Upon hearing this, Xie Lan nodded without hesitation. "I've heard of it!"
How could she ever forget that name? After all, she had imagined countless times what Zhou Zhou might be like. Back then, Zhang Qiaoqiao believed that Zhou Zhou must be the kindest and most beautiful older sister in the world—someone who would selflessly help a stranger without expecting anything in return.
Their few interactions had always been relayed through Teacher Bai. Zhou Zhou had never asked for anything from her, only sending encouragement for her to study hard and be happy.
After being taken back to the Xie family, her life had undergone earth-shattering changes. Suddenly, she had so many new things and faces to adjust to, leaving little room for other matters.
Yet, whenever she was alone, she couldn’t help but think of the past. The question that occupied her mind the most was how to reconnect with her old friends—and second, how to find Zhou Zhou.
Now that she had unimaginable wealth, she could repay Zhou Zhou’s kindness many times over. That way, Zhou Zhou’s generosity would be rewarded, and Xie Lan would feel happy too.
Before she could act, however, the opportunity presented itself.
She had almost missed it earlier, but this time, she was determined not to let it slip away. Summoning her courage, Xie Lan said, "Sister, I’m Zhang Qiaoqiao!"
"Ah?"
For a moment, she didn’t know where to begin explaining. Should she start with the time she was called out of class by her teacher? Or when she was brought to City K and moved into a mansion?
There was so much she wanted to say. The past few months had felt like a dream, yet she had no one to confide in.
Before she could gather her thoughts, the other woman took her hand.
"Is it really you?"
In that instant, Xie Lan began to believe in the unspoken connection between people. Maybe she didn’t need to explain at all—Zhou Zhuofei already trusted her.
"It’s me!"
Overcome with emotion, the two embraced, and Xie Lan couldn’t hold back her tears.
Zhou Zhuofei was startled, torn between wiping her tears and worrying about smudging her makeup. Frantically, she rummaged through her bag for tissues.
Seeing this, Xiao Wang took the bag from her to make the search easier.
With their combined efforts, Zhou Zhuofei finally found a tissue and pressed it into Xie Lan’s hand. "Don’t cry, don’t cry. You won’t look pretty if you cry!"
Xie Lan nodded tearfully, but instead of calming down, she sobbed even harder. Zhou Zhuofei could even feel the tears dripping onto her neck.
She shot Xiao Wang a helpless look—it seemed they wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon.
Since comforting her wasn’t working, Zhou Zhuofei stopped trying. Instead, she gently patted Xie Lan’s back, murmuring soothing words.
Just hearing the girl’s cries made Zhou Zhuofei feel her pain. Thinking about how difficult Xie Lan’s life must have been over the years, she found herself tearing up as well.
She patted Xie Lan again, waiting for her to settle down before turning to Xiao Wang for another tissue.
Before she could ask, he was already handing one over.
Zhou Zhuofei quickly took it, avoiding his gaze.
Noticing her struggle—trying to comfort Xie Lan while also keeping her own makeup intact—Xiao Wang suggested, "Why don’t you both go to the lounge? You can talk there."
They had come here for Xie Lan today anyway, so there was no rush to leave.
Zhou Zhuofei leaned down to ask Xie Lan’s opinion. The girl’s tears showed no sign of stopping, and her makeup was at risk of being ruined.
Between sniffles, Xie Lan nodded.
"Do you need to let your brother know?" Zhou Zhuofei asked considerately.
"No, he’s busy discussing things with someone. He told me to walk around on my own."
Relieved, Zhou Zhuofei led Xie Lan to the lounge. However, since the lounge was gender-segregated, Xiao Wang stopped at the entrance.
"Go ahead," he said gently to Zhou Zhuofei. "I’ll wait for you outside."
She nodded, silently resolving to resolve everything today.
Fortunately, the lounge was empty. Once seated, Zhou Zhuofei comforted Xie Lan until she finally calmed down.
Now that she had regained her composure, Xie Lan felt embarrassed about her earlier outburst. It was… so humiliating.
She had never cried like that before.
But Zhou Zhuofei was nothing but understanding. "I don’t know exactly what happened, but it must have been really hard for you."
Those words alone made Xie Lan’s tears well up again. She hastily wiped them away, forgetting about her makeup until she saw the black smudges on the tissue.
"Oh no." Her first thought was that her eldest brother would scold her later.
Though Xie Huai had never said it outright, she could tell—from her own observations and her second brother’s accounts—that he cared deeply about her behavior.
"It’s okay," Zhou Zhuofei reassured her. "I have foundation. I’ll touch it up for you later."
