Chapter Sixteen: Well, I See Now—This Attack Was Aimed Right at Me!

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“You even know the saying ‘enemies always cross paths’!”

Liu Ruyu rolled her eyes at Vivian, then continued, “Then you should know that we have to get out of here before Huo Qitai notices us.”

With that, Liu Ruyu turned to leave, but Vivian grabbed her and pulled her back.

“Running away in the face of danger is wrong. Besides, after you introduced me to all those delicious Four Treasures dishes, you’ve already stirred up every little worm in my stomach. I’m absolutely starving.”

Vivian took two N95 masks from the classic little black Prada bag she carried with her. She put one on and handed the other to Liu Ruyu.

“Put this on. And we’ll sneak in quietly. They’re sitting at a table farther inside; they won’t recognize us. Please! Please!”

Faced with Vivian’s pleading, Liu Ruyu had no choice but to give in.

The two of them slipped into the restaurant through the glass side door, moving as quietly as possible. Unfortunately, Vivian’s golden hair was simply too dazzling.

The Lin family, who had just taken their seats inside, recognized the two of them at once.

“Big Sis, look! They’re the two beautiful ladies who drove the Porsche earlier. They’ve come to eat Four Treasures too.”

Lin Qi called out excitedly, “If I could get to know them and become friends, maybe I could hitch a ride in their Porsche!”

“Look at you, always thinking so small!”

Lin Yan rapped her brother on the head. Though she sounded disdainful, her eyes had already drifted toward the entrance, apparently hoping to see whether their Porsche was parked nearby.

“Tell me, with their looks and bearing, those two girls are as beautiful as fairies. What kind of men will be lucky enough to marry them someday?”

“Forget marrying them. These heaven-blessed beauties are so far above us that if we could even exchange a few words with them, we might be able to bask in a little of their good fortune.”

The Lin family chattered away, their eyes fixed on Liu Ruyu and Vivian as though nailed there.

Huo Qitai, who had been watching the Lin family’s movements all along, noticed them all staring toward the side door and glanced over as well.

“Pfft!”

The moment he looked, he recognized Liu Ruyu.

Even Vivian, standing beside her, seemed familiar, despite the sunglasses and masks covering their faces.

Searching through his memories of his previous life, Huo Qitai recalled that Vivian was Liu Ruyu’s Chinese-American best friend at Peking University, the two of them practically inseparable.

“What are they doing here? Could Liu Ruyu have deliberately come looking for me? It doesn’t seem that way. Or is this simply a coincidence?”

He watched them for only a couple of seconds before Liu Ruyu sensed his gaze.

“Heehee! Looks like we’ve still been found out! Mengmeng, we’re wearing both sunglasses and masks. Do you think that counts as trying to hide something and only making it more obvious? I only learned that idiom yesterday.”

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Vivian seemed positively delighted by the misfortune. After taking a seat with Liu Ruyu at a small table in the corner, she patted the menu and called to the owner:

“Please bring us every delicious thing you have! We’ll have this, this too, and that one over there… We want all of these…”

“There are only two of you girls. Can you really eat all that? Won’t it be wasteful?”

In those days, restaurant owners still had a conscience—especially the proprietors of old establishments with traditions stretching back many years. Everything was freshly cooked by the chefs, with no pre-prepared dishes. When customers ordered too much, the owners would even offer a friendly warning.

“It’s all right, Boss. If we can’t finish it, we’ll have it packed up.”

Liu Ruyu smiled and nodded.

At the same time, she watched Huo Qitai’s table from the corner of her eye.

“The sign outside says this is an engagement banquet, and most of the people seated here look like elders.

“Then it must be Huo Qitai’s cousin who’s getting engaged—either his maternal or paternal cousin. But it seems the bride and groom haven’t arrived yet.”

Indeed, all the relatives on both sides had arrived for the Huo family’s engagement banquet.

However, the bride-to-be, Lin Sihui, was still at the hotel accompanying the groom’s family, who had only arrived that afternoon.

Naturally, the feast could not begin until the guests of honor arrived.

Thus, the Huo and Lin families occupied two separate tables in the main hall, cracking sunflower seeds and peanuts while chatting and waiting.

