Chapter 319 - 271: Bo Le and the Thousand-Li Horse

At that moment, Xue Rui’s mind went completely blank. Those were his lines!

He had just spent forever working himself up at the door, even deliberately putting on the airs of a sick patient. He had it all planned out—how he would answer when the girl inevitably questioned him.

He was just about to open his mouth to apologize, and what happens? Gu Muxue apologized first?

’If it were Lin Ruoxi admitting fault, he would have brazenly demanded, "Oh? And what exactly were you wrong about?"’

But this was Gu Muxue. He couldn’t answer like that. He said, "Muxue, how could you possibly be in the wrong?"

"Xiaorui, just listen to me first." Gu Muxue gripped Xue Rui’s shoulders tightly. "I shouldn’t have made your parents worry. I was originally thinking of waiting until tomorrow..."

’All she had to do was wait until evening, and Xue Rui would have shown up on his own. It would have been as if nothing happened. But because of her impulsiveness, she had made so many people lose a day of rest.’

’But she didn’t know what had come over her. As she watched the sky gradually darken, her heart sank to rock bottom. Every minute felt like an eternity as she stared at her phone, desperately hoping for a message from Xue Rui...’

Xue Rui sighed. ’The girl only goes back to normal once she’s calmed down. Now she’s actually analyzing everything she did.’

Her apology had truly taken him by surprise. The girl wasn’t the type to throw a tantrum for no reason; she admitted when she was wrong and learned from her mistakes.

But he didn’t think Gu Muxue had done anything wrong. With their two families being so close, it would have been weirder *not* to tell them he was missing...

Besides, how many girls her age could stay rational when someone close to them disappeared?

If Lin Ruoxi had been in the same situation, she would have probably done something even more irrational.

He said, "Muxue, there’s nothing wrong with you worrying about me. It’s all my fault for being so careless. If I had just checked to see if my text went through, this whole mess today never would have happened."

Gu Muxue pouted. "We’re both at fault... This time, let’s just call it even."

Xue Rui frowned. "How can we call it even? I don’t think either of us is the problem. It’s all... China Mobile’s fault. Their name is ’Mobile,’ but when I was actually mobile on the train, they had no signal."

Gu Muxue wiped away her tears and chided him with a laugh, "You and your excuses."

"Right? The second I use up the ten thousand yuan of credit you got for me, I swear I’m switching carriers," Xue Rui said indignantly.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his shoulder. He turned his head to see Gu Muxue biting him, her teeth still grinding as she mumbled, "So what you’re saying is, it’s my fault for adding credit to your phone..."

Suddenly, the bedroom door was flung open by Xue Yao. "The beef meatballs will be a few more minutes, I just brought the..."

Xue Yao’s words trailed off. What was she seeing?

’Sister Muxue has been starving all day, but has it really gotten to the point where she has to bite my brother?’

"Let’s stay back, Da Huang." Xue Yao took a step back.

Xue Rui saw the girl’s face was flushed bright red and quickly said, "Yaoyao, why didn’t you knock?"

Xue Yao pointed at herself in disbelief. "This is *my* room!"

Gu Muxue quickly pulled her head away and gave Xue Rui a sharp pinch on his back from behind. "What are you talking about?"

Xue Rui’s heart leaped when he saw the EMS mailer in Xue Yao’s hand.

’A postal service envelope showing up at home could only mean one thing: acceptance letters from the universities...’

One would have been manageable, but Xue Yao was holding two!

That meant one of them had to be Lin Ruoxi’s.

Xue Rui’s expression remained unchanged. He beckoned to Da Huang, making a clicking sound with his tongue. The dog immediately trotted over, wagging its tail...

He grabbed Da Huang by the ear, pulling until the whites of the dog’s eyes showed and it let out a pleading whimper.

"Setting aside the facts for a moment, are you telling me you’re completely blameless in this, Da Huang?" Xue Rui said, pointing at the dog.

