Chарtеr 13: Тhаnk You for Listening tо Мe
Cеn Wan had а sеvеrе саse оf mоrning grumрinеss. If it were аnyone elsе in frоnt of hеr, shе wоuld hаvе eхрlоded long аgо—absоlutely unleаshing a tоrrent of scоlding follоwed bу а beating tо drive them out.
With а lооk оf utter desраir, shе wаs being cаrried bу Lu Beiхun like a littlе chick: “Lu Вeixun, what аrе уou dоing~”
Сen Wan’s tonе wasn’t imраtient or аngry; her vоicе wаs sоft and swеet, morе like a соquеttish whine. If one listened closelу, thеre was even а hint оf indulgence—indulgеnсe toward Lu Beixun.
“Exercising.” If her weak, frail little body didn’t start exercising soon, it would truly be useless. While there was still hope, she needed to act quickly.
“I don’t want to…” Before Cen Wan could finish her sentence, a cold glare from Lu Beixun immediately silenced her.
“Fine.” Lu Beixun said, “From now on, all three meals a day will only consist of vegetables.”
Cen Wan: “…”
He was dead set on making her exercise.
As Lu Beixun was about to leave, Cen Wan closed her eyes, steeled her heart, and said, “I’ll go!”
Looking at it from another perspective, Lu Beixun was concerned about her health. Thinking of it that way made it easier to accept, and she even felt a little happy.
Lu Beixun adjusted the treadmill speed. Cen Wan started with a slow walk for five minutes, followed by a brisk walk for ten minutes. She was slightly out of breath but not too tired—it was manageable.
Cen Wan wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel: “I want to rest for a bit.”
“Keep going for another ten minutes.” Lu Beixun increased the treadmill speed, transitioning from a brisk walk to a slow jog.
Cen Wan felt like crying but had no tears left. She was truly miserable. She was already twenty-two years old, had graduated from university, and was still being forced to run and exercise. And the person in front of her—she couldn’t bear to scold him, let alone hit him. She couldn’t even bring herself to say a harsh word to him.
What else could she do? She could only run while crying.
As she ran, she asked, “Why aren’t you running?”
“Supervising you.”
Looking at Lu Beixun, Cen Wan was reminded of her physical education teacher from university. However, he was much more handsome than her PE teacher. If Lu Beixun had been her PE teacher, standing at the finish line of the track, she probably wouldn’t have taken forty minutes to run eight hundred meters.
For the last few meters, she had crawled across.
As someone who always cared about her image at school, in that moment, she couldn’t care less. After crawling to the finish line, she fainted on the spot and was taken to the infirmary.
What she never expected was that Lu Beixun had been there at the time, witnessing everything. It was also him who had taken her to the infirmary.
Lu Beixun had always known that most girls raised in luxury were delicate, but he never imagined Cen Wan would be this delicate.
After ten minutes of slow jogging, Cen Wan turned off the treadmill and tried to step down, but Lu Beixun stopped her. He slowed the speed: “Walk for one minute.”
Cen Wan let out a deep sigh. Since she had already run for ten minutes, one more minute wouldn’t make much difference.
After finishing, she sprawled out like a starfish on the yoga mat on the floor. Aside from exhaustion, nothing else hurt—unlike yesterday.
“Teacher Lu, I probably won’t have to do this tomorrow, right?”
“Maintain this exercise frequency for a week.” Seeing her look of utter despair, the corner of Lu Beixun’s mouth lifted in an almost imperceptible curve.
Cen Wan: “…”
“Teacher Lu, I want to sing a song for you.”
Cen Wan stood up, singing and bowing along to the rhythm: “Thank you for listening to me.”
“Because of you.”
“The seasons have been warmed.”
…
Her high ponytail swung back and forth with each bow.
After finishing the song, Cen Wan formed a heart shape with her hands above her head, her smile looking even more pitiful than a cry.
Lu Beixun: “…”Cen Wan thought Lu Beixun would at least say something comforting, or at the very least, explain that making her exercise was for her own good.
