RGL – Chapter 157

Xue Mian didn’t let go. He held onto her hand all the way to the end of the corridor.

Through the window at the end, they could see the busy hospital entrance with people coming and going.

Still holding her hand, Xue Mian stared at Su Min with sparkling eyes. “Su Min, Grandma wasn’t joking, and neither am I. I’ve made up my mind—I’m going to pursue you.”

“Huh?” Su Min widened her eyes in disbelief.

She thought she had made things clear to him. They had already parted on bad terms twice—how could he still say something like that?

“Xue Mian, I already explained everything to you.”

“I know,” Xue Mian said firmly, his eyes no longer carrying that earlier defeated look. “You don’t like me—that’s your business. But I like you, and I want to persist. Su Min, just because you don’t like me now doesn’t mean you won’t in the future. So I’ve decided—I’m not giving up. I’ll keep chasing you.”

“…”

Seeing how resolute he was, Su Min suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

After a while, she finally said, “Xue Mian, we’re doing just fine as friends. Can you not do this anymore, please?”

“Why not? Tell me clearly—why won’t you consider me? Don’t bring up age—we’re about the same age. And I’ve matured a lot compared to before—definitely more mature than most guys our age. So don’t say you see me as a child anymore.”

Xue Mian couldn’t understand it either. They were the same age, so why did Su Min always treat him like a kid?

Su Min herself had never thought much about the age of her future partner. She hadn’t really considered that kind of thing. But now that Xue Mian brought it up, she felt a little confused. All she ever wanted was someone suitable to live a peaceful life with—to live out her days with her parents, without suffering anymore.

After a moment of internal reflection, Su Min finally decided to speak honestly. “Xue Mian, you already know—my family isn’t as harmonious as it seems. My parents were forced to move out when I was very young. Though they eventually worked hard and got back on their feet, before that, my mom suffered a lot. Grandma and my aunt treated her terribly. I witnessed all of it growing up, and I’ve always thought—if it were me, I’d never let myself go through that kind of misery.”

Xue Mian frowned and looked at her in confusion. “You mean…?”

“Yes,” Su Min said, “If I’m going to get married, I want someone from a simple family, someone I can live a peaceful life with—not someone whose family I’ll constantly be at odds with. Xue Mian, you should know your parents don’t like me. And honestly, I don’t agree with their views either. That’s why I’ve never considered anything between us.”

Xue Mian was stunned—not just emotionally, but visibly. His whole face froze.

He never imagined that the reason was something like this. It wasn’t that he wasn’t good enough, or lacking somehow—but because his parents didn’t like her.

“But I like you. You don’t need to care about anyone else,” Xue Mian said, unwilling to accept that reason.

Su Min shook her head. “Xue Mian, I don’t have the courage to put myself in an environment where I constantly have to fight.” What she didn’t say was that she hadn’t fallen for Xue Mian—not enough to lose herself, not enough to willingly face those hardships for him.

“If that’s the reason, then I have even more reason not to give up,” Xue Mian puffed out his cheeks and said, “These aren’t real problems—how can this be the reason not to accept me? Su Min, I can’t accept that excuse, and I definitely won’t give up. I’ll prove to you that I can give you a peaceful life.”

He finished speaking and looked at Su Min with unwavering determination.

Su Min hadn’t expected that even after laying everything out like this, Xue Mian would still persist like this. She sighed inwardly. She figured no matter what she said now, she wouldn’t be able to change his mind.

She couldn’t deny it—being liked and cherished by someone like this moved her, even just a little. If she had met someone like him in her previous life, maybe she would’ve accepted without hesitation.

But after all that she’d been through, she wasn’t willing to give up the peace and happiness she now held in her hands.

Since the conversation had reached this point, Su Min felt awkward going back to visit Grandma Xue. She turned to leave, but Xue Mian quickly grabbed her arm again, “I’ll take you back.”

That rascal Han Lei had been right—when chasing a girl, you can’t let up for a second. Making your presence known is essential.

After that heartfelt confession, Xue Mian felt Su Min’s attitude toward him had subtly changed. She wasn’t treating him like just a friend anymore—something in her demeanor had shifted. He didn’t dare get his hopes up too much, but he couldn’t help imagining… maybe she had started to take him seriously.

With that, his determination grew even stronger. He was going to cling to this mountain, come hell or high water. One day, he’d conquer it.

Su Min didn’t have the heart to reject him again and simply nodded, agreeing to ride back to the shop with him.

