The Tycoon's Mysterious Darling Wife
Chapter 238. The Conspiracy Begins

Chapter 238: 238. The Conspiracy Begins

Fang Tong looked at the man before her without a word, as Ding Minghui grabbed her shoulders. "Tongtong, you still love me, don’t you? Just wait for me for three years, only three years. I’ll divorce her after three years, then I’ll marry you. We can be together forever, never to part again."

"Ding Minghui, what makes you think that after betraying me and marrying another woman, I would continue to wait for you for three more years?" Fang Tong spoke softly.

Ding Minghui was taken aback. "Because I love you, and you love me too, Fang Tong. We love each other."

Heh, just because I love you, you think you can trample on my feelings like this? Sadness filled Fang Tong’s eyes. She moved Ding Minghui’s hands away from her shoulders and looked up at him steadily. "Ding Minghui, I don’t love you anymore. The moment you betrayed me, I stopped loving you. I’ve said before that not even a grain of sand can be mixed into Fang Tong’s world of love. And I certainly won’t wait three years for you. There won’t be any ’us’ anymore, not in this lifetime."

"No, that’s not true. You do love me. Tongtong, we’ve been together for so many years; you wouldn’t just give up on me, would you?"

"Ding Minghui, what do you think I am, Fang Tong, someone you can summon and dismiss at will? Someone you can betray and then take back whenever you want? The world doesn’t revolve around you."

"Tongtong, don’t say things you don’t mean in anger. If you didn’t love me, why would you still be at the company?" Ding Minghui asked her. This was what Ding Minghui had come to understand after a long time of thinking. He knew Fang Tong’s character well—if she truly had no feelings for him, she wouldn’t have stayed.

Fang Tong looked at Ding Minghui, disbelief all over her face. Was this the man she had loved for years? Was this really the Ding Minghui she knew, or had she never truly known him at all?

"Ding Minghui, enough. I, Fang Tong, have never deigned to use something someone else has used. Me staying here has nothing to do with you, so don’t flatter yourself."

"Fang Tong." A flash of annoyance appeared in Ding Minghui’s eyes, but facing Fang Tong’s cold gaze, he softened his tone. "Tongtong, please don’t say these insincere words, okay? I know I wronged you. Just three years, and I promise to marry you. I’ll never betray you again. Believe me."

"What about your fiancée, then?" Fang Tong asked.

Ding Minghui’s face lit up, thinking Fang Tong had agreed, and he blurted out, "She’s just a stepping stone. With her help, I can reach the upper echelons of the company in three years. Then I’ll be able to buy a house in Beijing with my own abilities, and you can buy anything you want."

"Slap." Ding Minghui’s face was struck with a slap, and he looked at Fang Tong in disbelief.

"Ding Minghui, you’re shameless." Fang Tong looked at him coldly. "I must have been blind to fancy you. Ding Minghui, do you know? Just the thought of ever having loved someone like you, a scum, makes me feel sick."

Ding Minghui stood there, stunned, until Fang Tong had walked far away. Only then did he come to his senses, his face burning with pain, reminding him that Fang Tong had indeed slapped him.

He took a moment to collect himself until the pain on his face subsided somewhat, then he went into the company. Just as he reached his office, he heard Liu Hui calling for him. He got up and walked into Liu Hui’s office.

"Minghui, what happened to your face?" Liu Hui asked, seeing his face.

Ding Minghui turned his head to the side. "It’s nothing. Did you want to see me about something?"

Liu Hui smiled, pulled out a stack of wedding invitations from a drawer, and spread them out on the table. "The wedding is next month. I’ve chosen these invitations. I think they’re all nice. Which one do you like?"

Ding Minghui glanced over them indifferently and said, "You decide. As long as you like them, that’s fine."

The smile faded slightly from Liu Hui’s face. "Minghui, the wedding is for both of us."

"Then let’s go with this one." Ding Minghui pulled out an invitation from the pile. Liu Hui looked at it and smiled. "It seems we really do have a good understanding. This is also my favorite invitation, so let’s choose this one."

"Is there anything else? If not, I’m going to head out. I have a lot of work today."

