“Auntie, I’ll come see you another day,” Wu Mangmang said her goodbyes.

The so-called “another day” actually meant indefinitely—everyone understood this tacitly.

However, what Wu Mangmang didn’t take to heart, someone else would.

“Thank you for accompanying my aunt,” Lu Sui said to Zhao Xinyun that evening when he picked her up from the hospital.

Zhao Xinyun gave Lu Sui a coquettish look and smiled, “Do we need to say thank you to each other? I really enjoy chatting with Auntie—I can learn a lot.”

Lu Sui smiled faintly and handed a manila envelope to Zhao Xinyun, “This is that project you wanted last time. I’ve already signed it.”

Zhao Xinyun’s mouth fell open slightly—clearly she was overjoyed. She hugged Lu Sui’s arm and tried to kiss his cheek, “Thank you.”

Lu Sui turned his face aside, avoiding Zhao Xinyun’s kiss.

Zhao Xinyun felt a small sense of defeat, but it was bearable. She had gotten used to it over these two months, knowing that Lu Sui didn’t like being close to people, and she was already an exception.

She just wondered what it had been like when Lu Sui was with his ex-girlfriend Wu Mangmang.

Zhao Xinyun thought of Wu Mangmang, whom she had seen a couple days ago. She was quite pretty, but unfortunately her background was inferior, and she herself had nothing particularly special.

Yet this very woman had actually reached the point of discussing marriage with Lu Sui and had even danced the opening dance at Lu Garden’s Christmas banquet with him.

This year, although Zhao Xinyun was Lu Sui’s girlfriend, Lu Sui had danced the opening dance at Lu Garden with Lu Lin. Thinking of this, Zhao Xinyun couldn’t help feeling somewhat unfair.

Miss Zhao had never lacked suitors since childhood and had never suffered defeat with men—only with Lu Sui had she hit many walls, but she remained very confident.

“New Year is coming soon. Grandpa says he misses me. Could you accompany me back to West City to see him?” Zhao Xinyun asked tentatively, though she wasn’t too worried Lu Sui would refuse—after all, Old Master Zhao had quite a reputation in West City.

“I need to stay in this city for New Year,” Lu Sui said.

Zhao Xinyun said, “I know. We could go back to West City before New Year, and I’ll come back with you for New Year’s Eve, okay?” Zhao Xinyun hugged Lu Sui’s arm and shook it coquettishly.

“Xinyun, we agreed from the beginning that we were just playing around. You’re crossing the line,” Lu Sui said indifferently.

Zhao Xinyun felt as if she had been slapped, her face immediately turning pale. After a minute, she recovered, “I know, I was just joking with you earlier. It’s not time to meet the parents yet—I understand everything.”

Lu Sui pulled his hand from Zhao Xinyun’s embrace, “Sorry, I think we’re not suitable to be together anymore.”

Zhao Xinyun’s mouth opened slightly, but this time not from joy—rather to prevent her tears from falling. She shook her head, “No. I really was just joking with you. I know the rules of the game, and I’ll change.”

Lu Sui raised the partition in front, “A’Shu, stop ahead and take Miss Zhao home.”

Zhao Xinyun grabbed Lu Sui’s hand, “Lu Sui, what do you mean?”

Lu Sui brushed away Zhao Xinyun’s hand, “Go back.”

Zhao Xinyun thought she had done well enough, always putting Lu Sui first, thinking of him before doing anything. Although he had made clear from the beginning that they were just playing around, Zhao Xinyun had never thought of it that way.

She had always believed that as long as Lu Sui agreed to date her, he would naturally become serious about her. Who knew she would suddenly encounter such a crushing defeat today.

Zhao Xinyun threw the manila envelope at Lu Sui, “You decided to break up with me long ago, didn’t you? What’s this project? A breakup fee?”

Zhao Xinyun became hysterical, “Lu Sui, I like you—not for your money. There may be many women in this world who love you for money, but I’m not one of them. I genuinely like you.”

Zhao Xinyun grabbed back the envelope and tore it apart forcefully in front of Lu Sui.

Zhao Xinyun cried bitterly while Lu Sui remained completely unmoved, reaching out to open the door and walking out.

To him, Zhao Xinyun was just someone who didn’t follow the rules of the game—he could hardly even feel apologetic.

Zhao Xinyun wasn’t stupid either and immediately understood Lu Sui’s attitude.

