Chapter 27

The class instantly fell silent, and even the sound of birds flapping their wings outside the window could be heard clearly.

“Um, sorry to interrupt, but this bouquet of roses was really accidentally thrown away by me. If you don’t believe me, there’s also a letter from my boyfriend inside the roses,” said Zirui.

Her appearance was something no one expected, not even Qiao Chuchu, who had been eagerly watching the drama unfold, noticed that the storyline had taken a turn.

The arrival of the real owner of the roses added even more tension to the confrontation, making it even more dramatic.

Qiao Chuchu nodded and responded, “We believe you. We did indeed see a letter inside the bouquet, but that letter…”

She paused for a moment, and Zirui quickly asked, “What happened to the letter?”

Zirui had entered a bit late and missed the scene where Zhang Wenhao tore up the letter. She had only heard Shen Yinyin mention her name.

“The letter was… torn up by him,” Qiao Chuchu pointed at Zhang Wenhao.

Zhang Wenhao’s face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot, as if he had been slapped a hundred times in the face. His entire expression darkened.

Meanwhile, Qiao Chuchu, seemingly unaware, asked, “Zhang Xuezhang, Zirui is here. Her letter is still in your pocket. Aren’t you going to return it to her?”

Shen Yinyin added fuel to the fire with a cold tone, “Didn’t you say you bought these flowers yourself? Then what’s the deal with the letter? They came all the way here to find it. Aren’t you going to tell the truth?”

Zhang Wenhao’s face became even darker. He never imagined that his reputation would be ruined by a bouquet of roses.

Still unwilling to give up, he tried to shift the blame to his friend. “I’m not sure. Actually, I asked a friend to bring the flowers. Who knows where he bought them?”

Qiao Chuchu was shocked: 【I have to admire Zhang Wenhao’s shamelessness. Even at this point, he’s still lying without blinking. How unlucky for his friend, having to take the fall for this embarrassing mess. That’s so pitiful.】

Zirui, hearing this, was equally confused: “???”

So the roses she threw away were really picked up by Zhang Wenhao? This was hard to believe!

Zhang Wenhao, being a prominent figure in the school, was well known for his good looks and talent. He sang well and was admired by many.

He had been voted the most eligible bachelor by sophomore girls and was generally polite and considerate, so Zirui never imagined he would do something like this.

Not only her, but even Shen Yinyin didn’t expect this. She couldn’t believe that the person she had liked so much—someone she thought highly of—would treat her so cheaply, even picking up discarded roses to give her.

Oh, but it wasn’t that—he picked up roses that someone else had carelessly thrown away. And now Zirui had come to take them back.

“Being your friend is really bad luck. I have to take the blame for this kind of thing too.”

Shen Yinyin was furious about his lies.

“I like you, not your money, and not the things you give me. I wouldn’t blame you if you couldn’t afford to buy roses, but you shouldn’t have picked up roses from the trash and tried to give them to me. Am I really that worthless to you?”

At this moment, she saw through Zhang Wenhao and realized her place in his heart: she was no more valuable than the discarded roses in a trash bin.

She took a deep breath, gathered all her strength, and said, “Go to hell, Zhang Wenhao. I’ve put up with you for too long. Let’s break up!”

Qiao Chuchu almost wanted to clap.

【Well done, sister! This is what real girls do—bravely let go of useless things so they can meet a better future!】

【Zhang Wenhao is such a jerk. The whole school now knows what a terrible person he is. He deserves to be embarrassed for not respecting women!】

Zhang Wenhao glared fiercely at Qiao Chuchu. It was all her fault for spreading nonsense.

Qiao Chuchu was confused: 【What’s his problem? Why is he glaring at me? Is he embarrassed or something? Is he going to hit me?】

Shen Yinyin stepped in front of Qiao Chuchu, “What? You still want to make a move?”

“Shen Yinyin, do you even know what you’re saying?” Zhang Wenhao clenched his fists and said in a low voice, “You were the one who chased me at first. I’ll give you one more chance—you can take back what you just said.”

Shen Yinyin almost laughed at his words. How had she not realized that Zhang Wenhao could be so oily and self-confident at times?

“Ha, didn’t you understand what I said just now? Let me say it again.”

“I want to break up with you—Zhang Wenhao! I’m the one dumping you!”

“Got it?”

“I’m taking back all my feelings for you. From now on, we’re strangers.”

