Chapter 23
Next was Sun Yi, who called a former teammate. After exchanging a few playful banter, the former teammate, guided by Sun Yi, uttered the task phrase he had assigned.
The last one was Xu Wan. The director didn't make things difficult for her, giving her only a three-word task: "I love you."
Xu Wan felt no pressure at all about this task.
She immediately took out her phone and called Chen Yuxuan.
The phone rang for a long time before finally being answered. Xu Wan smiled, but before she could even say "hello," a woman's soft laughter came from the other end.
"Hello, looking for Yuxuan? He's taking a shower."
Xu Wan's smile froze on her lips and she quickly hung up before the woman could say a second sentence.
"I might have dialed the wrong number." Xu Wan's smile was somewhat stiff and she then voluntarily gave up on the challenge.
Meanwhile, back in the Chen family home in the capital, Zou Huan put down the phone and walked out of Chen Yuxuan's room.
"Did you call Yuxuan?" Mother Chen looked up and asked casually.
"He's taking a shower," Zou Huan replied obediently.
"This child. Come here, Huanhuan, have some fruit first," Mother Chen said with a smile. "Huanhuan is so thoughtful. If only our rascal had married you! Our Chen Family isn't so fortunate."
As she spoke, Mother Chen sighed, "Look at Yuxuan's fiancée, not being a perfectly good heiress and instead choose to go into the entertainment industry and show her face in public."
Zou Huan listened, but didn't offer any opinion.
Although Mother Chen said this, she didn't truly intend for Zou Huan to marry into the family.
Twenty years ago, that would have been fine, but now, the Zou Family had declined. The Chen Family naturally hoped to marry someone of equal social standing.
If it weren't for the connection between her mother and Mother Chen, she probably wouldn't even have been able to enter the Chen’s house.
Therefore, Zou Huan didn't take Mother Chen's words seriously, simply smiling obediently.
Chen Yuxuan came out of the shower. Because of his mother's call, he didn't check his phone immediately and thus missed the chance to explain.
The live chat was buzzing with activity.
"Holy crap, did I hear that right? A woman answered the phone!"
"That must be the Eldest Miss's fiancé. I saw him on Weibo before."
"What's going on?"
"Cheating? So blatant?"
"A wise man doesn't fall in love, instead let's build a beautiful country."
...
Xu Wan left before the show ended.
She called Chen Yuxuan again, but no one answered.
When she got home, she was greeted with a slap from Xu Anguo.
Although Xu Wan wasn't his biological daughter, she had always been well-behaved and had never been scolded, let alone hit.
So this slap left her stunned on the spot.
"I told you not to go! Look what trouble you've caused me!" Xu Anguo was clearly still fuming, his face flushed with agitation.
"Talk properly. Why are you hitting the child?" Although Sun Yulan was angry, she had raised Xu Wan for so many years and still protected her out of concern.
Xu Wan covered her face. Amidst the exchange of glances between Sun Yulan and Xu Anguo, she learned why she had been slapped.
It turned out that the woman she had allowed to be cyberbullied had become a living dead, and the woman's son had somehow found out that she was behind it all, and had come to the Xu Family with evidence.
"Don't participate in that variety show anymore. Just stay home and reflect on your actions!" With that, Xu Anguo stormed off.
"Don't blame your father. There's been some trouble at the company lately and he's been a bit irritable. But Wanwan, aren't you usually the gentlest? Why are you being so extreme this time?"
Xu Wan sat on the floor, her face buried in her hands. The soft carpet wasn't cold, but she felt a chill in her heart.
Before, she had targeted Tang Yao so much, not only because she didn't want to lose her wealthy life, but also because she didn't want to lose her parents. She genuinely loved them.
But her parents hadn't offered a single word of concern or inquiry, only blame. If she lost her usefulness, she would find it difficult to move an inch in this family and be even less important than Tang Yao, the biological daughter.
Xu Wan gave a silent, cold laugh. Since that was how it was, then no one should have an easy time!
