Falling into the rain

Zhang Qi'an swirled his wine glass, chuckling, "The Chen family gave her a death order: she must snag Second Brother, this rich and powerful man. Does she dare refuse?"

Chu Lingyu sighed, "These days, everyone is struggling. People like us don't really have any say in our marriages."

He then suddenly looked at Wen Huaixu and said admiringly, "Only your elder brother dared to break the power. I heard that he was bedridden for about half a month and almost couldn't get out of bed. But at least the result was good. Look, the burden of this marriage alliance has fallen on your shoulders."

Although Chu Lingyu was just watching the show, the thought of the sticks hitting his back and tearing his skin made him grimace. He asked, "Is it really worth it?"

Zhang Qi'an laughed: "What a coincidence, I asked my elder brother the same question back then."

"What did Big Brother say?" Chu Lingyu raised an eyebrow and asked curiously.

Zhang Qi'an couldn't help but shudder and hissed, "That was the longest thing my older brother ever said to me. It still makes me cringe when I think about it now."

Wen Huaixu, unusually, showed some interest and watched him with Chu Lingyu.

Zhang Qi'an, being stared at by two people, felt his performing instincts kick in. He sat up straight, mimicking Liang Jiezong's tone, and said in a deep voice:

"Because you haven't met the one you love yet, someone you'd be willing to go through fire and water for."

"Really?" Chu Lingyu laughed out loud, saying incredulously, "Is this really the older brother I know?"

"It's absolutely true. I even thought my brother had been possessed." Zhang Qi'an sighed. "Now I know what it looks like to be love-struck."

Wen Huaixu didn't react much, he just lit a cigarette, the wisps of smoke obscuring the dark emotions in his eyes.

Not just the people you love.

He was willing to go through fire and water for Xiaoyu.

But this is not love.

-

"Sit here; the view is better, and you can see more clearly."

Shen Sihe had Yu Tingyu sit in the middle seat, while she and Zhao Xiao sat together, to Yu Tingyu's right.

Yu Tingyu didn't really care about the view; the three seats were only a meter or two apart, so the visual effect was about the same. However, she followed Shen Sihe's arrangement and took her seat.

Unexpectedly, a familiar face was sitting right behind her—Chen Xuran.

The play hadn't even started yet when she heard people talking next to her. Someone asked, "Xuran, why didn't Sister Xuning come with you?"

"My sister naturally has more important things to do," Chen Xuran said casually.

Another person immediately joked, "I saw Sister Xu Ning's WeChat Moments. So she was accompanying President Wen. That makes sense. No play is as good as President Wen."

Although Yu Tingyu kept her eyes straight ahead, she inevitably heard all the sounds.

See? Just as I expected.

Her guess was correct.

Shen Sihe was handing over a drink when Yu Tingyu, distracted, accidentally spilled some on her clothes.

"Quick, wipe yourself clean." Shen Sihe handed her a tissue, then noticed her pale face, as if she had lost all color, and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"

She glanced around and caught sight of the people sitting behind her, and immediately understood.

Chen Xuran also saw her at the same time and greeted her in a pretentious manner: "Sihe, Tingyu, what a coincidence, you're here to see a play too."

Shen Sihe sneered: "What a coincidence? I think it's just that we're destined to meet again."

Chen Xuran wasn't annoyed. She just looked at Yu Tingyu and said, "Don't say such unpleasant things. After all, Tingyu and I will be family from now on. My mother said the other day that she would like to invite Brother Huaixu and Tingyu to come to our house for a visit when she has time."

"Turn left and walk 200 meters after you go out," Shen Sihe suddenly said something inexplicable.

"What?" Chen Xuran didn't understand either.

"Go to the hospital and get your delusions treated properly."

"You—" Chen Xuran, who had been trying so hard to maintain her good temper in front of others, suddenly broke down after hearing these words. She took out her phone, found the photos that Chen Xuning had just posted that night, and shoved them in front of the two of them, angrily saying, "If you don't believe me, go ask Brother Huaixu if he was with my sister tonight."

In the photo, Wen Huaixu's figure occupies most of the frame. He was sitting on the sofa with a cigarette in his hand, his face handsome and refined. At the bottom corner of the photo, a skirt and slender, fair legs were subtly revealed. He was about a meter away from her, and it was Chen Xuning.

