9

Guo Yi noticed that Lu Huan’s dress was soaked, with a towel draped over her shoulders.

“Why are your clothes all wet? And where’d that towel come from?”

Lu Huan took off the damp towel. “A friend gave me a ride home.”

“Which friend? A guy or a girl?” Guo Yi asked casually.

Lu Huan, worried her mother might misunderstand, quickly clarified, “It was Chu Han.”

A faint, pitiful meow suddenly drew Guo Yi’s attention.

Only then did she notice the kitten cradled in Lu Huan’s arms. Her eyes widened in surprise.

“Where did that come from?”

Lu Huan explained the situation, but Guo Yi still looked stunned.

“You picked it up off the street?”

She had raised Lu Huan herself—she knew her daughter well. Lu Huan had never been into cats or dogs. What happened to her after losing her memory?

“Isn’t it dirty?” Guo Yi’s expression turned to one of distaste. “If you want a pet, we can buy a fancy purebred. Why would you—”

Lu Huan cut her off. “Mom, it’s not dirty. I already took it to the vet and had it dewormed.”

Since Lu Huan insisted on keeping the little calico, and Guo Yi couldn’t talk her out of it, she finally gave up.

“Just don’t do something this reckless again,” she sighed. “Getting yourself soaked over a stray kitten—what if you get sick?” She gave Lu Huan a light push toward the stairs. “Go take a hot bath, now.”

Back in her bedroom, Lu Huan wrapped the kitten in a clean towel and placed it gently on the couch.

The tiny creature, sensing it had been left alone, began to meow again. It stretched its little head out and tried to crawl from the makeshift nest of towels.

Lu Huan stroked its fuzzy head with her finger. The soft bundle of fur melted her heart.
“Be good. Mommy’s just going to take a quick bath. I’ll be right back.”

Soaking in a hot bath while watching a drama—this was pure bliss.

Lu Huan sank into the massage tub, steam reddening her skin. She closed her eyes with a satisfied smile, completely relaxed.

Lu Huan had always been the only daughter in the Lu family, so naturally, she was given the best of everything.

It wasn’t that she was trying to cling to the status of the Lu family’s heiress—she just figured that once she moved out and got her own place, she’d definitely install a huge massage bathtub too.

While she was watching her drama, a message popped up on her phone—an apology from Chu Han.

[Huan, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know my brother would be there today.]

The two of them had been caught red-handed, which only deepened her brother’s dislike for Lu Huan.

After being dragged home, Chu Han had gotten an earful from Chu Jun. He even forbade her from hanging out with Lu Huan anymore.

Fuming, Chu Han locked herself in her room and sent Lu Huan that message to apologize.

She had meant well—she just wanted to take Lu Huan out to have fun and maybe help her recover some old memories.

Lu Huan wasn’t one to easily forgive, but she also wasn’t the type to blame someone unfairly. She replied quickly:

[It’s fine. I don’t like your brother anymore anyway. Whatever he does won’t affect me.]

Reading that, Chu Han felt a chill in her heart. On instinct, she rushed to defend her brother, trying to salvage his image in Lu Huan’s eyes.

[He didn’t mean what he said—he was just angry. Please don’t take it to heart. He didn’t lash out at you on purpose.]

No matter what, Chu Han still hoped that one day Lu Huan would end up marrying her brother.

In this world, no woman could possibly be better than Lu Huan.

Seeing Chu Han trying to defend Chu Jun, Lu Huan couldn’t help but laugh—both amused and exasperated.

Chu Jun had blamed her without even bothering to ask what really happened. A guy like that? She wouldn’t waste a second of her time on him.

She definitely didn’t want Chu Han trying to matchmake them anymore. After thinking for a moment, she sent another message:

[Actually, I’ve moved on and fallen for someone else!]

[Huh??!!]
[What the heck?!]
[Excuse me, what??]
[“Subway Grandpa Looking at Phone.jpg”]

A string of frantic messages followed, then her phone lit up with an incoming video call.

Lu Huan switched it to voice instead. On the other end, Chu Han sounded like she was about to combust. “Huan, seriously? You really moved on?!”

Lu Huan had only said it to get Chu Han off her back, but seeing how intense the reaction was, she figured—might as well go with it. That would stop the matchmaking once and for all.

She hummed in confirmation and said, “You actually know him too!”

“Who is it?”

“It’s the guy I confessed to tonight! He’s super handsome!” Lu Huan pretended to be bashful as she gushed about Gu Zhendong.

And to be fair, he was ridiculously good-looking. Everyone had been stunned when they first saw him—he looked like he’d walked straight out of a fantasy.

Standing next to him, even Chu Jun had looked a bit dull in comparison.

How could a girl not fall for a guy like that?

But… falling for someone after just one look—wasn’t that a bit too fast?

Chu Han mumbled uncertainly, “But… what if he doesn’t like you back?”

Well, Chu Jun didn’t like her either, did he?

Lu Huan replied cheerfully, “But he did drive me home.”

“…Wait, what did you just say?”

Lu Huan half-jokingly recounted what had happened on the way home—how she had thrown herself into his arms to hide from the lightning, how the man had gently covered her ears, and how that had left her blushing the entire ride back.

“Do you think he might like me too?”

Sure, a man giving a woman a ride home could just be good manners, a sign of being a gentleman. But those intimate little gestures? That had to mean something. He was probably into her.

If the feelings were mutual, who knew—they might get together soon.

Her brother really had no clue. How could he not see how amazing Lu Huan was?

