The Daughters of Old Friends

When Su Mei first met Ye Chenyu, it was because her attempt to take advantage of the chaos had failed, and she wanted to see what this young master of the Ye Family looked like. Liu Chang'an was certain that at that time, Su Mei was already thinking about dealing with Ye Chenyu.

Now that they've met again, what is she thinking?

Liu Chang'an is truly unfathomable. Su Mei is not someone whose thoughts can be easily deciphered, just as Ye Chenyu never expected her to do those things.

Now he is Liu Chang'an, an ordinary young man living in a cramped old building in Junsha; she is the head of a wealthy and powerful family, the Third Mistress of the Su Family who associates with the powerful and influential... No, she has given herself another identity: Su Nanxiu, a freshman at Xiangnan University.

Although Guan Yuan didn't elaborate on Su Nanxiu's identity, only showing Liu Chang'an a photograph, Liu Chang'an already knew her current status.

When school started, Liu Chang'an saw her wearing that lake-green dress. He also saw her in the cafeteria, holding a book to cover her face. When he was eating at the buffet, he also caught a glimpse of her in that lake-green dress as he passed by the lobby.

It's all her.

If she wants to be Su Nanxiu, then let her be Su Nanxiu. Liu Chang'an himself often changes his name, and he doesn't have any other opinion.

Liu Chang'an turned his gaze from the photo to the loach, and continued peeling off pieces of meat to eat. He rarely felt excited, and this was no exception, after all, it had only been a short time since they had last seen each other.

He was no longer the Ye Chenyu who would rush halfway around the world to embrace her even if it meant losing 30% of his investment, even though she was still the most jealous girl in the Far East.

It wasn't that he abandoned her after starting the relationship; it's just that things have changed, and since what happened back then has led to their current situation, how can one suddenly bring back the intense feelings that have faded over the years? His memories and sentiments about this relationship have all been consumed by that reunion with his old friend after crossing the strait.

He'll see Su Nanxiu again sooner or later, but he'll no longer kiss her forehead with tender eyes and expression. He'll probably just look at her with a smile and say, "Long time no see."

"Brother Liu, is there anything else you want to ask?" Guan Yuan asked after waiting for Liu Chang'an to quiet down.

"That's all." Liu Chang'an shook his head. Now that he had confirmed Su Nanxiu's identity, Guan Yuan probably couldn't answer the questions he wanted to know.

"As for playing the male lead..."

"Guan Yuan."

"You say."

"Making a movie isn't something you can just start by having a script, finding a male lead, and verbally promising a 300 million investment. You should first find out what it takes to make a movie."

"No rush, money makes everything easier."

Liu Chang'an pointed to Guan Yuan's phone, "Has your 300 million yuan arrived?"

Guan Yuan was slightly embarrassed. "Money is definitely not a problem."

"If you really had 300 million to make a movie, you could choose from a whole bunch of handsome male stars. Why would you need me? Let Su Nanxiu answer this question first, then we can talk." After finishing his loach, Liu Chang'an washed his hands and left the cafeteria.

Guan Yuan watched Liu Chang'an's figure disappear before resuming his carefree, slightly upturned expression. He had asked Su Nanxiu the same question before, but Su Nanxiu hadn't answered him... Now that he had received Liu Chang'an's reply, Su Nanxiu should have something to say.

Guan Yuan took the script that Liu Chang'an had returned to Su Nanxiu.

Su Nanxiu sat on a long wooden chair with soft lines and a simple structure. In front of her, on a square table, was a bowl of chicken soup noodles. A few scallions floated on the light oil. Su Nanxiu was eating the noodles. Her quiet and elegant appearance made Guan Yuan wonder if it would take her much longer to finish this bowl of noodles than Liu Chang'an to eat a loach.

However, Guan Yuan wasn't impatient at all. After all, Su Nanxiu's beauty was like a series of wallpapers, captivating and endlessly alluring.

"Liu Chang'an returned the script to you?" Su Nanxiu frowned slightly and put down her chopsticks.

"No, I gave it to him yesterday."

Su Nanxiu slightly opened her mouth, looked down at the bowl of noodles in front of her, and then looked at Guan Yuan without saying a word.

Guan Yuan quickly reported, "He gave it back to me today, but he still hasn't agreed to be the male lead."

This was all within Su Nanxiu's expectations, but that wasn't what she was concerned about. Looking out the window, Su Nanxiu said, "He didn't say anything?"

"He asked me who gave me the script, and he also asked who you are. I showed him... I showed him the script again..." Guan Yuan quickly stopped talking.

Su Nanxiu was still looking out the window. Her delicate features were reflected in the transparent window, which was actually the scene she wanted. But she wasn't there, and she didn't know what his mood or expression was like at that time.

Sometimes she wanted to face it directly, and sometimes she didn't want to. Although she had declared her intentions, she wasn't sure what to do... If it were according to her old ways, she would have dealt with these little vixens, but now, how much of a sentimental heart did he have to tolerate her willfulness?

Upon hearing the news from Xiao Cui, he came to Taiwan wanting to see her. Finally, news of him arrived. Su Nanxiu's feelings were probably as complex and overwhelming as when he kissed Su Xiaocui's forehead... Of course, she had many more emotions that were difficult to express. Having searched for him for years, and now that he had run away, she longed to see him again... to see him again... When they met again, she would...

