Ruan Yu and Xu Huaisong stepped out of the elevator right after.
She had come to the hotel specifically for Lü Shenglan, and now that her goal was accomplished, she used the excuse of "feeling a bit sleepy, so I won't go up" to suggest heading home.
She hadn’t actually planned to enter Xu Huaisong’s room. Her mindset this time was completely different. Less than four hours had passed since what seemed like his confession—showing up at his door so soon would make her panic to the point of cardiac arrest.
Xu Huaisong didn’t press her. "Then I’ll go up first to put my things away."
"Your car isn’t even here. Just go rest—no need to see me off."
"What I meant was," he suddenly felt playful and said with a faint smirk, "I’ll go up to put my things away, and then rest."
Ruan Yu paused, then forced a dry laugh. "Well then, goodbye, Lawyer Xu. I’ll have a designated driver bring your car to the hotel."
The distant address and arrangement—she certainly knew how to give as good as she got. He coughed lightly. "I was joking. Wait for me in the lobby for five minutes."
Ruan Yu wasn’t having it. "No, five minutes is enough for me to hail a cab."
"Then I won’t go up," he said, a hint of helplessness in his eyes. "Let’s go."
"Fine," she finally seemed appeased. "You should go feed the cat first. I’ll wait in the lobby."
Xu Huaisong glanced at her, turned to press the elevator button, then looked back at her again—probably checking if she meant what she said.
A little "acting up" could be playful, but overdoing it would only exhaust their feelings.
Ruan Yu understood this perfectly. Hearing the elevator "ding," she tilted her chin, signaling him to go.
Recalling the way he had looked at her before leaving, the moment the elevator doors closed, her tightly pressed lips slowly curved upward. She ended up sneaking a laugh as she walked to the lounge area and sat down on a sofa.
The dazzling chandelier in the grand lobby illuminated the space brightly. At this hour, there weren’t many people coming and going. After sitting for a while, she saw two housekeepers pushing a cart of cleaning supplies past her.
One of them reminded the other, "The guest in Room 1922 still doesn’t want the bedsheets changed. Don’t get it wrong."
Ruan Yu froze.
1922—wasn’t that Xu Huaisong’s room number? Why wouldn’t he change the bedsheets?
In the time it took to process that thought, the two housekeepers had already walked past her. Any further and she wouldn’t be able to hear them.
She quickly caught up, pretending to walk in the same direction, and successfully heard the other’s reply: "It’s been three days already..."
Whatever else they said, Ruan Yu didn’t hear.
Because she had stopped in her tracks, her mind buzzing.
Three days ago—that was the blanket she had slept under.
After Xu Huaisong dropped her off at home, Ruan Yu found herself lost in thought.
Thinking calmly now, if he couldn’t bear to change the bedsheets she had slept on for just one night—forget whether this kind of obsessive behavior even fit Xu Huaisong’s personality—it seemed like he must have liked her for a while.
But since when? Before that night at the hotel, he hadn’t shown any obvious signs.
Ruan Yu took a shower and, still hungry after the plain congee, opened the "Summer White Lotus" dessert she had brought home as a midnight snack. Eating it bite by bite, she idly scrolled through her phone’s social feed.
A refresh later, she saw a post from Liu Mao from a minute ago:
"We’re both lawyers—how can the difference be this huge?" Below the post was a comparison image of two schedules. The one on the left was packed with tasks, while the one on the right only had two work appointments—one tomorrow and another this Saturday. The Saturday slot showed an important video conference scheduled from 9 AM to 1 PM.
Ruan Yu perked up. Teacher He’s birthday banquet was exactly at noon on Saturday. Could this schedule on the right possibly belong to Xu Huaisong?
She left a comment: “Only two work plans in a whole week? What kind of heavenly lawyer is this?”
Zhi Kun Liu Mao replied: “Our Lawyer Xu.”
Ruan Yu set down her chopsticks and eagerly called Qu Lan back. “Mom, I’ll go on Saturday. Wait for me at home with Dad. We’ll take a ride-hailing car directly—no need to squeeze through the high-speed rail station on a weekend.”
Qu Lan agreed repeatedly on the other end.
After hanging up, Ruan Yu hummed a tune while clearing the dishes. She turned on the TV to CCTV-5 to watch the World Cup and happily posted a WeChat Moments update: “Green tea paired with the World Cup—staying up late while staying healthy. [ok]”
The accompanying photo showed the cup of “Passionate Green Tea” on the coffee table and the wall-mounted TV in the background.
