Jiang Ci had been staying at the Lu Family villa for several days.

One day, Lu Yudong told her that Grandpa's birthday was coming up in a few days.

"Are we going to have a big celebration for Grandpa's birthday? What should I do?" Jiang Ci asked earnestly.

"Grandpa is against extravagance, so it'll just be the three of us," Lu Yudong replied.

Jiang Ci checked the calendar and realized that day was a Sunday.

On Friday night, she went to the mall and ordered a massage bed for Grandpa, hoping to surprise him. The massage bed was scheduled to be delivered on Sunday.

She also planned to personally cook a big feast for Grandpa.

On Saturday night, Lu Yudong kept her up late, and being young, she slept in, not waking up until ten on Sunday.

Drowsily standing on the stairs, she saw Grandpa sitting in the living room, with leftover longevity noodles on the dining table beside him.

Jiang Ci assumed the noodles were made by the housekeeper.

As she walked downstairs, she saw Yin Xuemo wearing an apron and slippers, carrying a dish of fish out of the kitchen.

"Just woke up? Forgot Grandpa's birthday?" Yin Xuemo joked with Jiang Ci.

"I..." Jiang Ci wanted to say she hadn't forgotten, but she had just woken up and hadn't done anything.

"Grandpa." Jiang Ci felt guilty for waking up late and looked at Grandpa apologetically.

Grandpa smiled kindly, "It's okay if Little Ci doesn't remember Grandpa's birthday, it's only the first year."

Jiang Ci thought about how Grandpa might not have much time left, possibly no second or third year.

But she had missed most of this important birthday.

Thinking of this, Jiang Ci felt a pang of sadness.

"Alright, Grandpa knows Little Ci is thoughtful, don't worry about it. Come, help Grandpa finish the longevity noodles, you haven't had breakfast, must be hungry. Young people, Grandpa understands," Grandpa said kindly.

Jiang Ci understood what Grandpa meant by "understands," and tears welled up in her eyes but didn't fall. She shyly said, "Grandpa."

Just then, Yin Xuemo came out of the kitchen with a dish, seeing Jiang Ci and Grandpa so close, and overhearing their conversation.

A shadow briefly crossed Yin Xuemo's face.

But being an actress, she quickly replaced it with a "gentle breeze."

"Where's my husband?" Jiang Ci looked around but didn't see Lu Yudong.

She deliberately said "my husband" for Yin Xuemo to hear.

Jiang Ci knew Yin Xuemo liked to stir up trouble. She not only accused Jiang Ci's umbrella of being a fake but also told Lu Yudong about Jiang Ci and Chu Shuo, and even mentioned "giving Lu Yudong to her."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Your husband? He went out to buy me some seasoning. We ran out at home," Yin Xuemo said, her tone as if she were talking about "her man."

"Oh." Jiang Ci sensed something off in Yin Xuemo's tone but responded indifferently.

"I came early to make longevity noodles for Grandpa. Now I'm cooking for you all, just wait, it'll be ready soon." Yin Xuemo went back to the kitchen.

She acted like the lady of the house.

Jiang Ci looked at the lavish spread on the dining table: salted egg yolk stir-fried lotus root, lamb spine stew with Chinese cabbage, lotus seed lily white fungus soup, golden soup beef, steamed sweet potato, braised fish...

There were about twenty dishes in total, both meat and vegetarian.

These were supposed to be Jiang Ci's responsibility.

Yin Xuemo's actions seemed aimed at undermining Jiang Ci's position.

The massage bed Jiang Ci ordered arrived, and the delivery man was arranging to move it into Grandpa's room.

Grandpa was delighted, "As long as it's from Little Ci, Grandpa likes it. Whatever Little Ci buys, Grandpa likes."

Jiang Ci smiled too.

Yin Xuemo jokingly said, "Just ordered it for Grandpa? You woke up late but made up for it well."

She implied that Jiang Ci had truly forgotten Grandpa's birthday and had just ordered the gift.

Jiang Ci knew how manipulative Yin Xuemo was and didn't bother to argue.

After all, Grandpa didn't like Yin Xuemo either.

When Lu Yudong returned, he went to the kitchen to put down the seasoning.

Seeing Lu Yudong with something on his clothes, Yin Xuemo said, "Look at you, where did you get that on you? Let me dust it off."

With that, Yin Xuemo picked up an apron, one hand on Lu Yudong's shoulder, and started dusting him off.

