After Lin Ruoxi finished washing the dishes, she sat dazedly in the living room.

Xue Rui sat on the sofa, his head turned as he stared blankly out the window.

The two had nothing in common to talk about. For a moment, the atmosphere was awkward.

The two were from different worlds to begin with. Because of Xue Rui’s forceful intervention, Lin Ruoxi’s life had been turned upside down.

Lin Ruoxi was a little unsure of what to do. She felt like Xue Rui was waiting for something.

’Waiting for me to change clothes?’

She thought about it carefully. That was just how Xue Rui was; he never procrastinated.

If she dawdled any longer, Xue Rui would probably start rushing her.

So, she turned and went back to her room.

In reality, Xue Rui was just spacing out, thinking about whether he had missed anything.

In his previous life, Lin Ruoxi had suffered a huge blow from the old woman’s death, which was why she chose to take her own life.

But now, the old woman’s will to die had clearly been greatly diminished.

Especially since, without the old woman’s tacit approval, he wouldn’t have been able to take Lin Ruoxi away.

When it came down to it, it was still a matter of money. The old woman’s diabetes cost a lot, and after expenses, the money Lin Ruoxi had wouldn’t actually last for more than a few years.

The fifty thousand yuan he had placed in Lin Ruoxi’s room wasn’t actually intended for any investment, either. If Lin Ruoxi needed it, she could just use it...

First, he wasn’t that familiar with this era. After all, who in high school paid attention to things outside of school, especially completely unrelated matters like finance and stocks?

Second... there was the issue of his social status. He was just a student—a damn high school student at that. Even his bank card had limits. What could he do?

Even in his previous life, when he was almost thirty, some people in the business world still thought he was too young and unreliable.

Being young was a huge disadvantage that attracted a lot of prejudice.

The world was never short of rich people. So many held large amounts of cash but struggled to find good investment channels.

Putting aside public channels, you want to invest? You’d first have to see if your social circle was even worthy.

If it was about getting into shady businesses or starting his own company, that would be a bit simpler, but the earliest he could do that would be in college.

At the end of the day, Xue Rui didn’t want to manage a restaurant.

...

Suddenly, a flash of white caught the corner of Xue Rui’s eye.

Lin Ruoxi had changed into a creamy white long dress. Her arms were slender and long, like willow branches in early spring, hanging naturally at her sides.

Her long legs were straight and toned, without a hint of excess fat. The only thing was, she was still wearing slippers, which didn’t quite match, but this somehow made her look even purer.

Lin Ruoxi’s skin was paler than the dress, but Xue Rui felt this kind of cold-toned paleness was unhealthy.

Faintly, he could see the network of light blue veins beneath her skin.

Lin Ruoxi averted her gaze, not daring to meet Xue Rui’s eyes.

It was her first time wearing a dress. She felt a draft on her legs and a sense of shame, her face flushing as red as a tomato.

Lin Ruoxi’s limbs were perfectly proportioned; she had the frame of a beauty.

She was beautiful, yes, but the current Lin Ruoxi was too immature.

Xue Rui felt something was missing, that she didn’t evoke any passionate desire in him.

"Still too skinny. You need to eat more." Xue Rui glanced at Lin Ruoxi’s flat chest, having found the reason for her immaturity.

’The saying, "A girl under a hundred pounds is either flat-chested or short," really wasn’t wrong.’

’She needs to be fattened up a bit.’

"Oh..." Lin Ruoxi replied, her face red. She asked weakly, "So... should I try on more?"

"Yes, why wouldn’t I?" Xue Rui said with a smile, thinking to himself, ’She hasn’t even worn the black stockings yet.’

Lin Ruoxi obediently agreed and changed into another dress.

Every time the door opened, Xue Rui’s gaze was fixed intently on Lin Ruoxi’s legs.

But each time, he would shake his head in disappointment.

"You don’t understand me," Xue Rui sighed. Lin Ruoxi had actually put on a down jacket.

"You... how can I understand if you don’t tell me?"

"You should understand even if I don’t say it. True understanding doesn’t need words."

"I..."

Lin Ruoxi knew that Xue Rui wanted to see her wear those pantyhose.

But every time she picked them up, she felt her cheeks burn and would subconsciously change into another outfit.

Lin Ruoxi buried half her face in the down jacket, debating whether she should go put them on.

