Chapter 89: But Mu Ruo Isn’t Mu Ruo

Mu Ruo did indeed want good opportunities. Everyone desires to climb higher. However, when it came to the olive branch extended by Lu Beichen, Mu Ruo had never considered accepting it.

Since she had decided from the beginning to distance herself from the male and female leads and avoid the original storyline, Mu Ruo wasn’t about to break her own rules.

“No need,” Mu Ruo replied coldly. “I want to take a break for a while.”

Lu Beichen frowned, “Mu Ruo, what’s with the attitude? Isn’t ignoring me for this long enough?”

Mu Ruo found him irritating, “Come on, I’m a married woman now. What reason would I have to be mad at you? If I were to be upset, it would be with my husband, wouldn’t it?”

Lu Beichen felt a tightness in his chest, something he couldn’t quite resolve.

It didn’t make sense; Mu Ruo hadn’t always been like this with him… After all, wasn’t Fu Jianzhi the one who came later?

He couldn’t believe that the bond he and Mu Ruo had built over years of growing up together could be surpassed by a latecomer like Fu Jianzhi.

Frustration welled up within Lu Beichen, but he couldn’t help but recall the past. “Mu Ruo, do you remember what you said to me on my sixteenth birthday?”

Mu Ruo blinked, confused.

“You said that no matter when or where, as long as I wanted to see you, as long as I needed you, you would be there for me.”

The memory of that scene was as vivid as if it had happened yesterday. The young girl wore a white dress, her smile was pure with a hint of shyness, and she was too embarrassed to meet his gaze directly.

Perhaps out of pride, or perhaps because she didn’t want Lu Beichen to think she was too humble, she had added, “Because we’re best friends.”

Lu Beichen had never liked that explanation.

Best friends?

If that’s what being best friends meant, then he’d show her what that entailed.

So the following semester, Lu Beichen flirted with two very pretty girls.

It came as no surprise that after school, those two girls were cornered in the restroom by Mu Ruo and Du Haili, where they were sternly warned.

At this moment, the Mu Ruo of the present seemed to overlap with the Mu Ruo of the past.

Lu Beichen’s voice held a touch of bitterness, “Does what you said back then still hold true?”

Mu Ruo paused.

If it were the old Mu Ruo, she would probably say it still counted. Perhaps, upon hearing these words, she would even be moved to tears.

But unfortunately, if it were the old Mu Ruo, she was destined to transform from the pure, flawless moonlight of youth into a clingy, unsightly mess.

She would love Lu Beichen so much that she would spiral into ruin.

She would go bankrupt because of him, losing her home, her savings, her friends, her family, and even her once-prized beauty.

Everything she had in her youth would be taken away by the woman Lu Beichen loved deeply.

First, Xia Wanwan, the substitute, would become more like that pure and innocent moonlight than Mu Ruo herself. She would grow more beautiful and be loved by everyone in the world.

Then, Mu Ruo, who would have resorted to every means possible out of desperation, would end up shattered and leap from a high building.

With Mu Ruo gone from the world, Xia Wanwan would no longer be just a stand-in.

And by the end of the novel, Lu Beichen would forget that Xia Wanwan was ever a substitute for someone else.

He would forget the girl’s every smile and all the beauty of the past.

Xia Wanwan’s appearance would resemble Mu Ruo’s more and more, and her words and actions would become increasingly elegant and composed, transforming her into the proud swan that Lu Beichen adored.

That was their complete and happy story.

But Mu Ruo was no longer Mu Ruo.

She didn’t want to end up like the original Mu Ruo, whose death was so tragic and who was even scorned by many after her passing.

Mu Ruo smiled lightly, “I say many things every day, and whatever I said a few years ago, I’ve long forgotten.”

Lu Beichen didn’t believe her.

At that moment, his phone rang with a message from Xia Wanwan: “Beichen, can I go with you to the Lu family?”

Seeing the message from Xia Wanwan, Lu Beichen hesitated again.

He wanted Mu Ruo to divorce Fu Jianzhi, but he didn’t want to be with Mu Ruo himself. He just wanted her to act as she had before—completely obedient to him, competing with Xia Wanwan for his attention, and satisfying his vanity.

As for a girlfriend, he preferred someone like Xia Wanwan, who was easier to manipulate.

Comparing Mu Ruo and Xia Wanwan, although Mu Ruo was more beautiful, she didn’t offer the same emotional value that Xia Wanwan did.

Lu Beichen stepped outside to reply to Xia Wanwan: “My parents aren’t ready to meet you yet.”

Xia Wanwan’s background was far below that of the Lu family. Lu Beichen’s parents wouldn’t approve, and he didn’t want to bring Xia Wanwan around to exacerbate the tensions at home.

Inside, Huang Xiaoping called Mu Ruo over to try some grilled lamb ribs she had just prepared. Mu Ruo took a bite and praised, “Delicious, Auntie! Your cooking is amazing!”

“Really?” Huang Xiaoping couldn’t help but smile. “Mu Ruo, you should come over often, and I’ll cook for you.”

Mu Ruo had a rough childhood, mistreated by her stepmother who, despite the family’s wealth, deliberately punished her by not feeding her properly.

Huang Xiaoping, being naturally kind-hearted, couldn’t stand to see a child being mistreated and often invited Mu Ruo over.

She had watched Mu Ruo grow up and almost considered her one of her own children.

As Zhou Jian and Haili were outside playing on their phones, Huang Xiaoping lowered her voice and asked, “Do you know about that girl Zhou Jian is dating, Zeng Xiaoyue?”

Mu Ruo’s heart sank.

Zhou Jian’s obsession with love was even more severe than Haili’s.

In the original story, Haili didn’t marry the scumbag who deceived her, though she did lose a substantial amount of money. Zhou Jian, on the other hand, was eager to propose and ended up in prison, losing his family’s fortune, and even having Huang Xiaoping evicted and left homeless.

Mu Ruo had warned Zhou Jian before, but she wasn’t sure if his love-obsessed brain had absorbed any of it.

She nodded.

Huang Xiaoping frowned. “I don’t think this girl is good for him, but Zhou Jian won’t listen to me. He insists I’m just looking down on her background. I don’t care about her family’s situation; I just want to know if she genuinely cares about him. Lately, she’s been claiming her family members are sick and has asked Zhou Jian for two or three million yuan. Now she’s trying to get him to buy a house for her family here. Mu Ruo, do you think a girl who truly loves Zhou Jian would keep asking for money like this?”

Mu Ruo glanced at Zhou Jian, who was grinning foolishly at his phone in the living room.

“…”

Well, with that much money to waste, he was certainly both foolish and rich.

Mu Ruo replied, “I happen to be dealing with something at the moment. I’ll look into it for you.”

Huang Xiaoping felt relieved. “Good. You’ve always treated Zhou Jian like a younger brother, so I trust you to help him.”

Mu Ruo had always been clever and excelled in school, while Zhou Jian had a knack for getting into trouble. Having Mu Ruo, who acted like an older sister, advise him made Huang Xiaoping feel much more at ease.

Just then, Zhou Jian exclaimed from outside, “Whoa, Mu Ruo! Woe to the Nation has only been out for two days, and it’s already made 300 million at the box office. You’re famous!”