After starting her third year of graduate school, Xia Liyang’s classes were almost nonexistent.

Except for the occasional academic event or meeting with her advisor, she mostly stayed home, editing her writing, working on her thesis, and preparing for her doctoral entrance exams in December.

Her days were quiet, perhaps dull, but fulfilling.

When her romance novel first began serializing, some readers left negative comments like, “Why did Wujin Xia have to switch genres?” “This Cinderella and CEO plot is so cliché,” and “Spare yourself and the readers.”

But within two weeks, the tone in the comment section changed.

Now, people begged for more chapters daily, posting comments like “More updates, please!” “This is so good!” and “How does the author write angst so well?”

Some even speculated she had hired a ghostwriter, as her improvement was too apparent.

As positive reviews increased, the book’s popularity soared, eventually landing on the gold rankings of Wenyu Novel’s main page.

The subscription count surpassed what she had reached with her previous mystery novels.

Seeing the platform statistics steadily rise, Xia Liyang allowed herself a small smile. Her months of part-time work hadn’t been in vain.

Not only had she earned money, but she’d also reversed her reputation for not being able to write romance well.

And ever since she’d sent Lu Huaicheng the money, he hadn’t contacted her again, as if he had moved past the “new benefactor” misunderstanding.

Xia Liyang’s mood improved considerably after being annoyed by his sarcastic behavior before.

Though sometimes, looking at the lights from his villa through her floor-to-ceiling windows, she still felt a trace of indescribable emotion.

But it was just a fleeting moment, easily brushed aside.

After a light autumn rain, September was coming to an end.

Although she’d only been away from home for less than a month, the hopeful look on Xia Yanxu’s face when he sent her off lingered in her mind, prompting her to book a ticket back to Beicheng for the National Day holiday.

Hearing about her plans, Xu Songnian decided to go with her.

“Aren’t you working during the holiday?” Xia Liyang asked as she lounged on the beanbag chair in his office.

She had come over that day to look for some rare international academic resources.

“Money can’t ever be enough, but spending time with family is more important.” Xu Songnian leaned back lazily in his chair, smiling. “And some work I can handle remotely.”

“True.” Xia Liyang paused, feeling a mix of guilt and regret. “I really regret not going home sooner to see my dad.”

“Don’t dwell on the past. Just make sure to visit more in the future,” he reassured her.

“Mm.” Xia Liyang nodded. “So, we’ll meet at the airport on the morning of the first?”

Xu Songnian replied, “Sounds good.”

Since it was the first day of Golden Week, the airport was busier than usual, packed with people in the departure hall.

Wanting some peace, Xia Liyang and Xu Songnian bought VIP lounge passes at the counter and headed inside as they wait to board.

Fate seemed to play tricks—just as they entered, Xia Liyang noticed Lu Huaicheng sitting by the floor-to-ceiling window.

He was dressed in his usual sharp, business-elite style, long legs casually crossed, with refined features and a dignified, aloof air.

He was slightly turned, engaged in conversation with a man around his age, also in a suit and tie.

The man had a distinctive pair of almond-shaped eyes with upturned corners, making him vaguely familiar to Xia Liyang.

But she didn’t care enough to figure out who he was. She was no longer interested in anything or anyone connected to Lu Huaicheng.

As if sensing her gaze, Lu Huaicheng suddenly paused and glanced toward the entrance.

When their eyes met across the bustling crowd, Xia Liyang’s heart skipped a beat.

She maintained her calm expression, quietly averting her gaze with a composed look, then turned to Xu Songnian. “Let’s find a seat further in, away from a certain someone.”

“Hm?” Xu Songnian, looking up from his phone, glanced over and noticed Lu Huaicheng’s gaze. He chuckled knowingly. “Want me to give him a piece of my mind? Wasn’t he giving you trouble recently?”

“No need, ignoring him is enough.” Worried he might actually confront Lu Huaicheng, Xia Liyang tugged lightly on his arm.

Xu Songnian paused, then casually slipped her hand through his arm, lips curling slightly. “Holding onto me like this is sure to make him feel even worse.”

Though she figured Lu Huaicheng likely didn’t care anymore about her so-called “new benefactor,” it still felt strange not to act like a couple with Xu Songnian in his presence.

So, Xia Liyang leaned closer, pretending to be intimate, chatting and laughing with him as they walked deeper into the lounge.

Watching her cheerful display of affection with another man, Lu Huaicheng’s face darkened, his gaze involuntarily following her profile. Emotions churned in his deep eyes, like sour lemons squeezing out their juice.

“Huaicheng? What are you suddenly staring at?”

Sitting beside him, Wen Yuchen noticed his unusual expression and wandering gaze, frowning slightly as he followed his line of sight.

Despite the crowd, he quickly spotted Xia Liyang in an elegant, off-white dress, slim-waisted and charming, her beauty standing out.

“Hey, when did you start admiring pretty women?” Wen Yuchen teased with a laugh. “Or are you eyeing someone else’s girlfriend?”

Lu Huaicheng’s face stiffened slightly, and he looked away with a stiff tone. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Not nonsense at all—you were totally distracted.” Wen Yuchen grinned, raising a brow.

“I wasn’t distracted.” Lu Huaicheng’s face was calm, though he shifted his casually crossed leg.

“So then, tell me—what was I just saying?” Wen Yuchen challenged.

Lu Huaicheng, who had indeed missed a good ten seconds of conversation, fell silent, vaguely responding, “You were talking about finding out that Li Yuan served a prison term.”

“And?” Wen Yuchen narrowed his eyes.

