Chapter 3: Space - Her Family's Rose Estate

Trying to manipulate her?

Before she transmigrated, she had an IQ of 180. From child prodigy to genius, she was always the one fooling others.

Fu Tingjun’s face was as pale as paper, his whole body shaking as if caught in a storm.

“Fu Tingjun, our engagement was arranged by our elders. You haven’t forgotten the circumstances, have you? My grandfather wanted to give your family some security, believing the Lu family’s kindness to you was as weighty as a mountain. He didn’t think you would betray me. You’re heartless, and now you and Zhu Tingting are in love—I can wish you happiness, but the money and engagement token must be returned to me.”

Fu Tingjun’s complexion remained ghastly, his expression full of unwillingness.

“Think carefully before you speak,” he said in a lowered voice. “I’m doing this for your own good. The Lu family has already drawn attention. If you keep acting so conspicuously, you’ll only bring greater disaster upon your family.”

“That’s no longer your concern.”

Lu Jianwei was naturally unwilling to let this go, but for now, her priority was to find a way to survive.

Fu Tingjun pulled a small gold lock from his pocket and threw it to her. “This is the engagement token. If you want to report me, you’ll need real evidence. You wouldn’t fabricate something just to slander me, would you?”

The Lu family had supported Fu Tingjun and his mother for years, nurturing him into a university student. Yet, when it came time to divide assets, Fu Tingjun and his mother severed ties with the Lu family and bit back, claiming all the money the Lu family had spent on them was just wages—evidence of their exploitation.

“How do you know I don’t have evidence?” Lu Jianwei smiled. “I’ve just returned from Country M.”

Fu Tingjun’s expression changed repeatedly, but Lu Jianwei paid him no mind.

As she held the small gold lock, she suddenly felt it vanish from her palm, and an unfamiliar sense of connection surged through her mind—a sensation both strange and oddly familiar.

She hurried into the workers’ club, needing a safe place to figure out what had just happened.

Zhu Tingting wasn’t surprised to see Lu Jianwei arrive—she’d arranged for the union to summon her, knowing Lu Jianwei, given her family background, wouldn’t dare refuse.

Zhu Tingting whispered a few words to a staff member, slipped them a yuan, and the staff member led Lu Jianwei to a secluded side room.

Two bookshelves filled the wall directly opposite the door. Even so, Lu Jianwei was suspicious—she’d circled the hall earlier and learned that the book club was being held on the second floor.

“Is the book club being held here?” Lu Jianwei asked.

The staff member’s attitude was terrible, casting her a disdainful look. “Do you even know your own status? What right do you have to read and discuss with our proletarian brothers? Planning to poison them with your capitalist views?”

“Get in there!”

The staff member shoved her inside and was about to close the door when Lu Jianwei caught it. “What are you trying to do? Before coming, I told my family I was invited here by the union. If anything happens to me, who do you think they’ll blame?”

The petty staffer panicked for a moment. “Fine, I won’t close the door!”

Muttering, she slunk away.

Lu Jianwei settled in a hidden corner where she could see out but remain unseen.

In her mind, she found herself standing at the gates of the Lu family’s Rose Manor from her previous life. The grand entrance led to a road shaded by greenery, sunlight glittering on the fountain’s spray.

The familiar white buildings lay nestled amid trees and blossoms—the sprawling manor, covering over twenty thousand square meters, was right before her eyes.

Beyond the main residence were sky gardens, Chinese and Western dining halls, a luxury garage, and leisure facilities like a golf course, gym, bar, and spa—everything one could imagine.

She ran toward the main house, calling, “Dad! Mom! Brother!” But no one answered. Her consciousness swept over the entire estate—there wasn’t a soul inside.

Making sure no one was around, Lu Jianwei willed herself into the manor, then out again. She could enter and leave at will, but now was not the time to explore.

The little gold lock, which she’d worn around her neck since childhood, could also appear and disappear at her will. Clearly, it was the key linking her to the Rose Manor—once it recognized its master, it was hers alone.

Now that she possessed this spatial golden finger, perhaps there was hope for survival after all!

