Rebirth: The Time-locked Girl
Chapter 321 Unbelievably, our Ah Lan must not be wronged [1 more update]

Chapter 321: 321 Unbelievably, our Ah Lan must not be wronged [1 more update]

She was dressed in a black cheongsam today, with dark green bamboo patterns drawn on it.

A string of emerald-green beads adorned her right wrist, setting off her skin like jade, her raven hair cascading like a waterfall.

She stood like a tall, slender bamboo, poised against the wind.

Zhou Hechen was taken aback, and at first, he simply couldn’t bear to look away.

Having grown up in South City, he had always preferred traditional culture to Western culture.

No wonder she was Yan Tingyue’s student; she possessed such an aura.

A sense of admiration began to rise in Zhou Hechen’s heart.

It wasn’t until the girl removed the hat on her head that an all-too-familiar face was exposed to his view.

Her brows and eyes were faint, her demeanor composed, yet there was an underlying sharpness that commanded respect, defying anyone to despise her.

This was a face with a strong presence, one which wouldn’t make one feel the slightest discomfort, only admiration.

"..."

Everything seemed to freeze at that moment.

"Dang——!"

Zhou Hechen heard the sound of his brain crashing, and for a moment, he was deaf.

In his memory, Ye Wanlan was still that vulgar, greedy, shameless person from the start.

No matter how superb Ye Wanlan’s performance had been over these months, he hadn’t changed his opinion of her.

The way Ye Wanlan had acted in the past two years had irrevocably fixed her image in his mind.

Pleasant to the eye, but devoid of any real substance or soul.

Yet at this moment, Zhou Hechen’s mind was deeply shaken.

This was... Ye Wanlan?

Sheng Yunyi couldn’t hide her astonishment; her tone even changed abruptly, "Why are you here?!"

The Zhou Corporation was an old brand with a history of a hundred years, but now, as the era rapidly evolved and trends changed daily, the Zhou Corporation faced serious setbacks due to the impact of emerging companies.

Since Sheng Huaiqian had taken charge, he had driven Sheng Yunyi out of the Sheng Family and cut off her financial resources.

Luckily, before Madam Sheng went to prison, the marriage between Sheng Yunyi and Zhou Hechen had been arranged, or else she would have been left with nowhere to turn.

But now, she also had to cling tightly to Zhou Hechen.

So, after the Zhou Corporation faced a crisis, she did everything possible to save it.

After much effort, she managed to reach out to Kunqu opera’s number one successor, Yan Tingyue, and she saw Yan Tingyue’s attitude begin to waver. But the moment she saw Ye Wanlan, she knew all her efforts had vanished in an instant.

Sheng Yunyi’s mind struggled to keep up.

How did Ye Wanlan get to know Yan Tingyue?

And how did she become a disciple of Yan Tingyue?

Did Ye Wanlan ever study Kunqu opera?

Did she even have the capacity?

Countless questions swirled in Sheng Yunyi’s mind, buzzing like a million flies, nearly causing her to faint.

Yet she couldn’t pass out; she had to watch with her own eyes as Yan Tingyue warmly welcomed Ye Wanlan.

"Teacher," Ye Wanlan didn’t pay any mind to Zhou Hechen and Sheng Yunyi. She placed her handbag on the table, "I brought some pastries for you, fresh out of the oven."

"With Xiao Bing and Xiao Tie here, you don’t have to run over here every day." Yan Tingyue patted her hand, "Recording shows every day must be tiring for you, I’m fine."

"Not at all, I’m not that tired," Ye Wanlan smiled, "Bing He, Tie Ma, you guys take a break too."

"Over here!" Bing He put down his plowing tool and rushed over cheerfully.

He knew industrious oxen and horses got to eat!

Tie Ma watched Bing He disappear in an instant, like a wild horse off its reins, with an emotionless face.

He often didn’t want to work alongside Bing He, to avoid having his IQ dragged down.

"By the way, do you know each other?" It was only then that Yan Tingyue remembered Zhou Hechen and Sheng Yunyi’s presence, "If you know Ah Lan..."

Then she wasn’t averse to helping.

Ye Wanlan was not just her only successor; she was also her savior.

If it weren’t for Ye Wanlan that day, she would have lost her life.

"Elder Yan, you have no idea how these two have bullied Miss Ye," Bing He said sarcastically, "One treats Miss Ye as a stand-in, while the other shamelessly believes Miss Ye to be her own substitute. They constantly trouble Miss Ye, claiming she’s playing hard to get—I’ve never seen such vanity."

Upon these words, the look in Yan Tingyue’s eyes turned cold in an instant.

Her features, already somewhat sharp, often had her playing male roles on stage, and now with her eyebrows pressed down, she emitted an overwhelming aura of authority.

Yan Tingyue looked at Zhou Hechen and Sheng Yunyi, then asked Bing He, "What else?"

"There’s so much more;; just a few months ago, they falsely accused Miss Ye of stealing a painting," Bing He counted on his fingers, "Miss Ye has not bothered with them for so long, and they keep making her life difficult, even saying she’s playing hard to get. I’ve never seen anyone so narcissistic."

