Volume 4: Hidden Struggles, Chapter 105: The Beautiful Woman’s Persuasion

“By the way, Li Rou, let’s find a place to eat! I heard there’s a new fruit and vegetable set available there—should we give it a try?” Chu Tianyu suggested.
Because he had been following Bai Lei, he hadn’t eaten much at all—just two dishes and a soup. He had been too busy listening to Bai Lei talk about his online relationship and hadn’t even had time to eat before Bai Lei had already finished it!
What was most infuriating was that Bai Lei still asked before leaving, “Well? Are you full? The food here is really affordable…”
“Haven’t you eaten enough tonight?” Li Rou asked, surprised as it was only a little past eight o’clock.
“More or less. It was all for Bai Lei…” So Chu Tianyu began to tell Li Rou about Bai Lei’s plan to meet his online friend.
“Is that so? I didn’t realize Bai Lei was so devoted. He’s completely infatuated, regardless of appearance—unlike you, sigh…” Li Rou said, giving Chu Tianyu a playful glance.
“I’m not bad either!” Chu Tianyu protested indignantly.
And so, the two chatted and laughed as Chu Tianyu led Li Rou to the newly opened fast-food restaurant mentioned by Bao Cai.
The restaurant was doing well, offering some opening discounts and other promotions. Being new, its cleanliness and other conditions were far better than those of the other small shops at school.
Chu Tianyu and Li Rou finally found an empty seat, after which Chu Tianyu went to queue up to order food.
Li Rou sat alone by the window, holding her food in her hands, staring intently at Chu Tianyu in line, lost in her thoughts and filled with emotions. It seemed as if Chu Tianyu before her was a character from a dream—something that would vanish once she woke up!
“Oh, isn’t this our beautiful Li Rou? Why are you here eating by yourself? Although this kind of fast-food restaurant can barely be considered affordable for ordinary people, don’t you think it’s a bit extravagant for your daily allowance of five yuan? Do you deserve your mother, who works hard from dawn to dusk?” Zhou Yun’s familiar and annoying voice suddenly rang out, interrupting Li Rou’s thoughts.
Startled, Li Rou saw Zhou Yun and two other female classmates standing in front of her, carrying big and small bags, as if they had just returned from shopping.
Li Rou turned her head away, looking out the window, ignoring Zhou Yun’s sarcasm completely.

“Yunyun, you’re wrong. She’s not the same anymore—she’s already been taken care of by someone! They give her phones worth tens of thousands of yuan, send fleets to take her out for meals, huh. Who knows? Maybe even eating here is a hardship for her!” said a stylishly dressed girl beside Zhou Yun in a sarcastic tone.

“Right! I heard it’s a luxury private room at the top level of ‘Honor’! A level that even wealthy restaurants might not offer!” added another girl with curly hair.

Hearing this, Zhou Yun’s face turned green with envy. Li Rou, whom she had always looked down on, had suddenly transformed from an ugly duckling into a swan, reaching a high status that made her own material advantages meaningless. Especially the rumors she had heard about her lately were unbearable. Her intense jealousy only made her hate Li Rou more and more, pulling her into an uncontrollable spiral.

That’s why she targeted Li Rou everywhere and took the lead in spreading rumors, claiming that Li Rou was being kept by some wealthy old boss in his sixties and often stayed out all night. Seeing her here today, she naturally couldn’t resist making a few sarcastic remarks.

“Hmph, always acting like an innocent virgin, but turns out she’s just a whore too!” Zhou Yun said in a deliberately loud tone, drawing the attention of the students around.

“What did you say? Say that again!” Li Rou suddenly stood up, turning around with wide, angry eyes fixed on Zhou Yun.

Clearly, Zhou Yun’s outrageous words had enraged Li Rou, who usually had a gentle personality!

“What? It’s true! Otherwise, why would someone treat you to meals? And why have you been staying outside all night these days? Did I say something wrong?” Zhou Yun stepped back, speaking in a harsh tone. Most of the students also stopped eating and looked over, watching the situation unfold.

