Chapter 52: I Don't Want to Be an Empty Vase

  After a brief silence, everyone involuntarily took in a breath of cool air.

  My god, what a scam! This Lorrain is actually the young master of the Luo Group!! Unbelievable, this guy is really good at pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger! Why didn't he say so earlier?! But thinking about it later, it's mainly because Zhu Zhe had been teasing him from the start, and everyone followed his lead and judgment without their own opinion, subconsciously thinking that Lorrain was just some country bumpkin. And looking at how down-to-earth and generous Lorrain is, without any of the airs of a rich young master, they didn't pay much attention to it.

  Thinking of this, everyone's intestines are regretful, why didn't they see it earlier! If under the circumstances where no one was on good terms with Lorrain, taking the initiative to show kindness and standing together in unity would definitely leave a good impression. If lucky, they could even become friends with Young Master Luo of the Luo Corporation, that's a blessing accumulated over several lifetimes!

  How disgusting! It's all because of Zhu Zhe! Everyone cast hateful glances at Zhu Zhe.

  At this moment, Qiu Xiaohui, who had been sitting in the chair, suddenly stood up and walked quickly towards Luolin with a flirtatious smile, stretching out her hand: "Lu Shao Ye, let me treat you to this meal, I'm really sorry. Do you know my name? My name is Xiaohui, and I want to thank you sincerely..." Her voice was even more charming than before, when she spoke to Zhu Zhe.

  The girls next to them were all clicking their tongues, oh no, they had been one-upped by Qiu Xiaohui! It was Li Min's birthday today who said this, how could it be your turn? Thinking of this, the girls also stood up one after another, unwilling to fall behind, and rushed to Luolin's front, stretching out their small hands:

  "Thank you, Young Master Luo..."

  "Mr. Luo, I'm Zhou Qing, remember my name?"

  "Mr. Luo, you've had so much to drink today, are you okay? How will you get home later? Why don't we head back together, maybe we're going in the same direction..."

  These girls, one by one, fawned and fawned, abandoning their so-called boyfriends to curry favor with Luo Lin. This made the faces of the other boys present extremely ugly... But being ugly is also helpless, Mr. Luo has the capital to attract butterflies... Looking at himself again, damn it, he's really pitiful, having tried to please his brother for a whole evening, only to find out that he's a coward who can't even afford to pay the bill!

  "Oh no, what are you doing! You stepped on my foot!"

  "Who stepped on your foot? Which eye did you see it with?"

  "Oh no, don't squeeze me..."

  "Ah, you've stepped on my corsage..."

  …………

  Lorin looked at the crowd of girls pushing and shoving each other in front of her, and suddenly felt a wave of nausea. She frowned slightly, then pulled Lan's hand and walked towards the door without saying a word. When she reached the door, she suddenly thought of something, turned her head slightly to Li Min who was still standing there motionless, and said: "Li Min, you're Lan's friend, I didn't bring any gifts today, so consider this meal as my birthday gift to you."

  Before the words were finished, she dragged Lanlan out of everyone's sight. All the girls looked at Lanlan with eyes full of envy, jealousy and hatred... Oh my god!!! That penniless, background-less, figure-less Lanlan actually got her hands on the young master of the Luo family! How did she do it?!

  The hall manager saw Luo Lin leaving and hastily went out the door to loudly and respectfully say: "Young Master Luo, slow down, do you want me to arrange a special car to send you off?"

  Lorraine responded with a slight shake of her hand without even turning back.

  Luo Lin took Blue Lan and left, leaving behind a house full of miserable insects. The manager of the hall turned his fat body around, the flattering smile on his face disappeared, and he said coldly: "Young Master Luo has already given you a free bill, hurry up and leave, the room needs to be cleaned, don't get in the way."

  …………

  Out of the Haijin Hotel, Lorraine hailed a taxi and got in with Lanlan.

  At this time, Lanlan's face turned bright red as she belatedly realized what was happening and quietly withdrew her small hand from Lorrin's large one.

  Lorraine looked at Blue Orchid's shy appearance: "Hehe, Blue Orchid, what are you embarrassed about? Just now at the dinner table someone said I was your boyfriend, and you didn't say anything either..."

  Lan Lan hesitated for a long time, finally lifted her head, and a pair of eyes were somewhat timid: "Luolin... are you really... the young master of the Luoshi Group?..."

  Lorraine was stunned for a moment, then nodded slightly.

  Lanlan suddenly looked a bit unwell and muttered: "Oh." Then she stopped talking.

  She suddenly felt a little sad, a little sad that Lorraine had never told her these things before. But then she thought, what am I to him, why would he tell me... Besides, I didn't even ask him. After some time of contact, Blue Lan thought she understood Lorraine very well, but now it seems she doesn't understand him at all, and everything in the past seemed like her own illusions.

  The more she thought about it, the more heartbroken Lan felt... her dreams were shattered. In her heart, there was a great conflict. At that time, when they were eating, Luolin assumed he was from a rural family. Although Lan felt sorry for Luolin, in her heart, she had a faint sense of joy. Now, upon learning that Luolin was actually the young master of the renowned Luoshi Group, her heart suddenly felt a pang of loss and regret.

  The gap was too great, and Lanlan suddenly fell into a deep abyss of inferiority.

