Chapter 80: The victor
This time, Su Can was wholly focused on his goal of securing three hours over dinner with Zhan Hua, his thoughts somewhat detached from his surroundings. He had never expected to encounter Tang Wu's cousin Mu Kaizhu, her mother Qian Yu, who was Tang Wu's second aunt, or Ning Dong, Pang Yiran, and the others here.
Mu Kaizhu spotted Su Can first. Delighted, she was about to greet him, only for Ning Dong beside her to beat her to it.
Ning Dong and Pang Yiran, who had come with her mother He Guoke, were children from Tang Wu's father's circle of friends whom Su Can had met on his first night back in China with Tang Wu after their exchange program. Su Can remembered a girl named Ding Tingting being there too. A conflict had broken out: someone had used Ding Tingting to set a trap for the strong-willed, competitive Ning Dong. Su Can and Tang Wu had stepped in and taken Ning Dong away, saving her from being cornered.
Feeling betrayed by her best friend, the girl had cried her eyes out. Under those circumstances, she had clung to Tang Wu, adamantly refusing to let her leave Shanghai and desperately wanting her to stay.
The Ning Dong before him now looked somewhat different from the innocent girl in a white dress and Chow Sang Sang necklace he remembered from a year ago. She still had single eyelids and quite delicate features, but today she wore a black pleated skirt. She must have started university too, and looked considerably more mature than she had in high school.
Pang Yiran wore a turtleneck sweater and looked neat and tidy. He was just as pleasantly surprised to see Su Can as Ning Dong was, though he showed it