Cheating was discovered, and the consequences were severe.
Shen Xingruo might have noticed that Lu Xingyan, though stubborn and unyielding, was also remorseful and good-natured but resolute. She couldn’t be bothered to scold him. However, although she had initially agreed to leave on the third evening, she briskly rescheduled her flight for the third morning and flew back to the capital city early in the morning.
Lu Xingyan intended to see her off to the airport.
However, Shen Xingruo instructed Uncle Liu to go to Xing University first and send him back to school, urging him to reflect on his actions properly.
Naturally, Lu Xingyan was reluctant, but he was in the wrong, so he could only stay put for two days.
When Shen Xingruo returned to the city, it was just noon. She had brought some Star City-style pickled vegetables packed by Aunt Zhou in her suitcase. Thinking back to when He Siyue helped her carry her luggage up to the dormitory building, she had distributed them to her roommates, leaving one bottle for herself and planning to give the remaining two bottles to He Siyue as a token of gratitude.
The Law School where He Siyue studied was not far from the School of Literature.
Shen Xingruo sent him a message asking where he was and casually brought two books that were nearing their due date to return to the library.
Even during the holidays, there were still quite a few students in the main library. While queuing to return the books, Shen Xingruo glanced at her phone, but He Siyue hadn’t replied.
After returning the books, she was about to leave when she inadvertently glanced up and caught sight of a familiar figure in the self-study area.
Ruan Wen?
She walked closer and indeed, it was her. Ruan Wen has also been admitted to the capital city, now studying at Capital Normal University.
However, Shen Xingruo was usually busy with her studies during the week and occupied with her love life on weekends, so she had only met Ruan Wen once at the beginning of the semester.
Seeing Ruan Wen now, Shen Xingruo subconsciously thought she was there to find her. But before she could take a couple of steps forward, Shen Xingruo remembered that their school library required a card swipe for entry. Since Ruan Wen had entered, it meant she was with someone.
Just as she thought this, Shen Xingruo caught sight of another familiar figure emerging from the contemporary masterpieces section and heading straight toward Ruan Wen.
He Siyue?
As far as she remembered, these two had barely exchanged a few words.
Then, Shen Xingruo witnessed an even more bizarre scene—He Siyue sat down beside Ruan Wen and affectionately ruffled her hair.
Shen Xingruo paused for two seconds, preparing to leave the library quietly.
But she remained standing there, unmoving. Suddenly, someone passed by her and accidentally knocked over a stack of books, spilling them all onto the floor.
The commotion in the quiet library naturally drew everyone’s attention, including He Siyue and Ruan Wen, who instinctively glanced over. Shen Xingruo caught off guard, locked eyes with the two of them.
“…”
“Not my business. I don’t want to gossip,” Shen Xingruo thought to herself.
Originally, Shen Xingruo just wanted to return a book and give some pickled vegetables, but to her surprise, the pickled vegetables ended up on the lunch table.
Ruan Wen’s face remained flushed, feeling extremely embarrassed in front of Shen Xingruo.
Shen Xingruo wasn’t one to pry into others’ love lives, but since they were all sitting together for a meal, not asking “How did you two end up together?” seemed inadequate. So she asked symbolically.
This whole situation was a series of coincidences—
After the teacher appreciation banquet, when the karaoke class gathering ended, Shen Xingruo was whisked away by Lu Xingyan before He Siyue could give her the birthday present he had prepared, intending to confess his feelings. But with the gift left unsent, the confession was out of the question.
However, Siyue was always responsible and didn’t let this distract him. After the gathering ended, he even arranged for the male classmates to escort the female classmates home one by one.
When only Ruan Wen was left, he was concerned. Despite their homes being in opposite directions, he escorted her.
Ruan Wen lived in a particularly remote area, near an ecological farm on the outskirts.
After nearly an hour’s drive, Ruan Wen began to feel uneasy, telling He Siyue that the driver seemed to be taking a longer route.
He Siyue used the local dialect to ask the driver, thinking that by indicating he was a local, the driver wouldn’t dare to take advantage. But the driver, who was irritable and aggressive, insisted he was right and forcefully kicked them out of the car in a desolate area with no signal on their phones. Apart from a few large trucks passing by, there were no other vehicles, let alone taxis.
Ruan Wen, already timid by nature, regretted telling He Siyue about the driver’s detour. Initially, she thought they would just pay a little extra for the longer route, not expecting to be stranded in such a place, which made her eyes well up with tears.
