“The three of us still have matters to attend to. Cousin, you and Xiaowen go ahead first.” Right after that, Zhao Qingluo gathered her courage and walked behind Lu Shicheng, “Mr. Lu, could you please write us a few letters of recommendation? The three of us have all applied to Hujiang, and I heard that having a letter of recommendation from an alumnus adds a bit to one’s impression score.”

Lu Shicheng took out that pen from his coat pocket, but for a moment couldn’t find paper to write on. Wen Tingli hurriedly took out her own small notebook from her book bag and handed it to him.

Lu Shicheng glanced at her—after the exam, it seemed she hadn’t reviewed her vocabulary words again, since the notebook was very clean this time—and quickly wrote a line on it.

【Writing recommendation letters only for the three of you would be unfair to other students in the same grade, so please forgive me for being unable to grant your request.】

Zhao Qingluo and Yan Zhenzhen were momentarily at a loss for words. They were normally quite eloquent, but in front of this young major trustee of the school, they were clearly more reserved than usual.

“But if someone else manages to ask another alumnus to write them a recommendation letter at this time, wouldn’t that be unfair to us?” Wen Tingli asked on her companions’ behalf, voicing the question that worried them most right now.

【As far as I know, Hujiang won’t add points to a student’s score just because of one recommendation letter. Even a recommendation from a well-known alumnus can at most sway a certain professor’s impression of you. As long as you can pass the admission line, you needn’t worry about this.】

Zhao Qingluo and Yan Zhenzhen’s expressions relaxed at once.

【Anything else?】Lu Shicheng looked at them.

“No, nothing else,” the two said happily. Although they hadn’t managed to get recommendation letters, Lu Shicheng’s words had put their minds considerably at ease.

Wen Tingli was privately mulling over the scene at the dinner. From the looks of it, Zhu Zihe was most likely up to something, and judging from what Principal Zou had said, Lu Shicheng would be meeting frequently with Zhu Zihe going forward.

Such a clever woman—if she really had been sent by the Bailong Gang, no one could guarantee what might happen next. But right now she had no evidence at all. If she rashly went and told Principal Zou and Lu Shicheng that something was off about Zhu Zihe, they would only think she was spreading baseless rumors.

But—in just a few days, Lu Shicheng would be meeting Zhu Zihe at Principal Zou’s house, and assassination was the Bailong Gang’s specialty—no, this wouldn’t do! She had to stop this person from meeting frequently with Lu Shicheng before she figured out Zhu Zihe’s motives.

Suddenly spotting a newsstand not far off, an idea struck her, and she said with feigned urgency: “Oh look at me, I forgot to ask Xiaowen about summer jobs just now. I heard the job ads in the newspaper have all sorts of traps—I wouldn’t dare go for one unless someone I know recommended it.”

“You’re still thinking about finding part-time work?” Yan Zhenzhen said.

“You know perfectly well how difficult things are for Wen Tingli right now.” Zhao Qingluo glanced at her wristwatch. “It’s too late today—how about I ask around for you tomorrow?”

“I’ll call Xiaowen myself tomorrow to ask. I’m free both morning and evening—tutoring, dishwashing, delivering newspapers… any proper job, I can do it.”

As she said this, Wen Tingli kept stealing glances at Lu Shicheng.

Lu Shicheng was too composed, too quiet. No matter what she said on her end, he just quietly waited for his car off to the side. She couldn’t help feeling a bit deflated—the ride had already been arranged, the matter of the recommendation letters had already been clarified, and finding more excuses to cling to Lu Shicheng might well provoke his displeasure.

Before long, the Lu family’s car arrived, and Lu Shicheng turned to leave.

The more unsettled Wen Tingli felt inside, the less she dared show it on her face. She merely waved elegantly at him along with her two other classmates: “Goodbye, Mr. Lu.”

As he got into the car, Lu Shicheng suddenly turned to look back. Wen Tingli’s heart leapt with joy—could it be that he meant to help introduce her to part-time work on behalf of the school? Little did she know, Lu Shicheng merely tilted his head slightly, his gaze sliding right past her cheek and landing directly on Xiao Taozi standing behind her.

