“What a coincidence, Lu Huan, meeting you here.” Dong Sisi, acting as if they were old friends, naturally took a seat at the empty spot at their table.
As the shop gradually filled with more customers, the owner had started encouraging patrons to share tables. Cui Lin wanted to say something, but Song Meixi tugged at her sleeve to stop her.
“Hmm.” Lu Huan responded coldly, showing no warmth upon seeing her. Although they shared a dorm room, they were anything but close. Moreover, this person never missed a chance to mock her, whether to her face or behind her back. Lu Huan was not one to tolerate such behavior without resentment.
Dong Sisi couldn’t care less about Lu Huan’s attitude, she had come precisely to annoy her.
“You’re Lu Huan?” Jiang Wenshu’s friend also sat down. Although the spot wasn’t ideal, it didn’t stop her from admiring the beauty in front of her. She flashed what she thought was a charming smile and extended her hand, saying, “Hello, I’m Liu Yue. You can call me Sister Yue.”
Cui Lin and the others, who had been quietly observing the situation, nearly gagged at this. “Ugh, ‘Sister Yue’? How nauseating! And who do you think you are? Just because you’re sharing our table doesn’t mean you can act all chummy with us. Do you think being familiar excuses you from paying? Boss Lady, someone here is trying to skip out on the bill!”
Cui Lin loved stirring up trouble. She had already taken a dislike to these girls who sat down without even asking if the original occupants were willing to share the table. And now, as soon as they sat down, they started flirting with their friend. They clearly weren’t decent people.
The boss lady glanced over.
Jiang Wenshu quickly smiled and clarified that it was all a misunderstanding. But when she turned to face the others, especially Lu Huan, her expression soured. “Lu Huan, I didn’t expect you to be out with her.” As she spoke the last sentence, she shot a glare at Lou Qing.
Lou Qing was in the middle of rinsing bowls and chopsticks with hot water for the girl. Hearing this, she lifted her eyes to look at Jiang Wenshu and replied in a lazy tone, “Does she need to report to you about going out? Even if you were involved with each other which you’re not, where she goes is her own business.”
“What’s going on?” Cui Lin and the others looked utterly confused.
They had only met Lu Huan the day before and were unaware of the history with Jiang Wenshu. At first, they thought these newcomers were just random troublemakers, but it seemed there was some familiarity between them.
Cui Lin hesitated, not daring to speak recklessly, and turned her gaze to Lou Qing.
Lou Qing shook her head slightly, signaling her not to ask for now.
Jiang Wenshu, infuriated, glared and snapped, “I’m talking to Lu Huan, not to you, Auntie!” She emphasized the last word heavily.
Cui Lin and the others, who were around the same age as Lou Qing, pointed at themselves in disbelief. “Auntie?!”
Coincidentally, the friends Jiang Wenshu had brought along were also around Lou Qing’s age, with a couple even older. Hearing Jiang Wenshu’s choice of address, their expressions turned grim.
Lu Huan observed this secretly and found it immensely amusing. With one word, Jiang Wenshu had managed to offend almost everyone present.
Jiang Wenshu, too consumed by her anger, didn’t notice.
Liu Yue hadn’t come to pick a fight. She looked at Lu Huan and asked, “Why so quiet, little beauty? Are you shy?”
Whether it was the look in her eyes or the words she spoke, everything about her made Lu Huan feel sick to her stomach.
Lou Qing leaned forward, blocking Liu Yue’s line of sight, and said coldly, “Sorry, we’re not familiar with you.” After speaking, she glanced behind them and noticed the people at the next table were about to leave. “There’s a spot over there. You can sit there.”
“No way, we want to sit here,” Liu Yue said, acting shamelessly as she tilted her body, trying to catch a glimpse of Lu Huan behind Lou Qing. Lu Huan immediately shifted closer to Lou Qing, burying her face against Lou Qing’s back.
“What’s the little beauty hiding for?” Liu Yue said, turning to Jiang Wenshu. “Wenshu, didn’t you two break up? If you don’t want her, I’ll take her.”
Jiang Wenshu opened her mouth to say something, but Liu Yue had already turned her attention back to Lou Qing.
“Damn it!” Cui Lin couldn’t take it anymore. She stood up angrily and snapped, “Do you think we’re giving you face? What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Your words are no different from a hooligan’s. Your attitude is utterly disgusting.”
People around them began to stare.
Lou Qing’s expression darkened as she lowered her voice in warning, “Cui Lin.”
This was a public area, and they couldn’t make a scene. Cui Lin gritted her teeth and sat back down, her face still flushed with anger.
Jiang Wenshu, who valued her reputation, felt uncomfortable with so many eyes on them. She tugged at Liu Yue’s sleeve and said, “Yue Jie, let’s just go. Lu Huan is really hard to chase. You should find someone else.”
Dong Sisi, who had been watching the drama unfold, had no intention of letting Lu Huan off so easily. Feigning confusion, she asked, “Wenshu, if Lu Huan is so hard to chase, how did you manage to win her over in the end? Share your story so Yue Jie can learn from it.”
Her words were deeply insulting. Both Lou Qing and Cui Lin glared at her coldly.
But Dong Sisi didn’t care. She had said it deliberately to make Lu Huan feel humiliated to imply that despite her usual aloof and disdainful attitude, she had still been pursued and won over. Who was she putting on airs for?
Some people nearby had already discreetly taken out their phones to record the scene.
Jiang Wenshu just wanted to leave quickly and said hurriedly, “It was just a case of saving the beauty, she repaid me with herself.”
Liu Yue laughed. “That method is so cliché, Wenshu. Your chasing skills aren’t that great either.”
Dong Sisi also smirked, her gaze drifting mockingly toward Lu Huan as she continued to stir the pot relentlessly. “Saving the beauty? How did you save her?”
