"I’ve been watching a TV drama lately. You need to be more confident, make your rival feel the pressure. The more nervous she gets, the more likely she is to slip up. You can afford to fail countless times, but she can only fail once..."
"Mom, what exactly should I do?"
Chen Shen was at a loss for words. He had no idea how to reason with this mother-daughter duo; they were actually resorting to military stratagems.
But whenever his wife started crying, he was completely helpless.
...
Gu Muxue faintly heard the sound of crying from the restroom and couldn’t help but feel a little weary.
’Chen Tingting is timid, but what if a bolder rival comes along in the future?’
By society’s standards, Xue Rui was already a successful man. Money attracted all sorts of women, so she had to keep a level head, or she’d be driven mad by jealousy down the line.
What reassured her most was that Xue Rui was very low-key and never flaunted his wealth.
’Perhaps that’s his way of protecting me?’
At that thought, she couldn’t help but smile again.
Yang Xing’s eyebrow twitched as he watched. ’Gu Muxue is smiling while listening to someone else wail their eyes out?’
He felt he might need to re-evaluate his impression of Gu Muxue...
"Muxue, while it’s true that one person’s happiness is often built on another’s suffering, that’s not a healthy mindset to have..." Yang Xing said.
Gu Muxue listened to Uncle Yang’s lecture and shook her head helplessly. "Uncle Yang, you’re reading too much into it. The two things aren’t related."
"Fine, fine. I was just saying," Yang Xing said with a nod.
A good while later, Chen Tingting emerged from the restroom, having composed herself. As she passed Gu Muxue, she deliberately took a wide detour.
However, Gu Muxue walked over, carrying a huge bag of snacks.
"This is for you. It’s a little heavy, so use both hands," Gu Muxue said, holding the bag out to Chen Tingting.
Chen Tingting hadn’t planned on accepting it, but ’why should I have to take it with two hands when you’re handing it over with one?’
So, she reached out with a single hand. The moment she took it, she regretted her decision. She staggered under the weight—the bag of snacks had to be twenty or thirty pounds...
Chen Tingting looked into Gu Muxue’s eyes, mustered her courage, and threatened, "I’m going to steal him from you."
Gu Muxue just smiled faintly. "If you can."
Chen Tingting’s composure crumbled. Gu Muxue was just too confident. She was the total package. Forgetting that her grades were better, Chen Tingting was sure she wouldn’t even be a match for her in a fight...
Huffing and puffing, Chen Tingting lugged the heavy bag toward her classroom, thinking to herself, ’I definitely need to get Dad to teach me some police self-defense moves...’
Back in the classroom, Chen Tingting noticed many people staring at the snacks in her hands.
"Tingting, did Muxue give those to you?" someone asked enviously.
"Yeah," Chen Tingting answered simply.
"Why did Muxue come to see you, of all people? Is it because you used to always go to the upperclassmen’s classrooms looking for Xue Rui?" someone asked with a smile.
They never expected Chen Tingting to connect with Gu Muxue in such a strange way...
Chen Tingting didn’t respond, just carried the snacks toward her seat.
’This is strange,’ she thought. ’Why would Gu Muxue give me so many snacks? Aren’t we love rivals?’
Thinking about it, she decided she needed to consult her mom.
She got to her seat, opened the bag of snacks, and took a picture to send to her mother, hoping for some advice.
Mom: Cookies, nuts... These are all high-calorie foods. She’s trying to fatten you up and make you ugly to reduce the pressure on herself.
It suddenly dawned on Chen Tingting. She replied: How malicious!
Chen Shen, watching their chat from the side, was utterly speechless.
He’d seen the photo. They were all high-end snacks, like Royal Dansk cookies—clearly a thoughtful gift. ’How was that malicious?’
Besides, Gu Muxue was so sweet and a bit of a ditz; how could she harbor such wicked intentions?
He snatched the phone from his wife, Zhang Qian. "Why are you meddling in our kid’s business? Her job right now is to study hard."
Zhang Qian blinked. Chen Shen was rarely this forceful. ’What’s gotten into him today?’
"Honey... Tingting isn’t staying home these days, and I bought some new lingerie," Zhang Qian purred, wrapping her arms around Chen Shen’s.
Chen Shen gulped. ’I’m a dead man,’ he thought.
But for the sake of his daughter’s moral compass, he had to stand his ground...
...
Chen Tingting realized her mom had suddenly gone silent mid-conversation. Bored, she cupped her chin in her hands and listened to her classmates’ quiet gossip.
Since Gu Muxue had just visited, today’s hot topic was the story of the "legendary campus belle."
