Chapter 13: Acting Out of Spite

During this period, Xu Yancheng had been familiarizing himself with the Xu Corporation’s operations. The old master had issued a command: nothing about the core or confidential matters was to be concealed from the second son. On the surface, Xu Jialang cooperated, but in truth, he never disclosed the real core projects to him. As a result, Xu Yancheng’s first fortnight at the Xu Group was far from smooth.

Xu Jiaheng didn’t have many important projects in hand; most of what he managed were peripheral businesses, leaving him effectively sidelined. And now, he himself lacked any ambition. Back when Roman was around, there was at least some drive—he wanted to fight and strive for more. But since Roman left, it was as if his spirit had drained away, and he no longer had any will to compete.

Under such circumstances, Xu Yancheng’s path within the Xu Corporation was fraught with difficulties. Yet he was never truly alone. Roman had said that the Xu Corporation should be his, and not even a penny less; she would not accept anything else. The Luo family would provide Xu Yancheng with unconditional support.

However, every person Roman sent was summarily rejected by Xu Yancheng. Unless absolutely necessary, he would not use anyone from the Luo family.

When Su Yi invited Xu Yancheng to watch the competition, he declined without a second thought.

He simply didn’t have the time.

Lin Lu encountered Su Yi twice at the arena. The first time, they passed each other at the convenience store near the dormitory entrance—neither made any effort to greet the other. The second time, Lin Lu was at the cafeteria with Yuan Ruoxia, and Su Yi called out to her.

“Lin Lu.” Su Yi carried a lunchbox filled with assorted sliced fruits. “Let’s eat together.”

“Alright.” Lin Lu didn’t hesitate and took a seat opposite Su Yi with ease.

Though Yuan Ruoxia wasn’t keen to sit with someone from Tianyun, seeing Lin Lu settle down, she couldn’t very well turn away, so she sat as well.

“I heard Xu Mingchuan brought three support groups. He seems quite attentive to you,” Su Yi commented as she poked at her fruit with a fork.

“The support groups are for Dream Builders, not me personally,” Lin Lu replied.

Su Yi smiled dismissively. “You saying that is rather hurtful.”

“Well, then that person must be far too fragile,” Lin Lu said, laughing and shaking her head as she opened her lunchbox—tonight’s dinner was chicken breast with broccoli.

Su Yi ate a few pieces of fruit and then, as if making conversation, said, “The day after tomorrow, Xu Yancheng will come as well.”

“Is that so.” Lin Lu’s response was cool, as if she were hearing something irrelevant.

“I’m competing, so of course he’ll come,” Su Yi said, as though it were obvious. She paused, her gaze sweeping over Lin Lu, and added casually, “About the incident at Midnight—he later explained it to me. He was just acting out of spite. Don’t take it to heart.”

Yuan Ruoxia ate quietly, trying her best to fade into the background.

Today she felt as if she’d stumbled onto some explosive gossip...

Su Yi ate two more pieces of fruit, then wrinkled her nose in disgust. “These strawberries look fresh, but they taste like nothing. Better to toss them.”

With that, she picked up her tray and dumped all the fruit into the trash.

Once Su Yi had left, Yuan Ruoxia turned to Lin Lu. “What did she mean just now? What happened with you and Xu Yancheng at Midnight?”

“Nothing much, just a bit of unpleasantness,” Lin Lu replied with a carefree smile. “Don’t worry about it. We’ve got a competition tomorrow.”

The next day, at the opening ceremony, the support groups Xu Mingchuan had arranged were in place, full of energy.

After Lin Lu and her team finished walking the formal route, they grabbed a few bites of vegetarian food backstage, then began their makeup preparations for the afternoon’s contest.

That afternoon was reserved for group dance performances, and time was tight.

Dream Builders were the third to take the stage.