Chen Ruanruan, who had originally been desperate to escape, seemed unable to believe it. Just last night, she had been fighting with all her might to leave this suffocating home.
And now, her parents and her brother were all telling her, you can go.
From now on, you will be Tao Ruanruan.
You can live your own life.
But she had no money, nothing at all. How was she supposed to live?!
Meeting the gaze of three pairs of eyes fixed directly on her, she knew she had to be resolute. Otherwise, the reluctance she had shown earlier would seem like she was just being difficult.
She wanted freedom!
Being Tao Ruanruan might not be so bad after all.
Tao Ruanruan nodded, looked at Chen Liuyue, and said, "Thank you."
Then she turned to Chen Zhenye and Wu Peihua: "Goodbye, Mom and Dad. I'll call you when I have time."
Finally, her gaze settled on Chen Haotian.
It was a bit complicated.
And a bit unbelievable.
Her brother, who had been so obsessive about her, was really willing to let her go?
"In my heart, you will always be my best brother! Goodbye."
Having said that, Tao Ruanruan turned and walked away, feeling her departure was neat and decisive.
But all the way to the front door,
no one came to stop her.
Bewildered, she stood still in a daze.
From now on, was she really saying goodbye to this kind of life for good?
Tao Ruanruan watched the bright beams of sunlight outside fall upon her. Instead of the joy of regained freedom, a thread of unease rose from the depths of her heart.
What should she do?
Go back to school, right! Back to school!
Leaving the Chen family meant losing the monthly allowance of over thirty thousand yuan.
Tao Ruanruan's wallet was stretched thin. During her time living at school, she hadn't taken the initiative to contact the Tao family either.
To her, those people from the Tao family were all bloodsuckers.
Although her roommates didn't say it outright, knowing her surname had been changed back to Tao, their looks held an unusual nuance.
On weekends, they would probe indirectly:
"Ruanruan, why don't you go home?"
Another would laugh and say, "You forgot, our Ruanruan's surname is Tao now. How could she go back to the Chen family?"
Hearing this, Tao Ruanruan's face paled.
Fortunately, she still had her proud major and her dance skills.
But she never expected that during the latest dance competition, her name wasn't on the list of qualifiers. Anxious, Tao Ruanruan found her department teacher.
"Teacher, my competition results have been very good. Why did I sign up but didn't even make it past the preliminary round?"
The teacher tactfully explained, "Tao Ruanruan, you are excellent, but there are students in the department more outstanding than you."
Tao Ruanruan protested unwillingly,
"But I just won a provincial award in the neighboring province a few months ago."
"I don't believe I can't even make the preliminaries."
"Teacher, I want to report this. Is there some foul play in the competition?"
Seeing her indignant expression,
the teacher felt helpless. It seemed this child had been too sheltered.
Finally, she told her the truth.
"Ruanruan, I like you very much."
"But there's something you might not know. The biggest sponsor for the dance competition you entered in the neighboring province was the Chen Group."
"Also, for many of your past competitions, your brother had arrangements with the judges."
"There are children with more natural talent than you, but you had better resources. Put it that way, do you understand?"
Tao Ruanruan stood rooted to the spot in disbelief.
How was that possible?
Wasn't it because she danced exceptionally well?
It couldn't be because of the Chen family, because of Chen Haotian!
The teacher gave her another glance and added,
"The Chen family has money. They could cultivate a famous and outstanding socialite, sparing no expense or effort."
"But let me give you some advice, since you've changed your surname back to Tao."
"Tao Ruanruan, pursuing a professional dance path isn't suitable anymore."
"Take advantage of your junior year to start looking at job postings..."
Before, when she was the Chen family's young lady, the teacher wouldn't have advised her to find a job.
After all, a wealthy young lady doesn't need to work.
She just needs to dress beautifully, attend various banquets, afternoon teas, and sponsored dance competitions, living a glamorous life.
The teacher's words were originally well-intentioned.
But to Tao Ruanruan's ears, they sounded so harsh.
What did she mean?
Was she mocking her, looking down on her?!
Tao Ruanruan said angrily, "I don't believe it! You can't deny my hard work just because my surname isn't Chen anymore!"
The teacher was left speechless.
She had never denied her efforts; it was just well-meaning advice.
But seeing Tao Ruanruan so immersed in her own world, completely unwilling to listen, she could only shake her head helplessly and walk away.
Dejected, Tao Ruanruan wandered the campus.
Feeling her future was shrouded in gloom.
What should she do from now on?
The money the Chen family had given her was gradually running out. Could it be she really had to go out and work a job?
How could her brother be so heartless.
He said he wouldn't acknowledge her anymore and truly didn't, not even transferring her allowance.
As she walked,
Tao Ruanruan suddenly stopped.
Because she saw a couple not far away, walking arm in arm, intimate in their posture.
The man handsome, the woman beautiful.
The man wore a light blue trench coat, very tall, his tall and slender silhouette exuding a handsome air even from the back.
The woman wasn't short either, with a tall and well-proportioned figure of 165 cm, wearing a black thin-strap maxi dress and a pair of black leather shoes.
Then, the woman turned her face slightly with a faint smile.
Tao Ruanruan's pupils rapidly dilated.
It was Chen Liuyue!
Immediately after, the man's face turned as well.
It was actually Qin Xuanye!!!
Shocked, Tao Ruanruan quickly pulled out her phone.
Click, click. She decisively took several photos.
She had heard about the recent marriage discussions between the Wei and Chen families.
She was intensely envious.
Chen Liuyue was living the privileged life she used to have.
But she never imagined that Chen Liuyue, who was about to get engaged to Wei Miao, was still sneaking around and entangled with Qin Xuanye behind his back!
What an unfaithful woman!!!
Tao Ruanruan didn't chase after them, afraid of alerting them.
She just quietly pulled up a phone number she had secretly saved a long time ago from her contacts.
Pressed dial.
"Ring, ring, ring..."
Three seconds later, a magnetic male voice came from the other end: "Hello?"
Tao Ruanruan said excitedly, "Brother Wei Miao, it's Ruanruan. There's something I must tell you!"
