Chapter 2

Chapter 2

In Xie Yan’s eyes, I was perhaps desperately in love with him.

Back during his freshman year, in order to comfort him after he fell into a slump following his breakup with Xu Wan, I would arrive outside his dormitory every morning to bring him breakfast.

It was always hot soup and buns, exactly to his taste.

At first, he was somewhat resistant. He told me, “Yuanyuan, it was only after meeting Wanwan that I realized I’ve always seen you as a sister. I won’t fall in love with you, so stop doing these unnecessary things.”

I simply smiled without a word, handed him the buns, and turned to leave. Then, following my usual routine, I posted a Moment on WeChat visible only to the Xie Family: [Morning exercise finished.]

The accompanying photo subtly showed a corner of the gate to Xie Yan’s university.

Soon enough, both Father Xie and Mother Xie liked the post.

Our two families were currently negotiating a partnership, and progress was going surprisingly smoothly.

Meanwhile, I tucked my phone away, zipped up my tracksuit, and continued running along the leaf-strewn path.

I wasn’t lying; I really was doing my morning exercise.

A qualified corporate heir needs to be in good physical condition. I ran four kilometers every morning, and taking a slight detour past Xie Yan’s school to pick up breakfast from a roadside stall didn’t require much effort at all.

Later, I began participating in various college entrepreneurship competitions to practice my skills. For the more prestigious ones, I would give Xie Yan a boost along the way.

Simply adding his name as a team member moved Xie Yan beyond words.

He confessed his feelings to me one night while he was drunk. He said, “Yuanyuan, I realized a long time ago that you’re always standing in the corner, silently sacrificing everything for me. I really don’t want to let you down anymore.”

I turned my head away, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, simply pretending I hadn’t heard him.

When Xie Yan woke up the next day, he likely regretted his impulsive confession. By unspoken agreement, neither of us mentioned it again.

However, the look in his eyes whenever he saw me became increasingly filled with guilt.

Of course, he wasn’t the only one who felt guilty toward me.

The reason he felt I was “silently sacrificing” for him was that I was simply too busy-busy doing favors for the circle of boys and girls whose families had business dealings with mine. Their needs varied: some just wanted to copy my homework, some wanted to use my name to put their parents’ minds at ease while they were out partying, and others needed some form of emotional validation.

I was so busy that I didn’t have time to talk about it, which somehow gave Xie Yan the delusion that my love for him was so humble it reached down into the very dust.