Volume One, Chapter 16: The Daughter as the Second Female Lead in a CEO Romance Novel

“Yingying, let’s step outside and talk first.” Chen Kang pulled Zhao Ting out of the shop.

“Chen Kang, what do you want to say? Hurry up! I’m still waiting to fangirl over the couple. Don’t you think those two are a perfect match? Handsome guy, beautiful girl,” Zhao Ting’s eyes remained fixed on the table.

Chen Kang pressed his hand firmly on Zhao Ting’s shoulder, forcing her to look away.

“Yingying, Lao Shen already has a girlfriend. Their relationship is very good. They grew up together as childhood sweethearts, and their families know each other well. The only difference is his girlfriend is studying in the UK. During the National Day holiday, he even flew to the UK to see her. If he weren’t so busy this month, he would have gone earlier.

Christmas is coming, right? His girlfriend has a vacation of over ten days. She was supposed to come see him these days, but something came up, so she’ll be arriving a few days later.”

“What did you say? The rumor at school that Shen Tingyu has a girlfriend is true? We thought it was just an excuse he gave to reject people. Oh no! I messed up big time. I have to quickly message my roommates to tell them, or it’ll be so awkward.” Regret was written all over Zhao Ting’s face.

How embarrassing! How could she face Chen Kang’s roommates in the future? Luckily, she never told Chen Rui about their plan to set her up with Shen Tingyu, or it would have been even more awkward.

Zhao Ting took out her phone and quickly messaged Li Ning and Ding Mengjia, informing them that Shen Tingyu already had a girlfriend and declared their matchmaking plan over.

At the moment Zhao Ting’s message arrived, Li Ning and Ding Mengjia were about to launch their second round of efforts. Li Ning was still talking when Ding Mengjia spotted the message first and immediately showed it to Li Ning.

Halfway through the conversation, Li Ning’s face suddenly flushed. What were they doing? Trying to set people up without even confirming if he had a girlfriend?

No way, her toes curled in frustration.

Li Ning quickly changed the subject.

Gao Tao and Wang Junhao realized they knew the situation now and that they wouldn’t continue pushing Shen Tingyu and Chen Rui together. They relaxed and joined the conversation with Li Ning and the others.

Gao Tao and Wang Junhao were lively and chatty, and after a few words, Li Ning and Ding Mengjia felt much more at ease. Only Chen Rui sat quietly in her seat, occasionally glancing shyly at Shen Tingyu.

“Let’s order first. We didn’t order because we weren’t sure what you all liked. Today, the two of us are treating,” Zhao Ting and Chen Kang returned inside.

“Well then, we won’t be polite,” someone responded.

Li Ning seized the chance to lean close to Chen Rui and whispered in her ear about Shen Tingyu’s girlfriend.

“Xiaorui, Shen Tingyu already has a girlfriend…” Li Ning trailed off, unsure what else to say.

“Mm, I know,” Chen Rui’s expression stiffened for a moment before returning to normal. She took hold of Li Ning’s hand and gently patted it, as if to soothe her. Li Ning took this as Chen Rui having understood. Given the current situation, they didn’t discuss it further.

“How about grilled fish? This place we’ve been to a few times; their grilled fish is delicious and you can add your favorite ingredients,” Chen Kang suggested.

“Sounds good, let’s get the three spicy dishes combo,” someone said. The spicy combo included braised beef, layered tripe, and dried tofu sticks.

“Cabbage with vermicelli!” another chimed in.

“Xiaorui, do you want to look at the menu?” Li Ning handed Chen Rui the menu.

“Sure.” Chen Rui took it.

Just then, Shen Tingyu’s phone rang. The ringtone was an English song he had sung together with Jiang Ruoxue.

He took out his phone and, seeing the caller ID, his face immediately brightened.

“Ruoxue!” Shen Tingyu eagerly answered and held the phone to his ear.

Hearing the name on his lips, Chen Rui looked up at him.

Though the person on the other end might not be the one she knew, she would never forget that name in her lifetime.

She always remembered that she could have had a better life, all ruined by Jiang Ruoxue.

It was because of her that, when Chen Rui was in kindergarten, she was called the granddaughter of a labor camp prisoner and eventually had to transfer schools.

Part of the reason was that the Chen family couldn’t afford the tuition of the original kindergarten. But Chen Rui chose to ignore that, as well as how Li Yanhong and she herself treated Jiang Ruoxue. She forgot it was their family’s greed that led to such a result.

She only remembered the Jiang family relentlessly pursuing them, unwilling to let go, forcing them to repay money.

The Jiang family was so wealthy—didn’t her grandmother just sneak home a few pieces of unwanted clothes from Jiang Ruoxue? Was it really necessary to go that far?

Chen Rui raised her hand and touched her face, pulling her thoughts back.

It was all in the past now. She shouldn’t keep drowning in those misfortunes.

“Brother, it’s me! Ruoxue and I came to your school to see you. Aren’t you touched?” Shen Tingzhuo spoke excitedly.

As an international school, Morian had many foreign students. To accommodate them, Morian granted roughly fifteen days of Christmas vacation.

Shen Tingzhuo and Jiang Ruoxue had arranged to meet at the airport to surprise Shen Tingyu together.

“Really!” Shen Tingyu stood up, unable to hide his smile as he looked toward outside the shop.

The restaurant Zhao Ting and Chen Kang chose was right outside Shen Tingyu’s school.

“We’re at your school gate,” Jiang Ruoxue said, taking the phone from Shen Tingzhuo’s hand.

“I think I see you. I’m near the school entrance. Don’t move; I’ll come find you.”

Shen Tingyu’s gaze quickly settled on the girl across the street wearing a white coat, a red scarf, and a white beret, and the little boy beside her in a dark blue parka.

“Okay.”

“Then, brother, we’ll wait for you.”

“Sorry, Kang, my girlfriend and brother came to see me. I might have to leave first,” Shen Tingyu said, looking at Chen Kang and Zhao Ting.

“Your girlfriend’s here?” Wang Junhao and Gao Tao simultaneously looked outside, trying to spot someone.

They’d seen photos of Jiang Ruoxue several times and even drank the milk tea she ordered for them on a delivery app, but had never met her in person.

“Why don’t you have your girlfriend and brother join us for a meal? The more the merrier, right?” Chen Kang suggested.

“Yeah, yeah!” Zhao Ting agreed.

They were the hosts for this meal and had taken the initiative to invite everyone.

“No, thanks. They’re both a little shy,” Shen Tingyu said, glancing at Chen Rui as he spoke.