After Flirting with the Wrong Stand-in, I Overturned (GL) - Chapter 48

Love?

Ren Xuan’s eyes fluttered incessantly. The girl was nestled in her arms, so Ren Xuan couldn’t see her expression, but she could imagine every nuance of her state at this moment.

As if struck by something violent, Ren Xuan’s heart remained turbulent for a long time. She looked toward Lin Shuyan, slowly raised her hand, and stroked her soft hair.

“I love you too,” Ren Xuan heard herself say.

“I know.” Overjoyed, Lin Shuyan snuggled even deeper into the person holding her. Soft and warm—it felt as if only here could her heart find peace.

“A-Xuan,” Lin Shuyan called out sweetly, blinking her eyes. Suddenly, she felt drowsy. Ren Xuan heard the fatigue in her voice. “Go to sleep.”

“Mhm,” Lin Shuyan murmured. “A-Xuan, you sleep too.”

After a few minutes, Ren Xuan heard steady breathing. Lin Shuyan had fallen asleep. After a hectic day and a long evening at the dinner party, Ren Xuan should have been tired too.

Her body was exhausted, but her mind had no intention of drifting off. Ren Xuan’s eyes remained wide open. After a long time, she pressed a gentle kiss onto the forehead of the girl in her arms. “Lin Shuyan, goodnight.”

The next morning, Lin Shuyan was startled awake by the sunlight filtering through the curtains. She looked around in a daze, then sat up abruptly, realizing she wasn’t in her usual room. A flood of memories rushed into her mind. Shuyan hugged the quilt shyly. Where did she go?

Did A-Xuan go to work?

Shuyan rested her chin on her small fists, a faint smile blooming slowly like a flower. She had shared a bed with A-Xuan; she had spent the night in A-Xuan’s arms…

“Sister Yan!” A crisp child’s voice pulled Shuyan back from her reverie. It was coming from next door—Ren Ke. Xiao Ke was looking for her. Shuyan’s first instinct was to get dressed quickly. There was a clothing rack not far from the bed with clothes on it.

She reached out to take them; sure enough, they were her size. Prepared by A-Xuan in advance. Shuyan didn’t have time to dwell on it; she dressed hurriedly. Just as she was about to open the door, Uncle Wang hurried up.

“Young Miss,” the butler stopped her with a smile. “Miss Lin is still resting.”

“But Sister Yan isn’t in her room!” Ren Ke said what she saw, then suddenly pointed toward Ren Xuan’s room. “I know! Is Sister Yan in Sister’s room?”

“I know that couples are supposed to sleep together.”

“Young Miss,” the butler hoped for progress between the Eldest Miss and Miss Lin, but he didn’t want the little girl to be this precocious. “We don’t need to worry about adult matters, okay?”

“Your classmates are waiting; we can’t be late.” Uncle Wang talked her away in a few sentences. Once the hallway was clear, Lin Shuyan tiptoed out of the room.

“Sister Yan!” As soon as she got downstairs, she was caught in a hug. “Were you just in Sister’s room?”

“No.”

Ren Ke whimpered and grumbled, clearly not believing her. “Sister Yan must have seen me. Sister Yan is ignoring me.”

“I was in the inner room and didn’t hear you.” Shuyan gave a sheepish smile, trying to smooth things over. Luckily, time was short and Ren Ke had to leave. Once she was gone, Shuyan let out a breath of relief.

Children shouldn’t know too much about these things, Shuyan thought, patting her chest. After eating a carefully prepared breakfast, Shuyan helped the housekeepers tend the garden and then went to the back mountain to ride for a while. When she checked the time again, she estimated Ren Xuan should be back and headed from the backyard to the living room. Butler Wang said somewhat apologetically, “Miss Lin, the Eldest Miss said something came up today and she can’t make it back for now.”

A-Xuan isn’t coming back? Shuyan felt a sudden pang of disappointment.

“The Eldest Miss will definitely rush back the moment she’s done. She even specifically told us to prepare the dishes Miss Lin likes for lunch…”

“Uncle Wang, I know.” Shuyan smiled. Of course she knew how A-Xuan felt about her. She was just busy with the company, wasn’t she? She would wait for A-Xuan tonight.

After finishing a quiet dinner alone, her phone went ding. It was indeed A-Xuan. Shuyan replied quickly: “A-Xuan, I’ve finished lunch. No matter how busy you are at the office, you must eat a proper lunch too.”

“I will.” Ren Xuan’s hand paused after sending the message. After a thought, she added: “If you feel bored, you can go out. Just tell Uncle Wang where you want to go.”

“Okay.” Shuyan put down her phone. After a short afternoon nap, she read for a while. A-Xuan had said she could read any of the books here. A-Xuan had a massive study, and Shuyan could see all kinds of titles.

So A-Xuan’s interests are so broad. Shuyan’s fingers brushed slowly across the spines. Has A-Xuan read all of these? She began to flip through them with interest.

Shuyan hadn’t read many books. Aside from textbooks, the orphanage received many donations, but most were repetitive—classics or essay collections.

Seeing so many books now, Shuyan couldn’t help but browse. “Romeo and Juliet,” she read softly. She had heard of this book and carefully pulled it from the shelf. Upon opening it, she felt a wave of disappointment.

It was in English.

