Chapter 545 - 356: The Double-Standard Lin Ruoxi (2)

Inside the elevator, the two of them stared intently at the changing floor numbers on the screen.

"Are you planning to tell him tonight?" Gu Muxue asked.

’If she could, she would rather Xue Rui never find out she was sick.’

’She could just imagine the guilt Xue Rui would feel.’

’She wanted Xue Rui to feel indebted to her, to always give in to her. But she had no idea how this would end.’

’But she couldn’t hide it any longer.’

Lin Ruoxi’s abrupt departure, the medicine box she was carrying, and the changes in her personality... Xue Rui was bound to figure it out sooner or later.

"Muxue, I’m so scared..." Lin Ruoxi’s voice trembled as she braced a hand against the elevator wall.

’Even though Gu Muxue had promised to let her have Xue Rui, she was still terrified he would ignore her.’

’She had hidden such a huge secret from Xue Rui. The mere thought of him looking at her with cold eyes made her feel like life had no meaning, and her legs went soft.’

Gu Muxue gently patted Lin Ruoxi’s back. "Don’t be afraid. He... he loves you very much."

In Gu Muxue’s experience, while Xue Rui would never compromise his own principles, he would generally do anything she asked.

When she had forced Xue Rui to choose, he had never relented, insisting that Lin Ruoxi could not leave.

In the end, she was the one who had backed down, which was proof enough of how important Lin Ruoxi was to Xue Rui.

The elevator reached the ninth floor. Lin Ruoxi stepped out in a daze and began fumbling in her bag for her keys.

"Go on back, I have my keys," Gu Muxue said, pushing Lin Ruoxi back into the elevator.

’The best thing to do would be to go downstairs and explain everything to Xue Rui herself, but she couldn’t do that.’

’Before, she hadn’t wanted to say anything. Now, she wanted Lin Ruoxi to find out for herself.’

’When it came down to it, Lin Ruoxi was just a timid girl.’

Lin Ruoxi stood frozen for a moment, then walked up to Gu Muxue. "Muxue, just hit me. Vent your anger. It’s all my fault."

Gu Muxue’s eyes widened. This wasn’t the first time Lin Ruoxi had said something like this to her...

’Wait, was Lin Ruoxi actually serious this time?’

During her last follow-up at the mental health clinic, she had asked Dr. He about Lin Ruoxi.

Lin Ruoxi had personality issues stemming from the domestic abuse she’d suffered as a child. She always placed herself in a subservient position when interacting with others.

The more she loved someone, the more subservient she became.

Gu Muxue hugged Lin Ruoxi, her eyes filled with pity. "No one is going to hit you, and Xue Rui won’t either."

Lin Ruoxi bit her lip. "But I’m so anxious."

’She recalled what Xue Rui had said earlier: if you expose Gu Muxue’s flaws, she gets all flustered and angry.’

Lin Ruoxi took out a photo she had secretly taken during the day. "I took a picture of you... sneakily tying that cord."

Gu Muxue’s brow furrowed. ’What is Lin Ruoxi up to?’

"Aren’t... aren’t you going to bite me?" Lin Ruoxi asked timidly.

When Gu Muxue saw who was in the photo, her face instantly flushed red. ’So she found out what I did today?’

She felt a flush of shame, but more than that, she wanted to bite Xue Rui. ’The only reason Lin Ruoxi would do this,’ she thought, ’is because Xue Rui must have been bad-mouthing me behind my back.’

She took Lin Ruoxi’s wrist, parted her lips, and gave it a gentle bite. Then she smiled and asked, "Satisfied?"

Lin Ruoxi blinked. ’It didn’t even hurt...’

"Go on, he’s waiting for you downstairs." Gu Muxue pushed Lin Ruoxi into the elevator and pressed the button for the garage.

As the elevator doors closed, Lin Ruoxi watched the numbers on the display descend, her heart pounding faster and faster.

’She always used to look forward to seeing Xue Rui. This was the first time she’d ever felt scared...’

’She knew Xue Rui loved her, but he loved Gu Muxue just as much.’

Back in the car, Lin Ruoxi got into the passenger seat. "Rui, you should drive today."

’Her hands and feet were ice-cold; she was in no condition to drive.’

"Oh?" Xue Rui was a little surprised. ’The kid’s ordering me around now?’

Still, he didn’t refuse her suggestion.

It was already 8 PM by the time they got back to Chang’an District.

As soon as they got home, Lin Ruoxi rushed into the kitchen with her head down and started cooking.

Xue Rui was sitting on the sofa playing on his phone when he received a text from Gu Muxue: "Be gentle with her."

Xue Rui sent back a photo he’d taken earlier of the Manjushri Bodhisattva statue making an "ok" sign. He texted: "I asked the Bodhisattva for two girlfriends today. She said yes."

Gu Muxue: "You asshole. I’m being serious."