Zhao Xinyun followed him out of the car, “Lu Sui, I curse you. You’ll never find anyone who loves you more than I do. I curse you to never get the love you want for the rest of your life.”

These words were truly childish and pointless, but Lu Sui’s face darkened.

Dating young girls was troublesome—they were always irrational when breaking up.

As for another girl, she was an even bigger trouble—a massive trouble.

“Whose call is it, disturbing people in the middle of the night?” Jiang Baoliang lay in bed, looking at Wang Yuan with great dissatisfaction. He was just getting excited and hadn’t even had time to enter before being interrupted by the phone.

Wang Yuan made a “shush” gesture to Jiang Baoliang, “It’s Zhao Xinyun. She and Lu Sui broke up.”

Jiang Baoliang sat up uninterestedly and picked up his computer to work overtime.

Working as a lawyer brought in money quickly, but it was exhausting.

Wang Yuan talked on the phone for half an hour before hanging up. She cuddled up to Jiang Baoliang, “Seeing how confident Zhao Xinyun was, I thought she could last longer. She got dumped after just two months.”

Jiang Baoliang gently stroked Wang Yuan’s back but was obviously not listening carefully to what she was saying.

“Hey, did you hear what I said?” Wang Yuan asked petulantly.

Jiang Baoliang rubbed his temples, “I heard. Why do you care about her business?”

Wang Yuan said, “Why don’t you seem surprised at all? Their breakup had no warning signs.”

Jiang Baoliang said, “What’s surprising about that? If we’re talking about surprising, I was surprised when Lu Sui and Wu Mangmang broke up.”

Wang Yuan glanced at Jiang Baoliang and pouted, “What’s surprising about that? Wasn’t their breakup perfectly normal?”

Jiang Baoliang looked at Wang Yuan, but there were some things he couldn’t tell her.

Jiang Baoliang still remembered when he had joked with Lu Sui, asking if he wanted to draft a prenuptial agreement.

Lu Sui had said, “No need.”

Jiang Baoliang had said, “Didn’t I hear you were preparing for marriage? What, not planning to get married after all?”

Lu Sui had glanced at Jiang Baoliang, “I will get married, but I haven’t thought through the prenuptial agreement yet.”

Jiang Baoliang had been shocked then—what was there to think about? A prenuptial agreement was essential. He never expected Lu Sui would consider not signing one.

That’s why Jiang Baoliang had been so surprised when news of Lu Sui and Wu Mangmang’s breakup came out.

Wang Yuan shook Jiang Baoliang with her hand, “Say something.”

Jiang Baoliang had nothing to say. He put down the computer, turned over, and pinned Wang Yuan beneath him, “Why do you care so much about other people’s business?”

Wang Yuan lay under Jiang Baoliang, her mind wandering. Honestly, hearing about Zhao Xinyun and Lu Sui’s breakup made her feel strangely pleased.

Did she still have feelings for Lu Sui? Maybe a little, but not much. No matter how handsome a male god was, he couldn’t compare to the fat guy on top of her who actually cared for her.

Wang Yuan thought this was probably due to wounded pride. If Zhao Xinyun had successfully conquered the man she couldn’t conquer, wouldn’t that prove she was much inferior to Zhao Xinyun?

So it was better they broke up.

Returning to Wu Mangmang’s side, after Wu Song’s injury and hospitalization, Wu Mangmang discovered that her character was actually quite good.

Following Lu Lin and Lu Sui, Lu Qingqing and Long Xiujuan both personally came to the hospital to visit Wu Song, and even Ning Zheng came.

Liu Lewei was very surprised to see Ning Zheng.

Although Ning Zheng was no longer part of the Ning family, he was still the eldest grandson, and his own company was thriving. Liu Lewei had heard that the Ning family patriarch was already having some regrets about pushing Ning Zheng too hard.

So Ning Zheng was like a skinny camel still bigger than a horse—his status remained there.

“Sorry, I just returned to the country and heard about Uncle’s injury,” Ning Zheng regretted not coming to make his presence known immediately.

“Thank you for coming to see my father,” Wu Mangmang’s tone was very official.

After Ning Zheng left, Liu Lewei looked at Wu Mangmang, “Why would Ning Zheng come here? You and he…”

Ning Zheng’s reputation was well-known, appealing to all ages. Liu Lewei couldn’t help saying, “Haven’t your brains been flooded? Don’t you know what kind of person Ning Zheng is?”

Wu Mangmang shrugged, “I know very well. But if he wants to come, I can’t break his legs, can I?”