"Sister, let’s exchange contact information," Xie Lan said, remembering her purpose despite her tears. "I don’t have money right now, but I will soon. When I do, I’ll repay you everything!"
"There’s no need. Just use it to help others. My intention was never to invest—just to help. You can pass on that kindness instead. But yes, let’s exchange numbers. Are you going to university soon?"
"I’m preparing to study abroad."
"That’s good. When I couldn’t reach you months ago, I was worried about your college entrance exams. But now, you won’t have to worry about education anymore."
At the mention of the past, Xie Lan looked guilty. "I’m sorry for making you worry. After coming to City K, I lost contact with my old teachers and couldn’t update them."
"Don’t apologize. With everything that happened, it’s understandable."
"Also… my family didn’t want me to stay in touch with them."
Though the Xie family’s concerns had some merit, cutting ties so abruptly showed little regard for Xie Lan’s feelings.
This approach reminded Zhou Zhuofei of Xie Huai’s methods. "Was it your eldest brother’s decision?"
Xie Lan gave a soft "Mm," then recalled the confrontation she had witnessed between Zhou Zhuofei and Xie Huai earlier.
The moment Zhou Zhuofei left, her brother’s mood had visibly darkened. At the time, she had been puzzled—she had never seen Xie Huai like that before.
Curious, she asked, "Sister, are you close with my eldest brother?"
Zhou Zhuofei shook her head decisively. "Not at all."
To say she was close with Xie Huai would practically be an insult to her!
"We’ve only met three or four times at most."
"Then…" Xie Lan hesitated, biting back her words. Just from the tension earlier, she could tell things weren’t simple. She wasn’t sure if she should ask—what if the other person didn’t want to talk? Wouldn’t that be rude?
But Zhou Zhuofei seemed to read her mind and answered bluntly, "But we have a very bad relationship."
"Huh? Why is that?"
If this were still Zhang Qiaoqiao sitting across from her, Zhou Zhuofei might not have told the truth. The girl was still young—there was no need for her to face the harsh realities of the world too soon.
But now, this was Xie Huai’s younger sister, the eldest daughter of the Xie family. She possessed wealth and status beyond ordinary imagination, but she would also face greater risks. Rather than shielding her innocence, it was more important for her to recognize reality early and learn to protect herself.
So even though what she was about to say might be cruel, Zhou Zhuofei decided to be honest.
"Actually, your older brother has been harassing me."
After days of reflection, she had settled on defining Xie Huai’s behavior as harassment.
Persistently pursuing someone against their will—what else could it be called?
Hearing Zhou Zhuofei’s words, Xie Lan was too stunned to speak, her expression frozen in shock.
If it were anyone else sitting in front of her besides Zhou Zhuofei, she wouldn’t have believed a word of it.
But this was Zhou Zhou jiejie—someone who had helped her so much. What reason would she have to lie?
Besides, she had just witnessed the conflict between them firsthand. Still, she was only eighteen. The knowledge from textbooks alone wasn’t enough to help her navigate this.
"What about now?"
"Well, I’ve already returned his check. I just hope he’ll stop bothering me from now on." Zhou Zhuofei shrugged helplessly. "Though who knows what President Xie’s attitude will be."
Xie Lan fell silent. Even though she didn’t consider herself particularly close to Xie Huai, her instincts told her he wouldn’t give up so easily.
How could she just stand by and let this happen?!
With that thought, she spoke up. "Jiejie, let me help you!"
She wasn’t sure what she could do, but she refused to do nothing.
But Zhou Zhuofei shook her head. "You’ve just returned to the Xie family. Don’t you still rely on him for a lot of things? If you offend him, what will you do in the future? Don’t worry about me—focus on settling in first."
Zhou Zhuofei’s only goal had been for Xie Lan to recognize her. She didn’t want to drag the girl into this mess. Her financial support was an objective fact—even if they used it against Xie Huai, he couldn’t blame Xie Lan for it.
But if Xie Lan took action herself, the situation would be entirely different.
"But isn’t this his fault?" Xie Lan asked, confused. "If someone does something wrong, shouldn’t they correct it?"
Clearly, Xie Lan’s sense of right and wrong was still rooted in a simple, straightforward logic: mistakes should be acknowledged and fixed.
Zhou Zhuofei didn’t laugh at her. Instead, she envied Xie Lan in that moment.
She explained patiently, "You’re absolutely right. But this isn’t school, where teachers can discipline students who misbehave because the students respect their authority. Here, if he refuses to change, who can actually make him?"
Xie Lan fell into thought. What Zhou Zhuofei said made sense. Even in school, students obeyed rules because they respected their teachers.
She had also seen unruly students who ignored both teachers and parents.