Xu Huaisong instantly replied: “Where’s the white lotus?”
Ruan Yu glanced at the empty meal set she had already devoured and answered without batting an eye: “Couldn’t finish it. It’s in the fridge.”
Xu Huaisong: “Then I’ll come for breakfast tomorrow.”
“……” Would it still be possible to order another “Summer White Lotus” from the hotel now?
Ruan Yu took a difficult sip of her green tea when she suddenly noticed Liu Mao chiming in, replying to Xu Huaisong: “Count me in?”
Xu Huaisong: “Sure, go to sleep.”
Translation: In your dreams.
Ruan Yu nearly laughed herself to tears, wiping her eyes before spotting another comment below.
Her old high school class monitor, Zhou Jun, had replied: “What’s going on here? [confused]”
He seemed to be referring to the “situation” between her and Xu Huaisong.
Ruan Yu belatedly realized: Aside from Liu Mao, did she and Xu Huaisong have other mutual friends?
Well, it made sense. Back then, their two classes had gone on a graduation trip together, and as the event organizer, the class monitor might have added everyone on WeChat.
Oh no.
She swiftly deleted the Moments post and quietly sighed in relief.
But the relief was short-lived—it was pointless.
Even if she deleted the post, Xu Huaisong would still receive a notification about Zhou Jun’s reply to her.
Sure enough, the next second, Xu Huaisong sent her a message: “You know Zhou Jun?”
Should she tell him or not?
Ruan Yu paced around her room before making a decision. Since things had come to this, she’d tell half the truth. If Xu Huaisong pressed further, she’d roll up her sleeves and “come clean.”
She replied: “We used to live in the same neighborhood in Su City. You know him too? I heard from Lawyer Liu that your grandma’s place is also in the southern district.”
Xu Huaisong: “Yeah. Go to bed early after the game. I was joking earlier—I have work tomorrow morning, no need to wait for me.”
That was it?
Ruan Yu let out a light hiss, feeling amused, but then she detected an unusual flavor in her green tea.
A man who wouldn’t even let go of the blanket she’d slept under was acting so nonchalant about her male friend? Wasn’t he usually tough on Liu Mao?
On the TV screen, a player scored a goal. Ruan Yu’s mind seemed to flip a switch, suddenly enlightened.
She reopened Liu Mao’s post about the schedules and reread it.
Why did Liu Mao just happen to “unintentionally” help her decide to attend the birthday banquet right when she was hesitating?
This was way too coincidental.However, Liu Mao wouldn't have done this intentionally because he had no knowledge of Teacher He's existence—unless this was all orchestrated by the only person who knew: Xu Huaisong.
But how did Xu Huaisong find out that she had also been invited? In other words, he might already know that she was Teacher He's student and his own schoolmate.
If that were the case, why didn’t he just confront her directly instead of using such a roundabout method to lure her into attending this birthday banquet?
He seemed to be fully aware that the reason she didn’t want to go was because he might be there—because she was afraid her novel would be exposed.
At this point, the answer was practically staring her in the face.
The TV blared with the wild cheers of soccer fans, but in Ruan Yu’s world, all the screams and celebrations faded into a distant background noise.
She covered her mouth in shock, murmuring to herself after a long pause, "Could it be... I’ve already been exposed?"
On Saturday, Ruan Yu stuck to her original plan and took her parents to Su City.
Over the past few days, she had turned Xu Huaisong’s motives over and over in her mind, only to realize that all her speculations were meaningless. The only place she could find real answers was at this birthday banquet.
If he showed up at the banquet with the excuse that "work plans had changed unexpectedly," then she thought—there couldn’t possibly be so many coincidences in the world. He must have known all along that he was the male lead in her novel and was deliberately luring her there to prevent her from backing out.
But if he didn’t appear, then all of this was just her wild imagination.
At half past eleven in the morning, the ride-hailing car arrived in Su City. As Ruan Yu and her parents stepped out of the car at the hotel entrance, her eyes immediately darted toward the nearby parking lot.
Xu Huaisong’s car wasn’t there.
Ruan Chengru gave her a sidelong glance. "You’ve been distracted the whole way, and now you’re looking around the moment we arrive. What are you searching for?"
Ruan Yu chuckled awkwardly. "Just scouting for potential threats to ensure your and Mom’s safety." She then linked arms with Qu Lan. "Let’s head inside."
The three of them followed a waiter to the banquet hall reserved by He Chong.
Since they had come from Hangzhou, they arrived relatively late. The hall, filled with over twenty tables, was already packed with guests chatting and catching up before the meal began.