"Did the old woman forbid you from wearing them? She’s really overstepping," Xue Rui muttered.

’A girl like Lin Ruoxi, who doesn’t have much of her own opinion, would have been coaxed into wearing them long ago if someone hadn’t specifically warned her against it.’

In truth, Xue Rui didn’t really want to see it that badly right now. Lin Ruoxi was already unusually skinny, and wearing black stockings would only make her look thinner, shattering his beautiful fantasy.

"I’ll look after you’ve fattened up," Xue Rui said with a sly laugh.

Lin Ruoxi suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. Xue Rui meant she didn’t have to wear them.

Suddenly, she thought of something, walked into the old woman’s room, and took out a thick photo album.

"This... I found it under the bed. I didn’t look," Lin Ruoxi said, shaking her head repeatedly.

Xue Rui had a strange expression. ’If you didn’t look, you didn’t look. By being so insistent, aren’t you just protesting too much?’

However, he believed that Lin Ruoxi wasn’t lying.

The photo album was old, looking even more ancient than the one at his house.

When he opened it, the pages were stuck together, making a harsh ripping sound like tearing tape.

"How come I’ve never seen this album before?" Xue Rui wondered aloud.

’This photo album was under my parents’ bed?’

’Could it be...’

’Are there scandalous photos inside?’

’That father of mine, Xie Jianfeng... you could never fucking tell with him.’

As he spoke, Xue Rui shifted to the side to prevent Lin Ruoxi from seeing the contents.

He was afraid it might not be suitable for minors.

’In fact, I’m a little nervous myself. It’s something my parents hid. Can I even look at it? Will I get a sty if I do?’

After opening it, Xue Rui was, for some reason, actually a little disappointed.

The photos were all of his parents on vacation when they were young. They had an air of youthfulness about them and looked to be about seventeen or eighteen.

Xue Rui sighed with emotion. ’My mom is so beautiful. How did she fall for my dad?’

He casually flipped through a few pages and suddenly spotted a very familiar person.

It was that ridiculously handsome "swordsman in white"—Gu Muxue’s father.

"Who the fuck are you, handsome? Why are you in here?" Xue Rui couldn’t help but exclaim.

This revelation was explosive. ’My parents and Gu Muxue’s father have known each other all along?’

In the photo, Xie Jianfeng had his arm around the other boy’s shoulder, and they looked very close.

Xue Rui grew more and more confused. If their relationship was so good and they both lived in Hedong City, why weren’t they in contact anymore?

In his memory, he had never seen this person before.

Hedong City was small. Even he and Officer Chen could run into each other by chance. It was as if you were surrounded by acquaintances everywhere.

It was impossible that they hadn’t seen each other in so many years. They must have had a falling-out and cut off all contact.

"Gu Muxue and I have been in the same school since elementary, but our parents never ran into each other?" Xue Rui wondered.

’On second thought, my parents never picked me up from school...’

He had thought it was a coincidence that Gu Muxue looked so much like his mother.

Now, it seemed more and more convoluted.

He wanted to go home and ask about it immediately, but would they tell him a story they had hidden away?

Xue Rui pulled the page with the group photo of the three of them from the album and stuck it in one of Lin Ruoxi’s books, thinking that he had to discuss this with Gu Muxue once he got to school.

He held the photo in front of Lin Ruoxi and pointed to the girl in it, saying, "This is my mom."

Lin Ruoxi’s eyes widened in surprise, not just because the girl in the photo was beautiful, but more importantly, because she looked exactly like Gu Muxue from the class next door.

"I know what you’re thinking, but my question is, can you guess which one is my dad?" Xue Rui asked with a smile.

There were only three people in the photo.

One was unbelievably beautiful.

One was ridiculously handsome.

And the other was like a random passerby who shouldn’t have been in the picture.

Lin Ruoxi subconsciously chose the handsome one.

Xue Rui’s eye twitched. "You judge by looks, too?"

’But that was a normal person’s choice. A handsome guy for a beautiful girl, right?’

’Besides, the handsome guy in the picture was staring intently at Ren Qunfang...’

"This one is my dad," Xue Rui said, pointing to the unremarkable-looking boy.

Xue Rui was also confused. Why?

That handsome guy obviously liked his mom.

Why did his mom choose Xie Jianfeng instead of the handsome guy?

Thinking of this, Xue Rui suddenly felt that his dad was a fucking legend.