Ever since that third showdown at the hospital, Su Min found that Xue Mian had really started to chase her.

He waited at the gate of the apartment complex every day for her to come home from school, always with a bouquet of flowers. When he was too busy to come himself, he left them with the gatekeeper. At this point, even the security guard knew that the girl from the complex—Su Min—had a great admirer.

Since the complex was close to the school, a few students from the university also lived there, and some of them had noticed Xue Mian’s enthusiastic courtship. Rumors started flying when people saw him talking with Su Min—they all assumed he was her boyfriend. And now, everyone was convinced that the second most popular girl in class, the scholarly beauty, had been claimed.

Because of this, Su Min was even summoned by her class advisor for a “guidance talk.” The gist was that she had a promising future and shouldn’t let personal feelings affect her studies.

Su Min tried to explain, but no one really believed her.

“Your thing with Xue Mian has even reached our school! Hahaha!”

One night while getting ready for bed, Liao Zhaodi burst into her room with the latest gossip.

The two universities shared the same housing complex, so news traveled fast. College life was still pretty innocent at this point, and passionate confessions like this were considered rare and juicy gossip.

“I gotta say, this Xue Mian really is different—must be all that study abroad experience. His thinking is way more open. Wen Heping wouldn’t even dare say a word to you all these years.”

“Why are you bringing up Wen Heping again? Didn’t Zhang Panpan write and say he’s dating Tang Man now?”

“Oh right, I almost forgot about that!” Liao Zhaodi laughed, covering her mouth. “Well, if Tang Man can win over Wen Heping, maybe you should just say yes to Xue Mian!”

Su Min pressed her lips together, not in the mood for jokes.

She pulled the blanket over her head and said firmly, “Maybe someday. But for now, I really have no intention of being in a relationship with Xue Mian.”

Seeing how serious Su Min was, Liao Zhaodi didn’t dare joke anymore and nodded earnestly. “Okay. I won’t bring it up again.”

She lay down on the bed as well, looking like she was ready to sleep there. “Honestly, I really think he’s a good person. You’re just overthinking things. We can’t predict the future, and we shouldn’t deny someone’s kindness just because of things that haven’t happened yet. There’s no such thing as perfect in this world.”

Su Min didn’t say anything, just stared at the ceiling with her eyes open.

She herself hadn’t figured out what to do about this situation.

“Manli, we were only able to acquire such good farmland this time thanks to Auntie Li’s help. We should invite her out for a meal sometime,” said Sun Manli’s mother, Xu Ran, with a smile.

Xu Ran was also a returned overseas Chinese and had a long-standing relationship with Li Aiyun that spanned generations—they had grown up together, so their bond was very strong. When her daughter insisted on coming to study in City B despite all objections, they immediately asked Li Aiyun to look after her. But because the old lady of the Xue family was still around, it wasn’t appropriate for her daughter to stay in their home, so they had no choice but to rent an apartment nearby. Still, thinking that renting was ultimately not suitable, she simply bought a place this time.

Sun Manli sat on the edge of the bed, unhappily fiddling with the blanket. She looked up at her mother and asked, “How long are you planning to stay this time?”

“Just a few days. Your father is busy with his business every day, and I need to go back to take care of him.”

Xu Ran looked at her daughter’s unhappy expression and smiled as she sat beside her on the bed. “What’s wrong? Didn’t you say Mianmian has come back? Haven’t you met with him?”

Xu Ran understood her daughter’s feelings very well—and was quite pleased with them.

The Xue family had a solid foundation and a simple family structure. Just Xue Mian alone already connected them to both the Xue family and the Li family in the United States. So both she and her husband were very satisfied with him. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have agreed to let their daughter move all the way from City S to study here.

When Sun Manli heard Xue Mian’s name, her expression turned cold.

“He’s very busy. We haven’t had a chance to meet.”

“I see. I was wondering—what could my daughter possibly lack for Xue Mian to be picky about?” Xu Ran was very confident in her daughter. Setting aside her family background, just in terms of looks and talent, she was flawless. She gently stroked her daughter’s hair and smiled. “But don’t rush into a relationship. Focus on your studies first. Once you graduate, you can marry Xue Mian. Your Auntie Li told me that he’s a hardworking young man. He already owns his own company at his age and didn’t take money from his family. That’s much more promising than your father was at his age. Both your father and I are very pleased.”

Sun Manli forced a smile and lay down to sleep.

Though covered by the blanket, a few tears silently slid down from the corners of her eyes.