Liu Hui nodded as Ding Minghui was about to leave the office when she called out to him, "By the way, we’re going to take wedding photos this weekend. Don’t forget, after taking the photos, we still need to go house hunting together."

"Got it."

After Ding Minghui left, the smile on Liu Hui’s face completely disappeared. Holding her phone, she flipped through the photos—prominently featuring the scene from this morning where Fang Tong was talking to Ding Minghui, including the picture where Fang Tong slapped him.

A friend had sent these to her. Although she didn’t know what they had talked about, she presumed it was the usual. She was aware Ding Minghui had feelings for Fang Tong, but now that she had managed to pull him away from Fang Tong to be with her, she was determined not to let him leave her for another woman in the future.

Liu Hui’s gaze fell on Fang Tong’s face, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes.

As Ding Minghui walked back to his desk, he pretended not to see the glances that followed him. He knew all too well the whispers behind his back—about being a gold-digger, sleeping his way to the top, a kept man. But what did that matter? After several months on the job, he had come to a realization. As a poor kid from a small village trying to gain a foothold in Beijing, connections were necessary, let alone climbing higher or buying a property. If a shortcut presented itself, what did the process matter?

He knew he had wronged Fang Tong, but he convinced himself he would make it up to her later. She just hadn’t yet come to terms with the harsh realities of life; once she did, she would understand his difficult choices today.

Only later did Ding Minghui truly grasp what his decision that day had cost him.

**

Upon arriving at the Military Region, Shen Qinglan and Fu Hengyi were immediately showered with a wave of congratulations. Last night, as soon as Mu Liancheng and the others returned, Meng Liang could not wait to spread the news of Fu Hengyi’s successful proposal.

"Sister, congratulations," Sister-in-law Zhang said with a beaming smile upon seeing Shen Qinglan. Even though she already knew they were married, this was still a joyous occasion. "Come over to my place for dinner tonight. I’ll cook something delicious to celebrate."

Shen Qinglan’s eyes were full of smiles, and she felt superbly happy, even the shadow of Allen coming didn’t dampen her spirits. "Sister-in-law, no need, your family should come over to our place tonight. Fu Hengyi will cook."

Knowing her own cooking skills were wanting, Shen Qinglan had decisively handed over the kitchen duties to Fu Hengyi. After all, having lived here for a while, Sister-in-law Zhang was well aware of her lack of culinary talent.

Fu Hengyi looked at Shen Qinglan with indulgent affection, "That’s right, Sister-in-law. Come to our house for dinner tonight."

"You bet, I won’t be polite with you two. Dinner at your place is settled, then. I won’t bother going shopping for groceries today. I’ll give Old Zhang a call later," Sister-in-law Zhang agreed promptly.

Shen Qinglan nodded with a smile.

After cleaning the house, Shen Qinglan drove with Fu Hengyi to a slightly farther market, which offered a more extensive selection of produce. It was Shen Qinglan’s first time at a market, and it was with Fu Hengyi.

It wasn’t peak time, and the market wasn’t crowded. Shen Qinglan looked around at the vendors and the dazzling array of vegetables, unsure where to start.

Fu Hengyi flashed a smile and took her hand. "You’ve never been here before?"

Shen Qinglan nodded awkwardly. There was no such opportunity back at Devil Base, and once she returned to the Shen Family, there were others who cooked, leaving her with no need to do it herself. Even the rare times she had gone shopping for groceries, she had only been to supermarkets.

"The produce in the supermarkets isn’t as cheap as here, and a lot of these vegetables are supplied directly to the Military Region. They’re grown by local farmers, and they taste much better than the ones bought from supermarkets."

While chatting with Shen Qinglan, Fu Hengyi headed to the seafood stall, picked out a few items, and then bought some vegetables.

Shen Qinglan followed Fu Hengyi, watching him skillfully select produce and haggle with the vendors, and couldn’t help but smile.

"I hadn’t expected you also had this side to you," she softly remarked as they left the market.

Fu Hengyi glanced sideways, "Oh? Which side?"

"Like this..." Shen Qinglan thought of an adjective, "Down-to-earth."