Jiang Ci saw this but pretended not to, feeling a sourness in her heart.

But she knew she had no right.

After finalizing the deal, Jiang Ci was very happy and excited. It was her first time handling a transaction over a hundred thousand yuan, and she felt a bit anxious. Worried about encountering scammers or criminals, she asked Han Lan to accompany her.

Han Lan, no longer needing to keep a low profile, was quite pleased and readily agreed to Jiang Ci's request.

"For something like this, it's best to have a guy with us. If Mr. Lu goes with you, who would dare to cheat him? They wouldn't dare even with ten times the courage," Han Lan said while munching on snacks.

"It's not that easy. We're having a bit of a spat. Besides, this matter involves my ex-boyfriend. Would I be out of my mind to ask him to come along?" Jiang Ci replied.

"Why are you making such a fuss? You can see how just a casual nod from him changes everything for us. People can't wait to flatter him, and here you are, picking a fight," Han Lan said, a bit exasperated.

"Don't mention it. I've been flattering him all along." To this day, Jiang Ci still didn't understand why Lu Yudong suddenly asked her to move out.

How could she cater to his whims without knowing the reason?

"Why not try to appease him? Mr. Lu is into that," Han Lan suggested.

"How do you know? Have you tried it before?" Jiang Ci asked, her tone slightly jealous.

"No, no, I haven't even met Mr. Lu," Han Lan said, trying to act coy. "But seriously, my sister is bringing me some food this afternoon."

"Your sister? Isn't she about to give birth? How can you let her bring you food with that big belly?"

"She's not coming herself; she's sending her brother-in-law. I heard he's quite a catch," Han Lan said dreamily.

"You haven't met him?"

Han Lan rolled her eyes at Jiang Ci. "No, he didn't attend my sister's wedding; he was out of town."

"I'll check him out for you this afternoon."

At six in the evening, the dormitory doorbell rang, and Jiang Ci went to answer it. As soon as she opened the door, she widened her eyes in surprise and said, "Deng Yue?"

"Jiang Ci?"

"Who are you looking for? Me?"

Deng Yue raised the food container in his hand. "I'm delivering food for my sister-in-law to her sister. I didn't expect you two to be roommates. What a small world."

When Han Lan came out and saw that Deng Yue was quite handsome, her eyes sparkled.

"How about I treat you two lovely ladies to dinner tonight?" Deng Yue offered.

"What about the food my sister sent?" Jiang Ci asked with a slight frown.

But Han Lan was already tempted. After all, who wouldn't want to dine with a handsome guy?

"We can put it in the fridge and eat it later. It won't spoil. Let's go, I'll treat you to hot pot," Deng Yue said enthusiastically.

Recently, Jiang Ci and Han Lan had been under a lot of pressure, so they were eager for some relaxation and quickly agreed. Besides, Jiang Ci loved spicy food—the spicier, the better.

During dinner, Deng Yue asked Jiang Ci, "Since we added each other on WeChat, we haven't chatted. I didn't know you worked at New East Group. That's promising."

"I'm just a low-level employee; there's no future in that. Han Lan has more potential; she's the New East Star, a future executive," Jiang Ci said, not forgetting to praise Han Lan.

Jiang Ci could tell that Han Lan had a good impression of Deng Yue. Han Lan and Deng Yue also exchanged WeChat contacts.

"Oh, by the way, Jiang Ci is going to the suburbs on Sunday to inspect a computer factory. We've never been there and are afraid of encountering scammers, so we want a guy to come with us. Why don't you join us?" Han Lan invited Deng Yue. "My sister told me her brother-in-law runs a gaming company, so you're perfect for evaluating computers."

"Visiting a computer factory? No problem. I'll drive you two ladies there. Planning to buy computers? Why not just go to the electronics market instead of the source?"

"Two hundred units. We're donating them to children in the mountains. It's the same school we visited together," Jiang Ci explained easily, as she and Deng Yue had visited the charity school together before.

"Two hundred units, impressive. You must have some money."

"Not really. I sold my dad's house in the countryside," Jiang Ci deflected, fearing Deng Yue would ask about the money's origin, putting her in an awkward position.

She hadn't even mentioned her contractual marriage with Lu Yudong to Han Lan, nor did Han Lan know the source of the money.

Her father's old house was in the countryside, and Jiang Ci had never been there. Besides, you can't sell a homestead.

Fortunately, Deng Yue didn't press further.

What could Jiang Ci say? That she sold herself for it?

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