Chapter 21

Seeing that the plan to break up was not progressing smoothly, Bai Zining was anxious every day. Although it didn’t show on the surface, the anxiety in his heart was about to overwhelm him.

Zhu Shizhou really had no judgment at all! It was obvious at a glance that Cai Ning was no good, yet he still stubbornly wanted to maintain this relationship. Fortunately, he encountered someone like himself. If it were truly a malicious swindler, Zhu Shizhou would have been deceived to the point of utter ruin.

Should he give him a subtle reminder?

Bai Zining searched online for numerous articles and cases about being scammed in online relationships and shared them in his Moments three times a day—morning, noon, and night—visible only to Zhu Shizhou.

【Be cautious with online dating, beware of falling into a ‘sweet trap.’】

【’Dating’ turns into ‘paying money’—be wary of such online romances!】

【[Risk Alert] Beware! Online dating scams turning into ‘pig-butchering schemes.’】

【[Case Study] Love is fake, fraud is real! Stay vigilant against scams, don’t be fooled!】

But Zhu Shizhou showed no reaction whatsoever. He never liked or commented, which wasn’t surprising since they hadn’t even been casual acquaintances who liked each other’s Moments before.

This frustrated Bai Zining immensely because he had no way of knowing whether Zhu Shizhou had even seen the posts.

After three consecutive days with no results, Bai Zining steeled himself and decided to go all out.

He took those articles from public accounts or video platforms and forwarded them directly to Zhu Shizhou one by one using his main account.

A few minutes later, when the messages could no longer be withdrawn, Bai Zining feigned surprise and sent a follow-up: 【Ah, how did I accidentally send these to you? Sorry about that, I must have forwarded them to the wrong person by mistake.】

Over half an hour passed, and there was still no response. Bai Zining, in a self-deceiving attempt to cover it up, added: 【Our class is currently running an anti-fraud awareness campaign. These are materials I found for the publicity officer. I accidentally sent them to you, what an unfortunate mix-up.】

Another twenty minutes went by, and just as Bai Zining was tormented by the wait, Zhu Shizhou finally replied, albeit late: 【It’s okay. I read them. They’re very useful.】

When Bai Zining saw this message, his eyes widened with delight. Zhu Shizhou said he had read through all the material, which meant he must now realize that Cai Ning, who had been chatting with him recently, had ulterior motives. Maybe by tonight, Zhu Shizhou would figure it out and decide to break up.

Great! Bai Zining let out a long sigh of relief. At this point, he no longer had the initial desire to take revenge on Zhu Shizhou. All he wanted was to end this relationship as soon as possible.

These past few months had been filled with moments of joy, danger, happiness, and, most of all, sweetness. As Bai Zining recalled them, an inexplicable feeling of reluctance arose in his heart.

In truth, Zhu Shizhou was an excellent romantic partner. He’s considerate, gentle, romantic, and highly respectful of his thoughts. It was almost impossible to find any faults in him.

Bai Zining patted his head. What was he thinking? Even if Zhu Shizhou was great, there was no way the two of them could be in a relationship, especially since they were both men.

From the beginning, their relationship had been built on deception. His motives and intentions were impure, so naturally, nothing good could come of it. Ending things here was already the most dignified outcome.

Sure enough, the entire afternoon passed without Zhu Shizhou taking the initiative to message his alternate account.

Bai Zining waited anxiously, excitedly, and with a small hint of reluctant sadness for Zhu Shizhou to bring up breaking up, though he tried hard to ignore it.

By evening, he finally received a message from Zhu Shizhou.

Ferry: 【Baby, this afternoon my professor pulled me into a group discussion. It just ended. Did you miss me?】

When Bai Zining saw this message, he felt his vision go dark. So Zhu Shizhou’s reply at noon had just been perfunctory! How could this guy be so impervious to hints?

Since this method wasn’t working, Bai Zining decided to change his approach and target someone close to Zhu Shizhou.

Xie Cheng.

