Chapter 340 - 279: Lying Is a Child’s Nature (2)

She snuck a glance over at Xue Rui. He was playing with the dog, but then suddenly looked up at her.

’Yes, Xue Rui is special. Other boys are usually a little intimidated by me, but Xue Rui never was, not from the very beginning.’

’And she felt he was more mature than other boys. Maybe he wasn’t interested in beautiful women?’

After exchanging a glance with Xue Rui, she turned to Lin Ruoxi with a faint smile. "I’m Xue Rui’s girlfriend. We made it official over the summer."

She figured Lin Ruoxi already knew, but she brought it up anyway. She just wanted to test her suspicions.

A dazed look passed through Lin Ruoxi’s eyes. She hesitated, "I..."

Xue Rui froze on the spot. ’What is she going to say?’

’Don’t tell me she’s going to say, "Me too"!’

His heart leaped into his throat.

"I know," Lin Ruoxi said, slowly lowering her head, not daring to meet Gu Muxue’s gaze.

’She wasn’t lying, but she was hiding a secret from Gu Muxue—she was Xue Rui’s girlfriend, too.’

’She remembered the heart-wrenching, suffocating pain she felt when she first found out...’

Lin Ruoxi didn’t want Gu Muxue to go through the same pain.

’Xue Rui liked two girls. She didn’t want to put him in a difficult position, but she was also afraid he’d be forced to choose...’

’But what was she supposed to do?’

’As long as she stayed by Xue Rui’s side, Gu Muxue was bound to find out eventually...’

’When that happened, Xue Rui would be upset, and Gu Muxue would be heartbroken.’

’But she didn’t want to leave. Even if she could only have half his love, she would be content.’

’She could accept Gu Muxue’s existence, but she didn’t know if Gu Muxue could ever accept hers...’

Gu Muxue took a deep breath. ’My suspicion was right. Lin Ruoxi really does like Xue Rui. If they were just friends, why would she react like that?’

She let out a long sigh. She had been mentally preparing for this, so the answer didn’t come as a huge shock.

Gu Muxue didn’t tell Lin Ruoxi to stay away from Xue Rui. From her perspective, Lin Ruoxi was already all alone. Forcing her away from Xue Rui before she’d had a chance to make new friends would be like taking away her only friend.

’Besides, her crush on Xue Rui is one-sided; it doesn’t actually harm anyone. What I need to do is tell Xue Rui to keep his distance.’

"Thanks for the grapes. I have to go," Lin Ruoxi said, slowly turning away.

Suddenly, a yellow-brown blur shot past Gu Muxue’s feet.

Da Huang trotted to Lin Ruoxi’s heels, wagging his tail frantically and letting out soft whimpers that sounded like a mix of affection and pleading.

Lin Ruoxi bent down and patted Da Huang’s head. "You stay here. I’ll come back for you later."

With that, Lin Ruoxi got into the car and waved at Gu Muxue.

Yu Minlan let out a long sigh of relief, turned the car around, and drove off.

"Ruoxi, Da Huang is still chasing us. Tell him to go back," Yu Minlan said, looking in the rearview mirror.

"It’s fine. He’ll go back on his own." Lin Ruoxi stuck her hand out the window, waved a grape, and then tossed it to the side of the road.

Da Huang immediately spun around to find the grape. By the time he looked up again, the car had vanished. He had no choice but to turn back toward Xue Rui.

Xue Rui was speechless. Lin Ruoxi had actually tricked the dog.

"Lin Ruoxi’s dog?" Gu Muxue murmured, looking at Da Huang.

Suddenly, a flood of memories returned. The day Xue Rui came back, Da Huang had clearly been looking for something.

’Was Da Huang looking for Lin Ruoxi?’

’Why? Because of her scent?’

She frowned, walked over to Xue Rui, and circled him, inspecting him closely.

Xue Rui breathed an internal sigh of relief. ’Good thing I checked for stray hairs earlier.’

Suddenly, she leaned in and sniffed him.

Xue Rui’s eyebrow twitched. ’It’s one thing for Ruoxi to like sniffing me, but why does this girl have the same weird habit?’

"Did you smell anything? Let me have a sniff too," Xue Rui said, leaning in toward Gu Muxue’s embrace.

Gu Muxue’s face flushed red. She cupped his face with both hands and pushed him away, chiding softly, "All you ever think about is taking advantage of me."

Xue Rui retorted, disgruntled, "I wouldn’t even bother taking advantage of anyone else."

Gu Muxue’s thoughts flew to Lin Ruoxi. ’She’s so beautiful, and he wouldn’t want to take advantage of her?’

A flicker of secret delight sparked in her heart, but she suppressed it and said coldly, "Lin Ruoxi was here. Why didn’t you tell me?"

Xue Rui’s expression immediately turned serious. He knew exactly what she was asking. With a helpless look, he said, "She was just here to pick up the dog. I was afraid that if you found out, you’d tell Yaoyao and upset her."

"I haven’t even gotten to that yet," Gu Muxue said. "You took the train back with Lin Ruoxi?"

"Yeah. The soft sleepers are all four-person compartments. It’s so uncomfortable being crammed in with strangers," Xue Rui said, putting on a disappointed expression.

"What? A four-person compartment?" Gu Muxue asked, surprised.

"What about it? Hard sleepers have six beds," Xue Rui said nonchalantly.

Gu Muxue frowned. She had never ridden a train or lived in a dorm, and the idea of sleeping in the same room as strangers felt incredibly strange.

"They aren’t separated by gender?" Gu Muxue asked, tilting her head.

Xue Rui looked at Gu Muxue, surprised. "You didn’t know?"

Gu Muxue puffed up her cheeks, annoyed. Xue Rui was making fun of her for never having been on a sleeper train. She pulled out her phone, searched for images, and instantly understood what he meant.

"You’re not allowed to take a sleeper in the future. I won’t either," Gu Muxue declared. The thought of it gave her the unsettling feeling that Xue Rui was sleeping with other girls.

"But who could possibly endure the hard seats?" Xue Rui said, shaking his head.