In the small living room, Ruan Zhi steered clear of the shattered glass and scattered empty bottles on the floor and sat down on the only intact sofa.
She looked at Song Ran beside her with concern in her eyes. Before she could even ask, Song Ran gave her a sarcastic smile:
“I’ve completely cut ties with Qin Shou this time.”
Ruan Zhiwei was taken aback.
My senior and her boyfriend have been together since high school, and their relationship has always been great.
Because of her striking appearance, my senior classmate entered the short-form drama industry by chance during her junior year, and later brought her boyfriend into the industry as well.
Unfortunately, her boyfriend hasn’t done as well as she has.
It’s been a year since she graduated, and while she’s gained some fame in the industry, her boyfriend is still playing minor roles.
That was when cracks began to appear in their relationship.
After a few arguments, it took less than two days for her boyfriend to soften and beg for reconciliation, and he managed to smooth things over with her.
Just a few days ago, I heard from a senior that the two of them are saving up to get married next year.
“You didn’t see that coming, did you? Heh, neither did I.”
As if sensing her sorrow, Song Ran’s disheveled face was filled with sarcasm and bitterness.
“That bastard cheated on me—he used the face and body I built for him to hook up with a rich woman.”
Ruan Zhi was startled for a moment, then said softly:
“It’s for the best that you break up. He’s not good enough for her—you deserves better.”
That’s really what she thought.
She had seen the two of them argue once.
The man was much more critical of his own career than her senior was, believing that she was deliberately refusing to give him a hand.
She still remembers those eyes staring at her senior, filled with hatred and resentment.
If you truly love someone, you wouldn’t look at your loved one that way.
“You’re right—I deserve better. I must’ve been blind before. That bastard’s been a rotten cucumber for ages, and I was the only one who still treated him like a treasure.”
Song Ran pursed her lips. “Just thinking about it now makes me feel sick.”
Ruan Zhi listened quietly.
After so many years together, even though she knew that man was no good, the pain in her senior’s heart wasn’t something that could be healed overnight.
“What happened to your face? Did you get into a fight?”
After venting her frustration, Song Ran suddenly reached out, grabbed Ruan Zhi’s chin, and turned her face toward him.
She had a small face and fair skin, and several red and purplish-blue scratch marks stood out strikingly.
Ruan Zhi lowered her eyelashes slightly. Song Ran’s heartfelt question caused the repressed emotions she had been trying to suppress to surge back up all at once, leaving her feeling suffocated and miserable.
Ever since her parents died in an accident when she was nine, she had forgotten what it felt like to confide in someone.
“Senior, last night I…”
She tried to open her mouth, but a wave of deep resentment welled up inside her; her nose stung, and tears began to stream down her face.
“Hey, don’t cry, silly girl. It’s just a fight—if someone picks on you, just fight back.”
Song Ran was startled and quickly let go, gently stroking her back.
This younger classmate may seem soft-spoken on the surface, but she’s actually bold and resilient—I’ve never seen her cry, no matter how down she was feeling.
In that instant, Ruan Zhi’s emotions—which had been building to the breaking point—finally snapped, and she suddenly reached out and pulled her close:
“I’m sorry, senior… I shouldn’t have doubted you…”
Choking back tears, she recounted the entire story of how she’d been drugged the night before, even admitting to the most difficult thing to say—that she’d slept with a stranger.
The feeling of keeping a secret buried deep inside, with no one to confide in, is so suffocating and painful.
At that moment, Song Ran was like a lifeline to her.
Song Ran listened with a stern expression, her teeth grinding audibly:
“That old bastard Lin Tao! He’s so consumed by lust that sooner or later he’ll get castrated in a woman’s bed.”
After saying that, she clasped Ruan Zhi’s shoulders with both hands, her eyes filled with guilt:
“I’m sorry—I’m partly to blame for this. If I hadn’t introduced you to the film crew, your cousin wouldn’t have had the chance to scheme against you. I should have taken you with me last night…”
That bastard Lin Tao didn’t get his way, but because of it, Xiaozhi ended up sleeping with another man.
It would be fine if she were single, but the problem is that she has a wealthy boyfriend whom she loves very much.
What happened last night—that’s a ticking time bomb between the couple.
If it isn’t handled properly, Xiao Zhi will definitely be injured in the explosion.
Ruan Zhi wiped away her tears, her voice low and hoarse:
“Senior, this has nothing to do with you. I never even imagined that Ruan Jiajia would resort to such tactics to harm me, let alone you.”
“So what are you going to do? With things having turned out like this, are you still going back to the Ruan family?”
Song Ran couldn’t help but furrow her brow.
We’ve known each other for two years, and only now have I learned that she and Ruan Jiajia are actually first cousins.
Ruan Jiajia’s arrogant and domineering attitude as a spoiled rich girl was notorious at Fuzhou University, and she was always surrounded by a group of wealthy young ladies who fawned over her; most people didn’t dare to cross her.
It’s not hard to imagine how Ruan Zhi managed to endure living in the Ruan household all these years.
No wonder, when they first met, she seemed so quiet and reserved—she just looked like an easy target.
At the time, I found it strange that a rich girl who was driven around in luxury cars all day could have developed such a personality.
Ruan Zhi shook her head. “I’m planning to move out.”
