Since Xu Zifan refused to give Ji Yuxin a ride, they haven't seen each other after school. Xu Zifan, who used to sleep all the time, suddenly started to study hard, sitting up straight and taking notes in every class. All the classmates and teachers noticed him, and the empty seat next to him naturally became very conspicuous.
When the homeroom teacher discovered Ji Yuxin had skipped class, she called her in for a talk and asked her to bring her parents. Ji Yuxin quickly promised and begged to get away with it. Back in class, Ji Yuxin angrily shoved Xu Zifan and whispered, "What's wrong with you? Why did you suddenly want to study? You've ruined my life, you know that!"
It happened to be evening self-study without any teachers, so Xu Zifan didn't lower his voice and said coldly, "You skipped class and got caught, so why do you blame me for studying? Just because my grades aren't good doesn't mean I can't study? Besides, you're usually quite ladylike, but now you're hitting people all the time. Did you skip class and go astray outside?"
The whole class turned around when they heard this. Ji Yuxin's face instantly turned bright red, and she glared at Xu Zifan: "Xu Zifan!"
Xu Zifan packed his things and said to the class monitor, "Class monitor, I request to change seats."
The class monitor awkwardly pushed up his glasses, stood up and said, "I'll go ask the teacher, wait a minute."
The class monitor quickly returned and switched seats with Xu Zifan. To prevent Ji Yuxin from skipping class again, the teacher directly asked the class monitor to sit next to her and keep a close eye on her. Xu Zifan moved to a seat in the middle of the class.
Ji Yuxin was so angry that she trembled all over. She suddenly stood up and was about to run out, but the class monitor said, "The teacher said that if you skip class again, your parents will have to be contacted and you will have to read a self-criticism in front of the whole school."
Some people in the class laughed out loud, while others whispered among themselves. Ji Yuxin felt as if her face had been ripped off! But she dared not leave. It would be too embarrassing to read her apology aloud to the whole school. She buried her face in her hands on the desk and sobbed, hating Xu Zifan to death.
From then on, Xu Zifan never spoke to her again, nor did he even glance at her. He listened attentively in get out of class, ran out to play ball with his classmates after class, and his campus life was very colorful. He also enjoyed a loving meal prepared by his mother when he got home in the evening.
Ji Yuxin felt very uncomfortable. No one carried her schoolbag, no one helped her copy homework, no one bought her drinks, and no one drove her home. It was as if her familiar childhood friend had suddenly disappeared. She could no longer skip classes, nor could she use her phone during class. Her contact time with Li Xudong decreased drastically, which made Li Xudong very unhappy. She had to lower herself to please him, which only made Li Xudong less inclined to acknowledge her as his girlfriend.
Two weeks later, the birthday of the real and fake heiresses finally arrived. Xu Zifan had made quite a few friends through playing basketball, including Meng Qi, a boy from Class One who was a rich second-generation heir and was on the guest list for Yan Yaru's birthday party. Xu Zifan befriended Meng Qi and casually expressed his longing and curiosity about the lavish banquet. Meng Qi, with his outgoing personality, immediately went to ask Yan Yaru and agreed to bring Xu Zifan to the birthday party.
Xu Zifan was about the same height as Meng Qi. He borrowed Meng Qi's black suit, used the money he had saved up these past few days to get his hair done and buy a small gift, and successfully entered the Yan family home. Meng Qi took him to greet the birthday girl, "Yan Yaru, this is Xu Zifan. I mentioned him to you before. He's a classmate of ours in Class 3 of the same grade."
Xu Zifan handed her the wrapped gift and politely smiled, saying, "Hello, happy birthday."
Yan Yaru accepted the gift, nodded slightly, and smiled, "Thank you. We're all classmates, so don't be shy. I hope you have a great time today." Then she added to Meng Qi, "Meng Qi, remember to take care of Xu Zifan. Excuse me, I'll take my leave now."
"Go ahead and do your work, don't worry about us." Meng Qi waved his hand, and after watching her leave, he took Xu Zifan to get something to eat. "There will be more people later, and I might have to go out with my dad for a social event. You're the safest person here, so nothing will go wrong. How about it? Not nervous?"
Having attended countless high-class banquets, Xu Zifan was naturally not intimidated by this kind of occasion. He shook his head at Meng Qi, looked at the guests, and said, "I'm fine on my own. You can go to your uncle's side. Thank you for bringing me here today."
"Hey, it's nothing. Okay, I'll head over now. I'll come find you again if there's nothing else. Don't wander off." Meng Qi gave him a few instructions and quickly walked towards the Meng couple.
Xu Zifan, holding a glass of champagne, stood inconspicuously, watching the three members of the Yan family from afar. Yan's father was rather stern, occasionally nodding politely, creating a distance. Yan's mother possessed the quintessential air of a wealthy lady, even her smile was uniformly curved, suggesting a strong emphasis on etiquette and manners. Yan Yaru wore a pure white long dress adorned with rhinestones; her figure was slender, her makeup exquisite, and her long, slightly wavy hair cascaded over her shoulders, topped with a small diamond crown, making her look like a true princess.
This is the provincial capital, and the Yan family is the richest family in the province. In this setting, the Yan family's daughter is indeed the center of attention, surrounded by admirers. Most of the wealthy young ladies present chatted with Yan Yaru, but only they themselves knew how much of it was genuine. After the truth about the fake heiress was revealed, these people all distanced themselves from Yan Yaru.
