Trouble Has Struck

Both of them thought one of the household maids had come in to attend to them.

They had been so absorbed in their conversation, and Chen Mengyun rarely entered Chen Moqun's room without warning, so... things became awkward.

The moment Chen Moqun saw Chen Mengyun, he immediately pointed at Lu Chengwen and cursed, "Lu Chengwen! What kind of bullshit are you talking about? That's my sister—the sister I respect, admire, worship, and deeply love the most... my eldest sister!"

Lu Chengwen went crazy.

Why was she home? Hadn't they said she rarely came back?

How much of what they had just said had she heard? Looking at that expression, she had heard all of it, hadn't she?

Fuck! Wasn't he dead this time?

"Y-Yes, sorry. Maybe I... had too much to drink." Lu Chengwen was starting to panic.

"Sis, here's what happened. Cheng Wen today, he wasn't..." Chen Moqun stood up, trying to mediate.

"Get out!"

"Right away." Chen Moqun immediately tucked his tail between his legs and ran, without the slightest hesitation.

Watching that disloyal fat bastard disappear in a flash, Lu Chengwen could only face the furious Chen Mengyun himself.

"Sorry. I really did drink a little, so I got careless with my words. I apologize..."

Chen Mengyun looked at Lu Chengwen, her eyes filled with anger, humiliation, and sorrow.

Her voice trembled slightly. "Lu Chengwen, after we broke up, you went around telling people that I acted like a slut in bed. And now you're saying things like that in front of my younger brother. I really want to know—what did all those times we shared mean to you?"

Lu Chengwen wanted nothing more than to slap himself to death.

Men could be like that sometimes. They liked talking about girls with their closest buddies.

The closer the friends were, the fewer boundaries there were in what they said—which girl had big breasts, which girl had a perky butt...

That didn't mean their moral standards were low. Of course, Lu Chengwen and Chen Moqun were exceptions; their moral standards really had never been particularly high.

Still, that kind of joking conversation was common between men.

It was like a little seasoning in life. They were just having fun running their mouths, saying whatever came to mind.

But if women heard those words—especially the woman involved—the situation became completely different.

It was an insult, a slight, and an enormous show of disrespect toward women.

Especially for a relatively innocent girl like Chen Mengyun, it was even harder to accept her first boyfriend talking about her like that.

Seeing tears fall from Chen Mengyun's eyes, Lu Chengwen said guiltily, "It really was just a joke, and I didn't go around saying bad things about you."

"To you, I'm just a woman you once played with. Once I take off my clothes, I'm no different from any other woman—just one of your oversized toys, right?"

"I never even played with you!" Lu Chengwen said. "I really didn't, and I never said that either. Someone must be spreading rumors. You know what people like us are like—in school, gossip was everywhere. How much of it was ever true?"

"Was it fun, going around bragging that you slept with Chen Family's Eldest Daughter, Chen Mengyun? Did it make you feel proud? Did it give you face?"

"Stop it. Please, I was wrong."

Chen Mengyun took out her phone and dialed a number.

"You're calling the police?"

"Hello, Hu Shuhui? Didn't you say you wanted to treat me to dinner? I'm free today."

Lu Chengwen's eyes widened instantly.

Hu Shuhui!?

Grandma Bear! One of the Villains!

He pursued Chen Mengyun, drugged her during dinner, and when he was about to succeed, Long Aotian kicked him so hard he broke his manhood, and then...

Oh no!

He had triggered this plot early!

The key was that Long Aotian had taken leave today—he wasn't even at work, Eldest Daughter!

If she went to dinner with him, wasn't that like a little lamb walking straight into a wolf's den?

Lu Chengwen immediately said, "Mengyun, you can't associate with Hu Shuhui, much less have dinner with him."

"Why? Who are you to meddle in my business?"

"No, Hu Shuhui isn't a good person. He's up to no good!"

"Is there anyone in this world worse than you? Is there anyone more of a scumbag than you?"

Lu Chengwen was speechless.

