"Sorry, Sis! I didn't mean to interrupt you two!"
The pretty girl quickly apologized with a mischievous grin."Just pretend I didn't see anything. Go on, go on… carry on!"
With that, she spun around and darted back upstairs.
But even after returning to her room, she didn't close the door. Instead, she peeked curiously through the crack, eyes wide with excitement and a face full of curiosity.
"Xia Mengmeng! Stop peeking and go get the first-aid kit from my bedroom!"
Xia Ruoshui shouted.
"Okay, okay!"
Hearing her sister's voice, Xia Mengmeng obediently came out of her room and went to fetch the first-aid kit.
Two minutes later, she came downstairs.
"Alright, this time I'm really going back to my room. Sis, brother-in-law, you two carry on. I won't disturb you again."
She looked genuinely serious.
Brother-in-law?!
Hearing how she addressed him, both Chen Fan and Xia Ruoshui froze on the spot.
"Mengmeng, what are you thinking? This is President Chen, my neighbor. I sprained my ankle earlier, and he just helped me back."
Xia Ruoshui quickly explained.
"Oh, really?"
Mengmeng glanced at her sister's swollen ankle, then scratched her head and stuck out her tongue in embarrassment.
Compared to her calm and mature older sister, Xia Mengmeng was clearly the more playful and lively one.
"Sis, let me help you apply the medicine..."
Soon, with her sister's help, Xia Ruoshui had the ointment applied to her ankle. It looked a bit better afterward.
"I think it'll be fine by tomorrow. It won't interfere with work."
Xia Ruoshui let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh, right. President Chen, I forgot to introduce you—this is my younger sister, Xia Mengmeng."
"Ah, that explains why she looked familiar," Chen Fan said. "I thought I'd seen her somewhere before."
"Huh? You've seen me?"Xia Mengmeng's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"Yes. Aren't you the campus belle of Jiangzhou University?"
Chen Fan nodded.
Hearing that, Xia Mengmeng's eyes widened even more. Although she didn't like that "campus belle" title much, this guy really did recognize her.
"How do you know that?"
"Oh, I'm a sophomore at Jiangzhou University."
Chen Fan replied calmly.
What?!
Both sisters were stunned.
President Chen, who looked so mature and capable, was only a college sophomore?
That was incredible.
Xia Ruoshui was stunned in admiration.Back when she was a sophomore, she was nowhere near this accomplished.The more she thought about it, the more she found herself impressed with Chen Fan.
"So you're my senior," Xia Mengmeng said with a cheerful smile. She was a freshman at Jiangzhou University—never expected to meet a second-year senior like this here.
The three of them chatted and exchanged contact info.
"President Chen, thank you so much for tonight," Xia Ruoshui said sincerely.If he hadn't been there, tonight could've turned into a total mess.
After a few more words with the sisters, Chen Fan said his goodbyes and left.
Elsewhere, in the Chen family villa—
Several core members of the Chen family had gathered.
"This is already the second day. That bastard Chen Fan still hasn't come crawling back to beg for forgiveness?"
Second cousin Chen Haoyu couldn't believe it.
"He probably still has three or four hundred yuan in his bank account. Enough to survive for a couple more days. It's only been two—makes sense he hasn't come back yet."
Aunt Chen Yuzhen chimed in.
"I guarantee you, five days max! After that, he'll be begging to return to the family!"
Chen Yuzhen was confident.
"Five? Too long. I say four days at most."
"Humph! That little brat dared cut ties with us. When he comes crawling back, we'll make him regret ever leaving. We'll humiliate him so badly he'll remember who's in charge!"
"That's right! Back when he had the Chen family name, he could still get by outside. But now that he's on his own, he's just a nobody—trash! Once he runs out of money and is starving on the streets, he'll learn just how good he had it with the Chen family."
"Yes, I imagine by then Chen Fan will…"
One by one, they started imagining how miserable his life would become.
But the old master of the Chen family, Grandfather Chen, was getting more and more restless.
He had expected Chen Fan to come back today, begging on his knees for forgiveness.But now, there hadn't been a single word from him.
And he had promised Miss Xu that within two months, he'd have Chen Fan agree to the marriage.Time was running out.
No. He needed to turn up the heat.
"Haoyu, since you also attend Jiangzhou University, I want you to find Chen Fan tomorrow…"
He turned to Chen Haoyu.
Chen Haoyu paused, then understood immediately.
"Got it, Grandpa. I'll be sure to give Chen Fan some special attention tomorrow."
Grandpa wanted him to make life hard for Chen Fan, push him into a corner, and force him to come crawling back. Easy.
The next day, around noon.
Chen Fan was standing outside the school cafeteria, waiting for someone.
A few minutes later, Song Manyu walked over with her best friend, Han Ying'er.
"Hey, Manyu, isn't that your boyfriend over there?"Han Ying'er pointed ahead.
"I should correct you—ex-boyfriend. I must've been blind to ever date him,"Song Manyu said coldly.
"Right, ex. But what's he doing standing there? Waiting for you?"
Her friend guessed.
That was exactly what Song Manyu had been thinking.So she stormed up to Chen Fan and snapped in an icy voice:
"Chen Fan, we've already broken up! There's no chance of us getting back together! If you have any self-respect left, stop harassing me!"
"Unless you return to the Chen family, or become a billionaire with assets worth over ten or even a hundred billion—don't even think about it! Even if the sky falls, we're done for good!"
"Standing in front of the cafeteria, waiting to beg for forgiveness? Pathetic! What kind of childish stunt is this?!"
Her voice was loud enough to draw the attention of students nearby.
A crowd quickly formed.
Drama?
More and more people gathered around.
Chen Fan could only shake his head.Why is she so confident it's all about her?
Honestly, he really wasn't waiting for her.
And for the record, he did now have billions—over twenty billion, to be precise—and that's without counting today's new system reward for the third day after breaking ties with the Chen family.
"I'll correct you—I'm waiting for someone else. Not you. And definitely not to beg for forgiveness."
Chen Fan said calmly.
"Oh please. Who else would you be waiting for?"
"You're just lying to yourself!"
Song Manyu sneered.
But before she could finish her sentence—
A crisp voice rang out behind her.
"Chen-senpai was waiting for me!"
A stunning figure walked toward them—drawing every eye in the crowd.