"What's wrong?"
Lin Zhenzhen regained her composure; it was probably just a trivial coincidence.
She turned around and said, "I'm not the kind of person who forgets kindness. Since you saved me today, I will accept your kindness."
"If anyone bullies you, you can tell me, and I will stand up for you, but..."
Tan Bei's smile was still on his lips when Ning Zhen abruptly changed the subject.
"No matter what, I will always unconditionally side with Brother Bai. You know that, so don't make a fool of yourself."
Lin Zhenzhen rambled on and on, while Tan Bei remained silent, simply lowering his head and staring at the bed sheet in front of him.
"Never mind, considering you're a patient, I'll explain these things to you next time."
As Lin Zhenzhen stepped out of the room, she heard the system reminding her.
[Jealousy level: 6/20]
Butler Li was waiting at the door. When he saw her come out, he hurriedly went up to explain.
"Miss, the rooms on the second floor have been prepared. I will arrange for someone to move Young Master Tan's belongings in immediately."
"Okay, you can handle it as you see fit."
"Also, before he left, the gentleman told me to have you draft the guest list for the birthday banquet first."
"Birthday?" Lin Zhenzhen stopped in her tracks. She thought for a moment and realized that next week would be the original owner's nineteenth birthday.
As the only daughter of the richest man in City A, her birthday banquets every year can be described as extravagant and lavish.
Ning Zhen has always liked sparkly things. At her coming-of-age ceremony last year, Ning Xiong gave her a pure gold crown made of yellow gemstones, which is now displayed in the cabinet in her room.
"Nothing special, just the same old people." It's all fake sisterhood among high-society socialites. Anyway, poor Ning Zhen doesn't have any real friends.
Lin Zhenzhen suddenly thought of someone and changed her mind, saying, "Add someone else to the list for me, Lan Jiaocai."
"Okay." Butler Li noted down the name. "Also, Miss Ji, are you inviting her again this year?"
He was referring to Bai Qingfeng's cousin, Ji Leng. Last year, the two had a fight in front of a group of young ladies. Ning Zhen picked up the champagne from the waiter's hand and splashed it in the waiter's face, then pushed her into the pool.
This incident caused a huge uproar in the second-generation elites' circle. Everyone here comes from a wealthy family, yet the Ning family produced such a despicable shrew.
I originally thought that, given Ning Zhen's personality, she definitely wouldn't want to see Ji Leng again.
Unexpectedly, she puffed out her chest and said decisively, "Please, otherwise people will think I'm afraid of her."
On Monday, during class, Lan Jiaocai excitedly found Lin Zhenzhen.
"Zhenzhen, is it your birthday soon?"
Early one weekend morning, someone knocked on her door.
A man in a suit respectfully handed over an invitation in an envelope, along with an ornately packaged box containing a pure white fishtail evening gown.
There was no tag on the dress, but she could tell at a glance that it was very valuable.
"Yeah, it'll be in a couple of days. Did you receive the dress?" Lin Zhenzhen still looked lazy.
"I received it, it's beautiful." Lan Jiaocai's eyes hesitated again. "But is it appropriate for me to go to that kind of occasion?"
"What's wrong with me inviting my friend?" Lin Zhenzhen had made up her mind. Even if Lan Jiaocai wasn't helpful in completing her mission, she still wanted to win her favor for the original owner of the body.
After all, Lan Jiaocai's real background is powerful, and she might be able to help the Ning family when they are abandoned by everyone. This can be considered as her way of giving back for using Ning Zhen's identity.
As they were talking, the girls in the class suddenly erupted in excitement.
It turned out that Bai Qingfeng had brought people from the Procuratorate to check attendance.
His gaze slowly swept over everyone's name tags, then he frowned.
"Tanbei?"
No one answered him, and Lin Zhenzhen then realized that the person had already disappeared.
Tanbei was marked absent and did not show up until school was over.
A rumble of thunder sounded on the horizon, and huge dark clouds pressed down, making the air hot and humid.
Lin Zhenzhen couldn't imagine where a semi-disabled person like him, who used crutches, could go.
He went to the cemetery.
I see. [Your damn system is actually somewhat useful.]
The system walked away, grumbling and cursing arrogantly.
Today is the anniversary of Tanbei's father's death. When Tanbei was in elementary school, her father passed away in an accident. At that time, Chen Shuang was a pampered rich woman. After crying for three days in front of her husband's funeral, she met her second husband.
After changing hands several times, Tanbei was given to his maternal grandfather in the countryside. The old man could only provide him with food and clothing, and could not help him with anything else.
After his grandfather died, Tanbei lived alone for eight years, like a resilient weed. No one knows how he got through those days.
When Lin Zhenzhen arrived at the cemetery entrance, it had already started to drizzle, and the sky was terribly gloomy.
Holding an umbrella, she easily found that slender and upright figure.
The leather high heels trotted along the muddy path, leaving deep and shallow dents.
Tan Bei suddenly felt a pink light shining down on him. He looked up and saw a corner of an umbrella with light pink lace trim, and Ning Zhen's angry face.
"You ran away without saying a word!" Lin Zhenzhen's eyes widened, looking just like a cartoon character from a shoujo manga.
Tan Bei was taken aback, then whispered, "How did you know I was here?"
"It's all because you skipped class, and the prosecutor's office found out and called Dad." Lin Zhenzhen pouted. "I had to beg Brother Bai, otherwise you wouldn't have any attendance points this semester."
Tan Bei was dressed in black clothes and trousers. Raindrops fell on him, clinging to his hair, and even forming a layer of transparent water droplets on his long eyelashes.
At this moment, he was like a pitiful little dog that no one wanted, showing no resemblance whatsoever to the great demon king of later generations.
"Thank you." Tan Bei tried to get up by supporting himself with his cane, but he slipped on the moss on the stone slab and fell. Lin Zhenzhen instinctively went to help him up.
The wind and rain raged together, and thunder roared.
In the chaos, the umbrella was overturned and fell to the ground. Lin Zhenzhen put her hands around Tan Bei's waist and barely managed to support his body.
Lightning tore a hole in the sky, briefly illuminating her face. Tan Bei watched as the girl's pale face, wet with rain, revealed a vibrant pink hue.
They were so close that he could even feel her full, soft body.
The air around my nose was filled with the sweet fragrance of a young girl.
His body suddenly became burning hot.
"Stand still!" Lin Zhenzhen bent down, picked up the cane, and handed it to him. Then she picked up the umbrella and held it above their heads.
The small parasol is already quite small, so if you want to shield two people at the same time, they need to be very close together.
Lin Zhenzhen lifted her skirt in dissatisfaction as she carefully stepped on the stone slabs.
"Today is an exception. If it happens again, I will absolutely not care about you!"
Tan Bei didn't speak; he stared ahead, his gaze gradually fading into the distance.
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