Deadly Trap.

Chapter 69. The Ivory Tower

As she slowly walked from the clock tower through the bustling campus, the morning sun was shining brightly. On the basketball court, several boys were playing basketball with great enthusiasm, their youthful energy palpable, making her unable to resist stealing a smile and glancing at them for a moment.

Lulu felt a pang of sadness. She herself had never had the chance to step onto a university campus. Sadly, life cannot be relived.

But this did not stop her from longing for it.

Following the directions she had asked for beforehand, Lulu walked a short distance and soon stood in front of the simple door. The bag on her shoulder seemed unusually heavy. She took a deep breath and gently knocked on the door.

The old dormitory was obviously poorly soundproofed. Through the door, Lulu could hear the ping-pong sounds of the occupant frantically rushing through the room.

As she was considering how to begin, the door was carefully pulled open a crack: a face was visibly pale, bathed in backlight.

Upon seeing her, the other person tried to close the door. At that moment, Lulu stepped forward and quickly blocked the door with her toes.

"Today, I'm just your friend; you can call me Party A if you want."

She quickly explained:
"I know. But you wouldn't just throw away our female friendship like this, would you?"

"In the bar business, there aren't many people I can have a proper conversation with. I just came to see you today and also to ask about the progress of my entryway design. Is that alright?"

After Lulu finished speaking, the peach blossom eyes peeking through the crack in the door didn't brighten much. However, Su Li still turned around and let Lulu in:
"Sorry, I've been busy with finals, so my room is a bit messy."

Su Li's voice was ethereal and faint, as if she dared not exert any force in her voice: "Look, find a place for yourself and sit down first."

As Lulu bent down to take off her sun hat and smooth her hair, she looked up and was quite surprised:
The room wasn't just "a little messy," it was practically "ravaged by a typhoon." Su Li told her to "find a place herself," but right now, Lulu didn't even know where to put her feet.

Single dorm rooms are already cramped. Luxury clothes, shoes, bags, and evening gowns were discarded like worn-out shoes, making the room even more crowded. The remaining space was filled with architectural drawings and models.

Clearly, the homeowner was not cluttered: all the household items were neatly arranged, and there was no trash or dust in the room. On the simple white wall hung two self-drawn marker drawings.

Outside the window, the tall red bean tree droops low, casting dappled light and shadows into the room.

Lulu clicked her tongue in surprise: It seems that it's not just Rijima that's been in chaos these past two days.

How did Su Li cope with the five days since the breakup?
It seems she has truly thrown herself into her studies and work.

Just as Lulu was hesitating whether to help with the simple tidying up, Su Li casually picked up the expensive clothes and tossed them into the secondhand box without a care, making room for Lulu to sit down.

She sat with her long skirt gathered around her waist, while Lulu secretly glanced at her. Indeed, Su Li looked much more haggard.

Her beautiful oval face had thinned considerably, and her eyes were red and swollen. Lulu felt a pang of pity for her, and I can only imagine how heartbroken the Boss must have been.

Of course, he needs to wake up first.

But more clearly, Su Li seemed to have made up her mind: she would get better on her own. And she would only be braver than before.

Lulu bit her lip in alarm: Was she too late?

"Lulu, what would you like to drink? I'm sorry, I only have the instant coffee I made last night while I was working on the drawing."

"Coffee will do. Perfect, I brought some snacks." With that, Lulu quickly opened her handbag. To hide it from Su Li, she concealed Gu Mufeng's will deep inside.

Lulu thought to herself: Although she brought it without permission, if Su Li can understand and accept Gu Mufei's feelings, he shouldn't mind too much when the Boss wakes up.

“You love cherries. Try the recipe I just learned online.” Lulu quickly took out a seashell-shaped cherry madeleine wrapped in parchment paper. “Try it, I didn’t put in more than a few grams of sugar.”

"I came here today for two reasons: first, to see you; second, because I'm really upset. Let me tell you what I should do."

Just like her superb baking skills, Lulu's voice was sweet but not cloying. She took the coffee Su Li handed her, and with a slight sniff, she knew that the coffee was almost as bitter as Chinese medicine. She didn't dare not drink it, so she pretended to sip it.

Seeing Su Li hastily sit on the single bed, Lulu quickly pushed Madeleine forward:

"Hey, I know we haven't known each other for long. But I'm sure it's not just me who feels this way. I felt a sense of closeness to you the first time I met you. Maybe we're in the same boat."

More like a self-deprecating remark, Lulu sighed softly: "Seven years ago, I was the mistress of the newly appointed Chief of Staff of Friday Night. At the same time, I was also his wife."

Su Li, who was drinking coffee, couldn't help but widen her eyes.

"I know, it sounds weird."

Seeing Su Li's momentary subconscious reaction, Lulu actually chuckled first, but then said casually, "But it's not what you think."

