Chapter 463 326: An Extra Sister's Love

"Xixi, come sit next to Auntie. I have something to tell you..." Ren Qunfang shot Xue Rui a glare and beckoned Lin Ruoxi to her side.

Xue Rui winked at Lin Ruoxi. "Go on, listen carefully."

'I could guess what my mom was going to say to Lin Ruoxi without even thinking,' he thought. 'It's bound to be about keeping her distance from me.'

But it was too late for that now. Besides, Lin Ruoxi had a rebellious streak. Even though plenty of people cared about her and tried to give her advice, all it took was a word or two from him to undo all their efforts.

Lin Ruoxi only listened to him.

'No, that's not quite right. It seems Lin Ruoxi listens to Gu Muxue even more...'

Gu Muxue's words held more weight than his, and that was something Xue Rui just couldn't fathom.

Lin Ruoxi was planning to change her major after the holidays. She even said she needed to keep some distance from him, that she couldn't be "eating with him and sleeping with him" anymore, as if she suddenly had some great ambition.

'How had I not noticed?'

'Buying a house and a car right after the semester started—wasn't that just so she could be with him every day?'

He felt he needed to re-evaluate Lin Ruoxi. She had matured a lot since getting to know Gu Muxue.

The old Lin Ruoxi was so naive he could wrap her around his little finger. Now, she understood all his jokes. And though she acted the same as before, her reactions were more out of affectionate indulgence.

"Xixi, are you settling in okay over there?"

"Mm, it's fine," Lin Ruoxi said, her eyes on Xue Rui.

'Initially, I planned to apply for an off-campus residency permit when the semester started so I could live with Xue Rui every day,' she thought. 'But I know myself too well. Every minute with him flies by, and my self-control is practically nonexistent...'

'I decided not to apply. But I still really, really want to...'

Ren Qunfang and Xue Xiaying crowded around Lin Ruoxi. The group of women chatted about this and that, while even Da Huang lay curled up at Lin Ruoxi's feet. Xue Yao was about to scoot closer to listen in as well.

"Xixi, I remember you were born in the year of the Dog, and Xiaorui was born in the year of the Pig..." Ren Qunfang said.

"Well, a pig and a dog—a notorious pair. We're perfectly compatible," Xue Rui chimed in.

'Come to think of it, Lin Ruoxi really is like a puppy—obedient and compliant.'

'Of course, I won't admit I'm as greedy as a pig for wanting two girlfriends.'

"Mm-hmm," Lin Ruoxi nodded with a smile.

Ren Qunfang said, displeased, "Go on, shoo. What do you know? You need a professional to calculate these things."

"I seem to recall that someone born in the year of the Dog is most compatible with a Tiger, right?" Ren Qunfang murmured.

"Zodiac signs?" Xue Yao grabbed a stool and started to squeeze her way into the group. She was quite interested in this sort of thing.

Lin Ruoxi said in a low voice, "Auntie, I only like pigs."

'Lin Ruoxi knew the older generation loved to discuss zodiac signs, even using them to choose potential marriage partners...'

'But I only like Xue Rui. If Xue Rui is a Pig, then I'll only ever like pigs.'

Xue Rui suddenly felt isolated. He reached out and stopped Xue Yao. 'Why is everyone fawning over Lin Ruoxi?'

'It's like nobody even cares that I'm home...'

Xue Yao tilted her head to look at Xue Rui. 'Does my brother have something to say to me?'

"What are you doing, Bro?" Xue Yao asked.

"You don't need to listen to that old superstitious nonsense. I'm your brother, a college student. Don't you have anything you want to ask me?" Xue Rui said, winking.

'After all, college students still seemed pretty impressive in the eyes of a high schooler.'

"Bro, is the internet speed in the college dorms fast?" Xue Yao asked quietly.

"Can't you ask a real question?" Xue Rui arched an eyebrow. 'My sister is still so hopeless.'

"Oh. Well, there are a few homework problems I'm stuck on. Can you teach me, Bro?" Xue Yao said, her eyes narrowed slyly.

"Yeah, the internet's pretty fast. Your Sister Xixi is the one who configured the network for our dorm," Xue Rui said nonchalantly. 'I really don't have what it takes to tutor Xue Yao.'

Xue Yao noticed he was dodging the question and pressed him. "Bro, I'm serious, I really don't get those problems."

"Go ask Lin Ruoxi. If there's something she doesn't know, then you can ask me."

Xue Rui said shamelessly. 'Lin Ruoxi's high school knowledge alone would be more than enough to handle Xue Yao's questions.'

"Bro, you're so shameless. You say it like you're even smarter than Sister Ruoxi."

Xue Rui sighed. 'I might as well just go upstairs to bed. There's no place for me here anymore.' Anyway, Lin Ruoxi would definitely come find him before she went to sleep. That would be a good time to discuss their plans for the next two days, and to explain why they couldn't sleep in the same room.

Xue Rui opened Gu Muxue's chat window and tried sending another message: Good night, Teacher Gu.

'Yep, no red exclamation mark. I can sleep well tonight.'

He knew that girl was sentimental; in her heart, she couldn't sever the feelings between them. She might have said they'd never see each other again, but then why was she still in contact with Lin Ruoxi?

Xue Rui could sense that Gu Muxue didn't actually like Lin Ruoxi. She had withdrawn out of pride, and out of pity, she hadn't harmed Lin Ruoxi in the slightest.

As for why she was still in contact with Lin Ruoxi, he had a pretty good idea. She probably wanted to know how he was doing—just like how he secretly contacted Gao Shufen simply to find out how she was doing.

With a mind as meticulous as Gu Muxue's, she had probably long since discovered Gao Shufen's role as a "spy."

The two of them were watching over each other from a distance, yet they never met. 'What's that all about?'

Xue Rui let out a helpless, bitter smile. He opened his work group chat and scrolled through it before checking the backend data for All-Purpose Campus. He wanted to see if she was still managing the operations for Jiao University, or if she had already transferred her admin privileges...

...

「10:00 PM, Ren Qunfang's Room.」

After washing up, Lin Ruoxi brought Ren Qunfang a basin of water for a foot soak. She habitually sat on the floor by the bed and reached out to wash Ren Qunfang's feet.