Chapter 33

“Hu Liping, what’s wrong?”

Zhou Meimei asked as she noticed Hu Liping staring motionlessly at Xu Qiuyun.

Hu Dehai was also surprised to see Hu Liping. When Xu Qiuyun told him she wanted to introduce him to her classmate, he agreed—never expecting that her classmate would be his own daughter.

Seeing Hu Liping’s shocked expression, Xu Qiuyun was delighted. This was exactly the reaction she wanted.

“Come, let me introduce you all. This is my boyfriend, Hu Dehai.”

Hu Dehai ignored Xu Qiuyun’s introduction and instead showed concern for Hu Liping.

“Are you adjusting well to school? Make sure to come home often during breaks.”

“I’m doing just fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”

Hu Liping had never gotten along with Hu Dehai. They argued every time they met. Now, with Xu Qiuyun involved, she had even less reason to be civil to him.

Seeing the tense atmosphere between them, it was clear that this meal wasn’t going to happen. Xu Qiuyun had done this on purpose. She had met Hu Dehai once at school.

Seeing that he dressed like a wealthy man, she had deliberately staged an “accidental” meeting. The two grew closer, and Hu Dehai, being a lustful man, quickly took interest in her. Although Xu Qiuyun was from the countryside, she was good-looking, and they naturally ended up together.

Only later did she find out that Hu Dehai was Hu Liping’s father. That made her even more pleased—now Hu Liping would never dare look down on her again.

But Xu Qiuyun was wrong. Hu Liping didn’t care at all. She had seen her father go through countless women since she was a child. Instead, she looked down on Xu Qiuyun even more. To her, Xu Qiuyun lacked self-respect, throwing herself at a scumbag like Hu Dehai. She would be abandoned soon enough.

After that, people distanced themselves even more from Xu Qiuyun. Though she felt hurt, she had no regrets. Now, she wore the finest clothes and used the best things.

Without Hu Dehai, she would go back to being the poor girl that everyone despised. After experiencing a few days of luxury, she couldn’t bear the thought of returning to her old life.

—-

That day, Gu Nian had just finished class when Li Pandi rushed over, looking anxious. She pulled Gu Nian aside.

“What’s wrong?”

“Gu Nian, I’m doomed! Chuan Zhisheng is mad at me.”

“Why?”

Li Pandi explained the whole story. It turned out that yesterday, Liu Chuanzhi had brought the kids to visit her, but he saw her with another man and misunderstood the situation. He immediately left without asking for an explanation.

That man was just a classmate, and they had only been discussing coursework. Gu Nian thought Liu Chuanzhi was being too stubborn.

“He didn’t even ask for an explanation before assuming the worst?” She comforted Li Pandi.

“Don’t worry. Let’s check the nearby guesthouses. He came all this way with the kids—he wouldn’t just leave like that.”

“Okay.”

Sure enough, they found Liu Chuanzhi and the kids in a nearby guesthouse. The children were happy to see Li Pandi.

“Liu Chuanzhi, you misunderstood Pandi. She and that man are just classmates—it’s nothing like what you’re thinking.”

Hearing this, Liu Chuanzhi felt embarrassed and quickly apologized.

“Pandi, I’m sorry. It was my fault for not asking first.”

At first, he had wanted to take the kids and leave, thinking that Li Pandi didn’t want him anymore. But when it came time to leave, he found that he couldn’t bear to go.

Seeing that Liu Chuanzhi realized his mistake, Li Pandi forgave him but still scolded him.

“This time, I’ll forgive you. But there won’t be a next time.”

“Alright, alright, I promise there won’t be a next time!”

Seeing them reconcile, Gu Nian felt relieved and went back home to take care of her child.

—-

The next day, while Gu Nian, Zhou Meimei, and Liu Peiran were eating in the cafeteria, they overheard people at the next table gossiping about Li Pandi.

“Did you hear? Li Pandi is really shameless—she already has a man, yet she still flirts with Xu Yi!”

“She’s married! Her husband and kids came looking for her yesterday. Poor Xu Yi—he’s about to be dumped.”

“She must love playing around, juggling two men at once.”

Gu Nian couldn’t stand it. They could say whatever they wanted about her, but they had no right to insult her friend. She picked up her empty tray, walked over, and said:

“If you don’t know the truth, then don’t spread lies. Li Pandi and Xu Yi are just classmates. She loves her family.”

“And who are you?”

“Who I am doesn’t matter. What matters is that if I hear you talking like this again, I’ll make sure you regret it.”

With that, Gu Nian left. Li Pandi had come to the capital alone to study. She had only one friend here—if Gu Nian didn’t protect her, no one else would.

—-

Meanwhile, Li Pandi was still trying to explain things to Xu Yi, but he refused to let it go.

“Xu Yi, I’ve made myself clear. I’m married. If I had known you liked me, I wouldn’t have interacted with you in the first place.”

Li Pandi had only wanted to study seriously, but things had gone wrong.

“I know, Pandi. You don’t have to reject me so quickly. I don’t mind. Even if you’re married, our relationship doesn’t have to change. Isn’t this good?”

Li Pandi felt that Xu Yi must be out of his mind. She quickly ran away—who knew what he would do next?

After that, she kept a strict routine: class and dormitory, nothing in between. Xu Yi couldn’t find a chance to bother her anymore.

A few days later, everyone noticed that Ren Caixia and Xu Yi were together. Ren Caixia had always liked Xu Yi since the first day of school. But he had been indifferent to her—until two days ago, when he suddenly asked her out. Naturally, she agreed.

Seeing how happy she was, Zhou Meimei felt something was off. Xu Yi had been pestering Li Pandi just days ago, and now he was suddenly with Ren Caixia? She kindly warned her.

“Caixia, be careful with Xu Yi. What if he’s not being sincere?”

“What do you mean, Zhou Meimei? Are you jealous?”

“Jealous? I was just giving friendly advice.”

“Friendly advice? You just don’t want to see me happy! Xu Yi treats me very well!”

“Fine. If you get played, don’t come crying to me.”

Since Ren Caixia refused to listen, Zhou Meimei said nothing more.

—-

Time passed quickly, and soon half a month had gone by. During this time, Gu Nian applied for early graduation with her professor. Given her current academic progress, graduating early wasn’t difficult.

One afternoon, after everyone had finished lunch and returned to their dorms to rest, Xu Qiuyun came back and immediately buried herself under her blanket, crying.

No one bothered to ask what had happened.

Hu Lili sneered—looks like Xu Qiuyun had finally been abandoned by Hu Dehai. But the truth was even more dramatic than she had imagined.