Not long after, Long Xiang took off his pants.
Finally, You Ran discovered Long Xiang's secret—the pattern printed on his boxer shorts was Crayon Shin-chan.
You Ran admitted that those boxer shorts really suited Long Xiang.
However, if outsiders find out that Long Xiang, who is always arrogant and acts like he's all that, is actually wearing cartoon underwear, then his four years of college will be very, very miserable.
Just then, You Ran took out the digital camera she had prepared and captured this wonderful moment.
Long Xiang had sharp ears and immediately recognized the voice. He turned around alertly and asked, "Who is it?"
"It's me." You Ran smiled innocently, then ran outside.
Long Xiang quickly put on his clothes and chased after him.
You Ran felt that since he was the president of the drama club, it was necessary to put on a play during his term; otherwise, he would be letting down the audience.
So she ran onto the stage.
The one who ran onto the stage and grabbed her was Long Xiang.
"Give it back to me!!!" Long Xiang roared in anger.
You Ran understood that his complete statement should have been, "Give me back that photo of me wearing cartoon boxer briefs!"
Under the spotlight, they struggled with an air of nonchalance.
"Give it back to me!!!" Long Xiang roared, his eyes blazing with fury, as he shook You Ran's delicate shoulders with all his might.
You Ran turned her head to one side, shaking it as if in pain.
"Give it back to me!!!" Long Xiang was already furious.
At this moment, everyone stopped and watched as things unfolded.
Little Shrimp Brother appeared at the right moment and asked, "President, what exactly does Long Xiang want you to repay?"
She turned her head leisurely, and with a melancholy, affected expression typical of a literary heroine, uttered three words to the entire population that were even more sour than pickled cabbage: "His heart."
Upon hearing this, everyone exclaimed "Oh!"
"you!!!"
After catching his breath, Long Xiang was about to defend himself when he heard You Ran's quiet warning: "If you don't want the photos to circulate, then keep quiet."
At that moment, Long Xiang tasted a metallic sweetness in his throat.
His fingers were almost crushing You Ran's bones.
But Long Xiang understood that even if he really crushed it, in other people's eyes it would be a manifestation of his love turning into hate.
At this point, the veracity of this rumor has reached 99%.
Unsurprisingly, Qu Yun also found out.
Following Xiao Mi's instructions, You Ran has been minimizing her meetings with Qu Yun these days, mainly to cooperate with the development of the scandal, and also to avoid being exposed due to her poor acting skills.
Although she followed the instructions, You Ran was still unsettled, because if she didn't contact Qu Yun, Qu Yun wouldn't contact her either.
"Don't you think this might backfire?" You Ran worried. "What if he really believes the rumors and thinks I've cheated on him? What if he gets angry and dumps me?"
"Li Youran, have some backbone! Are all the men in the world dead? If he doesn't want you, just find another one." Xiao Mi was exasperated.
"I just like him!" You Ran's eyebrows revealed her stubbornness.
"What exactly do you like about him?" Xiaomi asked, puzzled.
“I like him because… he is Qu Yun.” You Ran gave a simple yet meaningful answer.
"You win," the mistress admitted defeat.
Although You Ran did not contact Qu Yun, the two still met—at the school-wide drama competition.
Qu Yun was one of the teacher representatives, and You Ran was the president of the drama club, so she could also be considered a student representative. She was fortunate enough to sit with Qu Yun.
The audience, including the guest seats, were in darkness, providing a powerful opportunity for dialogue between two people who could not reveal their relationship.
Qu Yun: "Long time no see."
You Ran: "I've been too busy lately."
Qu Yun: "I've heard about it, they are indeed very busy."
You Ran: "What did you hear?"
Qu Yun: "For example, your relationship with a junior from elementary school."
You Ran was secretly delighted, but she still pretended to defend herself: "Don't listen to those people's gossip. It's all because the cafeteria recently lowered prices, and these people have nothing better to do than eat too much."
Qu Yun: "Oh."
That "oh" was devoid of any emotion, like a quiet autumn night, so still it was hard to understand.
Next, a teacher sat down next to Long Xiang, and the two stopped talking.
Each college sent a team to participate in this drama competition. The order of performance was determined by drawing lots, and the drama club naturally gave the final performance.
The performance was of the classic play "Rhinoceros in Love," and Long Xiang played the lead role of Ma Lu.
Despite being a newcomer, Long Xiang was not at all stage-frightened; his performance was emotionally rich and captivating.
"This child looks familiar," Qu Yun murmured in the darkness.
Although the teacher next to him was older, his gossipy heart was still burning with curiosity: "Teacher Qu, this is a freshman. He is the owner of Pinmingju, a national chain restaurant. He's quite famous, but he has a bad temper. He even got into a fight with the instructor during military training. Now the teachers don't dare to discipline him... However, this student is not the kind of lawless scoundrel. Apart from his bad attitude, he's not bad at all."
