Zhang Liyun glared, eyes wide, jabbing his forehead with her index finger.
"Don't forget, your achievements today are thanks to the Zhang family. Back then, I let our daughter take your surname, and that was already giving you an enormous favor. Didn't you swear you'd never contact your family back home for the rest of your life…?"
Lin Qingshan smiled obsequiously and quickly began massaging her shoulders.
"Wife, don't get so worked up. Listen to me."
Seeing that the maid still hadn't taken the hint to leave, he called out,
"Wu Ma, you can go now."
Once the maid had gone far enough, he leaned in with a sly grin, whispering something in his wife's ear.
Zhang Liyun's eyes lit up immediately, her earlier anger gone.
"Is she as pretty as you say?"
"Wait till she comes over this weekend. You'll see for yourself. Have I ever lied to you?"
Zhang Liyun rewarded him with a kiss on his weathered face.
"You old fox…"
The two exchanged a glance, bursting into laughter like they had just struck gold.
Their laughter carried an eerie undertone…
The first time Zhang Liyun met Lin Xiaonuan, she sized her up like she was inspecting merchandise, looking her over from head to toe. In the end, she nodded repeatedly in satisfaction.
Lin Xuansuan, however, didn't like this cousin one bit.
They were both from the Lin family—so why did Xiaonuan end up with such delicate features, a face so naturally beautiful it could stir a person's heart even without makeup?
Meanwhile, Lin Xuansuan's face was the result of "cutting-edge technology," and unfortunately, she looked even worse after the procedures.
No matter how luxurious the cosmetics she used, or how expensive her clothes were, she could never replicate Xiaonuan's innate grace.
Xiaonuan's natural radiance overshadowed her completely, and for that, Xuansuan hated her deeply. She bullied her whenever she could and would snatch away anything Xiaonuan liked, just to spite her.
Xiaonuan endured in silence, telling herself that at least her uncle and aunt treated her decently—on the surface.
Until the day she saw that agreement.
That was when she realized: the kindness from her uncle's family always came with strings attached…
When she woke from that dream, Xiaonuan's face was already streaked with tears, her pillow soaked through.
"Xiaonuan, when did you get back? Where were you last night? I called, but you didn't answer. Did you go to your uncle's house again? No, you usually only go back on weekends."
"Come on, fess up—where were you having fun…?"
Ding Kexin, her carefree roommate, burst into the dorm room with a barrage of questions, dragging Xiaonuan back from her drifting thoughts.
Kexin was not only her roommate but also her best friend, classmate, and closest confidante.
The dorm used to have four girls, but the other two had moved out early for internships. Now it was just the two of them left, still struggling to finish their theses before graduation.
Xiaonuan had only written half of hers—she was too busy working part-time jobs to pay for living expenses. Kexin, on the other hand, was busy being in love, and as the saying goe,: a happy woman's IQ is zero, so hers was still blank.
"My dear Xiaonuan, you're so laid-back. Still sleeping? Hurry up and get to work on your thesis! I mean, I'm a slacker, so I can get away with not writing mine, but you? You're the top student. How can you sink to my level?"
Kexin prattled on, "I'm counting on you to finish yours and then help me a little bit with mine—I honestly have no idea where to start."
Having just cried, Xiaonuan didn't want Kexin to see her tear-stained face, so she kept turning to the side, pretending to still be asleep.
Kexin climbed onto her bed, wiggling two fingers mischievously.
"If you don't get up, I'll use my secret weapon…"
She knew Xiaonuan was ticklish.
Sure enough, that trick worked. Xiaonuan obediently turned her head and forced a smile.
But the tear-streaked, weary look on her face—uglier than crying—startled Kexin.
"What's wrong? Did someone bully you? Tell me… Was it that jerk Lu Yuan?"
Xiaonuan wanted to tell her everything that had happened yesterday, but… where should she start? From being drugged? Or from that baffling night?
No matter which part, the words caught in her throat.
She sat on the bed, hugging her knees, resting her head on them, biting her lip, her eyes full of confusion.
Kexin stopped asking, deciding for herself that Lu Yuan must have hurt her, her face filled with anger.
"I've said all along, Lu Yuan's no good. Even when he was chasing you, I didn't approve, and you still treated him like treasure."
"With your looks and figure, you could close your eyes, pick any random guy off the street, and he'd be better than him."
The more she spoke, the angrier she got, dredging up every old grievance.
"Back when he was still in school, he knew you weren't well-off, working part-time just to get by, but not only did he never help, he had the nerve to mooch off your meal card every day. Any decent guy wouldn't do that."
"And on Valentine's Day or your birthday, any boyfriend would at least buy a small gift. But him? Always a love letter—probably copied from some website. And you, silly girl, were moved to tears every time."
"He's been working for a whole year now. Has he bought you anything? And you—just the other day—you were still stupid enough to save money to buy him a T-shirt!"
Kexin was genuinely indignant for Xiaonuan. If not for Xiaonuan holding her back, she could have gone on ranting for three days straight.
"Kexin, stop. I broke up with him."
Kexin's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Broke up? For real? I don't believe you. You're too soft-hearted. Don't tell me if he sent you another love letter, you'd melt and take him back?"
"Not this time. We're done."
"He… got together with Lin Xuansuan."
Kexin's gossip antenna shot up immediately.
"Lin Xuansuan? Your cousin? He's with her now?"
"Really?"
Xiaonuan nodded.
"Wow, that's juicy. He must've seen her family's money and decided to freeload."
Thinking of the conversation she had overheard between Xuansuan and Lu Yuan in the bathroom, Xiaonuan clenched her fists, her eyes filled with hatred and disgust.
Kexin caught the look and blurted out,
"Don't be upset, Xiaonuan. Honestly, this is the best thing that could've happened."
"Trash belongs in the trash can. The two of them together? That's like a kid eating candy—finished in one bite."
Kexin's sharp tongue was unmatched, full of sarcastic one-liners.
Xiaonuan, who had been in low spirits, couldn't help but laugh. In their four years of university, Kexin had always been her source of joy.
"Today's a good day. I'm treating tonight. Let's go eat something nice." Kexin declared.
Xiaonuan looked up. "Aren't you going to be with your boyfriend?"
"Forget him. Today I'm all yours."
The two burst into laughter in unison.
Kexin even grabbed a clothes hanger, pretending it was a microphone, and began singing off-key, "Today is a good day~"
Students passing by peeked into the dorm, thinking the two of them had gone crazy.