Female lead’s Delusion of Starting Over

Chapter 123: Li Ruolan: Messed up, Played it Wrong

Lu Li, of course, would accept Aunt Su Linya’s kindness and was grateful for her help in turning down Li Zichuan. The new house would eventually be home to Cao Yingying and Chen Xiaoyi as well. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Li Zichuan, but… having another man in the place where he and the women would live just didn’t sit right with him. Lu Li’s personality did indeed have a dominant side.

“Right, Aunt Su, let me introduce you. This is You Meng, little Meng.” Well, now he remembered he had brought someone along.

A certain miss You Meng, looking pitiful, had been sitting in the corner, head down as if she had ‘I am a mushroom’ written on her forehead. Adorably cute.

“You Meng? Little Meng?” Su Linya reacted: “Is that the same little Meng? The little girl you found?”

Lu Li nodded: “Yes, that’s… little Meng. Amazing, right? The person who was lost has been found.”

You Meng gave a shy smile, happy to understand more about Big Brother but feeling awkward being left out.

Facing Su Linya, she even felt like a daughter-in-law meeting her mother-in-law.

In the Lu family estate, those two women had basically stopped interacting with Big Brother, knowing their place and not bothering him further, clearly drawing a line. Since they didn’t make amends before, they couldn’t complain about what happened after.

But this aunt before her clearly had an extraordinary relationship with Big Brother!

And she knew of this aunt’s deeds from before; both Li Zichuan and Aunt Su Linya were very important people to Big Brother.

Facing such people, You Meng naturally felt nervous!

“Hello, Auntie!” You Meng greeted with a light laugh.

“A pretty and sensible girl, and you have a connection with Xiao Li, which is nice.” Su Linya smiled elegantly, her smile less radiant than when facing Lu Li.

But showing a smile to an outsider was quite a step for Su Linya.

You Meng’s cheeks flushed, and she shyly looked down, pleased with the compliment coming from Big Brother’s ‘real’ relative.

What an act!

Li Ruolan’s gaze shifted to You Meng for the first time, annoyed by this once collaborator who, in this life, had become her romantic rival. Too much had changed; You Meng had found Lu Li early this life. And Chen Xiaoyi, it was infuriating!

She had been biding her time to act, but those two had already made their move (Cao Yingying was still unknown to her).

“Right, right, look at this mess, I forgot to introduce you. This is the Li family’s young miss, Li Ruolan.” Li Zichuan then seemed to remember the cornered Li Ruolan.

Lu Li’s brow subtly furrowed, noting Li Zichuan introduced her as ‘the Li family’s young miss’, not ‘his sister’.

His gaze shifted to Li Zichuan, who could only shrug helplessly. With Li Ruolan acting so shamelessly, what could he do?

Having her here today indeed dampened the mood.

“Miss Li, hello!” Lu Li offered a polite smile and nodded slightly towards Li Ruolan.

There’s a problem!

But no matter, too many things were problematic; Lu Li couldn’t be bothered. If this woman had changed, either from being reborn or something else, Lu Li would spare her.

After all, she was Li Zichuan’s sister, Aunt Su Linya’s nominal daughter.

Still, he needed to keep an eye on her. In the story, Li Ruolan was one of the heroines who joined hands with Ye Chen to contend for the family fortune!

If she had changed, Lu Li would ignore her. If not, sorry, but please die first in respect.

“Lu… Brother, hello, I’m Li Ruolan, Li Zichuan’s sister.” Li Ruolan stood up, her pale face flushing with a nervous introduction.

In her previous life, they hadn’t even spoken properly.

Because of her ignorance and foolishness, Lu Li had always politely ignored her.

His smile was courteous, his silence, a dismissal.

So foolish, she had missed her chance.

Meeting Lu Li again, hearing him greet her, even if just a formality, Li Ruolan felt tears welling up. She responded awkwardly, a blush spreading across her face: “Lu Brother, just call me Xiao Lan, ‘Miss Li’ is too formal.”

Lu Li frowned, confirming this woman had issues. Was it because of rebirth? Or because he was no longer the wasteful playboy of rumors?

Lu Li believed it was the latter. Zhang Ziqin was reborn, and her regretful demeanor upon return was understandable, despite her issues, she had spent a significant time with him. Claiming feelings had developed was somewhat unexpected but not implausible for Lu Li, though meaningless to him.

But Lu Li hadn’t interacted with Li Ruolan at all in his previous life, making it far-fetched to say she had feelings for him.

Li Zichuan also frowned, his gaze unwelcoming.

As expected, this woman had been sent by that old man! Her behavior was a blatant attempt at seduction.

Su Linya’s smile faded. Today was supposed to be a family gathering. Li Ruolan’s presence was tolerable, but her actions were displeasing.

You Meng frowned as well, her gaze unfriendly. After receiving a royal decree, the queen consort had tasked her with ensuring Lu Li’s well-being, especially regarding moderation in certain areas.

Bluntly, she was forbidden from letting Lu Li flirt. This woman had some nerve!

The atmosphere in the room grew tense.

Li Ruolan felt a cold sweat.

‘Messed up, I was too impatient, causing misunderstandings.’ She internally cursed, knowing her brother already suspected her of harboring ulterior motives at their father’s behest.

She couldn’t explain; her father was exactly that kind of person, and she had previously been unkind to her ‘mother’ and brother. Claiming her change was due to rebirth was out of the question!

Most importantly, Lu Li’s impression of her was now marred. Their first meeting was… too frivolous.

Such an overly intimate address wasn’t appropriate for a first meeting! She wasn’t a little girl, and she didn’t have a long friendship with Lu Li. Introducing herself that way was no different from those ‘princesses’ at nightclubs.

She admitted she panicked upon seeing You Meng, blurting out words, but You Meng and Lu Li had a past, while she had never even met Lu Li before.

“Auntie, Zichuan, You Meng, Miss Li, let’s eat! The skewers here are great, but even the best skewers aren’t good when they’re cold.”

Lu Li suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence.

No matter what Li Ruolan was like, it didn’t matter to him. But today was his reunion with Aunt Su Linya, which shouldn’t be ruined by anything else.

“Right, right, come on, have a beef skewer. This beef sizzles with oil, delicious!” Li Zichuan’s face lit up with a smile again.

“Xiao Li, you too, eat some. Boys should eat more beef, it’s good for the body, makes you strong as an ox!” Su Linya said softly, smiling.