Chapter 328: Dijing Know-It-All (Not!)

"I see. Then I’ve said too much."

Yun Zijin didn’t take the bait, so Cheng Yushu had no choice but to drop the subject.

"By the way, do you guys have any idea why the Situ family came back to Hua Country?"

A powerful family that practically calls all the shots in France suddenly says they’re expanding their business to Hua Country. It’s obvious their motives aren’t simple.

Tu Tutu was genuinely curious, and she didn’t hesitate to ask about it right there at their own party.

Hearing Tu Tutu’s question, Yun Zijin raised an eyebrow slightly.

’Part of the reason the Situ family returned to expand their business is probably to find Situ Wenze’s aunt’s daughter.’

’On the other hand, they probably genuinely want to break into the Hua Country market.’

’After all, Hua Country is the second most populous nation in the world. The market here is huge.’

’As long as they find the right approach, it’s basically a guaranteed win.’

"I’m not sure. Don’t tell me you have some inside scoop?"

Su Mengyao didn’t notice the change in Yun Zijin’s expression. She shook her head in response to Tu Tutu.

"I heard... the Situ family is back to find a long-lost member of their clan!"

Yun Zijin glanced at Tu Tutu. ’I can’t believe her gossip is actually pretty reliable.’

"Where did you hear that?"

Yun Zijin really hadn’t expected that Tu Tutu, with her harmless-looking baby face, would actually have such a reliable intelligence network.

"Hehe... Who do you think I am? I’m Tu Tutu, Dijing’s resident know-it-all!"

Tu Tutu grinned smugly, showing no trace of the typical Dijing socialite Yun Zijin was used to.

But that was as good as saying nothing. She just called herself a know-it-all without revealing where she actually got her information.

Not that Yun Zijin planned to press her for details. The fact that Tu Tutu could come up with this kind of information meant her network was something to be reckoned with.

"Is your source even reliable?"

Su Mengyao, however, was full of doubt. Clearly, this wasn’t the first time she’d been burned by Tu Tutu’s "intel."

The title "Dijing’s resident know-it-all" was more than a little exaggerated.

When it came to guaranteeing its authenticity, Tu Tutu fell silent. She had only heard some gossip, and she certainly couldn’t vouch for its accuracy.

Seeing Tu Tutu’s expression, Su Mengyao knew it was probably another dead end.

"Just as I thought. ’Resident know-it-all’? I think ’resident phony’ is more like it."

Su Mengyao had completely lost all faith in Tu Tutu’s "inside scoops."

Yun Zijin blinked. ’I know the answer, but I can’t say anything right now.’

Neither Su Mengyao nor Tu Tutu noticed Yun Zijin’s expression. The two of them were huddled together, chatting about which brands had released new bags and new color palettes.

Cheng Yushu and Zhu Yuehua kept trying to strike up a conversation with Yun Zijin, but she shut them down every time.

The two of them sensed the change in Yun Zijin’s attitude and, in the end, could only give up and retreat into silence.

By the time Lu Yunque finally managed to extricate himself, the banquet was nearly over.

Yun Zijin and Tu Tutu exchanged contact information and made plans to go shopping and hang out together in the future.

When Lu Yunque came over to find Yun Zijin, he was greeted by the sight of Tu Tutu and Su Mengyao enthusiastically taking photos of her with their phones.

After they had been chatting for a while, Tu Tutu had started gushing over Yun Zijin’s gown.

Prompted by Tu Tutu, Su Mengyao also noticed how special Yun Zijin’s gown was, and her eyes instantly lit up.

Yun Zijin brushed them off with the excuse that it was custom-made and one-of-a-kind.

But while she managed to deflect questions about the dress’s origin, she couldn’t escape her fate of being posed for photos.

It wasn’t until the two of them saw Lu Yunque approaching that they finally restrained themselves, putting their phones away and ending their photoshoot with Yun Zijin.

"Are you done with everything on your end?"

Seeing Lu Yunque approach, Yun Zijin walked up to him naturally.

"Yeah, it’s about time. We can leave. Is there anything else you need to do here?"

"Nothing for me. I’m ready to go whenever." Yun Zijin turned to Su Mengyao and Tu Tutu. "Do you two have a ride home? If not, I can leave a car and a bodyguard for you."

Yun Zijin hadn’t seen Su Jingyun today, and she was worried it would be awkward for Su Mengyao if she was left here without a ride home.

"It’s fine, you go on ahead. I’ll call my brother in a bit."

"I’ll call my dad."

Tu Tutu was an only daughter.

"Alright, then text me when you get home so I know you’re safe."

It was late at night, after all, and Yun Zijin was still worried about two such beautiful young women.

As for Zhu Yuehua and Cheng Yushu, they had realized early on that they wouldn’t get anywhere with Yun Zijin and had made their excuses to leave about halfway through the banquet.

’Yun Zijin was Lu Yunque’s girlfriend, Su Mengyao already had a prize catch in Sheng Yang, and Tu Tutu’s parents had no intention of finding her a partner. They were the only ones being forced by their families into blind dates and arranged marriages.’

’So, in order to secure a better future for themselves in marriage, the two of them were taking any opportunity to scout for potential partners.’

’Yun Zijin felt this was part of the reason they had changed so much.’

If Yun Zijin had known the full reason, she might have sympathized with their plight, but that would have been the extent of it.

’You make your own life. If they had the backbone to stand up and fight for themselves, Yun Zijin might have respected them for it, and maybe even offered to help.’

’But in the end, they chose to compromise, and even started targeting her friends.’

’It wasn’t that they couldn’t have ambitions, but being so blatantly opportunistic from the very beginning was truly off-putting.’

Su Mengyao and Tu Tutu both replied to Yun Zijin, and then the three girls said their goodbyes.

Watching the figures of Yun Zijin and Lu Yunque leaving together, Su Mengyao and Tu Tutu were almost mesmerized.

"A feast for the eyes!"

"Ugh, if they ever break up, I’ll officially stop believing in love."

The two mused to themselves before pulling out their phones—one to call her brother, the other to call her dad.

Once Lu Yunque and Yun Zijin were out of the banquet hall, Lu Yunque finally spoke up. "Made a new friend today?"

Lu Yunque was certain he had never seen that girl, Tu Tutu, with Yun Zijin before.

"I did! Her name is Tu Tutu. She’s a really cute girl."

The corners of Yun Zijin’s mouth turned up unconsciously as she spoke about Tu Tutu.

’In all her years of studying in Dijing, she had made very few female friends.’

’At school, there was only Qin Sitong. In the Dijing social circle, there were only Su Mengyao and now Tu Tutu.’

’Oh, and there used to be Cheng Yushu and Zhu Yuehua, but unfortunately, they drifted apart.’

’But Yun Zijin didn’t think it was a loss. Forcing people with incompatible values to stay together would only make everyone unhappy in the end.’

’She wouldn’t allow herself to be unhappy.’

’Because if she was unhappy, she would make others even unhappier.’

"The daughter of the Tou family?"

"Yes, you know of them?"

Lu Yunque shook his head. "I’ve only heard of them. Today was the first time we’ve met."