“Girl, you know I would if I could get away from here,” she replied. It was her mistake for going back to this place. Back at where Lu Xinyi and her friends were, that was her real home. She shouldn’t have run away like a coward she was.

“I don’t care. Is Uncle forcing you in this marriage? If I have to go there to drag you back from the hole you dug in, I’ll do it. Just don’t marry some random guy he introduces to you!” Lu Xinyi insisted.

Lu Xiulan couldn’t help but feel touched by her cousin’s words. No one understood her well except Lu Xinyi.

“I’ll see what I can do. I’ll try to go back as soon as I can,” she assured Lu Xinyi.

“You better make sure you aren’t married when you come back.”

“Just like what you did when I came back, only to find you married to President Shen?” she asked, amused that Lu Xinyi hadn’t thought of the irony of it.

“Hey, don’t compare this to my marriage,” Lu Xinyi defended, “I was lucky that I married Shen Yi and not some other dude. Who knows what kind of man you’re going to marry? Think twice or thrice if you have to before tying the knot!”

“I know, dear. I know.” Lu Xiulan sighed dejectedly. She checked the time on her wristwatch and mused if she could ditch this meeting so she could book the earliest flight ASAP.

“Sis! Mom’s calling for you!” Lu Xiulan heard her younger brother calling for her. She smiled when she saw Lu Xingzhi now in his teenage years. She was ten years older than he was, and their huge age gap hadn’t been a problem. -.

Their parents had been hoping for a son for a long time. Before Lu Xingzhi was born, Lu Xiulan was raised as a perfect daughter. When Lu Xingzhi arrived, Lu Xiulan felt that she was abandoned and forgotten by her own parents. She somehow lost the reason to keep trying to please them.

“You heard that, Xinxin? Xingzhi called me for lunch. I’ll give you a call later, alright?” She was aware that it was already approaching midnight on Lu Xinyi’s side.

“Fine,”—she heard Lu Xinyi grumbled at the other line—”but you better make sure you won’t hide anything important from me.”

Lu Xiulan bid her goodbye and cut the line between them. She followed after Lu Xingzhi shortly and found them started eating without her.

“Xiulan, sit here and join us,” her mother said and pointed at the vacant seat next to Lin Qianrou. She obliged and sat without a word.

She ate in silence as the two families conversed about their work and businesses. Occasionally, they asked her questions about her previous job which she politely answered.

“Why don’t you eat more, Xiulan? Here.” Her mother took a piece of spicy chicken and put it on her plate. “I prepared your favorite. I know you didn’t have enough time to prepare your meals.”

Lu Xiulan eyed the chicken on her plate. Did her mother forget that she couldn’t eat spicy foods because it made her stomach hurt from it?

“Mom, Sis can’t eat spicy foods, remember?” Lu Xingzhi said worriedly. He’d seen how Lu Xiulan had suffered from pain when she was forced to eat spicy when they were younger.

“Xingzhi, what nonsense are you talking about?” Lu Changyan glared at his children. “Don’t waste food. If you don’t like what your mother prepared, then don’t force yourself to eat.”

It was always like this, Lu Xiulan thought. They could never say ‘no’ to their parents’ wishes. Sometimes, she couldn’t help but envy Lu Xinyi when they were younger. Even if their family wasn’t as rich as hers, Lu Sibai was a kind father to Lu Xinyi and Tian Lingyu.

Lu Xiulan was forced to eat the chicken under her father’s eyes. She knew she’d regret it later, but gave some face to her parents nonetheless. Their discussion continued, but she already tuned their voices out and ignored what they were talking about. It was none of her business anyway.

An hour later, Lu Xiulan hid herself to the garden, rummaging through her bag to find a pill for her stomachache. She cursed her luck when she realized she left her pill case on her other bag.

“Miss Lu, are you alright?” She heard a voice behind her. She turned around only to find Lin Qianrou staring at her with wide eyes. He probably wasn’t expecting to find her here.

“What are you doing here?” She blurted out.

Lin Qianrou scratched his nape, a slight blush on his cheeks as he tried to escape from their parents’ interrogation.

“Just like you, I’m hiding. I think I have enough of these pleasantries.”

Just like that, Lu Xiulan burst into a round of laughter. This was her first real laugh since she arrived in Country D. She wiped away the tears that well up in her eyes and calmed down.

“I’m sorry. I just didn’t expect that you are also not into this arrangement,” she said.

“It’s not that I oppose the idea. The truth is I don’t take this marriage as a priority,” Lin Qianrou confessed.

“Then, we are on the same boat,” Lu Xiulan teased as they continued their walk. She could feel her stomach starting to react from the spiciness she’d eaten earlier, but with Lin Qianrou around, she would have a hard time to slip out of this mansion and get to the nearest pharmacy.

“It seems you are in a hurry? Anything I can help you with?”

Lin Qianrou caught her off-guard. Was she really that obvious? She sheepishly smiled back and nodded. The pain was starting to get hard to ignore. She’d need to leave soon before she collapsed in pain. Something she wasn’t hoping to experience again.

“Yes, if you could please distract my parents so I can leave without them noticing it…”

“Oh, sure. No problem. What do I need to do?” He agreed easily.

Lu Xiulan relayed her plan and released a sigh when Lin Qianrou added more details to her plan.

“So yeah, I’ll take the east exit while you keep my parents’ company…” She grew somewhat hesitant to leave.

“Is there something else you want to say?” Lin Qianrou grinned at her.

“Well… do you think you can lend me some cash?” She scratched her cheek with a finger. “I just came back and haven’t had enough time to withdraw some cash.”

It was Lin Qianrou’s turn to laugh. Lu Xiulan berated herself mentally. What kind of woman she was asking her fiance to lend her some money while trying to escape from their marriage meeting?

Lin Qianrou gave her enough cash before telling her to leave. She thanked him several times and ran as fast as she could to the east exit of their family mansion. Ah, this was so embarrassing, she thought. However, she couldn’t ignore her stomachache now.

As she left the compound, she crossed the streets and tried to hail a cab. She could feel her cold sweat forming on her neck and face. Several times, she stumbled on her feet but managed to keep herself steady.

Lu Xiulan was about to cross the next street when her pain came in full-blown. She stopped midway and was almost hit by an oncoming car on the road. There was a loud screech as the driver stomped on the brakes and avoided Lu Xiulan.

“What the hell?!” The driver yelled. It was clear that it was a man sitting behind the steering wheel of that car. “If you’re planning to die, don’t include me in it!”

Lu Xiulan fell onto her knees and held her aching stomach with tears brimming in her eyes. Goddamn, she only ate one piece of spicy chicken, but it was enough to upset her tummy.

The driver stepped out of his car to confront her, but as he was about to open his mouth to chastise her, he stopped midway—recognizing who she was.

“Hey, aren’t you my Big Sis’s cousin? What’s your name again?” Shen Xue pondered. “Ah, Lu Xiulan!”

Lu Xiulan lifted her face and saw Shen Xue standing next to her. Heh, it seemed like heaven was on her side today. A familiar face came to rescue her this time.

“Vice President Shen, what a coincidence? I didn’t know you like drag racing in daylight.”