Chapter 29

Out of every ten sentences, Xiao Hu only managed to get a response for one or two, but she didn’t seem to feel slighted. She talked from the moment they got into the car until they got out. By the time they were dragging their suitcases toward the elevator, she had already progressed to asking about Hua Luoyue’s major.

“I heard you’re still a student? Only a sophomore? What are you studying? That must be a niche language; that’s really impressive—are you considering going abroad? But I guess you don’t have to; President Yu is so busy in the country, she definitely wouldn’t want you to leave…”

“As long as your grades are excellent, you’ll have a great future here in China. Besides, with President Yu around, she can definitely arrange things for you…”

Hua Luoyue basically had no room to interject, mostly because she didn’t know how to respond. Xiao Hu seemed warm enough; she had a round face with a bit of baby fat and a cute smile, and her demeanor carried a child-like innocence. At first glance, it was hard to dislike her; at most, one would just find her overly extroverted and lively.

However, Hua Luoyue could sense the “census-taking” nature of the questions hidden behind that warmth. She was a solitary poor student with a background as clear as a blank sheet of paper; anyone who cared to look could find out everything.

What remained were things related to Yu Zhezhi.

Fortunate or not, Hua Luoyue truly knew nothing about Yu Zhezhi’s affairs. She didn’t even have a clear grasp of the company’s general situation, only forming a vague concept when she happened to see a certain brand of beverage in the supermarket—that seemed to be a sub-brand under the Yu family, as she’d heard Assistant Li mention it once while buying daily necessities.

Beyond that, she knew nothing, so Xiao Hu naturally couldn’t pry anything out of her. Fortunately, once they boarded the plane, Hua Luoyue finally found some peace by using sleep as an excuse.

The sky had long since turned dark outside. It was nearly midnight by the time they reached City A. Hua Luoyue had actually fallen asleep for a while, only to be jolted awake by a sudden patch of turbulence.

For a split second, she felt as if she were still in her past life, with the voices of her colleagues gossiping about novels still echoing in her ears. The image of the “vicious cannon fodder” in that story—a character with a rather weak presence—faded even further, while “Yu Zhezhi’s” tenderness and devotion to the female lead became increasingly vivid.

President Yu, described by many as “unscrupulous for the sake of profit,” would skip meetings and cancel collaborations for the female lead’s sake, and in the end, would even give up her life to save her. It was hard to say if that was plot-mandated “stupidity” [stolen content]or just being “love-brained,” because from start to finish, one premise remained crystal clear—

To “Yu Zhezhi,” profit was everything. And the female lead sat higher than any profit.

Hua Luoyue felt a wave of nausea from the dizziness and let out a dry retch. Xiao Hu’s worried voice came from beside her: “Are you okay?”

The ringing in her ears pushed all external sounds far away. It took a moment for Hua Luoyue to hear the question and be pulled back to reality. She turned her head, offered Xiao Hu a small smile, and said, “I’m fine…”

However, her pale face and weak voice didn’t look like “fine” at all.

Hua Luoyue knew it was because of that dream where reality and fiction blurred. The moment she opened her eyes and turned her head, she thought the person sitting next to her was her colleague from her previous life and almost called out her name. Thankfully, she didn’t.

Xiao Hu assumed she was airsick and asked the flight attendant for water. While using a magazine to fan her, she couldn’t stop her characteristic chattering.

“Oh dear, I didn’t expect you to get airsick—are you alright? Here, have some water and rest. We’ll be there soon. If President Yu sees this and thinks I bullied you, I really don’t want to see her lose her temper with me…”

Hua Luoyue gave a weak smile, said nothing, and turned to look out the window. Under the pitch-black night sky, the bright lights of the city were already visible. As one of the most prosperous metropolises in the country, City A was always brightly lit at night.

It was bustling in exactly the same way as the place where she lived in her past life, yet different in every detail. There was a map of City A right next to her seat; Hua Luoyue scanned it, but she didn’t see a single familiar place name.

She felt a pang of disappointment deep down, but she didn’t show it.

“Is this your first time in City A?” Xiao Hu asked from the side.

“Mhm…” Hua Luoyue nodded.

“Then you must have some fun here. There are so many great places in City A. If you don’t have other plans, I can take you around.” Xiao Hu said enthusiastically, “My grandparents are from City A; I lived here for several years as a child, so I’m familiar with most places.”

“Maybe another time,” Hua Luoyue said perfunctorily. “Thank you…”

Seeing that she wasn’t in high spirits, Xiao Hu assumed she was just still feeling unwell and didn’t think much of it. “Well, get some good rest first. We can talk after you’ve recovered. I’m staying here until after New Year’s Day, so just call me if you want to go out.”

As they chatted idly, the plane gradually descended. The announcement that they had reached their destination finally sounded. Hua Luoyue followed Xiao Hu off the plane and turned on her phone.

As soon as it powered up, three missed calls popped up. All were from Yu Zhezhi.

Assistant Li had only sent a few messages, followed by scattered messages from some classmates at school. The most active was Cai Xinyue, who had started with well-wishes but eventually moved on to sharing photos of a makeshift class party. Half the class had gathered for hotpot at two tables; someone had gotten drunk and almost jumped on a table to dance before being pulled down.

Hua Luoyue scrolled through a couple of photos and couldn’t help but smile. She first sent a message to Cai Xinyue to let her know she had arrived. Right after that was Assistant Li’s message. The earlier ones, which she had seen, told Hua Luoyue to call her upon landing so she could arrange a pickup, but the latest one had been changed to “call Yu Zhezhi.”

As Hua Luoyue was scrolling through the messages, Xiao Hu bumped her shoulder. She looked up and saw Xiao Hu’s face full of excitement, though she was trying to act mysterious. “Guess who’s here?”

Hua Luoyue casually said she didn’t know. Xiao Hu shook her phone and said excitedly, “President Yu! Gate 3!”

Yu Zhezhi couldn’t get through to Hua Luoyue and was afraid she wouldn’t see the messages, so she had gotten Xiao Hu’s number from Assistant Li and sent her a separate text. Xiao Hu checked the time and marveled, “It’s almost 11:30 PM. It takes over an hour to get here from the office. President Yu really is ‘true love’ for you; she couldn’t bear to miss even this little bit of time.”

When they reached the exit, Xiao Hu voluntarily shut her mouth. Yu Zhezhi was actually standing there waiting. Xiao Hu saw her and instinctively pinched her own cheek, letting out an “Ow!” before she was certain she wasn’t dreaming. Then, she looked at Hua Luoyue with a teasing glint in her eyes.

Hua Luoyue was a bit surprised, but then again, not entirely. Before she came to City A, Yu Zhezhi had told her during their last meeting that she needed to perform well at this wedding banquet, as it concerned her future treatment. If she truly couldn’t act, then for the time being, she should just pretend it was real—at least for these two days of her first visit to City A.

What should a couple in a passionate relationship be like? Meeting at the airport should be one of the basic requirements.

Hua Luoyue walked toward the exit with the flow of the crowd. She spotted Yu Zhezhi immediately, and the other woman looked over at the same time. Even across the sea of people, they didn’t break eye contact.

When she was almost close enough, Yu Zhezhi stepped forward quickly and naturally opened her arms, giving Hua Luoyue a hug. It was as if they were truly a couple reunited after a long separation.

Hua Luoyue didn’t struggle. Looking at the white wall opposite them, she blinked, counting in her head how long she had to hold on, while whispering into Yu Zhezhi’s ear:

“I’m going to have to charge extra for this, President Yu.”