He sighed inwardly. ’Sorry, Da Huang. You have to take the heat for this. If you don’t suffer a little, your master is going to suffer a lot.’

He had to use Da Huang to distract Xue Yao. Otherwise, the moment she opened her mouth, he would be on the defensive.

"Bro, you’re so awful!"

Xue Yao rushed forward to "rescue" Da Huang, placing the mailers at Xue Rui’s feet in the process.

Gu Muxue’s mouth hung slightly open. Xue Rui was being so shameless, blaming the dog again.

"WOOF!" Da Huang barked twice at Xue Rui, startling Gu Muxue and making her take a step back.

Xue Rui seized the opportunity to snatch up the mailers, quickly finding his own and placing it on top of the small stack.

"Come on, Da Huang, let’s go get a late-night snack. Just ignore him," Xue Yao said, nervously pulling the dog out of the room.

Xue Rui casually tore open the mailer and unfolded the acceptance letter he had already seen once in his previous life.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to hide it, but doing so would look too deliberate.

"Muxue, this is my acceptance letter. Soon enough, we’ll be studying in the same city. Do you know who else is going to school in Chang’an?" Xue Rui said, holding the letter up for her to see.

Gu Muxue’s almond-shaped eyes curved into crescents. This was what she and Xue Rui had arranged long ago.

She thought about Xue Rui’s question, then answered seriously, "A lot of people, actually. Many of the girls from our school chose to go to university in Chang’an."

Xue Rui nodded. "It’s because Chang’an is close to home. It’s less than an hour away by high-speed rail."

"I still think it’s a little strange, though," Gu Muxue said. "Why does everyone either go to the provincial capital or to Chang’an?"

"Haven’t you heard the old saying? People from Jin Province would rather starve than leave home; we’re all homebodies. So when it comes to school, the closer the better. If Hedong had any decent universities, I bet a lot of the girls wouldn’t even be willing to leave the city," Xue Rui said.

He was telling the truth. That had been the culture in Jin Province since ancient times—its people were bigger homebodies than anywhere else.

Take that one famous science fiction novel, for instance—the one where they decide to run away from doomsday by taking their home planet, Earth, with them. That was also written by someone from Jin Province...

"Are you the same way? Because you’d miss home?" Gu Muxue asked with a smile.

’That’s enough of a preamble,’ Xue Rui thought. ’Time to get to it.’ He said nonchalantly, "I’m not talking about myself. The most brilliant student in our year has to be Lin Ruoxi."

"Mm, she really is exceptional," Gu Muxue murmured, nodding.

She had been wanting to ask Xue Rui about Lin Ruoxi. She had a feeling he’d returned with Lin Ruoxi; otherwise, how could both of their phones have been off at the same time?

The Lin Ruoxi she remembered hardly interacted with any of the male students...

Or the female students, for that matter.

The only exceptions were Xue Rui and his circle of friends. It was as if everything revolved around him.

Then again, Xue Rui had always been like that, ever since they were little. He was always coming up with some zany idea, and the other kids loved to flock around him.

She wasn’t jealous, exactly. It was just that they had already graduated, and the fact that he was still in contact with a former classmate bothered her a little.

Xue Rui shook his head. "I’m not saying she’s the most brilliant because of her scores. I mean she’s the biggest homebody."

Gu Muxue’s eyes filled with surprise. "Where did she go? The Capital isn’t that far away."

She had assumed Lin Ruoxi would definitely pick one of the Qingbei universities, because she’d heard from classmates that their recruitment buses had already visited their high school.

’Could it be... she didn’t get into either of them?’

"She’s also going to Chang’an," Xue Rui said, his expression unchanging.

Gu Muxue’s eyes widened slightly. Lin Ruoxi was going to Chang’an too?

"She didn’t have a choice. Her grandmother is her only remaining family, and she’s not in good health. She can’t handle the strain of long trips. Staying close makes it easier for Lin Ruoxi to come back and visit often."

"Going to the Capital would mean a round trip of at least ten hours," Xue Rui added.