What should she do? Even now, Su Nanxiu hasn't figured it out. Should she throw herself into his arms, weeping and clinging to him? Or should she angrily rebuke the unfaithful man for abandoning her after starting something? Or should she, like an old friend, serve him tea and recount the years they've been apart?

"Did he say anything to me specifically?" Seeing that Guan Yuan didn't get it, Su Nanxiu asked somewhat irritably, revealing what she cared about.

If he didn't, wouldn't it be embarrassing for me to ask him like that?

"No, not at all." Guan Yuan thought for a moment, then quickly assured everyone that he was doing his best, saying with absolute certainty, "I was listening carefully, and I didn't mean anything against you."

"Roll."

Guan Yuan was stunned for a moment. Looking at Su Nanxiu's expression, she couldn't help but shudder. She quickly put down the script and left. What had she done to offend her now? Was Su Nanxiu going to back out of the movie again?

Liu Chang'an returned the script to Guan Yuan and confirmed Su Nanxiu's identity. He felt a little emotional, thinking that a hundred years was indeed too short a time. Even with a change of identity, those people and events still followed him through ups and downs to this day.

Liu Chang'an first went to Qin Yanan's residence on the mountaintop, jumped onto the rooftop observation deck, stood by the pool looking at the entire city, and called Qin Yanan to ask her to come back.

Qin Yanan postponed her afternoon work and returned quickly. Although Liu Chang'an's tone on the phone was very calm, Qin Yanan's woman's intuition told her that something unusual must have happened.

Liu Chang'an could keep many things in his heart, but most of them were untold, because those involved had long since returned to dust. His recounting would not cause any ripples, and would be no different from reading a historical text, only allowing the listener to imagine the scene at that time, but without the possibility of commemorating it with him as a witness.

But if it's about Su Nanxiu, you can talk to Qin Yanan about it. Even if Qin Yanan doesn't remember, in Liu Chang'an's eyes, she is still the little sister who spent those years with him.

Qin Yanan arrived at the rooftop and saw the undulating mountain peaks. The wind ruffled her collar, revealing patches of pale white skin. Qin Yanan called out, "It looks like it's going to rain soon."

Liu Chang'an turned around and sat down in the living room downstairs with Qin Yanan.

Qin Yanan didn't rush to ask what had happened. She made some tea, placed some fruit in front of her, and then quietly looked at him.

"Sit here," Liu Chang'an said, pointing to the person next to him.

Qin Yanan smiled gently, pressed her skirt, straightened up, and sat down next to Liu Chang'an.

"You must know quite a bit about the Zhu Family, right?" Liu Chang'an asked.

"Yes, even setting aside the relationship between the Qin Family and Zhu Family, the Zhu Family has always received a lot of attention from people from all walks of life in the mainland. Anyone who has even a slight connection with the political and economic circles knows about the Zhu Family." Qin Yanan nodded.

"While I was waiting for you to come back, I checked the publicly available information about the Zhu Family and found that in the early years, the Zhu Family had swallowed up the overseas assets of many prominent families and capitalists from the Republic of China era in Taiwan and South Seas." Liu Chang'an opened his phone screen. This was not some secret information, and those prominent families and capitalists were not some fleeting figures that disappeared without a trace. Someone would remember how they perished and record it, and it would always mention the Zhu Family or forces related to the Zhu Family stirring up trouble.

"It's just a matter of big fish eating small fish and small fish eating shrimp. When the Zhu Family was establishing itself in Taiwan, other families were still hesitant and observing, or struggling to protect themselves amidst the turmoil, or internally divided. This made it easy for others to take advantage of them, and the Zhu Family did indeed absorb a lot of capital during that period." Qin Yanan was also aware of this. Where is there any warm and willing cooperation in the establishment and expansion of wealthy and powerful families? Most of the time, the acquisitions are due to one party having no choice but to sell, and the other having no other option but to sell.

"The key issue is... I've investigated the families and businesses that the Zhu Family has targeted, and they're all people I know, as well as friends and acquaintances..." Liu Chang'an sighed.

"Is there a problem with this?" Qin Yanan brushed aside a few sparse strands of bangs from her forehead. She had always worn her hair in the middle, but she was willing to try changing her style occasionally. It wasn't that she noticed that all the little girls who were hanging around Liu Chang'an had greasy bangs.

She kept trying to figure out what Liu Chang'an wanted to tell her, but he didn't seem to be very interested in business. He talked about the Zhu Family's past, which was probably related to Mr. Ye Chenyu.

"That's not a problem... but do you know what they have in common? Among the families of acquaintances, friends, and old acquaintances targeted by the Zhu Family, there was a girl who had a good relationship with Ye Chenyu." Liu Chang'an pointed to a family that mainly dealt in shipping and tobacco, "The Chen Family, I had a good relationship with Chen Xisi, the owner of the Chen Family at the time, and his sister Chen Meisun and I studied piano together... You see, the Zhu Family took advantage of the turmoil in South Seas to force Chen Xisi to hand over the family business, Chen Family fell into ruin, with the brother and sister reduced to one working as a clerk and the other as a piano teacher."

"This... you mean, just because you have a good relationship with Chen Meisun, that's one of the reasons why the Zhu Family is ruthless?" Qin Yanan said incredulously.

Liu Chang'an nodded. One or two cases were one thing, but the whole list was like this. How could it not be targeted? He once jokingly called her the most jealous woman in the Far East, and she certainly proved him right.