The next evening, while Zhu Shizhou was in his dorm typing on his computer, Bai Zining quietly slipped away to Xie Cheng’s dorm room.

He knocked on the door, and the one who opened it was a boy with blue-dyed hair. The boy politely asked, “Who are you looking for?”

It was Bai Zining’s first time there, and he felt a bit nervous. In a soft voice, he asked, “Is Xie Cheng here?”

“Yes, he is. Come on in,” the boy said as he stepped aside, gesturing for Bai Zining to enter the dorm. Bai Zining quickly shook his head. “No, no, that’s fine.”

Just then, Xie Cheng glanced toward the door and noticed him.

“Xie Cheng, can you come out for a moment? I have something to talk to you about,” Bai Zining said.

“Oh, it’s Xiao Bai,” Xie Cheng said with a grin as he walked to the door. “What’s up? Miss me?”

Bai Zining cautiously glanced to both sides, then grabbed Xie Cheng’s arm without saying a word and led him to the staircase on the west side. At this hour, most people were back in their dorms, so the corner was deserted.

“What’s going on, Xiao Bai? Don’t tell me you’re planning to kidnap me,” Xie Cheng teased, laughing at Bai Zining’s mysterious behavior.

“I need to ask you something.” Under Xie Cheng’s amused gaze, Bai Zining nervously spoke up, “Do you know… if Zhu Shizhou is dating someone?”

“Of course I know. Did he tell you too?”

“Then has he ever really understood what kind of person the other party is?”

“Zhu Shizhou talked to me about it,” Xie Cheng recalled. “He said they’re really cute, clingy, but a bit silly. You wouldn’t have guessed, right? I mean, who would’ve thought Zhu Shizhou likes this type.”

Bai Zining was bewildered. Was this description really referring to the same person? The persona he had crafted for himself was supposed to be clear-headed, carefree, and independent.

Could it be that Zhu Shizhou had another romantic partner?

“Why are you so concerned about him? Weren’t you always rolling your eyes at him before?” Xie Cheng asked with a gossipy expression.

“I’m not concerned. I was just casually asking,” Bai Zining blinked, then pleaded with Xie Cheng, “Please don’t tell him I came to ask you about this, okay?”

“Xiao Bai,” Xie Cheng said, putting away his playful smile, “acting like this makes it really easy for people to misunderstand. Someone who doesn’t know might even think you have a crush on him.” Noticing the sudden change in Bai Zining’s expression, Xie Cheng quickly added, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell him. I’ll keep it a secret for you.”

At this moment, Bai Zining remembered his purpose: to have Xie Cheng persuade Zhu Shizhou to stop dating. He quickly straightened his expression and said, “Also, his partner is someone he met online, right? But online relationships are really prone to scams. I feel like he might be getting tricked. Can you remind him about that?”

“Really?” Xie Cheng rubbed his chin, looking puzzled. “With Zhu Shizhou’s smarts, I doubt he’d get scammed. Besides, I’ve played games with that girl before. She’s pretty cute and seems to really like Zhu Shizhou.”

That’s exactly it. It was because she seemed so devoted before that Zhu Shizhou refused to face reality. Bai Zining thought to himself, then earnestly urged Xie Cheng, “People can make mistakes, and even a horse can stumble. If he really gets scammed, it wouldn’t be good. Trust me, my intuition is spot on. You don’t need to say much to him, just drop a subtle hint.”

“Alright, I’ll listen to you, Xiao Bai. I’ll talk to him and remind him to be cautious and avoid being scammed,” Xie Cheng said with a grin, chuckling again as he spoke.

“Alright, but make sure you don’t say it was me who brought it up,” Bai Zining reminded again.

“No problem,” Xie Cheng replied cheerfully. “I’ll just say I figured something was off on my own.”

Since Zhu Shizhou wouldn’t listen to him, he’d at least think twice about something his close friend said, right? Bai Zining suddenly felt a renewed sense of hope for the breakup. He grabbed Xie Cheng’s hand and shook it tightly, sincerely praising him, “You’re the best.”