Chapter Thirteen: Ah! So This Is the Kiss-Stealing Scoundrel You Were Talking About!

Slurp! Slurp!
Plop! Plop!
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Huo Qitai ate the bowl of noodles, the best in the world, tears uncontrollably falling into the bowl.

“Ah Tai! What’s wrong with you? Dropping golden beans while eating noodles?”

Zhang Aizhen affectionately patted her son’s head with a loving smile. “My Ah Tai is really impressive, getting into a good university. From now on, your mother can enjoy a blessed life!”

“Mom! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Huo Qitai, already holding back tears with great difficulty, completely lost control upon hearing this.

He embraced his mother and said, “Mom, I keep having this recurring dream where you have a car accident right after I graduate from college.

Although I later started a company and became a boss, making a lot of money, I never got to let you enjoy any happiness while you were still alive.

Your son is unfilial! Son is sorry for you...”

At that moment, Huo Qitai didn’t know if other people who had been reborn could hold back their emotions, but seeing his mother alive and well after so many years, the words he had been holding in burst forth like a dam breaking.

“Silly boy! What’s there to be sorry for?

Even if it’s just a dream, or if it were true, does it matter whether your mother enjoys happiness?

Life and death are predetermined. As long as I know you’ve succeeded, made big money, married a wife, and are living well, I’m down below in the earth smiling so wide it’s hard to close my mouth.”

His mother’s words were like a clear spring refreshing Huo Qitai’s heart and completely melted the heavy stone that had been weighing on it for years.

He looked up, wiped his face with a smile, a bit embarrassed, and said, “Then I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you, Mom. In my dreams, although I made a lot of money, I never got married.”

“That’s only natural. You’re still a kid. How would you understand matters of men and women yet? Of course, you wouldn’t dream about marriage!”

Huo’s mother teased him and patted his shoulder. “Finish eating and fix that messy hairstyle of yours. Your aunt booked the Four Treasures Restaurant. I know you’ve been upset with her, but keep your temper today, okay?”

“Mom! I’ve long let go of that anger. Besides...”

Huo Qitai said with relief, “I’ve actually figured it out. That day when you knelt, it was all planned with Aunt, staged just for me. It was meant to motivate me to study hard. I understand now, I really do.”

“You little sly one, I knew you wouldn’t be fooled for long. Remember the kindness of Aunt and her family. When you really make big money, be sure to honor them well.”

After speaking, Huo’s mother tidied up a bit, and the two of them headed out toward the Four Treasures Restaurant.

...

On the other side, in the villa area by the mountain.

A Porsche Panamera pulled in. Liu Ruyu took off her sunglasses as she stepped out of the driver’s seat. Sitting beside her was a tall, golden-haired, sun-kissed-skinned, stunning Chinese-American girl.

“Wow! Ruyu, so this is the house you said was in a fourth-tier city in rural China? It’s even more luxurious and grand than my big house in Manhattan!”

The Chinese-American girl, Vivian, clicked her red high heels, dragging a small carry-on suitcase, chewing bubble gum, her hips swaying as she approached the villa’s door.

“Vivian! I told you, call me Liu Rumeng now.

And I wasn’t lying! Jian’an City ranks nowhere in the whole Fujian Province, let alone the entire country. Calling it a fourth-tier city is already a generous compliment.”

Shrugging her shoulders, Liu Ruyu hadn’t expected Huang Weiwei, born into a prominent Chinese-American family, to be so full of admiration for Jian’an’s infrastructure and cityscape after getting off the plane.

She chirped nonstop like a little sparrow, asking about this and that, driving Liu Ruyu crazy.

Vivian was her best friend from an elite high school in Manhattan. Both had applied to the Wharton School of Business.

But due to Liu Rumeng’s illness, Liu Ruyu decided to return to China to take her sister’s place at Peking University. When Vivian heard this, she suddenly developed a strong interest in the motherland of China.

She secretly applied to Peking University herself, passed the interview, and received admission to Guanghua School of Management.

Just before boarding the plane, she messaged Liu Ruyu to pick her up, wanting to give her a huge surprise.

Liu Ruyu was truly shocked. Vivian’s surname is Huang, her father is the famous NVIDIA founder Huang Renxun.

Basically, if she wanted to attend any top university worldwide, they would be eager to send her acceptance letter overnight.

Yet this little princess of the Huang family so casually came to China with her, a story hardly anyone would believe.

“Impressive! Impressive! Truly the motherland of my Vivian, a civilization with five thousand years of history.

I told you! The media demonizes China, but in reality, it has long since become prosperous and powerful.

This time I’m coming to Peking University to… what’s the word again? To find my roots?” Vivian hesitated over the phrase.

Liu Ruyu prompted, “Seeking roots! It means a wanderer searching for their homeland.”

“Yes! Seeking roots. I want to travel across the motherland—uh, ‘motherland’ sounds awkward. I’ll just say ‘ancestral country’ like you guys!

I, Vivian, want to see the vast landscapes of the ancestral country and witness the rise of a true great nation.

Ruyu, what do you think? Am I a standard Chinese now?”

Vivian took a deep breath and opened the villa door.

She was immediately captivated by the Chinese-style furniture and decorations inside, especially since Liu Rumeng personally managed the place, filling it with traditional handicrafts inspired by her own creativity.

The Chinese knots hanging in the halls and the intricate paper-cut window patterns had Vivian exclaiming “AMAZING” repeatedly.

Liu Ruyu was used to Vivian’s bold and carefree personality.

But such open cheerfulness was uncommon among Chinese-American girls.

Within the American hierarchy of discrimination, Chinese-American girls were often bullied and oppressed, sometimes even ranked below Black girls.

Only someone like Vivian, raised in a wealthy family and attending refined private schools, could truly express such a natural, lively spirit.

Even Liu Ruyu herself, during her first year of high school in the US, suffered subtle bullying from some white girls.

Fortunately, Vivian helped by publicly declaring their close friendship, allowing Liu Ruyu to live and study normally at school.

These experiences had shattered Liu Ruyu’s illusions about America’s so-called freedom and democracy.

“Wow! Is this your room? So pink! Doesn’t seem like your style at all!”

With Liu Ruyu’s permission, Vivian, ever curious, toured the rooms one by one.

Upon entering Liu Rumeng’s bedroom, she was delighted by the abundance of pink decorations.

“That’s my sister Rumeng’s room, but it’s kind of mine now too.”

Liu Ruyu shrugged. “I have no feeling for pink, but my sister loves it.”

“A pink world is very feminine. I haven’t met your sister yet! She must be gentle, right?”

Vivian picked up a graduation photo on the desk and immediately perked up, pointing at the boys in the last two rows with great interest.

The bottom row had names listed. Vivian’s Chinese was good; she searched carefully and finally found the name ‘Huo Qitai’ near the back left, second from the end.

Looking back at the photo, she studied the face corresponding to that name.

“Oh! Is this the cool guy? The one who stole your first kiss, Huo? So he’s the kiss-stealing jerk you mentioned!”

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