Chapter 67: Her Sister is a Friend of the Sheng Family's Young Master

It was evening, and Zhu Yuan was curled up on the bed, still asleep.

After returning, she had mailed out her bank card; having no strength to make food for herself, she simply ate a bowl of instant noodles and went to sleep.

Having slept for the better part of the day, she still felt exhausted, her bones and muscles aching terribly all over.

From yesterday evening until nearly dawn, she had almost no time to sleep; sometimes she would drift off, only to be jolted awake by the impact.

In her hazy state of consciousness, she looked into Sheng Yu's dark eyes, feeling as though she were being torn apart by him.

In her daze, she heard the sound of the doorbell.

After forcing her eyes open, she stared at the ceiling; the doorbell sound was clearer now, she was not dreaming.

Zhu Yuan let out a breath, propped herself up to sit, stepped barefoot onto the floor, limped to the door, and pushed aside the metal cover of the peephole to look out.

She unexpectedly saw a face that was slightly youthful and still had some baby fat.

The door opened.

Ji Xiang, eyes wide, let out a sigh of relief, "Xiao Fengzheng, I thought you weren't home."

"Why did you come?"

Upon hearing her voice, Ji Xiang frowned, "Why has your throat become like this? Quick, quick, come inside."

Ji Xiang pushed her into the room, "I didn't see you today, and the troupe leader said you had a cold and asked for leave. I was very worried, so I came to check on you since I was free this evening. I didn't expect it to be even more serious than I imagined."

Ji Xiang had not attended university; she had performed a few times in a small-town troupe, was coincidentally spotted by the troupe leader, and was brought to the provincial capital. Now she played minor roles in some stage plays—a very likable young girl.

Because Zhu Yuan had taken care of her a few times, she was exceptionally affectionate toward Zhu Yuan, calling her "Xiao Fengzheng" every day by her side.

The last time the Lu Family issued a statement for her, it was Ji Xiang who had told her.

"Sorry to trouble you with the trip; it's just that my throat is a bit uncomfortable."

Ji Xiang was only eighteen, young, but quite sharp. After entering the room, she noticed the gauze wrapped around Zhu Yuan's hand and her swollen ankle; it was clear at a glance that she was injured.

She tactfully didn't ask, only asking Zhu Yuan: "Then have you eaten?"

She looked like she had just woken up.

Zhu Yuan shook her head.

Ji Xiang saw the instant noodle cup in the trash can and let out an "ah," "How can you eat this when you're sick? Xiao Fengzheng, wait for me, I'll get you something to eat."

As she spoke, she took off her crossbody bag, supported Zhu Yuan's arm to press her onto the sofa, and then rolled up her sleeves and headed to the kitchen.

The young girl did as she said; Zhu Yuan wanted to stop her but it was too late. She opened her mouth and then closed it, having no choice but to let her be.

She leaned limply on the sofa, listening to the movements in the kitchen, and gradually, sleepiness washed over her, and she drifted off again.

She waited for Ji Xiang to cook a bowl of noodles and wake her up.

"There aren't many vegetables in your fridge, so I could only make you vegetable and egg noodles. You'll have to make do."

Zhu Yuan hadn't been back much lately, so the vegetables in the fridge were leftovers from before.

She looked at the fragrant bowl of noodles and gave Ji Xiang a thumbs up.

She picked up her chopsticks to eat the noodles and reached out to open a bottle of chili sauce nearby.

"Your throat is like this and you're still eating spicy food?" Ji Xiang pressed down on her hand.

"It's fine, my mouth feels bland, eating something spicy will whet my appetite."

Ji Xiang had no choice but to let her be.

She rested her hands on the table, cupped her face, and stared at Zhu Yuan's face at close range, unable to help but say: "Xiao Fengzheng, you are so pretty!"

Zhu Yuan choked on a mouthful of noodles, coughed a few times, and facing Ji Xiang's starry eyes, could only say: "I guess so."

"Oh, right, there's something the troupe announced today that you probably don't know yet," Ji Xiang said excitedly.