The temperature in the wooden hut dropped again.

Zhou Hechen and Sheng Yunyi had never expected that Bing He would tell Yan Tingyue every single thing without missing a detail.

Wasn’t Ye Wanlan embarrassed and ashamed?

This was certainly not something to be proud of.

"The two of you are the young masters and mistresses of the Jiang Circle, I and Ah Lan are not worthy to climb so high," Yan Tingyue scoffed coldly, "But this is my dwelling, and if I do not wish to see someone, that person must leave."

The smile on Sheng Yunyi’s face was incredibly forced, and she was almost unable to maintain it any longer: "Elder Yan, things are not as you imagine, we—"

Yan Tingyue paid no mind to her excuses and slowly picked up her phone, dialing the number of the intermediary.

The call was quickly connected.

"Hey, Tingyue sis!" Xu Yu was very pleased, "I’m about to return to Shenzhou, and when I do, I’ll definitely treat you to a meal."

Yan Tingyue spoke calmly, "You sent people my way, I won’t hold it against you, but the people you introduced have wronged my disciple enormously. I’m not even done protecting and loving her, and here I am, having to ask what you mean by this?"

"Tingyue sis?" Xu Yu was also somewhat baffled, "When did you take on a disciple?"

"That’s not important," Yan Tingyue said coldly, "What’s important is you not to send any more trash my way, and I won’t need it in the future either!"

The blood drained from Sheng Yunyi’s face at those words.

Her body swayed, and if not for her sheer force of will, she would have collapsed.

In Jiangcheng, she was a renowned and praised painter.

Even though Madam Sheng and Sheng Ronghua had already been imprisoned, others still sympathized with her. When had she ever been scolded like this?

Zhou Hechen’s hands hung at his sides, clenched into fists, his inner turmoil was tens of times more complicated than Sheng Yunyi’s.

As a member of the Zhou Family, he had always been proud.

Even if Zhou Heyuan had once overshadowed his glory, now only he remained of the Zhou Family.

In his view, he would always look down from a high place, especially at commoners like Ye Wanlan, who could never stand on equal footing with him.

But at this moment, he found himself in the lower position.

Zhou Hechen felt as if he was suddenly unable to catch his breath, as if a million ants were incessantly gnawing at his heart.

He couldn’t bear such a fall from grace.

"Aren’t you two leaving yet?" Bing He glared menacingly, "Every day you come troubling our Miss Ye, and you still expect Elder Yan to help you, pah, what a pipe dream!"

Tie Ma did not speak, but his expression was ferocious, almost as if he was on the verge of attacking someone.

"Hechen, let’s go," Sheng Yunyi was suffering immensely inside.

She tugged at Zhou Hechen’s sleeve but found him staring blankly at Ye Wanlan, causing her to feel an instant surge of wariness!

Without the Sheng Family to rely on, she was vulnerable, yet Ye Wanlan had a master in Yan Tingyue.

If...

"Get out, why are you staring at our Miss Ye?" Bing He raged, "Hurry up and leave!"

With a swift kick, he decisively booted Zhou Hechen out of the door and swiftly closed it behind him.

Bing He clapped his hands, looking triumphant.

He had done his job well today, and when he reported to the Young Master later, he was sure to get a nice bonus at the end of the year.

"How could you have suffered such an indignity in Jiangcheng without saying a word?" Yan Tingyue was still furiously upset, "And those two spoke as if they wanted to combine intangible cultural heritage with modern commerce, saying it all nicely, when it’s just to make money and not to protect culture."

"Teacher, they’re people of no consequence, why bother about them?" Ye Wanlan smiled slightly, "Don’t be angry, I’ve already prepared for all sorts of things in Jiangcheng."

"Outrageous!" Yan Tingyue was still fuming with residual anger, "Always those who flatter the influential and scorn the humble. If they come back to please you again, you mustn’t be soft-hearted."

Ye Wanlan couldn’t help but laugh, "When have I ever been someone who’s easily soft-hearted?"

Her heart was harder than anyone else’s.

"Let’s not talk about this anymore," Yan Tingyue sighed, "I’ve found another opera costume that I want to give to you, but it’s damaged and I don’t know how to fix it, which really gives me a headache."

This opera costume had been passed down from the Ning Dynasty Period and was a rare piece that had been very well preserved.

Because of a major invasion three hundred years ago, many relics had been utterly destroyed by fire.

Yan Tingyue only had some understanding of embroidery. She tried to mend it but found she was unable to restore the patterns on the costume.

"Hmm?" said Ye Wanlan, "Let me have a look."

Yan Tingyue took the opera costume out of the cabinet: "Here, this one. You’ll probably look beautiful in it."

She unrolled the costume and spread it out on the table.

Ye Wanlan’s eyes instantly focused intently on it!

"What’s wrong?" Yan Tingyue noticed the change in her expression, "Don’t you like it?"

"No," Ye Wanlan shook her head, "I just didn’t expect to see it again."

This opera costume was the birthday gift she had given to the Carefree King, Yan Shunhua.