"Anyway... even if you have to eat with him, can you schedule it for tomorrow? You can do whatever you want with him tomorrow. I won't interfere."

"I'll eat with whoever I want, whenever I want. Let me tell you, all these years, I've been waiting for you. I've been waiting!"

Chen Mengyun shouted, "I thought you would change. I thought you would grow up. I waited for the day you would truly settle down and remember all the little things from our childhood. But I never imagined that, in your heart, I was so frivolous, so cheap, so worthless!"

"Valuable, valuable—you're incredibly valuable, Mengyun. I was wrong! You can't have dinner with Hu Shuhui. He really isn't a good person!"

Chen Mengyun turned and walked away. Lu Chengwen grabbed her. "Mengyun, I'm begging you. Every mistake was mine. Give me one more chance!"

Chen Mengyun looked at Lu Chengwen with a cold laugh. "You said the same thing back then. How ridiculous. You actually thought you could keep fooling me with those words, and that I would keep believing you. Lu Chengwen, I'm no longer that little girl you could trick into circles with a few sweet words. Go find your Leng Qingqiu and keep wagging your tail behind her!"

Chen Mengyun strode outside, while Lu Chengwen chased after her to explain.

Chen Mengyun did not want to hear a single word. Her pace was swift.

Lu Chengwen panicked and grabbed her again. "Chen Mengyun! I won't let you go!"

By then, the two had reached the living room. Father Chen and Mother Chen were holding a fruit platter while watching television.

Chen Moqun was also in the living room, lying on the sofa and watching them nervously.

Lu Chengwen failed to notice that the setting had changed and said loudly, "I don't care about anything else, but you can't have dinner with Hu Shuhui—at least not today!"

"What gives you the right to control me?"

"Because I... because I'm a bastard! I'm not going to be reasonable today! So what?"

Father Chen chewed on something, picked up the remote, and muted the television. The family of three sat silently on the sofa and watched.

Chen Mengyun sneered. "Lu Chengwen, get this straight! The Chen Family isn't some family that will put up with all your nonsense for the sake of corporate interests. You'd better use your brain before speaking to me, Chen Mengyun!"

The two of them kept arguing nonstop.

Chen Mengyun's father leaned toward Chen Moqun and whispered, "What's going on?"

Chen Moqun hurriedly made up a lie. "A young couple's squabble. He wants to pursue my sister, but she's ignoring him and planning to have dinner with another man."

Father Chen nodded.

Mother Chen asked, "Who's Hu Shuhui?"

"The eldest son of the Hu family." Chen Moqun said, "We fought back in school."

Mother Chen looked utterly confused. "Hasn't Cheng Wen always been pursuing Leng Qingqiu? Aren't they getting engaged next month? Why is he coming after our Mengyun again?"

Chen Moqun made up an explanation. "Isn't it only at the very end that you realize who the love of your life truly is? Just watch. This is more exciting than a TV drama."

Chen Mengyun said, "I'm having dinner with Hu Shuhui today. If it goes well, I'll date him. If I, Chen Mengyun, want to, we can get a room tonight and get engaged next week! We can even hold our wedding before yours and Leng Qingqiu's!"

Lu Chengwen finally snapped. "Fine! You'd better keep your word. When Hu Shuhui tricks you out of your money and body, don't come crying to me!"

"Even if someone tricks me out of my money and body, it has nothing to do with you! I'd rather be deceived by Hu Shuhui than listen to another half-sentence from your mouth! The greatest regret of my life was ever knowing you!"

"Chen Mengyun, I'll say this one last time. What you do is your freedom. I don't care who you're with. I don't care at all!"

"Then why are you yelling at me?"

"Because Hu Shuhui is not an option!"

"Well, I happen to like him. What are you going to do about it?"

"Tomorrow! Tomorrow, you can get a room, get engaged, pick out a wedding dress—whatever you want. Can't you just stay home and behave today?"

"No! The moment you dumped me back then, you lost all right to say something like that to me!"

"You were the one who dumped me back then!" Lu Chengwen shouted.

"Why did I dump you? Do you even have the nerve to say it yourself?"

