Chapter 32

After the two of them talked in the canteen, Xue Lan and Xu Anze seemed to be showing signs of making up. They started eating together and occasionally went on dates. But she came back to the dorm earlier and earlier, and she didn't seem as happy as before.

Over the past few days, Wei Xue had forbidden them from mentioning Xu Anze in front of Xue Lan. When Qian Xiaomeng asked why, Wei Xue said mysteriously, "If you keep telling Lanlan that Xu Anze is no good, she'll just rebel against you. After all, he really was pretty good to her before. Anyway, we've already said everything that needed to be said. We just need to give her a little nudge at the right time."

When she finished, she looked at Liu Mumu.

Liu Mumu nodded in agreement. "That's usually how a master handles things."

Chasing after someone and spoon-feeding them advice—how could that possibly show the bearing of a master?

The Debate Competition champion had her own way of doing things, too. Champions like them always zeroed in on the key point and struck once, without wasting their breath.

Looking at her two inscrutable friends, Qian Xiaomeng fell into thought. Should she learn some kind of amazing professional skill, too? She couldn't help feeling she was holding them back.

On Friday, they only had classes in the morning. As soon as the bell rang, everyone scattered in every direction like startled birds.

Room 413's regular activity: eating.

Even if the sky fell, it couldn't interfere with their stomachs doing their job.

At the Second Canteen on Friday, there was no stinky-sock-smelling fish. The chef had returned to his usual standard, which was a great relief.

Xue Lan ate, looking a little distracted.

Tomorrow was her birthday. Mumu had said she would make a decision on her birthday, but... she still hadn't made up her mind.

"Why is she coming over?" Qian Xiaomeng suddenly whispered.

Xue Lan looked up and saw Zhuo Ran walking toward them.

Although barely over a month had passed since they started their freshman year, plenty of people already knew Zhuo Ran. In the canteen, upperclassmen as well as students in their year greeted her.

Zhuo Ran smiled and responded to them all, polite and courteous.

"She's like some demon wearing a human skin. Any monster can pretend to be human these days." Seeing Zhuo Ran looking so pleased with herself reminded Qian Xiaomeng of what had happened at the hospital. Her anger flared.

Wei Xue lightly tapped her arm. "Be polite. What did demons and monsters ever do to you?"

Resting her chin on one hand, Liu Mumu listened to the two of them complain as her gaze followed Zhuo Ran on her way over.

"Can I help you?" Xue Lan only looked at Zhuo Ran once she had reached their table.

Zhuo Ran smiled. "Xu Anze told me that tomorrow's your birthday?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?" Hearing Xu Anze's name from her made Xue Lan feel very uncomfortable.

Zhuo Ran seemed not to notice Xue Lan's quiet dislike of her at all. She continued, "What a coincidence. Tomorrow's my birthday, too. I'm holding a birthday party at the Moonlight Hotel, and I hope you can come."

"I might have something on tomorrow..." Xue Lan was a gentle girl. Even when she turned someone down, she did it very tactfully.

But before she could finish, Zhuo Ran interrupted her.

"Xu Anze will be there tomorrow, too. I know you might have gotten the wrong idea about my relationship with him. If you're willing to listen, I can explain."

"No need. He's already explained."

"All right. I really don't want any misunderstandings between us. I'm also sincerely inviting you to celebrate my birthday with me."

"If I have time." Xue Lan answered perfunctorily.

Zhuo Ran was about to leave, but then she noticed the other three watching her. She smiled at them, too. "You're all welcome to come to my birthday party."

Only Liu Mumu replied with a beaming smile. "We will."

"You're actually planning to go?" Qian Xiaomeng asked Liu Mumu after Zhuo Ran had left.

"I was just saying it. It's not like my nose will grow if I lie. Let's see what Lanlan does. If she goes, of course we'll go with her."

Xue Lan shook her head. "I'm not going."

"Exactly. Tomorrow's Lanlan's birthday, too. Why should she go to Zhuo Ran's birthday party? It's obvious that girl has bad intentions," Qian Xiaomeng said.

