The Self-righteous Childhood Friend

It had been over a month since the start of the semester, and Jiang Qiuran found university life tolerable.

Not as wonderful as she had imagined, but not terrible either.

Overall, it hadn’t deviated too far from her expectations.

The only thing that caught her off guard was Su Bai.

She and Su Bai were childhood friends in the truest sense.

Growing up, their families lived across from each other, both ordinary working-class households.

With their parents busy at work, they attended kindergarten together and played side by side.

Later, when Su Bai’s parents passed away unexpectedly, none of his relatives on either side were willing to take him in. So, naturally, Jiang Qiuran’s mother became his legal guardian.

Fortunately, Su Bai was fiercely independent, and the inheritance left by his parents was enough to support him through adulthood.

As a result, Jiang Qiuran’s mother didn’t have to invest much effort in raising him.

Instead, she never missed an opportunity to praise Su Bai for his maturity.

Yet, it was precisely Su Bai’s personality that led to a heated argument between him and Jiang Qiuran during summer break.

They deleted each other from their contacts and agreed to pretend not to know each other once they started university.

But Jiang Qiuran was convinced Su Bai would regret it.

After all, she was the kind of stunning beauty rarely found in Su Bai’s life. If he saw her getting close to other guys at university, he’d definitely get jealous.

If Su Bai ever found out about this line of thinking, he’d probably burst into laughter. To him, Jiang Qiuran was just a buddy—a purely platonic friend. But Jiang Qiuran had a tendency to misinterpret things when it came to romance.

Yes, Jiang Qiuran, blessed with natural beauty, had grown up surrounded by praise. She was proud, even a little tsundere.

Her goal was to land a genuinely wealthy, handsome, and tall boyfriend.

Not the kind of arrangement where a pretty girl "sacrifices herself for money by dating some old, unattractive man," but a true elite—someone with looks, wealth, and substance.

Her fallout with Su Bai was partly tied to this ambition.

Perhaps because they had known each other for so long, since before they could even remember, Su Bai had zero sense of boundaries when interacting with her. He never treated her like a girl.

That wouldn’t do. Jiang Qiuran was on a mission to charm a high-society guy, and having someone like Su Bai around would be a major red flag.

After all, Su Bai was tall and good-looking—the type that made other men instantly wary, triggering their competitive instincts.

Not some harmless, anime-style nerdy protagonist.

In the first weeks of university, Jiang Qiuran felt like a genius.

With Su Bai out of the picture, she was now an untouchable, flawless beauty—no childhood friend to create awkward misunderstandings.

Over the past month, she’d met plenty of high-quality men, from locals in Jiangcheng to those hailing from Shanghai and Beijing.

None were quite up to her standards yet, but the attention—even the outright simping—from these guys stroked her ego.

She loved being put on a pedestal.

Someone always accompanied her when she went out, treated her to meals when she was hungry, and delivered free bubble tea to her dorm whenever she craved it…

Of course, Jiang Qiuran never let the guys foot the bill for everything.

When it was her turn to pay, she didn’t hesitate.

Compared to those gold-digging "green tea" girls who schemed to milk men for money, the difference was night and day.

No wonder so many people adored her.

She planned to take her time and choose carefully.

Even if she couldn’t find the perfect catch, Su Bai was her safety net.

At the very least, Su Bai was a computer science major at a top-tier university—his future income would be solid. Combined with his looks and physique, he’d be considered a high-value bachelor in the eyes of most.

If Jiang Qiuran failed to secure a wealthy guy, she’d just reconcile with Su Bai and drop a few hints.

Then (in her imagination), Su Bai—a perpetually single, repressed virgin—would instantly fall head over heels, wagging his tail like an eager puppy to please her.

She was his childhood friend, after all. With her beauty and sweet voice, she had to be the unattainable "white moonlight" in his heart.

Su Bai had never admitted it, but Jiang Qiuran was absolutely convinced.

As for Su Bai dating someone else? Impossible. With his awkward personality—obsessed with studying and gaming, completely clueless about how to charm girls—what woman would ever tolerate him?

…

That had been Jiang Qiuran’s mindset from the end of summer break until about a week ago.

But when rumors about Su Bai and Chen Yusheng started circulating in their social circles, Jiang Qiuran felt a twinge of unease. Still, it was just hearsay at this point.

She reassured herself it was all baseless gossip.

Given Su Bai’s tragic lack of emotional intelligence and pitiful financial situation, Jiang Qiuran figured Chen Yusheng was just stringing him along for fun.

His parents’ inheritance was nearly depleted, and Su Bai barely touched it, keeping it as an emergency fund.

His aunt gave him a measly 1,200 yuan per month for living expenses—that was it.

Su Bai’s spending habits were ultra-frugal, his wardrobe full of cheap finds. Only his naturally good looks kept him from appearing shabby.

Still, Jiang Qiuran couldn’t shake the urge to investigate: What exactly was the relationship between Su Bai and Chen Yusheng?

That’s why she decided to join the 510 travel group.

It was an easy way to earn credits while keeping a close eye on Su Bai and Chen Yusheng—killing two birds with one stone.

But then, the official announcement hit her like a sledgehammer.

She never imagined Su Bai would actually end up with Chen Yusheng.

How… how could you be with Chen Yusheng?

You should still be heartbroken over our fight, moping for months, unable to move on to anyone else!

How did you recover so fast?

No—this isn’t just recovery.

You’ve skyrocketed!

As much as Jiang Qiuran hated to admit it, Chen Yusheng was a goddess in every way—no less impressive than herself.

There was always an unspoken rivalry between beautiful women.

Jiang Qiuran had already felt a hint of hostility toward Chen Yusheng, and now it intensified.

Especially tonight, when she spotted that box tucked into Chen Yusheng’s bag.

That was the final straw.

How dare another woman steal the premium backup I’ve been cultivating for years?!

On second thought, this Chen Yusheng was something else. They hadn’t even known each other that long, yet things had already escalated to that level? Was she only dating Su Bai because of… that?

The more Jiang Qiuran thought about it, the more it made sense.

But one thing puzzled her.

Where did Su Bai get the money to take Chen Yusheng to the Marriott?

As a woman determined to marry into wealth, Jiang Qiuran instantly recognized the JW Marriott near campus as the likely venue for their… activities.

Some classmates in group chats had also mentioned that Su Bai seemed to have come into some money recently.

But where was it coming from?

Jiang Qiuran knew him inside out.

Yet now, Su Bai had become an enigma—unreadable, unpredictable.

And that loss of control unsettled her deeply.

In any case, during this trip, Jiang Qiuran was determined to get to the bottom of all these doubts!