Chapter 32: I Will Not Allow You to Speak of Him That Way

When they were still some distance from the girls' dormitory, Li Ruonan took the initiative to stop.

Lin Bai looked at her, his heart a storm of conflicting emotions. He wanted to say something, but found himself unable to speak.

"Alright, get some rest early."

Hearing this, Li Ruonan lowered her head. "I know."

She turned and began to walk slowly toward the dormitory building. Lin Bai did not leave. After taking a few steps, Li Ruonan stopped, suddenly turned back, and walked quickly to Lin Bai, looking up at him.

"Do you like me?"

Faced with Li Ruonan's sudden, direct question, Lin Bai stood frozen in place.

"In the few hours we spent together tonight, you never gave a straight answer to any of my questions."

This time, Li Ruonan’s expression was firm, even stubborn.

Lin Bai bit his lip; he didn't even know what his feelings for Li Ruonan were. To say he didn't like her would be a lie. But to say he did—what would that make of his relationship with Qin Ruowei? After much thought, he shook his head. "I don't know."

Li Ruonan smiled, a bright, genuine smile. "At least you didn't refuse."

She leaned in closer and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear: "Actually, I know you’re with Qin Ruowei."

Lin Bai recoiled, frowning at her. "If you knew, then why..."

"Precisely because I know, that is why I want to snatch you away from her!"

She said this with absolute determination, without a hint of shame. Lin Bai was left speechless. Feeling a sudden, inexplicable surge of anger at the fact that Li Ruonan had been deceiving him, he stepped forward and grabbed her by the neck, pulling her close.

"Do you take me for a clown?"

Lin Bai applied some pressure. Li Ruonan tapped his hand, and he immediately loosened his grip. She took a few deep breaths, then laughed.

"You’re no clown. You held onto your bottom line, which was quite unexpected." She paused, then asked, "Lin Bai, am I really not as good as her?"

In that moment, Lin Bai realized with a jolt that the innocence he had perceived in Li Ruonan was nothing more than a facade. The woman before him was calculating, shrewd, and willing to go as far as sacrificing her virginity to achieve her ends—it was ruthless. Recalling what had happened in the private room at the Qingpingyue Restaurant, Lin Bai felt a chill of fear, unable to imagine what Li Ruonan might have done had they actually gone through with it.

"Why tell me all this?" Lin Bai asked the crucial question. She could have continued the deception; he couldn't understand why she had chosen to reveal the truth.

"Because I sensed your helplessness. I'm curious—could you tell me why?"

The moment she said this, Lin Bai was stunned. What kind of monster was this girl? How could she have sensed that?

He narrowed his eyes, studying her for a long time before asking, "If I told you that I absolutely had to take your virginity, that I would die without it, and that only you could save me—but that I didn't actually like you—would you save me?"

After hearing the question, Li Ruonan was silent for a moment, then burst into unrestrained laughter. "Hahaha! You're hilarious! What is this, a novel you're writing?"

Lin Bai laughed too. "Hahaha, just take it as a joke."

"It's late. Go back and get some rest. Let’s pretend everything tonight never happened." Lin Bai waved his hand and, without further hesitation, turned and walked away.

Li Ruonan did not move. She watched his silhouette fade into the night, her eyes gradually reddening.

***

Meanwhile, at Maple Forest Town, Villa One.

In the Qin family study, Qin Yang was absent, leaving only the siblings Qin Yulong and Qin Ruowei. Qin Ruowei was dressed in goose-yellow silk pajamas, her dark hair draped loosely over her shoulders, her eyes filled with panic.

"Where... where did you get these?"

Spread out on the tea table were numerous photos documenting the entire journey of Lin Bai and Li Ruonan from the school to the Qingpingyue Restaurant.

Qin Yulong lit a cigarette. "Now that you know what kind of person he is, there’s still time to regret it."

"No! That’s not true! These must be fakes! You can't fool me!" Qin Ruowei stood up, her body trembling slightly.

Qin Yulong frowned at his beloved younger sister and sighed. "Little sister, with your circumstances, you could have any man you want. Why must you insist on clinging to a piece of trash like him?"

"Shut up! He is not trash! I won't let you talk about him like that!" She burst into tears. "I'll go ask him myself..."

Sobbing, she ran out of the study and bumped into Qin Yang.

"Ruowei..." Qin Yang reached out, but watching her run off, he frowned and walked into the tea room.

Qin Yang spotted the photos on the table immediately. After a quick glance, his brow furrowed. "Are they still at Qingpingyue?"

Qin Yulong shook his head. "No, they just had a meal and went back to school."

For some reason, hearing this brought Qin Yang an inexplicable sense of relief. "You didn't tell Ruowei?"

Qin Yulong shrugged. "I didn't get the chance."

***

In Qin Ruowei’s room, everything was decorated in pink, filled with plush dolls. It was spacious and carried a pleasant scent.

Back in her room, she locked the door and immediately pulled out her phone to start a video call with Lin Bai. She hung up after one ring, then paced back and forth, phone in hand.

"What if they really were at the hotel? What should I do, what should I do..."

She was caught in a struggle. If she didn't call, her emotions would consume her; if she did, she wasn't ready to face the cruel truth.

*Ring-ring—*

The video call rang. Qin Ruowei lunged for the phone and tapped accept the moment she saw it was Lin Bai.

His face appeared on the screen; he was shirtless, wiping his wet hair.

"What’s wrong, baby? I was just in the shower."

The background was clearly his dormitory. Qin Ruowei let out a long sigh of relief. Once her worry subsided, an endless sense of grievance welled up, and her voice trembled.

"Where... where did you go tonight?"

On the other end, Lin Bai sensed something wrong with her mood. After a moment of thought, he replied truthfully: "I had a meal at the Qingpingyue Restaurant with a classmate. I just got back."

His honesty caught Qin Ruowei off guard. She had been prepared for lies, and his directness left her momentarily at a loss.

"With whom?"

"Li Ruonan. From my class."

"The class beauty?"

"Yes."

"You just had a simple meal? You didn't do anything else?"

Lin Bai was speechless. "What are you thinking?"

"Why did you have to go out for dinner? And at Qingpingyue, of all places."

Initially unsure, Lin Bai was now certain after her barrage of questions that she already knew about the outing.

And more importantly—it wasn't Li Ruonan who had told her!

That meant Qin Ruowei had planted someone to spy on him. At the thought of this, an inexplicable surge of hostility rose in Lin Bai's heart.

"Have you been having me followed?"