Chapter 5

Chapter 5

That night, Jiang Bai wrapped me in an air-conditioning blanket and introduced our identities to Su Xue.

Su Xue smiled at the time. “Oh, so she’s your girlfriend. I thought she was some kind of improper…”

She trailed off halfway, looking a bit embarrassed.

I knew what she wanted to say-that I was an improper woman.

If anyone else had said that, I would have flipped out on the spot. But Su Xue looked at me with such an apologetic face that my anger instantly vanished.

Sigh, what could I do? She had been my goddess for all three years of high school.

“Su Xue, in the future, give me a heads-up before coming over,” Jiang Bai said calmly as he held my hand to see her out. “After all, we aren’t kids anymore. It’s a bit inconvenient.”

I saw the smile on Su Xue’s face stiffen for a moment. She quickly laughed it off. “Sister-in-law is truly lucky. I don’t know how many love letters I had to block for my brother when we were little. Now that he has a girlfriend, a younger sister like me is useless.”

Su Xue was a few months younger than Jiang Bai, and she had called him “Brother” since they were children.

Back when I couldn’t stick to my diet, I used to follow them around munching on cucumbers, using Jiang Bai’s handsome face as a side dish to help me swallow the bland food.

Back then, hearing Su Xue call him “Brother” over and over felt both romantic and intimate. I was so envious that I practically bubbled over, going home to pester my dad to find a brother for me, only to get a beating for my trouble.

Now that I was older, hearing it again felt a bit strange. This wasn’t some melodrama like *Autumn in My Heart*; hearing her call him “Brother” every other sentence was quite uncomfortable.

I wanted to ask Jiang Bai how he felt about Su Xue returning to the country, but I didn’t dare open my mouth.

After all, I had seen it with my own eyes-the day Su Xue went abroad to study, Jiang Bai sat in the pouring rain with a lonely, dejected expression. And at that time, I was sitting right across from him, munching on lettuce leaves while watching him.

I told Mingzhu about Su Xue’s return and shared my little insecurities.

Mingzhu rolled her eyes and scolded me. “Please! What do you have to be insecure about? Su Xue is a ‘White Moonlight,’ a goddess. But you, Money Leopard, aren’t bad either! The line of people chasing you could stretch all the way to Anhe Bridge. If you dumped Jiang Bai right now, I guarantee half the guys at Nanda University would throw a feast to celebrate.”

“Sigh, you don’t understand,” I said mournfully, biting into an expensive ‘ice cream assassin.’ “From ninth grade to eleventh grade, I spent my free time following the two of them around. I even shipped them as a couple back then! Su Xue was the moonlight goddess in my heart. She’s pretty and has great grades. Back then, I thought there was no chance for me and Jiang Bai. If the two of them could have ended up together in college, it would have fulfilled my dream as a shipper.”

Mingzhu was browsing the web, and suddenly she let out a scream. “Money Leopard! Quick, check your school’s internal forum!”

I opened it up, and the first page was full of posts about Su Xue.

[Shocking! The beautiful young artist Su Xue has arrived at Nanda University from abroad!]

[Expose! Su Xue and the Computer Science Department’s School Grass, Jiang Bai, are actually childhood sweethearts!]

I clicked on the posts. They detailed many things from Jiang Bai and Su Xue’s childhood. Jiang Bai playing basketball while Su Xue brought him water; Su Xue dancing while Jiang Bai sang, and so on. It was clear the whistleblower went to the same school as them because everything was true, and they even posted lots of photos.

Anonymous: I can testify! They were really so sweet! From middle school to high school, they were always in the same school and the same class. Childhood sweethearts-it’s so enviable. I remember once Su Xue threw up in class, and Jiang Bai skipped his own lesson to rush over, scoop her up, and take her to the hospital.

I couldn’t help but reply: It was actually Su Xue’s period; she was in terrible pain, she didn’t throw up.

I was an authority on this matter because I was at the hospital that day and saw Jiang Bai and Su Xue arrive with my own eyes.

Looking at the exposé posts gave me a sense of reminiscing about my youth. No wonder everyone loves shipping couples; it’s addictive!

However, as I kept reading, the replies started to take a nasty turn.

“Holy crap! What are these idiots talking about?” Mingzhu cursed in the video call, and I saw the comments too.

Anonymous: That Jinjin from the Arts Department is so shameless! She took advantage of the situation and became the third wheel. If she hadn’t thrown herself at Jiang Bai for three years-even stripping naked to climb into his bed and causing a misunderstanding between him and Su Xue-would it ever be her turn?

Anonymous: For real!? I think Jinjin looks like a total slut. She relies on her big chest and dresses provocatively every day; she was born to seduce men. A pure girl like Su Xue is no match for her. Now that Su Xue is back, Jinjin the homewrecker should step down. They’re a perfect match; what does this vixen have to do with anything?

Anonymous: Classmates, don’t say I’m spreading rumors. Here’s a picture to show you all how much this woman loves vanity. She spent three years of college working part-time jobs, but now she has money to wear designer brands. I bet she’s being kept as a mistress. She’s very shrewd, mixing fakes with the real stuff so people won’t notice.

I clicked on the picture. It was a candid shot taken late at night; if I didn’t zoom in, it was hard to see clearly. It showed me getting out of a Porsche, carrying a limited-edition Louis Vuitton bag.

I was reading the replies with great interest when my door was suddenly kicked open.

My roommates, who had been at an elective class, rushed in.

Wang Xiaoxiao, who was in the lead, rolled up her sleeves with a murderous aura. “Damn it! Everyone, get online! Use your main accounts and your alts! When I was a professional ‘water army’ commenter, these people were still sucking their toes under their blankets! Third! Contact that programmer boyfriend of yours and have him track their IPs! Second, ask your Law Department boyfriend how to handle these slanderers! If we don’t show our teeth, they’ll think everyone in Dormitory 306 is a pushover! To slander our Fourth like this… they can all go to hell!”