Su Ran’s voice emerged, causing a rare few seconds of silence in the private room.
The people exchanged glances: Who had called her?
Regarding Su Ran, they pretty much knew everything. After all, the former Su Ran was a public figure; who wouldn’t know about those scandals that had come to light?
It was their old class monitor who smoothed things over, "Su Ran is here? Come in and take a seat."
Su Ran found an empty seat and sat down; she didn’t look around after entering.
The atmosphere quickly warmed up again.
Everyone was talking about their careers, marriage, and children.
When they asked Yang Jiashu, he just scratched his head somewhat embarrassingly, "Ah, I’m just thinking about how to declare my love. I’m afraid she won’t like me."
The crowd was curious at his words.
Could it be possible for a girl not to like Yang Jiashu with his family background?
He was also good-looking, with glasses on, and seemed very refined and gentle.
Their interest piqued, they asked, "Who is the rich girl? Is she wealthier than your family?"
Yang Jiashu fell silent for a moment, then cleared his throat, "She’s not some lady of noble birth, just an ordinary person... I don’t care about those things when looking for a partner. Do I expect my girlfriend to support me?"
Hearing this, they all found it incredible.
Usually, the wealthy families were particular about matching social status.
A wealthy family matched with an ordinary one, isn’t that the classic Cinderella story of marrying into a wealthy family?
Would that be allowed?
They asked further, "Won’t your family object?"
Yang Jiashu made a strange face, "Why would they object to who I’m dating? It’s not like we’re going to share a bed with them."
So, with Yang Jiashu, there wasn’t such strict adherence to hierarchical distinctions.
Some single women were so jealous they couldn’t stand it.
Back then, they were afraid to make a move because wealthy families cared about matching families, and here this guy was, telling them he didn’t care about that!
Someone blushed and asked quietly, "What about Lu Qingyan?"
Lu Qingyan paused while drinking, his gaze drifting toward the girl who had asked, but coincidentally met Su Ran’s eyes.
He withdrew his gaze indifferently.
Yang Jiashu clicked his tongue, "You all can stop dreaming about my Brother Yan, he’s already married."
The crowd was startled, married?
When had that happened?
Lu Qingyan finished the wine in his cup before smiling, "I sent you the wedding invitations at the time."
Of course, they had no reason to refuse.
Attending Lu Qingyan’s wedding would be such a grand affair.
The dinner party reached its climax in this way.
Most of them were asking Lu Qingyan questions.
Lu Qingyan was accommodating, always with a smile, appearing very amiable.
Su Ran watched Lu Qingyan from the shadows, feeling an unexplained sourness in her heart.
He was the favored son of the heavens years ago, and he still was now.
Feeling someone staring at her, she turned her head and saw Cheng An.
She looked somewhat dazed...
It had been a long time since she had contacted him.
It must have been Cheng An who had unilaterally refused to contact her.
Finally, the dinner came to an end.
Su Ran pushed through the crowd, staggering as she went to find Lu Qingyan.
Seeing his figure in the underground parking lot, she hurriedly lunged toward him, "Qingyan."
Lu Qingyan looked down to see Su Ran clutching his sleeve tightly, his brows deeply furrowed: "Let go."
"Qingyan, I have something to ask of you, promise me, and I’ll let you go."
Su Ran took the opportunity to cling even tighter.
Lu Qingyan, impatiently, shook her off directly, causing Su Ran to stagger and fall against a car beside her.
Lu Qingyan glanced at his sleeve with a look of disgust on his face, but he certainly couldn’t just take his clothes off in the middle of a public place.
He headed toward his parking spot.
Su Ran, refusing to give up, continued to approach: "Qingyan, could you lend me three million?"
"I really need it urgently. I need this money to save a life."
Lu Qingyan didn’t even give her a glance: "What does that have to do with me?"
Su Ran bit her lip hard: "You once promised to be with me..."
Lu Qingyan stopped in his tracks, turned to look at her, Su Ran looking back at him with a mixture of grievance and pity.
His voice was ice-cold: "Are you my savior, Su Ran? Did you find me in the mountains, or beside a ditch? You know very well it wasn’t you. Back then, you even took 30 million and left. Now you want to use the ’savior’ card to morally blackmail me, huh? Have some shame."
With each word he said, Su Ran’s face grew paler.
How... how did he know?
Indeed, she had lied, claiming she had saved him in the mountains.
She could have gone up the mountain, but someone else had beaten her to it. When she found him, he was unconscious, while the girl who had rescued him lay face-down in the ditch.
The situation was urgent at the time, so Su Ran took Lu Qingyan and left, not knowing whether the girl was dead or alive.
Now trembling, she could no longer care about anything else.
Kneeling on the ground, she begged: "I’m begging you, lend me three million. My daughter is sick; she needs money to survive. Mr. Wu divorced me, kicked me out without a penny, and left me with our daughter. I really have no way out; I can’t just watch my daughter die. Please lend me three million. Please."
Su Ran had no desire for dignity; she attended the class reunion hoping to run into Lu Qingyan. Banking on their past relationship, she hoped he might help her.
In the end, Lu Qingyan let out a cold laugh: "Sorry, I won’t lend it to you."
He didn’t bother with the desperate Su Ran anymore and drove away in his car.
Su Ran sat on the ground, drained of strength.
Suddenly, a voice came from behind her.
Su Ran turned around, somewhat stunned: "Cheng An?"
Cheng An’s gaze on her was complex.
Su Ran quickly wiped the tears from her face and stood up: "I’m sorry."
She paused for a moment, then placed her hopes on Cheng An: "Anzi, I..."
"Ranran," Cheng An interrupted her, breathing softly. It took him a long while to seem as if he’d let go, self-mockingly: "You seem to be no longer the Su Ran from before."
"The Su Ran from before?" Su Ran was taken aback.
The Su Ran from before had long since died.
She was pushed forward by fate, losing herself with each choice she made.
Fame, award-winning actress, love, leading lady—none of these related to her anymore.
She was just one of the many, utterly ordinary.
Cheng An finally laughed: "Forget it, the Su Ran from the past died on the day my mother passed away. I used to avoid facing you because I was afraid that my feelings for you would dishonor my deceased mother. After all these years, I’ve finally seen clearly. Seeing you now, I realize how ordinary you are. Perhaps what attracted me was the striving, resilient, naive, and kind Su Ran."
The spirited, defiant Cheng An could not return.
Those joyous days of youth spent with Lu Qingyan were gone forever.
Cheng An turned around, with one leg moving stiffly as he walked.
He was saying goodbye to the Cheng An of the past.
Tears poured down Su Ran’s face.
"Su Ran, I’ll give you three million. Help me kill Jiang Nanshu. This deal, will you do it?"
A man’s husky voice emerged from the shadows; Su Ran frantically looked back.