Lu Huaicheng glanced away, falling silent again.

Seeing this, Wen Yuchen sighed and shook his head. “Just admit you were distracted by a pretty girl. Nothing wrong with that. I know you don’t like my sister, and your engagement isn’t set, so there’s no reason to hide things from me.”

Lu Huaicheng hesitated, but ultimately kept his thoughts to himself, redirecting the conversation. “Could you go over what you found about Li Yuan?”

“…” Wen Yuchen studied him briefly before continuing. “Li Yuan not only served prison time but also has a gambling problem. However, he’s sharp and charismatic. Despite dropping out in high school and working construction in Beicheng, he quickly rose in the ranks with a certain big shot.”

“And what’s his connection to Zhou Yuling?” Lu Huaicheng asked.

“Currently, it can only be found that the two of them are from the same hometown, and their families lived quite close when they were young, so they probably knew each other. But it’s hard to say how close they were,” Wen Yuchen paused. “After all, Zhou Yuling had pretty good grades and even got into a decent university in Beicheng back then, so it seems like her life path was entirely different from Li Yuan’s.”

“I understand,” Lu Huaicheng nodded thoughtfully. “Thanks for helping me out. I’ll treat you to a meal sometime.”

“Don’t mention it.” Wen Yuchen patted his shoulder and stood up. “It’s almost time to board; I’m going to the restroom.”

After Wen Yuchen left, Lu Huaicheng couldn’t help but glance again at Xia Liyang, who was sitting at the very back.

She must have woken up early for the flight, as she was now asleep, her long lashes resting softly, and her head leaning on Xu Songnian’s shoulder.

Thinking of how she used to lean on his shoulder like that, Lu Huaicheng felt as though his heart was being pricked by countless tiny needles—an ache that wasn’t unbearable but was annoying to the extreme.

He tightened his lips slightly, forced himself to look away, and focused on handling work on his phone.

It wasn’t until the boarding announcement was made that he turned off his phone and got up from his seat.

Seeing Wen Yuchen hadn’t returned, he sent him a reminder message and went ahead to the VIP boarding gate.

By coincidence, Xia Liyang was taking the same flight.

Inevitably, they ran into each other at the boarding gate.

Even though Xia Liyang quickly turned her head, clearly not wanting to speak to him, seeing that Xu Songnian wasn’t by her side, Lu Huaicheng couldn’t resist making conversation. “Miss Xia, what a coincidence.”

“Yes,” Xia Liyang replied coolly, lowering her head to check her phone, seemingly avoiding further interaction.

Lu Huaicheng’s gaze darkened slightly, and he said nothing more.

When they boarded, with her turning left toward the economy section, he suddenly let out a low chuckle behind her, saying sarcastically, “Your Mr. Xu only bought you an economy class ticket?”

Xia Liyang froze for a moment, her mouth twitching.

Just when she thought things between them had passed, here he was, seizing every opportunity to make snide remarks!

If that’s how it was, she wouldn’t make it easy for him either.

Taking a deep breath, Xia Liyang turned back with a sweet smile. “Mr. Lu, don’t you understand?”

“Understand what?” Lu Huaicheng frowned slightly.

“I requested Mr. Xu to buy me an economy seat because the seats in first class are a bit far apart, and I wanted to sit closer to him.”

Her voice was bright and cheerful, yet it caused a heaviness in Lu Huaicheng’s heart.

“Oh, Mr. Lu, you really don’t understand romance.” Xia Liyang’s lips curved, twisting the knife further.

Lu Huaicheng swallowed, his eyes darkening with emotion.

It seemed he was about to say something more, but Xia Liyang’s eyes had already lit up as she looked past him at Xu Songnian, who had just arrived. “Mr. Xu, I’ve been waiting for you!”

Then, she gave Lu Huaicheng a cool glance. “Excuse me, you’re blocking the way.”

Lu Huaicheng’s expression froze momentarily before he moved aside with a dark expression.

“Ah, isn’t this Mr. Lu?” Xu Songnian’s gaze flickered as he wrapped an arm around Xia Liyang’s slender waist.

Lu Huaicheng’s gaze fell on Xu Songnian’s hand on her waist, his eyes darkening further.

With a strained calm, he replied to Xu Songnian’s greeting.

Though Xia Liyang and Xu Songnian had shared close physical contact before, she still wasn’t used to being touched in such a couple-like manner. She felt slightly uncomfortable and instinctively tensed, pulling away slightly.

Xu Songnian noticed her subtle withdrawal, pausing his hand and keeping a respectful distance.

“Why’s everyone crowding at the door? Are you all having a tea party without me?” Wen Yuchen’s playful comment broke the tense atmosphere among the three.

“Let’s go.” Lu Huaicheng sighed, calming himself.

Wen Yuchen cast a curious glance at Xia Liyang before following Lu Huaicheng into first class.

Once seated, Wen Yuchen couldn’t resist asking, “So you know that pretty girl we saw just now?”

“Yeah,” Lu Huaicheng replied nonchalantly, scrolling on his phone, clearly reluctant to discuss it.

Wen Yuchen couldn’t help his curiosity, teasing, “What’s going on? No sharing? Not very brotherly of you.”

After a brief pause, Lu Huaicheng finally responded, “She was a former part-time employee I hired.”

“Oh, the one that looks like a celebrity!” Wen Yuchen chuckled. “I remember you saying she was just for fun.”

“She was,” Lu Huaicheng replied quietly. “And it’s something that’s already over.”

“But seeing you now, it looks more like you were dumped.”