Proud senior schoolgirl was tender and sweet, we fell in love

At this moment, Zhou Mianmian, with reddened eyes, had already added Luo Yanran on WeChat.

Today, when she returned to class, she heard almost everyone discussing her situation with Li Le and Yan Shi.

Zhou Mianmian found these discussions unsettling, but what concerned her more was the intimacy between Xie Xiao and Luo Yanran.

Since her path to Xie Xiao was blocked, she decided to approach Luo Yanran.

Over the years, she had never felt she lost to Luo Yanran anytime they met.

Because of Xie Xiao by her side.

Now she wouldn't lose either. She knew where a girl's weakness lay.

Indeed, she saw that Luo Yanran quickly accepted her friend request.

She started with a message, "Luo senior, can you stop clinging to Xie Xiao?"

The other side replied with a question mark.

Then countered with, "Who are you?"

"I'm Zhou Mianmian."

Just as expected, the other side didn't reply immediately.

Zhou Mianmian couldn't help but smirk, though her expression couldn't quite be called pleasant.

Sitting on the bus, she looked down at her phone and continued typing. When she was ready to send it, she realized the page showed the message was rejected.

Her hands trembled slightly. Had Luo Yanran blocked her too?

Zhou Mianmian, not giving up, sent another emoji. The message was rejected again.

A twisted expression crossed her face.

She raised her hand as if to smash her phone.

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But then she remembered, if she broke it, she wouldn't have a phone anymore. It was the latest model, too dear for her to destroy.

She couldn't afford a new one either.

On the other side, upon hearing Xie Xiao, Luo Yanran decisively blocked Zhou Mianmian.

She had been on the phone with Xie Xiao since class ended.

Xie Xiao told her he'd visit Lin Yu's place tonight and probably couldn't do his homework.

Luo Yanran simply responded with an "okay," asking him to convey her regards to Lin Yu and his grandmother.

Just then, Zhou Mianmian's friend request came through, and she said, "There's a friend request, I'll accept it."

On the other side of the line, Xie Xiao, also on a bus, sarcastically asked, "Did a boy add you on WeChat?"

Luo Yanran glanced at the rabbit avatar, then at the message that came right after she accepted, and said truthfully, "It's not a boy, but she might be my love rival."

That response made Xie Xiao pause.

The point he picked up on was, "Love rival? Are you admitting you like me?"

Luo Yanran blushed, "I didn't say I like you, can't it be a rival for liking some celebrity?"

Ah, what a mess she is speaking.

She too was on a bus, so she kept her voice low.

Still, a few nearby students couldn't help but glance at her.

Embarrassed, Luo Yanran lowered her head and directly sent the screenshot to Xie Xiao.

Forget it, no more explanations. She had made a mistake by mentioning a love rival in the first place.

Xie Xiao couldn't believe how shameless Zhou Mianmian was.

Looking at the screenshot, he simply said, "Just block her. She's probably not in her right mind."

Then he added, "What else, I've always been Little Luo's teacher's..."

Luo Yanran, hearing Xie Xiao's decisive voice, simply blocked the person, feeling refreshed. But she was a bit embarrassed when he shamelessly said he was Little Luo's student, "You're on the bus, don't talk nonsense."

However, Xie Xiao laughed and added, "I'm not talking nonsense. I am Little Luo's student, what were you thinking?"

Then the other end went silent.

Xie Xiao smiled briefly and then stopped teasing her, "Alright, I won't say anymore. Just don't hang up."

A soft mutter came from the other end, "You finally realized I wanted to hang up."

"Yeah, I don't want you to hang up, I want to talk to you a bit longer." Xie Xiao's eyes and brows softened, "Don't worry about her, there were posts about her on the forum today, none of them good. She's probably been hit hard. But you know, she and I have been over for a while, I only want to take things slow and steady with you. We made a pact."

He glanced at the pink bandage wrapped around his finger.

Luo Yanran's mood relaxed slightly when she heard the warmth in his voice.

After all, seeing Zhou Mianmian's text suddenly had definitely affected her.

It was a very annoying feeling.

But now, as Xie Xiao spoke gently, word by word, that annoying feeling seemed to slowly disappear.

She whispered softly, "Stick to your word."

"Of course…"

Their conversation did not linger on Zhou Mianmian any longer.

Because she wasn't worth wasting their time on.

Xie Xiao got off at the station near Lin Yu's home before saying goodbye to Luo Yanran, reminding her to send him a message when she got home.

Luo Yanran agreed and urged him to reach out if he needed anything.

Xie Xiao echoed her sentiment.

The way to Lin Yu's house was very familiar to Xie Xiao now.

He quickly made his way to the old house; due to yesterday's incident, his grandmother hadn't set up her stall today.

Lin Yu, knowing he would come, sat waiting on a stool by the door.

Xie Xiao bought two bottles of Coke at the corner, then glanced inside the house, "Is grandma asleep?"

Lin Yu hummed in response, "Don't know, she said she was going to sleep, and she doesn't know you're coming."

Xie Xiao sat on the adjacent stool and took away the cigarette in his hand, "Smoking isn't good for grandma's heart."

Lin Yu did not resist, simply saying, "I'll take a shower soon, she won't smell it anyway."

Xie Xiao handed him a Coke.

Lin Yu spoke with some exasperation, "Could you at least buy beer?"

"Beer? What beer? We have class tomorrow, why don't you go to school tomorrow?" Xie Xiao rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, definitely going. Mr. Lin even thought about a home visit today, if I don't go tomorrow, he'll definitely show up," Lin Yu chuckled.

Seeing him still able to laugh, Xie Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.

He carefully phrased his next question, "What's this about owing money?"

The smile at the corner of Lin Yu's mouth slowly faded as he opened the Coke.

The Coke fizzed, and he spoke softly, "I only just found out too. The old lady sure had big ideas, keeping it from me for so long."

As Xie Xiao spoke, he saw Lin Yu's eyes were somewhat red, though it could also be the darkness playing tricks.

Either way, after taking a sip of Coke, Lin Yu seemed to stabilize again.

"200W in compounded interest. There's an IOU, can't escape it," Lin Yu said somberly.

Xie Xiao also grew solemn, "So, what are you planning to do?"

Lin Yu looked at him, "What can I do? Xie Xiao, what can I do?"

Xie Xiao really wanted to ask, dare to bet?

But instead, he simply asked, "How did your dad rack up so much debt?"

"Hmm, business dealings." Lin Yu looked at the dilapidated house, "My family used to be wealthy, I even lived as a rich young master, but it all vanished overnight. A car accident took them away, leaving behind an old lady and a burden. Along with a huge debt."

With just a few words, he summarized the lifelong hardships of his grandmother.

This time, Xie Xiao saw that Lin Yu's eyes indeed brimmed with red.

He suddenly asked softly, "Lin Yu, do you trust me?"

Lin Yu looked at him.