Wei Xue said meaningfully, "You either give in zero times or countless times. Lanlan, think carefully."

Xue Lan looked confused. She didn't know what Wei Xue meant.

Wei Xue smiled without explaining. Zhuo Ran had actually said Xu Anze would be there, too.

What was Xu Anze planning to do next?

Would he stay and celebrate his girlfriend's birthday with her, or go to his childhood friend's birthday party? The choice might not mean anything decisive, but it would be enough to make a lot of things clear.

On Saturday, Liu Mumu got up early to pick up the birthday cake the three of them had ordered for Xue Lan the day before.

On her way back, her phone rang.

She took it out and saw the name Yan Xiu flashing on the screen.

Liu Mumu's first thought was: Did he call the wrong number?

She stared at the screen for a while before answering.

"Hello, is this Yan Xiu?"

"It's me." The man's voice was as deep and pleasant as ever.

Hearing his reply, Liu Mumu immediately smiled, her eyes curving. "Consultant Yan, why are you calling me? No need to answer. I know you must miss me."

She asked and answered her own question in one smooth breath.

Yan Xiu said, "...Fang Chuan wants to treat you to a meal."

Liu Mumu didn't want a meal. She wanted Yan Xiu. "Then do you miss me?"

"No." Yan Xiu sounded cold.

"Then I'm not going!"

Silence fell over the other end of the phone again.

Liu Mumu persisted. "Just try missing me a little."

"...Today at noon. I'll come pick you up in a bit."

"Fine." If he wouldn't answer, then he wouldn't. She'd assume he was shy.

"My schedule is pretty full. I have lunch at noon, and a birthday party to attend this afternoon. Don't let me miss anything important."

Lanlan hadn't made her decision yet. She'd probably decide whether to go this afternoon.

The main event was tonight. Liu Mumu was looking forward to it.

Something important? Yan Xiu raised an eyebrow.

Yan Xiu put down the phone. Fang Chuan, beside him, asked, "So? Did she say yes?"

"She did."

"Then why do you look like that?"

"Like what?" Yan Xiu asked, puzzled.

"Like a cat owner whose cat refuses to eat fish and insists on catching mice instead. You want to smack it, but you're afraid you'll hurt it."

Yan Xiu glanced at him sideways. "You need to see an eye doctor. Also, I don't like cats."

Fang Chuan shook his head. "What a heartless man."

Yan Xiu walked out of the office. Only then did Yan Ling whisper, "My brother likes rabbits. He raised a whole bunch of them at home when he was little."

"What about Liu Mumu looks like a rabbit?" Fang Chuan muttered. He thought back to the time he'd met Liu Mumu and decided the girl really was rather cute.

Fang Chuan's expression turned solemn. "I think she looks like a missile."

Yan Ling's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Was something wrong with her ears? What kind of person looked like a missile?

Fang Chuan elaborated, "The kind with a huge blast radius and its own death BGM."

He continued imagining. If they dropped a Liu Mumu into a battlefield, how many problems could she solve?

After their enemy surrendered, they could say during negotiations, "We guarantee we won't be the first to use a lethal weapon like Liu Mumu."

Tsk, what a show of force.

"What are you thinking about that's making you grin like that?" Yan Ling asked curiously, looking at Fang Chuan.

Fang Chuan looked a little awkward. "Just thinking about stuff."

He couldn't say it out loud. Liu Mumu, who was as narrow-minded as the eye of a needle, would make him pay for it.

Liu Mumu brought the birthday cake back to the dorm and found that Xue Lan wasn't there.

She asked Wei Xue, who was brushing her hair, a little puzzled, "Where's Lanlan?"

"Xu Anze came to find her downstairs. They went out." Wei Xue answered calmly, then glanced at Liu Mumu. "What about you? Do you have anything to do later?"

"Yeah. I have a date." Liu Mumu answered cheerfully.

Although Fang Chuan was the one who'd invited her to eat, Yan Xiu had been the one to call! She'd decided unilaterally that this was their first date.