He made an earnest “goodbye” gesture toward Xiao Taozi before getting into the car.

Wen Tingli was dumbfounded. Of all people, the little one ate this up completely—for days afterward, Xiao Taozi kept murmuring “Mr. Lu…” over and over.

That afternoon, Wen Tingli was lying on the spring bed in the hospital room reading the newspaper when she once again heard Xiao Taozi babbling this phrase.

She couldn’t help making a face at Xiao Taozi: “Xiao Taozi… can you please stop saying it? Sister’s ears are going to callus over.”

Xiao Taozi patted her own round little belly, brought her face close to her sister’s, and very softly uttered three words: “Be po~lite~”

Zhou Sao laughed so hard she doubled over, and Wen Tingli laughed too, pounding the bed. When they finally managed to stop laughing, Zhou Sao wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and said, “You know, these past two days Xiao Taozi has been speaking much more gently than usual. What is this Mr. Lu actually like? Is he easygoing?”

Hearing the words “Mr. Lu,” Wen Tingli’s heart grew troubled again.

A few days ago she’d received notice from Xinxin Department Store’s management office that she had successfully passed the first round of selection; the preliminary round was set for next Monday evening.

Yifeilin, in order to compete head-to-head with Xinxin, had also set its preliminary round for the same time. These past few days, both companies had been publishing photos of their respective contestants in major newspapers to build momentum.

Yifeilin had specially placed a large photo of Zhu Zihe in the middle of the newspaper—a face of unparalleled beauty, paired with titles like “famous painter” and “gifted lady of letters,” which immediately caused quite a stir among the public.

But Wen Tingli knew this was far from enough. If she were Zhu Zihe, she would certainly use that meal at Principal Zou’s house to draw closer to Lu Shicheng. Their mothers had been schoolmates back in the day, and with the sentimental, nostalgic Principal Zou present as company, a bit of reminiscing over the meal wouldn’t fail to lead Lu Shicheng to go show his support for Yifeilin.

And the Lu family had always been regarded as a weathervane in the business world—once Lu Shicheng publicly supported Yifeilin’s contestant, most other merchants would likely follow suit. With the Gao family striking while the iron was hot to do some publicity, Xinxin Department Store, originally a sure win, might well be overshadowed by Yifeilin. During this time, Zhu Zihe and Lu Shicheng would also grow increasingly familiar through frequent contact, and afterward, whether Zhu Zihe meant to secretly harm Lu Shicheng or seduce him through feelings, neither would be difficult.

What a brilliant move this was! Wen Tingli sighed repeatedly. No wonder the Bailong Gang had been able to run rampant in Shanghai for so many years—just from the fact that Cao Zhenyuan could find someone as extraordinary as Zhu Zihe to get close to Lu Shicheng, one could tell how calculating this man was.

And yet, she still couldn’t believe that such an outstanding woman would willingly work for the Bailong Gang. She really wanted to ask Zhu Zihe to her face whether she was being coerced.

Anxious as Wen Tingli was, she hadn’t lost her senses. No matter what, the gathering at Principal Zou’s house was an important opportunity. Right now, the best approach was for her to become part of that lunch at Principal Zou’s house too, so she could act as the situation demanded at the table.

So the first thing she did after that night was go back to her alma mater to find Michelle.

Michelle flatly refused: “The school’s summer financial aid measures are only for students who haven’t graduated yet. You’ve already graduated, so you don’t qualify.”

This suited Wen Tingli’s purposes perfectly. She promptly used this as an excuse to go find Principal Zou.

Principal Zou took it upon herself without hesitation: “I’ll leave this to the student affairs office. I’ll have them help introduce you to a reliable summer job, and as soon as there’s news, I’ll have Director Liu call you.”

Wen Tingli was naturally full of gratitude. Seeing Principal Zou watering flowers by the windowsill with a kettle, she hurried over rolling up her sleeves to help.

She worked with exceptional diligence, and an hour later, every corner of the room was scrubbed gleaming.

Principal Zou adjusted her glasses, looking around: “My goodness, my goodness, my good child! You’re far too diligent! That’s enough, that’s enough, sit down and have some water first.”

