Shi Wan wrapped her arms around Lu Jingyan's neck and pondered for a moment, "Judging from what you've said, Miss Zhou seems to be a very thoughtful person. Why did she compromise?"
"Perhaps it's to repay the Zhou family for raising me, or perhaps it's because of my brother," Ji Meng said, puzzled.
"Perhaps. It turns out that the power of the white moonlight is so great." Shi Wan looked at Lu Jingyan with a half-smile.
Lu Jingyan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine under Shi Wan's meaningful gaze, alarm bells rang in his mind, and he was on high alert. "Wanwan, please rest assured, Miss Shi Wan is both my white moonlight and my cinnabar mole. Before you, I was innocent, and now I belong to you alone."
"Oh? Then why do you know so much?" Shi Wan whispered in Lu Jingyan's ear, and Lu Jingyan was slightly taken aback by Shi Wan's sudden question.
Lu Jingyan's ears turned red, a rare sight. Shi Wan winked playfully. She had only meant to tease him, but she hadn't expected that even someone as shameless as him would blush.
Shi Wan chuckled softly. Lu Jingyan realized what was happening and pinched Shi Wan's waist, not with real force, but as if he were tickling her.
Lu Jingyan looked at the mischievous little girl in his arms, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. "If you want, I can learn even more. Your happiness is my happiness..."
"You scoundrel! You womanizer!" Shi Wan glared at Lu Jingyan and ignored him.
"Mengmeng, Ningxuan, let's play cards." Shi Wan pulled Ji Meng and moved her seat next to Chu Ningxuan, who was engrossed in drinking.
Having been thoroughly fed dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection), Chu Ningxuan, upon hearing Xiao Wanwan call him, naturally and diligently cleaned the table and had someone set out the fruit and snacks.
Zhao Zhilin and Lu Jingyan exchanged a glance, and without saying a word, they moved to their positions next to the girl, ostensibly to provide off-site guidance.
After several rounds of card games, Chu Ningxuan was the one who suffered the most. He was attacked by the two off-site coaches, and when he lost, he had to drink alone, while when he won, the two of them took turns drinking.
After all the calculations, he's the one who's losing out the most, since he doesn't have a girlfriend.
...
Downstairs in a luxury apartment building in Kyoto.
A tall, slender figure stood beside the black Bugatti, dressed in a white shirt and black pants. The top two buttons of his shirt were slightly undone, and his gold-rimmed glasses and the half-smoked cigarette between his fingers gave Ji Chu a refined yet roguish air.
This scene drew frequent glances from passersby, and several young women were attracted by his handsome appearance, but due to his aloof and distant demeanor, they dared not approach him to chat.
Ji Chu ignored the behavior of passersby and just stared intently at the high-rise apartment building in front of him.
This is Zhou Yun's only residence in Kyoto besides the Zhou family villa.
He remembered that she was as happy as a child, driving two hours to the research lab just to show him the keys to her new apartment.
She excitedly told him how she earned her first pot of gold, and how she now had a real home in Kyoto, where land is incredibly expensive.
Then, he mysteriously pulled out a spare key and gave it to him.
He, however, has never been here since she bought the apartment.
After they confirmed their relationship, they would either go to his suite at a hotel owned by the Ji family or to his villa at Qingshan Yazhu.
Later, Zhou Yun assumed he didn't like this kind of simple apartment, so she never mentioned going back to her apartment when they were together.
Even after Zhou Jin returned to China and the Zhou family severed ties with her, and she moved out of the Zhou family home and back to her apartment, Ji Chu never came here again.
I remember their last date was at Qingshan Yazhu. He was writing a medical report, and Zhou Yun sat quietly beside him.
For some reason, she suddenly said that no one had ever truly cared for or loved her for so many years, until she met him.
At that time, I was focused on the report and didn't even look up. I just said lightly, "Uncle Zhou and Aunt Zhou care about you a lot. Don't act like a child with them."