"Muxue’s handwriting is gorgeous," someone said, holding a photocopy of some review notes.
"Yeah, I heard Muxue used this very classroom before. I wonder which desk was hers," a male student mused, his imagination running wild as he carefully scanned his desk.
At his words, many others began to curiously inspect their own desks.
You know how students are—there’s always someone writing or carving on their desks. You could often find traces left behind by young couples, things like "So-and-so loves So-and-so."
The students were used to seeing this, but now they were all hoping to find something Gu Muxue might have left behind in the classroom.
Chen Tingting scoffed. ’So childish,’ she thought. ’What are they going to do even if they find something?’
An idea sparked in her mind. ’I should go check the classroom next door. That’s the one Xue Rui used to be in.’
Suddenly, a figure passed the classroom window. The students fell silent in an instant, followed by a flurry of rustling as everyone hastily grabbed their pens...
Chen Tingting quickly shoved her phone into her desk drawer, terrified of being caught by the passing teacher.
After the teacher had completed their rounds, she reached into the drawer to retrieve her phone but couldn’t find it. She fumbled around for a good while, but it seemed to have gotten wedged somewhere. She finally crouched down to search properly, pulling her books out one by one.
As she did, a familiar name on the underside of the desktop caught her eye—Xue Rui.
She looked closer. Not far from it was Gu Muxue’s name. Judging by the handwriting, Gu Muxue had written both...
An ampersand connected them: "Xue Rui & Gu Muxue."
Chen Tingting gritted her teeth. ’Why am I always the unlucky one? Of all the people, why did I have to get the very desk Gu Muxue used?’
The one person who wanted Gu Muxue’s old desk the least was the one who got it...
Squatting under the desk, Chen Tingting took out a marker. She scribbled over the "&", wrote her own name, and then drew a circle connecting "Xue Rui" and "Chen Tingting."
And, of course, she didn’t forget to snap a photo and send it to Xue Rui.
...
Just then, Gu Muxue was leaving the school. As she was driving out, she ran into Director Wang.
"Hello, Director," Gu Muxue said, rolling down her car window to greet him.
"Ah, hello," Director Wang replied with a smiling nod and ambled toward the school entrance.
"Director Wang, it’s getting dark. What brings you to school at this hour?" the security guard asked with a smile.
"I left something behind."
Director Wang noticed an empty carton of Zhonghua cigarettes on the guard’s desk and couldn’t help but tease, "Old Liu, looks like this post of yours is quite a cushy gig."
A security guard’s salary could hardly afford that brand of cigarettes. It must have been a gift from one of the many recent visitors to the school.
"Here, Director Wang, have a pack. It’s all thanks to one of your students," the guard said, pulling a fresh pack of cigarettes from his drawer and handing it over.
Director Wang accepted it. As he opened the pack, he remarked with a sigh, "Ah, Lin Ruoxi. A talent that comes along once in 800 years. We won’t be that lucky again."
The guard waved his hand. "It wasn’t Lin Ruoxi. These are celebratory smokes from your student, Gu Muxue. Looks like she’s started dating someone."
Director Wang’s hand, which was about to light his cigarette, froze. ’Gu Muxue is dating someone?’
It went without saying who the guy was. It had to be Xue Rui...
Gu Muxue was no fool. If she was handing out celebratory gifts, it meant Xue Rui had made his choice.
’Then what about Lin Ruoxi?’
Not many people knew which university Lin Ruoxi had chosen, but he knew for a fact that she had followed Xue Rui.
He couldn’t help but worry about the poor girl. He pulled out his phone and dialed Lin Ruoxi’s number.
After a few rings, Lin Ruoxi’s soft, sweet voice came through. "Hello, Teacher."
Director Wang didn’t speak right away. He took a long drag from his cigarette and exhaled slowly. "Lin Ruoxi," he began, his voice gentle, "where are you right now? And where is Xue Rui?"
Although Lin Ruoxi didn’t understand why Director Wang was asking, she answered truthfully. "Um, I’m working in Shencheng. Xue Rui is in Hedong City."
A vein throbbed in Director Wang’s temple. ’That damn Xue Rui is a real piece of work!’ he thought furiously. ’To just leave her so far away? Is it just because he knows Lin Ruoxi is a pushover? What an absolute bastard. I could just throttle the boy right now.’
"Old Wang, who’s got you so riled up?"
Old Liu asked quietly. Director Wang had only taken a single puff before forcefully snuffing out the glowing cherry of the cigarette with his fingers, which were now black with soot...
Director Wang sighed deeply and said into the phone, "My dear girl, you need to be a little smarter about things."
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