Jiang Mengwan’s fingers tightened around the book she was holding. The smile at the corners of her mouth faded slightly.
“So that’s how it is. I’ve known Wujin since we were children, so I understand him quite well. He basically changes girlfriends every week. Classmate Ji, I don’t mean anything by it—I just want you to be mentally prepared.”
“I know.”
“He likes girls with very fair skin, innocent looks, and clear, crisp voices.” Everyone in Gu Wujin’s circle knew his criteria for choosing girlfriends. She had once thought he picked them to resemble her—until she saw Ji Huaixiang standing beside him, and her conviction wavered.
“Don’t misunderstand me, Classmate Ji.” Jiang Mengwan looked at her with genuine sincerity, her voice gentle and earnest: “I’m only reminding you that the world of wealthy families isn’t what most people imagine. Rich men mostly like to play around and chase novelty. Us girls should cherish ourselves—you understand, right?”
Ji Huaixiang smiled. Her bright, stunning face was absolutely captivating. She nodded.
“I’ve received Miss Jiang’s kind reminder. But I think what you just described won’t happen to me.”
The gentleness between Jiang Mengwan’s brows lessened a little.
“You seem very confident in yourself, Classmate Ji.”
Ji Huaixiang looked at her quietly and shook her head.
“No. I’m not confident in myself. I’m confident in my boyfriend.”
Because he was Gu Wujin—so she believed in him.
“I see. Trusting each other is a good thing. But I’m afraid Grandfather Gu won’t be easy to get past. Someone of Wujin’s status will have to marry someone of equal family background when the time comes.” Jiang Mengwan gave a polite smile. “Sorry, I shouldn’t say such discouraging things. As a classmate, I just genuinely wanted to remind you. Please don’t think I’m meddling.”
“I don’t.”
Ji Huaixiang nodded, fully agreeing.
“You’re right. My boyfriend’s background is different from ordinary people. He comes from an excellent family, he’s extremely good-looking, so the woman standing beside him must also be perfect to match him.”
She considered her own appearance and abilities quite good—the only thing lacking was her family background. So she had to make money—a lot of money. Buy a luxurious house, then keep him there, hide him away, cherish him, spoil him.
Jiang Mengwan hadn’t expected her to understand so clearly.
“It seems you have a very deep awareness of the situation. Then I won’t try to persuade you anymore.”
Someone with self-awareness was much easier to talk to.
“Hey, come look at what I have in my hand!” Lin Xiaoxuan’s voice was joyful. Her sweet, adorable face overflowed with smiles.
She was dressed beautifully today—in a pale blue dress, hair cascading down her back, held on one side with a crystal clip. She had even sprayed the Chanel perfume that Ji Dongqing lent her. A faint, elegant fragrance drifted with her every movement.
“Ah, it’s the Queen’s Milk Tea! I heard it costs over a hundred yuan a cup.” Jiang Yongtian saw the logo on the bag Lin Xiaoxuan was holding and exclaimed in surprise.
“Wow, you’ve tried it before?”
“How could I afford it? A hundred-plus yuan could buy me over ten regular milk teas.” She had only heard classmates talk about it.
Ji Dongqing put down her nail polish and teased her.
“Xiaoxuan, what’s with the big spending today? Treating us to milk tea?”
Lin Xiaoxuan handed out a cup to each of them. She rubbed affectionately against Ji Dongqing, her face full of shyness.
“Weitang bought them and asked me to bring some back for my roommates. Try it—I don’t think it’s that amazing. The milk flavor is just a bit richer than regular milk tea. That price is mostly because of the name.”
“Ohhh, so it was my cousin who bought them…” Ji Dongqing smiled with deep meaning.
“Don’t laugh.” Lin Xiaoxuan said, “I picked the hot ones for all of you—cold ones aren’t good for you. Huaixiang, drink it while it’s hot.”
Ji Huaixiang hadn’t realized Lin Xiaoxuan and Ji Dongqing’s cousin were dating.
“Okay. Thank you.”
[Does your waist still hurt?]
Her phone vibrated on the table—a message from Gu Wujin.
Ji Huaixiang quickly typed back: [Still hurts a little.]
Actually, after so many days, the bruise on her waist had mostly faded. She was just deliberately acting spoiled. Then she sent another message: [It doesn’t hurt as much when I think of you.]
A few seconds later, Gu Wujin replied: [Want me to come over and help you relieve the pain?]
Her cheeks instantly flushed hot and red: [Yes yes yes.]
It had been a whole week since they last saw each other. Although he hadn’t said it, she knew he had been busy since the banquet.
Gu Wujin: [I’ll come pick you up tomorrow.]
Ji Huaixiang bit down on the straw and took a big sip of the warm, sweet milk tea. [Jinjin, tomorrow is my eighteenth birthday.]
Without looking in a mirror, she knew her face had exploded red. She had told him—after her birthday, they could finally get intimate.
At that moment, her phone rang directly. Ji Huaixiang answered and walked out onto the small balcony.
“What gift do you want?” The low, elegant male voice sounded right beside her ear; she could almost still feel the warm breath he exhaled.
“No gift is necessary.”
Ji Huaixiang looked at the green trees across from the small balcony. Sunlight scattered across the crisp, tender leaves, forming golden star-like spots that shimmered and sparkled. The full view of vibrant green, combined with the faint fragrance in the air, made her current mood feel like taking a bite of ice cream—cool, refreshing, and sweetly indulgent.
“You’re already the best gift.” She said it with complete sincerity.