While watering the flowers, Wen Tingli said cheerfully, “I’ve already finished reading those books you gave me last time. I benefited a great deal from them, but unfortunately the school library doesn’t have similar books. I wonder if I could borrow a few more books from you to take home.”

“What’s difficult about that? Come to my house some other day, and I’ll pick out a dozen or so books from my study and give them all to you.”

“But you’re busy at school on weekdays. How about this Sunday—”

“This Sunday won’t do.” Principal Zou shook her head with a smile. “I have a small family gathering that day. Any other time is fine.”

Wen Tingli sighed inwardly. Even having said all this, Principal Zou still hadn’t forgotten her own arrangements—clearly she placed great importance on this gathering. Even if she “happened” to drop by, Principal Zou couldn’t possibly keep her for dinner.

Since she couldn’t eat at the Zou household, then she could only stop Lu Shicheng from keeping the appointment… Fortunately, there was still a week’s time to plan. As soon as she left the principal’s office, she urgently called Gao Xiaowen.

Within just half a day, Gao Xiaowen had helped Wen Tingli secure two decent summer part-time jobs.

The first job was as a switchboard operator at Exceleen Trading Company near the school, from one to five in the afternoon; the other was as a newspaper delivery girl, from five-thirty in the morning, paying only forty cents in small silver coins.

Both jobs had one thing in common—they weren’t far from the Lu mansion.

“The switchboard operator job, fine, but I really don’t understand why you’re so eager to be a paper delivery girl. You heard the pay yourself—it’s really not worth it. Besides, next week you’re going to compete in the Xinxin preliminaries.”

“I asked Xinxin’s manager, and he said the preliminary and final rounds will both be held in the evening, so there’s no schedule conflict. Also, the female lead in that play of mine used to be a newspaper delivery girl to make ends meet. Manager Huang worried my acting experience was insufficient and specifically told me to take on similar odd jobs to build experience. Besides, you said yourself they agreed to pay daily—either way I’m free these days, so earning a day’s wage is a day’s wage.”

She thanked Gao Xiaowen over the phone, then rushed over to Yan Zhenzhen’s house to borrow an unused bicycle. After returning, she called Li Chengying to discuss the whole plan, then dug out a set of short jacket and long trousers to prepare for getting up early to work the next day.

Last time, to get close to Lu Shicheng she had already used all sorts of tricks. This time she had no choice but to take a risky gambit—newspapers were something every household had as a habit, and the Lu mansion was no exception. As long as she became a paper delivery girl, she could openly visit the Lu mansion once a day. With that night’s groundwork laid, Lu Shicheng seeing her delivering papers as a part-time job likely wouldn’t seem too surprising to him.

However, it was as if heaven were dead set on making that meal between Lu Shicheng and Zhu Zihe happen. That very afternoon, Li Chengying suddenly called: “Change of plans. These past few days Lu Shicheng hasn’t been staying at the Lu mansion. We need to think of another way.”

Wen Tingli nearly gasped in shock: “He’s not in Shanghai?”

“He is, but I heard from people at the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce that Kuang Zhilin is ill, and there are many matters over there that need Lu Shicheng to personally handle. He’s probably too busy and hasn’t gotten around to going back to the Lu mansion. The Lu family is always cautious—if we sent a car to tail Lu Shicheng’s car, we’d surely be discovered. But don’t worry for now, I’ll find out where he’s staying as quickly as possible. If it really doesn’t work out, we’ll change the operation location to near Principal Zou’s residence.”

“But Principal Zou’s home isn’t on my delivery route, and besides, I’ve already tested her out on this before. If I show up near her house for no reason that day, not only will Lu Shicheng grow suspicious, but Principal Zou too, thinking back over the cause and effect, will suspect my motives aren’t pure. Also, that scoundrel surnamed Qiu—wait, Sister Li, did you just say Kuang Zhilin is ill?”

“You suspect Lu Shicheng is currently staying at Kuang Zhilin’s residence?” Li Chengying laughed. “We considered that too, but we don’t know where Kuang Zhilin lives. This person is extremely secretive—he’s never entertained guests at home before, and he has many residences in Shanghai. If we watched them one by one, we might not have enough time.”

