61: Chapter 61 The Fake Heiress's "Extramarital Affair"

The day Liu Ruyan was discharged from the hospital and returned to the studio, there was a light drizzle in Jiangcheng, and the air carried the damp scent of grass.

As soon as Zhang Fan arrived at the office, a line of deep blue system notifications popped up in his mind, different from the light blue ones that had been most common in recent days, as the light blue ones were mostly trivial daily information, such as "Buy one get one free on yogurt at the convenience store downstairs today" or "Elevator No. 3 in the incubator park will malfunction at 10:00."

Today's deep blue intelligence was: [Today's Intelligence: Pay your management fees at the University Incubator Property Center to participate in a lucky draw. Those who draw at exactly 10:00 can win a commercial-grade coffee machine (valued at 5,000 yuan).]

Zhang Fan raised an eyebrow.

A commercial-grade coffee machine would be perfect; there were many people in the studio recently, and instant coffee could no longer meet their needs, especially for those of them who did programming and often stayed up late to revise code; they needed something better to stay refreshed.

He turned to look at Zhou Yurou who was organizing files, and then glanced at Liu Ruyan who was silently debugging a model in the corner; the girl had just returned, her eyes still a bit timid, likely not having fully recovered from the previous incident.

"Sister Rou, Ruyan," Zhang Fan tapped the table, "The property management office is holding a lucky draw for paying management fees. Why don't you two go together? It's a good chance to test your luck, just remember to draw at exactly 10:00."

Zhou Yurou was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "There's such a good thing? Sure, I'll go and pay this month's utility bills while I'm at it."

Liu Ruyan looked up and softly replied "Okay," a hint of subtle anticipation in her eyes; she had grown up without ever winning a prize.

At 10:00 sharp, there was no one at the property center; after all, not many people were willing to pay property management fees voluntarily these days.

Zhou Yurou considered her luck to be average, so she let Liu Ruyan draw, having no high expectations anyway, just treating it as a game.

The girl held the ping pong ball, took a deep breath, put it into the lottery box, stirred it around, and pulled out a red ball labeled "First Prize."

"You won! It's the coffee machine!" The young lady from the property office smiled and handed over the pickup slip, "You guys are so lucky, there was only one first prize for this event!"

People around came to congratulate them, and Liu Ruyan's face turned red instantly, her fingers clutching the pickup slip trembling slightly.

Zhou Yurou patted her shoulder and laughed: "I told you you were a lucky star; you brought good fortune to the studio as soon as you came back!"

That afternoon, the studio was filled with the aroma of freshly ground coffee.

Wang Chengsi held a mug, his eyes squinting as he drank: "This is a hundred times better than instant! Ruyan, you have to do all the future lucky draws!"

Liu Ruyan sat at her workstation, listening to her colleagues' laughter, a genuine curve finally appearing at the corner of her lips.

Seeing this scene, Zhou Yurou felt warm inside, and when she got off work in the evening, she took the initiative to grab Zhang Fan: "Come to my place tonight."

The rain that night grew lighter, and Zhang Fan had a friendly interaction with Zhou Yurou in her apartment until the second half of the night.

Zhou Yurou was ten years his senior; she had shed the naivety of a young girl and gained a sense of just-right thoughtfulness, with even her breathing carrying a rhythm that made one feel at ease.

It must be said that women around thirty always carry a certain just-right vitality, and that sense of ease and composure carries far more weight than in one's naive years.

Even though Zhang Fan was only in his twenties, at an age full of energy, he gradually lost his ability to parry, ending up exhausted in the end.

So much so that when Zhang Fan woke up the next day, the light outside the window was already bright, and when he grabbed his phone to check the time, it was already nine in the morning.

There was no sign of Zhou Yurou in the room—she always had a regular schedule and should have already arrived at the company by now.

There was a packaged breakfast on the dining table, which she had specially bought before leaving, but after sitting for a few hours, it felt a bit cold to the touch.

Zhang Fan hurriedly finished his breakfast, finally replenishing some energy.

Having recovered, he remembered to check the daily intelligence updated in the early morning; the moment he clicked on the interface, he was slightly stunned: today's intelligence was strikingly red.

[Today's Intelligence: On April 14th at 19:00, Liu Mengqi will be on a date with Fu Chengyu, the young master of the Fu Family, at "Old Place Noodle Restaurant," and will subsequently head to "Citywide Romance" to open a room.]

April 14th, Black Valentine's Day—a holiday exclusively for singles. Liu Mengqi clearly had an engagement with the Lin Family, yet she was dating Fu Chengyu?

A trace of coldness flashed in Zhang Fan's eyes, and he immediately dialed Gu Jingshen's number: "Old Gu, call Wang and the others tonight; we're going to 'Old Place Noodle Restaurant' for a team-building event, my treat."

