Chapter 432 - 314: Who Came First? (Part 2)

When she no longer wanted to hit him, it meant her heart was completely broken.

He wasn’t afraid of the girl hating or hitting him; what he feared most was her ignoring him.

There is no greater sorrow than a dead heart, no deeper grief than silence.

So, before she could hide away in a corner to lick her wounds, he had to swallow his pride and find a way to make Gu Muxue angry. Fast.

"Muxue, if you won’t let me look at you, then I’ll just have to wipe your face like this," Xue Rui said, pulling out a tissue and starting to dab at her cheeks. He could already tell her face was stained with tears.

"Xiaorui, you!" Gu Muxue cried out in frustration, grabbing and pulling at his hand.

Feeling the sting on his hand, as if he’d been scratched by a cat, Xue Rui suddenly felt a great sense of relief.

But then he noticed faint crescent-shaped marks on the back of her hand, as if someone had recently dug their nails into her...

’Lin Ruoxi wouldn’t have attacked her, so the only possibility is that Muxue dug her own nails into her hand.’

"Xiaorui... let me go." Gu Muxue’s grip on his hand slowly slackened before falling away, limp.

’He knows me too well. I just let him lead me by the nose again...’

’Right now, she was scared. Scared that one day, Xue Rui would manage to talk her around, and she would end up like Lin Ruoxi, so humbled she might as well be dust, accepting a life with the three of them together.’

’The way she was raised would never allow her to do that. If it came to that, she wouldn’t be Gu Muxue anymore.’

’And at that point, would Xue Rui even like her anymore?’

’She could change for the person she loved, but she absolutely could not lose herself.’

Lin Ruoxi couldn’t bear any consequences.

And she didn’t want to struggle in this relationship anymore, either. She already had her answer...

Xue Rui now followed her meekly, like her own personal attendant. This was a scene she had once dreamed of seeing, but now, she just felt scared. And it felt so unfair.

Xue Rui slowly released his hand. "Muxue, let me walk you back so you can rest. I’ll get you excused from the military training."

He could feel her inner conflict. The girl was cold on the outside but warm on the inside; her words were sharp, but her heart was soft...

Besides, Muxue had always shown consideration for Lin Ruoxi. From start to finish, she had never forced him to make a choice, and he guessed she had never interrogated the younger girl, either. Muxue was silently shouldering it all herself.

Lin Ruoxi’s timidity, ironically, could become the last straw for Gu Muxue. That was something he had overlooked...

Xue Rui followed behind Gu Muxue, and they walked the rest of the way without exchanging a single word.

After watching Gu Muxue enter her dormitory, Xue Rui trudged dejectedly toward the back gate of the athletic field. Lin Ruoxi was still there waiting for him...

...

At the back gate of the athletic field, Lin Ruoxi paced nervously around the car.

’I just saw Xue Rui go over to Gu Muxue... was he listening from the side the whole time?’

’I made Gu Muxue cry. Will Rui be able to calm her down?’

Deep down, Lin Ruoxi wanted to be friends with Gu Muxue.

During the times they’d lain in bed, whispering to each other in the dark, Xue Rui had always been frank with her whenever the topic of Gu Muxue arose.

She had discovered that Xue Rui felt a deep sense of guilt toward Gu Muxue...

Whether it was a case of "love me, love my dog," or simply because she wanted to shoulder this guilt alongside him, Lin Ruoxi had decided to face the situation together with Xue Rui...

At first, she had been heartbroken to learn that Gu Muxue was Xue Rui’s girlfriend, but she had never resented her. Instead, as time passed, she only grew more and more curious about Gu Muxue.

She and Gu Muxue had a few things in common, and she had thought they could become good friends...

But Gu Muxue hadn’t agreed.

From far away, Xue Rui saw Lin Ruoxi waving at him. He nodded and pointed toward the athletic field, signaling for her to wait right there.

At the back gate of the athletic field, Li Ruihao waved at Xue Rui, phone in hand.

"What’s wrong, Boss?" Li Ruihao had a sinking feeling that something was seriously wrong with Xue Rui’s love life.

"Did you take care of that thing I asked you to do?" Xue Rui asked.

"It’s handled. I had my girlfriend deliver lunch. She’s in the same building as the missus. As for her roommates, they’re over there, eating melon."

Xue Rui walked over to the watermelon stand and said with a smile, "Alright, stop eating melon, or you won’t have an appetite for lunch."