“Ji Huaixiang, having such crooked thoughts is going to make things really difficult for me. I’m not planning to have sex with you this soon.” Gu Wujin hadn’t expected his girlfriend to harbor such dangerous ideas. He paused for a moment. “But I know a boyfriend should satisfy all his girlfriend’s requests. If you really want to do it, I’ll cooperate with you properly.”
Ji Huaixiang: “…”
Who exactly was the one having crooked thoughts here?
A blush spread from her ear roots upward. Ji Huaixiang bit her lip and replied:
“No need. Just get me a cake.”
“Just a cake?” Gu Wujin rarely showed this much patience as he repeated the question. “You’re sure you don’t want me to cooperate?”
“No!”
After hanging up, Gu Wujin idly stroked the very white cat’s head again and again. His pitch-black eyes carried a lazy, smug look. He lowered his head to look at the cat and sighed:
“Having such an outstanding boyfriend must make her really frustrated. She can’t control herself from thinking about me every second, and now she even wants to sleep with me.”
“Meow… meow…” The cat’s ice-blue eyes gave him a glance, its body struggling to escape from his grasp.
“You think so too, right?” Gu Wujin’s long fingers scratched under its chin.
“Meow…”
“Who were you talking to on the phone?” Ji Dongqing’s voice suddenly came from behind Ji Huaixiang.
The farthest corner of the small balcony had a washing machine, and several buckets of water sat on the floor, making the space even more cramped.
Ji Huaixiang put away her phone and turned around. She looked at Ji Dongqing, who was standing right in front of her—only an arm’s length away. The light in her eyes dimmed slightly.
“What’s up?”
Ji Dongqing waved her hand casually. She raised the empty milk tea cup in her hand and smiled.
“I’m throwing out trash. You were talking to your boyfriend on the phone, right?” Her voice was so soft and coquettish—completely unlike her usual cool tone.
“Mm.”
“I guessed right.”
Ji Dongqing walked over, bent down, and tossed the milk tea cup into the trash bin beside Ji Huaixiang. As she straightened up, her eyes overflowed with smiles. She added:
“For some reason, the trash can smells especially bad today. The garbage inside should be taken out.”
Ji Huaixiang’s fingers hanging at her sides tightened slightly.
Ji Dongqing stood very close to Ji Huaixiang. Her fair face was full of smiles, delicate and charming.
“Huaixiang, you’re wearing a jacket even in the dorm. Aren’t you hot?”
After dropping that line, she turned and walked back into the room.
The next morning, sunlight poured in through the glass door, scattering across the interior. The curtains swayed gently in the breeze. The early morning still carried a hint of coolness when Ji Huaixiang woke up.
She lifted the blanket and immediately lowered her head to sniff her own scent. After a long moment, her red lips curved high in a smile.
Gu Wujin parked the car outside the girls’ dormitory. He rolled down the window and spotted the girl standing in the shade of the trees at once. She was wearing a light-colored floral dress. Sunlight filtered through the green leaves and fell on her head, surrounding her in a soft halo. She stood there gracefully and delicately.
Amid the lush trees and blooming flowers, she was more radiant than any blossom.
“Get in.” He called softly.
Ji Huaixiang opened the door and slid into the passenger seat.
It was obvious the girl had put effort into dressing up today. Her hair was braided into a fishtail plait draped over one shoulder. The fitted short-sleeved floral dress reached just to her knees. Her waist was so slender it seemed impossible to grasp. Her two arms glowed white, slim and delicate, impossible to look away from.
Ji Huaixiang’s face was flushed red. Tiny beads of sweat dotted the tip of her delicate, upright nose, softening her usual allure and making her look very cute.
“Did you wait long?” Gu Wujin asked. He turned down the air conditioning a little, then reached to the back seat for a bottle of water, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to her.
It was the height of summer. The sun was fierce, the temperature high. Standing outside for even a short while had already made her sweat profusely.
“A little while.”
Ji Huaixiang took a big gulp of water. The dryness in her throat eased. Then she smiled, her pink-flushed cheeks glowing brightly.
“I wanted to see you as early as possible. Not even one minute later, not even one second later. Otherwise I’d feel like I was losing out.”
His heart gave an inexplicable little tremble, beating faster than usual. Gu Wujin realized that ever since he met Ji Huaixiang, this heart of his had become like it was sick—constantly refusing to obey him.
He tried hard to suppress the upward curve of his lips. His girlfriend was beating around the bush to say she missed him, and as her boyfriend, of course he had to be understanding and cooperative.
“Got it. Today, my entire day belongs to you.”
Ji Huaixiang’s eyes lit up. She tugged lightly at the hem of her dress, a little nervous. She had prepared this skirt a few days ago specifically to wear on her birthday. Apart from the time she dressed up for Old Madam Shen’s birthday banquet, this was the first time she had put so much effort into looking nice.
“Today is my birthday.”
“Mm. I already bought the cake.” Gu Wujin shifted his gaze away, deliberately not looking at her. The girl was far too beautiful today.
“Jinjin.”
The corner of his shirt was gently tugged. Gu Wujin turned his head. Following the slender white fingers, his eyes traveled up to the girl’s enlarged face right in front of him. Only then did he realize she had already leaned in close.
Ji Huaixiang blinked at Gu Wujin. Her dark eyes were very bright—extremely bright—filled to the brim with longing and joy.
“I want you to pat my head. I want you to hug me.”
She had waited for this moment for a very, very long time.