Zhu Yuan glanced at her while eating noodles, signaling her to speak.

"It's that stage play our troupe had previously cast Li Jie to star in, isn't it in the pre-promotion phase? Now Li Jie is in trouble, her acting career is likely over. The troupe leader said they have to pick a new lead. We've been talking about it in private, and this role belongs to you."

Zhu Yuan pondered for a moment.

That was true; with Li Jie in trouble, the role in that play was now vacant.

However, she could only be considered a dark horse in the troupe; besides Li Jie, there were two other actors with more seniority and acting skills no worse than hers, both of whom would be her competitors.

"Don't speak too soon," Zhu Yuan reminded her.

Ji Xiang was completely naive, "Just you wait, this role will definitely be yours."

However, two days later, when Ji Xiang came to see her again, she looked indignant, "I hate nepotism the most!"

"What happened?"

Zhu Yuan's throat had almost recovered, and her foot injury was nearly healed; she planned to go to the troupe tomorrow.

She had seen the announcement in the group chat, and the troupe leader had also sent her a private message yesterday, saying she must give it her all during the lead selection the day after tomorrow.

"A girl who just graduated from the drama academy came to our troupe yesterday. I heard people say that the lead role is very likely to be taken by her. You tell me, how can she take such an important role when she just arrived? If that's not pulling strings, what is?"

Zhu Yuan was just stunned.

But this kind of thing was nothing new in any circle; even a role that had been finalized could be replaced a second before the performance.

Zhu Yuan felt a bit of regret in her heart, but seeing Ji Xiang's pouting face, she couldn't help but laugh, "Stop being angry, you won't grow taller if you're angry."

"I'm already eighteen, would I still grow taller?" The more Ji Xiang thought about it, the more she felt unwilling to accept it, "You might have heard her name; she's called Ning Chu, and it seems she's from the same university as you."

Ning Chu?

Another junior from the same school.

Zhu Yuan thought for a while and had a slight impression, "Is she the second young lady of the Ning Family?"

Ji Xiang nodded.

It was her.

Zhu Yuan and this second young lady of the Ning Family had no intersection in real life.

The only thing that could be called an intersection was a college stage play performance where auditions were open to all students; in the end, Zhu Yuan won the role, and it was said that the second young lady of the Ning Family threw a huge tantrum after failing to be selected.

She has an arrogant and domineering personality.

"Her identity is more than just the second young lady of the Ning Family; I heard her older sister is a friend of the Sheng Family Crown Prince."

Ji Xiang kept talking to herself, not noticing Zhu Yuan's gaze darting away as she clenched her fingers.

She had thought she would never hear about that person again, but she hadn't expected that after going in a full circle, it would come back around.

There aren't many women in Sheng Yu's circle; the only one is Dong Shu, who has a tomboyish personality. It might be because her personality is like a boy's and she is unconstrained that Sheng Yu's circle can tolerate her.

However, she vaguely remembered Lu Huaizhan mentioning the Ning Family once.

It must be the eldest young lady of the Ning Family that Ji Xiang was talking about.

Ji Xiang secretly told her the gossip she heard today: "I heard that the eldest young lady of the Ning Family, Ning Huaiqing, is very beautiful, a standard gentle and graceful beauty, but I don't know what happened two years ago, she went abroad."

She lowered her voice and said mysteriously: "I heard them say it seems to be related to Sheng Yu; it might be some confidante. Anyway, I heard them say that the second young lady of the Ning Family is protected by the Sheng Family Crown Prince."

After Ji Xiang left, Zhu Yuan prepared to take a shower.

She walked into the bathroom but realized she had forgotten to bring a change of clothes; after she got the clothes, she remembered she hadn't taken a bath towel.

She was absent-minded.

At this moment, the phone rang.

It was an unfamiliar number.

Zhu Yuan answered the phone in confusion.

From the other end came the voice of Doctor Qiao Mai: "Miss Zhu, am I disturbing your rest? I am calling to remind you not to forget to come to the hospital tomorrow for your vaccine. The rabies vaccine must be injected strictly according to the schedule; please be sure to remember."