“Mangmang!” Another person called out in surprise.

Wu Mangmang slightly turned her head and saw Lu Lin. She must have just finished dinner with Lu Sui and come out.

“Sister Lu Lin,” Wu Mangmang smiled and greeted her.

Lu Lin opened her arms and hugged Wu Mangmang, then stepped back to look her over.

Her hair had grown longer, lustrous and black, reaching her shoulders with a slight curve that made her face look even smaller. Her eyes were large and bright, her complexion excellent – fair with a rosy glow, so beautiful it made one want to reach out and pinch her cheek.

“It’s been a long time, but you’ve become even more beautiful,” Lu Lin said.

“Sister Lu Lin too,” Wu Mangmang replied.

The car was already waiting by the roadside. Lu Lin glanced toward the car where Lu Sui was already seated, then smiled apologetically at Wu Mangmang. “I have to go. Will you still be in the city tomorrow? I’ll call you.”

Wu Mangmang waved goodbye to Lu Lin.

When Lu Lin got in the car, she glanced at Lu Sui. He didn’t speak, and neither did she.

But Lu Lin’s lips kept curving upward. Lu Sui had always been a gentleman, yet today he completely ignored Wu Mangmang – how rare.

Lu Lin had used considerable effort to pry the inside story from Annie about his breakup with Wu Mangmang.

Lu Lin secretly observed Lu Sui again. She really couldn’t imagine that Lu Sui would have a day when he’d be dumped.

Wu Mangmang didn’t have to wait until the next day. Late that evening, she received a call from Lu Lin asking to meet.

“Sorry, Sister Lu Lin. I have to return to A City early tomorrow morning, and it’s too late now. You all have fun,” Wu Mangmang refused. She didn’t want to get involved with the Lu family again at all.

“Mangmang, just because you broke up with Lu Sui doesn’t mean you broke up with me too, does it? I’m a bit hurt. We were friends before you and Lu Sui started dating, weren’t we?” Lu Lin said.

Lu Lin had said this much, so if Wu Mangmang still refused, it would truly be ungrateful.

The gathering place was a members-only club. Lu Lin introduced Wu Mangmang to two new friends – a painter and a writer, both outsiders to their circle. They chatted about hobbies and had quite a pleasant time.

Lu Lin didn’t make any further overtures, which greatly relieved Wu Mangmang.

Looking at Wu Mangmang’s expression of fear of being eaten alive, Lu Lin found it amusing.

Actually, Wu Mangmang and Lu Lin had gradually grown distant after she started dating Lu Sui, and Lu Lin had long lost interest in Wu Mangmang.

But when Wu Mangmang broke up with Lu Sui and Lu Lin learned the inside story, and today suddenly seeing Wu Mangmang again, the spark in her heart reignited.

If Lu Sui had dumped Wu Mangmang, Lu Lin would have absolutely no interest in a woman her brother had discarded. But Wu Mangmang was different – she had misjudged her. She hadn’t expected Wu Mangmang to have such capability. How could Lu Lin not be interested?

“Let’s go dancing,” someone suggested. Just chatting wasn’t exciting enough.

Dancing was a good way to vent. The nightclub Lu Lin took Wu Mangmang to was rather remote, but business was so booming that at least fifty people were queuing outside.

Someone of Lu Lin’s privileged class naturally didn’t need to queue.

Walking through the long corridor, the main hall was packed with people, lively and noisy, with hardly any room to stand.

The music inside made people involuntarily want to dance wildly along with it.

The enclosed space and noisy crowd gave people a strange sense of security. Here, no one had time to mind others – everyone was twisting freely.

Wu Mangmang fell in love with the atmosphere as soon as she entered, and the DJ on stage was very good at stirring up the mood.

Initially, Wu Mangmang was still somewhat restrained, but Lu Lin and her two artistic friends were already shaking their hair like crazy people, so Wu Mangmang immediately dropped all her inhibitions.

In the cold winter, dancing made her so hot that she ended up stripping down to just a small tank top.

Lu Lin had somehow left the crowd and gone upstairs, standing there looking down at Wu Mangmang in the dance floor.

