The abandoned daughter of the Lu family turns around and marries a celibate tycoon.

Chapter 184 A Long Chat All Night

Lu Xiran cried for the entire afternoon.

She felt wronged. An overwhelming sense of injustice washed over her. She lay on the bed, burying her face in the pillow, tears soaking the pillow.

It turns out he knew everything.

It turns out that from beginning to end, she was just a fool in his eyes.

She wanted to escape from here, to fly to Switzerland immediately and get away from everything. But tomorrow was her uncle's birthday, and she had already made plans to give him a proper birthday celebration.

She couldn't leave yet. She could only pick up the pieces of her shattered emotions, piece them back together, and pretend that she was still whole.

The day after tomorrow. She's going back to Switzerland the day after tomorrow, not staying a moment longer.

In the evening, she slowly composed herself, washed her face, and changed into clean clothes. Her eyes were still swollen, so she applied an ice towel to them for a long time until her skin turned red, before it was barely noticeable that she had been crying.

She had dinner with Lin Chen. The two sat facing each other, and she served him soup and picked out food for him, just like always.

"Ranran." Lin Chen put down his chopsticks and looked at her. "Yan Shen told me—"

"Please don't mention him, okay?" She paused, her hands still tidying the dishes. "Uncle, I've decided to go back to Switzerland. It's to his liking, and I won't appear in front of him again. Please tell him to rest assured." She paused, her voice softening. "Starting today, I won't even send emails anymore."

Lin Chen sighed. He watched her collect the dishes and chopsticks in the kitchen, then turn on the tap. The loud running water drowned out her suppressed breathing. He knew she was crying. By the time the tap was turned off, her voice had returned to calm.

"Uncle, you go ahead and do your work, I'll take care of it."

He didn't expose her.

Lu Xiran had already packed her luggage. She began to explain her domestic assets to Lin Chen, listing her properties, bank accounts, and powers of attorney clearly, item by item. When she handed him the power of attorney, Lin Chen stared at her for a long time.

"Ranran, are you really sure?"

She nodded. "I've thought it through."

Lin Chen didn't ask any more questions. He carefully put away the power of attorney, took a picture of it, and sent it to Gu Yanshen: [She's truly heartbroken. This time, she's determined not to come back.]

There was no reply.

The clock struck midnight. Lin Chen heard a knock on the door.

open the door.

Lu Xiran stood at the door holding a cake. "Surprise!"

Happy birthday, Uncle!

Lin Chen was stunned for a moment.

"When was the cake made?" he asked.

"This afternoon," she smiled, "make a wish quickly."

Lin Chen closed his eyes and silently made a wish in his heart—that Ranran could be happy.

He opened his eyes and blew out the candle.

"Happy birthday!" She handed him the cake knife. "Cut it quickly! Do you want some? Or should we eat it tomorrow morning?"

Lin Chen cut a large piece and put it on a plate. "I'm not afraid of gaining weight."

"Then eat more." She rested her chin on her hand, watching him eat. "Uncle, is it good?"

"tasty."

She cut off a piece and took a bite.

"A gift." She took out a gift box from behind her and pushed it in front of him.

Lin Chen opened it—a Patek Philippe watch.

His fingers paused.

"This...is far too valuable!"

"Uncle, you earn such a high salary, yet you don't even own a decent watch." She looked at him.

"I don't like wearing it, otherwise—I could take his watch."

Lu Xiran closed the box and put it in his hand.

"Uncle, you're thirty-one now." She suddenly changed the subject. "When will I be able to meet my aunt?"

Lin Chen's hand paused on the edge of the cake plate. "Isn't my life pretty good right now?" He lowered his head, forked a piece of cake, and put it in his mouth.

Like Gu Yanshen, he didn't want to involve others. The Song family had recently joined forces with the Liu family to fight back, and he didn't care about the ups and downs in his business, but he didn't want to implicate others.

"Uncle, you've never been in a relationship before, have you?"

Lin Chen's face suddenly turned red. The redness burned from his neck all the way to his ears, and it was especially noticeable under the light.

Lu Xiran froze. Then her eyes lit up, her gossipy nature instantly awakening. "Really?" She leaned closer to him, her voice trembling. "Do you have someone you like?"

Lin Chen didn't know how to answer.

"Weren't you celebrating my birthday?" He changed the subject, a hint of embarrassment in his voice. "And you deliberately picked on my sore spot."

"I'm just concerned about your marriage prospects!"

The uncle and nephew talked all night. They talked about everything from embarrassing moments in Lin Chen's childhood to funny stories about being pursued by girls in college, from his nervousness on his first day at the company to the places he had traveled over the years. She laughed heartily, laughing until tears streamed down her face. But he knew that the tears weren't entirely from laughter.

The next day, Lu Xiran went to visit Aunt Yun. Aunt Yun still didn't recognize her, only holding her hand and calling her "good child." She sat with her all morning, combing Aunt Yun's hair and feeding her. Just before leaving, Aunt Yun suddenly grabbed her sleeve and said, "You're leaving?" She was stunned. "Where to?" Aunt Yun asked. She smiled and said, "To a very far place." Aunt Yun released her hand, looking at her with something in her eyes that Lu Xiran couldn't understand.

She went to Yunyuji again and had lunch with Aunt Lu and Uncle Ye. Aunt Lu prepared a table full of dishes for her, all of which were her favorites. Uncle Ye brought out a bowl of soup from the kitchen and said, "Drink this, it'll warm your stomach." She took a sip, and the scalding soup brought tears to her eyes.

"Ranran, will you come back?" Aunt Lu asked.

"Come visit me in Switzerland!"

When she came out of Yunyuji, the sun was shining brightly. Standing at the door, she unconsciously glanced in that direction—Gu Yanshen's villa. That masterpiece that embodied their hard work, that house of her dreams, stood there quietly, its windows reflecting a gentle light in the sunlight.

It wasn't a house for her, she told herself. It was for someone else.

But she stood by the car for a long time. After hesitating for a moment, she lowered her head and unconsciously walked in that direction. She just wanted to see it one last time. One last look.

She stood in the doorway, looking at the lines she had drawn herself, the light and shadow she had discussed with her senior, everything she had thought was a dream, but now knew was a hoax. She reached out, her fingertips almost touching the doorknob—

"slowly."

She abruptly pulled her hand back. He stood not far away, walking over from the other side of the villa, his coat fluttering in the wind, his tie loose, as if he had just rushed from somewhere. He looked at her, and she looked at him. A few steps separated them, separated by something indescribable, something that could never be relived.

She turned and walked away. Her steps quickened, as if she were fleeing.

"Ranran!" he called after her.

She started running. The wind rushed into her collar, chilling her to the bone. All she wanted was to leave this place, leave him, leave everything that had broken her time and time again.

A figure suddenly darted out from the side. It was a woman, clutching a bottle whose liquid gleamed blindingly in the sunlight. Lu Xiran had no time to react; she only saw the liquid splash towards her—