The group was somewhat at a loss, so Gu Yingxi finally said, "Since we can't find her right now, you can stay at my place for the time being. School is starting now, so Ning Yunhuan should be returning to school. I’ll take you to look for her there tomorrow." The young men all nodded in agreement.

Leading them back, Gu Yingxi still seemed a little dejected. Hearing Ning Yunhuan’s name inevitably reminded her of the person who haunted her dreams, yet that person wouldn't even spare her a glance. Her evident disappointment looked to Xie Zhuoyin and the other man as if: Ning Yunhuan had done such a good deed, and Gu Yingxi, despite her kind heart, was only distressed because she lacked the funds to help those children.

In the eyes of the two men, Gu Yingxi was flawless in every aspect; they could never imagine she might be thinking of another man right in front of them, so they both tried to soothe her. Ning Yuncheng said:

"Xi'er, don't worry. I own half of the Ning family company. If necessary, I’ll just give you everything I have, and then we can adopt a hundred or so children, fund their education, raise them until they grow up, and ensure they remember your kindness for the rest of their lives."

Xie Zhuoyin didn't know how to respond to this. He had already been stripped of his inheritance rights in the Xie family. Otherwise, if he still had the Xie family behind him, let alone raising a hundred children, building a hundred schools every year wouldn't have been an issue. Unfortunately, he no longer possessed the former glory, so he naturally dared not make any grand promises. Seeing Gu Yingxi on the verge of tears just from Ning Yuncheng’s words made his heart ache with bitterness and nostalgia for his once infinitely glorious life as the eldest young master of the Xie family.

Ning Yuncheng was still making grand pronouncements, unaware that Father and Mother Ning were already leaning toward giving him none of the Ning family company’s shares. In that moment, he truly wished he possessed boundless wealth, willing to spend it all just to bring a smile to his beloved’s face—as long as Gu Yingxi smiled, nothing in this world could compare to that brilliance.

After settling the children into the house, it was naturally Gu Yingxi’s responsibility, after taking her bath, to satisfy the appetites of the two men who had been hungry and eager all day. When they were out of the room during the day, the two men indulged in coaxing her as they pleased, even willing to bark like dogs on the floor for her amusement. But once they returned home, it was the men’s domain.

They were currently staying at the Ning family's villa in Lanshan. After settling the children on the first floor, Gu Yingxi finally managed to secure a moment alone to bathe. When she emerged, she was immediately enveloped in the arms of the two men.

After a night of indulgence, if it hadn't been for the promise she made to those youths yesterday, Gu Yingxi wouldn't have been able to get out of bed that morning. Her legs were still trembling, and her entire body ached. With every step, a warm current flowed through her. By the time she cleaned up and came downstairs, the children had already prepared themselves and were sitting impatiently on the sofa, curiously touching and examining things.

Liu Jinjun was older, already reaching the age of impulsive youth. He saw the distinct marks on Gu Yingxi’s neck and became so intensely jealous he nearly lost control. But he managed to suppress it. The children didn't quite know how to use the kitchen appliances, but they managed the rice cooker; the rice was already cooked, and breakfast was waiting for Gu Yingxi. Naturally, Gu Yingxi felt even more guilty, quickly eating two bowls before setting down her chopsticks to rush upstairs and wake Ning Yuncheng to drive them to school.

It was precisely because of Gu Yingxi’s unintentional good deed that Ning Yunhuan received a pleasant surprise the moment she stepped onto campus that morning.

The first bell for class had already rung twice. Ning Yunhuan was scheduled for the same professor’s lecture she had skipped previously. Although the matter of her skipping class had been smoothed over because of Su Ying, it was one thing for Ning Yunhuan to skip class for her own reasons, but when she saw Gu Yingxi waiting at the school gate with a large group of people blocking her way, her expression instantly turned impatient.

She wondered if it was the fate of the female lead and supporting female lead to be locked in a lifelong struggle. Last time, after Gu Yingxi caused trouble, Qin Yi from the Qin family suffered the consequences on her behalf. This time, she was doing it again. A wave of annoyance surged through Ning Yunhuan, and her gaze toward Gu Yingxi grew increasingly hostile.

"What do you want now?" As soon as the words left her mouth, Ning Yuncheng could not bear to see her treating his beloved like that. He let out a cold scoff and retorted, "What are you yelling about? What do you mean, again? Xi'er is here for a reason; she’s here to clean up your mess. You can’t handle the consequences of your own actions, yet you tire others out to clean up after you, and you treat the person helping you with that kind of attitude? Have you no shame?"

Upon hearing this, Ning Yunhuan couldn't help but laugh, "When you accuse others of having no shame, have you ever looked in a mirror?"

Students, scattering in small groups, ran toward the school buildings. Seeing the spectacle unfolding, many seemed to recognize the two female protagonists from last time. Some even stopped to take a few more pictures with their phones. The young men, never having witnessed such a scene, shrank back to the side, allowing Ning Yuncheng and Ning Yunhuan to trade verbal barbs without daring to speak.