Su Min… Xue Mian…

She hadn’t expected that after returning to the country, Xue Mian would still value Su Min so much—so much that he had even started actively pursuing her.

Xu Ran saw her daughter lying down and assumed she was tired, so she didn’t disturb her. She recalled the clothes she had bought for her daughter recently, originally intended to cheer her up. But now it looked like she would have to wait for another opportunity tomorrow.

Smiling and shaking her head, she opened the suitcase, took out the carefully folded clothes, put them on hangers, and hung them neatly in the wardrobe.

The next day, Sun Manli woke up rather late.

Normally she would set an alarm, but since she had moved into the new apartment and had her mother Xu Ran with her, combined with her bad mood yesterday, she had forgotten to set it.

By the time she woke up, the sun was already up.

For someone like Sun Manli who always strove for perfection, this felt like a serious lapse.

With a bit of frustration, she got out of bed, quickly opened the wardrobe, and rummaged through the clothes until she found the outfit she wanted.

After hastily dressing and grabbing her books, she was just about to head out when a dress lying on the bed caught her attention.

It was a qipao-style dress—elegantly made, with authentic Suzhou embroidery. The whole garment was made of satin, clearly not a typical custom-made outfit.

“Manli, time for school,” Xu Ran called from outside the door.

Sun Manli quickly grabbed the dress and opened the door.

Seeing she was up, Xu Ran lowered the hand she had raised to knock. “I forgot to wake you too. Hurry and get ready, it’s getting late.”

“Mom, where did this dress come from?”

At that moment, she had no thoughts of school, only a strong desire to know whose dress this was.

Seeing the dress in her hand, Xu Ran smiled and said, “Oh, that one? Your Aunt Liu bought it for you from abroad. I heard it’s really hard to get—even money can’t always buy it. She thought it would suit you well, so she brought it back for you. I brought it with me this time. Get to class first, and try it on when you’re free.”

“From abroad?” Sun Manli’s eyes lit up. “So, this came from overseas?”

“Seems like it, though I heard it was exported from a domestic high-end custom shop. Your Auntie Li should know. I think she had something made there before.”

Hearing this, Sun Manli felt a sudden relief in her heart and smiled.

She knew it—there was no way she would lose to Su Min.

That was absolutely impossible. As it turned out, this was a dress from an exclusive boutique that exported abroad.

No wonder someone dared to wear it so boldly. These clothes were for export only and not available domestically. Unless someone looked into it, there was no way to trace it—so naturally, no one would know that Su Min had plagiarized someone else’s work.

If she hadn’t coincidentally discovered it this time, she would never have imagined that Su Min would have the audacity to do such a thing.

When she arrived at school, the first class had already started.

Sun Manli didn’t care about others’ stares and went straight to an empty seat.

Li Fang, who usually sat in the back, saw her move forward. As soon as the class ended, she picked up her books and sat beside her.

“Why are you so late today?”

“My mom’s here, and I spent some time with her,” Sun Manli, unusually, exchanged a few more words than usual with Li Fang, which delighted her.

“Oh, Auntie’s here? We should all have a meal together sometime.”

“Mm.” Sun Manli smiled, glancing at Su Min from the corner of her eye. Seeing Su Min focused on her work, she quickly retracted her gaze and pretended nothing had happened.

“Oh right, Li Fang, do you remember the dress Su Min designed before?”

Still basking in the glow of Sun Manli’s improved attitude, Li Fang nodded reflexively. “Mm, you mean that qipao?”

“Yes,” Sun Manli said with a slightly troubled expression. “My mom brought me a dress from abroad yesterday. You know, it’s something that was made here and exported—only available overseas. And today, I discovered…”

She leaned close to Li Fang’s ear and whispered everything she had learned.

When class ended, Su Min packed up her things and got ready to leave. The afternoon class was mostly theory, and she planned to just attend briefly before heading to her shop to check things out.

Just as she finished packing and was about to walk out, she was bumped into by Li Fang.

Su Min frowned and bumped her back—both girls staggered a few steps.

Li Fang pouted and said, “What are you so smug about? You’ll get what’s coming.” With that cryptic remark, she walked off.

Truth be told, Li Fang didn’t really dislike Su Min, but she was eager to latch onto Sun Manli. So anyone who clashed with Sun Manli naturally became someone to oppose. Especially now, after learning this crucial piece of news, she looked down on Su Min even more.

Top of the class? Ha, turns out she was plagiarizing someone else. Thought everyone in the class was a bumpkin who never went abroad, huh? Now she’s really shot herself in the foot.