The next day, Lin Qinghe came as usual to deliver lunch to You Rong.
Xiao Ziyi did not, as he had threatened yesterday, give Lin Qinghe the millions of dollars worth of jewelry his mother cherished. However, what he brought today each cost over a million—limited edition bags and shoes, everything one could wish for.
"How is it? All gifts I personally picked out. Qinghe, is there anything you like? Or do you like them all? I can give them all to you," Xiao Ziyi asked with a lecherous smile.
Lin Qinghe's lips twitched fiercely. "Classmate Xiao, I..."
"Calling me 'Classmate Xiao' is too formal. Just call me Ziyi. I like hearing you call me Ziyi."
Lin Qinghe clenched her fists, her patience wearing thin.
She gritted her teeth and said, "Classmate Xiao, if you can't understand plain speech, please don't leave your house. You cause trouble for others. This is the last time I'm telling you seriously: I don't like you! And I don't like the things you give me! Please stop doing this in the future!"
Xiao Ziyi smiled playfully, unfazed. He nudged the scowling You Rong. "Qinghe isn't like you said. Aren't these things I'm giving her valuable enough? Why doesn't she like them?"
You Rong's face was cold. "Get lost! Take your rubbish away, it's in the way!"
Seeing Lin Qinghe's expression shift slightly, Xiao Ziyi's smile deepened. He didn't linger to provoke You Rong further. He gave You Rong an 'OK' gesture and left with his belongings.
If he stayed any longer, he feared You Rong might just lose it and beat him up!
Lin Qinghe stared at You Rong with furious eyes.
What did Xiao Ziyi's words mean?
He was showering her with luxury goods in all sorts of ways because You Rong had said something to him, right?!
Without much thought, Lin Qinghe could guess what You Rong had said: that she was materialistic and would fall for these luxury items if offered, right?
Lin Qinghe even suspected that Xiao Ziyi's methods of pursuing her might have originated from You Rong.
His goal in having Xiao Ziyi do this was to get revenge. Once she agreed to Xiao Ziyi's pursuit, he would have Xiao Ziyi dump her, making her a laughingstock once again!
As the saying goes, even a clay figurine has a temper. Lin Qinghe's anger surged within her, no longer suppressible.
Her eyes red with anger, Lin Qinghe glared at You Rong. "Did you tell Xiao Ziyi to give me these things?"
You Rong frowned, displeased.
When had he ever told Xiao Ziyi to give her things? Xiao Ziyi had insisted on his own.
You Rong's silence was taken as confirmation by Lin Qinghe, making her teeth itch even more. "You Rong! Don't bully me like this! Yes! I made mistakes before, I'm sorry, I admit it. But you... you're going too far!"
You Rong was taken aback by Lin Qinghe's teary eyes. "I..."
"What did you say about me to Xiao Ziyi? That I'm materialistic? That I just like these luxury goods? That if he pursued me with these things, I'd definitely fall for it! And then after Xiao Ziyi wooed me, he'd dump me, and I'd be laughed at by the whole school again, right?!"
Lin Qinghe felt like killing You Rong, but her rationality remained, telling her that to complete the mission smoothly, she couldn't harm You Rong.
Lin Qinghe forced herself to suppress her anger. As she held back, her eyes began to sting, and tears threatened to fall.
Seeing Lin Qinghe's tears, You Rong's heart suddenly tightened, and he felt a wave of panic. "...I didn't!"
Lin Qinghe herself was startled by the tears.
How could she be so angry that she cried?!
She took a deep breath, ignoring You Rong for the moment.
She needed to leave and calm down. If her temper flared, she might really end up wanting to kill You Rong!
Lin Qinghe didn't even look at You Rong and turned to leave.
You Rong instinctively moved to follow, but a classmate blocked his path at the doorway. "You Rong, you're here. The teacher said she needs you in her office. It seems to be about you winning first place in the math Olympiad."
Blocked by his classmate, You Rong could only watch as Lin Qinghe ran away, her figure disappearing from his sight.
You Rong's heart was in turmoil. He quickly said, "I know," pushed past his classmate, and chased after where Lin Qinghe had gone.
Lin Qinghe went to the rooftop and cursed You Rong from head to toe, only then did her emotions begin to calm.
At the same time, she felt a sense of disdain for herself. She had only been misunderstood by You Rong, and she cried because she was angry? She was really going downhill. Back in the real world, when You Rong said more hurtful things, she would retort without hesitation, never backing down!
A system prompt suddenly sounded: "Progress increased by 5%. Total progress increased to 16%."
Lin Qinghe's eyes widened in disbelief.
How could the progress bar increase?
She hadn't played the victim to You Rong just now!
Or... Lin Qinghe pondered. Her conclusion was that because she cried, You Rong saw her as pitiful and softened his heart?
Lin Qinghe immediately felt a pang of regret!
If she had known crying a bit would increase the progress bar, she would have cried a lot more in front of You Rong earlier!
As Lin Qinghe hesitated whether to go back and cry to You Rong, the rooftop door was pushed open. She turned around and saw You Rong, panting heavily, having chased after her.
Lin Qinghe froze for a second, then immediately reacted. She turned her back and rubbed her eyes vigorously, making them red as if she had been crying intensely.
From You Rong's perspective, Lin Qinghe was crying with her back to him.
His heart clenched.
You Rong strode over, his large hand gripping Lin Qinghe's shoulder. He gently turned her around and quickly explained, "Don't misunderstand! I didn't mean to let Xiao Ziyi pursue you and toy with you! I really didn't. The reason I treated you that way before was because..."
You Rong's words trailed off, his expression unreadable.
He had deliberately toyed with Lin Qinghe before out of hatred and a desire for revenge. He hadn't done anything wrong, so why did he want to apologize now?
Lin Qinghe's eyes flickered. She pretended to sob twice. "Are what you just said true? You didn't deliberately let Xiao Ziyi play with me?"
"I..." Meeting Lin Qinghe's reddened eyes, You Rong lowered his gaze. "I didn't! But there was a bit of my influence in it. Don't worry, I'll explain it to him clearly and won't let him do anything that bothers you again."
Lin Qinghe nodded in cooperation, but kept her head down, staring at her shoes without speaking, looking wronged and trying to hold back her tears.
You Rong's expression was complicated. Finally, he uttered, "...Don't overthink it. I didn't say you were materialistic or anything like that."
Even though he knew Lin Qinghe's character and sometimes said harsh words to her without reservation, it was strange that he felt displeased when others spoke about her that way.
You Rong's brow furrowed, unable to understand his own contradictions.
Did he still like Lin Qinghe?
As Lin Qinghe was contemplating what to say next, You Rong's expression changed drastically. Without another word, he turned and left.
"Hey, You Rong, You Rong..."
Despite Lin Qinghe calling out his name several times, You Rong didn't react.
Lin Qinghe couldn't help but curse under her breath, "He's a lunatic, changing his mind one second to the next, leaving halfway through his words..."
Just then, Lin Qinghe heard the system prompt again: "Progress increased by 5%. Total progress is 21%."