It wasn't until the next day that Chen Yuxuan learned from the trending topics that Xu Wan had called him the day before.
And by then, he had become the universally ridiculed scumbag.
Chen Yuxuan called Zou Huan to question her, but she replied, "Huh? I don't know. I just answered your phone yesterday because it kept ringing. I didn't mean anything by it."
Chen Yuxuan was at a loss, only sternly admonishing her not to overstep her bounds. Then, urged by his father, he ordered flowers and gifts to go to the Xu Family to explain and apologize.
Mother Chen was somewhat displeased: "Why bother humbling yourself to apologize to them? It was just answering a phone call; you didn't do anything wrong."
"The two families still have business dealings. There's no need to make things so tense," Father Chen said.
Before Chen Yuxuan arrived, Xu Anguo went to Xu Wan's room and gave her a lecture, essentially saying that it's normal for men to have affairs outside the home and that Xu Wan shouldn't throw a tantrum.
When Chen Yuxuan arrived, he explained the situation to Xu Wan, and Xu Wan outwardly accepted the situation and stopped being angry.
Tang Yao was unaware of the chaos within the Xu Family. She had just received a call from Huang Hui, asking her to come to the capital for an emergency. The other party was very sincere and offered generous compensation. After much persuasion, Tang Yao finally agreed.
Ji Mingquan sent an invitation. Old Master Ji's 70th birthday was approaching and he invited her to the capital to attend.
Tang Yao stretched, realizing she would have to leave her comfortable little nest for a while.
Still staying at the guesthouse, Lu Bei learned that she was going to the capital and said he was going back too and offered to travel with her.
Meanwhile, Lu Nan, who was planning to work overtime at the company if his younger brother wasn't coming home, received another message that his younger brother was about to return.
Lu Nan: "..."
He rubbed his temples and said to his assistant, "Cancel this afternoon's meeting for now."
The assistant smiled, nodded, and left.
Since Xiao Bei recovered from his illness, Lu Nan's mood had become much brighter. He was no longer frowning all the time. Even the young women at the company said that Mr. Lu seemed different from before.
When Lu Bei suggested going back to the capital together, Tang Yao bought him a ticket as well after asking.
Looking at the ticket information on Tang Yao's phone, Lu Bei lowered his head and typed a message telling Lu Nan not to send a driver.
The guesthouse was temporarily left to Xiao Yue and the other two to manage. Tang Yao had packed most of her things into her spatial storage and when she left, she only carried a backpack as a formality.
To avoid being recognized, Lu Bei put on a mask and sunglasses.
They first needed to take a bus from the town to the city to catch their flight.
For Lu Bei, taking a bus was a memory from a long time ago.
He and Tang Yao sat in the second-to-last row. The various noises and smells on the bus made Lu Bei frown.
Tang Yao noticed and asked, "Are you carsick? I brought oranges."
Lu Bei shook his head: "No."
Just in case, Tang Yao still slipped an orange into his hand.
The fresh scent of the orange mixed with Tang Yao's faint fragrance made Lu Bei suddenly feel that the surrounding smells weren't so unpleasant.
After the bus and flight and several hours later, they finally arrived in the capital.
Huang Hui had said someone would pick her up at the airport, so they parted ways at the airport exit.
"Call me if anything happens," Lu Bei said to Tang Yao before leaving.
Tang Yao nodded and waved goodbye.
Lu Bei didn't leave immediately. He waited until Tang Yao got into the car before calling his elder brother.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around, he saw his elder brother sitting in a black car behind him, looking at him meaningfully.
Lu Bei coughed lightly and got into the car.
Before Lu Nan could speak, Lu Bei said, "Elder Brother, didn’t you get invited to old Mr. Ji Mingquan's birthday party? I'm going too."
Lu Nan turned the steering wheel, raising an eyebrow slightly. "I asked you before and you said you weren't going."
"Old Mr. Ji has also given us some advice. Attending is a sign of respect for him," Lu Bei stated seriously.