But was there really nothing she could do?
Just as she was lost in thought, her phone buzzed. Picking it up, she saw a message from Xie Huai and immediately told Zhou Zhuofei. "Big brother is asking where I am."
Zhou Zhuofei reacted swiftly—she never wanted to see Xie Huai’s face again. "Let me touch up your makeup for you."
Xie Lan replied to Xie Huai’s text while Zhou Zhuofei quickly freshened her makeup.
Once everything was done, Zhou Zhuofei escorted Xie Lan out.
As soon as the door opened, Xiao Wang stepped forward. Zhou Zhuofei was surprised—she had assumed his earlier promise to wait meant he’d find somewhere to rest until she was done, not that he’d stand guard outside the entire time.
"Finished?"
"Yeah." Zhou Zhuofei nodded pointedly, signaling that their plan had succeeded. "Her brother texted her."
The moment she left the lounge, Xie Lan became shy again. She didn’t speak, only curiously studying Zhou Zhuofei and Xiao Wang.
Was this Zhou Zhou jiejie’s boyfriend?
Recalling how he had acted earlier, she was almost certain her guess was right. Thinking about it, her big brother was truly awful—why disturb someone else’s happy life like this?
She had to do something!
After saying goodbye to Zhou Zhuofei, Xie Lan returned to the event. Xie Huai spotted her and casually asked why she had taken so long.
Xie Lan hesitated before murmuring that she had been fixing her makeup. She wasn’t good at lying—the moment the words left her mouth, she lowered her head, afraid her brother would see through her.
But Xie Huai only glanced at her before introducing her to the guests nearby.
Relieved she hadn’t been caught, Xie Lan resumed playing the obedient young lady.
While Xie Lan was still navigating the social scene, Zhou Zhuofei and Xiao Wang had already returned to the car.
After a whole night of running around, they could finally rest!
Zhou Zhuofei leaned back in her seat with a long sigh. If not for the fact that this was Xiao Wang’s car, she would’ve kicked off her high heels right then and there to let her feet breathe.
Once Xiao Wang got in, he asked, "Did you tell her everything?"
"Pretty much." Zhou Zhuofei recounted her conversation with Xie Lan, then suddenly felt a wave of guilt.
"I feel terrible now—like I’m taking advantage of that girl’s kindness." The more she thought about Xie Lan’s reaction, the worse it felt.
"You just told her the truth. That’s not taking advantage." Xiao Wang cut in firmly. "Stop always assuming the worst of yourself."
Remembering how Zhou Zhuofei had comforted Xie Lan earlier—when she was the one who needed comfort—yet she kept helping others and even blamed herself…
The world was so unfair. But luckily, he didn’t have to be the one upholding justice.
He said with conviction, "Stop being so hard on yourself. You’re not the problem here."
Zhou Zhuofei was so moved she pretended to sniffle dramatically. "Wuwuwu, who else will think I’m a good person if you leave me?"
Xiao Wang couldn’t help but chuckle. "But you already are."
"Stop praising me, or I might actually start believing it."
With progress made, both of them were in good spirits. After some lighthearted banter, Xiao Wang started the car to take Zhou Zhuofei home.
Not long after they set off, he noticed Zhou Zhuofei had a habit of constantly touching her neck.
"Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, it's just that something seems to be stuck on my neck." Zhou Zhuofei felt an uncomfortable stickiness there and realized it was probably from Xie Lan's tears dripping onto her earlier.
At first, she had only sensed the dampness, but once the tears dried, they left behind a thin, glue-like residue on her skin that wouldn’t come off even with tissue.
After failing to clean it herself, she turned to Xiao Wang. "Xiao Wang, do you have any wet wipes?"
She figured someone who drove often would likely carry such things.
"I don’t have wet wipes on hand. Should we stop to buy some?"
Zhou Zhuofei quickly shook her head. "No need, I’ll manage. We’ll be home soon anyway."
Xiao Wang thought for a moment, then pulled over and grabbed a bottle of water from the back seat. "How about using this to wipe it off?"
"Sure." Zhou Zhuofei unscrewed the cap and was about to dampen a tissue when she realized it would be awkward and risk spilling water in the car. Instead, she opened the door to step outside.
"Let me help." Seeing her struggle, Xiao Wang unbuckled his seatbelt and walked around to the passenger side.
He wet a tissue with the water, squeezed out the excess to keep it from dripping, and handed it to her.
Zhou Zhuofei thanked him and took it, tilting her head to the side as she gently wiped her neck and shoulders.
The damp tissue glided over her skin, leaving a glistening trail, like a pearl wrapped in moonlight.