"Team building?" Gu Jingshen's voice carried the confusion of someone who had just woken up, "Fan Zi, are you not awake yet? Thinking about tonight's plans so early in the morning! Besides, that 'Old Place' restaurant is a century-old brand in Jiangcheng; private rooms have to be booked half a month in advance, and their drunken crab and braised pig trotters won't cost less than a thousand or eight hundred."

"Don't worry, I've already booked the private room."

Zhang Fan hung up the phone, knowing clearly—the system's intelligence was never wrong; since it said Liu Mengqi would go, the private room at "Old Place" would definitely be bookable.

At 6:30 in the evening, Zhang Fan, along with Zhou Yurou, Gu Jingshen, Wang Chengsi, and Liu Ruyan, walked into "Old Place Noodle Restaurant."

The restaurant's facade was not big, and the paint on the wooden sign was somewhat mottled, but as soon as they entered, the rich aroma of sauce rushed to meet them.

There was a round table in the private room, and black-and-white photos of old Jiangcheng hung on the wall, exuding a sense of the weight of time.

"I'm going to the restroom first." Zhang Fan excused himself and quietly crept to a corner of the lobby, took out his phone, and adjusted it to recording mode—this spot was perfect for seeing the entrance; he could capture Liu Mengqi as soon as she walked in.

At 7:00 sharp, the wind chime at the door went "ding-a-ling," and Liu Mengqi walked in arm-in-arm with a man in a white suit.

The man had delicate features but carried an air of playfulness; it was none other than Fu Chengyu, the young master of the Fu Family.

The two were intimate, Liu Mengqi's hand clutching Fu Chengyu's arm tightly, her head resting on his shoulder, smiling like a flower, completely unlike someone who had an engagement.

Zhang Fan tapped his finger on the screen, and the record button was pressed firmly.

In the lens, Fu Chengyu lowered his head and whispered something in Liu Mengqi's ear, making her laugh out loud, reaching out to gently punch him in the chest, the action eyesore-ingly ambiguous.

"Fan Zi, what are you dawdling for? The dishes are all served!" Gu Jingshen's voice came from the direction of the private room.

"Coming!" Zhang Fan put away his phone and walked quickly back to the private room.

On the table, the drunken crab glistened with red oil, the braised pig trotters were steaming, and Zhou Yurou was peeling crab shells for Liu Ruyan, her eyes full of tenderness.

"I just saw Liu Mengqi." Zhang Fan sat down and lowered his voice to say to Gu Jingshen, "She's with Fu Chengyu. Guess what they're here for?"

Gu Jingshen's eyes lit up: "A date? This woman is something else; stringing along the Lin Family on one side and hooking up with the Fu Family on the other, isn't she afraid of capsizing?"

"Soon." Zhang Fan picked up a piece of trotter and put it in his mouth; the soft, glutinous meat melted on the tip of his tongue, "Just wait and watch the show."

After three rounds of drinks, Zhang Fan excused himself to buy cigarettes and quietly followed them out.

Just as he walked into the lobby, he saw Liu Mengqi and Fu Chengyu sitting by the window, both sharing a single bowl. Fu Chengyu picked up a chopstick of noodles and fed it to Liu Mengqi's mouth; Liu Mengqi opened her mouth to take it, and even intentionally bit his fingertip, causing Fu Chengyu to laugh softly.

Zhang Fan raised his phone, the lens firmly locking onto this scene—sharing a bowl of noodles, using the same pair of chopsticks; this sickeningly sweet appearance was even more intimate than a couple.

Sure enough, not long after, Fu Chengyu settled the bill and walked out the door with his arm around Liu Mengqi.

Zhang Fan quietly followed behind, watching them get into a black sedan and head straight for the Jiangcheng Hotel.

Zhang Fan couldn't help but complain in his heart: Don't normal couples go shopping or watch a movie, laying the groundwork for a long time before going to a hotel? These two, on the other hand, skipped all the procedures directly; they were probably too impatient to wait.

In the parking lot, Fu Chengyu put his arm around Liu Mengqi's waist, and the two walked into the hotel lobby kissing all the way. The front desk clerk handed over a room card familiarly, clearly not their first time here.

Zhang Fan hid behind a pillar, aiming his phone lens at their backs, watching Fu Chengyu swipe the card to open the door, and the two walked into the elevator embracing each other, only then did he put away his phone.

The video on the screen clearly recorded everything: the intimacy in the noodle restaurant, the kissing in the parking lot, the registration at the hotel entrance, the backs entering the elevator... Every frame was evidence that could ruin Liu Mengqi's reputation.

He remembered the "Lin Family engagement" from the system intelligence—the Liu Family, in order to cling to the Lin Family, had long announced that Liu Mengqi was the future daughter-in-law of the Lin Family. Now that Liu Mengqi was having a tryst and opening a room with Fu Chengyu, once these videos were exposed, where would the Lin Family's face be? The Liu Family's engagement would likely be completely ruined.