Sweet Temptation: After Rebirth, The Campus Heartthrob Can’t Hide His Feelings Anymore - Chapter 83

“Zhizhi!”

Old Master Lu, leaning on his cane, walked steadily toward Xu Zhizhi.

Xu Zhizhi stepped forward to support Old Master Lu and asked with concern, “Grandpa Lu, was the long flight tiring?”

Old Master Lu patted the back of Xu Zhizhi’s hand and laughed heartily. “Don’t worry, this old man is full of energy and has an appetite big enough to eat three bowls of rice.”

“Come, Zhizhi, tell Grandpa, have you been wronged lately? Grandpa here is super protective, you know,” Old Master Lu said to Xu Zhizhi with a beaming smile.

Xu Zhizhi shook her head and replied with a smile, “No.”

Her heart felt warm.

The feeling of being unconditionally protected was truly wonderful.

Then, Old Master Lu glanced at Sun Xiuya, who was sitting in a wheelchair.

Seeing the affectionate interaction between Xu Zhizhi and Old Master Lu, Sun Xiuya suppressed the coldness in her eyes and resumed the demeanor of a well-bred lady from Nancheng.

“Hello, Old Master Lu. It’s been a while,” Sun Xiuya said.

As the leading wealthy family in Nancheng, she had no intention of offending him.

The Lu and Sun families had long-standing business ties, and Sun Xiuya was willing to play her part in this charade.

However, Sun Xiuya never believed that Xu Zhizhi could truly rise from rags to riches.

“Well, if it isn’t the former top socialite of Nancheng?” Old Master Lu responded with a matching smile.

“You have a good memory, Old Master, to still remember someone as insignificant as me,” Sun Xiuya said gracefully and confidently, truly embodying the poise of a well-bred lady.

“How could you be insignificant? The Sun family back in the day was so glorious and illustrious,” Old Master Lu sighed. “Thinking back, time flies. All that glory has faded with the years, what a pity.”

His words carried a hidden meaning.

In the past, the Lu and Sun families were two prominent families advancing side by side.

Sun Xiuya, born into the top-tier Sun family, had a passion for dance since childhood. Once, at a high-society banquet, her dance captivated all of Nancheng, earning her the title of the city’s top socialite.

Unfortunately, the Sun family declined, while the Lu family stood firm.

The glory of those days had long since passed, and the once-celebrated top socialite had long fallen from grace.

Sun Xiuya lowered her gaze, her expression calm, and said softly, “Survival of the fittest, the strong prevail, and the weak perish. If you lose, you lose, there’s nothing to regret.”

Back then, the sudden death of the Sun family’s patriarch led to a power struggle among various factions. The Sun family was torn apart and fragmented, ultimately leading to its decline.

A once-great wealthy family had become nothing more than a lamentable chapter of history.

Old Master Lu had no interest in further conversation and pulled Xu Zhizhi aside.

Sun Xiuya had brought her maid, Aunt Zhang, along, but she had temporarily gone to retrieve their luggage after disembarking.

When Xu Zhizhi saw Aunt Zhang approaching with the luggage, she stopped paying attention to Sun Xiuya.

Lu Huaibei stayed by Old Master Lu’s side the entire time and casually asked, “Grandpa, what’s this about the top socialite? Something’s off, you seem quite interested in her.”

“Of course I’m interested,” Old Master Lu stroked his beard. “Your father once went on a blind date with her and almost entered into a business marriage.”

“Wow!” Lu Huaibei’s eyes lit up. “My dad has such a big scandal, and you’ve kept it hidden all this time? With this kind of dirt, I could extort a hundred million from him as hush money!”

Old Master Lu raised his hand and smacked the back of Lu Huaibei’s head. “You brat, so lacking in family affection! You deserve a beating!”

Xu Zhizhi asked curiously, “What happened after that?”

“That kid Lu Huainan absolutely refused, even went on a hunger strike, what could I do? I’m at my wit’s end too.” Old Master Lu spread his hands helplessly. “When I was young, I was quite traditional and believed matching social status was important. Who knew that kid would be as stubborn as a mule?”

