Dong Jiaoyan shook her head vigorously.
"No, no, you're lying to me, right?"
She turned to Xie Linchuan again, seeking confirmation: "You're not together with Qiao Liuyue?"
Xie Linchuan was silent for a moment, then shook his head.
Qiao Liuyue's earlier words, "How could I ever fall for such a dumb guy?", were still ringing in his ears, and he couldn't help but feel a sting in his chest.
Dong Jiaoyan wasn't stupid either.
It was only at this moment that she realized this entire thing had been a trap set by Qiao Liuyue.
Why had someone claimed that Xie Linchuan was her boyfriend? Why had the athletic senior from the neighboring university happened to see this scene at just the right moment?
It had all been orchestrated by Qiao Liuyue.
She never imagined that someone who was usually so quiet and unassuming would set such a huge trap for her.
Her teeth were grinding with hatred.
"Fine, fine! Qiao Liuyue, you just wait. I'll remember this day!"
Just as Dong Jiaoyan tried to squeeze through the crowd, a strong hand firmly grabbed hold of her.
"Where do you think you're going?" The man's voice was slow and unhurried, carrying a hint of lazy irreverence.
Dong Jiaoyan looked up and met his gaze.
"Neighbor Brother?!" A note of surprise crept into her voice. She pointed at Qiao Liuyue behind her and tattled, "Did you see that? Qiao Liuyue is so cunning and treacherous. She deliberately set a trap for me."
Zheng Qingyuan raised an eyebrow and gave a mischievous grin: "Who said it was her trap?" He paused, then continued, "Actually, I set it up together with her."
With that, he released his hand and pushed Dong Jiaoyan back.
Dong Jiaoyan blinked in utter confusion.
"You have some nerve," she said, puzzled. "Neighbor Brother, what do you mean? I've never done anything to offend you."
She had indeed entertained the idea of getting close to her good-looking neighbor brother, but the problem was that he was too poor, so she had never gone through with it.
Zheng Qingyuan curled his lips and sneered: "Oh, have you forgotten about Sui Feng?"
"Sui Feng? Sui Feng Brother..." Dong Jiaoyan blinked rapidly, then stared at Zheng Qingyuan in front of her.
She couldn't process it all at once.
Or rather, she might have already had a faint suspicion, but she didn't want to admit the truth.
What connection could that rich but ugly Sui Feng Brother possibly have with this handsome neighbor brother in front of her?
Zheng Qingyuan saw that she seemed unwilling to accept her fate.
He spoke slowly, delivering the fatal blow.
"Oh, I am Sui Feng."
Those few light words fell, but they struck Dong Jiaoyan's heart like a bolt of lightning.
How was that possible?
How could he be Sui Feng?
Wasn't Sui Feng Brother always in that age-old black suit with a gentle and kind disposition?
Zheng Qingyuan added: "The person you met before was my assistant. I just wanted to see if you would judge people by their appearance. But later I discovered... your flaws were far more serious than that."
"On the one hand, you were flirting with the Sui Feng game account online, and on the other hand, you were dating an online boyfriend, Xie Linchuan?" He let his gaze fall on Xie Linchuan as he spoke.
And it was only at that moment.
That Xie Linchuan realized Zheng Qingyuan wasn't just the so-called neighbor brother of Qiao Liuyue, but also one of Dong Jiaoyan's sweet talk targets.
No, to be more accurate, one of her dupes.
The athletic senior with dark skin was listening with a complicated feeling, not knowing whether to be pleased or upset.
So he wasn't even the first one to fall for her scam!
Dong Jiaoyan involuntarily took a step back.
Her body trembling slightly.
Zheng Qingyuan was Sui Feng Brother?! Thinking of Sui Feng's financial status, casually sending thousands through transfers, and then looking at this handsome face in front of her...
So the man she had been longing for, handsome AND rich, had actually been right in front of her all along.
But she had missed it herself!!!
Dong Jiaoyan was both regretful and distressed.
"Sui Feng Brother, the truth is, I've always loved you. Xie Linchuan was secretly flirting with other girls online behind my back, and I'd already been fed up with him for a long time!" A flicker of hope appeared in Dong Jiaoyan's eyes.
If Sui Feng didn't like her, why would he be so angry, even going as far as to seek revenge?
Hating her only proved that he had once really liked her!
Maybe, just maybe, she still had a chance.
No one had expected Dong Jiaoyan to have such thick skin.
Zheng Qingyuan shook his head, a slight scowl on his face, and said:
"Don't. Don't you dare come near me!"
"I already changed my name a long time ago. It's Ruying now."
"And Dong Jiaoyan, I've met you, and I must have run out of luck in a past life to deserve that. The only good thing is that through you, I met Liuyue."
Dong Jiaoyan looked at the undisguised disgust on his face and heard the icy tone of his words.
She let out two cold laughs.
"The two of you like Qiao Liuyue so much. What's so great about her?"
"She was ugly from childhood to now. Standing next to me, nobody would even notice her. She dresses sloppily and looks so out of date. Do you two have no eyes or what?"
Everyone's gaze shifted to Qiao Liuyue.
The woman standing before them had a beautiful face, distinct and bright features, long black hair cascading like a waterfall over her shoulders, long curly eyelashes, and a slight upward curve at the corners of her lips.
Her light-blue ruffle-hem dress ended at just the right place above the knee, revealing a section of smooth and fair calves.
She was clean and lovely, radiant and full of spirit.
There was no way she matched what Dong Jiaoyan described.
"This Dong Jiaoyan is just bitter. Qiao Liuyue is not bad-looking at all."
"Exactly! She keeps thinking she's the most beautiful woman in the world, but honestly, she's just so-so. If you ask me, Qiao Liuyue is prettier."
"Right? With that terrible character of hers, no amount of makeup or dressing up will help."
The murmurs of the onlookers drifted to her ears.
Dong Jiaoyan's eyes turned red, and she felt like her world was falling apart. How was this possible?
How was this possible!
Qiao Liuyue had always been nothing more than a mere shadow beside her since childhood, just a weed by the roadside.
How could she ever outshine her?
"Ah—!" She let out a loud wail, then, like a young running bull, charged through the crowd and fled back to the dormitory.
With the main protagonist gone, the spectacle was over, and the crowd slowly dispersed.
The athletic senior with dark skin patted Chu Xubai on the shoulder and said, "Bro, so you called me here for this?"
They had met at a university exchange event. It really was a small world.
Chu Xubai gave a subtle smile and said, "So, tell me, was it worth coming or not?"
"It was!" The senior with dark skin nodded. "Thanks, man. This isn't over yet. I'll still be looking for Dong Jiaoyan to settle accounts. I'm off now."
He nodded to the others.
Then left casually.
Xie Linchuan also finally understood. He looked at his good brother Chu Xubai, and then at Qiao Liuyue.
"So today was actually a setup by all of you?"
"You deliberately... deliberately said you were my girlfriend."
"All along, I was the only one kept in the dark."
Zheng Qingyuan let out a hearty laugh, stepped forward to pat him on the shoulder, looking as buddy-buddy as it gets, and cut in:
"Not just today. Before this, weren't you also kept in the dark by Dong Jiaoyan the whole time?"
"Smart people," he said, the corner of his lips curling up slightly, "are just me and Chu Xubai."
