Chapter 429 - 313: Chaotic Scene (Part 2)

’She understood now. Xue Rui could get something from Lin Ruoxi that she couldn’t give him.’

Gu Muxue asked softly, "Lin Ruoxi, I’ve taken your place. How do you feel about that?"

Lin Ruoxi flinched. ’Gu Muxue wasn’t asleep?’

’Her place...’

"Wh-what place?" Lin Ruoxi asked quietly. ’Is she talking about the girlfriend’s spot?’

’But... Xue Rui has liked Gu Muxue for a long time. I’m the one who came later...’

’She believed she and Gu Muxue should be on equal footing. It wasn’t a matter of one person taking the other’s place.’

Gu Muxue pointed to the car seat behind her, then to her heart. "Everywhere."

"Oh, you’re sitting in Rui’s seat. I’m usually the one who drives. As for... my heart... I’m not unhappy about it."

"What about you?" Lin Ruoxi asked, watching Gu Muxue’s expression.

Gu Muxue always wore a gentle smile, so Lin Ruoxi couldn’t tell if she was happy or not. But it always made her feel so nervous.

’Is this how Xue Rui feels around Gu Muxue, too?’

’It’s so stressful being around Gu Muxue. My Behavioral Psychology classes are completely useless right now...’

"Me?" Gu Muxue gave a bitter smile. "Let’s not talk about me. Are you used to living in Chang’an? What do you and he usually do together?"

"Let me think... Someone washes their shoes in the public washing machines at school, so I don’t want Rui to use them. I’m planning on washing his clothes for him by hand." Lin Ruoxi paused to think. ’She and Xue Rui hadn’t been at school for very long; there wasn’t much to talk about.’

She changed the subject. "Back in high school, he’d play games on the computer in my bedroom while I watched him. I’d cook for him, and I’d bring him hot water to soak his feet..."

Lin Ruoxi recounted her daily life with Xue Rui, glancing at Gu Muxue’s reaction after each detail she shared.

’She noticed that Gu Muxue seemed to be in great pain. With every word she said, that pain seemed to deepen.’

’So... she decided not to mention that she’d taken Xue Rui’s virginity...’

’Come to think of it, she possessed more of Xue Rui than Gu Muxue did...’

’A secret thrill rose within her, but it quickly turned to guilt...’

’Gu Muxue was already in so much pain, yet she actually felt a flicker of joy?’

’Lin Ruoxi decided she was a bad person.’

"I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said so much..." Lin Ruoxi apologized.

Gu Muxue forced a smile. "You have nothing to apologize to me for. Please, continue."

Lin Ruoxi shook her head. ’She didn’t want to say any more. Every word would only deepen Gu Muxue’s pain.’

"When did you start liking him?" Gu Muxue asked, changing the subject again.

’She knew this would hurt her, but she couldn’t stop herself from wanting to know everything about Xue Rui.’

’She couldn’t stand being lied to. She would rather hear all the painful truths herself than listen to another lie from Xue Rui.’

’Lin Ruoxi hadn’t just gotten together with Xue Rui recently. They were together every day in high school, right after she had left...’

’A "fake" relationship? Theirs was far more than that, and it had started much, much earlier than she’d ever imagined...’

’She desperately wanted to know when Lin Ruoxi and Xue Rui had made their relationship official, but she didn’t dare ask. She was afraid she would find out that she was the one who had come second.’

Lin Ruoxi’s expression went blank. ’When did she start liking Xue Rui?’

"I... I don’t know," Lin Ruoxi mumbled, shaking her head.

’She wasn’t lying. She had never really thought about when she’d started to like Xue Rui.’

’Was it before graduating high school, when she was terrified of a future without Xue Rui?’

’Or was it some other time?’

Gu Muxue struggled to sit up, fumbling around the seat for the recline lever. ’She felt it was too rude to be lying down; she wanted to sit up to talk to Lin Ruoxi.’

’No matter what, she and Lin Ruoxi were equals.’

Annoyed, she fumbled around her but couldn’t find it after a long moment.

"Are you trying to adjust the seat?" Lin Ruoxi asked, scooting over to adjust the seat for Gu Muxue.

Gu Muxue sighed. ’It was one thing for Lin Ruoxi not to pick a fight with her love rival, but to proactively help with something so small...’

As the seatback slowly rose, the distance between them shrank. Gu Muxue noticed how long Lin Ruoxi’s hair was. As Lin Ruoxi leaned down, her cascade of black hair spilled onto Gu Muxue’s lap.

’Her hair was much healthier than her own. She remembered this hair vividly; she’d even had a strand of it tested once.’

As Lin Ruoxi slowly straightened up, Gu Muxue reached out, wanting to touch her hair.

"You..."

She was just about to compliment Lin Ruoxi’s hair and use it as a segue into another topic, but Lin Ruoxi suddenly shielded her face, her voice trembling. "Please don’t hit my face, okay? Rui and our classmates will see."

Gu Muxue’s hand froze in mid-air. Her dark pupils trembled, her eyes wide with disbelief.

’Rui, what have you been telling her about me?’

’Why would Lin Ruoxi have that kind of impression of me?’

"Why would I ever hit anyone?" Gu Muxue said in a gentle voice.

Lin Ruoxi nodded. ’She knew that she and Gu Muxue were rivals. The TV dramas she watched with Yu Minlan were full of scenes where two women fought over a man...’

’She had just misunderstood Gu Muxue.’

"But... you always hit Rui..." Lin Ruoxi mumbled, looking down and pouting with a hint of dissatisfaction in her voice.

Lin Ruoxi looked up, meeting Gu Muxue’s eyes earnestly. ’She knew some girls liked to playfully hit the person they were fond of, but Gu Muxue had been hitting him so hard lately. She really couldn’t stand it.’

Lin Ruoxi summoned her courage and said, "In the future... when you get angry, can you please not hit Rui? If you really need to let off steam, you can hit me instead..."

Gu Muxue took a deep breath and slowly shook her head, not saying a word in response.