Chapter 35

Lu Sen immediately became alert.

He should know… Could this be an acquaintance of “Lu Sen”?

“It’s her. The nurse who just went in to change your wife’s bandages. I thought you already knew her,” Wei Lian said, surprised.

Wasn’t the nurse who changed Bai Wei’s bandages named Li?!

Just then, the nurse came out pushing a small cart. Her appearance was quite delicate, but she gave off an impression of being ordinary—someone who, if thrown into a crowd, would never stand out. She walked with her brows lowered, seemingly lost in thought, as if she could easily ignore the outside world.

But she certainly wasn’t the nurse who changed Bai Wei’s bandages a few days ago. Lu Sen relaxed slightly. He thought the “should have known her” comment from Wei Lian was likely based on a misunderstanding.

“Long Dong!” Wei Lian called out her name.

Long Dong looked up, surprised, and glanced at them. When she saw Lu Sen, Lu Sen noticed her furrowed brows and her eyes looking up, as if she was trying to recall something.

—This is bad, what if we really do know each other?

—–

“Why is it you today?”

“Hongjie said she had something at home, so she asked me to fill in for her today,” Long Dong said.

She was a few years older than Bai Wei, but her voice was soft and timid, as if a gust of wind could blow her words away. Wei Lian immediately frowned and said, “What could she have going on at home? I saw her this morning when Xiao Min and I were heading out. She was wearing a floral dress and said she was going to the beach to have fun.”

“Eh…” Long Dong didn’t say anything else after that. It was unclear whether it was a sigh or whether she didn’t know what to say, so she just chose to remain silent, as usual.

Wasn’t Long Dong the daughter of a wealthy family in town? But she was far from the image that Lu Sen and others had of a young lady from a rich family. He asked Wei Lian, “You two seem to be quite familiar?”

“We’re classmates from middle school. Long Dong is my senior, and we were in the same club. Back in high school, she was often bullied because she was easy to talk to,” Wei Lian said. “Later… Did you go to university in Fengcheng?”

“3+1,” Long Dong said in a soft voice. “I spent my last year in France on an exchange…”

France. Lu Sen’s eyelids twitched. He was about to tell himself that things couldn’t be so coincidental, but then he heard Wei Lian say, “Right, that trip was pretty unlucky. When she returned to the country, she went on a cruise. Originally, it was supposed to stop at a few countries, with a stop in Black Harbor City, and then head back. But then, the ship encountered a maritime disaster, and most of the people on board died…”

“Don’t say it like that. I was very lucky. I managed to make it home alive…”

Lu Sen tightened his scalp. This couldn’t be that coincidental, right? But then, Wei Lian suddenly seemed to remember something. “By the way, Lu Sen, didn’t you study abroad in France too?”

—-

Long Dong’s eyes looked over at this moment. She whispered, “Actually, I was just about to ask… I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before. Maybe the ship incident left a deep impression on me, and my memories around it are very clear. But your face seems to have changed a lot. I’m not quite sure…”

“This…”

“And back then, you didn’t go by the name Lu Sen, did you? You were called… Vincent?”

—–

How could there be such a terribly unlucky coincidence in the world!

A few years ago, a pair of twin siblings, who both enjoyed playing around, boarded the cruise ship together. One was named Vincent, and the other was named Lulu. On the ship, their cheerful and playful personalities left a deep impression on many of their peers—even Long Dong, who was quite introverted. They also organized many activities for young people.

Unfortunately, Long Dong and Lulu were staying in adjacent rooms.

After the maritime disaster, most of the people on board died in the disaster. At this time, Lu Sen found a pile of mixed-up luggage. Many documents were already damaged, but some parts still read “Sen” and “LU.”

They were the children of wealthy businessmen who had already immigrated and were estranged from their families. They had already moved out and lived independently with their family fortune. Lu Sen pieced together the documents and made some modifications based on their appearance. Eventually, it became “Lu Sen.”

So, not only were “Sen” and “Lulu” two different people, but Lu Sen’s face now looked more like “Lulu” than “Sen.” It was even only 40% like “Lulu”… Lu Sen’s brain began to tremble at that moment.

Could it be that Lulu was the one who was supposed to be arranged for a blind date with Bai Wei from the beginning?

Could it be that from the start, this was supposed to be a blind date between two people of the opposite sex?

No wonder! When Bai Wei first met him, his expression was so strange. And the look on the face of the White family’s “scout” hiding behind the sofa, which Lu Sen had already noticed, was so shocking. They even tried to disturb them and send the White family’s butler incorrect reports. Lu Sen was just very angry and disappointed. He knew that many people were supposed to get married, and he had also decided to marry like everyone else. But he didn’t expect that just by appearing, he could make that “scout” so dissatisfied.

Could it be that he seemed like a terrible person? He had clearly prepared everything perfectly!

So, at that time, he used the excuse of going to the bathroom to brainwash the “scout.” Afterward, every time he went on a date, he had to brainwash a lot of people, including the White family’s “scout” and some onlookers. Even when Bai Wei brought him home to meet his family, he brainwashed the entire White family.

