Chapter 445 - 319: Lin Ruoxi, You Are Too Cunning

Lin Ruoxi shook her head. "I didn’t know."

Gu Muxue let out a long breath. That answer made her feel a little better, at least. It meant all the blame lay with Xue Rui.

"What if you had known? Would you still have said yes to him?" Gu Muxue stared intently into Lin Ruoxi’s eyes.

In her heart, she’d always seen Lin Ruoxi as a girl with a lot of self-respect. She wanted to know her answer.

"I..."

Lin Ruoxi paused. ’Gu Muxue’s words can’t be taken at face value...’

’If I had known, agreeing to be with Xue Rui would make me the other woman.’

’Gu Muxue is really asking about my self-respect.’

"I... I still would have," Lin Ruoxi said, choking up.

In the past, she would never have accepted anyone’s charity. That was because she had nothing left but her pride.

But if she had to weigh her pride against Xue Rui, Lin Ruoxi would still choose Xue Rui without a moment’s hesitation.

"I’m sorry..." The light faded from Gu Muxue’s eyes. She had been so furious with Xue Rui that she wasn’t thinking straight.

Lin Ruoxi had been trying so hard to please her, accepting the fact that Xue Rui had two girlfriends from the very beginning. Why did she even have to ask?

"It’s okay. We’re good friends, aren’t we?" Lin Ruoxi said with a smile.

She couldn’t see as far ahead as Gu Muxue. She just wanted to enjoy the present moment. To wake up in the morning and still be able to see the man she loved—that was more important than anything.

Gu Muxue looked up and saw two streams of tears running from Lin Ruoxi’s beautiful, almond-shaped eyes as well. She said bitterly, "Lin Ruoxi, you’re too cunning."

Every word Lin Ruoxi said came from the heart. She craved friendship, completely unconcerned with the messy, complicated relationship between the three of them.

Faced with Lin Ruoxi’s childlike, innocent gaze, she found it truly difficult to deny her.

"Mm, I’m cunning," Lin Ruoxi nodded obediently.

Gu Muxue reached out, took the tissue from Lin Ruoxi’s hand, and wiped away her tears.

’Friends?’

In her opinion, Lin Ruoxi had a major personality flaw: she was always trying to please others and never thought about herself.

When dealing with someone who had a conscience, Lin Ruoxi would leave them completely at a loss;

but if the other person had bad intentions, Lin Ruoxi would be the only one to suffer.

This was a huge problem. Xue Rui must have noticed it, but from his own self-interested perspective, he might not always remind Lin Ruoxi to change.

She spoke up. "Friendship has to be built on equality. Do you think we’re equals right now?"

Lin Ruoxi mumbled under her breath, "I know... they taught us in Morality and Law class..."

Gu Muxue: "You..."

’She knows she’s wrong and admits it, but won’t change?’

A wave of irritation washed over her. Lin Ruoxi had her completely flustered. Perhaps threatening her with Xue Rui was the only way to give Lin Ruoxi a sense of crisis.

But doing that would just make Lin Ruoxi cry again.

"I’m going to back out, but I don’t want you to get hurt by him again in the future. Xiaorui is an asshole..." Gu Muxue said.

Gu Muxue saw no other way. If one of them had to quit, it could only be her.

Lin Ruoxi instinctively defended him. "Rui is not an asshole. He just happens to like two girls."

"Ngh, I’m sorry..." Lin Ruoxi regretted her words as soon as she said them. Her tone had been harsh, but she couldn’t help but argue back whenever someone bad-mouthed Xue Rui.

Gu Muxue had expected Lin Ruoxi to say that. She was afraid that after she left, Lin Ruoxi would be hurt by Xue Rui all over again...

"What do you think Xiaorui likes about you?" Gu Muxue opened a can of milk for Lin Ruoxi. She reached out and touched her face, which was slightly flushed from the bottle of red wine she’d drunk.

Lin Ruoxi thought for a long time. "I... I can cook..."

"You can buy that with money."

"Because I’m pretty?"

"No one can be eighteen forever, but there will always be someone who is."

Gu Muxue said, feeling like a parent lecturing their child before leaving home.

Lin Ruoxi was too timid. She had to learn to be independent. Otherwise, Xue Rui would never feel threatened, and the Lin Ruoxi of the future would keep losing out.

"I’ll back out, but I hope he becomes yours and yours alone." As Gu Muxue said this, she felt a pain like a knife twisting in her heart, but she saw no other way.

She and Xue Rui could never go back to how they were. It was better to let Lin Ruoxi have him.

Lin Ruoxi’s eyes widened. ’What does Gu Muxue mean?’

She’d had a feeling for a while now that Gu Muxue was like someone else’s parents, constantly lecturing their child with grand principles before a long journey.

"Where are you going?" Lin Ruoxi quickly grabbed Gu Muxue’s hand.

She was torn. ’Is Gu Muxue saying she’s giving Xue Rui to me?’

’Of course I want Xue Rui all to myself, but if Gu Muxue leaves, Xue Rui will be unhappy.’

’Besides, Gu Muxue clearly doesn’t want this, so why would she say something like that?’

"Please don’t go, okay?" Lin Ruoxi gripped Gu Muxue’s hand tightly. She had a bad feeling that Gu Muxue was about to leave.

She couldn’t quite describe her feelings, but Gu Muxue was thinking about her future, and she didn’t want to lose a friend.

Gu Muxue forced a smile. Lin Ruoxi was easily influenced by others’ emotions. As long as she pretended to be happy, Lin Ruoxi wouldn’t bring it up again.

"Let’s play a game," Gu Muxue said, taking a die from the dice cup.

She was going to wait for their classmates to leave before making a clean break with Xue Rui. There was still a long time until then, and she couldn’t let Lin Ruoxi go back. She wanted a little revenge on Xue Rui, to make him worry and fret for a while.

But if she didn’t say anything... it would put invisible pressure on Lin Ruoxi.

’Since Lin Ruoxi wants to be friends with me, we might as well play some games...’