Chapter 52: Chapter 51: In ancient times, Zilong was all courage_1
He moved on from his feelings quickly...
Liu Qianqian's smile had a hint of bitterness as she inwardly complained.
Actually, she knew that everything had come to this today because she had been too adamant in her refusal, not measuring her words. If she were in Fang Ren's shoes, she would have felt disheartened after being rejected so firmly, not once but twice.
"I heard you're getting married soon?" Liu Qianqian came back to her senses, smiled and said.
"Yes, soon," Mu Huanqing nodded.
"When is it?" Liu Qianqian asked again.
"May 20th," Mu Huanqing still told her the truth.
"May 20th... That's really nice, a very meaningful day." Liu Qianqian's heart suddenly ached. She turned her face away from Mu Huanqing, pretending to look at the garden, and said in a low voice, "It's just... so soon."
Mu Huanqing could feel some changes in the girl in front of her. Her mood did not seem very cheerful, but she always wore a smile, just like Ah Ran whenever he felt down because of her.
"Do you like him?" Mu Huanqing directly asked.
"Ah?"
Liu Qianqian's expression suddenly panicked, her smile became even thicker, and, pulling her gaze back, she looked at Mu Huanqing and said, "Why would you think that?"
"So you don't like him," Mu Huanqing stated.
"He's about to get married, how could I like him?" Liu Qianqian said with a laugh, her words bearing an undertone, without giving a clear response.
"That's good then, Ah Ran used to like you a lot," Mu Huanqing added.
It was as if she was telling her: He did like you, but that was in the past.
Liu Qianqian smiled, "Of course, after all, I rejected him, and now he's getting married soon."
She seemed to be telling her: If it weren't for the arranged dates by my family, and I hadn't spoken up to reject him, he'd still like me, and you wouldn't have had a chance.
Without waiting for Mu Huanqing to speak, Liu Qianqian immediately changed the subject, "Let's go take a look over there, there's a big fountain that's quite nice."
She chose to shift the subject proactively because she knew that no matter what she and Mu Huanqing discussed, it would be fruitless, after all, the one with Fang Ren was not her.
The topic was undeniably sad for her, with the pressure of her family still weighing on her, she didn't even have the liberty to be in a relationship of her choosing.
The thing between her and Fang Ren was like... what's that saying? The greatest distance in the world is when I stand in front of you, and you don't know I love you.
That was the feeling.
As Liu Qianqian had written in her diary on the night of May 3rd: You stood in front of me professing your love, and heard only my cold words shattering your carefully planned confession, not knowing that it was my lips that tore my own heart to pieces.
Afterwards, Mu Huanqing did not say much. She didn't know why she had just snapped at her, but judging from her recent experience watching soap operas — she was jealous.
Although she was curious about why this girl, who obviously liked Ah Ran, rejected him, she felt more relieved knowing her refusal; otherwise, Ah Ran might not have met her, her leg would not have healed, and she would not have been as happy and learned so much.
After walking around for a while, it was just the end of class, and Liu Qianqian brought Mu Huanqing into the classroom.
As soon as the two girls entered, the bustling noise inside the class suddenly quieted down, and after a brief pause, the boys in the class erupted with teasing shouts.
"Ranzi! Your wife is here to bring you... again!"
"Forget about attending the next class, man, go out and keep her company—I'll take your place!"
"Sister-in-law! Remember to buy..."
...
The commotion was momentarily uncontrollable, as everyone started teasing Fang Ren relentlessly.
"Cut the crap! All of you stop!" The more Fang Ren shouted, the wilder the bunch got, almost carrying him out and dumping him outside.
"Stop it, stop it, there's something I need to say."
In the end, it was Liu Qianqian who stepped up to the lectern and tapped on the blackboard. Only then did the class become a bit quieter.
"The person beside me today did not come to bring something to some hooligan." Liu Qianqian glanced at Fang Ren before looking away and continued speaking: "She is a new student in our class, her name is Mu Huanqing. As for her relationship with a certain hooligan, I won't go into details.
I hope everyone in the class will take good care of her and get along well."
As Liu Qianqian's words fell, the noise in the classroom suddenly died down even more. Many students stared at her in surprise, starting to whisper amongst themselves.
"The class president, who usually values proper conduct so much, actually called someone a hooligan! That's rare to see."
"Crap, could the rumors about the class president liking Ranzi be true?"
"It's jealousy! Big jealousy!"
"In ancient times, Zilong was all about courage; today, our class president is all about jealousy!"
"Nonsense, if the class president really liked him, why would she reject him twice?"
"Hey, maybe the class president was playing the long game, and it backfired?"
"Cough, cough!" Liu Qianqian, hearing the low murmurs below, realized she might have spoken inappropriately and immediately proceeded, "Student Mu Huanqing is here as an exchange student. The university she graduated from is Tianjiang Medical University, and she is a highly talented medical student."