At ten thirty, Yan Xiu came to pick her up by car for their date, which had been forced on him.

Liu Mumu dashed over, opened the car door, and got in.

Then she saw Fang Chuan and Yan Ling sitting side by side in the back seat. She silently turned her head away. What dazzling pair of third wheels.

"Hey, at least don't make your dislike so obvious. I'm the one paying today," Fang Chuan said.

Liu Mumu mischievously replied, "Are you hinting that I can order two lobsters today?"

"...There are no lobsters. Please don't try to eat me into bankruptcy. I don't earn that much."

Liu Mumu grinned. "Would you like Master Liu to tell your fortune?"

"No, thank you. Please let me stay poor." Fang Chuan was deeply moved as he declined, afraid that she might tell his fortune one second and take him down with her the next.

Who could afford to hire a master whose fortune-telling came with a life-ending debuff?

When they arrived at the restaurant, they found out that it really was just a casual meal.

Still, Fang Chuan at least knew to book a private room, so it wasn't too casual.

As she listened to them talk over the meal, Liu Mumu learned that Master Ning, who had ruined the entire Zhan family, had suffered a sudden heart attack and died on the way to the capital.

Although things had gone a little wrong in the end, Fang Chuan had at least caught the man and received praise from headquarters. That was why he was treating them. He wanted to thank Liu Mumu for all her help.

"Was there no one pulling the strings behind Ning Yuan?" Liu Mumu asked curiously.

"How could there not be? Unfortunately, we couldn't get much out of him. We didn't manage to make him tell us the most important part." Fang Chuan still regretted it. Ning Yuan had probably been counting on the people behind him to save him, but instead they'd silenced him.

Yan Ling offered some consolation. "Solving this case still saved a lot of people. Ning Yuan isn't the only one of his kind. Headquarters has been keeping an eye on some so-called overseas investment companies. Following their trail led us to several companies that had all been set up."

Liu Mumu shuddered. "There were more than just the Zhan family?"

"Sure were. Fortunately, we found them in time."

Liu Mumu thought that she'd barged into the case on impulse, but in the end, things hadn't turned out as badly as she'd imagined.

Looking beyond the case itself, a lot of people had survived because of it. That seemed like something worth being happy about.

"Come on, let's toast to the case we all worked on together." Fang Chuan raised a glass of plain water.

For once, Liu Mumu didn't look displeased as she clinked glasses with him.

After the meal, Liu Mumu went to the restroom, and Fang Chuan went to pay. Only the cousins, Yan Xiu and Yan Ling, remained in the private room.

Yan Ling leaned closer to Yan Xiu and asked curiously, "Brother, why did you tell Mumu all that?"

Yan Xiu glanced at her. "She helped with the case. Isn't it normal for her to understand the consequences of what she did?"

"But I think..." Yan Ling hadn't finished speaking when Yan Xiu's cool gaze made her change course. "I think you're absolutely right."

Setting everything else aside, someone who could sit in a police station and figure out where the murderer was headed really was terrifying. If her cousin weren't here, she'd be considering whether to trick Liu Mumu into going to headquarters.

After the meal, Liu Mumu returned to campus in a good mood.

When she got back to the dorm, Wei Xue and Qian Xiaomeng were there, but Xue Lan still hadn't returned.

In fact, after having lunch with Xu Anze, Xue Lan had planned to head back early and take Liu Mumu and the others out for dinner that evening.

Everything had been planned out nicely, but once they reached the dorm building and started talking about the evening, the two of them disagreed.

Xu Anze told her, "Lanlan, I hope you'll come with me to Zhuo Ran's birthday party tonight."

Xue Lan was still holding the bouquet of roses he'd given her. Suddenly, the fragrance seemed a little overwhelming.

"Why do I have to go?" Xue Lan looked up at him. The heat had made her cheeks slightly red.

Her skin was already fair, and now she looked especially radiant.

Just like when he'd first met her: a lively, cheerful girl with eyes that seemed to speak.

Now, her eyes were filled with refusal.

