Rejected by the Campus Belle, I Find My True Love-Chapter 50: If It Can Be Suppressed, It’s Not True Emotion!

Lin Xi was truly panicking. She’d never expected the photo to go viral. The more viral it got, the greater the chance her family would find her.

Tide Fashion was a light luxury brand. Furthermore, her best friend quite liked their clothes. She and her friend would browse the brand’s site from time to time, though they only window-shopped. After all, the quality was too poor for their standards.

Although she knew being found was only a matter of time, Lin Xi didn’t want it to be so soon. She wanted to hide for as long as possible.

"Xue Yang, don’t ask anymore, please stop asking. In any case, I don’t want to appear on camera, let alone be their model! We don’t need this money. I can write novels; I can support myself!" Lin Xi clung to Xue Yang, her voice choked with sobs as tears streamed down her pitifully beautiful face.

Xue Yang’s heart ached at the sight. He gently used the pad of his thumb to wipe her tears away, but they wouldn’t stop, falling like pearls from a broken string. Finally, Xue Yang had no choice but to pull her into a tight hug, kissing away the tears on her face.

"Alright, don’t cry anymore," he soothed. "We won’t be their models. We won’t go, okay? Please stop crying."

Xue Yang didn’t understand why Lin Xi was so afraid of the public eye. But if this was what she wanted, then just as she said, they would simply have to do without that money.

After calming Lin Xi down, Xue Yang turned back to the computer and typed, "I’m very sorry, but my friend doesn’t like being on camera, so we probably can’t accept your offer."

Tide Fashion replied, "Mr. Xue, if it’s inconvenient for your girlfriend, perhaps you could do it? Please, I’m begging you. If I can’t complete this task, I might lose my job."

Xue Yang hesitated, feeling troubled. He was a good person. Although his own life wasn’t particularly easy, he couldn’t stand to see others suffer. If this person really lost their job because of him, he would feel incredibly guilty. It was just like when he first met Lin Xi. If he hadn’t taken her home with him and something bad had happened to her, he knew he would have felt guilty for the rest of his life.

The customer service representative from Tide Fashion messaged him again. "Please, Mr. Xue, your image is perfect for us! It would be such a waste not to model. Many of our customers want to see you in our other clothes. I’ve already sent the outfits to you, and I included a set for your girlfriend as well. Please consider her clothes an extra gift from us. I’m begging you!"

After they’d pleaded so desperately, he knew he would seem incredibly ungrateful if he still refused.

He told Lin Xi what had happened. With tears still streaking her breathtakingly beautiful face, she looked so heart-wrenchingly pitiful that Xue Yang couldn’t help but pull her into his arms again. He let her rest her head on his chest as they looked at the messages on the computer together.

"Xue Yang, do you think I’m being unreasonable?"

Xue Yang had Lin Xi sit on a stool while he half-knelt before her so they were eye-to-eye. "Lin Xi," he said, "you have to remember this: you never, ever have to force yourself to do something you don’t want to do. I know you’re worried that with more exposure, your family will find you. I want you to go home, but not because you’re forced to.

"Because if you go back like this, the next time you’re unhappy, you’ll just run away again. You were lucky to meet me this time, but you might not be so fortunate as to run into another good person next time."

Lin Xi certainly understood what Xue Yang was saying. She nodded. "Xue Yang, I promise you, when the time is right, I’ll tell you everything about myself."

"Okay."

"So, you should go ahead and take the modeling gig. Not only will you make money, but we’ll also get free clothes. Whether or not I get to wear new clothes often in the future is all up to you."

Xue Yang couldn’t help but laugh. This girl... she could start crying in a heartbeat and stop just as quickly. The thought of new clothes made her forget all her previous fears.

"Well, to make sure a certain smart and adorable girl gets to wear new clothes every day, I suppose I can take one for the team," he teased.

"Hahaha!" Lin Xi laughed with wild abandon in his arms, and he had to hold her tighter to keep her from tumbling over.

* * *

The next morning, as Xue Yang was leaving, he ran into the elderly couple from next door again. "Young man, good morning!" they greeted.

Xue Yang returned a polite smile. "Good morning!"

After that, he left for class.

By the time Lin Xi woke up, Xue Yang had already left. The first thing she did was open Taobao to the Tide Fashion store page and find the review she had posted. She hadn’t paid attention before, and what she saw gave her a shock. Her comment had garnered over a hundred thousand replies. They were all uniformly praising how good they looked in the clothes, with many praising how well-matched they looked as a couple. Some even asked when they were getting married.

Lin Xi’s face flushed and her heart raced as she read. What is all this about? It was just a few photos, and people are already pushing us to get married. Are they going to be urging us to have kids next?

She checked the photos several times, only relaxing when she was sure she was unrecognizable. Since running away, she had been very careful about protecting her identity. Plus, due to the snow, she was bundled up in thick clothes and a mask, revealing only her silhouette. Unless someone knew her extremely well, there was no way they could recognize her from that.

After closing Taobao, Lin Xi opened her laptop and logged into her author dashboard. She had only published ten thousand words, so, unsurprisingly, there was no reaction at all. The author’s daily report was a row of solid zeroes. It would be a lie to say she didn’t care.

This novel was based entirely on her daily life with Xue Yang. If it fails, does that mean my relationship with him will also...

Lin Xi refused to believe the novel would fail. She filled out the contract Xue Yang had printed last night, sealed it in a large envelope, and called for a courier to pick it up. Afterward, she got dressed and went downstairs to buy breakfast.

Just like yesterday, she ran into the elderly couple from next door returning from their walk. "Young lady, good morning!" the old woman greeted her warmly.

"Morning!" Lin Xi replied, keeping her face tightly wrapped in her scarf as she hurried down the stairs. She hadn’t forgotten the old woman’s misunderstanding from yesterday. And that first scream last night... I wonder if they heard it.

"My dear, I told you not to startle the two youngsters," the old man sighed.

"I didn’t mean any harm! Besides, they should enjoy themselves while they’re young. Once you’re old like us, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

"You, honestly. So improper," the old man grumbled.

"What’s so shameful about it? It’s not like they’re fooling around promiscuously. It’s a normal relationship between a man and a woman. There’s no need to suppress things. If you can suppress it, can you even call it true love?"

"..."

Lin Xi, who was just reaching the stairwell, felt her legs give way and nearly fell down the stairs. The ice and snow outside were freezing, but her cheeks burned like fire, hot enough to scorch her fleece scarf.

But the old woman’s final words stuck with her. If you can suppress it, it isn’t true love!