Lu Shao is cunning; Miss Nan has fallen for his tricks again.

Chapter 143 Flower Butterfly

Zheng Wen stood there, somewhat at a loss. So, she was still no match for Cen Xi?

Lu Cheng glanced at Zheng Wen and said, "You're always like this. The two of them don't want to go home because of you!" He sighed silently and followed after her.

Lu Zhiruo, who was chatting with her agent Jiang Zhimin, took a sip of her wine and said with a hint of sadness, "She's doing quite well at Xinghe. It turns out she can live a good life even without me."

Jiang Zhimin paused in her grip on the glass, then smiled and said, "It's all in the past, why are you still holding a grudge?"

Whether she was still holding a grudge or simply couldn't let go, only she knows the answer.

She stared blankly into the distance, lost in thought.

"Hey, Zhiruo, isn't that your sister? She looks like... she's crying?" Jiang Zhimin nudged Lu Zhiruo's arm with her own, her voice a little hurried as she pointed in the direction Lu Zhiyue had left.

The pain in her arm snapped Lu Zhiruo back to reality. Following the direction Jiang Zhimin pointed, she saw Lu Zhiyue running out.

She glanced at her questioningly, then put down her wine glass. "I'll go check on her. Don't wait for me after the banquet; you can go back now."

Jiang Zhimin gave her a cool "OK" sign.

Seeing Jiang Zhimin's cool demeanor, Lu Zhiruo chuckled and shook her head, then lifted her skirt and strode out.

I had only taken a couple of steps when I bumped into the road ahead.

"Tsk." Lu Zhiruo rubbed her forehead and took two steps back.

The journey wasn't much better, and they also took a few steps back.

"Dad, what's wrong? Why are you walking so fast?" Lu Zhiruo tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Your mother said something that upset Yueyue again. I'll go check on her." Lu Cheng supported Lu Zhiruo's arm and carefully checked her for injuries.

"Dad, I'm fine. I'll go see her. You should also have a good talk with Mom. Stop talking about Yueyue all the time." Lu Zhiruo's dissatisfaction with Zheng Wen wasn't something that had just started recently.

Otherwise, she wouldn't be unwilling to return to Jiangcheng.

Lu Cheng withdrew his hand, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Okay, then you go find Yueyue, and I'll go talk to your mother."

"Ah."

Hiding in the stairwell, Lu Zhiyue wiped away her tears and placed her hands on the railing. Her thoughts were in turmoil.

Lu Zhiruo carefully pushed open the door.

Lu Zhiyue keenly noticed it, her voice trembling with a hint of a sob, "Who is it?"

"Yueyue, it's me." Lu Zhiruo's voice was gentle.

Even though Lu Zhiyue had her back to her and she couldn't see Lu Zhiyue's expression, she knew that Lu Zhiyue's face didn't look good.

"What did your mother say to you? Why are you crying?" She walked over and carefully hugged Lu Zhiyue, gently patting her back to comfort her.

Lu Zhiyue didn't speak, her sobs were a little hoarse as Lu Zhiruo gently embraced her.

"Tell your sister, okay? Hmm? Sweetie Yueyue." Lu Zhiruo coaxed Lu Zhiyue in a tone that was used to coax a child.

“Mom wants me to go back to Jiangcheng, but I don’t want to. I said I want to stay in Beijing to be with my sister, grandma, and aunt. Then Mom got angry. She said that my aunt and I should be the biological mother and daughter.” Lu Zhiyue said, choking back tears, her face full of grievance.

Lu Zhiruo sighed silently, "Mom is sometimes just confused. Don't take it too seriously. If you don't want to go back, then don't. I'm staying in Beijing this year too."

"Sister, why does Mom always like to argue with Aunt? The reason I don't want to go back to Jiangcheng is because she always compares me to Sister Zhixi. I hate it when she compares me to Sister Zhixi." Lu Zhiyue wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and muttered softly.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhiruo's sparkling eyes instantly dimmed.

She reached out and stroked Lu Zhiyue's hair. "Dad will talk to Mom. If she continues like this, you should never come back to Jiangcheng."

"Then you shouldn't go back to Jiangcheng."

“Okay, I’ll stay in Beijing with you when I don’t have a job,” Lu Zhiruo comforted her. “You’re a big star, how could you possibly not have a job?” Lu Zhiyue pouted, clearly not believing Lu Zhiruo’s words of comfort.

"How about this, I'll take you shopping tomorrow, and I'll buy you whatever you like." Lu Zhiruo took Lu Zhiyue's hand and walked out.

"Okay." Lu Zhiyue gave Lu Zhiyue a sweet smile, took a couple of steps and then seemed to remember something, turned back and added, "Can I bring my sister-in-law tomorrow? She likes shopping too."

Nanxu?

"Of course, but did you two know each other before?"

"I don't know him/her." Lu Zhiyue gently shook her head.

"Don't know them? You've only known each other for a day and you're already planning to go shopping together tomorrow?" Lu Zhiruo was somewhat shocked.

She had never seen Lu Zhiyue go shopping with anyone she had only known for a day.

"My sister-in-law and I hit it off immediately."

Lu Zhiruo chuckled, "She is indeed a very good person."

Jiang Yu followed Yan Xiaoxiao around the banquet hall, asking, "Hey, what's your name? Which university did you go to for your undergraduate degree? Where did you go for further studies after graduation? What are your hobbies?"

Yan Xiaoxiao glanced impatiently at Jiang Yu, who was chattering beside her.

"What does this have to do with you?"

Jiang Yu was visibly taken aback for a moment, then he smiled and said, "Since you're Nan Xu's friend, we'll be hanging out together a lot in the future, so it's only natural for us to get to know each other."

"Get this straight, you're Lu Zhiyan's friend, not Nan Xu's, and I'm not your friend, much less hang out with you." She added a final, sarcastic remark about him being a "playboy."

Without waiting for Jiang Yu to reply, Yan Xiaoxiao turned and left.

She was indifferent to this kind of irresponsible man who had no ambition whatsoever.

"A flower butterfly?" Jiang Yu muttered to himself, looking down at his outfit.

It's just a gray coat with a floral shirt, right? She doesn't look like a fashionista at all!
He's not a social butterfly! He just likes unique outfits!

This was the first time Jiang Yu had ever been humiliated. He touched the tip of his nose, his interest in Yan Xiaoxiao growing stronger. He had never met such an interesting girl before, nor had he ever seen such a stark contrast in her personality.

Xu Qinghan and Zhou Zan came out of the restroom together.

Seeing Zhou Zan replying to messages, Xu Qinghan couldn't help but ask, "Is it Ling Shu?"

While replying to the message, Zhou Zan answered, "Yes, he said it's snowing outside and he wants us to go to the balcony to watch the snow. Yue Heng, Lu Zhiyan, and A Xu are there too."

"Huh? They're both here too? Wouldn't we be third wheels? Besides, we haven't found Xiaoxiao yet," Xu Qinghan blurted out.

"It seems so. I'll send them a message and tell them to come back and not disturb them." He said, typing quickly on the screen.

Feeling upset, Yan Xiaoxiao left the banquet hall and went home.

When she got downstairs, she remembered that Zhou Zan and Xu Qinghan were waiting for her.

So she called Xu Qinghan.

"Hey, Qinghan, I have to go home first. When you see Nanxu later, explain it to her." Yan Xiaoxiao took out her car keys from her handbag.

"Okay, be careful on the road." Xu Qinghan checked the time; it was just past nine o'clock.

"Ah."

After hanging up the phone, Yan Xiaoxiao quickly opened the car door, got in, and drove away.

(End of this chapter)