Chapter 7
Edward Quan ·
“I'm sure.”
Wen Ran slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
“Zhixu, as long as you want me, I'll stay with you. Even if I have to be the other woman forever. I'd be willing.”
“Silly.”
The more she said, the guiltier Jiang Zhixu felt toward her. He held her tighter and kissed her more fiercely.
That night, desire bloomed until dawn.
The next morning, he had to return to campus for class. Reluctant though she was to let him go, Wen Ran obediently stayed at the hotel.
“I'll wait for you to have dinner.”
“All right.”
Before class, he stopped at his dorm to collect his books. He still had time.
But before he reached the door, he heard his roommates talking about him.
“What did you think of Zhixu's girlfriend last night?”
“What do you think? Is he blind? Picking a girl that ugly?”
“He's one of the best-looking guys in our department. If not some stunning beauty, he should at least have a pretty girlfriend. His girl's dark and ugly, and don't get me started on that flat figure. Yet he's forever spending four or five hours traveling to Nancheng to see her. Has she put a spell on him?”
“Remember that girl outside our dorm on the first evening of the holiday? Gorgeous. Wonder who she was looking for. That's the kind of girlfriend Zhixu should have.”
“Think he slept with his girlfriend last night? Honestly, I wouldn't, even if she offered. Let alone Zhixu.”
Jiang Zhixu's heart sank.
He had always known Wen Ran wasn't pretty. A little ugly, even. But she had a good personality: gentle, obedient, considerate. That was why he had agreed to date her. As long as Ji Shu didn't find out, everything would be fine.
What man could turn down the chance to have both, after all?
Now, though, the image of Wen Ran's face stirred something like disgust.
His phone vibrated.
[Have you got to campus? I miss you.]
At the message, he remembered sleeping with her the night before.
Suddenly, he felt sick.
He rushed into the dorm and straight to the bathroom, where he vomited violently.
One roommate followed, startled.
“What's wrong, Zhixu? Overdid breakfast?”
“Nothing.”
He wiped his mouth with a tissue and turned to the others, who were still suppressing their smiles.
“Actually, that girl last night isn't my girlfriend. She's just someone who's been pursuing me. I didn't want to hurt her.”
“This is my girlfriend.”
## Chapter 10
At first, nobody believed him.
“Come on, Zhixu. Not your girlfriend? She was practically glued to you last night.”
“Did you hear us just now? We were joking. Don't take it to heart. Everyone has different tastes!”
“Right. If we said anything out of line, sorry. Don't let it affect your relationship.”
“She really isn't my girlfriend.”
He opened a photograph of Ji Shu and held it in front of their faces.
“This is my girlfriend.”
“Now that's beautiful!”
“Exactly. That's more like it!”
“Hang on. She looks familiar. Where have I seen her?”
“I remember! She's the girl who came looking for someone outside our dorm on the first evening of the break. I wondered what lucky bastard she was here for. It was you!”
Then Jiang Zhixu understood.
Ji Shu had traveled all that way to Qingbei to see him. Finding him gone, she had gone to Nancheng to see Wen Ran.
Instead, she had caught them betraying her together.
One roommate frowned.
“But weren't you visiting your girlfriend that day? How come she didn't know and came looking for you here?”
Jiang Zhixu went still.
How could he explain? Tell them he'd been two-timing her? That he had repeatedly lied to this beautiful girlfriend for the sake of the ugly one?
They would laugh at him for the rest of his life.
He sat through his classes in restless distraction.
Afterward, Wen Ran kept messaging. He didn't answer. Eventually, she came to his dorm and called his name from downstairs.
His roommates laughed.
“Zhixu, your admirer's back!”
“I'll give her this—she's brave. Knows she's ugly and still pursues our Zhixu so openly.”
“What do you want to do? Need us to get rid of her?”
He glanced down at Wen Ran and decided to settle it himself.