When some other man finally stole her away, he’d only have himself to blame. Let’s see where he goes to cry then!

After hanging up, Lu Huan suddenly remembered something important.

She didn’t even know the guy’s full name.

She opened his WeChat and, after thinking for a moment, typed:

[Mr. Gu, what’s your full name?]

—

Meanwhile, Gu Zhendong had just returned to his private apartment.

He didn’t bother turning on the lights. As he walked toward the bathroom, he loosened his collar and pulled off his tie.

His shirt was still damp from where Lu Huan had clung to him. Without much thought, he shrugged it off and tossed it into the laundry basket.

The shower turned on with a rush. Hot water poured down from above, streaming over the sharp lines of his muscles and tracing the curves of his well-trained body.

Gu Zhendong had always been in poor health, so he kept up a strict exercise routine. His figure was lean but powerful—not at all as fragile as his clothes sometimes made him look.

As the hot water ran over him, his mind kept drifting back to the girl curled up in his arms earlier.

He’d held her too long. Her scent had clung to him, and it unsettled him more than he cared to admit.

Why hadn’t he pushed her away?

When Gu Zhendong thought of Lu Huan—those wide, doe-like eyes full of innocent pleading—he realized just how hard it was to turn her down.

His breath caught slightly. His dark eyes darkened further, and without hesitation, he turned the knob to cold.

After finishing his shower, Gu Zhendong stepped out of the bathroom and glanced at his phone.

A message from Lu Huan—sent twenty minutes ago.

If her voice really had an effect on him, then maybe hearing it when he had headaches or breathing issues would be enough.

[Say something.]

—

Lu Huan had been playing with the kitten for a while. She waited and waited, but still no reply from him. Eventually, she crawled under the covers and went to sleep.

Just as she was drifting off, her phone buzzed and woke her up again.

She checked the message and bit her lip, her face growing warm under the blanket for no reason.

“Say something?”

She could already imagine how casually he must’ve said it, like it was no big deal.

At this hour, what was she even supposed to say?

[Say what exactly?] she typed back, suddenly wide awake, staring at her phone, eager for a reply.

Maybe he wanted her to thank him for driving her home?

But didn’t reading through that long contract in the car count as her thank-you already?

As her thoughts spiraled, her phone buzzed again.

This time, he had sent… a long block of text.

The full text of the Core Socialist Values: “Prosperity, Democracy, Civility, Harmony…” and it went on and on.

Nearly five or six hundred characters. Honestly, you could round it up and call it a college entrance exam essay!

Lu Huan was absolutely stunned by Gu Zhendong’s ridiculous stunt. That long?

There was no way she could even read all that in a 60-second voice message!

She started to suspect he was messing with her on purpose.

Irritated, Lu Huan sent back a voice reply: “Keep dreaming! There’s no way I’m reading that!”

So he didn’t want to tell her his name—fine. But did he seriously think she was some kind of audiobook narrator?

That’s it. Sleep time!

Maybe it was because of that little prank before bed, but Lu Huan ended up dreaming all night long… about reading that endless contract to Gu Zhendong.

When she woke up, she felt completely mentally destroyed.

There was no getting over this!

For once, Lu Huan was up early. After being tormented by that bizarre dream all night, she looked drained and sluggish.

In the dining room, the whole family was having breakfast. Leafy sunlight poured in, and the mood was cheerful. Ye Sangsang said something that made both parents laugh. The whole scene was warm and harmonious.

Lu Huan greeted them with a groggy, “Morning, Mom, Dad.”

Lu Zhong looked at her in surprise. “Huanhuan, you’re up early today?”

After all, this girl usually stayed up playing games until 3 or 4 in the morning, and didn’t crawl out of bed until mid-afternoon.

Lu Zhong worked regular hours, and sometimes went a whole week without seeing his daughter even once.

Lu Huan’s throat felt a little dry, so she took a sip of warm water. “I have class this morning.”

Lu Zhong looked utterly shocked. “You’re going to class?”

He had left early yesterday and hadn’t realized that Lu Huan had actually gone to school. When he came home, his wife had mentioned it, but he hadn’t believed her. He thought Lu Huan was just putting on an act—or using school as an excuse to sneak off and play around again.

He never expected that she was seriously attending class, and now, she was even up early for it.

The couple exchanged glances. Since her memory loss, this child really did seem like a different person.

Lu Huan gave a soft “mm” in response, then added, “I’m not interested in finance. I want to switch to the broadcasting department.”

“Broadcasting?” Lu Zhong frowned.

“You want to be a TV host or something?”

Lu Huan shook her head and answered seriously,
“I want to go into voice acting.”

Lu Zhong wasn’t familiar with the field, but Ye Sangsang, sitting nearby, patiently explained.

As long as Lu Huan was willing to study, Lu Zhong wouldn’t stop her. “Do you need Dad’s help?”

He had always doted on this daughter.

He’d originally chosen the finance major for her in hopes that she’d graduate and eventually work at the family business.

Now that he had found his biological daughter, Ye Sangsang, he naturally hoped she would be the one to inherit the company.

As for Lu Huan—whatever she wanted to do, she was free to pursue it.

“No need!” Lu Huan declined firmly.

“I’ll take the entrance exam myself.”

“Can you even get in?”

It wasn’t an unreasonable question. After all, the original Lu Huan had never taken school seriously, and she’d only gotten into college because the family had donated two buildings.

Lu Huan gave a confident smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll pass.”

Gu Zhendong: Want to date? The kind where I send you the Core Socialist Values to read aloud.

Lu Huan: …

=^_^=