Full of vitality and charm.

Among so many people in the dance floor, she was the first one you’d notice when you looked up.

While Lu Lin was mesmerized, someone put their hand on her shoulder. “That girl’s not bad, hot enough.”

Lu Lin turned to look at Gary, the nightclub owner. “More than just not bad.” She had even dumped Lu Sui – truly impressive.

And Lu Lin also carefully noticed that Wu Mangmang was truly heartless.

During their chat, she had mentioned Lu Sui several times and then carefully observed Wu Mangmang’s expression. She appeared very natural, seeming not to mind hearing that name at all.

Compared to Lu Sui, her brother’s performance was far worse – he really looked like a man who’d been dumped.

He no longer lived at the Lu residence, and all of Wu Mangmang’s belongings had been completely removed from the house, leaving no trace.

To this day, he still became very unhappy when hearing Wu Mangmang’s name. Though others couldn’t tell, who was Lu Lin? She had been studying Lu Sui for over thirty years.

After seeing Wu Mangmang tonight, he had maintained an icy expression the whole way and was too impatient to speak.

Thinking of this, Lu Lin felt inexplicably happy and went back downstairs to dance close to Wu Mangmang, grinding hips and twisting.

The aftermath of a wild night was that Wu Mangmang missed her train and had to rush to the high-speed rail station to buy a new ticket.

Fortunately, there were many high-speed rail departures between this city and A City, so Wu Mangmang got a second-class seat.

“Mangmang!”

While waiting to board, Wu Mangmang heard someone calling her. Turning around, she saw it was actually Ning Zheng.

Wu Mangmang had to sigh that the world was really small. Yesterday she encountered old acquaintances, and today she encountered more. She should really visit less frequently in the future.

“Why are you here?” Wu Mangmang was quite surprised to see Ning Zheng here.

“I’m going to A City on business,” Ning Zheng smiled. “I really didn’t expect such a coincidence to run into you. You don’t come back often now, do you?”

Wu Mangmang nodded, dealing with Ning Zheng all the way until the train arrived, finally breathing a sigh of relief. Thankfully they’d be separating soon.

Ning Zheng had first-class seats, which definitely wouldn’t be in the same car as second-class. Wu Mangmang waved at him, “I’m in car fourteen, see you later.”

But Wu Mangmang was thinking too naively. Ning Zheng actually switched seats with the person next to her and sat down beside her with a grin.

“Actually, there’s no difference between second and first class. Next time I’ll have my secretary book second class for me,” Ning Zheng said.

Wu Mangmang couldn’t be bothered with Ning Zheng’s small talk.

“Now that I’m starting my own business, every penny has to be split in half. I finally understand how hard it is to make money,” Ning Zheng continued.

Wu Mangmang knew he was actually trying to comfort her indirectly. Compared to Miss Wu’s previous lifestyle, being reduced to second-class seats seemed rather pitiful.

But Wu Mangmang had no such awareness. Being forced to rely on herself didn’t seem that difficult, and besides, she’d been earning quite a bit in side income recently.

China had a long history, and archaeological excavations never stopped. After thousands of years, there were countless damaged artifacts, and Wu Mangmang had helped Professor Cheng with quite a lot of work.

Additionally, auction houses had connections and often needed ancient artifacts restored, as well as mounting calligraphy and paintings.

In this industry, as long as someone guided you, making a living was quite good.

But earning and living on her own money did require more frugality, which Wu Mangmang had to admit.

“I’ve set up an office in A City, preparing to establish a branch company. I’ll be spending a lot of time in A City in the future. Can I treat you to dinner sometime?” Ning Zheng seemed completely unfazed by Wu Mangmang’s coldness.

Wu Mangmang was crystal clear about Ning Zheng’s intentions. Actually, she had never minded trying romance, but if the target was Ning Zheng, it would be somewhat awkward.

But dating a playboy really was an enjoyable experience. Among Wu Mangmang’s previous boyfriends, there had been this type too.

They really understood women’s hearts.

“Are you trying to pursue me?” Wu Mangmang turned to face Ning Zheng directly.