"Hah!?"
The crowd was astonished.
Discussion about Liu Qianqian had just been the hot topic but was quickly overwhelmed.
"A graduate from Tianjiang Medical University? For real?"
"Doesn't that mean she can freely enter any Alchemist Guild on Earth? But why come here? Is it for love? Is it for duty?"
"Ranzi! How much dog shit did you have to step on to get this lucky!"
"Bros, let's beat him up!"
"Class leader, you must be kidding, right? Someone who can graduate from that university... coming to our crappy university... as an exchange student?"
"Student Hui Qing's identity is indeed genuine; classmates don't need to be too astonished. After all, her husband is here. Their happy life is just starting, and it's perfectly normal for her to study abroad here," Liu Qianqian spoke up.
"Ouch, do I detect a whiff of jealousy here?"
"I felt it too. The class leader seems to have a vinegary tone all day today."
"Sure enough, our class leader is full of jealousy today."
Liu Qianqian immediately tapped on the desk and said seriously, "Please, everyone, stop spreading rumors."
"Got it! We won't spread rumors anymore. We'll just share the facts."
"Nonsense! Don't take the joke too far."
"Alright, alright, let's stop here. The class leader is getting serious."
"Alas, from today on, our school has gained another campus belle."
With Mu Huanqing joining the class, Fang Ren had thought he would have plenty of time to spend with her, but before he could even speak a few words to her, a group of girls had already gathered around her, endlessly chatting with Mu Huanqing.
"Student Hui Qing, you're from Tianjiang? I'm so envious!"
"Student Hui Qing, is your hair naturally silver? It's so beautiful!"
"Student Hui Qing, how did you get to know Fang Ren? I'm really curious!"
"Student Hui Qing..."
The girls kept bombarding her with questions, and Fang Ren found himself effectively squeezed out, experiencing for the first time the terrifying nature of girls' topics, which seemingly never run out once they start talking.
He had no choice but to join two sons of the rich and play a mobile game together, idly chatting about stuff.
"Right, send me your bank account numbers," Fang Ren suddenly said.
"What's up? Struck it rich recently?" Jing Haichuan asked.
"No, Uncle Han gave me some money. It's just enough to pay you guys back," Fang Ren replied.
"Damn, kid, you've really made it big. Someone's entrusting their stunning daughter to you, and from time to time, even gives you money to support you. You've seriously reached the peak of life," Li Xingwang said.
"Can't help it; when good fortune comes, you can't even block it," Fang Ren said, although in reality, he wasn't very concerned with money as long as he had enough to spend. Still, he wouldn't complain about any easy gains.
"I totally want to beat you up. Where in the world can you find such a good uncle, closer than a real uncle."
"Real uncle..."
Upon hearing that, Fang Ren felt a chill in his heart. Was that real uncle even human? For his own selfish desires, he had wanted to take Fang Ren's life; he truly didn't deserve the title of uncle.
"Alright, just send me your account numbers now."
Without any unnecessary talk, Fang Ren transferred the money for the medicinal ingredients to the two of them over the internet.
He had initially planned to repay the debt with elixirs, but the money left by that old man had taken him by surprise. With that money, there was no need to go through the hassle of selling elixirs.
In the morning classes, Fang Ren always sat with Mu Huanqing. This time, the silly Jian Qi'er also stubbornly came over, but she didn't sit next to Fang Ren. Instead, she took a seat next to Mu Huanqing.
Liu Qianqian continued to sit in the front row. Her classroom demeanor was off today; she hardly looked up at what the teacher was presenting, spending most of the time blankly staring at her desk, lost in her thoughts.
Li Xinyue, sitting beside her, just sighed softly and helplessly shook her head without saying anything more. Actually, the situation was quite obvious even to her.
In the classroom, Fang Ren naturally paid attention to Liu Qianqian's demeanor. He still couldn't understand why, after seeing Mu Huanqing, Liu Qianqian's smile became so strained.
If the two of them couldn't be boyfriend and girlfriend, then being ordinary friends was fine. Now that he had someone he loved, Liu Qianqian, as a friend, should be happy for him and offer her blessings.
But Liu Qianqian offered no congratulations and even cursed him as a lecher that morning... despite the fact that he had quietly done her a big favor.
Today, Liu Qianqian seemed distracted in class, often looking down at the blank piece of paper on her desk and daydreaming, neglecting to take notes, and not even looking at the materials he had given her the day before.
He wondered what was up with her.
This concern was simply out of friendly consideration; Fang Ren saw nothing wrong with it.
If Liu Qianqian were a man, hemmed in or oppressed by family when it came to marital freedom, he would choose to help in the same way, rather than distancing himself or standing idly by to avoid suspicion.
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