haps it was the experience in Yugoslavia, or Su Can’s sharp eyes flashing with keenness, urging him to go ahead despite the drumbeats of thunder in his chest.With lightning within and serenity on the...Chapter 19: It's So Good to Be Alive

The Tang parents came back unexpectedly; originally, they planned to leave Shanghai tomorrow and visit friends today. However, after a long time of no answer when calling Tang Wu’s phone at the hotel, they didn’t expect to run into them here instead. Life can indeed be full of surprises.

However, what was truly surprising were the five or six people accompanying the Tang parents. Apart from Tang Wu and Su Can recognizing their own parents, there was a girl dressed in a white Christian Dior dress. At first glance, she only seemed familiar to Su Can, but upon closer inspection, everything became clear.

Su Can and Tang Wu were momentarily stunned.

The girl had been aimlessly looking around when she suddenly spotted the two people blocking her path. Her brows furrowed slightly before breaking into a smile, "Su Can Tang Wu!"

After his rebirth in the second year, Su Can transferred to No. 27 High School where he had recently experienced family upheaval and was looking forward to starting a happy life when an incident of a female student jumping from a building occurred. Using half persuasion and half bluffing, Su Can managed to save the girl who was about to jump. He caught her at the last moment, gaining precious rescue time.

The person standing before them now is this girl named Li Ying.

But she no longer wore the gothic style of No. 27 High School in Chengdu and had cut off her light-brown hair into a bob just below her chin, making it harder to recognize her except for Tang Wu and Su Can’s parents.

Standing beside Li Ying were a man and woman, both middle-aged. The man was smiling warmly at Su Can while the woman looked at him with interest—these were Li Ying's parents who had personally thanked Su Can themselves when he saved their daughter. Clearly, everyone was surprised to run into each other.

In addition to these people, there was a thirty-something man who seemed to be an important assistant of Tang’s father. Upon encountering Su and Tang, like everyone else present, he was initially taken aback before smiling upon realization: "Tang Wu Your parents suddenly came over and had just called you on the phone but no one answered."

We were thinking it was going to be like this, and didn't expect to run into you here. Fortunately, you didn't miss the dinner tonight.

Su Cen, he extended his hand towards Su Cen again, "Hello, you're Tang Wu's classmate, right Let's have a casual meal together."

Just from this man's efforts to liven up the atmosphere, and not letting Su Cen feel neglected in this gathering that is almost like a family core dinner, it naturally makes people develop some goodwill towards him.

In light of this situation, both Su Cen and Tang Wu hurriedly went to change their clothes in the dressing room. Mu Xuan was still somewhat stunned upon seeing Tang Wu's backless swimsuit.

...

The banquet hall with high ceilings has been decorated by a five-star hotel using chandeliers, creating an environment that feels like flowing water and elegant bamboo groves. It is grand yet tasteful. The guests were seated around tables near a bridge spanning over a stream.

At this moment, everyone was seated. On the left side of the square table sat Tang Wu's parents, with Mu Xuan on her left and Su Cen on her right. Next to Su Cen was Li Ying in a white dress. To the right of the square table, Li Ying’s parents were seated next to her, while across from Su Cen sat the man in his thirties that Tang Wu called "Uncle Li Lan."

Mu Xuan focused solely on ordering dishes at this moment, her expression calm as she pointed at various dishes on the menu, speaking standard Mandarin with a unique and pleasant intonation. Despite the beautiful sound of her voice, it often gives people an impression of being cold and indifferent, "Golden sand egg yolk stir-fried flower crab, green beans sautéed with dragon and phoenix slices, five-flavor roast meat platter, abalone shark fin and sea cucumber hotpot, followed by black pepper beef ribs."

The manager responsible for recording the order at the side felt somewhat uncomfortable, being cautious in front of Mu Xuan, "Miss, would you like us to serve the golden sand egg yolk stir-fried flower crab first The crab roe is salt-baked and should be eaten hot or else it will taste very greasy when cooled."

Mu Xuan nodded and said, “Alright.”

The cold-faced Mu Xuan's tone also sounded somewhat bewildered, making the waiter feel as if he were serving a high-maintenance customer. When she said "alright," it seemed to relieve him of some tension.

Lan Li, Tang Wu’s father's capable assistant, has been observing Su Cen covertly several times since they met earlier. His observations of Su Cen are very subtle but Su Cen can perceive them nonetheless.

Lǐ Lán is one of Chūn Fù's vice chiefs and can be considered an outstanding young talent. Just by observing how Lǐ Lán didn't forget to ask Sū Càn what he wanted to eat or drink when Mù Xuán was placing the order, with a friendly smile that left a good impression on people, one could roughly understand why he had been promoted under Táng Fù.

Mù Xuán naturally wasn't too pleased. Any parent would feel uncomfortable seeing their children in swimming suits and practically clinging to each other after they leave. While Táng Fù was able to laugh it off, Mù Xuán felt she didn’t have that level of composure yet.

"When I first heard you were transferring schools, I came over to the No. 27 Middle School but couldn't find you to say goodbye," Li Ying said softly while tapping lightly on her bowl with a pair of red wooden chopsticks. "It was quite regrettable at that time. But fortunately, we’ve met again here. It’s truly karmic."

Li Ying smiled as she looked at Sū Càn, making him feel uneasy. The girl's suicide attempt had left a shadow in his rebirth life.