At that moment, Zhou Yun whispered, "I also want to act like a child, but..." He didn't listen carefully, but he sensed a fleeting hint of grievance in her voice.
Two days later, the Zhou family revealed that they only had one daughter who was recuperating abroad and had now returned to China to inherit the family business, while Zhou Yun was just an adopted daughter from an orphanage.
He visited Zhou Jin in the hospital, where she was lying in bed and had become increasingly frail due to long-term suffering from illness.
Standing before the hospital bed, he recalled the smiling figure under the tree, now transformed into this state, and felt nothing but heartache and fury.
What angered him was that the Zhou family concealed Zhou Jin's existence for the sake of the group's interests, and what angered him was that Zhou Yun deceived him into believing that the girl standing under the tree was herself.
Countless images of girls who used to stand under the locust tree years ago flashed through his mind. That person wasn't Zhou Yun; she had lied to him.
He looked at the flashing lights of the high-rise apartment building, his dark eyes unfathomable.
If it weren't for her, Xiao Jin wouldn't have had to endure the torment of illness alone abroad for so many years.
Given his status in the international medical community, he could have saved Xiao Jin from so many years of suffering, but the Zhou family and Zhou Yun kept it a secret from him.
The contradictions kept entangled in my thoughts...
Ji Chu's expression turned serious, but he still took out his phone.
The phone rang dozens of times, but no one answered. Ji Chu's brows furrowed even more.
He remembered her saying that the apartment was on the twentieth floor.
Ji Chu stubbed out his cigarette, strode into the elevator, and pressed the button for the 20th floor.
Zhou Yun, leaning back on the sofa, glanced at the phone screen that had just been turned off, and stroked her pale cheek with her slender hand.
Only one table lamp was on in the living room, and the dim light just illuminated Zhou Yun's striking and delicate features.
Upon closer inspection, her face, though delicate and beautiful without makeup, appeared sickly and pale.
Zhou Yun's slender fingertips caressed a framed painting. In the center of the painting, a girl stood under a banyan tree, carefully touching the trunk, while a boy stood not far away, gazing at the girl beneath the tree. In the most inconspicuous spot in the lower left corner of the painting, a girl with rosy cheeks peeked out from behind a wall, looking in the direction of the boy.
Her thoughts drifted back to the first time she met Ji Chu at the orphanage…
The phone screen on the coffee table lit up again, interrupting her thoughts. This time, she picked up the phone, glanced at it, and answered the call.
Ji Chu's hoarse, deep voice came from the other end of the microphone, "Open the door."
Zhou Yun narrowed her eyes and looked towards the entrance hall with a puzzled expression.
After pausing for a few seconds, she turned her gaze away from the quiet entryway, knowing that Ji Chu couldn't possibly come to her apartment.
Zhou Yun frowned slightly but didn't speak. Due to the discomfort caused by the postoperative wound, she could only lie in the corner of the sofa to relieve some of the pain.
"Open the door." Seeing that Zhou Yun hadn't spoken for a while, Ji Chu's tone became even more forceful.
Despite the psychological and physical pain, Zhou Yun said with a hint of determination, "Mr. Ji, I don't owe you anything anymore."
Hearing the heavy breathing on the other end of the phone, Zhou Yun ignored it. "Don't come again. My little place can't accommodate you. Besides... you don't want Zhou Jin to misunderstand our relationship, do you?"
“Zhou Yun, if you don’t open the door within five minutes, I’ll knock on every door.”
Zhou Yun frowned. It was one o'clock in the morning, and he had forced her to open this door today.
With her beautiful fox-like eyes slightly narrowed, she stood up, smoothed out the wrinkled hem of her clothes, and calmly walked towards the entrance.
As soon as the door opened, a dignified and upright figure leaned against the door frame. In contrast to his usual gentle and refined demeanor, he exuded a sense of decadence and roguishness.
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