Ruan Yunhan was completely distraught on her way back.
Why is Ruan Chen so lucky?!
How did she even get to know someone like Tao Ran?!
When Ruan Yunhan first returned to China, she asked someone to contact Tao Ran and offered him five million yuan to meet her and have a meal together, but he politely declined.
At the time, she wanted to use the movie star's fame to create a variety show with him, establish a beautiful and academically gifted persona, and generate some buzz for herself.
Moreover, everyone knows that Tao Ran is still unmarried and has never had any scandals. If something could happen that would tie you and Tao Ran together, that would be a wonderful surprise.
She had already given up on the idea, but seeing Tao Ran with her sister, whom she felt so troubled by, rekindled her feelings.
Summer vacation has just arrived.
The assessment was now finalized, and Ruan Chen moved out of Qinyuan.
Instead of returning to the Ye family's villa to live her own quiet life, she swaggered back to the hillside villa.
At the dinner table, Ruan Zhengde looked at his one son and three daughters, and his gaze finally settled on Ruan Chen, who was sitting at the very end.
It had been some time since I'd last seen her, and her face had become even more captivating. The mysterious man who had stood up for "Miss Ruan" hadn't shown his face again; perhaps it was time to take this daughter out and negotiate a good price.
"Ruan Chen, how did your high school entrance exam go?"
He had already asked someone to check privately, and the result was that Ruan Chen had underperformed and did very poorly on the exam, ranking over 60,000th in the city.
Just what he wanted.
No wonder she stopped making a fuss and obediently packed her things and returned to the Ruan family home.
Ruan Yunhan gloated for a while, seemingly forgetting that the admission qualification for the First Affiliated Hospital in her hands was given to her by Ruan Chen, and didn't mention it at all.
“Not ideal,” Ruan Chen said calmly, twirling a piece of pasta with her fork and putting it in her mouth. “I’m planning to go to the Second High School.”
Ruan Yunhan almost burst out laughing.
What kind of place is No. 2 High School? It's the worst school in the entire Jingzhou, with a 100% college admission rate.
"Forget about No. 2 High School, Ruan Chen. As long as you give your father a straight answer, how about I let you study at Huating High School?"
Ruan Chen's eyes remained fixed on the plate in front of him from beginning to end, not even glancing at Ruan Zhengde. He asked indifferently, "What are the conditions?"
"The invitation to the Xu family's ball has been sent. Your Aunt Wanqing will take you there."
Ruan Chen smiled enigmatically, glanced up at Ruan Zhengde, and his deep gaze seemed to pierce into his heart, but he said nothing.
She shoveled the last bite of noodles into her mouth and said to Ye Huanhuan, "Mom, I'm done eating. I'm going upstairs now."
"Ruan Chen!" Ruan Zhengde stared at that slender figure.
Ruan Chen stopped in his tracks, standing on the steps, looking down with eyes like unyielding ice.
She didn't call him "Dad," but said directly, "Ergao is good, better than that mentally challenged idiot eldest son of the Xu family—even if the Ruan family has fallen so low as to sell their daughters, you can't sell them off cheaply, can you? You only have three children, selling one means one less, think it over carefully."
His tone was condescending, and his voice carried a faint, mocking smile, but that smile didn't reach his eyes.
Ruan Zhengde wasn't too surprised by Ruan Chen's rebellious nature, but he just couldn't accept that she dared to speak to him in such a tone.
So he raised his arm and pointed to the door, "Fine, then get out! Don't ever come back to the Ruan family!"
The sneer on Ruan Chen's lips became even more pronounced. "You and my mother each own half of the villa on the hillside. You think I'll just leave because you tell me to? Do you really think this is your Ruan family's territory? I came back to stay with my mother, it has nothing to do with you."
Ye Huanhuan chimed in, "Ruan Chen, Mom has contacted No. 1 High School for you, and Principal Xu has reserved a spot for you in the top class."
"Thank you, Mom."
The two sang in harmony.
Ye Huanhuan had long since completely broken ties with Ruan Zhengde.
Ruan Yunhan kicked her mother from below.
Yu Wanqing suddenly realized and jumped in to smooth things over, "Zhengde, Chenchen is going through a rebellious phase. You have to go along with children this age. Just coax them a little and they'll be fine."
She tried to communicate with Ruan Chen, "Ruan Chen, look, Dad has already agreed to the Xu family. How about Auntie accompanies you? The assessment for the heir has already begun. Think about it again."
Her last words, seemingly out of concern, were actually a threat.
Now, Ruan Yunhan is more worried than anyone else that Ruan Chen will abandon the Ruan family again, since she still wants to use Ruan Chen as a connection to get in touch with Tao Yingdi.
Ruan Chen leaned against the armrest, standing lazily. His gaze lingered on Ruan Zhengde, Yu Wanqing, and Ruan Yunhan for a moment before he suddenly smiled casually. "Alright, let's go then."
She suddenly remembered Xu Weiwei.
She had glimpsed Xu Weiwei's information at Xu Xiaolan's place. She was a member of the Xu family, a powerful and influential family in Beijing. The fact that their daughter had caused such a stir put a lot of pressure on the municipal bureau.
Xu Xiaolan treated her well and even introduced her to a reliable art teacher. Perhaps... visiting the Xu family would be a good idea? It would be a way to repay Xu Xiaolan's favor.
She was comfortably sitting on a beanbag reading a Russian romance novel when there was a knock on the door.
Ruan Chen casually stuffed the book under the bean bag, got up and opened the door.
It is Ruan Yunhan.
"Is something the matter?" Ruan Chen didn't let her in, but leaned against the door and asked.
“Dad has discussed it with the Xu family,” Ruan Yunhan said with genuine concern. “The Xu family has indeed taken a liking to you. They asked for your birth date and time to match you with that idiot, saying that your birth date and time can ward off evil spirits and maybe even help their young master’s brain recover. They want to finalize the matter between the two of you.”
"How old is the eldest young master of the Xu family?"
"...Seventeen."
Ruan Chen didn't believe a word about the Eight Characters (Ba Zi) system, but she was quite curious about why Ruan Yunhan was acting like a weasel paying New Year's greetings to a chicken, so she asked, "I've been back in Jingzhou for several years now, why are you suddenly thinking about matching Eight Characters?"
“The Xu family used to have a daughter who took care of this mentally challenged brother. Not long ago, the Xu family’s daughter had an accident, so…” Ruan Yunhan changed her tone to one that was more manipulative towards Ruan Chen, “You don’t want to take care of that idiot either, do you?”
Ruan Chen just listened to Ruan Yunhan's words casually.
She feigned a hint of panic while trying to maintain her composure, and asked hesitantly, "Then...do you have a way?"
"Help me arrange to meet Tao Ran."
Ruan Chen understood.
After all that buildup, it turns out she's taken a liking to a male bodhisattva.
No wonder Yu Wanqing came out to smooth things over today.
“I don’t know him well… never mind, I’ll ask him. If he’s willing, I’ll let you two meet.”
That evening, Ruan Chen took the initiative to ask Tao Ran to meet at Qingye Bar.
Before leaving, she made a point of loudly greeting Ye Huanhuan, saying that she was going to see a friend.
She didn't let the Ruan family's driver take her there by taxi. Not far along the road, she saw, as expected, the Porsche registered under Yu Wanqing's name following behind her.
She lowered her eyes and texted Tao Ran, "I suddenly don't feel well and don't want to play anymore. How about we go sit in a private room on the second floor?"
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