“Sorry, please move aside. This seat is already taken!” Chu Tianyu’s calm voice came from behind Zhou Yun and her friends.

Although his voice wasn’t loud, it carried an undeniable authority. Zhou Yun and her friends instinctively stepped aside.

Chu Tianyu slowly put down his plate and signaled Li Rou to sit down, saying he would handle everything. Seeing that it was Chu Tianyu, Li Rou’s excited and angry mood instantly calmed down. She obediently sat down as he instructed.

Then, Chu Tianyu slowly turned around and said in a deep voice in front of everyone in the Happy Meal restaurant, “Let me explain. First, I gave her the phone. Second, I paid for her meal. Third, it’s none of your business whether she comes back to stay at night!” Especially when saying the last sentence, Chu Tianyu suddenly raised his voice and deliberately spat a bit of saliva at Zhou Yun and the other two!
“Zhou Yun, listen well to me. Just for what you said just now, I wouldn’t mind slapping you a few times! But I don’t hit women. If this happens again, don’t blame me if I slap you! Now shut your mouth the hell up and get out—just one word: GO!!!”
With a powerful “GO!” from Chu Tianyu, Zhou Yun and the others were so scared that they stepped back several times immediately, their lips turning purple and their bodies trembling. They truly didn’t even have the courage to speak anymore. They exchanged glances, stopped eating, and hurriedly left.
Seeing Chu Tianyu sit down, Li Rou said softly, “Actually, what they said is nonsense. If you engage with boring people like them, you’ll become boring too. Hehe, didn’t you tell me that?”
Chu Tianyu replied calmly, “Minor trivialities can be tolerated, but when it comes to publicly humiliating and ruining someone’s reputation, you must slap them back right away!”
“If it were my own matter, I might just laugh it off, but no harm can come to my woman!” Chu Tianyu continued fiercely.
Hearing “my woman,” Li Rou’s face turned red as she scolded, “So cheesy! Who’s your woman? Hehe, but our Miss Ouyang once said that if you want to be your woman, you have to be ready to bear everything you ever thought too much about before—whether good or bad!”
“Wow, did she really say that?”
“Hehe, of course. I’m feeling it deeply now. Being with you, I haven’t experienced many good things, but I’ve had to deal with quite a few bad things and worries!” Li Rou joked.
“So you admit you’re my woman now?” Chu Tianyu teased.
“Shut up…” Li Rou rolled her eyes at him and blushed shyly.
“Happiness!” That was Chu Tianyu’s thought at that moment.
…
But as for Chu Tianyu’s happiness, Qin Nianran had been troubled lately.
At that moment, she was looking disdainfully out the window at Zhou Chongyun, who was holding a bunch of roses, along with his constant calls. She firmly pressed the power button to shut it off. Annoyed, her thoughts drifted back to what Ouyang Ziyi had said to her that day…

Qin Nianran was well aware of her current state of mind and knew where the source of her troubles lay, but she simply couldn’t control or adjust it. She knew full well that from the moment Ouyang Ziyi appeared, she had been at a disadvantage. The moment Ouyang Ziyi mentioned Chu Tianyu, her composure completely shattered, with negative emotions surging in, leaving her utterly confused and defeated in front of Ouyang Ziyi!

What annoyed her the most was that even after so much time, if time could be reversed and she could go back to that conversation with Ouyang Ziyi, she knew the outcome would still be the same—because to this day, she still couldn’t solve this problem or answer it!

She remembered…

Ouyang Ziyi greeted her with a “friendly” voice, “Nianran? Hello. Ever since we last met at the tea house, you still look stunning and have such natural grace. Do you remember me? I’m Ouyang Ziyi…” At that moment, when she was already upset, this added to her shock even further!

“Can I talk to you? There’s a quiet lawn not far ahead,” Ouyang Ziyi asked gently in simple words.

With doubts in her heart and trying to figure out Ouyang Ziyi’s intentions, she followed her over.