Xu Anze could only ignore it all. He said, "Zhuo Ran's uncle came all the way from the capital to attend her birthday party. He heard that you and Zhuo Ran share the same birthday and insisted on inviting you to the party, too."

"What does that have to do with me?" Xue Lan found it ridiculous. Was she supposed to care what Zhuo Ran's uncle thought?

Xu Anze lowered his eyes and said quietly, "I agreed for you."

"Xu Anze, why would you think I wanted to go to Zhuo Ran's birthday party with you?" For the first time, Xue Lan felt this angry. "You know I hate her. Why did you make that decision for me?"

"Lanlan, I can't refuse her elders."

"You owe the Zhuo family, so as your girlfriend, I have to put up with this? I don't owe her anything." Xue Lan was so angry her hands trembled. She didn't understand. Why had Xu Anze become like this?

Xu Anze gripped her hand tightly. "Lanlan, just this once. After she turns twenty, all the debts between the Zhuo family and me will be settled. I won't have to listen to her anymore.

"I know you're unhappy. I'll celebrate your birthday with you from now on. There won't be anyone else, all right?"

Xue Lan bit her lip, her eyes reddening slightly.

Just this once...

She was tired. If he knew she didn't like it, why had he agreed on her behalf? Just to make Zhuo Ran and her uncle happy?

Her birthday came only once a year, too. Why waste it on people who had nothing to do with her?

Wei Xue had told her, "You either give in zero times or countless times." Only now did she understand what it meant.

When Zhuo Ran invited her to the birthday party, Wei Xue had already predicted this, hadn't she?

Xu Anze was still the same Xu Anze. The only reason he'd once devoted himself entirely to her was that Zhuo Ran hadn't been around.

Could something you were used to really be cut off just like that?

Xue Lan thought Wei Xue was right. She ought to think carefully about whether she wanted to continue this relationship.

Otherwise, things like this would keep happening.

"Lanlan?" Xu Anze looked at her expectantly.

Xue Lan pulled her hand free. "I understand. I'll go with my roommates tonight. You don't need to come pick me up."

Let this be their final goodbye.

After attending the birthday party, she could say goodbye to the person she used to be, too.

She carried the flowers Xu Anze had given her into the dorm building without looking back at him.

Back in the dorm, she casually set the flowers on the table, then announced to the three of them, "I agreed to go to Zhuo Ran's birthday party."

None of them showed any particular reaction.

Then Xue Lan continued, "After the party, I'm going to break up with Aze."

The words had barely left her mouth when she froze for a moment, a faint, threadlike pain rising in her heart. She had always thought that she and Aze would smoothly get through their four years of college, find jobs in the same city, naturally get married, and live together forever.

But before any of that had even begun, she was about to bring it all to an end with her own hands.

Xue Lan had not even had time to feel sad before Wei Xue and the others bombarded her with their "congratulations" ×3.

"Congratulations." The three roommates spoke in unison, looking so cheerful that they might as well have won the lottery.

With a scene like this, it was truly hard to keep feeling sad.

Forget it, Xue Lan thought. Xiaomeng was right. If one person among a thousand fell mutually in love with her, that was only because she did not know enough people.

If she expanded the scope, there were at least a million men in this world waiting to fall for her. She had only lost one boyfriend, while countless potential boyfriends were still lined up, waiting to meet her.

When she put it that way... it seemed rather worth looking forward to.

Xue Lan covered her face, feeling that ever since she had moved into this dormitory, her way of thinking had been racing off in a strange direction.

At six in the evening, the four girls from Xue Lan's dormitory arrived outside the Moonlight Hotel.

Quite a few other students had also been invited, some from the student union and others whom they had seen at the Welcome Party.

Liu Mumu and the others heard someone walking ahead say to her companion, "I heard this hotel belongs to Zhuo Ran's family. They even closed for a day especially for her birthday."

"That extravagant? It's only her twentieth birthday. Is there really a need to go this overboard?" another girl asked, puzzled.

"Who knows?"