He Siyue had no choice but to comfort her while using his phone as a flashlight, guiding her forward.
At that moment, neither of them imagined it would take three to four hours to reach a populated area.
Eventually, they regained signal, but their phones had died. After a series of twists and turns, it wasn’t until dawn that they found a budget hotel to check in, shower, and recharge their devices.
What was most heartbreaking was that just as they got their phones charged and contacted someone, He Siyue saw Lu Xingyan post on his social media, declaring sovereignty over Shen Xingruo.
Because of this bizarre shared experience, He Siyue and Ruan Wen occasionally exchanged messages during the summer break, but there was nothing particularly deep in their conversations.
It wasn’t until they arrived in the capital city and attended the hometown association gathering that their relationship began to blossom. At first, Ruan Wen never dared to entertain the thought, always assuming that He Siyue still harbored feelings for Shen Xingruo. Later, when He Siyue made it clear that they were together, Ruan Wen didn’t dare to tell Shen Xingruo and forbade He Siyue from mentioning it to her either, fearing she would feel like she had stolen her friend’s suitor. Now, cautiously recounting the condensed version of their love story, Ruan Wen realized that Shen Xingruo seemed completely uninterested in their tale, her attention focused solely on what the “hometown association” was all about. It felt like she had been needlessly fretting over the past couple of months.
After dinner, Ruan Wen didn’t walk with He Siyue, claiming she needed to talk to Shen Xingruo, and they left together.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” Shen Xingruo asked.
Hesitant, Ruan Wen began, “Xingruo, do you remember Zhai Jiajing?”
Shen Xingruo nodded.
“I heard it around New Year’s that Zhai Jiajing did quite well in the college entrance examination and got into South City University, but she got involved with a troublemaker during military training.”
Shen Xingruo continued to nod.
But Ruan Wen suddenly stopped talking.
She glanced at Shen Xingruo. “What’s wrong?” Shen Xingruo asked.
Blushing, Ruan Wen leaned closer and whispered, “And then… she got pregnant and had to have an abortion. The guy refused to take responsibility. It wasn’t until the whole thing blew up that they found out he had a long-distance girlfriend.”
Shen Xingruo fell silent for a moment.
“Aren’t there also a few students from our class who went to South City University? They said that guy, looked a lot like Lu Xingyan at first glance. Do you think she had a crush on Lu Xingyan in high school?”
Shen Xingruo didn’t know what came to her mind but lightly responded, “Maybe.”
Seeing her lack of expression, Ruan Wen thought she wasn’t interested in the matter at all and didn’t say anything more.
Meanwhile, back in Star City, after enduring several hours of being ignored, Lu Xingyan suddenly received a WeChat message from his girlfriend.
The message contained only two words—”Scumbag.”
Lu Xingyan???
He quickly called her to ask what was going on.
After Shen Xingruo finished telling him about Zhai Jiajing, he was bewildered. “So what does this have to do with me? How am I suddenly a scumbag?”
“That guy looks a lot like you,” Shen Xingruo said.
Lu Xingyan???
Doesn’t the accused deserve some basic rights to defend himself???
Lu Xingyan, implicated unfairly, immediately video-called Shen Xingruo to swear that he would never do anything morally bankrupt like that and that he only ever loved her. Only after this did he manage to somewhat win back Shen Xingruo’s forgiveness. With exams looming, and his girlfriend’s mood swinging back and forth, Lu Xingyan didn’t dare to misbehave again, focusing earnestly on studying at school. But just as he had started to study diligently with his studious roommates for a couple of days, Li Chengfan and Zhao Langming messaged him, saying they were returning from Tibet soon and asked him to get ready to pick them up, planning to go out and have some fun together. Life in the main and international sections of the same school was like night and day. Not long ago, Li Chengfan and Zhao Langming had skipped class and driven to Tibet with their new partners, enjoying themselves carefree like immortals.
Especially Li Chengfan, once he awakened and found a partner with 34D assets, he became shamelessly flirtatious, posting photos with her on his social media every day accompanied by cheesy captions, often with geo-tagging.
Lu Xingyan received a mention from them in the group chat and absentmindedly clicked on Li Chengfan’s social media post.
Sure enough, there it was again. “Li Chengfan: In my arms, or let me reside in your heart. Silently, we love. Quietly, we rejoice.” — Tsangyang Gyatso
The photo was of him and his 34D partner, with the location tagged as the Potala Palace.
Sitting in the library, Lu Xingyan felt nauseated by the saccharine sweetness of it all, his eyes practically rolling to the back of his head. And to make matters worse, Li Chengfan had this smug grin plastered on his face in the photo.