Who knew Lu Beixun would look at her and say solemnly, “You’re welcome.”
Cen Wan nearly collapsed on the spot.
Lu Beixun added, “Keep up the good work tomorrow, Wan Wan.”
With that, he turned and left.
Wan Wan?
Lu Beixun called her Wan Wan?
She wasn’t hearing things…
Cen Wan couldn’t stop grinning. She didn’t want to run either, but he called her Wan Wan.
She shouted after Lu Beixun’s retreating figure, “I’ll do my best, Teacher Lu!”
For breakfast, Cen Wan finally got to eat her hot dog.
After Lu Beixun left for work, she met up with Xu Zhi Tang as planned. The driver dropped her off at the café where they had arranged to meet.
As soon as Cen Wan stepped out of the car, she spotted the person by the floor-to-ceiling window—her so-called “plastic sister,” Xu Zhi Tang.
Despite her cute-sounding name, Xu Zhi Tang had a strikingly glamorous and alluring appearance that left a lasting impression.
Cen Wan walked in and took a seat opposite her, smiling playfully. “Hey, beautiful, can I get your WeChat?”
Xu Zhi Tang flipped her hair, propped her chin on her hand, and flashed a charming smile. “Of course. I’m especially interested in pretty girls—I swing both ways.”
Xu Zhi Tang was the heiress of the Xu family in the capital. With three older brothers, she was the youngest and the family’s favorite—spoiled, willful, unreasonable, and dismissive of everyone. That’s how people in their circle described her.
At twenty-four, she was two years older than Cen Wan, who only called her “sister” when she needed a favor.
Another thing about her: the number of guys she’d dated or flirted with could, figuratively speaking, stretch from here to the outskirts of the city. In just one month, she went through more relationships than most people did in years.
She played around but never fell in love.
Yet, no one could have predicted that Xu Zhi Tang, who treated men as playthings, would fall hard for a man just six months later—a man she knew but wasn’t close to.
“What brings you here today?” Cen Wan asked.
“Just dumped another one,” Xu Zhi Tang replied with a laugh. “Besides, none of those guys are as important as you.”
“Xu Zhi Tang, I’d advise you to tone it down,” Cen Wan said, smiling. “What goes around comes around.”
But since things turned out fine in the end, Cen Wan wasn’t too worried.
“I don’t believe in that nonsense,” Xu Zhi Tang retorted, giving her a once-over. “Aren’t you being a bit hypocritical, Cen Wan? You’ve given your own man plenty of trouble.”
Cen Wan lowered her gaze to the coffee on the table.
Her retribution had already come. “Yeah, I gave him a hard time, and I regret it. Now, I just want to love him properly.”
“Seriously, sis, have you lost your mind?” Xu Zhi Tang stirred her coffee. “Didn’t you say the trouble your family faced was Lu Beixun’s doing? How can you just let that go…”
She didn’t get it. If it were her, she wouldn’t be able to tolerate it. Matters of the heart should be mutual—she couldn’t stand underhanded tactics.
“It wasn’t him,” Cen Wan explained. “What happened to the Cen family wasn’t Lu Beixun’s doing.”
“I misunderstood him.”
Though Xu Zhi Tang didn’t know the details, as an outsider, she didn’t press further. “Then Lu Beixun got the short end of the stick. Since it was a misunderstanding, you should treat him better from now on.”
“I will.”
Xu Zhi Tang asked, “If it wasn’t Lu Beixun, then who was behind the Cen family’s troubles?”
“I know who it is,” Cen Wan said, a flicker of hatred in her eyes. “I just don’t have proof yet.”
“Need any help?””No need, I can handle it,” Cen Wan said.
Taking a sip of coffee, Cen Wan frowned. “It’s so bitter.”
Xu Zhi Tang dropped two sugar cubes into her coffee. “Here.”
“Tangtang still knows me best.”
Xu Zhi Tang looked disgusted. “Don’t call me Tangtang, it’s so sickeningly sweet.”
“Alright, Miss Xu Zhi Tang!”