Fu Hengyi smiled, and seeing her tilt her head to look at him, he couldn’t help but bow his head and gently kiss her on the lips.

The dinner wasn’t just with the Zhang Family; Gu Yang and Gu Kai were there too.

Gu Yang had heard from others that Fu Hengyi was back, and he came back with his fiancée, so he took the opportunity during a break in training to drag Gu Kai over.

"Little sister-in-law, we really owe it to you that we get to enjoy big brother’s cooking today," Gu Yang slurped up a mouthful of food and said, "You have no idea, my big brother hardly ever cooks, even though his cooking is so good, he just won’t make it for us."

Gu Yang kept on chattering non-stop, and Gu Kai couldn’t help but put a chopstick full of food into his mouth, "If it’s tasty, eat more."

Gu Yang’s eyes widened, cheeks puffed, chewing vigorously, and glaring at Gu Kai, "You trying to choke me to death?"

Gu Kai ignored him and continued eating.

"Uncle, are you going to marry Aunt Sister?" Jingjing sat next to Fu Hengyi and asked in a soft voice halfway through her meal.

Fu Hengyi looked down and spoke softly, "Yes."

"Then can I see the bride? Xiao Pang from my class said the bride is very beautiful, the most beautiful person in the world. If Aunt Sister is so pretty, she must be even more beautiful than the most beautiful bride."

"Wow, what sweet words you’ve got, Sister-in-law Zhang, your little girl is something," Gu Yang said with a smile.

Sister-in-law Zhang laughed, peeling a shrimp for her daughter, "Don’t talk during meals, eat first."

Then she continued to lower her head to feed her son in her arms. Old Zhang quickly finished his meal, took his son from Sister-in-law Zhang’s arms, and fed him himself, "I’ll feed him, you eat first."

Shen Qinglan watched Old Zhang feeding and couldn’t help but imagine Fu Hengyi feeding a child, she smiled; he would definitely make an excellent father.

"What are you thinking about that makes you so happy?" Fu Hengyi asked in a soft voice, and Shen Qinglan shook her head, "I won’t tell you."

Fu Hengyi chuckled softly. Gu Yang and Gu Kai exchanged a glance, they really shouldn’t have come to freeload a meal; this wasn’t just a meal, it was wave after wave of dog food.

After the meal, Shen Qinglan refused Fu Hengyi’s offer to do the dishes and joined Sister-in-law Zhang in the kitchen to wash up. Gu Yang and Gu Kai had training that evening and left after eating. Fu Hengyi and Old Zhang chatted on the couch, while Jingjing played with her younger brother on the floor.

"Sister, your wedding with Hengyi is set for September 9th?"

"Yeah, Sister, you definitely have to come have a drink at our wedding," Shen Qinglan said with a smile.

"Of course, even if you didn’t say it, I’d have no shame in coming to drink at your wedding."

The two chatted about household matters while washing dishes. Sister-in-law Zhang was a talkative person. Although she was a housewife now, she knew a lot and had her own opinions. Shen Qinglan always felt pleasant chatting with her.

The next day, Shen Qinglan got up early as usual for a morning run and met Zhao Wei on her way back. She stopped, walked up to him, "Are you waiting for me?"

Zhao Wei’s eyes lit up when he saw Shen Qinglan, "I want to challenge you again."

Shen Qinglan raised an eyebrow, "Now you think you can beat me?"

To her surprise, Zhao Wei shook his head, "No, I still can’t beat you, but I want to know the gap between us. I know you held back last time, so this time I hope you can go all out."

"If I go all out, you might not survive ten moves."

"I still hope you can go all out."

"Fine, I’ll give you a chance, come on."

Zhao Wei launched an attack, and compared to last time, his skills had significantly improved. Although catching up with Shen Qinglan in a short time was impossible, his skills were top-notch compared to an average soldier.

With a shoulder throw, Zhao Wei was again on the ground. This time he didn’t get up, lying there and gasping for air.

Shen Qinglan stretched out her hand to him.

Zhao Wei glanced at the hand in front of him, placed his own on it, and Shen Qinglan’s gaze paused for a moment on Zhao Wei’s wrist, her eyes flickered slightly as she pulled him up.