Xue Rui: "Xixi’s got a guilty conscience. She’s cooking up a storm right now. I bet she’ll be cleaning the entire house next."

Gu Muxue: "You already know?"

Xue Rui: "Muxue, I’m sorry. From now on, I’ll be your personal clown."

Gu Muxue: "If you know, then just get it over with. Ruoxi is under a lot of stress."

Xue Rui pinched the bridge of his nose. Even without Lin Ruoxi saying a word, he’d already guessed most of it. The subtle changes in Gu Muxue’s personality lately... she had most likely suffered a huge emotional blow and developed some psychological issues as a result.

’He just hadn’t realized it was this serious—so bad that she was on psychiatric medication...’

’That girl loves to obsess over things. Maybe that’s what led to the accident in her past life...’

But Xue Rui knew Gu Muxue. She was an incredibly proud girl. The more guilt he showed, the more unhappy she would become.

Gu Muxue would never accept pity. Therefore, the dynamic between them couldn’t change one bit. He had to pretend that nothing had happened. Only then would she not feel pressured.

But now that Gu Muxue had accepted everything so calmly, all the pressure had shifted onto Lin Ruoxi...

Xue Rui watched as Lin Ruoxi bustled around the kitchen with a great CLATTERING and CLANGING. There were already three dishes on the table, but she was still pulling more ingredients out of the fridge.

Xue Rui spoke up. "Xixi, that’s enough. It’s just the two of us. We can’t eat all that."

Lin Ruoxi snapped out of it. Xue Rui was right; they couldn’t possibly eat that much.

’She was using cooking to escape, terrified of how angry Xue Rui would be when he found out the truth.’

"Let’s... eat," Lin Ruoxi said meekly, pulling out the chair at the head of the table for Xue Rui.

Throughout dinner, Lin Ruoxi distractedly placed food on Xue Rui’s plate, terrified he would start asking questions.

But he didn’t. He remained silent through the meal and even as they washed the dishes afterward.

So, she cleaned the stovetop again, constantly looking for more chores to do around the house.

"Xixi, the windows are already sparkling," Xue Rui teased.

"Um, there’s still a little spot here. The curtains... the curtains need washing, too," Lin Ruoxi stammered.

"Don’t you have something to tell me?" Xue Rui sighed. "Just spit it out."

’At this rate, she’s going to scrub the entire house clean.’

’More importantly, he couldn’t let her bottle this up until it made her sick.’

The corners of Lin Ruoxi’s mouth drooped as tears welled in her eyes. She shuffled in front of Xue Rui and, with a THUD, dropped to her knees.

"Rui, I was wrong..." Lin Ruoxi’s voice trembled.

’She’d never made such a terrible mistake. She didn’t know how he would look at her now.’

"Get up, you’ll hurt your knees." His heart ached hearing her. He quickly reached out to help Lin Ruoxi, trying to pull her up onto the sofa, but she went limp and wouldn’t budge.

Tears streamed down her face as she hugged his thigh tightly. "I... Muxue... she..."

"Muxue’s sick, isn’t she?" Xue Rui said gently.

Lin Ruoxi froze, tilting her head to stare blankly up at him. "Did... did Muxue tell you?"

"I guessed," Xue Rui said. "Is it depression?"

Lin Ruoxi slowly lowered her head. "It’s all my fault... Rui, just hit me. I kept it from you. Do whatever you want, as long as it makes you feel better..."

"Just don’t make me leave." She hugged his leg tighter, her body trembling uncontrollably.

"It’s my fault. Please just get up, okay?" Xue Rui said gently.

But Lin Ruoxi just kept shaking her head, clinging to his leg for dear life.

Xue Rui sighed. Lin Ruoxi was a problem child in her own way. Every time she made a mistake, she got so tense it was like she became a different person, always waiting for her "punishment."

It was a conditioned response. Even when Da Huang misbehaved, Lin Ruoxi wouldn’t hesitate to kick him.

Xue Rui gave a wry smile. ’So why doesn’t she ever think about punishing me when I mess up?’

’The kid had a serious double standard...’

Strict with herself, but lenient with him.

Xue Rui took a deep breath and barked coldly, "Stand up!"

Lin Ruoxi flinched, then scrambled to her feet obediently, staring down at her toes.

Xue Rui’s brow twitched. ’What the hell is this?’

’She won’t listen to reason. She’s not comfortable unless I yell at her...’

’Does she have M-tendencies or something?’

He remembered when they first met. Because she was so quiet and withdrawn, he had always been bossy with her, ordering her around.

’In any case, he had to play the "bad guy" tonight. If she didn’t get her "beating," she’d have this knot of anxiety in her heart. He had no choice but to teach the girl a proper lesson...’

"Muxue said I should give you a beating."

Xue Rui hoisted Lin Ruoxi onto his shoulder, kicked open the bedroom door, and glanced over the bed.

After making sure there was nothing on it, he threw Lin Ruoxi heavily onto the soft mattress.

"Ngh!"