The Foolish Wife Turned Scheming After Her Recovery - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: “No, she’s my friend.”

The work planned for this business trip was all completed within three days. On top of that, they even had a full set of photos featuring Lu Zhili, which meant the project was not only completed but over completed.

Yu Yao sent the preview photos to the studio group chat for everyone to see, and all the comments were either praising how beautiful Lu Zhili was or how great their products looked.

She was more than happy to see people praising her girlfriend, and generously sent ten red packets in the group chat. She even transferred some extra funds to Yezi so the staff could go out for a little team dinner.

There were still two days left on the trip. Chu Jiayan finally got his wish and took Yu Rao out to properly explore Su City—with Lu Zhili and Qin Yue tagging along, of course.

Chu Jiayan had planned for the rest of the two days to be fully arranged by him. He even suggested they all go to a friend’s mountain resort for a day. But Yu Rao turned him down.

“I need to go back home for a bit. I promised my sister I’d take her to Beijing over the May Day holiday. It’s her last chance to relax before the college entrance exams.”

Chu Jiayan had no choice but to reluctantly put Yu Yao and Lu Zhili on a train.

Originally, Qin Yue was supposed to go with them too, but Lu Zhili personally called her mom and insisted Qin Yue be given a break.

Fu Shuang couldn’t say no to her and eventually agreed.

Qin Yue was still interested in exploring Su City, so she left alone with her camera and backpack.

Chu Jiayan ended up flying back to Beijing all by himself—pitiful and alone.

Yu Rao’s hometown was in Hechuan County, located on the border of Su City and Jingcheng, under the jurisdiction of Jingcheng.

Hechuan County was fairly developed. Even though there wasn’t a subway, it had a high-speed railway station. When Yu Yao and Lu Zhili stepped out of the station, it was around 3:00 in the afternoon.

Yu Yao checked the time. It was just about the right time to go pick up her sister, Yu Ling.

She didn’t have a car here, so they took a taxi to Yu Ling’s school. After the high-speed train and then a taxi ride, even Lu Zhili—who normally didn’t get motion sick—was looking pale and drained from the intense travel.

Seeing her pale lips, Yu Yao felt distressed. She shifted in her seat and gently let Lu Zhili rest her head on her shoulder, affectionately touching her cheek. “Not feeling well? Want some water?”

Lu Zhili looked like a wilted eggplant and snuggled against Yu Yao, softly shaking her head like a spoiled child.

Their driver, a chatty older lady, noticed how unwell the two pretty young girls in the back looked. She took a few mint candies from a small box and handed them over kindly, speaking in somewhat accented Mandarin, “Here, girls, have some mint candies.”

“Thank you, thank you,” Yu Yao said gratefully as she accepted them.

Seeing there were still quite a few left in the box, she guessed this was something the driver always kept on hand. Plenty of people got carsick, and some mint candy helped prevent vomiting—which also meant not having to clean the car interior.

A box of mints cost way less than a full interior cleaning.

Yu Yao unwrapped a mint, and instead of touching it with her hands, she pushed it into Lu Zhili’s mouth through the wrapper.

The hard candy clicked against her teeth with two little knocks. Lu Zhili found it amusing and even laughed—it was the first time she’d eaten a candy that had been “squeezed” in like that.

She sucked on the mint for a while and finally felt better. Smiling sweetly, she thanked the driver, “Thank you, Auntie.”

The driver let out a cheerful laugh and praised the two girls for being so pretty. She assumed they were tourists visiting Hechuan and even recommended a few local tourist spots.

Looking out the car window, Yu Yao started recognizing familiar streets. Her mood darkened a bit. Hechuan was a nice place, but she didn’t like this small county town.

The last time she’d been here was to pull some strings and get Yu Ling into high school. She avoided this place as much as possible—even during Chinese New Year, she would have Yu Ling and her mom come up to Beijing instead.

As for Yu Zhujun—aside from his last dramatic scene at her studio that forced her to relocate to a new business district—she hadn’t seen him in years.

Yu Yao knew well that her family background was a complete mess: an abusive, alcoholic father; a timid, self-conscious mother; and a younger sister still in school. Families like hers were rare, even in a small place like Hechuan, let alone in Beijing.

That’s also why she brought Lu Zhili with her. She had a bit of a hidden agenda. She wanted Lu Zhili to see her more real side—that she was just an ordinary person who had clawed her way up from the bottom, not the “princess” Lu Zhili had imagined her to be.

“A Rao? A Rao, what’s wrong?” Lu Zhili waved her hand in front of Yu Yao’s face.

