Only clever schemes win hearts
1676 Words
At 9 p.m. that evening, inside the VIP private room of the Yuanjiang private club.
After listening to the woman opposite spend half an hour using all kinds of different adjectives and exaggerated descriptions to talk about that perky-butt guy from the afternoon,
Jiang Yi, as the listener, only caught one key point.
“So, Ruan An’an,” she paused, incredulous, “you went to donate a building at C University today, and ended up eyeing a current student there?”
“……”
That short sentence perfectly summed up her whole afternoon, and Ruan An’an immediately nodded, “Yes!”
Yin Yuan, who had been silent beside her, chuckled, “Look at you, such small ambitions.”
This gathering was originally a make-up girls’ night for Miss Jiang, because at Jiang Yi’s birthday two days ago, Ruan An'an had left halfway to adjust her jet lag, and Yin Yuan had been stuck at home working on a programming report. How could Miss Jiang’s two best friends be so useless? So once both had free time, they scheduled this to celebrate a belated birthday.
But because of that afternoon’s romantic encounter, this party ended up turning into Ruan An’an’s nonstop chatter session.
After laughing enough, Yin Yuan asked, “So then?”
“Then what?”
“The follow-up. You didn’t just let him go like that, right? Did you ask his name? His contact info?” Yin Yuan appraised her from head to toe, smirking, “Dressed so pure today, no way a guy would reject you, right?”
Ruan An’an immediately shook her head, “I didn’t ask for that.”
Seeing Jiang Yi and Yin Yuan’s expressions saying, “Are you crazy?” she quickly explained, “Hey… listen carefully! I told you, I just saw him refuse someone else, so how could I throw myself at him like a lamb to the s*******r?!”
“...Fair point.”
“But later he did ask me how to get to the university hospital. Apparently, he wanted to visit a friend. I gave him directions, we chatted a bit, and I learned he’s studying finance…”
She was too excited at the time, adrenaline pumping, saying whatever came to mind without much thought.
Ruan An’an pondered for a moment and suddenly hissed, “Hey? But if he studies at C University, why wouldn’t he know where the hospital is...?”
“Maybe he’s never been there,” Yin Yuan, also a C University student, answered matter-of-factly, “Very few people go to the main campus hospital. When students are sick, they usually just go to the school clinic. I don’t remember how to get to the hospital either. Totally normal.”
“That’s not the point! A wealthy female CEO with a pure male college student couple is my favourite,” Jiang Yi teased mischievously, dragging her tone, “I’m rooting for you, babe~”
“……”
Ruan An’an: “CEO, my foot, I’m not starting work for a while, I’m just a recent female graduate, okay!” She mumbled quietly in dissatisfaction, “You say it like I’m ancient or something…”
No sooner had she finished speaking than the other two burst into laughter, the girls’ clear, pleasant voices echoing throughout the private room.
After laughing their fill, the three clinked their wine glasses and drank to the bottom.
Yin Yuan suddenly exclaimed, “Oh right, have you two heard? The Gu family has been focused overseas all these years, but apparently, they’re coming back recently.”
Ruan An’an, a bit tipsy, stared blankly, clueless.
“Gu family! Which Gu family?” Jiang Yi was even more shocked: “The only Gu family that can challenge the Lin family?!”
Hearing that, Ruan An’an reacted.
The Lin and Gu families of Qingcheng are two major giants, not just in Qingcheng, but nationally as well. Both families have grown bigger and bigger, and expanding overseas was essential. Over the years, the Gu family has deliberately focused on overseas markets. Domestically, they lagged behind the Lin family slightly, but overseas, they always got ahead. The open and covert competition between the two was intense.
Ruan An’an often heard her grandfather curse the Gu family patriarch but knew little about his grandson, so she expressed a little curiosity: “When you say ‘coming back,’ what do you mean exactly?”
Yin Yuan: “Just rumours. The Gu family has always been busy overseas. The domestic side got pushed hard by your grandfather. Recently, it seems they want to balance things out. Also—”
“Someone said the second young master Gu has returned to the country.”
“Second young master Gu—!” Jiang Yi, now quite drunk, exaggerated: “My cousin said Gu Er is the most handsome young master she’s ever seen in the circle. She’s seen countless men, so that praise isn’t easy to come by.”
“Not just your cousin, everyone who’s met Gu Er praises him to the skies.”