Wen Tingli said confidently: “I’m eighty percent sure! I’ll give you an address—send someone right away. If you can confirm Lu Shicheng is there, we’ll proceed with the original plan.”

That evening, Li Chengying called Wen Tingli back, thoroughly convinced: “You really did guess right.” Wen Tingli immediately called Gao Xiaowen to request a change in her delivery route.

“…Don’t be angry, I’m not acting on a whim. I’ve thought it through—the school is too far from Cixin Hospital, and Zhou Sao alone at the hospital might not be able to keep watch properly. The newspaper’s manager is your acquaintance, and it’s the same paper—please do me a favor and switch it for me. I wouldn’t dare ask anyone else, but you’re the most capable.”

Gao Xiaowen loved nothing more than being praised for her capability, and immediately said: “Fine, fine, fine, leave it to me. But you have to do me a favor too.”

She said mysteriously: “Once our company’s face powder compact design is finished, when you’re filming your movie, find a chance to use it in front of the camera—just let people see the brand, and that’ll count as advertising for my company. You must make this happen for me! I know you’re full of clever ideas—a movie has so many shots, you’re sure to find a way to advertise for me.”

Wen Tingli nodded with a smile: “Alright, alright, alright, I’ll try.”

Gao Xiaowen indeed proved resourceful—that very night she helped Wen Tingli switch her delivery route to near Cixin Hospital.

The next day, Wen Tingli started work before dawn. Being her first time delivering papers, some mishaps were inevitable, but fortunately she’d lived in the area since childhood, and amid the chaos, she managed to collect that day’s wages safely.

After getting paid, Wen Tingli felt even more motivated. The money wasn’t much, but it was enough to cover her own daily food. Besides earning money, she had an even more important task at hand—every time she passed Ganjia Lane, she’d stop her bicycle and look around in all directions.

She remembered that time she’d been cornered in Ganjia Lane by Qiu Dapeng and his men, and had no choice but to call Mr. Kuang’s residence—and it was Lu Shicheng who answered the phone.

He’d been able to rush over to help her out of that jam so quickly—Mr. Kuang’s residence must be near Ganjia Lane.

Sure enough, that very night, Li Chengying’s people staked out in front of one of the Spanish-style villas in Ganjia Lane and spotted the Lu family’s car.

Checking the delivery address, this household went by the name “Mr. Chen” to outsiders.

Wen Tingli happily circled the address with her pen—she’d finally figured out where Kuang Zhilin lived!

After that, every time she delivered papers to this house she paid extra close attention. Kuang Zhilin’s household routine was very regular—every morning at seven the doorman would come out punctually to collect the paper. Unfortunately, after several consecutive days of delivery, she’d never once “coincidentally encountered” Lu Shicheng at the door.

Wen Tingli couldn’t help growing anxious. Fortunately, on Saturday, Li Chengying’s side sent back word: Lu Shicheng had been staying at Kuang Zhilin’s place every night these past few days, and everything was arranged.

Wen Tingli’s mind eased somewhat, and she went to bed early that night.

At the same moment, at the Qiu residence, Qiu Lingyun sprang up from the sofa because of a phone call.

“You saw clearly? It’s really Wen Tingli?”

Whatever was said on the other end of the line, Qiu Lingyun’s mouth curled into a smile of utter malice: “Got it.”

Hanging up the phone, he happily crossed his legs, casually snuffed out his cigarette butt, a faint smile lingering at the corner of his mouth. Qiu Dapeng came in and saw his son’s expression, snorting: “What are you scheming now?”

“Let me tell you a joke, Father. Today Chang San and the others saw Wen Tingli delivering papers on the street. Isn’t her heart set higher than the sky? How did she fall to this state? No, I have to go see her wretched state with my own eyes.”

“Look at how little ambition you have!” Qiu Dapeng scolded. “Have you finished the matters Boss Cao entrusted to you?”

Qiu Lingyun drew his neck in: “All done.”

Qiu Dapeng smacked him on the head: “Done is done, is it? How did your father teach you usually? You need to do things beautifully enough to please Boss Cao! Back in the day your father and I fled from Nanjing to Shanghai together with Wen Desheng. So many years have passed since then—Wen Desheng has only ever been able to do small business, while your father has risen step by step. What did it take? It took the ability to observe on all sides and listen in all directions! When something is entrusted to your father, your father always handles it more properly than anyone else—learn this skill from me!”