Shuyan hadn’t gone to university. Although her English grades in school were decent, she had forgotten almost everything over the years. She couldn’t understand it at all. As she idly flipped through the pages, a photograph fell out.

It was A-Xuan.

In front of a magnificent building, A-Xuan’s expression was calm. This must be a building in some foreign country. Was A-Xuan traveling there? But she didn’t seem happy at all; perhaps she was just walking around.

Shuyan was happy to have found another photo of A-Xuan’s past. She had seen A-Xuan’s albums—there were only a few photos. Compared to the dozens of photo books Ren Ke had, A-Xuan’s photos were pitifully few.

She heard that A-Xuan had hidden away her childhood photos. Shuyan knew why—to avoid being hurt by the memories. A-Xuan’s parents had passed away, and most childhood photos would have been taken with them. Seeing them would surely remind her of her parents.

We can take many photos together in the future, Shuyan thought. She took a photo of the background in the picture. It was the National Gallery in London. Shuyan made a mental note of the place and put the book back.

A sudden impulse surged in her mind: she wanted to learn English. The gap between her and A-Xuan was too large. A-Xuan knew everything, while she knew nothing. Looking dejectedly at the rows of English books, she thought… If A-Xuan and I talk about these things one day… I won’t let her think I’m uncultured.

Action followed thought. Shuyan immediately started downloading English learning materials on the computer. When Ren Xuan returned home and saw the pile of English books, she was naturally taken aback.

“Why the sudden interest in learning this?” Ren Xuan asked curiously.

“Just…” Shuyan obviously couldn’t state her real reason. “I just felt like learning.”

“A-Xuan,” Shuyan thought of a brilliant idea, “why don’t you teach me?”

“I teach you?” Ren Xuan looked at her in surprise.

“Is that not allowed?” Shuyan tilted her head.

“It’s allowed.” Ren Xuan’s English was naturally excellent. The original Ren Xuan had passed the IELTS exam. Although not exceptionally brilliant, basic conversation was no problem. She didn’t need to learn that much anyway; as a CEO, if there were foreign trade cooperations, she had translators by her side.

As for Ren Xuan herself, besides her mother tongue, she had learned several languages and could communicate fluently in them. As for exams, she wasn’t quite sure.

“A-Xuan can teach me in her spare time, okay?” Even if Ren Xuan had planned to start today, Shuyan wouldn’t have agreed—she wanted her to rest.

“Alright,” Ren Xuan laughed. “My girlfriend is so thoughtful.” Shuyan smiled, biting her lip. “A-Xuan, do you want to take a shower first?”

By the time Ren Xuan emerged from the bathroom, Lin Shuyan was already waiting for her obediently on the bed. Before Ren Xuan could say anything, Shuyan clung to her. Without needing to say another word, their life as a cohabiting couple began.

Unfortunately, A-Xuan was far too busy. Shuyan’s head drooped. She had spent over an hour memorizing English in the morning and was now lazily dazing off.

Being a CEO was so busy. Ever since that meeting with Miss Ning and the others, A-Xuan had been busy every day. Leaving early and returning late; aside from when they were sleeping, Shuyan only saw Ren Xuan through voice messages and phone calls.

“If you’re restless, go out for a stroll,” Ren Xuan messaged again. Shuyan pondered for a moment. Although Yecheng was the city she grew up in, she didn’t have many friends.

Perhaps she could ask Rong Yu. Shuyan had seen Rong Yu’s schedule; aside from filming two commercials, Rong Yu was free this month.

When Shuyan stated her intention, Rong Yu blurted out, “I’m sorry, I have plans this weekend.”

I see. Shuyan said with a smile, “You go ahead with your business, see you on set.” The second season was due to start filming in a week, and the first season would air in three days. It was natural for Rong Yu to be busy. Shuyan tapped her own head, thinking she wasn’t thinking clearly to disturb someone at a time like this. Speaking of which, she would be joining a crew again soon, yet A-Xuan seemed to be getting busier and busier.

After hanging up the phone, Rong Yu stared worriedly at the windowsill. This scene was caught by Ning Yinman. “What are you thinking about?”

Rong Yu’s hands were ice cold as she shook her head. She didn’t dare see Lin Shuyan, because the moment they met, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from telling the truth.

Should a person accept the cruel truth or live in a happy, fake lie? This was a very difficult riddle to solve. Rong Yu was cowardly; she didn’t dare shatter this beautiful dream. It would be too cruel to Lin Shuyan.

“Uncle Wang,” Shuyan, having nothing to do, walked through all the rooms in the villa. Nothing else was special, except for the small attic near the top floor that was always locked. Finally, she couldn’t help asking, “What is this room used for?”

“This room?” Mentioning this memory made Butler Wang pause. “I remember now. It was around the New Year. The Eldest Miss suddenly asked me to tidy up this room, and then…”

“Yes, the Eldest Miss seemed to take quite a few things into this room. I’m not sure exactly what they were.”

Shuyan cross-referenced the dates mentioned by the butler and sighed inwardly. What a coincidence. It was exactly around the time she and A-Xuan met.

“The departure of Mr. and Mrs. Ren…” Butler Wang sighed. “It might be things belonging to the Master and Madam. The Eldest Miss never lets us touch their room.”

The Master and Madam’s room was in the opposite villa. “Ever since they passed away, the Eldest Miss and the Young Miss moved to this building. Other people in the family rarely mention it.”