Lu Nan chuckled, clearly not believing his younger brother's explanation.
...
Tang Yao was surprised that Huang Hui personally came to pick her up. The person driving was her assistant.
"Thank you so much for coming to help. I really had no other choice but to trouble you," Huang Hui said gently.
"You're welcome. I’ll do my best, though I don't know if it will be of any help."
Huang Hui took Tang Yao directly to a five-star hotel. She must have booked a room in advance. After getting the room key, she led Tang Yao upstairs.
"If I brought you home so abruptly, you might feel uncomfortable. Our family also owns a share in this hotel and I've already spoken to them. They'll bring three meals a day. But if you want to eat out, just let them know. You can stay here as you like. If you don't feel comfortable, you can stay at our place." Huang Hui had made perfect arrangements. Everything Tang Yao needed in the room was already prepared, so she didn't have to worry about anything.
"It's already great. Thank you," Tang Yao said politely.
"It's nothing. You should rest today. I'll pick you up from work tomorrow, and we can talk about the details then. After you've rested, we'll treat you to a welcome-back dinner tomorrow night." "Huang Hui said with a smile.
After speaking, Huang Hui left, leaving Tang Yao alone.
It must be said that Tang Yao felt very comfortable in this situation.
Not long after she left, a gentle knock sounded at the door. It was a hotel staff member bringing her lunch.
Although she had eaten something on the plane, she was indeed starving now.
The hotel food was very good and it tasted different from Xiao Li's cooking.
After eating, Tang Yao laid down on the bed to rest and fell asleep without realizing it.
When she woke up, it was already sunset... As dusk fell, the warm light of the setting sun filtered through the gaps in the curtains, creating a strange sense of loneliness.
Tang Yao washed her face to wake herself up and then took out her phone.
There was a message from Lu Bei asking if she wanted to go out for dinner that evening.
Tang Yao felt lazy and didn't want to move, so she politely declined.
Lu Nan noticed his younger brother staring at his phone, and after reading the message, a sudden gloom settled over him.
Next was Sun Yi, who called a former teammate. After exchanging a few playful banter, the former teammate, guided by Sun Yi, uttered the task phrase he had assigned.
The last one was Xu Wan. The director didn't make things difficult for her, giving her only a three-word task: "I love you."
Xu Wan felt no pressure at all about this task.
She immediately took out her phone and called Chen Yuxuan.
The phone rang for a long time before finally being answered. Xu Wan smiled, but before she could even say "hello," a woman's soft laughter came from the other end.
"Hello, looking for Yuxuan? He's taking a shower."
Xu Wan's smile froze on her lips and she quickly hung up before the woman could say a second sentence.
"I might have dialed the wrong number." Xu Wan's smile was somewhat stiff and she then voluntarily gave up on the challenge.
Meanwhile, back in the Chen family home in the capital, Zou Huan put down the phone and walked out of Chen Yuxuan's room.
"Did you call Yuxuan?" Mother Chen looked up and asked casually.
"He's taking a shower," Zou Huan replied obediently.
"This child. Come here, Huanhuan, have some fruit first," Mother Chen said with a smile. "Huanhuan is so thoughtful. If only our rascal had married you! Our Chen Family isn't so fortunate."
As she spoke, Mother Chen sighed, "Look at Yuxuan's fiancée, not being a perfectly good heiress and instead choose to go into the entertainment industry and show her face in public."
Zou Huan listened, but didn't offer any opinion.
Although Mother Chen said this, she didn't truly intend for Zou Huan to marry into the family.
Twenty years ago, that would have been fine, but now, the Zou Family had declined. The Chen Family naturally hoped to marry someone of equal social standing.
If it weren't for the connection between her mother and Mother Chen, she probably wouldn't even have been able to enter the Chen’s house.
Therefore, Zou Huan didn't take Mother Chen's words seriously, simply smiling obediently.
Chen Yuxuan came out of the shower. Because of his mother's call, he didn't check his phone immediately and thus missed the chance to explain.