“Got it…”

Qiu Dapeng, scolding as he turned around, unexpectedly noticed a coffee table full of newspapers, grabbed one and looked—on top was the news of the Xinxin Department Store and Yifeilin competition. He spotted Wen Tingli’s photo in the list of contestants and snorted coldly: “Refusing the toast only to drink the penalty cup—delivering papers, what’s that? She’ll suffer no end of hardship from now on!”

“How do you plan to deal with Wen Tingli?” Qiu Lingyun looked guarded.

“Your father doesn’t have that kind of free time. See this Zhu Zihe? This is Lu Shicheng’s new love interest. It’s a pity Wen Tingli kept name-dropping the Lu family over and over—the man never looked twice at her.” He smiled gloatingly. “To think, back then she wouldn’t even accept Meng Qiguang. Now she’ll know what it means to draw water in a bamboo basket—all for nothing!”

Turning to see his son’s gleeful expression, Qiu Dapeng spat: “Listen well. This matter concerning the third young master of the Lu family is critical this time. If handled well, our father and son’s rise to prominence is just around the corner. If bungled, we might well suffer heavy losses. These next few days, whatever Boss Cao instructs you, you’d better give it your full twelve-fold effort!”

At night, Wen Tingli vaguely heard the sound of pouring rain in her dream. Getting up at five to look outside, the rain hadn’t stopped—everything outside was a sheet of white.

She deliberately skipped breakfast and left the house.

Zhou Sao followed her all the way out: “The rain’s this heavy, whatever you do don’t fall—how about Zhou Sao delivers the papers for you today, and you stay in the ward with Xiao Taozi.”

“You don’t even know the route.” Wen Tingli took the rain cape from her. “Don’t worry, I won’t fall.”

The moment she stepped outside, raindrops came pelting down fiercely, instantly soaking her bangs. She strained to keep her eyes open ahead but couldn’t tell east from west. She wiped a hand across her face, and the next wave of rain came crashing down again fiercely.

If this kept up, she’d be late. Wen Tingli gritted her teeth, wrapped her raincoat tight, and rushed out.

By the time she finished her whole route, her collar and face were nearly soaked through. Fortunately, she knew the roads well and didn’t need to keep looking up to find her way.

Because of this heavy rain, she arrived at Kuang Zhilin’s residence a full half hour later than usual. The doorman, apparently having grown impatient waiting, was actually standing outside. Wen Tingli said “sorry” while parking her bike, then hurriedly picked up the stack of oil-paper-wrapped newspapers in the rain and rushed them to the door—only for the ground to be too slippery, and she slipped and fell.

“Ow.” She deliberately let out a pained cry.

A girl’s voice is clear and crisp—even amid the heavy rain, that pained cry carried clearly into the house.

The doorman grabbed the umbrella by his feet and hurried down the steps: “Careful there, young miss.”

The doorman returned inside shortly after. Kuang Zhilin asked at the dining table: “Who’s that outside?”

“The little girl who delivers the papers. She’s been coming for almost a week now—usually cheerful and chatty. Today, even with this heavy rain, she still came out to deliver papers. I saw her, soaked through like a drowned rat—quite pitiful.” The doorman carefully wiped the mud spots off the oil paper with a damp cloth.

Kuang Zhilin was about to speak when Lu Shicheng had already walked to the window and pushed it open to look outside.

In the pouring rain, Wen Tingli was trying to lift up the fallen bicycle. Kuang Zhilin looked out and was somewhat startled: “Miss Wen? No wonder that voice sounded so familiar just now.”

Wen Tingli wiped the raindrops from her face and tried to get on the bike, but her right leg seemed injured—she tried several times and couldn’t lift it up. The scene was as wretched as could be. Lu Shicheng watched for a moment, then turned his head toward the doorman beside him and pointed outside.