  Lorraine looked at Blue Orchid's somewhat unhappy appearance and that evasive gaze, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. What's wrong with this little girl? Wasn't she fine just a moment ago?

  Just then, the red light in front of him lit up, and the car had unknowingly driven to the south entrance of a night market street. Lan suddenly sat up straight, lightly calling out: "Driver, I'm getting off here." As she spoke, she pushed open the car door and got out.

  Lorraine was taken aback and hastily shouted: "Huh? Blue Orchid, why did you get off here?"

  Lanlan turned around, took a deep breath, and her eyes were filled with a sense of inferiority. It seemed that she had mustered up the courage to say in one go: "Sorry, Luolin, I've been deceiving you... Actually, my home is just here. I was afraid you would look down on me, so I said my home was near the school." As she spoke, she pointed to a dilapidated courtyard at the corner, "I live there, it's very shabby..." At this moment, Lanlan remembered Luolin's identity and her chest felt choked. She turned around and ran away, quickly disappearing into the entrance of the big yard.

  Lorraine watched Blue Orchid turn and run away, suddenly feeling a pang of sadness and heartache...

  He finally knew what was going on with Lanlan... A little girl, who had been struggling since childhood, and now her true identity as the daughter of the Luo Corporation's CEO had been exposed. This was like a heavy blow to Lanlan's heart, making it hard for her to accept at once. Although Lanlan had previously lied about living near the school, Luoluo didn't blame her or think she was being vain. On the contrary, he thought she was very pitiful and admirable. It wasn't easy for someone like her to survive in a school dominated by rich kids like those from Municipal No. 1 High School.

  The green light came on, and the taxi driver asked, "Little brother, are you going or not?"

  Lorraine waved her hand wearily: "Let's go, to Jingxiang Garden."

  The taxi sped away.

  Lanlan is feeling a bit down now, she needs to calm down for a while. Tomorrow when they go to school, Luolin will take another look at Lanlan's attitude. Although Lanlan looks gentle and weak, her self-esteem is actually very strong, so it can only be communicated slowly and gradually.

  Luo Lin looked out of the car window at the somewhat dilapidated courtyard, which faintly reflected the soft glow of the lights, and thought that Blue Lan lived in such a place, indeed a poor child. ... Thinking of this, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, wasn't this alley where the various large courtyards were concentrated, the last twenty or so households of the "nail households" on the night market street that Da Qiang Ge had mentioned?

  …………

  Lanlan returned home, her mother was collecting laundry in the big yard, she rushed straight to her room without looking back.

  "Blue Orchid, why are you just coming back now? Eh, Blue Orchid?"

  Before Old Mother had finished speaking, Blue Orchid darted into the house and flung herself onto the bed.

  "Wooo..."

  Under the quilt, a sobbing sound came out. Lanlan was not good at expressing herself and could only rely on tears to vent her sadness.

  Just now... was I too excessive? ... Will Lorraine dislike me? ... But even if he doesn't dislike me, what's the difference? He is the young master of the Luo Group, and I am just a girl from a poor family, even my tuition fees are subsidized by the state... Moreover, when I'm with Lorraine, I feel so useless...

  If Blue Orchid could help Lorrain in any way, no matter how small the thing was, she wouldn't feel so downhearted. She didn't resent her family environment, but resented herself for being useless, not even as good as an empty flower vase...

  Suddenly, a message flashed through Lan's mind, and she sat up, her eyes shining with unshed tears that stopped welling up.

  Luo Lin... is the young master of the Luo Group, which means... the developer of Night Market Street is a company owned by the Luo family!

  Lanlan suddenly gained spirit, today at noon a group of people came to the house, saying they were staff from the development department of the Luo Group, offering a compensation price of 4,000 yuan per square meter, which was already quite good. However, most of the residents here are old households who have lived here for generations, and not one of them is willing to give in. With 4,000 yuan per square meter, even if each household's occupied land area is compensated, it would be enough to buy a small apartment in a not-so-good location, which already far exceeds expectations. The mainstay of this group of stubborn residents is none other than Lanlan's own father. So should she... go and talk to her dad? Ask him to give in as soon as possible? That would also count as helping the Luo family's company out, wouldn't it?

  Thinking of this, Lanlan wiped her eyes and finally had a faint smile on her face.

  Lan's mother picked up the clothes and cooked porridge, returned to the house, looked at Lan's tightly closed door, then walked to another room and sat beside Lan's father who was smoking a dry pipe: "Old Lan, what do you think is going on with Lan today? She came back without saying a word and locked herself in her room."

  Lan's father furrowed his brow: "Not an early romance, is it?"

  "What's going on! My daughter is studying so well, how can she possibly have a crush!" Blue Lan's mom patted Blue Dad's shoulder, "However... it's really possible, I'd better go to her room and have a talk with her."

  "Hey, wait a minute." Blue Dad stopped Blue Mom, "Our daughter is grown up and should have her own private space now. Let her calm down for a while. She came back so late today, saying she was attending a classmate's birthday party, probably didn't eat well. Go make her a bowl of porridge to warm her body before bed."

  "Don't worry, it's already cooked."

  "Creak."

  Just then, the door of the house was pushed open and Blue Orchid came in from outside with some redness in her eyes.