"Have you had breakfast?" Shen Qinglan asked.

Zhao Wei shook his head. He had come over right after his morning training and didn’t have time to eat; besides, he still had to rush back for more training later.

Shen Qinglan checked the watch on her wrist, "You have ten minutes before your morning training session. I’ll treat you to breakfast."

Zhao Wei hesitated, then agreed, following Shen Qinglan upstairs. This was the first time Zhao Wei had been to the family building.

"Where are you from?" Shen Qinglan asked while eating.

"F province, G city."

Shen Qinglan’s eyes flickered slightly, "Were you born there?"

Zhao Wei shook his head, "No, I was adopted. I don’t know where I come from."

"Do you remember anything from your childhood?"

Zhao Wei looked at Shen Qinglan curiously, seemingly not understanding why she was asking this.

"Just asking," Shen Qinglan said, then fell silent. After Zhao Wei left, Shen Qinglan thought for a moment and still decided to call Jin Enxi.

"Okay, I got it. Also, An, Allen has arrived, what do you plan to do?"

"Ignore him," Shen Qinglan said, then hung up. She glanced at the time, left a note on the table, and then left.

In the cafe, Allen looked at the person who appeared and slowly smiled, "Xiaoqi, your sense of time is still so strong."

Allen was alone, Xu Nuo was not seen. Shen Qinglan sat down opposite him, her cool face void of any expression. "Allen, I didn’t expect you to still be alive."

Allen’s smile was charming. "Xiaoqi, you’re not dead, how could I dare to die?" He gazed longingly at the face before him. "My Xiaoqi has grown up, becoming more and more beautiful, yet not as cute as when you were younger."

"Allen, you want to die." Shen Qinglan’s voice was low, but the murderous intent in her tone was unmistakable.

Allen laughed it off. "Xiaoqi, you know, I’ve never been afraid of dying."

Shen Qinglan of course knew he wasn’t afraid of death, none who came out of that organization were, "The assassination attempt on Enxi, was that your order?"

Allen nodded without hesitation. "It was me. They betrayed me, lived comfortably all these years, and now I have become this neither human nor ghost figure, I should claim some interest from them. Xiaoqi, you know, those who betray me never have a good end."

Shen Qinglan crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, "So, what are you planning to do with me, kill me?"

Allen shook his head. "Xiaoqi, you’ve always known I can’t bear to kill you." Even if you betrayed me, I still can’t bear it.

"State your terms."

"Heh." Allen chuckled. "My Xiaoqi is always so smart. Since you are so clever, you should know what I want. Xiaoqi, as long as you are willing to come back to me, I can let them go, including your man, I won’t touch him. How about that, isn’t that a good deal? Oh, right, I can also take care of that woman in prison for you, make sure she suffers a fate worse than death, how about it?"

Shen Qinglan’s expression didn’t change. "Allen, things are different now. I was once capable of destroying everything you had, including yourself, and I still am now."

"Xiaoqi, do you really think that if it weren’t for my permission back then, you could have destroyed my years of hard work with just your few people’s abilities?"

Shen Qinglan’s gaze shifted slightly, she looked intently at Allen. "What do you mean?"

"Xiaoqi, you’re so smart, you should understand my meaning. Take your time to consider my proposition, I’m not a patient man, and if you make me wait too long..."

Shen Qinglan remained silent for a while before looking at Allen, "Allen, you understand my temper well too, if you touch my family or my friends, it’s war to the death between us, of course, feel free to disbelieve."

"No, I believe you. My Xiaoqi always follows through with her words. But, Xiaoqi, don’t try to provoke me, the consequences of my madness are terrifying. Consider my proposal carefully, my dear."

Allen stood up, and Shen Qinglan noticed a moment of stiffness in his body, her eyes casually swept over his legs, "By the way, Xiaoqi, let me tell you some news, your man has offended KING, and KING will surely act against him soon. I’ve heard that this time, KING is really investing heavily, I wish him good luck."

Finally, Shen Qinglan’s complexion changed. She watched Allen’s departing silhouette, her face darkening.