Lu Chengwen's mouth moved for a long while. "It was my fault back then, but now I have to make this clear to you. You cannot go to Hu Shuhui's dinner."

Lu Chengwen turned around and saw the three people on the sofa staring straight at him.

Lu Chengwen's mind instantly cooled down. He obediently bowed. "Hello, Uncle. Hello, Auntie."

Father Chen said, "Oh, Cheng Wen's here? Sit down and talk."

Mother Chen also said, "Cheng Wen, you haven't visited us in years! Sit down and have some fruit."

"Well, these past few years, it's just that... I felt a little embarrassed. I was immature back then and hurt the elders' feelings. I've always felt terribly guilty about it. Today, I wasn't in a great mood, so I wanted to chat with Moqun..."

Lu Chengwen's head was spinning. He had never expected Chen Mengyun's parents to be sitting right there while he argued with her, so he kept babbling, trying to ease the awkwardness.

Chen Moqun reminded him, "Brother, my sister's leaving."

Lu Chengwen turned around and looked. Sure enough, Chen Mengyun had already left.

Lu Chengwen hurriedly ran outside. "Goodbye, Uncle. Goodbye, Auntie."

Mother Chen craned her neck and called out, "Come visit when you have time!"

"Got it!"

Father Chen looked bewildered. "What was that?"

"Oh, let the young people handle their own affairs. At that age, boys and girls are always either falling in love or hating each other."

"But Lu Chengwen is about to get engaged!"

"Back when I was about to get engaged, didn't you sweep in and steal me away?"

Father Chen muttered unhappily, "He's about to get engaged, and he's still chasing my daughter..."

Mother Chen urged, "The TV, the TV. Turn the volume back on."

Lu Chengwen chased outside, but Chen Mengyun was already nowhere to be seen.

He left Zhao Gang behind and drove around looking for her himself, but Xue City was so huge. How could he possibly find her?

He could only call Leng Qingqiu in a frantic rush.

Leng Qingqiu was sitting alone at the head of her bed, hugging her knees, sad and miserable.

The situation had completely changed.

Her father had issued a final ultimatum. He was a man of his word, and he could remove her from her position as president at any time.

And Lu Chengwen, who had once been her devoted lapdog, had suddenly become cold and heartless. He looked at her as if she were a harbinger of disaster, wishing he could stay thirty feet away from her.

Was the whole world about to abandon me?

At that moment, Lu Chengwen called. When Leng Qingqiu saw his name on the screen, a blazing fire of hope suddenly ignited in her heart.

Even she was surprised by how quickly her mood had changed.

Just moments ago, she had been so negative and miserable.

Yet the instant she saw that call, she became happy. Holding onto a thread of hope, more than a hundred thoughts flashed through her mind at once, all racing forward together:

Why was he calling me? What did he want?

Had he changed his mind and decided to pursue me again? Hmph, I won't pay any attention to you!

What if he asks me out? Which outfit should I wear?

Wait, how... how should I talk to him?

Leng Qingqiu abruptly sat up, crossed her legs on the bed, fixed her hair and clothes, cleared her throat, then took a deep breath. She patted her chest and told herself to calm down.

Only then did she carefully press the answer button. Despite trying hard to remain composed, her voice still trembled slightly. "Hello? What is it?"

"Qingqiu, are your people still waiting there? Has Long Aotian gone home?"

Lu Chengwen sounded extremely anxious.

"They withdrew a long time ago."

"Send people out immediately. You have to find Long Aotian!"

"What do you need him for?" Leng Qingqiu's mood instantly plunged back into the abyss.

So he wasn't calling for me. He wasn't trying to pursue me either.

Lu Chengwen was frantic. "It's urgent, extremely urgent! I had a fight with Chen Mengyun, and in her anger, she went out drinking with Hu Shuhui. I'm very worried about her. We need to find Long Aotian now. Only Long Aotian can find her and bring her back to me..."

Leng Qingqiu exploded in rage. "Lu Chengwen! Go die! Go die!"

Then she hung up.