Song Man returned to the dorm in a daze.
Her roommate Gou Xi, who was squeezing pimples in front of the mirror, looked up at her and said, “You’re finally back!”
“Your roller skating club president has been looking for you like crazy!”
“You haven’t even been checking your phone?”
Song Man froze, then opened her phone and indeed saw a barrage of messages.
It was the club president asking her to help with the club’s recruitment event tomorrow.
Song Man replied to the messages while explaining to Gou Xi, “I had something to do this morning and didn’t check my messages.”
“What was so important that you didn’t look at your phone all morning?”
Song Man paused, said nothing, and shoved the bag with the dress into her wardrobe.
Her movements were rough, as if venting her frustration.
She was wearing low-rise jeans and a short top, so any slight movement easily revealed a sliver of her waist.
Gou Xi looked up, her gaze catching it through the mirror, and frowned. “Did you bump into something?”
Only then did Song Man notice the red marks on her waist.
Song Junyan had pressed too hard just now.
Her skin was delicate and couldn’t withstand that kind of force from him.
Song Junyan had always known this.
The first time they were together, he had bitten her all over, so much so that the next day, Song Man couldn’t show her face to anyone.
So from then on, Song Junyan had been careful and restrained in his actions.
But this time, he wasn’t.
Was he not afraid of Shen Zhiyin finding out?
Or did he simply not care about how others looked at her?
Song Man was both embarrassed and angry. She hastily pulled her top down and tucked it into her waistband. “I might have bumped into something somewhere.”
Gou Xi stared at her “protesting too much” behavior but ultimately held back the urge to dig deeper.
Everyone was an adult; love was free.
Today you date one person, tomorrow you switch to another—no one made a fuss about it.
But Song Man was different.
She was the top student at Ye City’s premier university—the campus belle of Ye University.
In three years of college, the people who pursued her—men and women alike—could fill a truck.
They came one after another, throwing money at her, offering their sincere hearts… all to no avail.
So everyone was guessing who would finally make this iron tree bloom.
Now, the answer to this century-old question was right before her eyes.
Gou Xi didn’t ask, not because she was particularly noble, but because if Song Man wanted to say it, she would have said it long ago.
Song Man’s evasion meant she didn’t want to talk about it.
Asking more would only annoy her.
So Gou Xi changed the subject. “What did the roller skating club president want?”
Song Man said, “Tomorrow is the club recruitment day. The president wants me to help hand out flyers.”
Gou Xi hit the nail on the head: “She wants to use your face to lure those freshmen into the club!”
Song Man was beautiful—a kind of non-aggressive beauty—and her temperament was gentle and soft, easily drawing goodwill from strangers. In three years of college, she had countless suitors, which was why another junior girl had to settle for second place in the campus belle contest.
Song Man didn’t really want to go either.
Summer had just passed, but the heat of Ye City hadn’t receded yet. Even a short time under the sun would make the air stick to your skin, sticky and unpleasant.
Besides, recruitment day meant getting up early and dealing with a lot of tedious tasks.
But the club president had helped Song Man before.
For both emotional and practical reasons, Song Man couldn’t easily refuse. She had no choice but to call Ruan Wenhua and say she would stay at school tonight.
She was always obedient, and Ruan Wenhua rarely questioned such things, only saying she would have Aunt Li come over to deliver some fruit.
Aunt Li’s full name was Li Chunhua. She was someone Ruan Wenhua had brought from her maternal family.
In Ruan Wenhua’s heart, she was family.
Aunt Li had also raised Song Man since she was little.
Song Man had always respected her deeply.
Half an hour later, Aunt Li said she had arrived downstairs.
Song Man didn’t dare keep her waiting and hurried downstairs.
Aunt Li was standing under a tree. When she saw Song Man, a smile immediately spread across her face.
“Miss Man’er.”
Song Man walked up. “Aunt Li.”
Aunt Li handed over the fruit. “These were just air-freighted in today. Madam thought Miss Man’er would be coming home tonight and wanted to wait for you to eat them together, but it turned out you picked up the dress and went straight back to school.”
Song Man thanked her and took the fruit, then said, “Tomorrow the club has recruitment and I need to get up early, so I thought I’d stay at school and sleep in a bit.”
Aunt Li smiled.
The two exchanged a few more words before going their separate ways.
Song Man watched Aunt Li get into the car.
After watching Song Man go upstairs, Aunt Li finally took out her phone.
It rang three times before the other side picked up. “She’s at school?”
Aunt Li said, “She is.”
“Miss Man’er said there’s a club recruitment event tomorrow, so she decided to stay at school on a whim.”
The other side was silent. Aunt Li thought for a moment, then said, “Madam, perhaps you’re overthinking. Miss Man’er has always been very well-behaved.”
Ruan Wenhua: “I know she’s well-behaved, but her heart is simple. I’m afraid someone might lead her astray.”
That was it.
At this age, she was restless, longing for love.
Although Miss Man’er had been taken to those occasions since she was young and had seen all kinds of wealthy, refined men.
But who knew if some unexpected troublemaker might appear out of nowhere, using so-called “sincerity” to fool Miss Man’er into losing her head?
Aunt Li said, “I probed Miss Man’er a bit just now. She seems to have no interest in dating.”
“But what about the ointment on the bedsheet? The maid didn’t recognize it, but I did. It’s clearly…”
Ruan Wenhua seemed to want to say something but held back.
Aunt Li said, “It doesn’t necessarily mean that spot.”
That was what she said.
But Ruan Wenhua still couldn’t rest easy.
She had no children of her own.
This girl shared no blood with her.
Yet she had raised her by her side for over twenty years.
Just like a flower, finally waiting for it to be on the verge of blooming, when its value was about to show.
With a ‘snap’, someone else plucked it away—who wouldn’t be furious?
Ruan Wenhua sat on the sofa, lost in thought, so deep that she didn’t even notice Song Junyan and the others had arrived.
“What is Sister thinking about, so absorbed?”
Shen Zhiyin took a bag from the driver and handed it over. “I passed by the mall on the way here, and I thought this would suit Sister, so I took the liberty of buying it for you. See if you like it.”
A hand raised in greeting is never met with a slap.
Besides, the jadeite Shen Zhiyin had bought was of excellent quality.
Ruan Wenhua naturally said she liked it again and again. Then, turning her gaze, she saw Song Junyan heading toward the garden.
Suddenly reminded of something, Ruan Wenhua rose to her feet at once.
“Junyan.”