Undermining a Rival

Chapter 241

The autumn heatwave in Qinglin City was still in full swing, the air so dry it felt like it could roast a person alive.

A black Audi A6L was parked beside a camphor tree downstairs of the medical school's girls' dormitory, the shade just covering the front of the car.

The car window rolled down, revealing the sharp, angular profile of Gu Ran's face.

His fingers tapped rhythmically on the steering wheel, a smile playing at the corners of his lips, his eyes full of amusement.

"We're here, Dr. Ye."

In the passenger seat, Ye Zhenzhen slowly unbuckled her seatbelt, somewhat reluctant to get out.

Looking at the dusty old dormitory building outside the window, and then at the smirking dog of a man beside her, she couldn't help but puff out her cheeks.

"It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but hard to go from extravagance to frugality." The ancients truly didn't deceive her.

"What's wrong? Don't want to get out?"

Gu Ran turned sideways, watching her leisurely, his gaze fixed straight on her.

"How about coming with me to the boys' dorm? I don't mind squeezing in together."

"In your dreams!"

The young woman shot him a reproachful glare, but her cheeks betrayed her by turning red.

How... how could she go to the boys' dorm? There were other people there...

She grabbed her bag and was about to push the door open, but her wrist was caught by a large, warm hand.

"Wait."

Gu Ran pointed to his cheek and raised his chin with righteous confidence.

"Gas fee, toll fee, and exclusive driver service fee. Aren't you going to settle the bill?"

Ye Zhenzhen: "???"

This guy could always make taking advantage of someone sound so fresh and refined. He was truly one of a kind.

Feeling guilty like a thief, she looked left and right. It was dinner time.

People were coming and going downstairs, all of them hungry students carrying their lunchboxes.

"There are so many people..."

Ye Zhenzhen muttered softly, the tips of her ears burning.

"What are you afraid of? We're in a proper relationship, legal and compliant."

Gu Ran leaned his face closer, acting like a complete rogue who wouldn't let her go without a kiss.

Ye Zhenzhen gritted her teeth and made up her mind.

She quickly leaned over and planted a swift peck on his cheek.

The touch was warm, carrying the faint, crisp scent of his aftershave, and that subtle thrill of stealing a kiss was a bit intoxicating.

"Happy now, Skinflint Gu!"

Blushing, she pushed the car door open and slipped out like a frightened little rabbit.

"Run slowly, don't trip."

Watching her back, Gu Ran was in a great mood. He rolled down the window and shouted.

"Remember to miss me tonight!"

The passing girls around them instantly erupted. Suppressed screams and envious whispers rose and fell.

"Oh my god, is that Gu Ran from the School of Economics and Management? That deep voice is so swoon-worthy!"

"Ye Zhenzhen must have saved the galaxy in her past life..."

Gu Ran rolled up the window, humming a little tune as he shifted gears and drove off.

...

The next morning, the anatomy building.

As soon as she stepped into the corridor, a strong, pungent smell of formalin hit her in the face.

This was the nightmare of all medical students, and also their coming-of-age ceremony.

Inside anatomy classroom 302.

Dozens of students gathered around the stainless steel lab tables, looking at each other in dismay.

Lying on the tables were their "silent mentors" for this semester.

Getting full marks in theory classes was one thing, but when it came to actual practice, physiological reactions were simply uncontrollable.

Ye Zhenzhen wore a mask and gloves, gripping the scalpel tightly in her hand.

She silently chanted "revere life" ten thousand times in her heart.

But that pungent smell rushing straight to her brain still made her stomach churn violently.

"Ugh..."

She couldn't help but turn her head and dry-heave, her face instantly turning pale.

The girls around her weren't faring much better; they all clutched their chests, looking as if their souls were about to fly away.

Just then, a hand suddenly reached out in front of Ye Zhenzhen.

In the hand was a bottle of mineral water with the cap just twisted off, along with a pack of tissues.

"Zhenzhen, have a sip of water to settle your stomach."

The person speaking was Wang Kai, the class sports committee member.

He looked decent enough, but his eyes always revealed a greasy sense of being average but overconfident.

He had always been interested in Ye Zhenzhen, even though he knew she had a boyfriend.

He also felt that the "rich kid" studying economics and management was just playing around and they would break up sooner or later.

Seeing that Ye Zhenzhen didn't take it, Wang Kai pushed the water forward a bit more.

He deliberately raised his voice a few notches, afraid that others wouldn't hear him.

"This kind of rough and tiring work isn't suitable for girls in the first place. If that boyfriend of yours came here, he'd probably faint from fright just smelling this."

"Outsiders don't understand the hardships of us medical students. We still need to take care of our own."

As soon as he said this, a few guys around them let out meaningful chuckles.

A classic case of praising oneself while stepping on another, full of manipulative undertones.

Under the guise of caring for a girl, he was secretly putting down Gu Ran.

And conveniently elevating his own noble status as a medical student.

Ye Zhenzhen was originally still fighting the stomach acid, but upon hearing this, her eyes turned cold.

She took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the nausea.

The image of Gu Ran's careless, deadpan expression when he roasted people surfaced in her mind.

You are influenced by the company you keep.

Having spent so much time with Gu Ran, she had also learned a set of Gu-style logic.

Ye Zhenzhen straightened her back, didn't take the water, and didn't even spare it a glance.

She merely cast a faint glance at Wang Kai.

"Thanks, but no need."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough.

"Also, let me correct you on one thing."

Ye Zhenzhen slowly adjusted her rubber gloves, her tone calm.

"My boyfriend is very brave. Last time we ate in the cafeteria, he used my Systematic Anatomy atlas as meal entertainment, and even pointed at the diagram of the large intestine to ask me if it was pork bung or small intestine."

The air suddenly went quiet.

The surrounding laughter stopped abruptly, like ducks being choked by the neck.

Everyone's eyes widened. Using an anatomy atlas for meal entertainment?

The smile on Wang Kai's face froze, his hand holding the water bottle pausing awkwardly in mid-air.

He couldn't retract it, nor could he hand it over. He looked exactly like a clown.

Ye Zhenzhen didn't intend to let him off so easily.

She tilted her head slightly, a trace of Gu Ran's signature mockery in her eyes.

"Moreover, he said, 'One who is unaccountably solicitous is hiding evil intentions.' Classmate, I wouldn't dare drink your water. If I get indigestion, I'd have to trouble him to come pick me up."

"Pfft—"

A classmate nearby couldn't hold back and laughed out loud.

Wang Kai's face flushed the color of pig liver, wishing he could find a hole to crawl into.

He sheepishly withdrew the water bottle and slinked back to his spot, not daring to utter another word.

Ye Zhenzhen turned around and redirected her gaze to the "silent mentor" on the lab table.

A moment of silence.

"Ugh..."

...