“You want me to bring her in? But… Mr. Kuang’s apartment has always been known to very few people. If word were to get out—”

“Go ahead,” Kuang Zhilin said. “This Miss Wen counts as an acquaintance of ours. From how she looks, she’s probably fallen and hurt herself. Let her come in for a cup of hot tea, then call a car to send her home. The young master and I can leave by the back door—even if she’s invited in, she won’t discover anything. If she walks home like that soaked in the rain, she’ll surely catch a chill.”

The doorman promptly agreed.

Lu Shicheng glanced at the Western clock on the wall, wrote a line, and handed it to Kuang Zhilin.

【It’s still early. I’ll go to the study and reply to those two letters from Nanyang. It won’t take long to deal with Wen Tingli’s matter—once she leaves, it won’t be too late for me to go to Principal Zou’s house.】

Kuang Zhilin: “Fine. With me sick these past few days, a mountain of matters has piled up. I’ll head to Lixin Bank first. Old Liu, bring Miss Wen in, but make sure she doesn’t go near the study.”

He hurriedly grabbed his coat and left through the back door. At that moment, the phone in the entryway rang. The doorman, who happened to be walking to the front door, picked it up on the way—it was Principal Zou calling.

“I’m calling to hurry Shicheng along. Zihe brought an old photo album, and there’s a photo of the three of us together back then. Zihe heard that Shicheng misses his mother very much, and she’s willing to give this photo to Shicheng. I’d guess Shicheng can’t wait to see it.”

The doorman held the receiver and asked Lu Shicheng: “Young master, are you leaving now?”

Lu Shicheng looked out the window at that wretched figure, hesitated slightly, and picked up his coat, preparing to leave through the back door. The doorman then said into the phone: “Principal Zou, the young master is on his way right now.”

At that moment, a commotion sounded outside.

In the heavy rain, a car blocked Wen Tingli’s path. A young man in his early twenties stuck his head out and laughed: “Oh, isn’t this Wen Tingli?”

Wen Tingli struggled to push her bicycle around to turn back, but the group of thugs swarmed to block her: “Are you deaf? Our Young Hall Master is talking to you!”

Wen Tingli feigned surprise, looking around: “What young hall master, stinky hall master? All I see are a few stinking flies.”

“You’re asking to die!”

“Let her curse—she’s only got her mouth left anyway.” Qiu Lingyun jumped down from the car, someone behind him promptly holding up an umbrella for him. “What, couldn’t latch onto the big tree that is the Lu family? In just a few days you’ve fallen to delivering papers?”

Wen Tingli: “Why I’m delivering papers—don’t you know full well?”

Qiu Lingyun held the umbrella over Wen Tingli’s head to shield her from the rain, sighing. “I know. Your whole family now depends on you alone to earn money. Seeing you in such a wretched state doesn’t sit well with me either. I admit it—our Qiu family wronged your Wen family. And I’ve said it before, I’m willing to spend my whole life making it up to you. If you’ll just be with me, forget about you trudging through wind and rain—I won’t let a single drop of rain touch you. I’ll buy you a mansion, hire you servants, get you a luxury car, jewelry, clothes for all four seasons—whatever you want, I’ll give it to you.”

Wen Tingli glanced at Qiu Lingyun: “Really?”

Qiu Lingyun instantly went weak all over: “When have I ever lied to you?”

Wen Tingli knew that the people Li Chengying had sent to protect her were lurking nearby, so she looked at Qiu Lingyun with provocative eyes: “There’s only one thing I want—your father Qiu Dapeng’s worthless life. Will you give it to me?!”

Qiu Lingyun’s face changed with fury: “Don’t you dare push your luck!”

He seized Wen Tingli’s wrist and forcibly dragged her toward the car.

“I’ve already apologized. I’ve said enough soft words already. Last time you teamed up with Meng Qiguang to beat me and I let it go too—don’t push it too far!”

Wen Tingli shouted “help” loudly while cursing: “Seems you’ve forgotten your scar the moment the pain’s gone. Don’t believe me? I’ll make sure you can’t eat and walk away unscathed.”

Qiu Lingyun hated it most when Wen Tingli pulled this: “Don’t tell me you’re going to bring up the Lu family again? Go on, shout all you want! Not only has Lu Shicheng never looked twice at you—even if he sincerely wanted to protect you, he might not be able to protect you much longer!”