Liu Lewei tapped Wu Mangmang’s forehead, “Don’t court death. What’s his relationship with Lu Sui? He’s definitely just toying with you.”

Wu Mangmang made a couple of perfunctory “mm-hmm” sounds.

That would have been the end of it, but that afternoon Shen Ting also appeared in Wu Song’s hospital room.

“I saw on your Weibo that Uncle was hospitalized. Since I knew, I couldn’t not come see him,” Shen Ting explained.

Wu Mangmang’s thought was: thank goodness Ms. Liu wasn’t here, or she’d start nagging again.

Fortunately, when Ms. Liu learned that Shen Ting had come to visit, she didn’t have any particular reaction. After all, she had a good relationship with Shen Ting’s aunt, and Shen Ting’s demeanor didn’t easily lead people to connect him romantically with Wu Mangmang.

Actually, Wu Mangmang didn’t understand Shen Ting’s intentions either—hot and cold, with no clear direction.

And how did this person know her Weibo account?

Wu Song stayed in the hospital for nearly a month before going home to recuperate.

Since she was back in the city, and because Boss Wu was bedridden, they couldn’t travel abroad for New Year this year. Wu Mangmang could only follow behind Ms. Liu, running up and down, serving tea and water.

Ms. Liu seemed to have gone crazy. Wu Mangmang, wearing three-inch heels, accompanied her to social events and nearly exhausted herself to death.

No matter how she thought about it, it felt like Ms. Liu was trying to sell off-season merchandise.

As for Du Yuntao, whom Ms. Liu had originally favored, there was a small incident.

One day Wu Mangmang was out having afternoon tea with Ms. Liu when they happened to encounter Du Yuntao on a blind date with another woman.

Wu Mangmang had no reaction after seeing this—it was perfectly normal. Since Du Yuntao hadn’t received a definitive answer from her, it was understandable that he would go on blind dates with other women.

Everyone looks out for themselves—it’s always good to have Plan A and Plan B alternatives.

But Ms. Liu couldn’t stand it and scolded Du Yuntao a few words on the spot.

Wu Mangmang ultimately had to change Du Yuntao’s “Five Branches of Red Apricot” Weibo name to “Withered Red Apricot (Five).”

Because of the Du Yuntao incident, Ms. Liu’s attitude toward Wu Mangmang became even worse. Every time she looked at her, she had an expression of disappointment, as if she couldn’t even keep a man or was simply wasting food.

Wu Mangmang went on two more blind dates afterward—one man was too fat, the other too old. Neither was suitable.

Originally Ms. Liu wanted to arrange more blind dates in succession, but fortunately Lu Lin rescued her.

Lu Lin’s brand was celebrating its twentieth anniversary, and Wu Mangmang couldn’t not attend to show support.

Ms. Liu, as a devoted fan of LL, naturally also received an invitation, so Wu Mangmang went with her. However, after entering the banquet hall, Ms. Liu fully displayed her “social butterfly” skills, leaving Wu Mangmang on the side like a little maid.

Probably having stayed at school too long, Wu Mangmang was very unaccustomed to this kind of occasion and could only wander around the food area, indicating she was busy eating and had no time to deal with people.

But there were still many busybodies interested in Lu Sui’s ex-girlfriend.

A hand appeared beside her holding a champagne glass. Wu Mangmang turned her head and saw Ning Zheng. She accepted the glass and took a sip—she didn’t like the taste, but holding something in her hand meant she wouldn’t feel awkward.

“There’s something I’d like to ask your help with,” Ning Zheng said.

“Oh,” Wu Mangmang responded neither warmly nor coldly.

“For next year’s new series, I want to use blue and white porcelain for packaging. Do you know any porcelain factories you could recommend? The design is most important,” Ning Zheng said.

Wu Mangmang was naturally familiar with this. When discussing things she was good at, relationships easily grew closer.

In the end, Wu Mangmang and Ning Zheng walked and talked together. Without her realizing it, to others she clearly looked like Ning Zheng’s female companion.

“Mangmang,” Lu Lin walked over, smiling as she looked between Wu Mangmang and Ning Zheng. “I’ve been looking for you—where were you hiding?”

“I was a bit hungry earlier and went to eat,” Wu Mangmang smiled.

Lu Lin swirled the red wine glass in her hand, “Come, let me introduce you. Your favorite designer is here today too.”

