Chapter 248: Lu Tingting Lashes Out at Chen Xue

Chapter 248: Chapter 248: Lu Tingting Lashes Out at Chen Xue

Although the news that Jiang Moli had been reported was music to Wu Miaoyun’s ears, she had learned her lesson and didn’t run to An Hui to gossip.

She was afraid of being thoroughly humiliated again, just like what happened last time with Jiang Dahai’s job.

She only brought it up with her close friends and her own family.

The next day, as Chen Xue was leaving for work, she ran into Lu Tingting heading to school.

"Tingting."

Lu Tingting shot Chen Xue a look, not bothering to respond.

In Lu Tingting’s eyes, Chen Xue backing out of her marriage to the Liang family was nothing short of a betrayal.

"Did you know? That third aunt of yours is in trouble again."

Chen Xue wasn’t trying to curry favor with Lu Tingting; she just wanted to watch the drama unfold.

Her colleagues at the department store knew she was from the Military District Courtyard and that her future in-laws were influential figures in the Jiangcheng Military District. Every single one of them was falling over themselves to get on her good side.

Now, she didn’t feel inferior to Lu Tingting in the slightest.

Hearing that it was about Jiang Moli, Lu Tingting stopped in her tracks. "Chen Xue, if you’ve got so much time on your hands, why don’t you go collect scrap on the street? You could save up for your dowry. You can’t even get your own life in order, so why are you so fixated on my third aunt?"

It was the morning rush for work and school, and plenty of other residents were passing by.

Hearing Lu Tingting’s words, they all began to give Chen Xue strange looks.

Chen Xue’s face burned with humiliation. She was furious that Lu Tingting had shown her no mercy at all.

"I’m not the only one saying it! Everyone says your third aunt is a hopeless case."

Lu Tingting snorted. "What a busybody. And who says a ’hopeless case’ has to be propped up against a wall? Can’t I use it to grow flowers and plants?"

Unable to out-argue Lu Tingting, Chen Xue scurried away in disgrace.

But she was still fuming. Once she got to the department store, she dragged her colleagues over and vented furiously about both Lu Tingting and Jiang Moli.

’Disdain Value +2. Account credited: 20,000 yuan.’

"Grandma!"

An Hui and Ma Hongmei were having breakfast. When Lu Tingting came in, An Hui instinctively asked, "Shouldn’t you be at school at this hour? What are you doing here? Have you had breakfast?"

Lu Tingting had already eaten, but when she saw her favorite scallion pancakes on the table, she grabbed a bowl and chopsticks and sat down to join them.

As she ate, she asked about Jiang Moli. "Where’s Third Aunt now?"

An Hui eyed her. "Why the sudden interest in your third aunt?"

"Is she in trouble again? I just ran into Chen Xue, and that’s what she said."

’That second daughter of the Chen family really is a blabbermouth,’ An Hui thought. She then told her granddaughter that the performance of Jiang Moli’s work had been suspended, wanting to prevent her from hearing wild rumors from others.

After she finished eating, Lu Tingting excused herself to use the restroom, but instead, she slipped into Jiang Moli’s room for a quick look around before leaving.

...

"Tingting, what are you spacing out for? Class is over. Let’s go get lunch."

"They have glass noodles in the cafeteria today. If we’re late, it’ll all be gone."

In the classroom, Wu Meixia and Song Ke flanked Lu Tingting, each grabbing an arm.

Lu Tingting pushed them away. "You two go on ahead," she said glumly. "I don’t have an appetite."

The two of them were starving, but they didn’t dare just abandon Lu Tingting and go to the cafeteria alone.

If they did, Lu Tingting would chew them out for the next two weeks.

"What’s wrong?"

"Who got you so upset?"

Lu Tingting handed them a thick stack of manuscript pages. "You two, read this."

"What is this?"

"I told you to read it, so just read it. Stop asking so many questions."

Wu Meixia said, "There’s too much to read in one go. Why don’t we eat first and read it this afternoon?"

