Yan Jiaojiao quietly finished her breakfast, surprisingly without causing any trouble this time. Xie Chuanyan kept his promise and drove her to the entrance of University A.
Carrying her backpack, Yan Jiaojiao got out of the car. The rabbit keychain on her pink backpack swayed gently. She wiped her mouth vigorously with the back of her hand, her ears tinged with a faint blush.
Xie Chuanyan must be a dog at heart!
Yan Jiaojiao wasn’t very familiar with University A, but her body seemed to remember the way. She found the bulletin board and spotted Xie Kejia waiting for her.
Xie Kejia was slumped against a locust tree, her head lowered, seemingly lost in thought.
Yan Jiaojiao tapped her shoulder with her umbrella. “Big Head Jia!”
Xie Kejia turned around and immediately burst into tears, putting on a dramatic performance. Yan Jiaojiao watched in silence.
“Jiaojiao, my life is so hard! Xie Chuanyan actually docked my allowance. Am I going to end up homeless? Wuwu…”
Yan Jiaojiao naturally knew about this unlucky girl’s allowance being cut. After all, while Xie Kejia spent money like water, she also cherished it as if her life depended on it.
Going three months without any spending would surely drive her mad.
Yan Jiaojiao sighed sympathetically. “Is he really your biological brother?”
“He’s my cousin! Have you forgotten that too?”
Yan Jiaojiao scratched her head. “That’s not important. Don’t worry, as long as I, Yan Jiaojiao, have food to eat, you’ll never go without… instant noodles.”
Xie Kejia was initially touched until she heard the last two words. Memories of eating instant noodles for a month during her freshman year to save money and buy Yan Jiaojiao a bag flooded back.
She had genuinely gotten sick of it back then and swore she’d never touch the stuff again.
Wiping her tears, Xie Kejia said, “Just let me die instead.”
Yan Jiaojiao giggled, linking arms with her as they walked forward. “I’m just teasing you. My little savings are yours to splurge on for the next three months, free of charge.”
Xie Kejia clasped her hands together, her gloom instantly lifting. “You’re too generous, boss.”
Following Xie Kejia, Yan Jiaojiao found their classroom. Along the way, many people greeted her, and though she didn’t recognize them, she politely nodded in response.
Just ten minutes into the class, Yan Jiaojiao was already struggling to keep her eyes open, propping her head up with her hand.
“Yan Jiaojiao.”
“Here.”
Yan Jiaojiao stood up reflexively. Professor Liu pointed at the screen. “You answer this question.”
She stared at the lengthy text, utterly confused. Just then, a boy in front whispered, “Choose A.”
“A.”
“Correct. You may sit down.”
Yan Jiaojiao sat back down. Professor Liu explained the question and, as the class ended, closed his textbook.
“You’ll graduate in a month. Let me warn some of you again: if you dare to fail, you’ll have to repeat the year properly.”
Though he didn’t name anyone, everyone’s eyes instinctively turned toward a certain direction.
Yan Jiaojiao gritted her teeth. Great, she was being called out.
After class, Yan Jiaojiao stood in the corridor, enjoying the breeze, when she suddenly felt someone’s gaze on her. She turned and saw the boy who had given her the answer earlier.
His amber eyes were clear, and when he noticed her looking, the corners of his mouth curved into a smile. His smile was warm, and he seemed to bask in the sunlight.
His demeanor was clean and refreshing.
She couldn’t help but think of Xie Chuanyan, whose smiles were always subtle and restrained.
“Jiaojiao.”
Xie Kejia shook her arm. “What are you staring at so intently?”
Yan Jiaojiao snapped back to reality. “Who is that guy?”
“Huo Shuyang. The heartthrob of University A and the eldest son of the Huo family. His looks are on par with my brother’s.”
Yan Jiaojiao nodded, her stomach growling with hunger. “Let’s go. I’ll treat you to a feast.”
At a Western restaurant near the school, Yan Jiaojiao elegantly cut her steak but gave up after just a minute. She called over a waiter. “Do you offer steak-cutting service here?”Xie Kejia noticed the gazes of those around them and, feeling awkward, covered her face as she called away the stunned waiter.
“My dear lady, this is just an affordable Western restaurant. Did you think it was five-star?”
Yan Jiaojiao put down her knife and fork. “Annoying.”
Her fair, delicate palms were already marked with red lines. She decided to stop eating and ordered another plate of pasta instead.
Xie Kejia wasn’t as picky. After all, she wasn’t like Yan Jiaojiao—her friend’s spoiled, princess-like temper was the result of being pampered. With Xie Chuanyan around, she only needed to open her mouth; there was no need for her to lift a finger.
She wondered when Yan Jiaojiao would regain her memory. Although she didn’t enjoy being fed “dog food,” the tension between Yan Jiaojiao and Xie Chuanyan was putting her, as the middle person, in an awkward position.
One was her best friend, the other her own cousin.
Given Yan Jiaojiao’s current attitude toward Xie Chuanyan, her brother would probably have a hard time marrying her.
