Coming back to Xie Nuying's house after their stroll, Jun and Ai were about to head inside when one of the neighbors saw them going in.
"Oh, you are back?" Duan Ren raised her brow.
She was a woman in her mid-fifties with a lock of grey hair near her ear.
Ai politely greeted her. "Hello, Mrs. Duan."
She smiled. "You are back after so long. Oh I heard that you won some competition?"
Jun narrowed his eyes and was disgruntled with the tone she used. It felt as if she didn't regard the Summit as something important.
"Ai has become so famous now. I am surprised you remembered your parents," she chuckled, "You know kids these days are quick to forget their roots. Don't get too lost in Beijing's sparkle and glitter, or girls like you meet a sad fate in the end," she sighed.
Jun's fingers twitched with a thirst to kill her. At the same time, he felt the name Ren and her face oddly familiar.
Ai was hardly perturbed. "Shouldn't you give that suggestion to your daughter? I heard that she is dating some rich guy from the neighborhood college and doesn't come back home for days. Shouldn't you be more worried about her? She is already forgetting her roots living in the same city as you."
Her expression twisted. "You…it's a misunderstanding. Her exams are near, so she is a part of a study group. She is working hard for her exams."
"Guess we will know that after seeing her results."
Feeling irked, she said, "Don't be so arrogant because you have just won a competition or that people are singing your praises, Ai. It's easier to fall than rising to the top."
"Oh. That's why you are so edgy because people are singing my praises," Ai shot back and revealed her jealousy.
Her gaze fell on Jun, and her eyes widened seeing such a handsome man with a charming aura. From a glance, she could tell that his clothes, watch and shoes were expensive.
Duan Ren's gaze seemed bitter.
Why did she land such a capable boyfriend? If my Tingting could get a man like him…
"Are you…" Jun tilted his head and stared at her, "Ren…as in Ding Ren?"
She froze. She watched Jun, horror enveloping her pupils.
Ai pressed her brows. "Ding Ren?"
"That's her maiden name. I have heard of the Ding family. They were once part of the rich socialite group. Not really rich but fair enough. I was very young when it happened. Three or four I guess?
But I heard the ugly divorce you went through at that time, and then your family disowned you."
I don't remember who she was married to though. What was his name again…?
"I remember reading an article about you with your picture on it. It was a nasty divorce…"
Shit that husband's name is just on the tip of my tongue. Something from G…
Duan Ren trembled hard and wiped her forehead. "Nonsense! I don't know what you are talking about. What Ding Ren? That's not my last name! Don't go on spreading rumors!"
Even though he is from a rich family, I never thought that he would recognize me. It's impossible!
Jun's eyes slowly widened. "Gu Rong?"
She stiffened, and her face whitened as if she saw a ghost.
"You are Gu Rong's ex-wife, right?"
Ai snapped her head towards Jun. "Mr. Gu Rong as in…Yating's father?"
"Yes. I remember now."
"Shut up!" Duan Ren stumbled back. "You are bluffing. Don't make things up as you please!"
Jun icily replied. "Liu Jun doesn't have to make things up."
Duan Ren blankly stared at him.
Liu…Jun? From that prestigious Liu family!?
"So you came here after your divorce," Jun narrowed his eyes.
Her face turned even paler.
Duan Ren hastily said, "You are really misunderstanding. I don't know Gu Rong. Please don't spread rumors about me! I-I have to head back."
She stepped into her house and loudly shut the door.
Ai asked, incredulous. "Is she really Yating's mother?"
"I believe she is. She is- or was Gu Rong's wife for sure. Even I am quite astonished to know this. Gu Yating's mother has been living as your neighbor this whole time? That's some serious coincidence…"
Ai still had trouble believing it. In her past life, Yating had never mentioned much about his family, especially not his mother. To know now that she lived right next door to her house all this time was baffling.
Recalling her past life, she slowly said, "I remember that around the time I broke up with Yating and came back to live here, I found that she had moved away from here later. She suddenly got a lot of money and moved with her family to a richer area."
Jun squinted his eyes. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel·fıre·net
"Before that happened, there was also a spell where she urged me not to break up with my boyfriend. She never took Yating's name, but she was quite persistent though. She kept telling to give it another chance and get back with him. I felt she was really being nosy."
Jun narrowed his gaze.
Getting rich overnight and asking Ai to continue her relationship before…
He gritted his teeth. "Fuck! She was definitely trying to use you to get close to Gu Yating. She must have learned somehow that you were his girlfriend. She thought it was a stroke of luck that you turned out to be her neighbor and her son's girlfriend. Through you, she wanted to go back to the Gu family!
"But she is divorced from Mr. Gu Rong and has her own family now."
He sneered. "Money. Don't forget that she belonged to a rich family once. She had to resort to living this average and mediocre life because of the ugly divorce with Gu Rong. Her family disowned her. Then when she learned about your relationship, she figured it was a good chance to use you and Gu Yating and get hold of Gu family's wealth."
Ai furrowed her brows. "But I never agreed to go back to Yating. So, she could never use me. Then how did she get that money?"
His eyes swirled with questions. "She must have found another way to get what she wants. But what?"