The two found a secluded and clean patch of grass and sat down. Without waiting for Qin Nianran to gather her thoughts, Ouyang Ziyi got straight to the point, “Nianran, do you know why I suddenly came to see you?”

“No, I don’t!” As soon as these words left her mouth, Qin Nianran regretted them immediately—didn’t that mean she was already in a passive position, controlled by Ouyang Ziyi’s tone?

Since she was already at a disadvantage, she didn’t want to say things like “Just speak plainly! I’m busy!” which would only clutter her mind further.

So Qin Nianran didn’t say a word. She just stared at Ouyang Ziyi, trying hard in her heart to regain the effect of the Ice Heart Technique.

Ouyang Ziyi smiled sweetly, casually glancing at the green grass on the ground, and casually said, “Well, actually, it’s nothing serious. It’s still about Chu Tianyu!”

At those words, Qin Nianran was shocked. No matter how much she had planned—whether it was school matters or business competition—she never expected Ouyang Ziyi to bring up that fool. Qin Nianran, who had just managed to calm her emotions with the Ice Heart Technique, saw them collapse again in an instant…

She was about to hear what Ouyang Ziyi had to say next when, to her surprise, Ouyang Ziyi glanced absentmindedly into the distance and changed the subject, saying, “Actually, the day we both entered school, our fates were already intertwined! Forget those silly titles like ‘the two beauties of Peking University’ coined by others—even just between us, though we haven’t had much contact or friendship, there’s still constant comparison and mutual attention in our hearts! Sigh, it’s said that women are jealous by nature, let alone between us!”
Tai Nianran didn’t refute Ouyang Ziyi’s words because she was indeed right! Although they pretended not to care on the surface, seemingly unwilling to accept such labels or comparisons about them, their only response was often, “Boring!”
But with similar backgrounds, equally stunning looks, and distinct personalities, the competition and comparison within them had never ceased. Perhaps this wasn’t just due to women’s jealousy but rather humanity’s innate competitive nature…
“What exactly do you want to say?” Qin Nianran finally asked, losing patience.
“Hehe, of course it’s Chu Tianyu. Didn’t I just say that?” Ouyang Ziyi replied with a sly smile and winks.
Qin Nianran said coldly, “If you have anything to do with him, go talk to him directly. If he bothers you again, that’s his problem. It has nothing to do with me. Talking to me is pointless!”
Up to this point, Qin Nianran still thought Ouyang Ziyi wanted to cause trouble for Chu Tianyu or that there was some conflict again, which was why she said that. After speaking, she prepared to leave.
But suddenly, Ouyang Ziyi stopped smiling and became serious, saying, “As Chu Tianyu’s ‘number one’ girlfriend, I do have a connection to him, but he hasn’t bothered me at all…”
The mention of “number one girlfriend” immediately stopped Qin Nianran from getting up, leaving her stunned on the spot!
Then, Ouyang Ziyi continued, dropping even more bombshells: “After all, you’re engaged to Chu Tianyu since childhood, childhood sweethearts, and you’ve even held a grand engagement ceremony. Although you two have some kind of ‘love agreement,’ at least in the eyes of the world, you’re like an unmarried couple! Isn’t that enough?”
Qin Nianran’s mind was in chaos. She hated herself—where was her usually proud wisdom and composure? Why was she being led around by the nose by this fox-like Ouyang Ziyi today? What was worse, she knew all this but had no plan or way to counteract it.