Liu Jinjun’s eyes, however, lit up. He hadn't expected that the benefactor who supported him, Ning Yunhuan, would be such a young and beautiful girl. Everything she wore and carried seemed extraordinary, but more than that was her aura, which was leagues beyond that of most rural people, let alone his own sister-in-law who spent her days digging in the fields.

This benefactor was not only beautiful but, crucially, young—likely only seventeen or eighteen, perhaps even a few years younger than Gu Yingxi, whom he’d been captivated by the night before. She possessed a forthright and natural demeanor that Gu Yingxi lacked. Since they were similar in age and she had the means to sponsor so many people, her family background must be excellent. He had heard that the villa they visited yesterday belonged to that person surnamed Ning, and since that person was her elder brother, her family background must also be very strong.

If he could start a relationship with her, and perhaps marry her later, his future prospects would be limitless. If he brought her back to his hometown, he wondered how much the neighbors in the countryside would envy and be jealous of him.

Although he also liked Gu Yingxi, she was too undisciplined. He didn't know what she had done with those two men yesterday; there were red marks on her neck. While Liu Jinjun lacked definitive proof that Gu Yingxi had slept with both men, regardless of whether it was one or two, in the countryside, a woman living with men before an official engagement or wedding was considered undisciplined—to put it crudely, damaged goods. If it were just for fun, fine, but he couldn't possibly marry someone like her.

The school bell rang again, signaling the start of class; they definitely wouldn't make it. Faced with the group before her, Ning Yunhuan immediately spotted Liu Jinjun standing among the crowd.

In her previous life, she had supported over a dozen children, with Liu Jinjun as their leader, consistently throughout the harsh winters and scorching summers. Donating five hundred thousand annually, she contributed for fifteen full years. The money spent was equivalent to what she could have lived comfortably on for quite some time, yet the result was not a group of grateful children but a pack of wolves waiting to bite her.

These children were the impoverished group led by Liu Jinjun. In her last life, Ning Yunhuan had invested considerable effort, even meticulously planning for these students' futures. However, after Liu Jinjun graduated from high school and got into the Imperial Capital, claiming he was coming to repay her kindness, he inadvertently saw her—and at that same moment, he also saw Gu Yingxi, who had been inseparable from Ning Yunhuan in that previous life. As per the immutable law of all romance novels, any supporting male character who achieved some success and warranted a few lines of dialogue invariably fell in love with Gu Yingxi.

As if possessed, Liu Jinjun quickly became a devoted follower at Gu Yingxi’s feet upon seeing her. Even knowing that Gu Yingxi was surrounded by many men and that he could never get close to her, he was willing to become her lackey, doing her bidding. Like Ning Yunhuan in that past life, he believed Gu Yingxi was pitifully oppressed by several men, and thus, his sympathy for her deepened. Eventually, when Ning Yunhuan’s relationship with Gu Yingxi frayed over the matter of the Ning family fortune, he unhesitatingly abandoned Ning Yunhuan, who had supported him for over a decade and helped elevate him to prosperity, and firmly sided with Gu Yingxi.

He believed Gu Yingxi’s first man was Ning Yuncheng, and that Ning Yunhuan had known this all along but pretended not to understand. He thought everything—including Ning Yunhuan’s action of introducing Gu Yingxi into her company out of pity for her heavy debts—was a calculated plot. Furthermore, because of Ning Yuncheng, he completely forgot all the kindness Ning Yunhuan had shown him over the years. He led the dozen poor children she had supported since childhood, and when Ning Yuncheng caused Father Ning’s death, they concealed the cause and news of the death, helping Ning Yuncheng deceive Ning Yunhuan. As a result, not only did Ning Yuncheng seize sole control of the Ning family company, but Ning Yunhuan wasn’t even allowed to see the few nostalgic items Father Ning left behind.

This was because Ning Yunhuan trusted this person too much. In her previous life, after Liu Jinjun arrived in the Imperial Capital, he pursued her relentlessly for half a year. How could Ning Yunhuan suspect a child from such a poor mountain region? Moreover, Ning Yunhuan had been supporting this Liu Jinjun since he was seven, and that bond of over ten years, even without face-to-face meetings, meant that any truly grateful person would never betray her.

Because of this absolute trust, she never anticipated that the very children she nurtured would deliver such a devastating blow. She only learned of Father Ning's death several days after it happened. During that time, she was coerced by one of Gu Yingxi's men into staying in England through a combination of threats and promises. By the time she returned, everything had been settled. Father Ning’s final will, manipulated by Gu Yingxi’s network of powerful men, was perfectly executed. All Ning Yunhuan received were the few clothes she carried on her person; she couldn't even take a bottle of shampoo with her.