The live chat was buzzing with activity.
"Holy crap, did I hear that right? A woman answered the phone!"
"That must be the Eldest Miss's fiancé. I saw him on Weibo before."
"What's going on?"
"Cheating? So blatant?"
"A wise man doesn't fall in love, instead let's build a beautiful country."
...
Xu Wan left before the show ended.
She called Chen Yuxuan again, but no one answered.
When she got home, she was greeted with a slap from Xu Anguo.
Although Xu Wan wasn't his biological daughter, she had always been well-behaved and had never been scolded, let alone hit.
So this slap left her stunned on the spot.
"I told you not to go! Look what trouble you've caused me!" Xu Anguo was clearly still fuming, his face flushed with agitation.
"Talk properly. Why are you hitting the child?" Although Sun Yulan was angry, she had raised Xu Wan for so many years and still protected her out of concern.
Xu Wan covered her face. Amidst the exchange of glances between Sun Yulan and Xu Anguo, she learned why she had been slapped.
It turned out that the woman she had allowed to be cyberbullied had become a living dead, and the woman's son had somehow found out that she was behind it all, and had come to the Xu Family with evidence.
"Don't participate in that variety show anymore. Just stay home and reflect on your actions!" With that, Xu Anguo stormed off.
"Don't blame your father. There's been some trouble at the company lately and he's been a bit irritable. But Wanwan, aren't you usually the gentlest? Why are you being so extreme this time?"
Xu Wan sat on the floor, her face buried in her hands. The soft carpet wasn't cold, but she felt a chill in her heart.
Before, she had targeted Tang Yao so much, not only because she didn't want to lose her wealthy life, but also because she didn't want to lose her parents. She genuinely loved them.
But her parents hadn't offered a single word of concern or inquiry, only blame. If she lost her usefulness, she would find it difficult to move an inch in this family and be even less important than Tang Yao, the biological daughter.
Xu Wan gave a silent, cold laugh. Since that was how it was, then no one should have an easy time!
It wasn't until the next day that Chen Yuxuan learned from the trending topics that Xu Wan had called him the day before.
And by then, he had become the universally ridiculed scumbag.
Chen Yuxuan called Zou Huan to question her, but she replied, "Huh? I don't know. I just answered your phone yesterday because it kept ringing. I didn't mean anything by it."
Chen Yuxuan was at a loss, only sternly admonishing her not to overstep her bounds. Then, urged by his father, he ordered flowers and gifts to go to the Xu Family to explain and apologize.
Mother Chen was somewhat displeased: "Why bother humbling yourself to apologize to them? It was just answering a phone call; you didn't do anything wrong."
"The two families still have business dealings. There's no need to make things so tense," Father Chen said.
Before Chen Yuxuan arrived, Xu Anguo went to Xu Wan's room and gave her a lecture, essentially saying that it's normal for men to have affairs outside the home and that Xu Wan shouldn't throw a tantrum.
When Chen Yuxuan arrived, he explained the situation to Xu Wan, and Xu Wan outwardly accepted the situation and stopped being angry.
Tang Yao was unaware of the chaos within the Xu Family. She had just received a call from Huang Hui, asking her to come to the capital for an emergency. The other party was very sincere and offered generous compensation. After much persuasion, Tang Yao finally agreed.
Ji Mingquan sent an invitation. Old Master Ji's 70th birthday was approaching and he invited her to the capital to attend.
Tang Yao stretched, realizing she would have to leave her comfortable little nest for a while.
Still staying at the guesthouse, Lu Bei learned that she was going to the capital and said he was going back too and offered to travel with her.
Meanwhile, Lu Nan, who was planning to work overtime at the company if his younger brother wasn't coming home, received another message that his younger brother was about to return.
Lu Nan: "..."
He rubbed his temples and said to his assistant, "Cancel this afternoon's meeting for now."
The assistant smiled, nodded, and left.
Since Xiao Bei recovered from his illness, Lu Nan's mood had become much brighter. He was no longer frowning all the time. Even the young women at the company said that Mr. Lu seemed different from before.
