In just half an hour, Zhang Ruoshui heard more gossip than she had in her entire life before.
Hang Meng even gave a "pop quiz," randomly opening a post and asking, "Look at this, do you think her boyfriend is lying?"
"He's lying," Zhang Ruoshui replied.
Hang Meng was surprised: "How can you tell?"
Zhang Ruoshui looked a bit puzzled: "Isn't it obvious at a glance?" It's just a matter of reasoning.
Hang Meng shrugged: "Clearly, the blogger herself didn't see it. Ever heard of 'the person involved is the last to know'?"
"Yes."
"Right, that's exactly..."
"But I can't understand it," Zhang Ruoshui finished her sentence.
"...
"Anyway, when you're in the thick of it, you're easily led by hormones and make some wrong judgments," Hang Meng sighed again. "Well, you don't seem to have that kind of trouble."
Hang Meng then brought up another topic:
"There's been a car parked near the school gate lately... one of those really popular ones, a Cullinan. They say it's here to pick up girls, which is just absurd."
"Why do they say it's for picking up girls?" This was still a blind spot for Zhang Ruoshui, clearly not something that could be solved by listening to a few relationship posts.
"The guy came a couple of days ago with flowers, but he never gave them to anyone, just threw them in the trash," Hang Meng explained.
"I didn't notice," Zhang Ruoshui said.
"Yeah, you walk past it every day and don't even glance at it. You probably don't pay attention to car logos."
Zhang Ruoshui, who was frugal by nature, nodded.
Although her family also had luxury cars, traffic in Jin City was always congested, so taking the subway was the most convenient way to get from her grandfather's house. She really didn't pay much attention to luxury cars.
"Zhang Ruoshui!" someone called out at the theater entrance.
Zhang Ruoshui pushed the door open and got out. Before she could reach them, Zhou Xiaoshu came running down the steps and hugged her tightly.
Zhou Xiaoshu didn't call her "Duckling" anymore.
According to Zhou Xiaoshu herself, she had to maintain her dignity in public, so she couldn't use such a cute nickname anymore, saving it for private moments.
Zhang Ruoshui gently pushed Zhou Xiaoshu away and hugged An Ying, who was standing beside her.
They were all used to Zhang Ruoshui's actions.
No matter how unapproachable she seemed on the outside, she was still very protective and soft-hearted inside.
For some reason, such a friend made people even more fond of her! Zhou Xiaoshu muttered to herself.
*
Zhang Ruoshui didn't expect that the very next day, the person Hang Meng mentioned who drove the Cullinan would step out of the car right in front of her.
He said with a tight-lipped expression, "I really want to know how many times you can ignore me, just walking past me like that..."
"Now I know, as long as I don't appear in front of you myself, you can keep ignoring me."
Hang Meng was walking with Zhang Ruoshui at the time, heading out to grab a bite before returning to work on their group project.
Upon hearing this, she was a bit stunned and turned to ask, "Ruoshui, do you know him?"
"Mu Bai," Zhang Ruoshui called out the man's name, looking slightly puzzled, "If you don't come out, how would I see you?"
Mu Bai rubbed his forehead: "Okay, never mind that. My parents invited you to dinner at our house..."
Ever since the nursing home incident, the Mu family had occasionally invited Zhang Ruoshui over for dinner, even after Mu Bai went abroad for high school.
Zhang Ruoshui, adhering to the principle of making more friends and fewer enemies, and considering that Mu Bai had also given her gifts in the past, usually agreed.
"Dinner? What time?" Zhang Ruoshui asked naturally.
Mu Bai's gaze shifted slightly, half-jokingly asking, "Do I need to schedule it?"
"Yes."
Mu Bai's smile faded a bit: "How about tonight..."
"I have dinner at the Xu's."
"Was that a pre-arranged appointment, or a last-minute one?"
This question was strange, and Zhang Ruoshui lifted her eyelids, revealing more confusion in her eyes.
She spoke, her voice sounding cold: "Of course it was pre-arranged."
"Oh, I thought you wanted to avoid me."
"Why would I avoid you?"
"..." Mu Bai leaned against the car, "You don't know?"
Zhang Ruoshui was silent for a moment, then said, "You can speak directly. Generally speaking, I only actively try to guess someone's thoughts... when that person is my enemy."
Hang Meng, who heard this, choked on her words.
She quickly turned to look at the handsome guy... his expression seemed even darker.
"Alright, how about we schedule it for the day after tomorrow?" Mu Bai forced out the words.
"Okay, sure."
Only then did Mu Bai get into the car and leave.
Hang Meng couldn't help but say, "So those flowers were meant for you."
"No way."
"It's obvious, isn't it? He likes you? His parents have met you? Are you childhood friends?"
Zhang Ruoshui shook her head: "He's my little brother, and he's had seven or eight girlfriends abroad. Every time he gets a new girlfriend, he tells me over the phone and specifically reminds me not to tell his dad."
"If he's really afraid his dad will find out, why tell you? You're in the country, isn't that risky? I think he's just trying to provoke you..."
"..."
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
Zhang Ruoshui pondered her words but still said softly, "This logic sounds a bit off."