“Also, remember the 30,000 yuan you borrowed from me a month ago. If you don’t pay me back, wait for the court summons!”

Shen Yinyin grabbed Qiao Chuchu’s hand and left in a dramatic exit, passing by Zirui.

Zirui was still worrying whether her appearance had caused their breakup and was hesitating whether to apologize when Shen Yinyin spoke to her.

“Your letter was torn up by Zhang Wenhao and is in his pocket. Go ask him for it.”

—

A new post appeared on the school forum, and in a short time, it quickly accumulated thousands of replies.

【Shocking Event! Second-year Music Department heartthrob Zhang Wenhao gave his girlfriend roses he picked up from the trash, only for his girlfriend to slap him in the face and break up with him on the spot! Even more surprising, the owner of the roses showed up to demand the torn letter and the roses he had picked! Zhang Wenhao’s face was darker than the bottom of a pot!】

To make sure they wouldn’t be doubted, high-energy screenshots from the live broadcast were attached at the end.

1L: 【Shocked face! I can’t believe Zhang Wenhao did something like this! How awful!】

2L: 【WTF! Zhang Wenhao is disgusting! Even if he’s cheap and didn’t want to spend money, he shouldn’t have picked up discarded roses from the trash to give his girlfriend.】

3L: 【Tsk tsk tsk, after watching the video, I can only say that Shen Yinyin was right to slap him. He disrespects women, and he deserved it.】

8L: 【I didn’t know boys could be this disgusting. Damn, now I don’t even want to find a boyfriend.】

22L: 【Not every guy is like this. I’m not, I’m very willing to spend money on my girlfriend. Anyone interested in being my girlfriend? My WeChat is… girls who are interested, add me and let’s chat!】

—

222L: 【Just to add, the video is real. I accidentally filmed Zhang Wenhao picking up the flowers while I was shooting a video on campus. If anyone’s interested, check out the separate post I created.】

223L: 【Just came back after watching the video. All I can say is, damn, Zhang Wenhao is really embarrassing all of us men!】

586L: 【Damn, I can’t believe I’m seeing Zhang Wenhao, my classmate, on here. We’re in the same class, and I’ve hung out with him a few times. I’ve seen him be pretty generous with girls. He buys flowers, necklaces, and cakes without hesitation. He’s not as cheap as you guys are saying. Did the OP get this wrong?】

587L: 【No way, bro, are you sure the girl in the video is the one you’re talking about?】

701L: 【Oh, I didn’t see the video below at first, but I just checked it out. I wasn’t talking about the girl in the video, I meant Zhang Wenhao’s actual girlfriend.】

—

852L: 【The girl in the video is Zhang Wenhao’s girlfriend. Her name is Shen Yinyin, and she’s my classmate. I’ve seen them on dates before. Back then, I was really jealous that Shen Yinyin managed to win Zhang Wenhao over.】

1290L: 【I didn’t say this before, but I used to hang out with some of Zhang Wenhao’s friends. I didn’t know what kind of people they were at first (please don’t yell at me). Later, I realized how disgusting they are. They put on a front as if they’re these refined, perfect gentlemen, winning over a lot of girls. In reality, they don’t respect women at all, and they like to manipulate them. They make dirty jokes about the girls they’ve “conquered,” which is just unacceptable. I couldn’t stand it, so I quit hanging out with them. After I left, they even mocked me… emm.】

—

This post quickly went viral on the campus forum and sparked an overwhelming response from students. Everyone got to witness Zhang Wenhao’s disgusting behavior.

Many people who had previously disliked Zhang Wenhao but never spoke up finally exploded in the comments, criticizing his actions.

In no time, Zhang Wenhao became the target of conversation across the campus and the object of ridicule.

—

“Brother Hao, what’s going on? In just a few minutes, you’ve become the subject of campus gossip!”

“Brother Hao, tell us the truth—did you really pick those roses from the trash?”

“Brother Hao, are you crazy? Even if you didn’t like Shen Yinyin anymore, you shouldn’t have picked up roses from the trash to give her. Just break up with her already.”

“Brother Hao, you said it was your friend who picked up the flowers. We’re not taking the blame for you…”

“…”

Zhang Wenhao and a few of his friends created a separate group chat, where they usually exchanged inappropriate jokes filled with crude language.

“Damn! How annoying!”

The group chat was constantly buzzing with messages, and Zhang Wenhao felt like his head was going to explode from the noise.