“It seems he has a great passion for theater,” Qu Yun said.
"I heard... well, just heard," the gossip teacher glanced at You Ran, then leaned close to Qu Yun's ear and said, "I heard that this kid has taken a liking to Li You Ran, the president of the drama club, and wants to pursue her. Recently, the whole school knows about it... These kids are really something else."
"Oh." Qu Yun's second "oh" was even quieter; in the deep autumn night, even the moon had vanished.
Leisurely twisted the cap of the mineral water bottle on the table, held it to her smiling lips, and drank.
At this moment, "Rhinoceros in Love" is nearing its end. On stage, Mingming is tied to a chair, while Malu, played by Long Xiang, is beside him.
After a series of clashes, when Ma Lu killed Tula, Long Xiang suddenly stood up and faced the audience below the stage, or rather, faced You Ran, saying: "This is the last thing I can give you, Tula's heart, and myself. Can you take them in? You Ran... my dear, gentle, sweet... You Ran."
The entire room fell silent.
This was an unprecedented public declaration of love.
Leisurely continued drinking her water, the same smile still playing on her lips.
Long Xiang's lips trembled with suppressed anger.
Yes, that photo of him wearing cartoon boxer briefs is still very useful.
Although You Ran didn't turn her head, she still saw a subtle white light flash again on Qu Yun's glasses in the quiet darkness.
The plan was very effective, because that very evening, You Ran received a call from Qu Yun, asking her to come to his house.
On the way, You Ran kept imagining what was about to happen.
For example, Qu Yun would lift her chin, narrow his eyes dangerously, and say, "Is that kid as hot as me?"
For example, Qu Yun would hold her hand and earnestly plead, "You Ran, please give me another chance."
For example, Qu Yun would rip off her clothes and roar, "How dare you betray me! Today, I'll show you who the real man who truly belongs to you is!!!"
He leisurely sucked back his saliva, thinking, "If only it were the third one."
However, neither of these scenarios occurred.
When You Ran arrived at Qu Yun's house, the first thing he said was, "Let's break up."
You Ran felt as if she had been slapped on the face by a dried-up squirrel; the sensation was indescribable.
"What?" She preferred to believe that she hadn't slept well last night and was hallucinating.
But no, Qu Yun's clear voice rang out again: "Let's break up."
"You... you called me here just to talk about this?!" You Ran couldn't believe it.
Shouldn't this man have roared at her, thrown her onto the bed, torn off her clothes, and raped her?
Why did this happen?
"I invited you here today to give you this." Qu Yun pointed to the box on the ground, which was filled with comics that You Ran had left there: "Since we have no relationship anymore, please take this back."
She even took the comics; it seems like it's really the end.
"Why?" You Ran asked urgently, wanting to die with a clear understanding.
"Because judging from recent events, it seems your heart is no longer with me," Qu Yun said, revealing the reason that had killed their relationship.
"You're spouting nonsense!" You Ran said angrily.
"If not, then why are you so happy about Long Xiang's confession?" Qu Yun asked.
"I'm not happy." You Ran gritted her teeth.
"This afternoon, when he confessed his feelings to you in public, the way you looked at him could only be described as burning with passion," Qu Yun added as further accusation.
"I didn't!" You Ran protested.
That wasn't heat at all; it was just the smug gleam of someone who had succeeded in their evil scheme.
But Qu Yun wouldn't listen to her explanation at all: "Ever since Long Xiang showed his affection for you, you've rarely contacted me. It seems you have no feelings for me anymore, but because of your guilt, you don't want to break up with me, so you've been suffering. Although I'm reluctant, now that things have come to this, I might as well set you free... So, You Ran, take your comics and go find Long Xiang."
Qu Yun picked up the comic book box and said she was about to put it outside the door.
Yu Ran panicked and, without even having time to think, blurted out her crime: "It was all my mistress's doing! Xiao Xin has absolutely no feelings for me. I did this on purpose to make you think he's your rival, so you'd care about me more!!!"
After she finished speaking, You Ran fell silent, because she saw a hint of a smile in Qu Yun's eyes, which were as calm as still water.
He was tricked into saying those words.
At that moment, You Ran really wanted to shove her head into the toilet and drown.
"You're lying to me!" You Ran's lips trembled.
"You seem to have stolen my lines," Qu Yun said with a smile.
"I hate you!!!" You Ran gritted her teeth.
"Whether it's hate or not, love is not far away." Qu Yun still smiled.
You Ran wanted to get angry, but the anger in her heart was swallowed as soon as it reached her stomach. She slowly walked to the sofa and sat down in frustration: "Can't you show me a little bit of concern?"