Shen Qinglan could guess some of the grudge between Fu Hengyi and KING. Enxi had mentioned before that KING was recruiting mercenaries, but since there had been no action for so long, she had gradually let the matter slide. Now to hear Allen bring it up, what was his purpose? Was it really just a simple reminder?

Leaving the cafe, Shen Qinglan didn’t go straight back to the Military Region. She drove to the villa. Surprisingly, even Jin Enxi and the others, including Andre, who should have been filming, were there. "An, what brought you here?"

Jin Enxi opened the door and was shocked to see Shen Qinglan, especially since Shen Qinglan had just called her today, indicating she had gone to the Military Region.

"Did you find out where Allen is staying?" Shen Qinglan cut to the chase.

Jin Enxi shook her head, "No, he and that woman named Xu Nuo have been missing since the banquet that day." She had wanted to capture that damned woman, but unexpectedly, she couldn’t even find her.

Shen Qinglan had already anticipated this outcome and was not surprised at all. She recounted her encounter with Allen, and everyone’s expressions turned grim.

"An, what do you think Allen meant by that? What does ’without his permission, we couldn’t possibly destroy the base’ mean?" Cissily’s eyes were unkind.

"It might just be his psychological warfare," Eden guessed.

"Forget it, if it comes down to a fight, what am I afraid of? I can handle it," Cissily said irritably, rubbing her face.

Shen Qinglan looked around at the group, "Be careful, everyone, these days."

"Enxi, what has BK been doing lately?"

Jin Enxi immediately made a phone call, "Nothing special going on. It’s said that KING was severely injured by Interpol recently and is now hiding somewhere to heal."

Not obtaining any useful information and because time was almost up, Shen Qinglan left the place.

**

In a private room of a hotel in Beijing, Xu Nuo pushed open a door and saw a woman sitting on a sofa. Her face changed, "How are you here?"

The woman smiled slightly, "Xu Nuo, you see me and don’t even call me mom?"

Xu Nuo pursed her lips and reluctantly called out, "Mom."

The woman beamed with satisfaction and pointed to the sofa, "Sit down, talk with mom for a while."

Xu Nuo sat down on a sofa a distance from the woman, eyes downcast to the floor, and didn’t initiate conversation.

"Xu Nuo, how have you been these years?" the woman asked gently, her eyes tender as they rested on Xu Nuo.

But Xu Nuo, as if she hadn’t seen it, remained cold and silent, "What do you want me to do this time?"

"Xu Nuo, I’m your mom. I’ve just come to see how you are. How can you talk to your mom like that?" The woman seemed a bit heartbroken.

Xu Nuo’s gaze was impassive, still lowered, avoiding the woman’s eyes.

Sighing, she continued, "Xu Nuo, I know you’ve always resented me for sending you to Allen. I’m aware of the hardships you’ve endured these years, but Nuonuo, mom had no choice, right? If I hadn’t done that, would you have learned what you know today? I know you like Allen, and mom doesn’t object to you being with him..."

"Enough," Xu Nuo cut her off, "Just tell me straight up what you want me to do."

The woman lost the pitiful act and sat up straight, "Alright, since you prefer directness, I’ll be frank. I want Shen Qinglan dead."

Xu Nuo finally looked up at the woman on the sofa, "Why?"

The woman glanced at her, took out a pack of cigarettes from her bag, drew one out, lit it, took a puff, and exhaled a smoke ring, her eyes slightly narrowed, "That’s not for you to worry about. All you need to do is follow my orders. Allen likes Shen Qinglan, which you should know without me saying it, but what you may not know is that Allen suffered such a serious injury and nearly died once because of Shen Qinglan."

Xu Nuo watched the woman in shock. "What did you just say? The injury to Allen was because of Shen Qinglan?"

"Yes, it was her."

"Then why is Allen still..." If it was Shen Qinglan who had injured Allen seriously, based on Allen’s temperament, why was Shen Qinglan still living well? More importantly, she knew that Allen had been injured for several years. If Shen Qinglan was the one who had hurt Allen back then, how old was Shen Qinglan at that time?

"Hehe," the woman scoffed in a cold laugh, her eyes mocking, "because of his foolish, laughable, and pathetic love."