"Xue Rui, where’s Muxue? Why are you by yourself?" Gao Shufen asked. A moment ago, an upperclassman had told them Xue Rui was treating their dorm to a meal, and they had assumed Gu Muxue arranged it.

"Don’t ask. I made Muxue upset," Xue Rui said, pressing his palms together and giving them a conspiratorial look. "If anything happens with her, please let me know. But whatever you do, don’t tell her I asked."

’I really can’t rest easy with Muxue on her own. I’ll have to plant some eyes and ears around her, even if I know she’ll see right through it...’

’Still, I have to show I’m making the effort.’

Gao Shufen gave him a knowing smile. She’d seen plenty of lovers’ quarrels before. They usually took a lot of making up, but it was hardly a big hassle for her. "No problem."

She had a great first impression of Xue Rui, and more importantly, he was generous. They were getting a free meal out of this; how could she possibly refuse...

"I have some things to take care of, so I can’t join you. The restaurant’s already booked, and someone will take you there." Xue Rui waved Li Ruihao over. "Xiaoli, you’re in charge of this. Remember to get a receipt."

After leaving the athletic field, Xue Rui saw Lin Ruoxi in the distance, pacing anxiously by the side of the road. The moment she spotted him, she broke into a trot and hurried over.

It was now twelve noon, the end of the military training session. The athletic field had emptied out. The only sound on campus was the piercing shriek of the cicadas.

"How is... Gu Muxue? I... I upset her," Lin Ruoxi said, noticing the ground around Xue Rui was littered with cigarette butts.

’Rui must be really sad too, right? But I don’t know how to make him feel better.’

Xue Rui unconsciously leaned in a little, her voice nearly swallowed by the drone of the cicadas.

"Be quiet!" Xue Rui yelled irritably at the trees.

Lin Ruoxi’s cheeks puffed out in anger. She craned her neck, her eyes scanning the trees for the source of the noise with a menacing look.

Xue Rui sidled up to her. "What are you going to do?" he asked.

"I’m going to catch them all," came Lin Ruoxi’s indignant voice. She made a move as if to climb the tree, ready to eliminate all the cicadas that were bothering Xue Rui.

"Xixi, it’s okay, forget it. Don’t get worked up over a bunch of insects," Xue Rui said, quickly wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Her antics made him feel much better, and he reached out to ruffle her hair.

"You might’ve been a golden retriever in a past life," Xue Rui mumbled.

"What’s a golden retriever?" Lin Ruoxi asked, curious.

"Friendly to humans, but brings devastating destruction to all other living things..."

With that, Xue Rui got into the passenger seat.

After getting in the car, Lin Ruoxi leaned over and sniffed gently at Xue Rui’s clothes. "Rui, please don’t smoke, okay? I know you’re upset..."

"It’s my fault. I... I’ll figure something out."

As she spoke, Lin Ruoxi gently hugged Xue Rui and murmured, "Gu Muxue doesn’t want to be friends with me."

Hearing this, Xue Rui couldn’t help but frown. His thoughts were a tangled mess. Lin Ruoxi was being unusually talkative today.

’She’s still naively hoping she can be friends with Gu Muxue...’

’Forget about her, even I can’t be sure what will happen...’

"Will she come to the party after the military training?" Lin Ruoxi asked in a small voice. ’Gu Muxue looked so heartbroken just now, I couldn’t help but start crying too.’

She remembered watching TV dramas with Yu Minlan. Yu Minlan would cry along with the characters on screen, but she never had. Yu Minlan used to say her heart was made of iron, with room inside for only Xue Rui.

But just now, for the first time, she had experienced the feeling Yu Minlan described. She could empathize with Gu Muxue.

"She’ll be there," Xue Rui said.

That was just how Muxue was. She would always keep her promises, no matter what happened in the meantime.

’I have a feeling she’s already made up her mind, but I don’t know what she’s waiting for. Could something else happen to change things?’

’In any case, I’m not going to listen to her. I’m still going to come see her over the next few days.’

"Rui, just give me an order. I did something wrong. What can I do to make you happy?" Lin Ruoxi asked, tears starting to fall without her realizing it.

’I made such a huge mistake. Gu Muxue didn’t accept my apology, and I don’t even know how to make Rui feel better.’

"Silly girl, what did you do wrong? I’m the one who made the mistake," Xue Rui said, reaching out to wipe away her tears.

Lin Ruoxi slowly shook her head. "There’s no distinguishing between you and me, right?"