Song Ke nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Tingting, if you don’t want to eat in the cafeteria, we can go eat out."

"Fine."

After lunch, the three returned to the classroom.

Wu Meixia and Song Ke huddled together over the manuscript. Lu Tingting just rested her head on her desk, staring out the window, lost in her own world.

It took Wu Meixia and Song Ke a little over half an hour to finish the manuscript.

"Tingting, where did you get this?"

Propping her chin on her hand, Lu Tingting looked at them. "So, what did you think of it?"

Wu Meixia nodded. "It’s amazing. Xu Fan’s story is so inspiring. It makes me want to learn how to dance."

Song Ke said, "Xu Fan became a famous dancer through a combination of talent and hard work. An ordinary person like you, with no talent, could dance until your legs snap, and it would still be useless."

Wu Meixia shot back, "How do you know I don’t have any talent..."

"Jiang Moli wrote it."

Lu Tingting’s words cut off their argument.

Wu Meixia was in disbelief. "Jiang Moli? She used to be terrible at writing school essays. How could she possibly write something this brilliant?"

Lu Tingting replied, "You said it yourself: ’used to be.’ I used to think she was a lazy good-for-nothing, too!"

Wu Meixia and Song Ke looked at each other, at a loss for words.

If Lu Tingting hadn’t told them, they would never have guessed in a million years that Jiang Moli was the author.

At first, Lu Tingting had just been curious about what Jiang Moli could have possibly written to get reported and boycotted.

But after reading the manuscript, she was profoundly shaken.

The manuscript, written as an autobiography, chronicled the life of its protagonist, Xu Fan.

The prose was simple, yet incredibly powerful.

Finishing it felt like you had lived the protagonist’s life yourself, leaving you with a sense of wistful loss that was hard to shake.

’That damn woman... not only is she a smooth talker, she can write like this, too.’

"The way I see it, Jiang Moli has probably offended too many people. Someone’s just trying to sabotage her behind her back so she can’t succeed."

As for *Chasing Dreams* being reported, besides discussing and speculating about it, there wasn’t much the three of them could do.

...

After school let out, Lu Tingting planned to put the manuscript back where she found it.

She hadn’t walked far from the school gates when a silver sedan pulled up beside her.

"Tingting."

Meng Wei greeted her from the front passenger seat.

"Sister Weiwei."

Meng Wei smiled at her. "Are you on your way home? We’re heading in the same direction, we can give you a lift."

Lu Tingting got into the car and instinctively sized up the young man behind the wheel.

He looked to be around her third uncle’s age, dressed in a gray woolen coat with his hair combed impeccably. He had a mature and elegant air about him.

"Hello."

Noticing her gaze, the man gave a polite nod.

"I’m getting off at the Military District Courtyard, if that’s okay. Thank you."

In front of strangers, Lu Tingting was always polite and well-mannered.

Meng Wei smiled and briefly introduced them.

The man was Lin Jianfeng, a director from the Emei Film Studio.

"Sister Weiwei, are you two going to dinner? Could I tag along? My mom isn’t cooking tonight, so I don’t have any dinner plans."

Seeing no objection from Lin Jianfeng, Meng Wei had little choice but to agree.

They went to a newly opened restaurant that specialized in silver carp.

The fish was prepared fresh to order, so service was a little slow. Lu Tingting seized the opportunity to take the manuscript out of her bag.

"Brother Lin, I have this manuscript. I was wondering if you think it could be adapted into a film."

Lin Jianfeng took the manuscript and flipped through a few pages. "Did you write this?" he asked casually.

Glancing at Meng Wei, Lu Tingting nodded. "Ah, yes. I wrote it."

Meng Wei was astonished. "Tingting, when did you start writing creatively?"

Lu Tingting took a sip of tea to cover her unease. "I was just bored, so I decided to write something."

Lin Jianfeng closed the manuscript with a smile. "I’ll take this home and read it properly. I’ll get back to you with my thoughts once I’m done."

"Oh."