They were well aware of their relationship.
After rescuing the damsel in distress, You Ran completely forgot about the unknown woman and obediently followed Qu Yun home.
Qu Yun was microwaving food in the kitchen, while You Ran stood to the side, covering her face with her hands, her eyes overflowing with affection.
"Can you please stop saving me in the future?" You Ran suddenly asked.
"Are you upset that I'm meddling in other people's business?" Qu Yun asked.
"No, it's just..." You Ran bit her lower lip lightly, "If you keep being this handsome, I won't be able to resist knocking you unconscious, then taking advantage of you, and repeating the cycle over and over again."
"You mean, even if you were beaten to a pulp, I shouldn't intervene?" Qu Yun asked.
"Yes." You Ran nodded.
After a "ding" sounded, Qu Yun took the food out of the microwave: "Okay, I'll remember. Tomorrow, I'll remind Long Xiang to fulfill your wish."
“No need for that.” You Ran quickly waved her hand and said, “By the way, how did you happen to be at the tennis court? That’s not the way you go home.”
Qu Yun poured the food into two plates and said casually, "Because the whole school has heard that you're being hunted down by Long Xiang."
As soon as she finished speaking, You Ran hugged Qu Yun's waist from behind: "Yun, so you came here specifically for me... Realizing this, I have an even stronger urge to strip you naked."
As soon as she uttered those words, that devilish hand had already slipped inside Qu Yun's clothes and begun to grope her.
You Ran was lucky; with one touch, she found that cherry-like bright spot. This was Qu Yun's cherry, and once it was gone, it was gone forever. You Ran seized the opportunity and tried her best to touch, pinch, and knead it.
Because she was so engrossed in the moment, she didn't realize that Qu Yun had picked her up and carried her to the balcony without her noticing.
When she came to her senses, You Ran looked at the ant-like crowd downstairs, quickly pulled her hands, which had been groping Qu Yun, out of his clothes, and instead hugged his neck, begging for mercy repeatedly.
"You know you were wrong?" Qu Yun glanced at her and put it down.
"I know." You Ran nodded.
"Where did we go wrong?" Qu Yun asked.
"The mistake was not following the rule of reciprocity." Saying this, she casually unbuttoned a button, seemingly with a tragic air, and said, "Come on, do what I just did to you, I won't resist!!!"
Qu Yun: "..."
The hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress incident successfully made You Ran love Qu Yun even more, so she studied harder for the CET-6 vocabulary, determined to pass the exam.
Because Qu Yun had promised her that if she passed the test, he would grant her one request.
The CET-6 exam was scheduled for December 23rd that year. In the remaining two months, You Ran studied hard, ten times more diligently than she had for the college entrance exam.
During class, she would sometimes stare intently at the blackboard, and sometimes diligently take notes. This moved the soon-to-retire professor in the college to tears. However, upon learning that she was practicing English listening with headphones in, the professor was so angry that he suffered a heart attack and retired early.
After class, she rushed to Qu Yun's house. On the crowded bus, she held onto the handrail while memorizing the CET-6 vocabulary words written on the back of her hand. Her devout appearance made the old lady next to her get up and offer her her seat.
Upon arriving at Qu Yun's house, You Ran lay down on the carpet again, setting an alarm to do reading comprehension exercises. Whenever the alarm rang and she hadn't finished, the poor alarm clock would be taken to the kitchen and chopped to pieces with a cleaver. During that time, Qu Yun's cleavers were so sharpened that even cutting tofu required a great deal of effort.
To put it simply, You Ran has gone to extremes, studying for more than 12 hours a day.
To keep herself from falling asleep, You Ran came up with all sorts of methods: drinking coffee like water, tying her braid to a stool, pricking her thigh with an embroidery needle, and even once pouring chili water into her nostrils.
Even Qu Yun had to admit that if it were during the War of Resistance Against Japan, You Ran would definitely be a revolutionary martyr with a firm and unwavering will.
Under such inhumane self-torture and self-discipline, You Ran finally succeeded.
Although the results wouldn't be available until March of the following year, she carefully checked her answers and found that she was guaranteed to pass this time.
You Ran was so excited that she forgot her own name. The only thing she remembered was that her boyfriend's name was Qu Yun, and what he had promised her.
"You said you would promise me one thing if I passed the CET-6 exam."
"Could it be that this is why you're working so hard to pass the CET-6 exam?" Qu Yun asked.
You Ran also wanted to tell him with her backbone that it wasn't true, but unfortunately, she wouldn't be the kind of person who could do that.
"Alright, what exactly do you want me to do, or what do you want?" Qu Yun asked.
“It’s very simple.” You Ran lifted her buttocks and slowly moved closer to Qu Yun, trying to make him lower his guard.
"I think the premise should be something within my power." Qu Yun saw You Ran's expression and knew that this matter was definitely not simple.
"Don't worry, you just need to say it." As she spoke, You Ran immediately moved to sit down next to Qu Yun and put her hand in his arm: "I want you to say one thing to me in person."
"What did you say?" Qu Yun asked.
You Ran buried her face in his shoulder and said her request: "I want you to say it to me... that you love me, and that you will never leave me."
"Is this meaningful?" Qu Yun asked. "Shouldn't the man be the one saying these things?"
"If you're going to say something like that to me, wouldn't it be like waiting until the end of the world?" You Ran tugged at Qu Yun's sleeve: "Just say it, it's just one sentence, it won't kill you."
"Even if we were to say something, we'd have to wait until next March to make sure you've really passed CET-6," Qu Yun said, using a strategy of retreat as a means of advancing.