The scent of peaches came from her nose, sweet to the point of tempting crime. Ning Zheng’s eyes darkened, his eyelids lowered, and he leaned forward slightly, wanting to kiss the pink lips tinged with cherry red that were so close to his mouth.

Wu Mangmang quickly leaned back, avoiding Ning Zheng’s advance.

Ning Zheng was neither embarrassed nor angry, still smiling as he said, “I do want to pursue you. Didn’t you agree to try with me back then?”

Too bad he was intercepted midway by two others. Thinking of this, Ning Zheng still felt annoyed.

Although there had been a constant stream of women around Ning Zheng this past year, what you can’t get is always the best.

Wu Mangmang seemed to scratch his itch perfectly. He absolutely couldn’t stop itching until he got her in his hands.

He had thought there was no chance, but unexpectedly things took a turn – she and Lu Sui had been broken up for half a year. Whatever needed to pass had passed.

“Offer expired,” Wu Mangmang smiled coldly. But because her voice was naturally sweet with a hint of childlike quality, this coldness inexplicably carried the sweetness of ice cream, making one involuntarily want to stick out their tongue for a taste.

Honestly, if there hadn’t been Wu Mangmang, Ning Zheng might not have had the courage to break off his engagement with Shen Yuanzi. But life was strange like that – precisely during that period, Wu Mangmang appeared and ignited Ning Zheng’s unwillingness to settle.

He really wanted to try the feeling of living a lifetime with a woman he liked. Even if that person wasn’t Wu Mangmang, it didn’t matter, but at least it had to be someone he liked.

“It doesn’t matter. I can win a new opportunity for myself,” Ning Zheng said.

He really knew how to sweet-talk.

Too bad they had just coincidentally met, and then Ning Zheng coincidentally started flirting. If they hadn’t met today, Young Master Ning probably would still be fluttering around some other flower.

The journey was boring, and Wu Mangmang didn’t mind teasing Ning Zheng. “You don’t mind that I dated Lu Sui?”

Ning Zheng felt Lu Sui couldn’t be that petty. Did that mean women he’d dated couldn’t marry anyone else?

Take Wang Yuan, for example – she was currently dating Jiang Baoliang, and Jiang Baoliang didn’t seem embarrassed about it.

They still often played mahjong together.

“I don’t mind,” Ning Zheng said.

Wu Mangmang raised an eyebrow.

Ning Zheng added, “Lu Sui won’t mind either. The circle isn’t that big to begin with. Just because you broke up, does that mean you’ll never marry?”

In Ning Zheng’s mind, he had never considered that Wu Mangmang would look for someone outside their circle.

And he obviously forgot that Wu Mangmang hadn’t originally been part of their circle at all.

“Alright then, I’ll give you a chance to get in line,” Wu Mangmang joked.

Honestly, Wu Mangmang hadn’t taken romantic relationships particularly seriously since becoming an adult.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dated so many boyfriends, wouldn’t have teased Ning Zheng about trying things out back then, and then gone on a blind date with Shen Ting.

If she had been even slightly more serious, she wouldn’t have settled into a relationship with Lu Sui after just one blind date.

Actually, for her, finding a boyfriend was just finding someone to keep her company – stay together if compatible, separate if not, living quite casually.

However, Wu Mangmang’s attitude was completely unacceptable to other girls.

They thought she was a green tea bitch, stringing along many men, practically promiscuous.

These things were really just a matter of different standpoints.

In Wu Mangmang’s eyes, simultaneously evaluating several pursuers was the same logic as comparison shopping when buying things. Besides, it took one willing to hit and one willing to be hit – when the parties involved didn’t mind, what right did others have to judge?

However, other girls, especially those who had crushes on Guo Xuefeng, judging from their own standpoint, would naturally be indignant about Wu Mangmang stringing Guo Xuefeng along like this – she was simply a bitch.

So when Ning Zheng appeared downstairs at Wu Mangmang’s dormitory that Christmas evening, the next day many people gossiped behind Wu Mangmang’s back, solidifying her reputation as a green tea bitch.

But if they were in the same situation themselves, they would very likely act like Wu Mangmang, multi-threading their evaluations.