He had seen the forum posts too, and most of the comments were insults directed at him. Some even exposed his habit of dating multiple girls at once, calling him a scumbag.

He was speechless. So what if he was dating multiple girls? It wasn’t a big deal. Besides, those girls came to him first. When he tried to turn them down, they cried and got upset.

He was just trying to make them happy, so how could anyone call him a scumbag for that?

“All these damn idiots. They can’t stand me being successful, so they’re trying to drag me down. Well, I’m not going to give them the satisfaction.”

He opened WeChat and found a senior who was the student council president. She had control over the school forum and could delete the posts he didn’t like.

“Hey, are you busy?”

“I’ve been slandered, and I’m really upset. Can you help me out and delete that post on the homepage?”

He waited for a while, then got a reply with a few words that insulted him, “Haha, you’re a scumbag. Go away!”

He tried sending another message, but this time, a large red exclamation mark appeared. He had been blocked!

“Damn it!”

He slammed his hand on the table, causing pain and making him furrow his brows.

He suddenly remembered that the person who caused all this was Qiao Chuchu. It was all her fault. If she hadn’t spoken recklessly, none of this would have happened, and no one would have found out that he picked roses from a trash can, turning him into the laughingstock of the entire school.

“Qiao Chuchu, Shen Yinyin, you’d better wait for me!”

He started plotting how to teach them a lesson, anything to make him feel a little better.

As he stood up, he suddenly felt as though an invisible hand was choking him, making it hard for him to breathe. He struggled desperately, but his breath became even more rapid, only able to exhale but not inhale.

“Damn! Brother Hao, what happened?”

“Why is your face so pale? Speak up, what’s going on?”

His few friends rushed to the training base just in time to save Zhang Wenhao, who was nearly choked to death.

“Cough, cough, cough—”

Zhang Wenhao collapsed weakly onto the ground, as if he had walked through hell.

“Brother Hao, what’s really going on?”

Zhang Wenhao didn’t know either. It was strange—he wasn’t sick, so why did this happen suddenly? Was it because he was too angry?

—

It wasn’t a lie that Shen Yinyin was heartbroken after dumping Zhang Wenhao. After all, he was someone she had genuinely liked, and to be treated so dismissively by him—how could she not be hurt?

The two were eating barbecue on the side of the road, with Qiao Chuchu treating.

Shen Yinyin ate and cried while cursing, “Ugh, how could I have been so blind? I actually fell for such a scumbag. I thought I won his heart with sincerity, but it turns out he only cared about my money and his admiration from me. To him, Shen Yinyin is nothing more than the flower in the trash can.”

She bit into a skewer of meat, eating heartily without caring about her current image. No one would be paying attention to her anyway.

She sniffed and said, “I hate Zhang Wenhao! I’ll never like him again! I’ll never fall in love again! Ahhhhhh!”

Her screams attracted the attention of people nearby, but Shen Yinyin didn’t care, she just wanted to vent.

Qiao Chuchu clasped her hands together and said to the people around them, “Heartbroken, please don’t blame us.”

The table next to them, full of older uncles and aunts, laughed after hearing the situation. One of them said, “Ah, it’s just a broken heart, right? Can’t find a ^[1]“three-dollar pair of pants” is a metaphor. It suggests that while someone might be upset about a small, temporary setback (like a broken heart), there are plenty of other opportunities … Continue readingthree-dollar pair of pants, but there are plenty of men with two legs. Little girl, why are you crying? Tell me what kind of guy you like, I’ll help you find one. I have plenty of young men’s contact information, you can have as many as you want.”

It was clear that the aunt was playing the role of a matchmaker.

Shen Yinyin shook her head firmly and said, “Thank you, Auntie, but I don’t want a man right now. I just want to focus on my studies, make money, and no man is going to stop me!”

The aunt, hearing that, realized there was no hope, so she turned to Qiao Chuchu with a smile and said, “Little girl, what about you? What kind of guy do you like? Tell me, I can find one for you too.”

“Huh?” Qiao Chuchu was caught off guard, why was she suddenly talking about boyfriends? “Thank you, Auntie, but I don’t want a man either. I just want to focus on my studies and keep improving.”

The aunt looked disappointed but still said, “Well, okay then. When you two are ready, let me know. Come on, let’s add each other on WeChat.”

Both of them helplessly replied, “…”

They reluctantly added her on WeChat, and the aunt stopped bothering them.