Yin Yuan sighed, “And not only is he good-looking, he’s talented and well-favoured by the Gu family. I remember Ruan Ruan’s cheap little sister also liked the Gu family's young master…”
Ruan An’an scoffed dismissively.
“Pfft… Ruan Ruan, haven’t you heard this saying?” Yin Yuan laughed: “Second young master Gu, the dream of hundreds of socialites in Qingcheng.”
Jiang Yi laughed out loud.
“Keep dreaming, how tacky...” Ruan An’an pursed her lips, completely unfazed inside. “No matter how handsome he is, he’s no match for Perky Butt.”
Perky Butt was so pure and good-looking, totally different from those trust-fund brats who’d grown up drowning in luxury—worlds apart, no contest.
“Fine, your Perky Butt is the best-looking. So tell me, how are you planning to get him?” Jiang Yi joked, “Don’t tell me... you want to keep him as a sugar baby?”
Ruan An’an made a motion as if to hit her. “Get lost! Of course not!”
...
The next day after drinking with Jiang Yi and Yin Yuan, once Ruan An’an’s mind was clear, she remembered Principal Li’s final invitation from yesterday.
Sobered up, it was like a sudden enlightenment, and she immediately made a phone call.
Heaven and earth bear witness—
Indeed, Ruan An’an was struck by lightning the moment she saw that handsome Perky Butt, no doubt about it.
But she never thought about keeping him as a sugar baby.
She had her own plan.
Since ancient times, deep love can’t hold a person, only clever schemes win hearts.
—
September 1st, the first day of school.
Three years ago, when Ruan An’an was still a computer science student, she had come to the School of Economics and Management for a seminar. Although she forgot the details, she still remembered roughly where the teaching building was.
Standing again as a student at the entrance to the lecture hall, she couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.
She arrived early. The classroom was quite empty. She walked to a seat in the last row and sat down, noticing several unread messages in their WeChat group chat.
This group was the only WeChat group Ruan An’an hadn’t muted. She, Jiang Yi, and Yin Yuan had created it years ago. People say friendship among three women never ends well, but that wasn’t true for them.
However, unlike their ironclad friendship, the group’s name had undergone several changes.
From “Cute Nest” to “Little Fairies Night Chat” to “Gathering of Gossip Queens”—at first, it sounded decent, but through regime changes, it had totally changed its style.
Now, it was called “Stinky Sisters Army.”
Ruan An’an lightly put down her backpack and opened the “Stinky Sisters Army” chat.
She had sent her location earlier and briefly explained her intentions.
Yin Yuan, no luck in romance: [@Ruan An’an? You little i***t, didn’t you say in the group before coming back?
‘Three years of endless hard study just to squeeze out some time to live carefree!’ How the hell did carefree turn into being at school hahaha this is killing me!]
Jiang Yi, no ginger: [Yuncun Music Share] - [Because of Love]
Ruan An’an: “...”
You know what? It really was because of love.
The thought of the person she was about to meet made her a little excited. Not caring about their teasing, she calmly replied: [Single stinky sisters are just jealous I found true love, it’s just envy.]
Naturally, the two wouldn’t accept that and launched a secret weapon of curse-word emoji attacks.
Ruan An’an chatted casually in the group while her eyes glanced toward the classroom door every two seconds.
Though she hadn’t seen the person she wanted yet, her bubbling anticipation didn’t decrease one bit.
Until a familiar voice came from behind—
“Classmate, is this seat taken?”
Not too loud or soft, with a slight sleepy nasal tone.
Like a mountain stream flowing past her ears, especially pleasant and distinct.
Ruan An’an froze for a second.
Quickly turned around.
Just like when they first met, he was still dressed very simply: white T-shirt, black pants, no extra patterns or decorations.
Ruan An’an’s seat was by the wall in the last row; behind him were several wide-open windows of the lecture hall. The morning sunlight shone through, backlighting him, as if outlining his slender, upright silhouette with a golden rim.
Two days apart, and the handsome guy seemed even more attractive—just standing there perfectly exemplifying the phrase “fair-skinned and beautiful.”
Ruan An’an was caught completely off guard by his sudden appearance, not to mention that he was smiling at her.
She widened her eyes and looked up from a low angle, seeing the corners of his lips curl slightly, his tone rising casually as he asked, “If no one’s here, can I sit down?”
- Writer