Yan Jiaojiao was no longer the naive little bunny who could be coaxed home with a few sweet words.
Now, she was convinced that Xie Chuanyan was a scumbag, stubbornly clinging to her own beliefs. Who knew what had gone wrong in her mind, casting a pure-hearted demon king like him as the villain in a cheating playbook?
Everyone in the capital knew that Yan Jiaojiao was the one Xie Chuanyan cherished most—someone he couldn’t scold or criticize, only dote on.
After finishing her meal, Xie Kejia patted her full stomach and slumped into her chair. Yan Jiaojiao gave her a disdainful look before raising her hand to signal the waiter for the bill.
“Beep. Sorry, miss, there’s insufficient balance on this card.”
Yan Jiaojiao froze. “How is that possible? All the allowance my dad gives me is on this card.”
The waiter tried a few more times, but the result was the same.
Yan Jiaojiao called Yan Feng. “Dad! Where’s my allowance?”
Yan Feng had just finished a meeting and gestured for his secretary to leave. “What allowance?”
“The card you deposit money into every month has insufficient balance! What’s going on?”
Yan Feng: “Isn’t Chuanyan managing your allowance now? Sorry, Jiaojiao, I forgot to tell you.”
Yan Jiaojiao: “How could I possibly spend his money!”
Yan Feng: “After you got engaged, you said you were already Xie Chuanyan’s person. Spending your future husband’s money is only natural.”
Yan Jiaojiao: …
She really might have done something like that. She hung up the phone, opened her wallet, pulled out another card, and handed it to the waiter.
The thought of Xie Chuanyan treating her as a replacement left a sour taste in her mouth. That scoundrel ruined my youth—what’s wrong with spending a bit of his money?
The waiter’s eyes lit up at the sight of the diamond-encrusted black card. He respectfully processed their payment and even threw in a few complimentary drinks.
Meanwhile, in the top-floor conference room of Xie Corporation, a few notification sounds rang out.
Everyone wondered who had the audacity to leave their phone on during a meeting. Then, they saw the man seated at the center pull his phone from his suit pocket.
After reading the message, a faint smile curled at the corner of his lips. Xie Chuanyan whispered a few words to Assistant Hao before the meeting resumed.
At a shopping mall in the capital, Xie Kejia followed behind Yan Jiaojiao in her high heels, grabbing her friend’s hand as she pointed at everything in sight. “My dear lady, will you even be able to wear all these clothes you’re buying?”
Yan Jiaojiao brushed her off and continued speaking to the sales assistant. “Wrap up everything in the row on the far right and have it delivered to my home.”
Everyone in the store recognized her and eagerly introduced various styles to her.
Yan Jiaojiao listened to the flashy descriptions with an indifferent expression, bought a few more items, and then headed to a handbag store.
At the entrance of every store, a welcome lineup was arranged. “What kind of event is this?”
Xie Kejia: “This mall belongs to my brother. They probably got word that the future Mrs. Xie has arrived and rushed out to greet you.”Yan Jiaojiao: “Hmph, I’m not.”
After buying herself over a dozen bags, Yan Jiaojiao didn’t forget Xie Kejia either. Xie Kejia, thoroughly satisfied, linked arms with her as they walked out of the mall.
Outside the mall, Yan Jiaojiao spotted a familiar car—an expensive Maybach parked by the roadside, its license plate the audacious “1111.”
Just as arrogant and domineering as its owner.
Xie Chuanyan got out of the car. He wasn’t wearing a stiff suit but had changed into a pure black short-sleeved shirt, paired with black cargo pants, his entire demeanor cool and striking.
In that moment, Yan Jiaojiao froze. The man walking toward her overlapped with the twenty-one-year-old youth in her memory.
Xie Kejia rarely saw this side of her brother either. Catching sight of the rabbit earring on his ear cartilage, she understood.
During university, Yan Jiaojiao had followed the trend and insisted on getting her ears pierced. Afraid of the pain, she dragged Xie Chuanyan into it, claiming they were getting matching couple earrings.
Xie Chuanyan didn’t refuse, letting her put the rabbit earring on him. However, within a few months, Yan Jiaojiao lost hers and didn’t want to wear earrings anymore.
Xie Chuanyan took his off too.
Two years had passed, and the piercings had long since closed up. But now, in the same spot on his ear cartilage, he was wearing the rabbit earring again.
It must have been a fresh piercing—the edge of his ear was still flushed red.
Xie Kejia glanced at Yan Jiaojiao. Because she cared about her appearance, she had repierced her ears after they closed up and was now wearing butterfly earrings.
They swayed gently in the breeze.
Xie Kejia knew he was doing this to help Yan Jiaojiao recover sooner.
“Rabbit earring?”
Yan Jiaojiao frowned and murmured. The images in her mind slipped away like wind passing through, impossible to grasp. She clutched her head and crouched down, hissing in pain.
Xie Chuanyan hurriedly scooped her up and rushed toward the hospital.