When Lu Bei suggested going back to the capital together, Tang Yao bought him a ticket as well after asking.
Looking at the ticket information on Tang Yao's phone, Lu Bei lowered his head and typed a message telling Lu Nan not to send a driver.
The guesthouse was temporarily left to Xiao Yue and the other two to manage. Tang Yao had packed most of her things into her spatial storage and when she left, she only carried a backpack as a formality.
To avoid being recognized, Lu Bei put on a mask and sunglasses.
They first needed to take a bus from the town to the city to catch their flight.
For Lu Bei, taking a bus was a memory from a long time ago.
He and Tang Yao sat in the second-to-last row. The various noises and smells on the bus made Lu Bei frown.
Tang Yao noticed and asked, "Are you carsick? I brought oranges."
Lu Bei shook his head: "No."
Just in case, Tang Yao still slipped an orange into his hand.
The fresh scent of the orange mixed with Tang Yao's faint fragrance made Lu Bei suddenly feel that the surrounding smells weren't so unpleasant.
After the bus and flight and several hours later, they finally arrived in the capital.
Huang Hui had said someone would pick her up at the airport, so they parted ways at the airport exit.
"Call me if anything happens," Lu Bei said to Tang Yao before leaving.
Tang Yao nodded and waved goodbye.
Lu Bei didn't leave immediately. He waited until Tang Yao got into the car before calling his elder brother.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around, he saw his elder brother sitting in a black car behind him, looking at him meaningfully.
Lu Bei coughed lightly and got into the car.
Before Lu Nan could speak, Lu Bei said, "Elder Brother, didn’t you get invited to old Mr. Ji Mingquan's birthday party? I'm going too."
Lu Nan turned the steering wheel, raising an eyebrow slightly. "I asked you before and you said you weren't going."
"Old Mr. Ji has also given us some advice. Attending is a sign of respect for him," Lu Bei stated seriously.
Lu Nan chuckled, clearly not believing his younger brother's explanation.
...
Tang Yao was surprised that Huang Hui personally came to pick her up. The person driving was her assistant.
"Thank you so much for coming to help. I really had no other choice but to trouble you," Huang Hui said gently.
"You're welcome. I’ll do my best, though I don't know if it will be of any help."
Huang Hui took Tang Yao directly to a five-star hotel. She must have booked a room in advance. After getting the room key, she led Tang Yao upstairs.
"If I brought you home so abruptly, you might feel uncomfortable. Our family also owns a share in this hotel and I've already spoken to them. They'll bring three meals a day. But if you want to eat out, just let them know. You can stay here as you like. If you don't feel comfortable, you can stay at our place." Huang Hui had made perfect arrangements. Everything Tang Yao needed in the room was already prepared, so she didn't have to worry about anything.
"It's already great. Thank you," Tang Yao said politely.
"It's nothing. You should rest today. I'll pick you up from work tomorrow, and we can talk about the details then. After you've rested, we'll treat you to a welcome-back dinner tomorrow night." "Huang Hui said with a smile.
After speaking, Huang Hui left, leaving Tang Yao alone.
It must be said that Tang Yao felt very comfortable in this situation.
Not long after she left, a gentle knock sounded at the door. It was a hotel staff member bringing her lunch.
Although she had eaten something on the plane, she was indeed starving now.
The hotel food was very good and it tasted different from Xiao Li's cooking.
After eating, Tang Yao laid down on the bed to rest and fell asleep without realizing it.
When she woke up, it was already sunset... As dusk fell, the warm light of the setting sun filtered through the gaps in the curtains, creating a strange sense of loneliness.
Tang Yao washed her face to wake herself up and then took out her phone.
There was a message from Lu Bei asking if she wanted to go out for dinner that evening.
Tang Yao felt lazy and didn't want to move, so she politely declined.
Lu Nan noticed his younger brother staring at his phone, and after reading the message, a sudden gloom settled over him.