a bit too eager.

“What exactly do you need to borrow? There won’t be anyone passing by now. If you don’t tell me, I’m going to class.”

As Lu Zhen spoke, he raised his leg to walk away, but the cool girl hesitated for a moment and finally called out to him, “Wait a second…”

He stopped with a satisfied smile, but when he turned around, he quickly wiped the smile from his face and said seriously, “What do you need to borrow?”

“I told you, you don’t have it.”

“How do you know I don’t have it?”

The girl rolled her eyes. Of course, he didn’t have it. How could he?

“I’ll go borrow it for you. That should be fine, right?”

Lu Zhen was determined to help her today. From the moment he was born, he had never seen a girl with such beautiful legs. He had thought about the girl he saw on the street for a long time, and now to meet her again at school—it felt like a strange twist of fate.

He had to get to know her!

The girl hesitated, then said, “Forget it, don’t help me borrow it. Just go to the convenience store and buy one for me. Go now.”

“Okay, I’ll go get it for you!”

Lu Zhen agreed quickly and turned to leave. The girl covered her forehead. “Wait, do you even know what to buy?”

“Oh, right. What do you need to buy?”

“Come here, I’ll whisper it to you.”

Lu Zhen walked up to the restroom door. The girl stood on tiptoe, leaned in, and whispered a few words in his ear.

The young man turned his head mechanically, unable to believe what she had said. His face turned bright red all the way to his neck.