Jiang Wenshu could tell Dong Sisi was doing this on purpose and shot her a warning look, but Dong Sisi ignored her.
At this point, Lu Huan stopped hiding. She looked directly at Jiang Wenshu and said, “Jiang Wenshu, please leave.”
Seeing Lu Huan’s cold demeanor, Jiang Wenshu was reminded of how Lu Huan had broken up with her and refused to go out with her, only to turn around and be with this woman. In that moment, she felt as though Lu Huan had cheated on her. Now in no hurry to leave, she curled her lips and said, “How else? She was being bullied by the school bullies, they splashed cold water on her, locked her in the bathroom. She was crying so pitifully. Then I—”
Lou Qing grabbed her by the collar, gritting her teeth as she said coldly, “Jiang Wenshu, don’t make me hit you.”
Seeing this usually composed woman so agitated, Jiang Wenshu felt a thrill of satisfaction. Unfazed, she stared back and continued, “Then I fought those bullies, and someone was so grateful she agreed to be my girlfriend.”
Lu Huan’s parents had always taught her not to engage in such public arguments, as it was considered undignified and uncouth. Yet, she couldn’t bear being slandered like this by this person. Her eyes reddened, tears welling up, and her voice trembled as she said, “That’s not the truth.”
Jiang Wenshu knew Lu Huan came from a well-bred family and was certain she wouldn’t dare refute her in public. But now, even Jiang was so agitated that she blurted out recklessly, “Then tell us what the truth is, if you can.”
People around them pointed and whispered, many filming with their phones. Coincidentally, a streamer in the crowd, originally broadcasting about food, happened to catch the scene. Viewers, curious, urged her to point the camera in that direction.
As luck would have it, someone in the livestream recognized them from J University.
【Aren’t those J University’s talented girl and social butterfly?】
【Why is Lu Huan arguing with Jiang Wenshu?】
【It looks like that girl is bullying her one-sidedly, the poor thing is about to cry.】
More and more viewers flooded into the livestream.
Lou Qing clenched her fists, ready to throw a punch, but Lu Huan quickly grabbed her arm. This only made Jiang Wenshu even more smug, and she even shot Lou Qing a provocative look.
Lu Huan wrestled with her thoughts internally, her face showing hesitation. Finally, gritting her teeth, she was about to speak.
“If it’s too difficult, you don’t have to say anything. We can always go eat somewhere else,” Lou Qing said. From the moment she first met the girl, she could tell Lu Huan came from a strictly disciplined family. Her poise and temperament set her apart from people like them.
In situations like this, their kind might just argue or even throw a punch if words weren’t enough. But years of upbringing had ingrained in Lu Huan the restraint to avoid causing a scene in public.
Lou Qing had invited her out with the selfish hope of distracting her from the unpleasant incident at the bar, never expecting such a commotion to erupt during their outing.
Lu Huan shook her head firmly and faced Jiang Wenshu with resolve. “Jiang Wenshu, I’m truly grateful you saved me that one time in high school. But I was bullied by them a total of ten times, and I remember each one vividly. I don’t hate them, I just feel sorry for them.” As she spoke, the tears she’d been holding back finally streamed down her face.
She looked at Jiang Wenshu, then at Liu Yue, and finally at Dong Sisi. “Because of my good grades, I always ranked first in our year. The teachers praised me in every class, the principal commended me in front of everyone during the weekly flag-raising ceremony, and parents in the class chat group praised me too, even telling their children to look up to me as a role model.”
The entire restaurant fell silent, everyone stunned. In the streamer’s livestream, viewers paused their typing, captivated.
“And all that praise came from studying until one or two in the morning while you were all asleep, from studying during breaks when you were joking around, from studying on holidays when you went out to have fun. My time was precious, I couldn’t afford to waste a single second. You whispered behind my back, saying I was aloof, that I looked down on you, that I was arrogant just because I ranked first.”
“But can I memorize a word just by looking at you? Can I remember a mathematical formula by glancing your way? No. If I look at you a few more times, you might even accuse me of looking down on you, thinking my gaze implies you’re trash.”
This was the first time Lu Huan had spoken so much, and with such sharpness.
“Do you live your lives by guessing what others think? Have any of you ever asked me? Asked me what I truly think of you, or why I’d rather read a book than look you in the eye?”
Some faces in the crowd grew solemn.
“Because you’re afraid. You’re scared that what I say will confirm your worst suspicions that you’re cowardly and pathetic. The only way you feel superior is by bullying me, by seeing me cry, so you can convince yourselves that at least in terms of fists, you’re stronger than me.”
Dong Sisi, meeting Lu Huan’s unyielding gaze, flinched and looked away for the first time, fear flickering in her eyes.
Lu Huan turned to Jiang Wenshu. “I agreed to be your girlfriend not because you played the hero, nor out of some overwhelming gratitude. I thought you were different from them. It wasn’t because I was moved by those months of pursuit either in fact, your persistence was a disturbance, seriously affecting my studies.”
Jiang Wenshu was at a loss for how to react.
Wiping her tears, Lu Huan looked at Lou Qing. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think we can eat here anymore.”
“It’s fine. Let’s go somewhere else,” Lou Qing replied with a smile, placing a hand on the girl’s head and ruffling her hair firmly, as if praising her for finally speaking her mind.
Lu Huan’s tears turned into a smile, though she felt embarrassed by the surrounding stares and quickly suppressed it.
Once outside the restaurant, Cui Lin was the first to speak up. “Damn, Little Huan, you were amazing! That was a brilliant move back there.”
Song Meiqian shot her a warning look but turned to Lu Huan with gentle eyes, patting her shoulder in approval. “Well done, girl.”
And Lu Huan’s lengthy speech quickly went viral online.