Rejected by the Campus Belle, I Find My True Love-Chapter 82: Visitors at Home

Lin Xi knew a storm was bound to come eventually, but she hadn’t expected it to arrive so soon, especially when she was completely unprepared.

Her first reaction was to flee, but the woman had already appeared before her, eyes brimming with tears. She grasped Lin Xi’s arms, her heartbreak plain to see.

"Young Miss, it really is you! I’ve finally found you."

Auntie Shen’s crying scared off the children who had been playing around Lin Xi.

Adults stealing Santa Claus from them was just too much.

"Auntie Shen? What are you doing here?"

Auntie Shen was Lin Xi’s personal housekeeper, responsible for all the trivial matters of Lin Xi’s life since she was a child. In Lin Xi’s world, she had spent more time with Auntie Shen than with her own parents. To her, Auntie Shen wasn’t just a housekeeper but a true family member.

Auntie Shen’s father had been the housekeeper for Lin Xi’s father, and now Auntie Shen was Lin Xi’s. She was nearly forty years old but had never married. In her own words, she wanted to stay with Miss Lin Xi for the rest of her life. As long as her Young Miss was happy, she would be content. When Miss Lin Xi had children in the future, she could take care of them. She didn’t trust others, finding them clumsy and their intentions questionable.

Auntie Shen looked Lin Xi up and down. "Young Miss, you..."

If she hadn’t watched the Young Miss grow up, she would have never believed that the person before her, dressed in an ill-fitting Santa suit and taking photos with passersby, was indeed the great heiress of the Lin Corporation.

"Oh, Auntie Shen, don’t cry. I’m doing just fine."

Fine? Sinking so low as to make a living by dressing up as Santa Claus—that was considered "fine"?

"Young Miss, please come home with me."

Lin Xi refused without a second thought. "No."

"Young Miss, the Chairman is very worried about you. Ever since you ran away from home, he has become visibly gaunt. Can you bear to see him like this?"

Lin Xi’s heart softened. "I will come home, but not right now."

"Young Miss..."

"Auntie Shen, don’t say another word. If you dare tell Dad where I am, I promise you, you’ll never find me again. The fact that I’ve managed to hide for this long without being found should prove that I mean what I say."

"Young Miss, I won’t tell, I absolutely won’t! Please, just don’t hide from us again."

"Then you should head back. Oh, and have someone take down the missing person notices. I’ll be home by New Year’s Day at the latest, and that’s only a few days away."

What Lin Xi was worried about now was whether her family already knew about Xue Yang and if they would do anything to him.

"Young Miss, I’m not going back. I came here specifically to take care of you. Don’t worry, I didn’t tell the Chairman. I just said that with the New Year coming up, I wanted to take a few days of annual leave for personal matters. He wasn’t suspicious."

"So, you knew I was here all along?"

"Miss Si Wen told me. I don’t know how she found you, but she was also very worried. She specifically called and told me not to inform the Chairman. Instead, I was to come here and see for myself that you were alright. She said she wouldn’t be able to rest easy until I did."

Si Wen was the behind-the-scenes owner of Trendy Apparel. Given how viral the online comments about Lin Xi and Xue Yang had become, it was only natural that she would have seen them. It was also natural that she would recognize Lin Xi. After all, what else could you expect from inseparable best friends?

"Young Miss, Miss Si Wen asked me to call her after I found you."

"I know."

Seeing Lin Xi still dressed in the Santa costume, Auntie Shen’s eyes welled up again.

"Young Miss, let’s stop playing Santa Claus."

The Young Miss she had protected and watched grow up, the sole heiress of the Lin Corporation, was forced to dress up as Santa Claus just to survive. As Auntie Shen thought about it, tears threatened to fall again.

"I’ll go return the costume now. Don’t follow me."

Lin Xi didn’t want anyone else to find out her identity. She went to the office, found the person in charge, and handed back the Santa suit.

"Are you sure you won’t do it for one more day? We can raise the pay to 500," the manager said, looking regretful.

Hiring a young woman to play Santa had been a risk, but they had been short-staffed with the event fast approaching, so they had taken a chance on her. The results had been surprisingly good, which was why the manager was offering her more money to stay for another day.

"I’m sorry, but my foot... look. It’s like this now. I really can’t do it."

Lin Xi showed her severely swollen foot to the manager. Although disappointed, the manager couldn’t very well insist after seeing the state of the girl’s foot.

"This 100 yuan is your payment for playing Santa today. Thank you for your hard work. I hope we can work together again in the future."

Lin Xi took the 100 yuan. "Thank you!"

This was money she had earned, so there was no reason to be embarrassed. However, there wouldn’t be a next time.

Lin Xi smiled and waved goodbye.

"Young Miss, where do you live? Let’s take a taxi back."

Lin Xi didn’t argue, as her foot was genuinely in agony. She gave Auntie Shen the address, and they hailed a cab home.

"Young Miss, you’ve been living in a place like this all this time?"

"You should be glad I’m not living under a bridge."

Auntie Shen immediately held her tongue.

Opening the door to the apartment, a mere 70 square meters, sent a fresh wave of pity through Auntie Shen for Lin Xi’s situation. However, when she saw the look of pure contentment on Lin Xi’s face upon returning, she said no more and silently took in the surroundings.

The place was small, but it bore traces of Lin Xi everywhere. It was obvious she truly loved this home.

After briefly familiarizing herself with the layout, Auntie Shen prepared a basin of warm water for Lin Xi’s feet. Lin Xi lounged on the sofa, soaking her feet and using Auntie Shen’s phone to make a video call to Si Wen.

"Si Wen, it’s me."

When Lin Xi’s video call came through, Si Wen had just left school and settled into her luxurious Rolls-Royce. It was Christmas Day, and although classes had still been held, they had ended an hour earlier than usual that evening.

"Of course I know it’s you. Hmph, you’re really good at hiding. Three months, and not a single person could find you. If I hadn’t happened to glance at the store’s page after school let out on Christmas Eve, I never would have known you’d become the new face of my brand."

"Si Wen..."

"I know, I know. Having the great Young Miss of the Lin Corporation deign to wear clothes from my little brand is a huge honor. If you weren’t in such a tough spot, you wouldn’t give these low-end clothes a second glance."

...

Lin Xi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Si Wen was still talking. "Move the phone back a little. I want to see what kind of place you’ve been holing up in that even the Lin Corporation couldn’t find you."

Lin Xi shifted slightly. Behind her was the master bedroom she shared with Xue Yan. From Si Wen’s perspective on the call, she had a perfect view of two small Christmas trees standing side-by-side on the windowsill.

"Wow, those are ugly."

...