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She stared intently at the phone screen, her mind a tangled mess.
Not sure how much time passed, Wen Jiu’s scattered thoughts finally aligned into a single, clear realization.
Jian Yue was no longer going to be her Jian Yue…
She let out a self-deprecating sigh, set the phone down, and got out of bed.
As soon as her feet hit the floor, the phone she had thrown aside rang. Wen Jiu picked it up casually, and a playful female voice immediately came from the other side.
“Jiu Jiu, good morning.”
Wen Jiu murmured an “Mm” and asked, “What’s up?”
Gu Xiao pressed her lips together, and though she had never liked Jian Yue, she didn’t feel as pleased as she expected at this moment.
She cautiously asked, “I guess you just woke up and haven’t had a chance to check the campus website?”
Wen Jiu raised an eyebrow, her response brief and to the point: “I haven’t seen it.”
“I’ve already sent you the most trending thing on the campus website today. Want to take a look?” Gu Xiao asked cautiously.
Her voice carried an undertone of subtle concern and worry that was hard to detect.
Gu Xiao had been Wen Jiu’s roommate since college, and the two had always gotten along very well.
One might even say that Gu Xiao was Wen Jiu’s most loyal supporter.
So, after learning about Wen Jiu and Jian Yue’s relationship, Gu Xiao had constantly nitpicked about Jian Yue.
Given the tone of Gu Xiao’s voice, Wen Jiu could guess without much thought what explosive news she was referring to.
After opening the chat with Gu Xiao, Wen Jiu hesitated before tapping on the photo Gu Xiao had sent.
Although she had been prepared, a sharp, tingling pain spread across her chest at that moment.
Especially when she saw the familiar figure in the photo, embracing someone else in the rain. Wen Jiu found it difficult to describe the feelings overwhelming her at that moment.
A bitter sensation rose to her nose, and all the emotions she had carefully suppressed the night before crumbled once again.
After a long silence without a reply, Gu Xiao on the other end of the line grew even more concerned.
“Jiu Jiu, are you at home? Can I come over and keep you company?”
Wen Jiu didn’t answer, only opening the photo that Gu Xiao had sent.
She had to face it eventually… she thought.
In the photo, Jian Yue’s expression was so gentle and indulgent, just like the countless times Wen Jiu had seen it before.
Wen Jiu roughly wiped away her tears before responding to Gu Xiao.
“I’m fine. Let’s get together another time when I’m free.”
Her voice, muffled with nasal sounds, was so obvious, yet Gu Xiao, understanding the situation, didn’t press her further.
Instead, she softly reassured her, “I’m here for you. Call me anytime if you need me.”
“Okay.” Wen Jiu lifted the corners of her lips in a smile, though it was bitter and full of sorrow.
After hanging up on Gu Xiao, Wen Jiu opened her chat with Jian Yue again and sent him an address.
[One hour later, see you here.]
Since she had made the decision to end things, it was time to face him and clarify everything.
Hospital.
Jian Yue, who had stayed by Lin Anlan’s side all night, tiredly rubbed his temples as he got up. He looked outside, where the sky had already begun to show signs of warmth. His brows furrowed slightly, and for some unknown reason, a sense of inexplicable unease suddenly stirred in his chest.
Before he could think any further, his phone rang.
As he answered, Lu Ming’s urgent voice exploded in his ear like a firecracker.
“Jian Yue, you bastard!”
Hearing these words, Jian Yue was momentarily stunned.
But Lu Ming didn’t give him time to process, immediately continuing his furious tirade.
“You’re not cherishing someone as good as Wen Jiu, and you’re messing around with other women? What’s wrong with your brain, are you full of crap?”
“What did Wen Jiu ever do to wrong you? Why are you treating her like this?”
Jian Yue was bombarded with Lu Ming’s harsh words, and only then did he sharply catch the key point in what Lu Ming was saying. The unease in his chest suddenly surged.
He jumped to his feet, his voice tense. “What do you mean? Explain yourself!”
Lu Ming snorted coldly. “Let me ask you, where are you right now?”
Jian Yue was about to respond when he suddenly remembered that he was still at the hospital with Lin Anlan, and the words on the tip of his tongue stopped abruptly.
It was clear that Lu Ming knew why he wasn’t answering, and his anger intensified.
