Chapter 289: Chapter 289: Returning to 20 Years Ago (24) Chapter 289: Chapter 289: Returning to 20 Years Ago (24) Ji Lanyue received the competition results and ranking list, and her name was, as always, at the top.

Before, she had never paid attention to who was in second place, but now she discovered that it was Xiao Yu.

Her classmates had always mentioned to her how smart Xiao Yu was and how well he did academically.

In Ji Lanyue’s opinion, he was just so-so, not even able to surpass her, let alone Zhao Jiayan.

After a brief glance at the scorecard, she put away her phone and walked towards Lin Xu with a hint of pride in her eyes, “Mother, I’m first place in the competition again. I want a reward~”
Lin Xu, who was still eating fruit, freed one hand to pat her head, “Alright, your reward is a pat on the head.”

“That’s too perfunctory,” Ji Lanyue’s head rested on her shoulder as she rubbed against it coquettishly, “I want the necklace from the magazine, Mother~”
Lin Xu: “Okay, okay.”

After Ji Lanyue’s math competition was over, she had some free time. Before she could go out to play with friends, Ji Tingyang dragged her to assist with a banquet.

The banquet was held to celebrate Ji Group’s anniversary, and many business figures were invited to attend.

Ji Lanyue greeted the guests at the entrance for a while, then slipped away to lazily evade her duties.

On a sofa somewhere in the venue.

A few young guests who came with their parents were chatting. Ji Lanyue went over and plopped down on the sofa.

“I’m exhausted. Greeting guests is one thing, but having to smile constantly–my cheeks are stiff,” she complained, massaging her face.

However, everyone was surrounding a girl, patting her on the shoulder, comforting her, ignoring Ji Lanyue.

It was Zhao Jiayan who gave her a glass of water, “Have some water and take a rest.”

Ji Lanyue gulped down a glass of water, then, once she felt better, looked over and asked, “What’s going on with them?”

“Zhenzhen got dumped, everyone is comforting her,” Zhao Jiayan said.

The girl picked up a tissue to wipe the tears from the corner of her eyes, “I treated him so well, why doesn’t he like me?”

Ji Lanyue looked at Zhao Jiayan, puzzled.

Zhao Jiayan explained, “She has been pursuing that boy for two years, and just yesterday, he got a girlfriend.”

A friend spoke up, indignant as if grinding their back teeth, “That guy’s a jerk. He accepted Zhenzhen’s affections, took the expensive gifts she gave him, and then mocked Zhenzhen behind her back.”

“Zhenzhen, don’t worry, I will definitely teach him a lesson for you!” the friend clenched their fists.

The tears in the girl’s eyes were about to fall as she still tried to make excuses for him, “Could it be a misunderstanding, maybe that girl isn’t his girlfriend?”

“Zhenzhen, come to your senses!” her friend shook her shoulders, “They were kissing each other; if she’s not his girlfriend, then what is she?”

“Is it because I didn’t do something well enough that he doesn’t like me?” Zhenzhen bit her lip, on the verge of tears.

“You are great, it’s him that doesn’t deserve you!” her friend said.

Zhenzhen seemed completely unable to take in her friend’s comfort, her mood hitting rock bottom.

Ji Lanyue also joined in trying to console her, “It’s just a guy, he’s not worth your sadness.”

“There are so many men in the world. I’ll bring a few ‘little puppies’ for you to cheer you up, guaranteed to make you happy and forget about that jerk,” Ji Lanyue said.

“But I just like him,” Zhenzhen sniffled, her voice choked with sobs.

“That’s not liking someone, you’re just reluctant to let go because you’ve invested too much time and energy in him, with too much sunk cost. What you should do now is cut your losses in time,” Ji Lanyue said as she flipped through the photo album and pulled out several pictures of boys for her, “Look at these handsome guys, any one of them is better looking than that jerk.”

“Even Zhao Jiayan is much better than that scumbag. Chasing after him is better than chasing after that jerk, or maybe you should just make Zhao Jiayan your boyfriend, haha.”

Ji Lanyue had just finished speaking when a deathly silence fell over the surroundings.

Zhao Jiayan’s expression stiffened, and even Zhenzhen’s look at her became complicated.

“What’s wrong?” Ji Lanyue asked, puzzled.

“Actually, Zhao Jiayan he likes…”

Zhenzhen barely started when Zhao Jiayan interrupted her.

“It’s nothing.” Zhao Jiayan’s expression had returned to normal, a faint smile on her lips, “I just remembered, I also have a few friends who are not bad, maybe I should introduce them to Zhenzhen.”

“Yeah, yeah, let her pick a few more, get to know some better guys, then she won’t get fooled by a jerk,” Ji Lanyue was easily diverted from the subject.

Zhenzhen patted her on the shoulder and sighed, “You really need to smarten up.”

“What do you mean ‘smarten up’?” Ji Lanyue felt utterly bewildered.

Ji Lanyue had been slacking off for over half an hour when Ji Tingyang called her on the phone to get back to work.

“Didn’t I tell you to keep your distance from Zhao Jiayan? The moment I take my eyes off you, you’re off fooling around with him again,” Ji Tingyang glanced at her reproachfully.

“I wasn’t there to find him; it was because a friend got dumped, and I was comforting her, doing the right thing,” Ji Lanyue said earnestly.

“You know how to comfort people?” Ji Tingyang raised an eyebrow.

When Ji Lanyue was upset, it was always her mother and they who would coax her patiently.

Faced with Ji Tingyang’s skepticism, Ji Lanyue was quite indignant, “Comforting someone is such a simple thing, everyone can do it. Later on, I’ll just introduce her to a few more guys to help her get over the heartbreak.”

“Besides, there are so many handsome guys in the world, it’s a loss just to like one.”

As soon as Ji Lanyue said this, Lin Xu’s face showed shock.

Was this the same daughter who was once desperately in love with Xiao Yu, with a brain full of love?

Had she really become so philosophical now?!

Lin Xu patted her daughter on the shoulder, cheering her on, “Ambitious, mom supports you!”

“If I had your enlightenment back then, I wouldn’t have married so young,” Lin Xu said, her face turning wistful, “Maybe I could have tried my luck with a few more handsome guys, see how their abs feel. I wonder if other handsome guys’ abs feel just as good.”

“Mother…” Ji Tingyang watched her, at a loss for words, his expression becoming complicated for a moment.

Ji Lanyue also felt something off about her expression.

“Ah, I’m just saying, don’t look at me like that,” Lin Xu covered her face with one hand, waving the other, embarrassed.

“So, should I call a few handsome guys for you to try out the feel?” A deep voice came from behind.

Lin Xu’s body froze, her neck turning stiffly to look, and she felt a tingling on her scalp as she saw the familiar figure.

There stood Ji Yanli, his eyes half-smiling yet not smiling, the narrow, lazy orbs holding a subtle danger that was not easy to detect.