Song Ze still had his head lowered, his shoulders slightly slumped, looking utterly dejected. When he heard Zhou Nian, he slowly raised his head.
His eyes instantly reddened, a layer of moisture clouding them. He looked aggrieved and heartbroken. He gently shook his head, his voice low and hoarse, yet he did not directly answer Zhou Nian’s question.
“It’s nothing. Seeing her just reminded me of a few things. It’s pretty ridiculous.”
“What’s ridiculous? Don’t dodge my question.” Zhou Nian’s jealousy deepened, and her eyes reddened slightly as well. She raised a hand and pointed at Zhang Yanyan in the distance, her tone tinged with displeasure.
“The way you looked at her just now—you were practically staring. Song Ze, I know you chased after her for a long time and gave so much for her, but she hurt you so badly. She trampled on your feelings and rejected you without hesitation. Are you really still unable to let her go?”
There was a tremor in Zhou Nian’s voice. She genuinely liked Song Ze, and during this time, his thoughtfulness and tenderness had completely swept her off her feet.
Now that she saw Song Ze looking like this because of Zhang Yanyan, her heart felt sour and bitter. She felt sorry for him, yet she was also dissatisfied that he still cared about the person who had hurt him.
Looking at Zhou Nian’s reddened eyes, Song Ze secretly felt pleased. He knew his performance was having the desired effect, but he continued pretending to be completely heartbroken.
He raised a hand and gently rubbed Zhou Nian’s hair. His gesture was tender, but his voice was filled with bitterness.
“Nian-Nian, it’s not that I can’t let her go. It’s just that I feel terrible inside. Seeing her brought back everything that happened before and made me feel like a complete fool.”
“Then what exactly happened?” Zhou Nian pressed. She slipped her arm around Song Ze’s and rested her head lightly against his shoulder, her tone softening with concern.
“Tell me, okay? Whatever it is, I’ll listen. I don’t want to see you like this.”
Song Ze remained silent for several seconds, as if he had made an extremely difficult decision. Only then did he slowly speak, his voice full of grievance and resentment. Every word sounded as though it carried tears.
“Things between her and me weren’t as simple as me merely chasing after her. We got together during military training. She treated me pretty well back then. She would go to the cafeteria with me, study with me in the library, drink the water I bought for her, and accept the little gifts I gave her. I thought we liked each other. I even believed that if I tried a little harder, we could stay together forever.”
He paused, then raised a hand to rub his reddened eyes. His voice grew even lower, thick with grievance.
“But I never expected that everything had just been my imagination. She only saw me as a backup option. The moment she met Gu Yao, a rich young heir, she changed her mind.
“She thought my family was too ordinary and that I couldn’t give her the designer handbags and jewelry she wanted. She thought I wasn’t good enough for her. A few days ago, she even told me to stop pestering her, saying that we lived in different worlds and that I should have some self-awareness.”
“I thought she was simply cold and slow to warm up to people. I never imagined she would be so materialistic and obsessed with wealth. She was willing to climb up the social ladder, and she turned her back on me without a second thought.”
Song Ze’s voice trembled, as if he had suffered an unbearable injustice. He raised a hand and pointed at Zhang Yanyan in the distance, his eyes filled with pain.
“Look at the way she smiles at Gu Yao. She’s so gentle. I chased after her for so long, yet I never once saw her smile at me like that. So she wasn’t incapable of smiling. She simply didn’t want to smile at me. She just thought I wasn’t worthy.”
He delivered the story with vivid detail and genuine-seeming emotion. Combined with his sorrowful, despondent appearance, it was enough to arouse anyone’s sympathy.
Zhou Nian was naturally innocent and had little experience with the ways of the world. How could she withstand such a performance? She immediately believed everything he said. Her jealousy vanished in an instant, replaced by deep sympathy for Song Ze and intense dislike and resentment toward Zhang Yanyan.
She threw her arms tightly around Song Ze’s waist and buried her face against his chest, her voice choked with tears.