“That works out perfectly. My two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment is close to your school. That bastard Qin Shou has finally gotten the hell out—you can move in and we’ll live together.”
Song Ran raised an eyebrow and suggested, “No rent, but you’re in charge of cleaning the house. How does that sound?”
After thinking it over for a moment, Ruan Zhi agreed, but insisted on paying half the rent.
For the past two years, she’s been studying and writing novels and screenplays behind the Ruan family’s back. She still has some savings, so she’ll be able to support herself for the time being.
Song Ran knew she was a woman of strong principles, so she shrugged and let her have her way.
That afternoon, the two of them cleaned up the messy apartment and went to the mall to buy some household supplies and a change of clothes.
She planned to go back to the Ruan family home in a few days to pack her belongings. She could leave everything else behind, but she had to take the things her parents had left her.
With the housing issue successfully resolved, Ruan Zhi breathed a sigh of relief.
My good friend Xia Shan didn’t go back to her hometown for winter break; she stayed at the company owned by Xie Dongdong—Ah Che’s childhood friend’s company—to intern as an administrative assistant.
She had originally planned to stay with her in the dorm for a few days, but now that she’s not going, she still needs to let her know.
When I opened the chat window, I realized that her friend, who had been too busy to reply, had sent me a voice message a little over ten minutes ago:
[Ruan Ruan, sorry—I forgot to tell you that I moved out of the dorm a couple of days ago. My boyfriend said the school was too far from his office and that my daily commute was too exhausting, so he rented an apartment for me near his office.]
Boyfriend?
Did Shanshan get a boyfriend??
Ruan Zhi stared in astonishment. When did that happen?
Over the past few days of the holiday, the two of them have found time to chat a bit, but I haven’t heard her mention anything about it.
She was wondering about that when her phone suddenly rang; the words “Ah Che” that popped up on the screen made her heart skip a beat.
Taking a deep breath, I slowly swiped to answer the call and held the phone to my ear:
“Ah Che…”
“Ruan Ruan, I’m sorry, but I can’t have dinner with you tonight. My dad’s back in Rongcheng, so we have to go back to Grandma’s.”
As Rong Che’s gentle apology reached her ears, Ruan Zhi’s tense heart suddenly relaxed:
“It’s okay—spending time with your family is more important. We can eat whenever.”
Ah che had told him that he had been raised single-handedly by his great-grandmother, Mrs. Rong, and that his father and his grandparents lived in Hong Kong most of the time, returning only occasionally.
Ruan Zhi’s well-behaved response was exactly what he’d expected, yet Rong Che felt a vague sense of helplessness for some reason.
Sometimes he wishes Ruan Ruan wouldn’t be so understanding—he’d like her to throw a little tantrum like other girls in relationships, or even act a little spoiled around him.
She’s so well-behaved.
“By the way, keep the evening after tomorrow free—I’d like to introduce you to my dad.”
Just as she was about to hang up, Rong Che’s sudden remark stunned Ruan Zhi.
Her mind was in a whirl: “Ah-Che, isn’t this a little too soon? I’m not ready yet…”
She knew exactly what it meant to meet the parents.
Until last night, she would have been thrilled, but now…
A bitter taste spread across her tongue.
“Is it too early?”
Rong Che’s soft chuckle sounded incredibly gentle,
“We’ve known each other since you were twelve. I pursued you from when you were eighteen until you turned twenty. Next week marks our one-year anniversary—it’s been nine whole years. How can you call that ‘early’?”
“Sweetheart, don’t worry. My dad already knows about us. I just want to do this a little more formally and introduce you to my family. After all, we’re planning to get married, right?”
“…Hmm.”
Ruan Zhi’s eyes welled up with tears, and a sense of guilt spread wildly through her heart.
The moment the call ended, tears streamed down her face.
If she keeps the secret to herself, can she pretend that nothing ever happened?
Song Ran came out of the shower, saw the scene, and couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh. She picked up the box of tissues and handed it to her:
“Go ahead and cry. Once you’ve cried your heart out, take a moment to think things through calmly.”
“…Thank you.”
Ruan Zhi took the tissue box and wiped her eyes.
She cried more today than she had in the past decade or so combined. She didn’t want to, but she just couldn’t help it.
If she had never known happiness, she would fear nothing.
But Rong Che was so wonderful—so wonderful that just the thought of losing him made my heart ache with each beat, plunging me into a panic from which I couldn’t escape.
“You have two paths before you right now.”
Song Ran sat down next to her. “First, be honest with your boyfriend and let him decide.”
As she spoke, her expression turned serious:
“The second option: don’t say a word. Just pretend you got bitten by a wild mosquito last night—spray some disinfectant on it, and everything will be fine. Then you can go on living a peaceful life with him.”
Ruan Zhi gave a wry smile; both of these paths presented psychological barriers for her.
But she knew it was time to make a decision.
“Senior, I’ve made up my mind.”
After a long silence, she took a deep breath; as the corners of her lips curled upward, her watery eyes sparkled with a sense of relief.
“I’m going to come clean with Ah-Che.”
Keeping it bottled up inside was too painful and agonizing, so she wanted to put an end to it as soon as possible.
Maybe Ah-Che wouldn’t mind after all?