Chapter 13: Let Me Say Thank You

Cen Wan had a serious case of morning grumpiness.  If it had been anyone else, she would have exploded, showering them with insults and a good beating before kicking them out.

She looked like she had no will to live, being carried by Lu Beixun like a chick.  “Lu Beixun, what are you doing?”

Her tone wasn’t annoyed or angry.  Her voice was soft, more like she was being petulant.  If you listened closely, you could even hear a hint of indulgence, indulgence towards Lu Beixun.

“Exercising,” he said.  “If you don’t start exercising, you’ll really be a total wreck.  We need to act now while there’s still time to save you.”

“I don’t want to…”  Before she could finish, Lu Beixun gave her a cold look, and she immediately shut up.

“Okay,” Lu Beixun said.  “From now on, it’s only vegetables for all three meals.”

Cen Wan: “…”

He was dead set on making her exercise.

Lu Beixun was about to leave, but Cen Wan closed her eyes and steeled her resolve.  “I’ll do it!”

If she thought about it from another angle, Lu Beixun was just concerned about her health.  Thinking about it that way, it wasn’t so hard to accept.  She even felt a little happy.

Lu Beixun adjusted the treadmill speed.  Cen Wan started with a five-minute walk, followed by a ten-minute brisk walk.  She was slightly out of breath, but it wasn’t too tiring.  She could handle it.

Cen Wan grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from her forehead.  “I want to rest for a bit.”

“Keep going for ten more minutes.”  Lu Beixun increased the treadmill speed, going from a brisk walk to a jog.

Cen Wan was distraught.  She was so miserable.  She was twenty-two years old, a college graduate, and she was being forced to run and exercise.  And the person who was forcing her, she couldn’t bring herself to scold or hit, she couldn’t even say a harsh word to him.

What could she do?  She could only cry and run.

As she ran, she asked, “Why aren’t you running?”

“Supervising you.”

Cen Wan looked at Lu Beixun and thought of her PE teacher in college.  But he was much better looking than her PE teacher.  If Lu Beixun had been her PE teacher, and he had been standing at the finish line of the track, she probably wouldn’t have taken forty minutes to run eight hundred meters.

She crawled the last few meters.

She always paid attention to her image at school, but at that moment, she didn’t care.  When she reached the finish line, she fainted and was sent to the infirmary.

But she never imagined that Lu Beixun was there, witnessing everything.  He was the one who sent her to the infirmary.

Lu Beixun had always known that most girls who were raised with money were spoiled.  He never imagined that Cen Wan would be so spoiled.

After jogging for ten minutes, Cen Wan turned off the treadmill and was about to step off, but Lu Beixun stopped her.  He slowed down the speed.  “Walk for a minute.”

Cen Wan sighed deeply.  She had already run for ten minutes.  One more minute wouldn’t hurt.

After she finished, she lay down on the yoga mat in a starfish pose.  Besides being tired, she didn’t feel anything else.  It wasn’t like yesterday.

“Coach Lu, we should be done tomorrow, right?”

“Keep up this exercise routine for a week.”  Lu Beixun saw her look of despair and a subtle curve appeared at the corner of his lips.

Cen Wan: “…”

“Coach Lu, I want to sing you a song.”

Cen Wan stood up and bowed to the rhythm as she sang.  “Listen to me say thank you.”

“Because of you.”

“Warmed the four seasons.”

…

Her high ponytail swayed back and forth with her bowing movements.

When the song ended, Cen Wan made a heart shape with her hands above her head.  The smile on her face was more awkward than crying.

Lu Beixun: “…”

Cen Wan thought Lu Beixun would say something comforting, or at least say that she was exercising for her own good.

But Lu Beixun looked at her and said seriously, “You’re welcome.”

Cen Wan almost died on the spot.

Lu Beixun said, “Wanwan classmate, keep up the good work tomorrow.”

With that, Lu Beixun turned and left.

Wanwan classmate?

Lu Beixun called her Wanwan classmate?

She wasn’t mistaken…

Cen Wan couldn’t stop smiling.  She didn’t want to run either, but he called her Wanwan.

She shouted to Lu Beixun’s back, “Coach Lu, I’ll do my best!”

For breakfast, Cen Wan got her hot dog.

Lu Beixun went to work, and she met up with Xu Zhitang.  The driver took her to the coffee shop where they had agreed to meet.

Cen Wan got out of the car and saw her plastic sister, Xu Zhitang, sitting by the window.

Xu Zhitang had a cute name, but she was a stunning, glamorous type.  You couldn’t forget her once you saw her.

Cen Wan went inside and sat down opposite her, smiling.  “Beautiful, let’s add each other on WeChat.”

Xu Zhitang flipped her hair and propped her chin on her hand, smiling seductively.  “Of course.  I’m always interested in beautiful people, both male and female.”

Xu Zhitang, the daughter of the Xu family in Kyoto.  She had three older brothers.  She was the youngest and the apple of her family’s eye.  She was spoiled, willful, and unreasonable.  She didn’t take anyone seriously.  That’s what everyone in the circle said about her.

She was twenty-four years old, two years older than Cen Wan.  Cen Wan would call her “sister” when she needed something from her.

She also had a reputation for dating and flirting with men.  To put it bluntly, she had a long list of exes and men she had flirted with.  She dated more men in a month than most people did in years.

She only played, she never fell in love.

But no one could have imagined that Xu Zhitang, who treated men like toys, would fall for a man six months later.  And she knew the man, but not well.

“What are you doing today?” Cen Wan asked.

“I just dumped a guy,” Xu Zhitang laughed.  “Besides, who’s more important than you?”

“Xu Zhitang, I’m telling you, you need to tone it down,” Cen Wan said with a smile.  “Karma’s a bitch.”

But luckily, the outcome was good, so Cen Wan wasn’t worried anymore.

“This girl doesn’t believe in that crap.”  Xu Zhitang looked her up and down, smiling.  “Cen Wan, you’re not being sincere, are you?  You’ve been giving your guy a hard time, haven’t you?”

Cen Wan looked down at the coffee on the table.

Her karma had already come.  “Yeah, I’ve been giving him a hard time.  I regret it.  Now, I just want to love him properly.”

“No way, girl, what’s wrong with you?”  Xu Zhitang stirred her coffee.  “Didn’t you say that the problems at your family’s company were Lu Beixun’s doing?  You’re not going to hold that against him?”

She didn’t understand.  If it had been her, she wouldn’t have been able to stand it.  Love is about mutual consent.  She couldn’t stand someone using underhanded tactics.

“It wasn’t him,” Cen Wan explained.  “The things that happened at Cen’s company, Lu Beixun didn’t do it.”

“I misunderstood him.”

Xu Zhitang didn’t know the details, but as an outsider, she didn’t say much.  “Well, Lu Beixun got a raw deal.  Since it was a misunderstanding, you should be good to him from now on.”

“I will.”

Xu Zhitang said, “If it wasn’t Lu Beixun, then who did it?”

“I know who it is,” Cen Wan said, hatred flashing in her eyes.  “But I don’t have any evidence yet.”

“Do you need help?”

“No, I can handle it,” Cen Wan said.

She took a sip of coffee and frowned.  “This is so bitter.”

Xu Zhitang put two sugar cubes in her coffee.  “Here you go.”

“You’re the best, Tangtang.”

Xu Zhitang looked at her with disgust.  “Don’t call me Tangtang.  It’s so cheesy.”

“Okay, Miss Xu Zhitang!”