Lu Sen then felt that human society was filled with crises. He couldn’t understand why so many people didn’t think he was right for Bai Wei. This actually sparked his competitive spirit. He was going to win Bai Wei and make everyone think they were the perfect match.

Among these people, only Bai Wei was different. Even though Bai Wei showed a strange expression, he still patiently chatted with him, as if he wanted to understand him more than anyone else. This was exactly like their first meeting, where Bai Wei, whether he recognized him or not, was so patient with him.

This made Lu Sen feel that he had to have Bai Wei. He wanted Bai Wei to always be this patient with him, and he wanted to claim Bai Wei’s patience for himself. Moreover, Bai Wei’s family background was so perfect for his needs.

Now, he finally understood. The dissatisfaction people had with him wasn’t because he seemed like a bad person.

It was because they hadn’t expected that Bai Wei’s fiancée was a man!

From the moment he landed, found Bai Wei, and formed a family with him, it was never going to be a normal, perfect family in the societal sense…

—–

After the overwhelming and seemingly unreachable sense of loss, Lu Sen suddenly realized Bai Wei’s preciousness. Bai Wei was the only person who, from beginning to end, had never brainwashed him and just naturally accepted being with him.

If it weren’t for Bai Wei… If he hadn’t met Bai Wei… He might never have had this life.

Lu Sen’s heart tingled. He hadn’t realized earlier that, compared to the concept of “family” or the vague term “relationship,” what he cared about more was Bai Wei.

Bai Wei, this person, their meeting, and everything that had happened between them.

But now, he still had to face Long Dong’s question. Lu Sen said, “After my sister passed away, I changed my name to honor her.”

Long Dong only nodded. She continued to stare at Lu Sen.

It seemed that Lu Sen hadn’t eased her concerns.

“Well, it’s quite a coincidence! Normally, people like you two wouldn’t both come to Snow Mountain Town to work and settle down,” Wei Lian said.

Lu Sen casually threw the question back at Long Dong. “Yes, I didn’t expect you to stay in Snow Mountain Town and work as a nurse in the local hospital. Is it because of the shipwreck? After that shipwreck, I came to understand the meaning of life even more.”

“Actually, whether or not there was the shipwreck, I would have returned to Snow Mountain Town. Because of my parents’ health…” Long Dong lowered her head.

“With you taking care of them, your parents must be at ease,” Lu Sen said. He noticed Wei Lian’s expression was a bit off and gave him a subtle look to change the topic.

“My parents passed away a few years ago.”

“Oh… That’s very unfortunate.”

“It was a car accident. Luckily, Jun Yao was driving by the mountain road and saved me. At that time, he was a dentist in a neighboring town. Later, we got married and have been together ever since,” Long Dong said. “Lu Sen, actually, I can understand how you feel. Because, I also have a younger brother.”

Lu Sen nodded seriously.

“I’m glad we’ve reunited. I think our families will have many opportunities to interact in the future.” Lu Sen shook hands with Long Dong.

Long Dong smiled faintly, always looking a bit weak.

“￥%@?”

She suddenly said something in French.

Lu Sen smiled and replied, “￥@%%.”

Long Dong pushed the cart and disappeared down the hallway. Wei Lian watched her back and asked Lu Sen, “What were you two talking about just now?”

“She greeted me in French. I responded to her,” Lu Sen said.

“Oh,” Wei Lian replied. “I almost forgot she speaks French. In the eyes of many people, she seems so ordinary compared to her brother or her husband. But she and Ren Jun Yao have a great relationship, and everyone in the town envies them.”

Lu Sen kept smiling. “Mm.”

“But you too, right? I never would have guessed you used to sound like a playboy. What was it? A double degree in art and finance? You even got a minor in math and did so many activities?” Wei Lian nudged him, grinning, “Does Bai Wei know about all this?”

“What does Bai Wei know?” Qiao Min happened to walk out of the ward.

“This Mr. Lu has quite an interesting past, and he’s lucky to be alive. I was asking him how he ended up fixing cars now…” Wei Lian left out the playboy part.

Oh no!

How did someone in Snow Mountain Town know about Lu Sen’s past? Lu Sen’s heart tightened when Wei Lian mentioned the cruise activities. Qiao Min was pleased and turned to ask Lu Sen, “Wow! I didn’t know you were so amazing back then. Does Bai Wei know?”

“He knows. I’ll go check on him,” Lu Sen replied.

Lu Sen quickly entered the hospital room. Bai Wei was sitting on the bed, holding a book with his left hand, which was in perfect condition. When he saw Lu Sen come in, he said coolly, “Did you go see something just now?”

Although his disguised identity had been thoroughly exposed, he couldn’t let Bai Wei know about this.

Between being exposed by the townspeople and by Bai Wei, what Lu Sen cared most about was Bai Wei discovering his true identity. It was hard enough for him to finally become someone in Bai Wei’s “world.” He didn’t want Bai Wei to know that he wasn’t really Lu Sen and that there had never been anyone named “Lu Sen” in this world.

But some things weren’t within Lu Sen’s control.