Chapter 400 - 302: Lin Ruoxi’s "Heavy Strike

Zhao Chaojie was speechless. ’Wasn’t it just banning an account? How did I suddenly become a lackey?’

"Third floor of the cafeteria, the corner in the far east," Xue Rui said before hanging up.

He and the little girl were enjoying the air conditioning in the cafeteria. He was thinking about how he was going to explain things to her later, and out of boredom, he had checked all of his roommates’ accounts.

With the exception of Qian Huabiao, everyone else’s profile pages were completely empty.

He had to admit it—Qian Huabiao was a genius when it came to getting a girlfriend...

The moment he registered, Qian Huabiao had changed his username and profile picture. He’d even found the profile’s journal feature and posted some old lifestyle photos: him drinking coffee at Starbucks with a glowing Apple logo from his laptop on the table in front of him. While sipping his coffee, his eyes were cast up toward the sky outside at a forty-five-degree angle, projecting a somber, mature vibe...

The captions were also carefully crafted. For example, Qian Huabiao posted a photo of a gold Longines watch with the caption:

[A back-to-school gift from my cousin. The retail price isn’t that high and the brand is nothing special, but it’s the thought that counts, so I always keep it with me.]

While flexing the watch, he also left room for the imagination, implying that he owned more than just this one.

In reality, Xue Rui knew the guy. Although his family was well-off, they were also quite strict. He only had this one watch until he graduated...

A play like this from Qian Huabiao allowed him to subtly flex his family’s status while also implying he was a man who valued loyalty, leaving girls with the impression that he was the devoted type...

Not a single sentence mentioned looking for a girlfriend, but in Xue Rui’s eyes, *every* sentence was about looking for a girlfriend...

Qian Huabiao was starting off at a level that was way too high. This tactic wasn’t just effective in 2014; it would be a timeless, universal template even in 2024. At this point in time, it was an overwhelming assault on the female student body!

Qian Huabiao perfectly exemplified the saying, "Money is to be seen by women, not spent on them."

Why spend money on women when you could invest in your own image and wait for them to throw themselves at you...

He could see from the backend logs that more than just one or two girls had already reached out to Qian Huabiao.

Any girl with even a hint of vanity would find it hard to resist the grand promises Qian Huabiao was selling.

’A naturally gifted player is just built different,’ Xue Rui mused.

In truth, he had already anticipated this trend for the app. If left unrestricted, the culture would quickly go off the rails and might even attract people from outside the university.

After all, the girls on the platform were one-hundred-percent "Genuine. University. Students." For a middle-aged bachelor with some cash to burn, the temptation was obvious...

That’s why he had to find some operations staff to steer the app in the right direction as soon as possible. He couldn’t just let the users run wild.

In his past life, Qian Huabiao’s record was juggling five girls at once. In this life, his own appearance seemed to have accelerated Qian Huabiao’s progress. He wondered how many girls he’d end up juggling this time...

But he wasn’t like Qian Huabiao. Qian Huabiao was the type to follow his lust, not his heart. Though he himself might be a bit of a player, he genuinely cared for every girl.

For instance, he was currently racking his brain about how to deal with the little girl’s post.

’Delete it? The post is getting so much attention, deleting it would look bad. Besides, the little girl has probably already seen it. Deleting it now would only make me look guiltier.’

’The picture tells the whole story, and with all those comments from other students... what must the little girl be thinking right now?’

In any case, he had to make a trip to Jiao University today.

"Perfect timing," Xue Rui said with a faint smile. ’It’s all part of laying the groundwork, anyway.’

"Rui, are you thirsty? I can go buy us some drinks," Lin Ruoxi asked.

Xue Rui didn’t like his noodle broth, so she had finished it for him. Now, the water in her bag had been warmed by the sun and didn’t taste good at all...

"No need. Someone’s bringing drinks for us," Xue Rui said with a smile. He had already spotted Qian Huabiao carrying drinks and looking around for them.

"Bro, Sister Xi, you must be thirsty. I waited in line forever for these," Qian Huabiao said with a sycophantic smile, placing two cups of freshly squeezed juice from the drink shop on the table.

In reality, he had paid a premium to buy them off someone else; the sight of the actual line had filled him with despair.

Lin Ruoxi said in a clear voice, "Hmm, it sounds like you’re lying, but thank you. Rui is thirsty."

She poked a straw into one of the cups and handed it to Xue Rui. Then, frowning, she pushed the other cup a little farther away. "I... I’m not thirsty."

Qian Huabiao’s expression froze. ’What’s going on?’

’Lin Ruoxi thanked me, but then she rejected me with that look on her face?’

’Her expression changed so fast. I don’t get it.’

’Yeah, this type of girl is not one I can win over.’

"Bro, about my account..." Qian Huabiao whispered.

Chewing on his straw, Xue Rui jutted his chin in Lin Ruoxi’s direction. "She banned it."

The smile froze on Qian Huabiao’s face. Lin Ruoxi hadn’t drunk his juice. This was going to be difficult...

Though he hadn’t known her for long, he had one very strong impression of Lin Ruoxi: she would protect Xue Rui unconditionally.

Now he was in trouble. He always felt like Lin Ruoxi was a human lie detector; it was impossible to lie in front of her...

He put on a guilty expression and said, "Sister Xi, I was wrong. I was just envious and jealous, that’s why..."

Lin Ruoxi had never been in a situation like this before. She grew flustered and instinctively leaned closer to Xue Rui.

"Rui, will you forgive him?" Lin Ruoxi whispered.

"I never cared in the first place. What about you?" Xue Rui playfully stuck the straw in the little girl’s mouth.

Lin Ruoxi took a sip, then suddenly remembered something Xue Rui had said: accepting a gift puts you in the giver’s debt. Xue Rui had just fed her a drink that Qian Huabiao had brought...

She glanced quickly at Qian Huabiao and mumbled, "I... In that case, I forgive you too."