Unable to tolerate it, Lu Xingyan left a comment: “I’ve never said this before.” — Tsangyang Gyatso
This comment from Lu Xingyan caused Li Chengfan’s pretentious journey to suffer an epic crash.
He immediately caused trouble in the group chat.
Li Chengfan: Lu Xingyan, why do you keep picking on me instead of focusing on something important? Are you just jealous?
Li Chengfan: Let me guess, did you upset your beloved Shen Xingruo again? Busy commenting on my social media, but is Shen Xingruo ignoring your messages again?
Li Chengfan: Tsk tsk, you’re like a walking bundle of grievances. Do you even realize how pitiful you are? I genuinely sympathize with you.
Lu Xingyan???
Lu Xingyan blocked him from contacting him on any platform.
Li Chengfan: Hahaha, I knew it, I guessed right again!
Lu Xingyan didn’t want to respond anymore.
Li Chengfan, probably feeling proud of himself, proceeded to impart his newfound love wisdom in the group chat.
Li Chengfan: You know, having a chat with Shen Xingruo is like having a conversation with a brick wall. Honestly, I think talking to Wang Youfu would be more lively.
Last time, when they were playing basketball on the playground during halftime, Lu Xingyan reported to Shen Xingruo about their plans for the next day.
Li Chengfan happened to be nearby, taking a sip of water and glanced at his screen. Without paying much attention, he thought Lu Xingyan was submitting a report to the school authorities.
Shen Xingruo’s responses were typically aloof, either a simple “Hmm” or “Okay,” or just “Got it.”
Li Chengfan was deeply impressed by the “blink and you’ll miss it” nature of their conversation style.
He rambled on, imparting his wisdom incessantly. Yet, he felt it lacked conviction without examples. So, he casually snapped two screenshots of his chat with his girlfriend and posted them in the group.
“Sorry sorry sorry, my makeup just got ruined, I need to redo it, wait for me for another ten minutes!”
“Don’t worry, take your time. Waiting for you is always worth it. Love you lots!”
“I love you!”
“I love you too!”
Liu Xingyan clicked on the first image and froze for three seconds. But curiosity got the better of him, and his hand, quicker than his brain, swiped to the second one, only to be struck again by the sweetness overload.
“Yinbao! My tooth hurts!”
“Why are you suddenly having a toothache? Let me help you feel better!”
“Maybe it’s because you’re too sweet. *kiss*”
“Aww, shy *blush*”
Li Chengfan continued his preaching in the group, smugly declaring, “Girls need to be pampered from time to time,” “Cheesy sweet talk is fine,” and “Girls fall for this stuff all the time.”
Liu Xingyan… Liu Xingyan turned to Yinbao, “You’re disgusting. Your lovey-dovey antics are making me want to throw up my last night’s dinner.”
Quiet group members suddenly burst into comments, adding 1s, 2s, even 10086s, openly dissing “Yinbao’s little piggy” for their nauseating public display of affection.
But after the barrage of criticism, Liu Xingyan earnestly considered, perhaps Shen Xingruo might fall for this.
Even if she didn’t, it wouldn’t matter much. At most, she’d get a couple of lectures. Being bold enough to pave new paths was always a good thing, right?
With this thought, Liu Xingyan picked up his phone, ready to change his chat style with Shen Xingru.
He gritted his teeth and glanced at the screenshots again. The first one was irrelevant for now; he decided to mimic the second one.
“Babe, my tooth hurts.”
Five minutes passed with no response.
Ten minutes passed with still no reply.
An hour later…
Did Shen Xingruo accidentally send flirty messages to the wrong person? Who is this “babe” for? Who’s your “babe”?
Excitedly, Liu Xingyan opened the message, nearly breaking into a cold sweat.
Liu Xingyan hadn’t sent it to the wrong person. It was meant for you, Ruoruo babe!
Shen Xingru…
If you’re sick, take medicine. If your tooth hurts, go see a dentist. Why don’t you get toothaches when you’re gaming? Why does everything ache when you read for a while?
Liu Xingyan “…”
All is according to plan, as expected.
But after sending the reply, Shen Xingruo sat at her desk for a moment, then got up and went to the medical room.
She bought five or six types of medicine for treating mouth ulcers and gum swelling, along with some cooling herbal tea to soothe inflammation. She packed them all together, along with the scarf she had just finished knitting, and sent them back with express delivery for the next day.