Chapter 431 - 314: Who Came First?

Xue Rui crumpled the cigarette pack in his hand and stood up, walking toward Gu Muxue.

When Gu Muxue slammed the car door, he had a feeling. Given the other girl’s personality, it was unlikely Gu Muxue was truly angry with her. It was more likely a hint for him.

And when he heard Gu Muxue telling her not to smoke, he was almost one hundred percent certain—Gu Muxue had known he was there from the very beginning.

While the two of them were talking earlier, he had desperately wanted to go over and confess everything, even if only to Gu Muxue.

But he knew his girl too well. That was by no means the best opportunity.

The girl had her own way of seeing things. If he interfered, it would only make her emotional. To be precise, he was the only one who could truly affect her emotions.

In that case, the worst outcome would be the young woman getting caught in the middle and being pushed to an emotional breakdown.

That wasn’t something he wanted to see.

The situation had now spiraled out of his control, but overall, it was still following the path he had anticipated: letting Gu Muxue get to know Lin Ruoxi. Except now, his girl had well and truly taken the lead...

He took off his military training uniform as he walked, fanning the air around him with his cap to dissipate the smell of smoke.

’Sigh!’ Xue Rui sighed internally. ’She has me completely figured out, always managing to catch me by the tail.’

Gu Muxue clearly knew he was nearby but didn’t point him out. She even paused after sending him the message. He felt like Monkey Sun getting his head tapped by Patriarch Bodhi.

Following the girl to the back gate of the athletic field, Xue Rui casually tossed his military training uniform to Wu Xiaozhuang, who was playing on his phone by the men’s restroom entrance.

Wu Xiaozhuang felt the damp uniform and asked curiously, "Bro, how’d your clothes get soaked? Was it that hot over there?"

Xue Rui glared at Wu Xiaozhuang. ’Who wouldn’t be sweating in this situation?’

Gu Muxue sensed Xue Rui’s approach. Her first instinct was to run away, but on second thought, she hadn’t done anything wrong. ’Why should I run?’

In truth, Gu Muxue didn’t know where she would even run to...

Where else could she go now?

Xue Rui was the person she was closest to in this city.

She and Xue Rui had planned to study here together. They’d said it was close to home, that they could go back for a visit anytime.

But why had things turned out like this?

She wanted to go home so badly right now. She wanted to return to a familiar place, to talk with her family, but she couldn’t...

Some things had to be faced eventually. She couldn’t keep running away forever.

She walked along the fence bordering the athletic field. She wanted to grill Xue Rui with so many questions, but she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to handle the answers.

"Muxue, this is my fault. You already know about Lin Ruoxi’s situation. I was planning to tell you after the military training ended..."

Xue Rui didn’t know what Gu Muxue and Lin Ruoxi had talked about, but based on his understanding of their personalities, he figured Lin Ruoxi must have laid all her cards on the table. He started the conversation based on that assumption.

"Walk behind me. And don’t look at my face," Gu Muxue said coldly.

’I must look so awful right now.’

"My feelings for you are real. It’s just that Lin Ruoxi... she has no one left to rely on. I entered her world, so I have to be responsible for her..."

With her back to Xue Rui, Gu Muxue’s tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

She knew Xue Rui wasn’t lying. Given Lin Ruoxi’s completely submissive nature—willing even to share the man she loved with her—playing the part of a "fake couple" for Xue Rui would have been nothing to her.

Xue Rui had intended to come clean with her all along. He wasn’t offering a flood of apologies now, just trying to stick to the main points.

’Xiaorui, if you know me so well, why would you still do something like this?’

"Xiaorui, between her and me, who came first?" Gu Muxue asked, her voice choked with sobs.

Xue Rui’s scalp went numb. Gu Muxue had finally asked the fatal question.

Factually speaking, there was no doubt that his girl had been the first to enter his heart.

Whether in his past life or this one, even when it came to making their relationship official, it had been two days earlier than with the other girl.

But you couldn’t just answer a question like this at face value. So even if it was the truth, he couldn’t say it.

If he answered that Gu Muxue came first, his girl would inevitably think—’If you already liked me, why did someone else show up? It can only mean you didn’t like me enough.’

If he said Lin Ruoxi came first, his girl would think—’If you already had a girlfriend, then what does that make me?’

"Muxue, if I’ve wronged anyone... it’s only you," Xue Rui said earnestly.

He felt he owed the other girl nothing. Whether it was money, companionship, sweet talk, or special treatment, the other girl had received far more than his girl ever had.

With her back still to Xue Rui, the corners of Gu Muxue’s mouth lifted into a slight smile.

’Wronged me, huh...’

She had thought she would hate Xue Rui with a passion, but she didn’t. She didn’t know why, but as she looked up at the vast, blue sky, she suddenly felt a weight lift from her heart, simply because he was willing to be honest.

Xue Rui gently hugged Gu Muxue from behind and said earnestly, "Boss, no matter what order you give me, I’ll do my best to make things right."

Gu Muxue said faintly, "Xiaorui, let go."

’He said "no matter what order"?’

’If I ordered him to make Lin Ruoxi leave, would he do it?’

’No. Xue Rui knows what kind of person I am. Lin Ruoxi has serious problems; she can’t be without him. We both know this full well.’

’So, Xue Rui was betting that I would never bring up something so cold, because it really could drive Lin Ruoxi to her death.’

’Xiaorui, are you using me?’

’You’re so gentle, always thinking of others.’

’But how much of that gentleness have I ever received?’

Xue Rui felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. His girl hadn’t gotten violent; she had just calmly told him to let go. This was going to be much harder to fix...