Hang Meng waved her hand: "You haven't watched many TV dramas or read novels, have you? Childhood friends who are too familiar with each other often fail to recognize their own feelings. So the male lead deliberately gets close to a female counterpart to stimulate the female lead to realize her own feelings. Then, when the female lead is hurt, the male lead goes through the 'wife-chasing' process..."
Zhang Ruoshui: ?
Hang Meng: ?
Hang Meng looked at her expression and hesitated: "It does seem a bit off... but maybe that's what love is like?"
This was another blind spot.
*
Zhang Ruoshui's mention of going to the Xu's for dinner was not a lie.
When she arrived, Xu Ruying hadn't returned home yet, but her parents welcomed her in and shared their plant specimens and small ecosystem with her.
"Dad, Mom, I'm home," Xu Ruying entered, followed by a man.
Before Zhang Ruoshui could speak, Xu Ruying spoke to her first: "Duckling, long time no see!"
Xu Ruying hugged her tightly and pointed to the man behind her: "This is my boyfriend, you haven't met him yet, just call him Brother Yu."
Zhang Ruoshui obediently called him.
Xu Ruying laughed: "Why are you still so obedient as when you were a kid?"
Then she insisted on keeping Zhang Ruoshui overnight.
"Do you remember when you, me, and Sheng Yuxiao used to sleep on the floor in the living room? It was so much fun to think back on."
That night, Xu Ruying and Zhang Ruoshui lay in the same bed.
Xu Ruying yawned and said, "Oh, speaking of which, I've had three boyfriends already. Why hasn't Sheng Yuxiao brought a girlfriend home yet? Does he have some unmentionable problem?"
Zhang Ruoshui was a bit sleepy and didn't catch much, only instinctively refuting: "Sheng Yuxiao is fine."
Xu Ruying laughed: "Ha, okay, maybe he'll bring a girlfriend when he comes back for your birthday party."
Zhang Ruoshui suddenly woke up.
Her mind immediately thought of the post Hang Meng had mentioned to her.
"Anyway, everything has to involve the blogger's boyfriend... this isn't his real sister... too much of a green tea..."
Zhang Ruoshui couldn't sleep.
She immediately downloaded the social platform app that Hang Meng had mentioned, searched for related keywords, and read a bunch of similar posts overnight.
Some were about complaining about a neighbor's sister, some about a foster sister, and some about a cousin or sister-in-law who overstepped boundaries...
Boundaries.
Boundaries.
That night, she only slept for about two and a half hours, dreaming of these three words.
The next morning, Xu Ruying thought it was her fault: "Did I steal your blanket last night? You mustn't catch a cold, or Sheng Yuxiao will be mad."
Xu Ruying was very worried and even personally drove Zhang Ruoshui back to school.
As soon as she got out of the car, Zhang Ruoshui's phone rang. It was Sheng Yuxiao calling.
"I've rescheduled my itinerary. Can we have dinner together tonight?" Sheng Yuxiao paused, "This time I've informed you in advance."
"I have dinner at the Mu's tonight."
"The other day on the phone, weren't you free today? ... Uh, did Mu Bai come to your school yesterday?"
"Yes."
"Then go ahead, I'll stick to my original schedule."
They ended the call.
In truth, nothing had changed. No matter how many years had passed or where he was, Sheng Yuxiao had always treated her well. His tone on the phone had never altered.
Even if he managed to squeeze in time and she had already made other plans, he wouldn't get angry.
But she just felt a little bit unhappy.
She thought of those posts again. Okay, after adulthood, Sheng Yuxiao shouldn't treat her so excessively well anymore.
Even if Sheng Yuxiao didn't have a girlfriend now, he would in the future.
She couldn't become the villain in those posts.
Zhang Ruoshui took a few steps forward, then suddenly stopped.
But there was still a little bit of unhappiness.
In the president's office on the other end.
The secretary cautiously knocked on the door: "Here is the recent project expenditure report."
Sheng Yuxiao took it casually, where one could vaguely see the words "mountain areas" and "charity."
The secretary asked, "The other directors have all arrived, should we start the meeting now?"
"In half an hour."
"Alright." The secretary glanced up and noticed Sheng Yuxiao was caressing a clay sculpture on his desk.
Many clay sculptures were lined up in a row.
From small to large.
From rough to exquisite.
The secretary had heard before that these were said to be birthday gifts Sheng received every year.
They didn't seem to have much artistic value, just someone who made them by hand every year without fail. And Sheng Yuxiao placed them on his desk without fail.
Wherever he flew for work, he took them along.
This Sheng Yuxiao, who had risen from the position of Sheng Corporation's crown prince to today's own commercial empire, sometimes had quite peculiar habits.
The secretary suppressed her thoughts and went out to inform the directors.
Sheng Yuxiao caressed the clay sculptures expressionlessly for a while, then suddenly picked up the phone and dialed: "Send those photos you took to Mu Rongfeng."
Those were photos of Mu Bai's dates with his various girlfriends during his time abroad.
Sheng Yuxiao didn't care about Mu Bai.
But he had long seen through Mu Rongfeng's intentions.
Too much greed.
Such a man without any morals, was he worthy of approaching Hang Meng?