Chapter 127: The Truth of That Year

Chapter 127: Chapter 127: The Truth of That Year

The lunch service ended, and the livestream was temporarily turned off.

Worried she was making Sun Xiu wait too long, Nan Zhi quickly started packing up.

Without turning around, she said:

"Yiyi, why don’t you go upstairs and rest? Mama is just stepping out for a little while!"

After a long pause, a slow, hesitant "oh" was the only reply.

Nan Zhi paused what she was doing and turned around.

"Are you upset?"

Nan Yi was standing on a small stool, slumped dejectedly over the edge of the prep counter.

He hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.

"Can’t I go with you? I don’t want to be apart from you."

’Is he actually sulking?’

Instead of being annoyed, Nan Zhi was actually delighted. She nodded readily.

"Of course."

This, in turn, left Nan Yi a little stunned.

’Th-that’s it? It was that easy?’

Nan Zhi saw his confusion.

"What did you expect?"

Nan Yi shook his head and immediately hopped off the stool. He happily scurried over to Nan Zhi’s side, reaching for her hand.

Nan Zhi pulled her hand away.

"My hands are wet."

Nan Yi wasn’t impatient. He waited obediently for Nan Zhi to dry her hands before offering his own again.

The moment Nan Zhi took his hand, his face lit up with pure joy and contentment.

Just as the mother and son were about to head out, they ran into the show’s assistant director, who had come to check on the filming equipment.

The assistant director stopped Nan Zhi.

"Um, someone online dug up your academic records..."

"Oh?"

Nan Zhi had anticipated this.

She just hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.

The assistant director stammered.

"So you really... graduated from Yan University?"

"That’s right."

Nan Zhi nodded nonchalantly.

It was as if graduating from the most prestigious, venerated university in the nation was no big deal to her!

The assistant director let out an involuntary gasp.

Seeing Nan Zhi’s calm demeanor, he felt he might have overreacted and scratched his head sheepishly.

Nan Zhi excused herself from the assistant director and continued outside, leading Nan Yi by the hand.

But her mind was racing.

’The Tactician who possessed my body never once mentioned my Yan University degree to the outside world in all those years.’

’Setting aside the unlikely possibility that the Tactician was too noble and humble to bring it up, the only explanation is that the Tactician and her system didn’t actually know the details!’

’Does this mean those two invaders from another world aren’t as all-powerful as I thought?’

"Mama?"

Nan Yi tugged on Nan Zhi’s hand, his voice full of curiosity.

"What’s Yan University?"

Nan Zhi pushed her complex thoughts aside.

"Oh, that’s Yanjing University. It’s the university where Mama graduated."

Nan Yi’s eyes lit up instantly.

"Then I’m going to go to Yan University when I grow up, too!"

"Wonderful!"

Nan Zhi was genuinely thrilled to hear him say that.

’In Nan Yi’s original destiny as a villain, he was fated to end up in an orphanage. He would be labeled a bad kid over a theft, then be ostracized by his teachers and fellow students at school.’

’Even though he consistently ranked first in his class, no one showed him any leniency or kindness. On the contrary, they found his intelligence terrifying, as if he were one of those high-IQ, cold-blooded, and cruel sociopaths from the movies!’

’In the end, he didn’t even finish high school, choosing to drop out on his own, and from that point on, his life spiraled into an abyss...’

But now, seeing Nan Yi bouncing with excitement, declaring he wanted to go to Yan University, his eyes were filled with childlike innocence and hope.

Nan Zhi was truly happy for him.

The boy who was once shackled by the shadows of his destiny in the original story was gradually disappearing.

In his place stood a Nan Yi who now had a bright future!

"Nan Zhi! Yiyi!"

Through the floor-to-ceiling glass window, Sun Xiu waved vigorously at Nan Zhi and Nan Yi.

Nan Zhi quickened her pace, leading Nan Yi into the coffee shop and taking a seat across from Sun Xiu.

Nan Zhi said apologetically,

"I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting."

Sun Xiu quickly waved her hands.

"Don’t worry about it! I was dying to catch up with you anyway! Besides, you have no idea. When my coworkers found out we were college classmates, they got ridiculously excited and begged me to pull some strings so they could have a chance to eat your cooking again!"

As she spoke, Sun Xiu smacked her lips as if savoring the memory of lunch.

"I seriously had no idea you were such a good cook! You’re amazing! It was absolutely heavenly!"

Nan Zhi’s eyes crinkled with a smile.

"And I wasn’t expecting you to have changed so much, either."

The Sun Xiu of the past always seemed to be carrying some deep-seated grudge.

But now, she exuded the open-mindedness and carefree spirit of someone who had seen it all.

Sun Xiu winked.

"It’s called growing up."

Nan Zhi just smiled without saying anything.

She patted Nan Yi’s head and said,

"There are lots of little cakes in the display case over there. Why don’t you go pick one out?"

Nan Yi immediately understood. He knew his mother wanted to talk to this auntie about something.

"Okay, I’ll come back in a bit."

With that, he gave Sun Xiu a polite nod.

Sun Xiu’s expression melted.

"What a little gentleman! Your Yiyi is so adorable! I never would have thought that with *his* temperament, you two would have such a well-behaved child!"

Nan Zhi froze.

She had always been a private person.

Because of that, not many people back in college knew who her boyfriend was.

Sun Xiu only knew because she had seen Lu Shixu pick Nan Zhi up from her part-time job a few times.

That made her one of the few people who knew.

"We broke up. I’m single now."

Nan Zhi’s reply was short and to the point.

Sun Xiu gasped.

"With his personality, how could you... I’m sorry, I didn’t know! I just assumed... I’m so, so sorry!"

Sun Xiu was completely flustered, apologizing profusely to Nan Zhi.

Nan Zhi just shook her head and said it was fine.

Sun Xiu asked tentatively,

"Then Yiyi is..."

"Yes, he’s his."

The moment Nan Zhi confirmed it, Sun Xiu visibly relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief.

Sun Xiu gave a wry smile.

"That’s my fault. I shouldn’t have assumed."

Nan Zhi didn’t mind.

It wasn’t as if it were some embarrassing secret.

Besides, she had sought Sun Xiu out to ask about something else.

"What you said in the restaurant earlier... did something happen back then that I don’t know about?"

"The business with Chen Han’s milk tea shop closing down, don’t you remember? Wait, from the look on your face... d-don’t tell me you don’t know?"

Sun Xiu was utterly astonished.

Nan Zhi was indeed completely in the dark. Moreover:

"I remember you and Senior Brother Chen got along quite well."

’So why is she just calling him by his full name now?’

"Who would get along with a scumbag like that!"

Sun Xiu blurted out, then pressed her lips together before continuing.

"At first, I also thought Chen Han was a good guy. He always seemed to be looking out for us, worried we were getting tired, gave us frequent raises, that sort of thing. It wasn’t until later that I found out he was a sanctimonious pig! He was always harboring ill intentions toward you. One time, I overheard him on the phone with a friend, and he was saying all these disgusting things about you. I wanted to tell you so many times, but I never dared..."

Her expression was a complicated mix of guilt and regret.

"Back then, I couldn’t really distinguish between joking and harassment. On one hand, I was disgusted, but on the other, I thought it was just words and I was afraid I was making a big deal out of nothing. That’s why, at first, I only warned you not to get too close to Chen Han. I just never expected... Your boyfriend, he personally overheard Chen Han making crude jokes about you with his friends. He even said he was going to install a camera in the restroom to film you..."