Lulu added:
"Yuchuan and I, the former chief of the FN, were childhood sweethearts."

“Look, our families aren’t well-off, we’re about the same age, and we’ve looked after each other since we were little.”

"We all dropped out of school at a very young age to make our way in the world. Yuchuan is very capable and wants to change something, but he always ends up with bruises and swelling, which makes me feel sorry for him but I can't do anything about it."

"Later, he joined forces with several thugs to create Fri-Night. He wanted to forge his own path. But in the end, he had no choice but to rely on the underworld."

Seeing Su Li seemingly lost in thought, Lulu quickly added, "Sigh, back then, I had no idea he was troubled. One day, I was on a gig when Yu Chuan suddenly asked me if I wanted to be with him. He said, 'I can support you, Lulu. See?'"

"Like a fool flaunting his wealth, he deliberately pulled out cash. However, he wouldn't let me be his girlfriend, only his mistress."

"Actually, I had already entered the business world to make a living; but why is it only him who says this, which makes me so angry?"
He quickly explained that it was for my safety because "nobody cares about a mere mistress." As for me, all I wanted to do was grab the bottle of Lafite I had and smash it over his head.

"Is my story boring you?"

Suddenly changing the subject, Lulu smiled sweetly at Su Li.

"No. I just didn't expect..." Su Li was silently pondering why Lulu was bringing up the past. No one had ever mentioned FN or the past to her before.

She always felt that in that gray world, there was only one chief from beginning to end, and that was—her heart trembled.

Did that person ever think the same thing?

Quickly, Su Li filled the twitching corner of her mouth with the bitter coffee. The bitterness couldn't mask the sorrow in her heart.

She didn't believe that the man made her his mistress for her safety.

"I'm glad you're not bored. Sigh, nobody ever listens to me."

As if to cleverly conceal her intentions, Lulu quickly took a sip of her coffee and continued:

"No matter how much we argued, in the end, I agreed to his proposal. On the surface, I was Yuchuan's mistress; in private, I was his lover. We lived an ordinary but happy life for two or three years."

"Later, when we were overseas, he suddenly proposed to me, saying that he wouldn't have to worry about me getting into trouble while we were abroad."

"At the time, I was completely overwhelmed with happiness. In short, I agreed. Soon after, we had a child."

Lulu paused, as if lost in sweet memories. A rare, completely gentle smile appeared on her lips.

But then, Lulu shook her head in anguish: "But later..."

Lulu closed her eyes, her smile fading bitterly, replaced by a look of suppressed emotion.

"Yu Chuan always wanted to break free from the control of the shadows. He moved between the Tianxing Gang and the Dilong Society. Over time, the 'big shots' got tired of it."

“On a rainy night, the Tianxing Gang struck first. Yu Chuan, he…” Lulu suddenly stopped, her brows furrowing tightly.

She quickly turned her head to the side, trying to hide herself behind the coffee cup. Her knuckles gripped the cup so tightly they turned white, and her shoulders trembled slightly, seemingly unnoticed even by Lulu herself.

Su Li stood frozen in place, not knowing what to say, only feeling a heavy weight in her heart.

After a moment, Lulu finally spoke. She raised her head again, trying to put on a calm smile.

Her voice softened again, but trembled slightly, as if she were trying to suppress her emotions, and she continued:

"Ah, Mingming, seven years have passed. To be honest, even now, I don't really know what happened. I haven't even dared to open the police files to find out the truth."

“When it happened, my child and I were overseas. By the time I heard the devastating news, it was all over. I found our marriage certificate and just wanted to come back as soon as possible. At least one last time... to see him.”

"But, just as Yuchuan once wanted, nobody paid any attention to his 'mistress.' Nobody cared that we got married, had children, and had a little family of our own."

Lulu's smile gradually faded, becoming weak and powerless. A thin mist welled up in her eyes, and her voice was soft and sorrowful:
"With the position of Chief of the Minzhou Fri-Night now vacant, everyone is like a race starting with a gunshot, it's a fight to the death. Yu Chuan's body is barely cold, yet he's nothing more than a stepping stone for everyone to climb up the ranks."

"At that critical juncture, only one person remembered me."

Without a second thought, Su Li's breath caught in her throat.

The bitter coffee trembled in the cup. A barely perceptible flicker of deep anticipation crossed Su Li's lowered eyes.

>>>>>
Next chapter: Love

[Author's Note | Chapter Sixty-Nine]

Gu Mufeng is critically injured and unconscious, and Lulu arrives without permission with his will. The story behind Lulu and Su Li, these seemingly different yet mutually understanding friends, turns out to be incredibly profound…

What are your thoughts on Lulu's past?
What do you think of Yu Chuan's request to make Lulu his mistress?
What happened to Gu Mufeng and Lulu's story seven years ago?

And Gu Mufeng's feelings...

See you in the comments section!

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(End of this chapter)