“Song Ze, how could you be so foolish? She isn’t worth this. She’s nothing but a materialistic woman who only cares about money and power. She doesn’t understand love at all. It was utterly heartless of her to hurt you like this!”
“It’s all right, Nian-Nian. It’s in the past now.” Song Ze gently patted her back, pretending to force a smile. Yet a dark glint flashed through his eyes.
“I just felt a little upset when I suddenly saw her. I’m sorry for worrying you.”
“How could I not worry about you?” Zhou Nian raised her head and reached out to wipe the moisture from the corners of Song Ze’s eyes. Her tone was resolute.
“Song Ze, stop feeling sad over her. She doesn’t deserve you. From now on, you have me. I’ll never be like her. I don’t care about your family background. I only care about you.”
“Thank you, Nian-Nian.” Song Ze lowered his head and looked at Zhou Nian tenderly, while secretly feeling pleased.
This was exactly the effect he wanted. He needed Zhou Nian to take his side completely and develop a hatred for Zhang Yanyan. Only then would Zhou Nian become utterly devoted to him.
The two of them stood there for a while. Only after Song Ze had pretended to regain his composure did he take Zhou Nian’s hand and say quietly, “Let’s go. There’s no point staying here. Looking at her is upsetting and will ruin our mood.”
Zhou Nian nodded and obediently followed him. As they left, she couldn’t help turning back to glare fiercely at Zhang Yanyan, her eyes filled with contempt and resentment, as though Zhang Yanyan were some irredeemably wicked woman.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yanyan and Gu Yao chatted for a while before waving goodbye. Gu Yao still had things to take care of, so he drove away first. Zhang Yanyan and Lin Yue then turned and headed toward the library.
They did not notice Song Ze and Zhou Nian in the distance, nor did they know that Song Ze had fabricated such a nonexistent history between them and had even caused Zhou Nian to develop such intense hostility toward Zhang Yanyan.
Looking at Zhang Yanyan, Lin Yue couldn’t resist teasing her.
“Yanyan, Gu Yao really is good to you. He cares about your studies and even reminds you about your family’s business. He’s practically an overprotective big brother.”
“Of course. We grew up together, and he’s no different from my real older brother.” Zhang Yanyan smiled. “Dad has also told me to learn more from Gu Yao. He’s studying law, so he’ll be able to help out with the Zhang family’s legal affairs in the future.”
The two chatted and laughed as they soon arrived at the library.
A few days later, an anonymous post suddenly took over the front page of Tengyuan University’s campus forum. Its title was both sensational and impossible to ignore:
“Explosive Scandal About Tengyuan’s Freshman Representative! What Lies Beneath Her Glamorous Exterior?”
The poster claimed to be nothing more than an uninvolved observer, but the entire post was filled with exaggerated accusations and deliberate insinuations aimed at slandering Zhang Yanyan.
It claimed that the freshman representative from Tengyuan University’s finance department used her beauty and academic achievements to put on an air of superiority, when in reality she was calculating and deeply scheming.
According to the post, she kept an admirer from an ordinary family on the hook while enjoying everything he did for her, all the while clinging to a wealthy heir. She had abandoned him the moment someone better came along and was nothing more than a shallow, money-grubbing girl who toyed with people’s feelings.
The poster portrayed himself as an insider with exceptional insight, painting Zhang Yanyan as a vain, materialistic girl who played with love and chased wealth.
To make the post seem more credible, several seemingly incriminating candid photos were attached:
There was a shot of Zhang Yanyan walking alone along a secluded path on campus, with the surrounding environment deliberately cropped out to make her appear aloof and distant.
There was also a blurred long shot of Zhang Yanyan and Gu Yao chatting beside the avenue lined with Chinese parasol trees. The two stood close together, making it look as though they were whispering intimately.
There were even several deliberately staged photos of Song Ze: in some, he stood outside the women’s dormitory holding breakfast; in others, he was shown studying with his head lowered in the library. The captions read, “Devotedly giving everything, only to be betrayed.”
By contrast, these images created the illusion of a devoted pursuer being toyed with by a gold-digging woman.
