Sunday afternoon.

Xue Rui and Lin Ruoxi headed to school together.

It was still technically the weekend, yet they had to go to school.

"What kind of ’weekend’ is this?" Xue Rui couldn’t help but wonder.

School let out on Friday, and classes started again on Sunday afternoon.

So out of seven days a week, only Saturday had nothing to do with school?

Then, he suddenly thought of his third year of high school. He seemed to recall getting only one day off every half-month...

"That’s just how it is in Jin Province," Xue Rui said, shaking his head helplessly.

He had spent four thousand yuan on a desktop computer and also had broadband and a phone line installed at Lin Ruoxi’s place.

Xue Rui felt that Lin Ruoxi was out of touch with the times, especially with people her own age.

So, he bought her a computer so she could access the outside world and bridge that information gap.

At the very least, she would have some common topics to talk about with her peers in the future.

Of course, Xue Rui had his own selfish reasons. Using the excuse of playing on the computer, he could often go over to Lin Ruoxi’s place, hang out, and maybe get a free meal.

After all, the computer was his...

As they passed a cake shop, a rich, sweet aroma wafted out.

Just one sniff was enough to make one’s heart flutter with sweetness.

Lin Ruoxi sniffed curiously a few times, thinking it smelled wonderful.

Xue Rui found it cloyingly sweet.

However, he still stopped and bought a few small cakes in cups.

"You can share these with your roommate when you get to school," Xue Rui said, handing the cakes to Lin Ruoxi.

"Oh..."

...

Once at school, Xue Rui made a beeline for Class One to find Gu Muxue.

There weren’t many people in the classroom. Most of the students were boarders, who were currently in their dorms unpacking, chatting about their weekends, or sharing snacks they’d brought from home.

The bonds between boarding students, who spent their days and nights together, were much deeper than those between day students.

"What took you so long?" Gu Muxue shot Xue Rui a look.

She had sent him a QQ message long ago, telling him to get to school early. She’d already been sitting in the classroom for an hour.

"Who comes to school for no reason?" Xue Rui said nonchalantly, grabbing a cookie from Gu Muxue’s desk.

"So dry, and a little bitter. Don’t buy from this place again. Their skills are terrible," Xue Rui gave a bad review.

"Didn’t you see my QQ message?" Gu Muxue pinched Xue Rui, making him jump in pain.

Xue Rui looked confused. ’Why did she suddenly pinch me? Just because I didn’t see her message? It can’t be that simple...’

He glanced at the cookies, which were in a plain plastic container.

Combined with their rough taste and surprisingly poor appearance...

He guessed that Gu Muxue might have made them herself.

’After all, who would have the nerve to open a shop with cookies like these?’

"I ate something else just now, so the flavors probably mingled. But now that I’m tasting it carefully, I think the aftertaste is actually very rich," Xue Rui said with a serious expression.

"Really?" Gu Muxue asked quietly, her expression unchanging.

Xue Rui picked up another cookie, popped it in his mouth, chewed, swallowed it down with some saliva, and closed his eyes to savor it carefully.

"Really. The pastry chef at my house couldn’t make this kind of flavor. I heard them say that the most authentic European-style cookies are supposed to be slightly bitter..."

Xue Rui spouted nonsense with a straight face, observing Gu Muxue’s micro-expressions.

Her almond eyes curved up slightly.

Xue Rui was sure of it now. Gu Muxue had definitely made them.

"Then you can have them all!" Gu Muxue put the lid on the container and handed it to Xue Rui.

"Really?" Xue Rui feigned surprise, accepting the container with a reverence and awe akin to a pilgrim on a sacred journey.

A look of satisfaction crossed Gu Muxue’s face. She was very pleased with Xue Rui’s attitude.

Xue Rui thought to himself, ’Girls this age are so easy to fool. A few nice words and she’s smiling like a flower in bloom.’

In reality, both of them knew exactly where the cookies came from.

Gu Muxue knew she hadn’t done a good job, but she just wanted to hear Xue Rui praise her.

"Xue Rui, I need to talk to you. Who was that person you mentioned the other day, the one who looks like me?" Gu Muxue asked.

This was a big reason why she had come so early.

If Xue Rui gave some answer like "just a random person," she definitely wouldn’t believe him. After all, he had taken the initiative to call her over the weekend, which showed how important this was.

"I’ll just show you a photo. Try not to be too shocked."

Xue Rui took out an old photograph. This was the reason he’d sought out Gu Muxue.

Xue Rui sighed inwardly. ’Some things are lost on those who are directly involved.’

Like how Gu Muxue and Ren Qunfang looked so similar...

He had spent a very long time with both women, yet he had subconsciously ignored this issue.

It wasn’t until he was reborn that he finally noticed it.

Moreover, he had unearthed a photo album he’d never seen before, one that held the dusty stories of several people.

"That’s my dad!" Gu Muxue’s eyes were immediately drawn to the strikingly handsome man in the photo.

"Is this... me?" Gu Muxue asked in confusion, looking at the girl in the middle of the photo.

’Did Xue Rui photoshop this somewhere to trick me?’

But it was an old photograph. The yellowing marks from moisture on the back and the faint, handwritten date were all proof that this was a trace left by time.

"Who is she? Why does she look just like me?" Gu Muxue asked, concluding the photo must be real.

But she was certain she had never seen a photo like this at home.

"Huh?" Xue Rui’s eye twitched. ’What do you mean, "looks just like you"?’

’There’s a first-come, first-served order to things, you know. When Ren Qunfang looked like that, you weren’t even a damn fertilized egg yet.’

The question should have been why Gu Muxue looked so much like Ren Qunfang.

However, Xue Rui didn’t bother to correct her on this point.

"My mother, Ren Qunfang. Qunfang Tower was named after her," Xue Rui said. He thought for a moment, then added, "And the random guy next to her is my dad."

"That’s your mother?" Gu Muxue was so shocked she shot to her feet.

"They knew each other a long time ago?" Gu Muxue murmured to herself.

That day, Old Gu’s reaction had been very strange. He was clearly hiding something.

And he had lied to her. He obviously knew someone who looked so much like her, so why did he say he didn’t?

"Yes, they knew each other. This is just one of many photos," Xue Rui said with certainty.

"I’m going to have a good talk with Old Gu when I get home today," Gu Muxue muttered, putting the photo away.

Xue Rui didn’t stop her. He had intended to give it to Gu Muxue anyway so she could go home and ask about it.

"By the way, what’s Uncle Xue’s full name...?"

"Xie Jianfeng."

...

Xue Rui didn’t return to his own class until the teacher for Class One came in.

He and Gu Muxue had talked for a long time, mostly about their two families.

Xue Rui listened with great interest.

He was certain that his family and Gu Muxue’s were not related in any way. The fact that Gu Muxue looked like his mom was purely a coincidence.

Gu Qingshan’s hometown and Xie Jianfeng’s hometown were two neighboring villages, so it was normal for them to have known each other.

Xue Rui discovered that Gu Qingshan was indeed an impressive figure. Around the same age as his own father, he was already the deputy director of the Administration for Industry and Commerce. In a few years, after a departmental merger, he would become the deputy director of the Municipal Supervision Bureau...

It was also worth mentioning that Gu Muxue’s grandfather was a retired high-ranking official who used to be in the finance department...

Furthermore, Gu Muxue’s mother was from Jiangnan. Her family was quite well-off and had some businesses in Hedong as well.

"What a ridiculously impressive family," Xue Rui remarked, sitting down next to Lin Ruoxi.

Some people are just born in Rome.