Footsteps echoed in the corridor. Lu Jianwei quickly sat in the chair facing the door, picking up a book at random.

Gu Huaizheng was led to the door and knocked. A gentle, elegant voice from within invited him in, soft as honey—he seemed almost able to smell its sweetness.

“Come in!”

Gu Huaizheng took a seat across the table. As she raised her head, he recognized her immediately as the young woman whose ex-fiancé had been pestering her at the door earlier.

Light poured over her face—her smooth forehead, apricot eyes, delicate nose, and lips red without rouge. Her cheeks were tender and fair, like a begonia blooming under the noon sun.

Brilliant and radiant, she was as dazzling as dawn’s first light, exuding grace and nobility.

Gu Huaizheng only glanced at her before politely looking away.

Lu Jianwei noticed the newcomer was a soldier but paid him little mind, assuming he was waiting for the book club to start.

Ten minutes passed.

Gu Huaizheng glanced at his watch. To him, this was just a meaningless blind date—he had no intention of wasting time. He cleared his throat. “Sorry to bother you, but…”

Lu Jianwei nodded, a smile on her lips. “So it’s just the two of us? Then let’s begin.”

Her gaze swept over his face—his features were as refined as carved jade, but with a stern air, his posture upright like a flagpole.

“I’ll introduce myself: My name is Gu Huaizheng, I’m twenty-eight, from a working-class family, and I’m a soldier. My work keeps me away from home for long stretches—it’s not easy being a military wife.”

Something seemed off about this introduction, but Lu Jianwei didn’t dwell on it.

“My name is Lu Jianwei—Lu as in land, Jianwei as in ‘perceiving subtlety.’ I’m twenty. My family background… isn’t great. We used to be quite wealthy…”

She discreetly gestured with her thumb and forefinger to indicate “a little.”

In fact, her grandfather had once been nicknamed “Lu Half-the-City.”

“But I don’t think my background should affect today’s book club, do you? Why don’t we start discussing the book?”

“Book?”

Gu Huaizheng glanced at the title in her hands—it was a treatise on the thoughts of a great leader.

His expression grew serious.

“Weren’t you sent here by the organization for a blind date?”

“A blind date?” Lu Jianwei’s voice rose, but she wasn’t surprised—her aunt had hinted at the true nature of this book club.

Who had Gu Comrade offended, to be paired with her?

Lu Jianwei looked at him with a hint of pity. If he knew that after just escaping singlehood, he’d have to attend his fiancée’s funeral, would he want to drag her out of the coffin and berate her?

People in this era still clung to old superstitions—gossips might slap the label “jinxed his fiancée to death” on him, never mind they’d only met once.

At this, Lu Jianwei looked at his uniform with deep respect.

“I’m a capitalist by background, as you probably saw at the door. I also studied abroad—I left at thirteen and was overseas for eight years. If you don’t mind, I don’t either.”

As a capitalist, if this was an arranged meeting, she had no right to refuse.

Sure enough, the tall soldier at the club’s entrance had been Gu Huaizheng.

He had no intention of marrying, but the meeting was arranged by his superiors. Out of respect, he’d only meant to go through the motions.

“I’m a soldier—my life and career are on the battlefield. The military is strict with rewards and punishments; I rise through the ranks on merit. So what you mentioned might affect me, but I personally don’t mind.”

Gu Huaizheng tried to reject her as gently as he could.

Even if she was from a capitalist background, if she could be united with them, she should be won over. And any comrade who read the great leader’s writings was worth befriending.

Her thinking was very progressive!

Gu Huaizheng’s expression was solemn, his gaze upright and stern. “But I…”

Here was a man of unshakable integrity!

Not even the issue of background scared him—truly fearless!

She definitely couldn’t set him up.

With newfound respect, Lu Jianwei said, “Though this is an arranged meeting, I won’t hide the truth: I might only have one day left to live. If you don’t mind attending my funeral…”

The mechanical voice sounded again.

[Compliment value from Gu Huaizheng +1. Would you like to convert it into life points?]