After this incident, Shen Yinyin’s mood improved a lot. She stopped crying and yelling, focusing entirely on eating skewers.

Qiao Chuchu left for a while in the middle.

Shen Yinyin handed her a skewer of meat, “Eat up, or it’ll get cold soon.”

Qiao Chuchu replied, “Mm.”

At this moment, a little girl holding a basket of roses ran over and handed Shen Yinyin a flower, “Sister, you’re so beautiful, this flower is for you.”

Shen Yinyin was pleasantly surprised, “Thank you, little cutie.”

Just as she was about to speak to Qiao Chuchu while holding the flower, another little boy selling flowers came over, “Sister, you smile so beautifully, like a fairy, this flower is for you.”

Next, another little girl selling flowers came over, complimenting Shen Yinyin and giving her a flower.

In just a short ten minutes, Shen Yinyin had received a hundred roses. At this point, she no longer felt sad, she was filled with joy.

She knew that the only person who could make this happen, apart from her best friend Qiao Chuchu, was no one else.

Her eyes were filled with gratitude as she looked at Qiao Chuchu, and everything was understood without words.

“Chuchu, I want to be your best friend forever!”

“Mm, me too.”

—

Night.

Qiao Chuchu dropped Shen Yinyin off at the house she rented off-campus, and as they passed a narrow alley, someone stopped them.

Shen Yinyin recognized the person and, feeling the happiness she had worked so hard to regain, was instantly ruined. “Zhang Wenhao, what are you doing here? We’ve broken up. Don’t come here with your entanglements.”

“Yinyin, can’t you be a little more obedient? If you’re more obedient, I’ll like you again,” Zhang Wenhao said as he walked closer to her. “Didn’t you like me the most? Why break up with me?”

He noticed the roses Shen Yinyin was holding, “Who gave you these roses? Are you seeing another guy behind my back? Did you and the forum posters plan this?”

“I used to like you, but now you just disgust me!” Shen Yinyin trembled with anger at his words. “I could never do something as heartless as you, playing with multiple girls’ emotions at the same time.”

“Hey, hey, hey, let’s talk calmly. Yinyin, our brother Zhang Wenhao, was just a little confused. Besides, picking flowers out of the trash isn’t that big of a deal, can’t you forgive him?”

“Yeah, Yinyin, Zhang Wenhao is just so popular with girls, it’s not really his fault. You don’t need to break up so seriously, do you?”

“Zhang Wenhao came here sincerely to make amends. As long as you forgive him, you two are still the perfect match.”

—

These people were members of Zhang Wenhao’s music team. They trained and played together, and while they appeared respectful of Shen Yinyin on the surface, they actually looked down on her privately.

Shen Yinyin’s heart was as solid as a rock. “You don’t need to say more. I’m not the type to go back on my word. Besides, with how popular your brother Zhang Wenhao is, there’s no way he’s lacking girlfriends.”

“But…”

Qiao Chuchu, still worried that Shen Yinyin might be persuaded, was completely relieved after hearing her response.

These people who can hang out with Zhang Wenhao must have some big secrets. Since she had nothing better to do, she might as well enjoy it.

【Wow, I knew they must have big secrets, and they really do. This guy with the yellow hair is impressive, he plays both sides, secretly hooks up with all his buddies’ girlfriends.】

【Tsk tsk tsk, this skinny guy is pretty impressive too. On the surface, he acts like a rich playboy, a second-generation rich kid, but in reality, he’s a poor guy. Every now and then, he steals the band’s musical equipment to sell for money and then comes back to treat everyone. The money he spends on music equipment is stolen—he’s not just stolen from his roommates but also from students in the class, and even from the office!】

【This little fat guy isn’t someone to mess with either. He pretends to be a nice guy, but he’s the one who spreads rumors behind people’s backs. He’s the one who exposed Zhang Wenhao for dating several girlfriends at once. The girl he liked liked Zhang Wenhao but wasn’t treated well, and he hated it, but he couldn’t do anything to save the girl. The only thing he could do was drag Zhang Wenhao down during this crisis.】

—

The people who had been trying to persuade Shen Yinyin suddenly heard this voice exposing their secrets, and their expressions instantly changed.

Damn! Who is that? How does she know all their hidden secrets? Everyone started looking at each other with unfamiliar and hostile eyes.

Especially Zhang Wenhao, who recognized the voice immediately. What she said was definitely true because she had exposed his secret before.