A crowd had gathered around He Chong.
Ruan Yu’s eyes swept the room like a machine gun.
No sign of her target.
She exhaled softly.
What had she been thinking, suspecting Xu Huaisong like that? Considering how he had unfailingly greeted her with "Good morning," "Good afternoon," and "Good night" these past few days—if he had known the truth all along, wouldn’t he have just watched her flail around like a monkey putting on a show?
Human nature couldn’t possibly be that cruel and underhanded.
Ruan Yu followed her parents to greet Teacher He.
After exchanging pleasantries, Ruan Chengru and Qu Lan were pulled aside by He Chong to chat with some old colleagues. Just then, she heard a voice behind her call out, "Ruan Yu?"
She turned to see her former class monitor, Zhou Jun, standing nearby. Spotting her, he grinned and said, "Hey, it really is you! I had a feeling I might run into you today!"
He walked over and added, "Long time no see! You skipped last year’s class reunion, but you’re willing to show up for Teacher He’s party? Not cool!"
Ruan Yu smiled and greeted him. "I was busy back then, but I’ll definitely make it next time if I’m free."
"You’re still in Hangzhou?"
"Yeah, I came here specially today.""So you're saying..." Zhou Jun's tone took on a gossipy edge, "Xu Huaisong is also in Hangzhou?"
Ruan Yu choked slightly before nodding.
Zhou Jun immediately got excited, lowering his voice to ask, "On behalf of all our classmates from Classes 9 and 10 of the 2010 graduating class, I have to ask—what's going on between you two?"
Ruan Yu gave a dry chuckle.
Things with Xu Huaisong weren't settled yet, and when it came to matters between men and women, how could the woman be expected to make definitive announcements first?
She smoothed her bangs and turned her head away with a smile, about to give some vague response when her gaze swept past the banquet hall entrance and caught sight of a familiar figure.
Ruan Yu's smile instantly froze.
Zhou Jun blinked, following her line of sight. "Hey, isn't that Xu Huaisong? Why didn't you two come together?"
His voice wasn't particularly quiet, immediately drawing Xu Huaisong's attention.
Their eyes met across the room—Ruan Yu's stunned, his puzzled. He frowned slightly before walking over to ask, "What are you doing here?"
As if he didn't know exactly why she was here.
Ruan Yu slowly lifted her eyes to meet his. "I'm here for my high school teacher's birthday banquet. What about you?"
Xu Huaisong narrowed his eyes slightly. "Same."
Zhou Jun looked between them in confusion. "Wait, hold on—you two didn't know you were alumni?"
Neither responded.
Scratching the back of his head with an expression of utter bewilderment, Zhou Jun made an introductory gesture. "Alright then, let me do the honors. Xu Huaisong, Class 10 of 2010. Ruan Yu, Class 9."
Ruan Yu forced a smile, barely containing the volcanic eruption building inside. "What an incredible coincidence...!" She glanced at Xu Huaisong, who also wore a slightly surprised expression, and made one final verification. "But didn't you have a meeting today?"
He answered with perfect composure. "There was a last-minute change in my work schedule."
Of course that would be his "reason."
Ruan Yu nearly fell for his flawless acting, but suddenly all their previous encounters came flooding back.
Xu Huaisong pretending not to know why she knew he was from Suzhou; Xu Huaisong "coincidentally" showing up at their high school cafeteria, "coincidentally" having Liu Mao pick up her mother, "coincidentally" rescuing her heroically in the pouring rain; Xu Huaisong feigning weakness in the hospital room to force her to read that racy novel...
Her long-time crush, the aloof campus heartthrob—was actually this two-faced, scheming person?
How could she have poured years of affection into someone without ever noticing this side of him?
Ruan Yu felt tears welling up.
These unshed tears in her eyes were the same foolishness that had filled her brain all those years ago when she'd leaned against the classroom balcony, stealing lovesick glances at him.
She'd thought she'd fallen for an elegant, refined Hanazawa Rui type, but at his core he was still just a childish Domyouji!
In the midst of her silence, Xu Huaisong blinked calmly, as unflappable as ever. "What's wrong?"
Ruan Yu took a deep breath and looked down at her shoes.
"What's wrong?" She wanted to drive these seven-centimeter stiletto heels straight through the polished leather of his dress shoes!
Author's Note: Attempting the same old tricks leads to a Waterloo moment—elite lawyer's life hangs in the balance. Shall we dedicate a song to him? How about "Wishing You Peace"?
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