“What exactly do you want to say?” Qin Nianran asked in confusion.
“Hehe, Nianran, are your thoughts in disarray? You just asked this question!” Ouyang Ziyi said coyly.
“It’s you who’s being evasive; you never gave a direct answer!” Qin Nianran retorted bluntly.
“Fine, then I’ll speak plainly!” Ouyang Ziyi stopped provoking her and continued, “Actually, according to that prenup between you and Chu Tianyu, you’re supposed to avoid interfering in each other’s lives. I really had no need to come to you. If it weren’t for other reasons and the childhood impression I have of that scoundrel Chu Tianyu, I’d never bother telling you these things!”
Hearing this, Qin Nianran frowned. She wanted to interject and defend her relationship with Chu Tianyu, but after a moment’s thought, she held back and continued listening.
“I don’t know what you think of Chu Tianyu, nor why you agreed to this engagement. In my opinion, with your personality and determination, you wouldn’t let external matters influence you, let alone sacrifice your personal happiness for some trivial family interests! But as for the reasons, I think there are only two possibilities: first, in your eyes, no man is good enough for you, so even if you marry an idiot, it’s no different from marrying any other man! With your high intelligence and pride, dealing with an idiot might even be easier than dealing with ordinary people!”
“The second reason is that the Chu family’s wealth or some other factor might have a slight appeal to you, so you took the opportunity to get engaged, killing two birds with one stone! Hehe, of course, both of these reasons, especially the second one, are just my guesses—without any basis or proof, purely based on a woman’s intuition!”
“Well, after analyzing your situation, let’s shift the topic to Chu Tianyu. I assume that after accepting him as your fiancé, you must have sent someone to investigate. Unfortunately, it seems your investigation was rather superficial. As far as I know, you only sent people to Chu Tianyu’s school to gather information, without delving deeper or following up further. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be my turn to tell you these things now!”

“Oh? So you’ve done thorough research and kept a close watch, huh?” Qin Nianran couldn’t help but feel resentful. After all, she had initially focused her attention on Ouyang Ziyi and the Ouli Jia Bao Group behind her, only to come up empty-handed! As for Chu Tianyu’s information, she had destroyed it the moment she decided to shift her focus to Ouyang Ziyi after breaking up with him, never paying him any further attention.

“Hehe, of course. I even have to thank you for that. If I hadn’t happened to see him with you, given his appearance at the time, I might have misjudged him and let him go!” Ouyang Ziyi said with a smile that seemed deliberately meant to annoy Qin Nianran.

Sure enough, Qin Nianran felt even more annoyed at Ouyang Ziyi now, filled with regret.

Then Ouyang Ziyi changed her tone, speaking in a loving and delighted manner, “Actually, I never expected to find such a treasure. At first, I even thought about digging up his secrets and figuring out how to deal with him. After all, he acted so indifferent, as if he didn’t even care about others. Thinking back now, I still find him extremely infuriating! Hehe, but the closer you got to him, the more you got to know him, and the more you understood everything he did, the greater his appeal to you became, eventually making it impossible for you to resist!”

“This is a copy of all my research on him and an evaluation of him from one of my elders. I won’t give you the original—hehe, that’s a souvenir of our love. I’ve already kept it precious!” As she said this, Ouyang Ziyi handed Qin Nianran a copy while still trying to provoke her.

Qin Nianran took the document involuntarily, forcing out words, “No matter how great he might be, what’s your intention in telling me these things?”

“Nothing much. I just want to tell you that someone as outstanding as you can only find all the happiness and fulfillment you desire from someone even more outstanding than you—Chu Tianyu!” Ouyang Ziyi replied promptly without hesitation.

Qin Nianran didn’t immediately refute her. After all, if Ouyang Ziyi could say such things, there must be a reason. So, without confirming anything or even reviewing the document, she wouldn’t be foolish enough to argue further with her on this matter.

She tried to stay calm and said calmly, “I roughly understand what you mean today. But what I don’t understand is that since you’re already with him, you should be eager for him to break off our engagement. Why does it feel like you’re helping him persuade me instead?”

“I’m not helping him—I’m helping myself!” Ouyang Ziyi said firmly.

Ouyang Ziyi seized every opportunity to take the lead, controlling the pace of the conversation. Especially that seeminglytaken for granted expression of hers completely threw Qin Nianran off balance, who angrily said irrationally, “What do you mean by this? Even if you manage to persuade me, I’m still the older one!!!!!”
“Hehe, whether I’m older or younger, I don’t care…” Ouyang Ziyi finally showed a triumphant, mischievous smile and said something with deep implications.