Sometimes, Sū Càn couldn't help but imagine that if he hadn’t been enjoying the view from the rooftop and feeling content with his life at that moment, the girl would have passed by ghostlike before him and jumped down over the railing just like a specter.

In that case, it would have truly been game over. Therefore, to some extent, saving Li Ying was an unconscious act; he merely did what made him feel more justified, but there had been no guarantee of success in stopping her stubbornness.

Had he not been reborn, it would’ve been almost impossible to change the outcome back then. Seeing how different Li Ying looked now, Sū Càn still felt a bit uneasy.

"Sū Càn, after what happened with Yíng Yíng and Uncle's job transfer, I couldn't visit you personally. But considering what you mentioned about fostering resilience in children to face adversity, and due to my busy schedule that prevented me from guiding her properly, I decided it was best for her to change environments. So, Yíng Yíng came to Shanghai with her mother. We are very grateful for what you did back then, and she still thinks about it often."

Lǐ Yián spoke slowly, occasionally interjecting with a tone that conveyed his sincerity and a hint of gratitude. "When you graduated high school, Uncle kept track of your exam results. When he heard you were being recommended to Nandaxue University, I was very relieved. Back then, I believed you would shine wherever you went. We planned on inviting you to dinner in Shanghai. Look, here we are meeting again; life’s twists and turns are truly amazing."

The other three at the table—Mù Xuán, Táng Fù, and his capable aide Lǐ Lán—quietly listened but exchanged puzzled glances.

A waiter arrived to serve a platter of dishes with deft, smooth movements. The delicacies quickly piled up on the table in an array of vivid colors and aromas more vibrant than any menu picture could capture.

Mù Xuán picked up her chopsticks, tapping lightly at the bottom of her bowl before looking up to smile at Lǐ Yián. "What is that matter... What happened with Yíng Yíng doing something foolish back then... Was it related to Sū Càn"

Lǐ Yián was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled and said, "Well, I haven’t told many people about this. It’s like this: Back when Li Ying was still young and immature, she had an argument with her teacher and wanted to take drastic actions. You know how stubborn she is..."

Mù Xuán nodded; although she had mostly heard about the Li family incident from acquaintances, it was secondhand information without confirmation. She couldn’t pry into private matters, but after that, Li Ying and her mother moved away from Róngchéng to Shanghai.

At that time, Li Yan, the father of Li Ying, was still serving as the Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, a sub-ministerial-level institution. Li Ying herself was notoriously difficult to manage and usually not easily provoked by others. After she got into trouble and her family moved away, they were out of touch for quite some time. Later on, it was heard that Li Yan had been transferred to serve as the Director of Shanghai Development and Planning Commission (Shanghai FDPC), and after that, contact between Li's family in Tangjagou and them would only happen occasionally during holidays when both parties maintained a relationship that was neither close nor distant.

This time around, Mu Xuan and Tang father came to Shanghai to visit Tang father’s comrades. After some of Mu Xuan’s friends, they planned their final stop to be Li Ying’s family.

Mu Xuan felt somewhat uneasy because when she was in Rongcheng, the relationship between both families had been quite good. However, after Li Yan took up the position as Party Secretary at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, contact between them gradually dwindled. When Li Yan later served as Director of Shanghai FDPC and Li Ying’s mother and child left Rongcheng, their connections were almost non-existent.

The reason why Mu Xuan and Tang father put off meeting Li Yan until last when they came to Shanghai was also because his current status was extraordinary. With significant real power in hand, there were countless people who wished to invite him for a meal every day, but it was uncertain whether he would have time for such gatherings since this could be greatly beneficial to Tang father’s career development in Shanghai.

However, Li Yan's family still valued their previous relationship. When they heard that Tang Wu had come to study in Shanghai and that Mu Xuan and Tang father were here to see her off, they probably recalled the old ties between both families and agreed to gather together once.

Although the tone of Li’s family was indifferent, considering Li Yan's current status, for them to agree to get together with an old friend from Rongcheng was already quite difficult.

Mu Xuan and Tang father understood this well.

Currently, because of Su Can's unexpected turn of events, Li Yan had finally brought up in public the rumors circulating in Rongcheng’s social circles about what happened to his family. This situation melted away the previously cold and distant relationship between them all at once.

"This girl is too strong-willed; somehow she ended up having thoughts of suicide." After a long time, Li Yan brought it up with some hesitation, sighing repeatedly.

Tang father hurriedly nodded. Although his heart was shaken, he didn't want to show it. Mu Xuan understood now why back then the news had been so tightly controlled. Later on, after Li's family moved away from Rongcheng and cut off contact with friends they used to live near, she realized that Rongcheng must have become a place of sorrow for them, which was why they didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Moreover, as the Director of Shanghai FDPC with considerable power over numerous resources in such a large city and control over people’s livelihoods, Li Yan still couldn't manage his family well, resulting in his daughter having had thoughts of suicide before. This must have been an embarrassing shadow for him.

"Fortunately, Su Can was there at the time to save Yingying's life."

When Li Ying’s mother Zhao Xianyu mentioned this, her eyes welled up with tears.

Li Ying’s own eyes reddened as well. After such a long time had passed, it truly seemed that what Su Can said back then was true; the actions and sorrows of their past were just fleeting and laughable moments in life. Fortunately, no major mistakes were made.

To be alive is indeed a pleasant thing.inally found a suitable soulmate for overseas operations.On Wednesday, a deep black Lincoln car parked outside the school. After talking with the administration, these people were allowed to enter the...