Yu Rao snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her with a smile. “What is it?”

Lu Zhili pointed out the window. “There’s a traffic jam. Auntie said we’re close to the school—how about we just walk the rest of the way?”

All the cars outside were parents picking up kids. With the upcoming May Day break and only a month left until the college entrance exams, parents were extra eager and had come early to wait at the school gate.

“Sure, let’s get out here. It’s just ahead, and we’re right on time.”

They got out, crossed the street, and walked along the sidewalk. Though the road was packed with cars, hardly anyone honked. No one wanted to disturb the students—especially not with the high-stakes exams coming up.

The sidewalk was crowded too. Yu Yao grabbed Lu Zhili’s hand to keep her close. No matter how mature she looked on the outside, inside she was still a clueless little kid.

Lu Zhili felt all warm and fuzzy being led by the hand. Even though passersby kept giving them curious looks, Yu Rao didn’t let go.

Her timing was perfect—just as they approached the school entrance, the bell rang, followed by the sound of students running through the hallways.

Yu Ling strolled out with her backpack, checking her phone and chatting with her best friend.

“Babe, did you know you’re trending in the bathroom forum again?” said her shorter friend, holding her arm and gossiping away.

Yu Ling rolled her eyes. “Who would want to go viral in the bathroom? Doesn’t that smell like crap?”

Phones weren’t allowed in their school, so everyone used the bathroom stall doors as a message board. People wrote their thoughts on the partitions, and the place earned the affectionate nickname: the bathroom forum.

It was all handwritten.

“Haha, you’re the only one complaining. That Bai Xi from the other class? She’s totally jealous of you. They say she checks your name every time she goes.”

Yu Ling’s ponytail swayed as she walked. Hearing Bai Xi’s name, she struggled to remember who that was.

“You don’t remember?!” her friend groaned and shook her arm. “She’s the class belle next door! The pretty one!”

“How pretty could she be? If she wasn’t super pretty, I wouldn’t remember.”

“Is that even human logic?”

Yu Ling laughed. “Can’t help it. I grew up with a super gorgeous older sister. My eyes are spoiled.”

“Yeah right. I don’t believe it unless I see her. You never showed me a photo. Always making excuses.”

Yu Ling’s expression dimmed as she remembered the photos burned in that fire when she was little—but she quickly smiled again. “I’m going to Beijing this break. I’ll take pictures for you this time, promise!”

Her friend looked like she should be excited—but suddenly stopped, eyes locked on something ahead.

“Holy… sh*t…”

“What’s with the swearing?” Yu Ling teased, turning to look—and froze.

Before her friend could finish saying anything, Yu Ling squealed with joy and excitement, waving as she ran, “Sis!!!”

Her friend: “?”

Thinking back to everything Yu Ling had said about her sister… and then seeing those two absolute goddesses standing at the gate…

“Holy sh*t! Fishy, you weren’t lying!”

Yu Yao and Lu Zhili were both tall, standing out like two statues among the crowd. Yu Yao had heard at least three parents on the phone say:

“Sweetie, when you come out, just look for the two prettiest girls—Mom’s right next to them.”

Lu Zhili didn’t quite understand the local dialect, but Yu Yao did. She was really hoping her sister would come out soon.

And just like Yu Ling spotted her sister immediately, Yu Yao also caught sight of her sister in the crowd.

They shared about 70% of their facial features—even Lu Zhili was stunned.

“A Yao, is that your sister? You two look so alike!”

Yu Yao just smiled and didn’t say anything. Only she knew: seventeen-year-old Yu Ling didn’t resemble seventeen-year-old Yu Yao at all.

Back then, she had been gloomy, withdrawn, alone—no friends, no family support. It was just her, navigating the jungle of school life on her own.

Yu Ling sprinted over, full of joy. “Sis! You came back?! You’re picking me up?! I’m so happy!” She wrapped her arms around Yu Yao’s neck and swayed like a spoiled kid.

Yu Yao smiled. “Didn’t I say I’d take you to Beijing for the holiday? I just finished a work trip in Su City and came right over.”

Lu Zhili stood beside them, smiling on the surface—but when she saw Yu Ling holding onto Yu Yao’s neck, a wave of jealousy bubbled up inside her.

Yu Ling was sharp—she immediately noticed the stunning girl next to her sister.

“Wow, Sis, you’re gorgeous! Are you my sister’s girlfriend?” she asked without hesitation—dropping a bomb right away.

Yu Yao froze, her brows twitching, and instinctively blurted out, “No, she’s my friend.”

Lu Zhili’s smile stiffened. She stood there, completely at a loss.