Zhao Xuran had absolutely no intention of mentioning that Xu Huijuan had come to see him.

He was a man with firm principles, and since he hadn’t done anything wrong, he didn’t even want to bring up such an unimportant person.

It’s just that someone was deliberately scheming against him, so of course it would get brought up.

Gong Ruini went out once and just so "happened" to run into a certain high school classmate, who very "kindly" grabbed her and told her all about it.

Gong Ruini looked utterly shocked. "That’s impossible."

"How is it impossible." The person had already guessed that Zhao Xuran wouldn’t mention it; looked like this mission would be very easy to complete.

The other party enthusiastically pulled Gong Ruini aside and explained the whole thing in painstaking detail.

Gong Ruini wasn’t stupid. At first she was shocked only because Zhao Xuran actually hadn’t told her about it—wasn’t that a bit too bold of him.

But by the time she listened to the end, she finally tasted the flavor behind it. Don’t be fooled by how passionate this classmate was, piling on the lines about "not wanting her to suffer a loss" and other smokescreen nonsense; in reality, they just wanted her to go home and make a scene with Zhao Xuran.

As for who wanted her to go home and make a scene, Gong Ruini thought for a second; the Xu family should definitely be on that list. As for the others, she couldn’t even be bothered to guess.

Since they’re all so eager for her to be irrational, she couldn’t possibly disappoint them, now could she.

Otherwise, they’ve already made their little plans and even specially dug up a high school classmate; if she didn’t put on some performance, would they start sending in middle school or even elementary school classmates next.

Gong Ruini really wasn’t in the mood to keep "bumping into" so-called classmates all the time, and then watch all kinds of playful meanings flicker in their eyes.

"Is that so? I had no idea." Gong Ruini’s cheeks puffed up so much they could compete with an apple.

She shot to her feet. "I’m done talking to you. I need to go back and ask him about this."

"This is too much—he even said he had nothing to do with Xu Huijuan."

"If there really was nothing between them, why would she go to him and cry."

"Oh right, is it true that Xuran bullied her?" Even though she knew they were just watching the show, she couldn’t afford to look brainless.

After all, she was a top student at Jing University, majoring in law on top of that. If she just brainlessly followed their lead, wouldn’t that make them suspicious.

"Of course, otherwise why would she go crying to Zhao Xuran." The other party got anxious. She’d clearly already taken the bait; how could she not go along with their plan.

"I heard that Xu Huijuan failed to get into the student council, and apparently some of the things she did in the past got exposed. Seems like the school is discussing whether to revoke some ’Outstanding Student Cadre’ title of hers."

Tch, she could dig up gossip too. "And supposedly her grades aren’t great either; someone’s ready to stand up and say she coerced them into helping her cheat."

"And there are people saying she once stole someone else’s boyfriend."

"Do you think all this stuff coming out at once might be a bit much for her to handle."

"I remember when she got kicked out of the student council back then, she actually went to see Zhao Xuran and begged him to help her get back in."

"But you also know, whether that’s the reason she sought Xuran out this time, who knows. Anyway, Xuran’s already graduated; he doesn’t give a damn about his alma mater’s affairs anymore."

The informant was stunned. How did it turn into this, and how did Xu Huijuan suddenly end up with so much dirt on her—my god. Wait, calm down, they weren’t here to trade gossip; they had a job to do.

They couldn’t let Gong Ruini derail them. If they followed her lead, how were they supposed to complete the mission.

"That probably won’t happen, right."

Gong Ruini shrugged. "How would I know."

"Didn’t I just tell you? Since you’ve already dug up this much gossip, why didn’t you dig a little more."

"You’re really not very qualified at this."

"Ugh, it’s just that once I heard about this whole thing, I panicked." The other person was so anxious they could feel sweat pouring down their back, completely out of control.

"Ah, Ni Zi, I think the reason Zhao Xuran isn’t saying anything is he’s sure that if you hear this from someone else, he can just use those excuses to placate you." The other party abruptly yanked the topic back.

"Ni Zi, we’re high school classmates; I’m only anxious because I care. Right now Zhao Xuran is seriously hot property; I know quite a few people are eyeing your man."

"If it happens once or twice and you shrug it off, what if Xu Huijuan keeps going to see Zhao Xuran? Then what." The other person wore a face that basically screamed, How can you be this naive.

Gong Ruini really didn’t want to listen anymore. She’d already delivered all the necessary barbs; she could take her leave.

"You’re right." Gong Ruini slammed her hand on the table. "What you said makes sense. If I don’t go to Xuran this time, what if some shameless person does something shameless."

"If she could steal someone’s boyfriend before, then her making another move now is totally in character."

"Thanks. I’m going back to confront them."

"Hmph. If anyone dares to say Xu Huijuan is with Xuran, I’ll tear the mouth off whoever spreads it."

Huh? How did it end up like this. Watching Gong Ruini bolt off so fast that only a sliver of her back was left in sight, the "kindhearted" tattletale suddenly felt like they’d completely botched the mission.

Gong Ruini did want to go back and find Zhao Xuran and properly play out this little scene. But then she thought, why go to him; she should be looking for the other protagonist in this story.

When Xu Huijuan saw that Gong Ruini had actually come to her door, she was shocked—but of course, also secretly delighted.

If Gong Ruini started yelling and screaming at her, wouldn’t that prove she had no confidence in Zhao Xuran.

If Zhao Xuran saw what a vicious wife he had, would he regret marrying someone like that.

Hmph, just wait and see—maybe the guy himself was happy to oblige. Watching Xu Huijuan’s face full of pretend surprise, with that unhidden joy in her eyes, Gong Ruini’s temper flared.

She’d originally thought about maybe helping smooth things over a bit for Xu Huijuan, so the woman could wash herself half-clean and come ashore, and her own man wouldn’t have to bear undeserved blame.

But now, Gong Ruini dropped that idea entirely. If someone was hell-bent on courting death, why on earth would she save them.

In any case, the ones who’d be screwed in the end weren’t them. As for how ugly the rumors about the Xu family would get, that was just the price of their own stupidity.

"You’ve done a great job." Gong Ruini tossed out that one line to Xu Huijuan and then turned on her heel and ran.

What the hell was that? Gong Ruini came all the way over just to say that one sentence to her—what was that supposed to mean.

Was she going back to confront Zhao Xuran?

But wasn’t she supposed to come ask for the details first? Why didn’t she even open her mouth to ask anything.

Forget it. If you don’t understand something, don’t ask. Just wait for things to develop. She’d already thrown plenty of fuel on this fire.

If she didn’t seize this opportunity properly, she might end up having to marry the man her eldest brother and the others had picked out for her.

Just thinking about the person her eldest brother had talked up—no matter how highly they praised him, compared to Zhao Xuran, he fell short in ways she couldn’t even begin to list.

Imagining spending the rest of her life with someone like that made Xu Huijuan feel sick.

She knew perfectly well that her family’s so-called affection for her was entirely based on how much help she could give the family. Since that was the case, why not find them a stronger ally.

The "kindhearted" classmate’s story had, of course, also made its way to Zhao Xuran’s ears, and it infuriated him.