“You’re still at the hospital with that Lin Anlan, aren’t you? Do you know that photos and videos of the two of you are all over the campus website now?”
Boom!
It felt as though something exploded violently in Jian Yue’s mind.
Only now did he remember that he had promised Wen Jiu he would go pick her up.
But after dropping Lin Anlan off at the hospital, he had become so preoccupied that he forgot.
What about A-Jiu? Had she been waiting for him at the cake shop all night? Was she caught in the rain? Or had someone else picked her up and taken her home?
Most importantly, what would Wen Jiu think after seeing the photos Lu Ming had mentioned?
In a panic, he hung up on Lu Ming and unlocked his phone. Immediately, a flood of missed calls popped up, most of them from Wen Jiu.
At that moment, it felt like his chest was being squeezed by something tight.
He quickly opened the chat with Wen Jiu, ready to call her and explain after seeing her message about meeting up, but his hand was grabbed by Lin Anlan, who was beside him.
“A-Yue…” Lin Anlan’s eyes were red, and she had overheard a bit of Lu Ming’s words. She knew that by now, everyone who needed to know about yesterday’s events had already found out.
But what was wrong with loving someone? Even if she had used some methods, what was wrong with that?!
She gripped Jian Yue’s hand tightly, pleading, “Don’t go. Don’t leave me alone in the hospital.”
“A-Nan, stop it.” Jian Yue shook his head, his eyes bloodshot and full of panic.
Though he spoke gently, his hands showed no mercy as he pried Lin Anlan’s fingers away.
“I’ll be back soon. You need to focus on taking care of yourself.”
With those words, Jian Yue turned and left.
However, Lin Anlan, disregarding everything, chased after him from the bed. She tripped over a chair and fell to the ground.
Jian Yue, who had just stepped out of the room, paused, and behind him, Lin Anlan’s cries broke through the silence.
“Woo… A-Yue, it hurts so much. Please, don’t go. Don’t leave me alone. My mother passed away in the hospital, and I’m so scared. Please don’t leave me alone…”
Her sobs were filled with helplessness and fear, as if only he could offer any semblance of support in her world.
But reason told Jian Yue at that moment that if he didn’t meet Wen Jiu at the time and place she had set, she would definitely get angry.
Thinking of the image of Wen Jiu leaving the scene behind his back, Jian Yue’s uneasy heart began to calm down.
No, that wouldn’t happen.
A-Jiu loved him so much—how could she possibly shut him out over something like this?
After all, she had once risked her life to rush into a fire for him…
Time passed slowly, and Wen Jiu stared at the empty spot in front of her.
Minutes turned into more minutes, but Jian Yue still hadn’t shown up.
At this point, more than an hour had already passed since their agreed meeting time.
Was she disappointed?
Probably.
But it wasn’t as disappointing as it might have been. After all, she had been waiting for the answer all along, so the outcome was not surprising in the least.
She had planned to break up face-to-face.
However, now even that calm, amicable parting seemed impossible to achieve.
Wen Jiu put on her sunglasses and lowered her head, posting the carefully edited content to her Moments.
A few minutes later, the campus network of Peking University erupted again.
The reason was simple—someone had taken a screenshot of Wen Jiu’s Moments, and the caption read:
[Single and happy.]
The attached photo was Wen Jiu’s bright, radiant smile.
The comments section quickly became lively.
[Ahhh, my goddess is single again! I’ll worship her face, sizzle sizzle~]
[Family, our goddess is finally ours again!]”
[Ahhh!!! Senior, stop being so strict about gender, I can be LA for love.]
[My wife is so beautiful, sorry for the show everyone.]
[Who can piss on this bastard to wake him up…]
[The person above, if you don’t have any urine, I can lend you some.]
[By the way, with Senior’s looks, how can someone like Lin Anlan still be a mistress?]
[The person above, although you might be trying to stir up trouble, the truth is Senior’s official persona is too bright and extravagant, ordinary people can’t appreciate it.]
[Stop licking up so much in the comments, isn’t Lin Anlan’s “national first love” face just as good as Wen Jiu’s? Women should look delicate and gentle, only you guys like the fox-like ones.]
[What do character and appearance have to do with each other? Even if Lin Anlan is the school goddess, does that mean she can be the third party? She’s a student of Peking University, and with such low morals, she’ll be a stain on the school once she enters society.]