"The score you just calculated for me is definitely over 500 points, it's absolutely enough, Qu Yun, you can't cheat!!!" You Ran continued to tug at Qu Yun's sleeve, refusing to let go.
"The weather is unpredictable," Qu Yun said.
"Just tell me, just to make me happy," You Ran said.
“You seem quite happy all the time, there’s no need to tease you,” Qu Yun said.
"Then just consider me terminally ill and grant me my last wish," You Ran said.
“I absolutely believe in your vitality,” Qu Yun said.
"It's just a few words, is it necessary to make things so difficult?!" Qu Yun's stubbornness angered You Ran. She suddenly stood up, and in her anger, she accidentally ripped off a button from Qu Yun's shirt.
"Stop fooling around, let's go eat, as a celebration for you." Qu Yun stood up and tried to pull You Ran away.
"I'm not eating anymore." You Ran shook off his hand and left in a huff.
"I want to break up with Qu Yun," You Ran solemnly announced.
"Why?" asked the mistress, who hadn't appeared in a long time.
You Ran rambled on and on, embellishing the story like a dish being cooked, and bitterly complained about Qu Yun's ruthlessness, cruelty, and frigidity.
"Because of all of the above, I'm breaking up with him!!!" You Ran's tone was firm: "Don't try to persuade me, this time I'm determined to break up!!!"
"I'm not going to try to persuade you," Xiao Mi said, typing on her phone.
“Then I really will break up with you,” You Ran said.
"Go ahead," Xiao Mi said without even looking up.
“But,” You Ran said dejectedly, “I can’t bear to part with it.”
Xiao Mi sighed, and that sigh was called "I knew it."
"Why can't he just comfort me?" You Ran said through gritted teeth.
"The reason is that you were the one who pursued me," the mistress revealed.
"I knew it. Men don't care about women like us who throw themselves at them." You Ran officially became an angry woman and started pulling out her hair, one strand, two strands, three strands, four strands.
"I'll only ask you one question," the mistress asked, "Are you happy with Qu Yun?"
"Of course, otherwise why would I be so persistent in following him? I'm not a masochist," You Ran said.
"If you're happy, then you're good to go." Honey shrugged: "Nothing in this world is perfect. It's just a little bit of pain. You can bear it."
"You make it sound so easy. You only know what it's like when it happens to you... It's really tough." After saying that, he let out a long, drawn-out sigh.
"So what do you plan to do?" Xiao Mi asked in return.
"What else can I do? I guess I owed him something in my past life and I'm paying it back in this one. So... I'll just have to live with the joy and the pain." You Ran slumped down, every muscle showing her defeat.
"But there's one thing I don't understand." You Ran looked at Xiao Mi with suspicion: "Aren't you always the one who thrives on chaos? Why are you giving me such insightful advice this time?"
"Am I such a heartless and petty person?" Xiao Mi was furious at this assessment.
"Of course you are, and so am I, that's why we became friends!!!" You Ran shrugged.
"Never mind, I might as well tell you. I'm currently in a relationship, and I'm very happy. My heart is also much more open now, and I hope the people around me are happy too," the mistress revealed the truth.
"Dating? Comrade Honey, I have to criticize you. Look at your political awareness, it's too low. How can you secretly have an affair behind the backs of the Party, the country, and the people? It really goes against your glorious title as a probationary Party member." You Ran pursed her lips and shook her finger.
"I don't know whose secret affair I stumbled upon on Mount Hua." My mistress has never been one to be trifled with, never has been.
“Then we’re even. Now what I’m most interested in is, who exactly is that man?” You Ran asked eagerly.
"Big Bear".
"Is it that big bear from our grade?"
"yes."
"Is it that really strong bear from our grade?"
"yes."
"Is it that really strong, and definitely straight, big bear from our grade?"
"Before he met me, he was..."
You Ran was extremely surprised. After that sports meet, although Xiaomi didn't say it, it was obvious to everyone that his interest in Da Xiong was growing day by day. But Da Xiong was a completely straight man, and it was said that the species he hated most in his life were yaoi fans and gay men.
To think that someone like that could be won over by a mistress, You Ran had to admit that her best friend was indeed very skilled.
“But you two don’t seem to match at all,” You Ran said, expressing her opinion.
You Ran believes that if we were to compare them to dogs, then Da Xiong would be like a Tibetan Mastiff, and Xiao Mi would be like a Chihuahua.
If we were to compare them to marine animals, then the big bear would be the blue whale, and the little honey would be the dolphin.
If we compare them to felines, then the bear is like a leopard, and the honey is like a Persian cat.
Are these two people a good match?
"In short, when it comes to love, only the person experiencing it knows the joys and sorrows. Nobody's a fool; everyone knows exactly what they want." With that, Xiao Mi ended the conversation with a profound statement.
You Ran, on the other hand, pondered deeply and pondered some more.
When Qu Yun returned home, he found You Ran sitting on his sofa, her brows furrowed so deeply they could crush an elephant, and in her hand, she was mending his shirt and the button that had been torn from the shirt cuff.
Under the guise of reviewing English, You Ran successfully obtained the key to Qu Yun's house a few months ago. Since then, she has treated the house as her own home and comes and goes as she pleases.
At that moment, she lowered her head and sewed very seriously, as if nothing else mattered except for sewing his buttons.
Her face was round, and her skin was very tender, as if you could squeeze water out of it.
She loves to laugh, and when she laughs, her eyes crinkle into crescents, and within those slits, there are countless glittering black stars.