Xu Nuo’s face went a bit pale. Did Allen really love Shen Qinglan that much? Then, was there even a sliver of possibility between her and Allen?

The woman seemed to have read her thoughts and spoke gently, "Xu Nuo, Shen Qinglan is the biggest obstacle between you and Allen. As long as you deal with Shen Qinglan, Allen will naturally forget her. You’ve been by his side all along; he’ll naturally only see you."

Xu Nuo fell silent and after a long while, she pursed her lips faintly. "I can’t defeat Shen Qinglan." Although she had never crossed hands with Shen Qinglan, she knew that she couldn’t defeat her.

A trace of disdain flickered in the woman’s eyes. Her daughter was still too foolish. "You can’t defeat her, but there are naturally people who can. I’ve heard that KING recently wants to trouble Fu Hengyi, and the person Fu Hengyi cares about most is Shen Qinglan. You just have to pass this information to the people of BK, and naturally, they have ways to deal with her. You can easily dispose of Shen Qinglan without lifting a finger."

Xu Nuo thought about the feasibility of this method but ultimately shook her head. "Allen doesn’t like the people from BK, especially KING. If he finds out I have connections with KING’s people, he will definitely not let me go."

So useless. The woman thought to herself, regretting once again that she had chosen such a successor. Shaking her head, she continued gently, "You don’t need to handle this personally. You can find someone else. I’m sure there are people who dislike Shen Qinglan and are thinking about how to deal with her. You can give them this opportunity."

With this, Xu Nuo finally remembered Wu Qian. Initially, it was just a coincidence that she had assisted Wu Qian, and now it could be put to use.

"Moreover, while Shen Qinglan is clever, she takes her so-called friends too seriously. There isn’t just one way to deal with enemies. You need to think flexibly."

Xu Nuo listened in silence. Although she didn’t respond to the woman, she took her words to heart.

Seeing that she was receptive, the woman smiled in satisfaction. "Don’t worry, Xu Nuo. Even if Allen finds out about this, it’s no big deal. I will talk to him. He will give me that much face, so he won’t do anything to you."

Xu Nuo felt somewhat tempted, but her face didn’t show a hint of it.

"Alright, it’s getting late. You should rest well. You can think about this matter carefully. Remember, Shen Qinglan is the biggest barrier between you and Allen. Although she’s married now, with Allen’s obsession with her, as long as she is alive, he will never give up, and you will never have a chance. Even if you’re by Allen’s side, he can’t see you. These past few years have been the best proof."

Xu Nuo pursed her lips. The woman glanced at her, smiled, and stood up to leave.

The air was tinged with the light scent of a woman’s cigarette. Xu Nuo didn’t know how long she sat on the sofa before finally standing up. She went to the bathroom to take a shower, lay in bed, closed her eyes, but couldn’t fall asleep. Her mind was filled with a whirl of chaotic images.

She had been an orphan since she was young. The woman who had just left, and who was her mother, had adopted her and taken her out of the orphanage. Xu Nuo had thought she would be greeted by a healthy, complete family, but instead, she found herself with a crazy woman who would often drink heavily. When drunk, she would go into fits and beat Xu Nuo mercilessly. But when sober, she would be good to Xu Nuo, holding her while crying, apologizing, and buying her all sorts of beautiful clothes and fancy foods, taking her to amusement parks.

Xu Nuo had mixed feelings of love and hate for this mother. Just when Xu Nuo thought she would grow up in this way, the woman introduced her to a man, a man in a wheelchair with a long scar across his face, running from his forehead down to his mouth, splitting his face in half, with various wounds on the exposed skin, a scary sight.

Xu Nuo was frightened of this man. She wanted her mother to take her away from that dark place, but the woman turned and left, abandoning her there, ignoring her cries. Xu Nuo tried to follow, but she was grabbed, whipped, and forced to undergo various kinds of training. Several times she thought she was going to die, but she always survived.

During the last trial mission, she was seriously injured, lying on the ground, barely alive, without the strength to even stand. She could feel her soul gradually leaving her body. Just as she was about to close her eyes, the figure of a man appeared in her line of sight, sitting in a wheelchair, looking at her coldly.

