The Sickly Fake Daughter, But a Beloved Darling of All - Chapter 69

Xu Chengjin hadn’t thought that much about it, but she certainly didn’t want to get involved. She instinctively tried to hide, but before long, Wu Boran walked over with a dark expression: “What are you running for?”

“Whether you refuse or agree, my presence seems a bit disrespectful to those two girls.”

Xu Chengjin acted as if she hadn’t noticed Wu Boran’s gloomy face. She turned to look at Hui Lan: “This is the friend from our last drama rehearsal, Hui Lan.”

“Hello, my name is Wu Boran.”

Seeing that there was someone else present, Wu Boran could only suppress the emotions in her heart. She followed the two of them out somewhat reluctantly.

Hui Lan was very extroverted; she could chat with anyone: “The way you ran just now was so cool!”

“Thanks.” Wu Boran kept her hands in her pockets, acting cold and aloof, as if nothing could catch her eye.

Hui Lan curled her lip. She turned her attention back to Wu Boran: “Where are we going for lunch?”

Xu Chengjin mentioned the name of a restaurant and lowered her head to send a message: “I also invited Jin Xi, is that alright?”

She directed the question at Wu Boran, but Hui Lan didn’t notice the tension and immediately said, “No problem! I haven’t seen you all together in a long time.”

Wu Boran narrowed her eyes. She felt something was off about that statement: “I get the feeling you’re particularly looking forward to them being together.”

Hui Lan gave an ambiguous smile and let out a “He-he”: “Naturally, I have my reasons.”

“Tsk.” Wu Boran stood beside Xu Chengjin with her arms crossed, maintaining a cold, “do not approach” persona.

Xu Chengjin was slightly startled by Wu Boran’s behavior. She looked her up and down to make sure nothing was wrong before withdrawing her gaze and silently waiting for Jin Xi to arrive.

It didn’t take long for Jin Xi to arrive on a shared bicycle. Her forehead was covered in sweat, making it obvious she had rushed over. She parked the bike quickly, her tone apologetic: “Sorry for making you wait.”

“Were you in a hurry? You’re sweating so much.” Xu Chengjin always carried a small bag containing her medicine and daily necessities. She pulled out a tissue and handed it to Jin Xi: “Wipe your sweat.”

“Thank you.” Jin Xi smiled at Xu Chengjin. She completely ignored everyone else, her focus entirely on one person. “I didn’t expect Hui Lan to be here too.”

Hui Lan tilted her head: “Just here to snag a free meal today.”

Jin Xi curled her lips. She glanced at Wu Boran, and as soon as their eyes met, they both looked away, as if looking for a second longer would strike them blind.

Xu Chengjin and Hui Lan didn’t notice the subtle power struggle between the two. They talked as they walked and soon reached the restaurant. It was very crowded at this hour, but as soon as Xu Chengjin entered, she was greeted by specialized staff and escorted to a private room.

Hui Lan was a bit surprised: “Did you book in advance?”

“No.” Xu Chengjin shook her head and pulled out a chair to sit down. “This is a restaurant owned by the Xu family. Whenever we come to eat, we use this specific private room.”

She handed the menu to Hui Lan: “See what you want to eat and just order.”

Hui Lan let out a “Wow”: “That’s so cool.”

She ordered a few dishes she liked and passed the menu to the next person. By the time it had rotated through all four people, the ordering was complete.

“Please bring the pre-meal dessert first, thank you.” Xu Chengjin had a faint smile as she handed the menu back. “You can try the flavors; if anything isn’t good, just say so.”

Hui Lan was the first to show support. She sat next to Jin Xi, followed by Xu Chengjin and Wu Boran. Although they were seated some distance apart, it didn’t dampen her mood: “I’ve wanted to eat here before, but it’s too hard to get a reservation.”

Xu Chengjin snapped her fingers and arched an eyebrow: “Well, you get to eat it today.”

She was quite satisfied with the food here; otherwise, business wouldn’t be so booming.

Jin Xi and Wu Boran sat to the side without saying much, silently listening to the other two converse.

“By the way, Jin Xi, is your competition this afternoon?” Hui Lan asked casually while eating pudding. “What event are you in?”

“High jump.”

Jin Xi didn’t have a part-time job this afternoon; she had specifically cleared her schedule. She was looking forward to this sports meet. Ever since she had questioned Xu Chengjin last time, she had felt a lingering discomfort in her heart. But after thinking it over, she decided to take things as they came—at the very least, she wanted Xu Chengjin to have a place for her in her heart and to pay attention to her.

Xu Chengjin didn’t eat much. She held her teacup and took a sip: “Everything should be done with safety as the priority; everything else comes second.”

She could see Jin Xi’s seriousness, but she was afraid the other girl might hurt herself. After some thought, she decided to offer the reminder.

Jin Xi nodded: “I understand.”

Hui Lan watched the interaction between the two, her eyes narrowing with interest, but when she made eye contact with Wu Boran, she immediately pulled back her smile… Seriously, why was Wu Boran being so fierce?

It was as if she had committed some kind of crime.

“Chengjin, I heard the Wu family has fallen.” Hui Lan’s family was reasonably well-off, and she had been hearing her parents talk about it for the past couple of days, so she had made a mental note of it. “Do you know about this?”

“Which Wu?”

Xu Chengjin was picking up food and didn’t seem to care much about the matter: “The Wu family from the south side of the city?”

Hui Lan nodded, looking at Xu Chengjin with great interest: “I heard someone went after them. Their whole family can’t show their faces in this city anymore. They only left behind a daughter who’s still in school, and apparently, they owe a lot of debt. My mom said they offended someone they shouldn’t have.”

Xu Chengjin didn’t even raise her eyelids. She lowered her head and smiled slightly, while simultaneously hearing Jin Xi mutter under her breath: “They deserved it.”

Ha.

They certainly did deserve it. This kind of price was also…

Driven out?

Xu Chengjin suddenly raised her head and asked with uncertainty: “They were driven out of the city?”

Hui Lan nodded: “Yeah, and they owe a lot of money. It must have been some big shot who stepped in.”

A big shot… The only person who could crush the Wu family in such a short time was Si Yu. She didn’t expect that a casual remark she made that day would be remembered by Si Yu, much less that she would act on it.

Before Xu Chengjin could think further, she heard Hui Lan say: “Speaking of big shots, you guys should know our senior, Si Yu, right?”

Wu Boran let out an “Mm” and looked impatient: “What about her?”

“Patience, patience.” Hui Lan soothed Wu Boran’s mood. She had a mischievous grin and spoke mysteriously: “I heard her ex-girlfriend has returned to the country. Apparently, they were together for a long time, but the Si family didn’t approve at the time, so they broke up and she went abroad.”

“That girl just came back a few days ago, and Si Yu went to pick her up personally. That’s what I heard from my parents, so it’s probably true.”

Hui Lan was just sharing gossip, but she didn’t expect Xu Chengjin to suddenly fall silent. Her expression also seemed off: “What’s wrong?”

Xu Chengjin suddenly snapped back to reality. She tightened her grip on her chopsticks and lowered her head slightly, saying softly: “It’s nothing.”

“I was just wondering who Si Yu would fall in love with—”