Gu Muxue was a softie at heart. If he played the sympathy card, the girl would easily accept the situation.

And just as he predicted, upon hearing his reason, a flicker of compassion was evident in Gu Muxue’s eyes.

Gu Muxue was aware of Lin Ruoxi’s family situation. Before Lin Ruoxi had found her confidence, many people remembered her as that unhealthily thin girl, the one who was second in their year and never spoke to anyone.

"Then I guess we’ll all be schoolmates," Gu Muxue said with a smile.

In fact, she’d once overheard the teachers in the staff room talking about Lin Ruoxi. She had even put some money on Lin Ruoxi’s meal card, but it seemed like it was never used. She really admired that kind of girl—poor in wealth, but not in spirit.

Later, Xue Rui had somehow managed to pull that girl out of the mire, which was one of the things she admired about him.

Xue Rui cleared his throat. "Um, no."

"Oh? Did she go to Gongda? That would suit her," Gu Muxue nodded slightly.

"Neither."

Gu Muxue asked curiously, "Then where did she go?"

"She’s going to the same university as me. My aunt left her acceptance letter here with mine," Xue Rui said calmly, pulling out the other mailer with Lin Ruoxi’s name on it.

’Coming up with an excuse beforehand is much better than hiding it and getting caught later,’ he thought. ’Right now, the girl feels guilty for what she did, and on top of that, I just came back from being "missing." The feeling of relief from getting me back is stronger than any jealousy.’

Therefore, this was the moment Gu Muxue would be at her most forgiving. If he missed this chance, he might not get another one.

Gu Muxue’s hand on his shoulder tightened instinctively, and her tone took on an unconscious, questioning edge. "Why?"

’This is bad,’ Xue Rui thought. Gu Muxue’s perceptiveness far exceeded his expectations.

"Didn’t you say it yourself before? A good student will be a good student anywhere; they don’t necessarily have to go to a top-tier school." Xue Rui threw the exact words Gu Muxue had used when choosing her high school right back at her.

"Oh, so she’s at the same university as you. Don’t tell me she’s in the same major, too?" Gu Muxue shot back, her voice laced with a hint of frost.

’Back then, *she* had done it because she wanted to be in the same school as Xue Rui. But why would Lin Ruoxi give up a Qingbei university?’

Giving up a top high school and giving up a Qingbei university were two completely different things!

Xue Rui winced in pain. "Muxue, I have to say, you’re too smart for your own good. You guessed it exactly."

Gu Muxue didn’t say a word, but her teeth were grinding audibly.

She couldn’t believe it. She had only said it as a deliberate jab, but it was actually true!

Xue Rui quickly explained, "Why do I smell so much jealousy in the air? We have a business arrangement. She can make a lot of money working with me, and being in the same major makes it convenient for her to do my homework. You know how lazy I am..."

Gu Muxue’s face flushed. "Nonsense! I’m not."

’Because Lin Ruoxi and Xue Rui are tied together by business interests?’

’Well, Xue Rui is Lin Ruoxi’s boss. That would make sense...’

After all, Xue Rui had changed Lin Ruoxi’s life. She went from being a poor student who couldn’t afford meals to someone who was earning good money in high school, able to buy the latest iPhone and receive the envious stares of her classmates...

It’s hard to go from a life of luxury back to a simple one.

It was understandable that Lin Ruoxi would make such a choice. For one, it was more convenient for taking care of her family. For another, she could earn more money.

Without Xue Rui’s platform as a backer, who knew when a "thoroughbred" like Lin Ruoxi would ever find her "patron."

Being a student at a top university sounds impressive, but you can’t eat prestige. Monetizing that kind of status takes time and opportunity. Giving up a ready-made platform wasn’t a smart choice.

But... was their relationship really just that of a thoroughbred and her patron?

She put herself in Lin Ruoxi’s shoes. If she were Lin Ruoxi, she would inevitably develop a deep sense of dependence on Xue Rui... perhaps even love.