Then, the man took her back, and she graduated successfully, adorned with a dark red Red Spider Lily on her shoulder.

She feared this man because he was brutal and sinister; you couldn’t see any human emotion in him, but...

Xu Nuo placed a hand over her heart, feeling its gradual, steady beats. It was this very man, she fell in love with, at a time she wasn’t even aware of it.

Allen, would you only notice my existence if Shen Qinglan were dead?

**

Shen Qinglan received a call from Fang Tong today, asking her to join in packing up their things at school. After a moment’s thought and finding no other plans for the day, she agreed, informed Fu Hengyi, and then drove off.

By the time she arrived, Fang Tong was already there, as was Yu Xiaoxuan, who had driven herself without Han Yi in sight.

"Qinglan, we’re really graduating," Yu Xiaoxuan said with a hint of wistfulness on her face as she looked at the vibrant students in the campus.

Shen Qinglan, on the other hand, wasn’t as stirred, whereas Fang Tong also wore an expression of nostalgia and emotion.

"Qinglan, let’s take a walk around the campus before we go," Yu Xiaoxuan suggested.

Shen Qinglan had no objection, and the three of them strolled through the campus. Many had already noticed Shen Qinglan and Yu Xiaoxuan, but this time they did not crowd around; instead, they smiled and nodded in a friendly manner. Shen Qinglan and Yu Xiaoxuan returned the gesture with a smile.

"You’re celebrities now," Fang Tong teased the pair, without a hint of envy in her tone.

Yu Xiaoxuan pouted. "Celebrity is Qinglan, okay? I’m far from famous." Her TV series was still in production and hadn’t aired yet. Though she had done quite a few commercials, none were particularly famous, so her notoriety wasn’t that high, and her fan base was nothing compared to Shen Qinglan’s.

"Qinglan is the most low-profile celebrity I’ve ever seen. They say fans are like their idols, and seeing Qinglan, I believe it. Look at her fans, how well-behaved they are."

Although these people hadn’t approached for autographs or photos, their gazes were filled with admiration for their idol.

Shen Qinglan smiled faintly; indeed, these were some lovely people, which is why she hadn’t declined when Daniel suggested she start a Weibo account to increase interactions with her fans. Sometimes, seeing so many people supporting you was a truly unique experience.

"Qinglan, Fang Tong, do you remember? During our military training in college, I pretended to faint and you two carried me to the infirmary; then we hid here and ate popsicles." Yu Xiaoxuan pointed to a grassy area, laughing as she spoke.

"Of course, I remember. You ate too many popsicles that day and ended up in the infirmary for real. Yu Xiaoxuan, you’re the most food-loving girl I’ve ever met," Fang Tong recalled the incident with a laugh.

"What do you mean I love to eat the most? That’s because you’ve never seen Ya Xi. Ya Xi really knows how to eat. Last time at Qinglan’s engagement party, I hid with her eating snacks, and she ate even more than I did."

Fang Tong certainly knew of Ya Xi but wasn’t familiar with her, having only exchanged a few words at the party. She remembered her as a very cheerful and smiley girl.

As food enthusiasts, Ya Xi and Yu Xiaoxuan had formed a "revolutionary friendship" since that banquet, exchanged contact information, and agreed to go enjoy gourmet food together after Ya Xi’s college entrance exams.

"Oh, speaking of food, it reminds me of our class trip in our second year, when we had outdoor barbecues, and the food Qinglan grilled was so delish. Even without any seasoning, it was so fragrant and crisp," Yu Xiaoxuan recalled the savory memory, swallowing saliva with an expectant look at Shen Qinglan, "Qinglan, speaking of which, we haven’t had your grill in a long time. When can we organize that again, just the few of us?"

"Sure," Shen Qinglan agreed. Cooking wasn’t her strong suit; the only delicious dishes she could make were the few she had specifically learned from Sister-in-law Song and Aunt Zhao, along with egg noodles. Her other forte was barbecue.

Back when they were frequently thrown into the tropical rainforest for training, all they had was a sharp dagger, having to find their own food. If they didn’t want to eat something cold, they had to figure out how to cook something hot, and it was during those times that her barbecuing skills were honed.