Wen Tingli deliberately burst out laughing: “This man must have lost his mind. You think just because you’re leaning on the Bailong Gang you can disregard the Lu family? Even your Boss Cao doesn’t dare offend Lu Shicheng—what gives you the right to talk so big?!”

“That was the past.” Qiu Lingyun smiled without warmth. “Just you wait and see—Lu Shicheng won’t be so arrogant for much longer!”

Wen Tingli’s heart stirred, and she continued goading him loudly: “I don’t believe you—go on, elaborate. Don’t dare say it, do you? I knew you were just bragging.”

Qiu Lingyun, humiliated into fury, shoved Wen Tingli into the car. Wen Tingli gripped the car frame with both hands: “Let go of me!”

Suddenly feeling the grip on her back loosen, Qiu Lingyun was yanked back by his collar and thrown heavily to the ground.

The newcomer moved fast and ruthlessly—Qiu Lingyun hadn’t even seen who it was before he was pinned to the ground and struck several times. Strangely, the underlings nearby didn’t even come to help, just watching from the side.

“Are you all dead?! Aren’t you going to come help me?!” Qiu Lingyun bellowed, shielding his head and face.

“Young Hall Master,” the underlings mumbled awkwardly.

Amid the exchange, he took several more punches. Qiu Lingyun was beaten until he saw stars. Finally managing to dodge one punch, he opened his eyes—it was Lu Shicheng. He froze; before he could even fight back, he took a dozen or so punches in a row, the pain nearly making him pass out. Finally, Lu Shicheng tossed Qiu Lingyun aside like a rag, stood up, straightened his collar, his face returning to its usual composure. He turned to see Wen Tingli still dazed in the car, walked straight over and pulled her out.

Qiu Lingyun watched bitterly from the side: “Lu Shicheng, don’t think I’m afraid of you! If you dare take her away, I’ll—”

His words suddenly caught in his throat, because Lu Shicheng abruptly turned to look him over, those cold star-like eyes seeming to ask: what can you possibly do?

Qiu Lingyun’s heart shuddered. Recalling the scene just now, he couldn’t help but regret it deeply. In his moment of anger, he’d said a bit too much—but he never imagined Lu Shicheng would show up out of nowhere like that.

Moreover, he had a vague feeling that Lu Shicheng seemed to be deliberately provoking him into saying more angry words. Remembering his father’s warnings, he forced himself to endure the pain and got up, swallowing his humiliation and bowing: “Sorry, I lost my head just now and said some things in anger. Mr. Lu, please don’t take it to heart. Let’s go!”

Wen Tingli, behind Lu Shicheng, gritted her teeth silently—so this scoundrel had his clever moments too. He should keep talking big!

The more he said, the faster Lu Shicheng would connect the dots to the third young master of the Lu family.

It was too late to regret it now. Even just a few careless words, given Lu Shicheng’s depth of scheming, combined with the recent events at the Gao family, would be enough to make Lu Shicheng suspicious.

It hadn’t been for nothing that she’d disgusted herself just now.

As she pondered this, she suddenly felt someone studying her from above. Looking up, she met Lu Shicheng’s gaze…

Wen Tingli hastily wiped the raindrops off her face: “Thank you, Mr. Lu, for helping me out of that. I just wanted to earn some wages—I didn’t expect to run into that Qiu fellow here too.”

She lowered her head and gritted her teeth, saying nothing more. Lu Shicheng glanced at her leg, walked over, and helped her set upright her toppled bicycle. The doorman hurried over and pressed the umbrella into Lu Shicheng’s hand: “Leave this to me, young master—you and Miss Wen go inside first. Miss Wen, did you hurt yourself just now? Can you walk?”

Wen Tingli: “Nothing serious, I can walk.”

Even as she said this, she immediately followed close behind Lu Shicheng’s steps.

It was a finely appointed sitting room, the furnishings inside elegant and clean.

Wen Tingli looked at her own soaked raincoat, hesitating whether to go in or stay in the entryway. Lu Shicheng, however, walked straight to the tea table, poured her a cup of hot tea, and gestured toward the sofa.

