Pursuing Her Best Friend after Confession Failed-Chapter 216 - 122: Zhijin, I’ll Take You Home to Meet My Family (Second Update, Please Subscribe)_2
"What? Was I wrong? Was I supposed to just let Zhijin stay in the dark and be deceived by that scumbag Li Yuan?"
Gao Xin was utterly speechless. She had seen Shen Xiyu teaching Xia Zhijin about relationships in their dorm room several times. At times, some of Shen Xiyu’s opinions on love even made Gao Xin suspect she was deliberately trying to break up Li Yuan and Xia Zhijin.
Gao Xin sighed helplessly and said earnestly, "Xiyu, you don’t actually think you’re the only one who noticed this, do you?"
Shen Xiyu raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
Gao Xin said nonchalantly, "Actually, it’s not just you. Me, Chenchen, and Rongrong—we’ve all been to Li Yuan’s QQ Space and seen that girl’s messages."
Shen Xiyu asked, "If you all saw it, why didn’t any of you tell Zhijin?"
Ge Chenchen suddenly interjected, "Because it would’ve been meaningless."
Gao Xin nodded in agreement. "Yeah, there really was no point. It would have just made Li Yuan resent us."
"Afraid Li Yuan will resent you?" Shen Xiyu scoffed derisively. "Ha! So this is my fault, then?"
"Should I have just kept my mouth shut? Let Zhijin stay in the dark, let Li Yuan play with her feelings, and then abandon her when he’s done, leaving her to get hurt all by herself?"
Ge Chenchen and Gao Xin exchanged a look, both feeling utterly helpless when it came to Shen Xiyu.
Relationships weren’t that simple. As top students who had seen friends date, they naturally understood that there is no room for rationality in love.
Besides, had Li Yuan really done anything wrong?
Not necessarily.
Just as beautiful women always attract many suitors, outstanding men also attract many female admirers.
The most important point was that Li Yuan had never replied to that girl. Perhaps it was just an unrequited crush on her part. Besides, she had known Li Yuan for a very long time.
Strictly speaking, Xia Zhijin was the newcomer.
Seeing Shen Xiyu’s defiant expression, Gao Xin tried to reason with her again. "Xiyu, you don’t really think this incident will make Zhijin and Li Yuan break up, do you?"
Shen Xiyu frowned. "I never said I wanted them to break up."
Gao Xin pressed on, "Xiyu, if Zhijin and Li Yuan don’t break up, what kind of attitude do you think Li Yuan will have toward you?"
Shen Xiyu sneered, her tone defiant. "I don’t care what his attitude is. He doesn’t pay my bills."
"But Li Yuan is Zhijin’s boyfriend. If he says a few bad things about you to her, who do you think Zhijin will believe, given her personality?" Gao Xin finished, secretly shaking her head before continuing, "And what if Zhijin does break up with Li Yuan because of this? Do you think she might regret it for the rest of her life? If so, wouldn’t she come to resent you, too?"
Shen Xiyu remained stubborn, refusing to admit she was wrong. "I’m doing this for Zhijin’s own good. If she resents me for it, there’s nothing I can do. There are plenty of good men out there. I refuse to believe that with her looks, Zhijin can’t find someone better than Li Yuan."
Gao Xin sighed wearily, too tired to argue anymore. "Fine, have it your way. We’ll just have to wait and see."
An outstanding guy like Li Yuan was really hard to find. If you looked at his qualities individually, he might seem ordinary, with plenty of men more outstanding in any single area. But when you combined all his traits, the pool of comparable men shrank drastically. Take the entire city of Modu. A height requirement of over 180 cm would eliminate more than 90% of its ten million-plus men. Graduating from a Project 985 or 211 university would eliminate another 90% of the remainder. A monthly income of a million would eliminate another 90%. If you added the requirement of being a current university student, Li Yuan might be the only one in all of Modu’s universities who fit the bill. If Xia Zhijin and Li Yuan broke up, could she really find someone with a better overall profile? Gao Xin was highly skeptical.
「...」
Li Yuan led Xia Zhijin to a secluded corner of the corridor outside the classroom.