The dim lighting, the blurry outlines, the hazy atmosphere—all these elements inexplicably created a sense of ambiguity.

Even though she was prepared, Yu Tingyu's brow still twitched violently the moment she saw it clearly.

"What's the big deal?" Shen Sihe held Yu Tingyu's arm to comfort her, but her tone was blunt as she retorted, as if she were refuting Chen Xuran, but more like trying to reassure her. "There are plenty of people in the room. Does that mean that just because someone spends the night with Brother Huaixu, something will necessarily happen?"

Chen Xuran wanted to say something more, but Shen Sihe turned her head away and stopped looking at her.

She whispered to Yu Tingyu, "Should we stop watching?"

Shen Sihe felt unlucky. She had only wanted to take Yu Tingyu out to relax, but she never expected to run into this annoying person.

Yu Tingyu smiled at her and shook her head.

She can't go.

Such incidents will only increase in the future.

She can't run away every time.

Where can they escape to?

Just then, the lights dimmed, signaling the start of the play, and the audience quieted down on their own.

The performance lasted for more than two hours, but to be honest, Yu Tingyu didn't absorb much of it. She didn't really take in a single word of the joys and sorrows on stage.

She tried to control her divergent thinking, but she found that she couldn't.

She was afraid that when Huaixu came home tonight, he would smell a perfume that wasn't his; she was even more afraid that he wouldn't come home and would spend the whole night outside.

At this moment, she had only one thought in her mind—to get home immediately and see if Wen Huaixu had returned.

However, out of respect for the actors on stage, Yu Tingyu did not get up and leave until the actors bowed in unison and the curtain fell.

She heard someone calling her name from behind. She recognized it clearly as Chen Xuran's voice, but she pretended not to hear it and continued walking.

The sounds behind her gradually stopped, probably because they were tired of shouting. But then, an even more sarcastic remark reached Yu Tingyu's ears: "Forget it, an orphan is an orphan. No father or mother to love her, and no one to discipline her. I won't stoop to her level."

The people around him chimed in.

"Did you eat shit? Your mouth stinks!" Shen Sihe's anger, which had just been extinguished, was easily provoked again by Chen Xuran's words. She rolled up her sleeves and was about to turn around to argue, "Today I'm going to make you know what you should and shouldn't say!"

Zhao Xiao was usually reluctant to argue with girls, but Chen Xuran's words were really harsh. His face turned cold, and he was about to step forward to argue with Shen Sihe.

However, before the two could go forward, Yu Tingyu grabbed them.

Shen Sihe was stunned for a moment, then turned her head and saw Yu Tingyu with a cold expression. Her hand, hanging by her side, was tightly gripping the unfinished glass of water, her knuckles turning frighteningly white.

His eyes looked as if they were covered with a thin layer of ice, and even his breathing was cold.

Her parents are her bottom line.

We will not tolerate anyone trampling on our rights.

The next second, Yu Tingyu raised her arm, and the cold water in the cup was splashed all over Chen Xuran's face.

The entire glass of water was poured down Chen Xuran's forehead, and screams immediately erupted from the noisy theater exit.

Chen Xuran stood frozen in place, water droplets dripping from her hair. It took her a while to recover. She pointed at Yu Tingyu, trembling with anger, and cried out, "You...you dare splash me?!"

"Why wouldn't I dare?"

Yu Tingyu withdrew her hand, her tone icy cold, "You can go to your family and complain about me. I did bully you, and I did bully you, but it takes two to tango. You know best what you said."

Chen Xuran was speechless after being rebuked, but after catching her breath, she started throwing a tantrum again, pointing at Yu Tingyu and saying, "Fine, I'm going to tell Grandpa right now... and Brother Huaixu too. I'll make sure he sees clearly what kind of person the sister he's protecting really is!"

Tell me what?

A deep, calm male voice suddenly came from the side, carrying its usual cold and hard aura, instantly quieting the noisy air.

Wen Huaixu was standing there at some point. His gaze first swept over Chen Xuran, whose hair was dripping wet, and then fell on Yu Tingyu. Seeing that she was standing straight and was unharmed except for some water stains on her hands, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.