Wen Tingli took the chance to remove her rain cape and hang it by the door, then stepped forward to take the tea from Lu Shicheng.

“Thank you,” she said softly, holding the teacup and sitting down reservedly on the sofa.

The room was very quiet. Lu Shicheng didn’t speak, and she couldn’t very well strike up conversation on her own while sitting there.

For a moment, all that could be heard was the wind and rain outside, and the sound of her own heartbeat.

She suddenly sensed Lu Shicheng walking toward her and couldn’t help stealing a glance—he walked to the tea table, poured himself a cup of hot tea too. He was completely soaked, raindrops trickling one by one from his black hair down onto his brow and eyes.

Just as she was watching, she suddenly sneezed. A chill instantly shot through her pores along her wet clothes, making her shiver all over.

As it turned out, she was in no better shape herself—needless to say her shoulders and hair were completely soaked, and her trousers clung tight to her calves like mud. The feeling was unbearably uncomfortable; she was so cold she could barely sit still, yet she still didn’t forget to remind Lu Shicheng awkwardly: “You should change your clothes quickly, or you’ll catch cold.”

Lu Shicheng glanced at her lips, pale from the cold, then at her soaked clothes, and set his teacup back down. Just then the doorman came in: “Young master, go change your clothes first. I’ll attend to Miss Wen—that side is still waiting for you.”

Wen Tingli stood up, at a loss: “So you’re going out after all?”

Lu Shicheng pointed at Wen Tingli. The doorman was stunned for a good while before saying: “Oh, I understand. There’s a Baosheng Trading Company nearby—I’ll have a clerk bring some clean clothes for Miss Wen. Once Miss Wen has rested enough, I’ll call a car to send her back. Miss Wen, let me get you a blanket to wrap up in first.”

Wen Tingli hastily waved her hands: “No need to go to such trouble. Cixin Hospital is very close by—I’ll leave once I’ve rested a bit.”

Lu Shicheng, however, went upstairs on his own.

Before long, he came back down in a fresh set of clothes. Looking up into the sitting room, he saw Wen Tingli sitting properly wrapped in a blanket in the same spot, but her complexion showed no improvement at all, and her expression was strange, as if she were deep in thought—so absorbed that she didn’t even notice him approaching.

She suddenly startled and looked up: “Mr. Lu.”

Lu Shicheng glanced thoughtfully at the tea table, where several bottles of freshly warmed milk and pastries sat, untouched by her.

Wen Tingli followed his gaze and said with a smile: “I’m really sorry for troubling you like this. Also, there’s something I wanted to tell you—”

The phone suddenly rang. The doorman picked it up, then hurried to tell Lu Shicheng: “It’s Principal Zou, worried something happened to you on the way, calling specially to ask.”

Lu Shicheng nodded at the doorman, who said into the phone: “Nothing’s wrong. The young master says not to worry—he’s already getting ready to head out.”

Lu Shicheng glanced back at Wen Tingli, nodded, and turned to leave. Wen Tingli suddenly said: “Mr. Lu, what Qiu Lingyun said just now seemed related to you somehow. The more I think about it, the stranger it seems, so I wanted to mention it to you.”

As she spoke, she stood up, but perhaps she rose too quickly—her body swayed violently, and she hastily clutched her forehead, but the dizziness only grew worse. Her feet stumbled, and she happened to fall right in front of Lu Shicheng.

She thought inwardly, oh no—she’d meant to keep Lu Shicheng lingering, but she never intended to actually faint in front of him.

But her vision was spinning, her consciousness utterly unable to focus. In a daze, she heard only the doorman’s anxious voice calling out beside her: “Miss Wen, Miss Wen? Young master, this looks like what Westerners call low blood sugar. I’ll call a car to send her to the hospital right away—ah, call for a doctor to come directly? Fine, I’ll call Dr. Louis right away.”

She felt someone touch her forehead, as if checking her temperature. Then her body grew light—someone had picked her up. Wen Tingli, smelling the scent of this person, knew it was Lu Shicheng.

She hadn’t completely lost consciousness, but by now she was starving and utterly exhausted, and she fell asleep right there in Lu Shicheng’s arms.