“But!” Xu Zhizhi was confused again. “Aunt Zhou told me that Uncle Lu and she had an arranged marriage, they married first and fell in love later. It was a business alliance too. Uncle Lu has such strong principles, yet he ended up accepting the arrangement, didn’t he?”

Old Master Lu shook his head at Xu Zhizhi. “Our Zhizhi is still too naive.”

Xu Zhizhi: “Huh?”

“Back then, that brat Lu Huainan was actually love-struck at first sight with the young lady from the Zhou family. He had a crush on her for a while but pretended to be aloof and insisted he didn’t like her. He acted like he was forced into marrying her, half-reluctant and half-willing, but in his heart, he was over the moon.”

“Ah? Uncle Lu had a secret crush?” Xu Zhizhi was astonished.

With that fierce, intimidating face that even ghosts would flee from?

No way!

Uncle is such a pure romantic!

A true warrior of pure love!

Old Master Lu sighed with emotion. “Exactly. The night before the wedding, he paced back and forth in front of me, trying on over thirty sets of ceremonial robes. I accompanied him from morning till afternoon, and even then, he kept up his cold, aloof act, claiming he didn’t love her.”

Lu Huaibei, having stumbled upon a juicy piece of gossip, exclaimed, “Grandpa, did you seal your lips with glue? How could you keep such a big secret for so long!”

“I have to expose my dad’s misdeeds on the company’s internal network. Let his aloof persona crumble, ruin his reputation, and make it impossible for him to hold his head up.”

“You little rascal, seeking revenge, huh?” Old Master Lu glared at Lu Huaibei.

“A gentleman’s revenge knows no time limit. Just think about how much I suffered from my dad’s bullying when I was a kid. No way, I have to get back at him for this.” Lu Huaibei said earnestly.

Old Master Lu snorted. “You’re so petty.”

Lu Huaibei couldn’t be bothered to argue and sighed, “No wonder Zhou Xuci is such a lovesick fool at such a young age. Turns out he inherited it from my dad. Like father, like son, indeed.”

Mentioning Zhou Xuci brought a radiant smile to Xu Zhizhi’s eyes.

“Then how come you didn’t inherit it?” Old Master Lu asked.

Lu Huaibei, resilient as ever, replied, “Because I take after my mom, clear-headed and realistic.”

“You little rascal, you inherited his stubborn mouth.”

“Right, right, right.”

The back-and-forth banter between grandfather and grandson instantly lightened the atmosphere.

The three of them walked out of the airport.

Xu Zhizhi glanced back at Sun Xiuya, who was still sitting in the corner.

How dazzling must she have been back in the day, the dancer who captivated the entire southern city?

She wondered, aside from the car accident, what other devastating blows had Sun Xiuya endured to be driven to such a monstrous state.

As Xu Zhizhi looked at Sun Xiuya, their eyes met across the distance.

In that silent clash of gazes, Sun Xiuya’s held malice and indifference, while Xu Zhizhi’s held a trace of puzzled curiosity.

Why does she hate me so much?

Is it really just because of her manic disorder?

Xu Zhizhi couldn’t figure it out.

Only after Xu Zhizhi’s figure had disappeared did Sun Xiuya look up and ask Aunt Zhang, “Where is A-Yu? Didn’t he come to pick me up?”

Aunt Zhang stood still and explained, “The young master isn’t answering his phone. Perhaps… he’s too busy.”

A cold smile flickered across Sun Xiuya’s lips. “They all think they can fly away from my grasp. How laughable. They can forget about it.”

For a moment, she seemed a bit desolate. “I am his mother. How can he be so cold-hearted?”

Aunt Zhang gently placed her hand on Sun Xiuya’s shoulder, her eyes filled with compassion. “Miss, don’t be too upset. The doctor said you should avoid extreme emotions.”

The address “Miss” transported her back to her eighteen-year-old self, how dazzling she had been back then…

“Alan, I’m no longer a young lady,” Sun Xiuya lifted her head. “You’ve been with me for over twenty years. We’ve both grown old.”

Tears welled up in Aunt Zhang’s eyes as she whispered, “In my heart, you will always be my young lady.”

…