“Fat Wang, are you fucking looking for death? You really want to ruin me! How dare you?!”

“Why the hell are you hitting me?” Fat Wang’s face was punched, instantly swelling, and he turned around to fight back. “I’ve hated you for a long time. What’s wrong with exposing the things you’ve done? You’re the one who did it, so why are you afraid of others talking about it?”

Zhang Wenhao’s anger exploded at that moment. “Damn it, you’re looking for death!”

The brothers who usually got along well instantly turned against each other, each wishing the other would die.

The others, who had been trying to break up the fight, ended up getting hit and joined in the brawl.

“Didi, Didi—”

Just as the fight was getting out of hand, the police arrived.

“Everyone stop! Get down on the ground!”

—

“What happened? Explain carefully.”

The group was all taken to the police station.

It was Qiao Chuchu who called the police. She explained everything that had happened, adding a bit of severity to the situation.

Since they hadn’t physically fought and were just victims who had been intercepted, the police took their statements, comforted them, and gave them safety advice before letting them go.

As for Zhang Wenhao and his friends, they had committed two offenses: blocking someone’s way and threatening them, and public fighting. They were detained by the police for education and punishment.

By the time Qiao Chuchu and Shen Yinyin came out of the police station, it was already very late. Qiao Chuchu had told her family she would be back around ten o’clock, but now it was well past that time.

Her phone was full of missed calls from her family. She didn’t tell them what had happened, just that she was about to head back, and if they wanted to come pick her up, she would go with them.

Shen Yinyin had already stopped feeling sad. “Chuchu, thank you so much today. It’s late now, you should go back first.”

She quickly added, “Don’t worry about me, I can handle it.”

“Well, okay then, be careful on the way,” Qiao Chuchu said, giving her a hug before they parted ways.

Qiao Chuchu waited at the bus stop for a while when a black sedan pulled up in front of her. She looked at the license plate and saw it wasn’t one she recognized, so she quickly looked away.

To her surprise, the person in the car honked the horn, then rolled down the window and said to her, “Young lady, please get in the car.”

Qiao Chuchu: “???”

Who is this person? Did they mistake me for someone else?

Seeing that she hadn’t moved, the back door opened, and first appeared a shiny leather shoe, followed by a tall, handsome man in a black suit.

His features bore some resemblance to Qiao Cen. Just as Qiao Chuchu was wondering who this person was, he had already walked up to her and softly said,

“Little sister, I’m your older brother, Qiao Bo. I’m here to take you home.”

Qiao Chuchu was surprised. “Older brother?”

【So this is the older brother I haven’t met yet? He’s much more handsome in person than in the photos.】

A smile appeared on Qiao Bo’s handsome face. His younger sister was much cuter than Qiao Cen, and she complimented him as soon as they met.

“Little sister, you’re very beautiful.”

Qiao Chuchu politely responded, “Thank you.”

【Qiao Bo really knows how to talk. I love hearing people compliment me on my looks.】

Qiao Bo: “?”

It seemed like his little sister hadn’t spoken just now. He hadn’t noticed at first, but now he realized.

What’s going on? How could he hear his little sister’s inner thoughts?

At that moment, a soft and gentle voice came from the car. “Ah Bo, we should get in the car.”

Seeing Qiao Chuchu looking over with curiosity, Qiao Bo gently introduced, “Little sister, this is my girlfriend, He Xinyue. I brought her back this time to introduce her to the family.”

He Xinyue also got out of the car, carefully protecting her stomach with her right hand. Seeing this, Qiao Bo quickly walked over and supported her. “Be careful.”

Qiao Chuchu noticed their protective gesture and asked, “What’s this?”

【Could she be pregnant?】

He Xinyue didn’t notice that Qiao Chuchu hadn’t spoken the second part of her thought. Smiling, she said, “I’m two months pregnant. I’ve been having terrible morning sickness lately. The little baby is quite a handful.”

Her tone was filled with pride, but for some reason, Qiao Chuchu didn’t have a good first impression of her.

Qiao Bo looked at her with some concern. “You’ve had it hard. When the baby’s born, I’ll take good care of you.”

Qiao Chuchu: “…”

After all, he was her own brother. While they were in their own world, Qiao Chuchu took the opportunity to look up their story.

She didn’t expect what she found.

【No way, Qiao Bo’s taste is too bad. The first girlfriend he’s so happy with—turns out the baby she’s carrying isn’t even his. What a tragic misunderstanding!】