Chapter 8: Do You Really Like Him?

Shen Linyang, her boyfriend from abroad, also a student studying overseas, looked very much like Lin Yue. Their names even shared the same character, “Lin.” He fell head over heels for her at first sight, pursuing her relentlessly since the beginning of their freshman year.

He was a sincere person.

Once, she got drunk and agreed to be his girlfriend.

Thinking about it now, her actions felt like a betrayal.

Her silence was interpreted as unwillingness to break up by Lu Beiyuan. He spoke heavily, “Call him.”

It was past two in the morning. It should be morning on his side. Shi Ran didn’t hesitate and called him.

The call was quickly answered. A gentle, refined voice came through the phone, his excitement barely concealed.

“Ranran, you finally called! Ranran, I miss you so much! What have you been busy with these past few days? You didn’t call me once, and I called you so many times, but you didn’t answer. Ranran, how could you treat your boyfriend like this?”

He talked incessantly. Lu Beiyuan’s patience had clearly run out. His eyes sharp, Shi Ran went straight to the point:

“Linyang, I’m sorry, let’s break up.”

She hung up immediately.

After the call ended, he kept calling back. Shi Ran wanted to turn off her phone, but Lu Beiyuan stopped her.

“Answer. Make it clear.”

How could she explain?

That I betrayed you and slept with him?

Shi Ran refused, trying to toss the phone aside, but he snatched it away.

The ringing stopped, and his voice was filled with anxiety and humble pleading.

“Ranran, what’s wrong? What happened? Did something happen to your family? I’ll rush back as soon as I finish my exam tomorrow. I’ll be there for you, okay?”

“Sister, okay?”

Shi Ran had a soft personality. Every time they argued, as long as he called her “sister” and played the victim a little, she couldn’t bear to be angry with him anymore.

“She’s my woman now. Please respect that.”

Lu Beiyuan practically gritted his teeth as he said this.

His tone brooked no refusal.

There was a brief silence for more than ten seconds. Soon, Shen Linyang recovered from his shock, his voice growing increasingly anxious:

“Who are you? Ranran is my girlfriend, she’s mine!”

Lu Beiyuan pressed his tongue against his back teeth and said, “I hope this is the last time I hear that. And listen carefully, my name is Lu Beiyuan. Come find me when you’re back in the country. Don’t let me see you looking for her, otherwise, the consequences won’t be something you can bear.”

Beep beep beep…

The call was disconnected, but he persistently kept calling. Lu Beiyuan blocked and deleted his number, then did the same on WeChat, his movements smooth and efficient.

His anger hadn’t completely subsided, especially when that man called Ranran “sister.” It infuriated him.

He didn’t know she liked this kind of “puppy.”

Thinking that he was so much older than her made him even more depressed.

Seeing her dejected and ashen-faced, Lu Beiyuan clenched his fist, the lines of his wrist sharp and elegant.

His eyes were deep, his expression unreadable.

“Do you really like him?”

Shi Ran was too tired. Even after sleeping for a few hours, she was still exhausted, her mind completely blank.

The man’s low voice pulled her out of her daze. She was a little bewildered.

Did she like him?

Not really. It was just that he really looked a lot like Lin Yue, even having the same faint dimples when he smiled. He was clingy, following her even to class.

He liked to act cute, often calling her “sister”…

“Bang!”

“Ah!”

The loud noise made Shi Ran exclaim. Lu Beiyuan’s hand slammed onto the bedside table, blood seeping from the knuckles. Moments later, it dripped onto the bedsheet, crimson staining the golden fabric.

Suddenly, his hands grabbed her shoulders. He leaned closer, his eyes bloodshot.

“You can’t see him either, or else… understand?”

Or else you know the consequences.

He ultimately didn’t say it.

Shi Ran completely believed she had encountered a madman.

She propped herself up on the bed, moving back to create some distance, her body trembling.

Lu Beiyuan was stung by her avoidance, her treating him like a snake. He used his other hand to wipe the blood from his injured hand, the thick blood covering his entire back of his hand, making it look even more terrifying.

“Afraid of me?”

The girl didn’t answer, but her fear was evident in her eyes.

“Heh.”

Lu Beiyuan got out of bed, picked up his black shirt from the floor, and casually put it on before leaving the room.

It was already three o’clock. Mei Yi and the others should have finished work. His hand was bleeding a lot. If he didn’t disinfect it or treat it, would it get infected?

He should know how to disinfect and treat it himself, right?

Shi Ran didn’t want to deal with anything. She pulled the blanket over herself and tried to go to sleep.

But the two noticeable crimson stains on the bedsheet were too conspicuous for her to ignore.

She got up, opened the door, and found the hallway pitch black. She turned on the lights and walked downstairs.

The living room was also dark. Had he left?

As she went downstairs, she saw him on the sofa, wearing a black shirt with his collar open. His eyes were closed under his messy hair, his hands hanging by his sides, one still dripping blood, a red stain spreading on the pure white tiled floor.

He hit it hard.

Shi Ran walked over and knelt down.

After going downstairs, Lu Beiyuan kept staring at the door of the upstairs room. He wondered how hard the person inside was.

How could he make her like him?

The moment the door opened, he saw her, guessing she was thirsty and came down for water.

He felt a soft touch on his hand. He opened his eyes and saw her squatting, her small hand gently wiping his hand with a tissue.

“Is there a first-aid kit?”

The girl looked up. She was squatting, and he was sitting on the sofa, looking down at her. Her eyes were swollen, her lips naturally full and red, and she wasn’t wearing a bra…

He raised his hand and pointed to the cabinet under the TV.

Shi Ran got the first-aid kit, disinfected his wound with alcohol, and put on band-aids. He had cuts on five knuckles, so she used two band-aids.

After she finished, she got up to leave, but he grabbed her wrist from behind.

The next second, she was sitting steadily on Lu Beiyuan’s lap. Thinking he was going to do “it” again, Shi Ran was numb, expressionless, and prepared to let him do as he pleased.

But he just hugged her, burying his head in the back of her neck, his arms around her waist.

They just sat like that until she felt his steady, even breathing on her back.

After ten minutes, Shi Ran’s body felt numb. She shifted slightly, and the man’s long breath stopped abruptly. She froze, not daring to move.

He stood up, carried her upstairs, put her on the sofa, got a clean set of bedding from the closet, gently placed her on the bed, then lay down on the other side.

“Tomorrow, I want to visit Grandma.”

In the quiet room, the girl’s soft voice rang out.

Lu Beiyuan didn’t speak.

Shi Ran felt a little helpless. School was starting in a few days, and she wanted to see her grandmother, to talk to her; she had so much to tell her.

But if this man didn’t agree, she might not be able to leave this house.

Just as she reached out to touch his wrist to appease him, he said “Okay,” causing her hand to pause mid-air before she sheepishly retracted it.

He had his back to her; he probably didn’t see it.

Lu Beiyuan saw her outstretched hand, saw her trying to please him, and felt a pang of frustration.

But at least, the person by her side is me.

That’s what Lu Beiyuan thought.