8 Jealous? How could that be?
“Xiaomin, I just met him by chance, so please stop asking.” Ling Qing Ruan’s face flushed pink.
“Alright, I won’t ask anymore. I heard there’s a young lady from the Gu family in our dance department. They say her father couldn’t bear to send her abroad, so he arranged for her to study at Imperial University. Many people are rushing to curry favor with her. I saw several on my way here just now. Actually, she’s not that pretty – not as beautiful as our Ruan Ruan.”
Wu Xiaomin pouted helplessly. After all, that girl was a wealthy young lady, a top-tier white-rich-beauty, while Ruan Ruan was just a poor little thing. Why was the difference so vast?
Ling Qing Ruan recalled what she had seen earlier and asked, “Is the young lady from the Gu family that girl followed by many bodyguards? I saw her – she even glared at me, though I don’t know why.”
“She must be jealous of how beautiful our Ruan Ruan is, that’s why she glared at you. Just ignore her. Those rich young ladies are the most arrogant, and we can’t afford to provoke them.”
Wu Xiaomin patted the girl’s head. Their Ruan Ruan was the softest and sweetest, and from now on, she would make sure to watch over her and not let that woman bully her.
First day of freshman registration.
Ling Qing Ruan and Wu Xiaomin were assigned to Dance Class 3, coincidentally in the same class as Gu Qianyan.
Wu Xiaomin specially put on beautiful makeup and wore a pretty dress, while Ling Qing Ruan simply washed her face and changed into a modest white chiffon dress. The clothes were bought for her by Si Zhanhan and fit perfectly.
“Baby Ruan Ruan, aren’t you going to wear makeup?”
Ling Qing Ruan shook her head. “No need. I’d have to remove it later and wash my face again – too much trouble.”
Wu Xiaomin: “…”
Alright, you’re beautiful, so whatever you say is right. You don’t need makeup at all – you can outshine everyone without it.
When Wu Xiaomin and Ling Qing Ruan arrived at the classroom, only a few people were there. Several male classmates were sitting there playing games, but when they saw Ling Qing Ruan, they immediately perked up and even stopped playing.
“This… this girl is too beautiful. She really looks like a plushie, with a bit of mixed-race feeling too.”
“I never expected our class to have such a great beauty.”
Seeing many people’s eyes on her, Ling Qing Ruan got scared and hid behind Wu Xiaomin.
[Ruan Ruan, have you met your new classmates?]
Si Zhanhan sent a worried message. He knew the little girl was quite introverted and somewhat socially anxious, not liking to interact with people.
[I’ve met them. They all seem to be looking at me.]
Si Zhanhan was almost amused by Ling Qing Ruan’s words. The little girl was very beautiful, so she was bound to attract many people’s attention.
He felt a faint trace of jealousy in his heart, though he didn’t realize it himself.
[Don’t be afraid. Don’t you have a classmate with you?]
[I’m not afraid. I… I’m fine, Si Zhanhan. You don’t need to worry about me.]
Just as Ling Qing Ruan sent the message, a boy walked over. He had delicate features and was wearing a white T-shirt.
“Classmate, can I have your WeChat?”
Ling Qing Ruan shook her head and shrank back.
The male student didn’t pressure Ling Qing Ruan and turned to leave. His friends all started teasing him.
“Even Lu Jinnian can’t get a WeChat? Don’t girls always surround you? Our Young Master Lu must have met his true love this time.”
“Yeah, you’ve taken a liking to that young girl, haven’t you?”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
After Lu Jinnian finished speaking, he glanced back at Ling Qing Ruan. Ling Qing Ruan immediately lowered her head, her ears turning red.
[Si Zhanhan, just now a male classmate wanted to add me on WeChat.]
[Did you add him?]
Si Zhanhan frowned, cold air radiating around him.
[No.]
[Good. You have a boyfriend now, so you can’t contact other boys.Okay (′つヮ).]
Seeing the emoticon the girl sent, Si Zhanhan felt inexplicably happy. He could already picture her soft, sweet, well-behaved appearance – a pitiful little thing who was both milky and obedient.
“Ruan Ruan, that boy just now was quite handsome. Why didn’t you add him?”
Wu Xiaomin looked at her with frustration. If it were her, she would have added him immediately.
“I already have a boyfriend.”
“That doesn’t matter. We’re all just classmates.”
Ling Qing Ruan shook her head. She didn’t like talking to other boys.
Just then, several more girls entered.
“The young lady from the Gu family.”
“It’s Gu Qianyan. She’s here too.”
Gu Qianyan was wearing brand-name dresses, carrying brand-name bags, covered head to toe in luxury brands. Even her hair clips were foreign designer brands. With her heavy makeup, she looked less like a young lady and more like a nightclub queen.
“Ruan Ruan, the brand-name bag she’s carrying is a global limited edition. One costs at least seven figures.” Wu Xiaomin whispered in Ling Qing Ruan’s ear.
Ling Qing Ruan nodded, feeling completely bewildered, as if she had no concept of that much money.
However, she had this bag too – Si Zhanhan had bought it for her. But she didn’t like it, preferring cute little bunny designs instead.
As soon as Gu Qianyan arrived, many people flocked to her, everyone wanting to sit with her. After all, she was a wealthy young lady – being her friend meant you could eat well and live comfortably.
Gu Qianyan walked up to Ling Qing Ruan and looked down at her. “You’re here too. What’s your name?”
“Ling Qing Ruan.”
Gu Qianyan frowned. There were no major families named Ling in the Imperial Capital. So she really was a fake young lady, putting on quite the act. Though her clothes looked nice too – who knew where she got them from.
Ling Qing Ruan nodded, sensing Gu Qianyan’s unfriendly gaze, and didn’t speak to her.
“Qianyan, who is she?”
“Someone I met on the road. Nothing important.”
Gu Qianyan disliked Ling Qing Ruan purely because she put on even more airs than herself.
As soon as Gu Qianyan sat down, a crowd surrounded her, starting to flatter her. Before long, Gu Qianyan had made friends with everyone around.
Then, she took expensive lipsticks, cosmetics and similar items from her bag and gave them to many classmates.
Many people received gifts from Gu Qianyan and flattered her even more, smiling obsequiously.
“Young Lady Gu is indeed generous. This lipstick is brand-name – last time I couldn’t bring myself to buy it.”
“No problem. I have plenty – I’m giving these all to you.”
“Thank you, Young Lady Gu. The young lady is truly a young lady – rich people are just different.”
The group continued to flatter Gu Qianyan. If they could curry favor with Young Lady Gu, they wouldn’t have to worry about cosmetics in the future.
Ling Qing Ruan sat in the corner, chatting with Si Zhanhan on her phone. She wasn’t interested in these things, nor did she like crowded places.
Every weekend, Si Zhanhan’s car would be parked outside. Ling Qing Ruan would put on her backpack and go home with him. Their relationship was quite bland.
Si Zhanhan would take her out to eat, buy her all kinds of snacks, and even get her favorite milk tea. However, Ling Qing Ruan felt this man didn’t really like her – he was just doing it out of guilt.
After more than a month passed, Ling Qing Ruan finally gathered her courage. This time, she needed to make things clear with Si Zhanhan.
What happened that night was just an accident.