Earlier, Great Aunt Lin Qinghua’s forceful emphasis on the surname “Lin” had left every member of the Lin family feeling humiliated.

But they did not dare take issue with Lin Qinghua, their elder sister-in-law. Naturally, they began looking for someone from the Huo family to vent their frustration on and recover a little of their lost dignity.

Especially Lin Yan, who had just received excellent examination results and was feeling extremely pleased with herself. She glanced toward the Huo family’s table, then leaned over and whispered something into her father Lin Songsheng’s ear.

After listening, Lin Songsheng smiled knowingly and nodded again and again before rising to his feet.

“Second Uncle of Sihui, congratulations! I hear your A-Tai has made quite a name for himself. He scored above the first-tier university cutoff in the national entrance examination, didn’t he?”

Having picked his target, Lin Songsheng, the eldest of the Lin family, approached with a broad smile and offered his congratulations.

“Of course! That boy A-Tai has always been clever and mischievous. His mind simply wasn’t on his studies before. Once he put in the effort, he crossed the first-tier cutoff with no trouble.”

Great Aunt Lin Qinghua was the first to respond. Her face was glowing with pride at Huo Qitai’s examination results.

Huo Qitai’s father quickly rose as well and said modestly, “Brother-in-law, he was just lucky. A-Tai happened to perform well in the examination.”

“Yes, indeed! The Huo family has finally produced a university student.”

The previous remark had been a compliment. But this one carried an entirely different implication.

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Beneath the surface, Lin Songsheng’s words both expressed his contempt for the Huo family and pointed out that Lin Sihui, a graduate of the Beijing International Studies University, was not truly “one of the Huo family.”

Great Aunt Lin Qinghua’s face immediately darkened again. She glared at her younger brother Lin Songsheng and said, “If you don’t know how to speak properly, then don’t speak at all. Sihui may bear the surname Lin, but she is unquestionably the eldest daughter of the Huo family.”

“Yes, yes, yes! Big Sis, I just spoke without thinking.”

Lin Songsheng hurriedly pretended to admit his mistake, then added in a sarcastic tone, “You’re absolutely right, Big Sis. But why was A-Tai so thoughtless before? If my Lin Yan had been allowed to live at your house back then, she could have spent the time saved on commuting to and from school on her studies. She probably wouldn’t have scored merely a little over six hundred points.”

Well, well!

Huo Qitai had been listening from the side for quite some time. So that was what this was about—they were coming after him!

Praising one child by stepping on another, was it?

Lin Songsheng had never forgiven Great Aunt Lin Qinghua for allowing Huo Qitai to stay with her while refusing to let his daughter, Lin Yan, do the same.

Now he was using their examination scores as an excuse, deliberately belittling Huo Qitai to elevate his daughter’s results. He wanted to show that the Lin family produced better children than the Huo family—that the Lin family was somehow more noble.

Just as he expected…

After Lin Songsheng said this, everyone at the Huo family’s table looked enviously toward Lin Yan’s table.

This was one of the little arts many people practiced at family gatherings: they would drop hints and reveal their own achievements—or those of their children—in roundabout ways, then wait for others to ask for details so they could bask in everyone’s envy and praise.

“More than six hundred points? That should be enough for a prestigious university, shouldn’t it?” Huo Qitai’s father exclaimed.

From the Lin family’s table, Lin Qi immediately said smugly, “Of course! My sister listed Xiamen University as her first choice, and her other choices were all universities in the 985 and 211 programs.”

“Those are all excellent schools! After graduation, she could return to the city through a talent-recruitment program and find work there. Little Yan won’t have to worry about her future.”

Great Uncle nodded. As Lin Yan’s uncle by marriage, he also voiced his approval of his niece’s results.

“Exactly. My Little Yan has studied hard since she was young and has always behaved herself at school. She was never like your A-Tai, who even dared to get involved in a puppy-love romance…”

Lin Songsheng laughed smugly, once again turning the spearhead toward Huo Qitai.

This time, he had openly brought up Huo Qitai’s “puppy love” scandal.

…