He looked at Xia Zhijin, who stood silently with her head bowed, her body trembling. He took a deep breath, gently lifted her chin, and met her gaze directly. Feeling nervous and apprehensive, he asked, "Zhijin, do you believe me?"
Xia Zhijin looked into his eyes, her own beautiful ones shimmering with unshed tears as she spoke softly, "I... I believe you."
Li Yuan felt a pang in his heart. Seeing the look on her face, the speech he had prepared suddenly felt stuck in his throat. He no longer wanted to deceive this innocent, precious girl. He always claimed he wanted to be a scumbag, a playboy, but when faced with a girl as pure, kind, and vulnerable as Xia Zhijin, his true feelings were stirred. This was love at first sight, nothing less.
Li Yuan asked softly, "Zhijin, aren’t you angry?"
Xia Zhijin glanced at Li Yuan before lowering her head again, unsure how to express what she was feeling.
Gazing into her gentle eyes, Li Yuan hesitated for a long moment before slowly explaining, "That girl is a fan of mine. She gave me a lot of support when I was writing my book. My relationship with her isn’t what Shen Xiyu said, so don’t overthink it."
Xia Zhijin nodded gently. "Mhm, I believe you."
Li Yuan paused. Looking at the innocent girl before him, he suddenly said, "Come home with me tonight."
Xia Zhijin’s body trembled as if startled, and she stared at him with wide eyes.
Li Yuan took her hand and looked at her deeply, a slight smile on his face. "Zhijin, I told you before that I have a younger sister. She also goes to school here in Modu, and I’d like to take you home to meet her."
Xia Zhijin knew about Li Yuan’s family situation from their previous conversations. Hearing that he wanted to introduce her to his family, her heart began to pound. She blinked rapidly, completely at a loss. Li Yuan’s request had caught her off guard and moved her deeply.
She might be a bit slow when it came to love, but she was no fool. When a boy wants to take you home to meet his family, it means more than any sweet words he could ever say.
Seeing her silence, Li Yuan frowned slightly. He squeezed her hand and asked, "Zhijin, don’t you want to meet Zixia?"
Xia Zhijin quickly shook her head. She glanced at Li Yuan, then shyly lowered her head again and said, her voice tinged with nervousness, "I... I’m not ready."
Li Yuan chuckled. "Zixia is very sweet and cute. Her personality is a bit like yours. You’ll definitely like her when you meet her."
Xia Zhijin meekly responded, "But... Grandma said that the first time a girl visits, it should be more formal..."
Li Yuan chuckled internally. This sweet, precious girl was thinking way too far ahead. It was normal, though. She had lived with her grandmother her whole life, so she was naturally influenced by the older generation’s mindset.
"It’s fine," he said. "My parents aren’t home; only Zixia is there. So just relax. Don’t be nervous. We’ll go home together tonight."
She nodded shyly. "Mhm."
Got her, Li Yuan smiled to himself. When dealing with a girl of her personality, sincerity was the ultimate weapon; he had to give her a complete sense of security. And the greatest security he could offer was taking her home to meet his family—it was more convincing than any amount of sweet talk.
"Zhijin, class is about to start. Let’s head back," he said.
"Okay." Xia Zhijin nodded, the sorrow in her eyes having vanished without a trace.
Without another word, Li Yuan took her hand and led her back into the classroom under everyone’s watchful eyes.
「...」
Liu Jia, Zhou Tianyu, Wu Hao, and the others were completely stunned to see Xia Zhijin looking so docile and endearingly shy, clinging to him.
They had expected that after Li Yuan’s "scumbag" nature was exposed, Xia Zhijin would have a huge fight with him, or at the very least give him the cold shoulder for a while.
It had been less than ten minutes since Li Yuan led her out of the classroom, and they were already back on good terms?
The speed of their reconciliation was terrifyingly fast.
Liu Jia exclaimed in shock, "No way, it’s settled just like that? Yuan is too awesome. How did he do it?"
Even Zhou Tianyu, who considered himself a god of love, was stunned. He murmured, "Maybe... Li Yuan is using a cheat."
