Chapter 028

Even though she knew Lin Ran wouldn’t actually ask her for money—it was just a way for him to humiliate her when he was angry—it was because of this incident that she had become a hot topic on the campus forum, with many details about her being exposed.

She couldn’t even get her internship certificate at work, was accused of seducing a married man, expelled from her major at school, and her show was canceled.

What was the point of all the hard work she had put in these past few days?

Everything had started going downhill since Lin Ran left her.

“Lin Ran, I hate you!”

No, she had to go find Lin Ran. She still had a mission to complete.

She needed to find an opportunity to confess her feelings to him, leaving no room for retreat.

If she wanted to gain something, she had to lose something first. Since she had already lost, she had to make sure she gained something in return.

After today, she wouldn’t be in the same class anymore, and her chances of interacting with Lin Ran would become fewer and fewer. Today was the perfect opportunity.

As Lin Ran and Wu Zhishang were walking to the classroom, Wu Zhishang suddenly exclaimed, “Holy crap, Lin Ran! You’re on the forum’s front page! You and your girl were caught kissing in public on the first day of school?”

Lin Ran quickly took out his phone and logged into the forum. Sure enough, there were posts about him—more than one.

Fortunately, none of the posts had clear photos of Luo Yao. Most of them were blurry, and the clearest one only showed a corner of her face, as Lin Ran had blocked most of it during their kiss.

Even so, it was enough to tell that Luo Yao was a beauty.

Wu Zhishang complained, “What the heck? There’s no clear photo of your girl! But even from this little bit, it’s obvious she’s stunning. Did you save the Milky Way in your past life or something?”

Lin Ran smiled but didn’t respond.

In his past life, he hadn’t saved the Milky Way—he had hurt an angel.

At the entrance of the large classroom, Lin Ran was stopped.

“Lin Ran, I need to talk to you.”

Liu Ruxue’s actions caused the entire classroom to fall silent.

“What, do you have the money ready?”

“Lin Ran, when did you become so shallow? Can’t we talk about something other than money?”

“What else is there to talk about? Should we talk about dreams? Then tell me, what’s your dream? Why are you here putting on a show?”

Liu Ruxue was furious. She took a deep breath, as if steeling herself for what she was about to say.

“I know you’ve been ignoring me and mocking me because I didn’t accept your confession, but I don’t care about that anymore. I’ve thought about it carefully these past few days, and I realize that I actually like you.”

“Ever since you’ve been gone, I’ve found it harder and harder to hide my feelings for you. Lin Ran, I’ve decided—I’ll be your girlfriend. Let’s be together!”

Lin Ran replied coldly, “Then you’d better be careful.”

Liu Ruxue was confused. “What do you mean?”

Lin Ran smirked. “Liking one person is hard to hide, but if you like two people, you’d better hide it well.”

Liu Ruxue was stunned. For some reason, a sense of panic crept into her heart.

“What are you talking about? I’ve already agreed to be your girlfriend. What more do you want?”

Lin Ran said indifferently, “I don’t agree. And you still owe me money.”

Liu Ruxue finally couldn’t take it anymore.

“Money, money, money! Is that all you care about? Have things between us really come to this?”

Lin Ran replied, “The only relationship we have is that I’m your creditor.”

Liu Ruxue was disappointed but still pleaded, “I admit I used to have high standards for you, Lin Ran. Let’s stop this nonsense and go back to how things were before, okay? I’ll be your girlfriend. Please don’t ignore me anymore. Haven’t you missed me at all these past few days?”

Lin Ran cut her off. “Stop. Whether I’ve missed you or not doesn’t matter. If you miss me, just call me.”

“My bank account number hasn’t changed. It’s still the Agricultural Bank.”

Liu Ruxue felt utterly humiliated. Her confession had been so obvious—how could Lin Ran not understand?

“Lin Ran, are you really this clueless, or are you just pretending? I’m seriously angry now.”

Lin Ran retorted, “If you’re sick, call 120. If you want to die, don’t drag me into it. If you have money, send it to me. If you don’t, go sell something.”

Tears streamed down Liu Ruxue’s face like broken beads, but the entire classroom remained silent, watching her. No one stepped forward to defend her.

If this had happened before, at least a few of her admirers would have come to her aid and criticized Lin Ran. But things were different now.

“Wow, Liu Ruxue has no shame. Lin Ran already posted on his social media that he’s married, and she’s still clinging to him. Isn’t this typical mistress behavior?”

“Well, it’s not like they’ve had a wedding or anything. They just got the marriage certificate.”

“Maybe the certificate is just a fake photo he found online to mess with Liu Ruxue.”

“I saw Lin Ran arriving in a luxury car today. There was a beautiful woman inside. He might be getting supported by her.”

“I don’t think so. Lin Ran doesn’t seem like the type to compromise for money.”

“Regardless of whether it’s true or not, it’s still surprising that Liu Ruxue confessed so openly.”

Hearing the whispers, Liu Ruxue’s eyes widened in shock as she looked at Lin Ran.

“Lin Ran, you… got married?”

Lin Ran shrugged. “Is that not allowed?”

“Liu Ruxue, let me make this clear. If you want to be a mistress, go find someone else. If you want to pay me back, then come see me.”

Liu Ruxue ran off, crying.

She had only just found out that Lin Ran had posted about his marriage on social media.

But she was no longer in his circle—she was in his blacklist.

As Liu Ruxue ran away, the classroom buzzed with chatter again.

A few people glanced at Lin Ran, and some even dared to ask him directly.

Lin Ran wasn’t ready to reveal who his wife was until he knew how Luo Yao felt about it. He simply told his classmates that he was indeed married, but no one knew who his wife was.

The girls in the class were heartbroken, but some thought Lin Ran was just putting on an act.

They believed he was playing hard to get to mess with Liu Ruxue, given how deeply ingrained his former “simp” image was in everyone’s minds.

Liu Ruxue returned to her dorm and cried under her blanket.

She felt like Lin Ran truly didn’t care about her anymore, and she couldn’t accept it.

When Huo Haini opened the dorm door, she immediately noticed Liu Ruxue’s swollen eyes.

Remembering her betrayal last time, she felt a little guilty.

“Ruxue, last time was just a temporary strategy. If it had been just you, Lin Ran wouldn’t have really made you pay. But if it were both of us, he definitely would’ve made me pay. You understand, right?”

“After all, we’re best friends.”

Liu Ruxue stared blankly at Huo Haini, unsure if she was telling the truth.

“But you never explained it to me all this time.”

Huo Haini said, “My dad made me go home for a blind date, so I didn’t have the chance.”

Liu Ruxue accepted Huo Haini’s explanation, and the two of them reconciled.

“How did your blind date go?”

“Not great. Those guys were either ugly or useless. None of them were as good as your Lin Ran.”