Tonight’s banquet was very high-level, with many international luxury brand designers attending to show support. Wu Mangmang’s favorite was a French designer’s brand, so naturally she was excited to meet them in person.

At times like this, the benefits of Wu Mangmang having been forced to learn French showed. The other party was delighted that Wu Mangmang could speak French, though unfortunately Wu Mangmang hadn’t studied seriously or long enough back then and could barely manage a few sentences.

Watching Lu Lin speak fluent, pure French was honestly quite enviable—Wu Mangmang instantly wished she could speak that fluently too.

This reminded Wu Mangmang of her aborted trip to France. If she had gone, she might have been able to practice her spoken French.

Wu Mangmang mentally reviewed the amount in her bank account, thinking she must curry favor with Ms. Liu this New Year to get a big red envelope, then try to travel to France during the off-season in April or May next year.

Just as she was thinking about France, the person who had originally planned to travel there with her appeared.

Wu Mangmang, following the principle that it was better to avoid trouble, was preparing to turn and retreat when she felt someone grab her hand.

Wu Mangmang turned her head and nearly cursed Ning Zheng’s ancestors—this was definitely him trying to trap her.

Wu Mangmang struggled, but Ning Zheng held too tightly. Wearing an evening gown, she couldn’t very well start a fight, so Wu Mangmang smiled gently (through gritted teeth), “What are you doing?”

“I want to make it official,” Ning Zheng smiled in response.

Wu Mangmang’s lips curved, ready to properly deflate Ning Zheng, but before she could open fire, she saw Lu Sui walking over.

Wu Mangmang’s attention wandered, mainly because she was curious that Lu Sui hadn’t brought a female companion.

Then Lu Sui’s gaze fell on her and Ning Zheng’s clasped hands.

Ning Zheng practically dragged Wu Mangmang in front of Lu Sui.

“Came straight from the airport?” Ning Zheng asked Lu Sui.

Lu Sui made an “mm” sound.

“What are your plans for New Year? Let’s arrange a mahjong game sometime,” Ning Zheng continued.

Lu Sui glanced at Wu Mangmang and made another “mm” sound.

Honestly, Wu Mangmang felt her scalp tingle from Lu Sui’s glance.

But since he and Zhao Xinyun could embrace publicly, it meant his business with her was finished, so her holding hands with Ning Zheng shouldn’t matter, Wu Mangmang consoled herself.

But the fact that Ning Zheng was Lu Sui’s brother was still somewhat disgusting.

After Lu Sui left to socialize with others, Wu Mangmang immediately used her nails to pinch Ning Zheng’s palm, “Don’t play with fire.”

Ning Zheng endured the pain with a cheeky grin, “I’m serious. Look, Lu Sui saw us like this and had no reaction. He won’t mind. Jiang Baoliang and Wang Yuan even got their marriage certificate.”

But I mind! Wu Mangmang roared inwardly.

Every time she saw Lu Sui, Wu Mangmang felt super uncomfortable and awkward, so it was better to see less of him.

However, playboys like Ning Zheng were like adhesive plaster when they had time to chase women, but when they were busy, women became invisible.

Young Master Ning obviously had time now that it was New Year vacation. Wu Mangmang sneered inwardly, her face involuntarily showing mockery, “If you want to chase me, follow my rules. Next time you get handsy, I’ll beat you so badly your parents won’t recognize you.”

Wu Mangmang left after delivering this threat. She was now extremely unaccustomed to aggressive men—gentle young men were much more palatable.

These banquets usually had rest areas. Wu Mangmang found a secluded spot behind curtains in the rest room, sat down, and took off her high heels to rub her feet.

When studying, she wore canvas shoes or snow boots every day, so high heels had become unbearable.

Her phone vibrated with a message notification. Wu Mangmang swiped open the screen and saw it was from “Zhenwo Fengcai,” who had disappeared for a long time.

This person was quite capable, somehow knowing even her new Weibo account.

“Are you together with Ning Zheng?”

Wu Mangmang squinted. Honestly, she had always thought Zhenwo Fengcai might be Ning Zheng because his way of speaking was rather crude, but seeing him ask this way today, Wu Mangmang had obviously guessed wrong.

If it wasn’t Ning Zheng but someone who was present today, Wu Mangmang directly targeted Shen Ting.

But if it was Shen Ting, wouldn’t that be too disillusioning?

Could it really be that the colder someone appeared on the surface, the more perverted they were inside?

“Not yet,” Wu Mangmang replied directly.