As soon as they walked through the hotel entrance, they saw Zhuo Ran dressed in a little formal gown, with an exquisite diamond crown hairpiece on her head.

She stood beside a middle-aged man, while Xu Anze stood not far away from them.

When Zhuo Ran saw Xue Lan and the others arrive, a smile appeared on her face. She personally came forward to greet them and said to Xue Lan, "Thank you for coming to my birthday party."

Then she turned to introduce her to the middle-aged man beside her. "Uncle, this is Xue Lan, Anze's girlfriend. Our birthdays are on the same day. What a coincidence, right?"

The middle-aged man gave a quiet "Hmm" and looked Xue Lan up and down.

His gaze made her feel as though she were being watched by a cold-blooded animal.

Feeling uncomfortable, Xue Lan edged closer to Liu Mumu. Only then did the man withdraw his gaze.

"Please, come in." He gestured for them to enter before leaving with Zhuo Ran to greet the next guest.

Xu Anze came forward at that moment. "Lanlan, you..."

Xue Lan dodged the hand he reached out to her and said softly, "Whatever it is, let's talk after the party."

Xu Anze knew she was still angry, so he did not continue.

They had assumed that with elders present at Zhuo Ran's birthday party, everyone would hold back. Who would have thought that once the party began, her uncle would leave, leaving only a group of young people to celebrate wildly in the hotel lobby?

Some danced to the music, some went onstage to sing, and several others found a table and began playing cards.

Zhuo Ran seemed very interested in card games. Not only did she join in personally, she also had people bring down a pile of exquisitely wrapped gift boxes from the second floor.

The gift boxes, large and small, were piled up like a small mountain. She said to those around her, "These are all gifts from my relatives and friends. I don't even know what's inside them, so let's use them as prizes. Whoever loses can take one gift from here and share in the birthday girl's good luck. How does that sound?"

Since she had put it that way, of course nobody refused.

The card game was the simplest version of Old Maid. Whenever a player formed a pair with the card they had drawn and a card in their hand, they could discard the pair. The process continued until the last Old Maid card ended up in someone's hand. Whoever held it lost.

Zhuo Ran said that whoever ended up with the Old Maid could take a gift, and everyone immediately threw themselves into the heated contest over that single card.

Liu Mumu and the others were also among the onlookers, watching with great interest. The game progressed quickly. After three rounds, three people had already chosen gifts from Zhuo Ran.

One of them had actually picked a watch worth tens of thousands. That person wanted to return it to Zhuo Ran, but she merely smiled and waved it off, refusing to take it back.

By the end, everyone had been drawn to the game of Old Maid at their table. The crowd pressed closer and closer, quickly squeezing Xue Lan and the others to the very front.

There were still more than twenty gift boxes that Zhuo Ran had had brought down. Someone had opened a jeweled brooch, while another had found luxury-brand skincare products. There was a wide variety of gifts.

Xue Lan was only there to watch and had no intention of joining.

Who would have thought that upon seeing her, Zhuo Ran would suddenly stand up and say to the others around the table, "Everyone, listen. Today is my birthday, and it's also Xue Lan's birthday. I'd like to have a showdown between the two birthday girls."

With that, she smiled at Xue Lan. "What do you think?"

It was only a game, so Xue Lan was not so petty that she could not play. She sat down gracefully. "All right. Let's begin."

"Not yet. I had someone bring up a new deck. We'll use a different one."

Xue Lan had no objections. She sat in her chair and waited, and soon someone brought Zhuo Ran a new deck of cards. The cards were placed in an exquisite wooden box. This deck seemed specially made. The final joker was unlike the others; instead, it depicted a girl wearing an elaborate princess dress.

She had a mask painted on her face, and the corners of her mouth curved upward in an exaggerated arc. It certainly had the eerie feel of an Old Maid card.

With two people playing with one deck, the game inevitably moved a little more slowly.

In the blink of an eye, five minutes passed. The number of cards in both their hands had dwindled. Xue Lan had three cards left, while Zhuo Ran had four.