Ji Yuxin ingratiated herself with the Yan couple, perfectly playing the role of a cute, obedient daughter who loved to fawn over them. She carefully schemed to make the Yan couple misunderstand that Yan Yaru was targeting her. Afterwards, the Yan couple gave Yan Yaru a sum of money and severed all ties with her. Having not seen their biological daughter for eighteen years, they wanted to make amends. They felt they owed their adopted daughter nothing and certainly couldn't allow her to target their biological daughter.
Having lost the protection of the Yan family, Yan Yaru instantly became the target of everyone's ire. Few offered help in her time of need, but many took advantage of her misfortune; perhaps some found pleasure in seeing a once-wealthy heiress fall into ruin?
It's unclear who did it, or if Ji Yuxin was involved, but on a dark, rainy night, Yan Yaru was stripped naked and tied to a telephone pole. She was rescued the next day after someone saw her being attacked and called the police. Deeply traumatized, she was afraid to leave the house and eventually moved in with Ji's parents.
He moved to another city; I wonder how he's doing there.
Xu Zifan waited for ten minutes before finally seeing Ji Yuxin, meticulously dressed, walk into the hall arm in arm with Li Xudong. She must have received some emergency etiquette training; her face wore a perfectly measured smile, but her eyes were unfocused, filled with shock and surprise. That's right, once the truth is revealed, this house will be hers.
After Ji Yuxin put on makeup, her face resembled Yan's mother by about 60%. People who saw her were quite surprised. Yan's mother also looked over in confusion and carefully examined Ji Yuxin's face.
Li Xudong led Ji Yuxin to Yan's mother and said with a smile, "Uncle Yan, Aunt Yan, good evening."
The two nodded to him. Yan's mother looked at Ji Yuxin and said, "And this is..."
Xu Zifan had already walked up to them, frowning as he said, "Ji Yuxin, didn't you say you didn't know Li Xudong?"
Ji Yuxin was surprised to see someone she knew and panicked for a moment, "I...I..."
Xu Zifan apologized to the Yan couple, saying, "I'm sorry, this is my fiancée, Ji Yuxin. We are both Yan Yaru's classmates. I just don't know why he came with Li Xudong. I think I should take her away first. Excuse me."
Ji Yuxin's pupils contracted, and she immediately tightened her grip on Li Xudong's hand. "Xu Zifan, don't talk nonsense!"
Li Xudong questioned Ji Yuxin in a low voice, "What fiancée? What's going on?"
Xu Zifan pursed his lips and looked at the two of them with a sharp gaze, his aura instantly overshadowing Li Xudong. "I was just about to ask, what is the relationship between Li and my fiancée? We were engaged at birth. Half a month ago, I heard that Ji Yuxin was seeing you. She even personally assured me that she didn't know you. Is it true that you two were dating behind my back?"
The Yan couple looked very upset. They didn't know Xu Zifan and Ji Yuxin at all. How could they allow strangers to argue in public at their daughter's birthday party? The father gave the butler a look, and the butler stepped forward politely but firmly and said, "If you gentlemen have something to discuss, please move to the reception room."
Remembering the important matter, Li Xudong hurriedly said, "Uncle Yan, Aunt Yan, I have something to tell you. Yuxin actually..."
"Li Xudong, please don't address my fiancée so intimately. At least until we break off our engagement, if you don't avoid suspicion, you'll be a third party. I think we should go to the reception room with the butler to clear things up. Let's not disturb the guests here. You're not trying to say anything in front of the guests, are you?" Xu Zifan glanced at him indifferently and walked towards the butler.
The father frowned and said, "Let's talk in the back." After saying that, he turned and left with his wife and daughter to continue entertaining the guests.
Yan Yaru glanced at them thoughtfully, a strange unease creeping into her heart. Her mother was also troubled; it was inexplicable that someone looked so much like her, and Li Xudong seemed to have something to tell her. She wanted to go to the reception area to find out. But the scene had already disturbed the guests, and it would be impolite for the host to leave now. She put on her standard smile, acting as if nothing had happened, and began chatting with them.
On the other side, as soon as Xu Zifan and the other two entered the reception room, Li Xudong shook off Ji Yuxin's hand and angrily said, "Ji Yuxin, explain yourself! What engagement? Is he really your fiancé?"
Xu Zifan chimed in, "Ji Yuxin, you better explain yourself. I warned you not to cheat on me, so what gives him the right to question you?"
Li Xudong glared at Xu Zifan, but he was no match for Xu Zifan's imposing manner. Despite losing the argument, he pulled Ji Yuxin into his arms and provocatively said, "This is my woman. Who do you think you are, daring to steal my woman?"
"Rob?" Xu Zifan glanced at them, then sat down on the sofa with an air of nonchalance. "She's my fiancée, nothing more. If she wants to be with you, go ahead, break off the engagement first. If she cheats on me, that's a matter of character, and I'll probably have to settle accounts with her. But since you seem to have been deceived by her as well, I won't hold it against you. After all, she might just be after your money, and any other rich kid would have done the same."
Li Xudong and Ji Yuxin's expressions both changed. Ji Yuxin shouted in a slightly shrill voice, "Xu Zifan, are you sick? Haven't we already gone our separate ways? What gives you the right to say these things?"
"We talked about getting married just half a month ago, and we haven't broken off the engagement since then."
"You! You bastard!"
Ji Yuxin couldn't deny it, so she cursed at him and hurriedly pulled Li Xudong to explain, "It's not what he said. Our two families arranged a marriage for us when we were children, but it doesn't count at all. He's a scoundrel. He threatened me, and that's why I agreed. I was afraid he would tell my parents, so I could only say I didn't know you. Xudong, you have to believe me."