Chapter 190: Chapter 182: Not for You
Bai Shunyuan’s sudden outburst startled Shanshan.
Shanshan’s face froze for a moment, then she forced an awkward smile, "I can fold too... Back in high school, it was popular to do these little crafts, like folding stars and paper cranes."
As she spoke, her hand reached again for the square piece of paper that had slipped earlier.
"I said don’t touch it."
Bai Shunyuan’s eyes sharpened, his voice turning cold.
Shanshan’s hand froze again, looking at Bai Shunyuan with some confusion.
"Shunyuan..."
Bai Shunyuan glanced at her, "I’m giving it to someone, and I don’t want others touching it."
"Giving it to someone..."
Shanshan was momentarily stunned, then pursed her lips and asked casually, "Who are you giving it to?"
Bai Shunyuan’s expression was distant, not even sparing her a glance as he said, "It’s not for you."
Shanshan’s expression turned stiff again, her round face, which was somewhat delicate and cute, couldn’t muster a smile now.
"No class this afternoon? Why are you still standing here?"
Bai Shunyuan still didn’t look at her, coldly issuing a dismissal.
"...Shunyuan."
Shanshan’s fist clenched slightly, looking at this extremely handsome young man in front of her.
His hair was dyed yellow, and the winter sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting a warm yellow glow on his hair.
"You like me? Alright, let’s date then."
It was spring at that time. She gathered her courage and waited for him on the path he often walked with a delicately wrapped small gift, approached him and handed out that gift.
With a nervous and anxious heart...
She wasn’t asking for much at the time, maybe just that...he’d know, or maybe just that...he’d accept the gift.
But he gave her an unexpected response.
He didn’t take the gift, didn’t even wait for her to speak, just skimmed over her with those beautiful eyes, glanced at the gift in her hand...
Then he said just that one sentence.
To Jiang Shanshan then, it was like a pie falling from the sky, landing precisely on her head.
That kind of happiness couldn’t be described in words.
She was so shy then, so...timid, afraid that if she agreed too quickly, he’d think she was too easy, afraid that if she agreed too slowly, he’d regret it.
"Did I misunderstand?"
"No! Alright, let’s date."
Just with those simple words, she became Bai Shunyuan’s girlfriend, almost shocking everyone.
In the long period afterward, as she slowly came to her senses, she often wondered...
Before she agreed with "Alright, let’s date"... did Bai Shunyuan know her name?
Did he know which school, which major she belonged to?
Had he even seen her before?
She often thought, if it wasn’t herself rushing up to him but someone else, would Bai Shunyuan have given the same response?
At first, she was optimistic, optimistic enough to boldly believe that there was mutual secret admiration between her and Bai Shunyuan.
And later, Bai Shunyuan was also very nice to her, giving her everything a boyfriend should give his girlfriend.
If there was one word to describe it—competent.
Initially, she didn’t find anything wrong with this.
But gradually...
She realized she was just a "companion".
She was his "companion", and he was her "boyfriend".
Nothing more.
She could act spoiled, ask for affection, even request some reasonable material things.
And he would basically provide.
Jiang Shanshan liked Bai Shunyuan, with all those little thoughts of a young girl, so when she truly realized that maybe Bai Shunyuan wasn’t dating her out of love...
To say she wasn’t hurt or sad would be a lie.
But...
Liking someone, it’s truly addictive.
So later, she thought, maybe it wasn’t so bad—they each took what they needed.
He wanted her as a "companion", and he gave her the "relationship" she wanted.
Of course... Jiang Shanshan wasn’t a fool. She understood her contentment with "it’s not so bad" was based on the present.
Right now, it wasn’t bad.
Later, however, no one could say. But Jiang Shanshan knew, she already had more opportunities than others.
She wasn’t lacking, so why couldn’t Bai Shunyuan develop feelings for her over time?
Holding onto such hope, she stayed by his side, dealing with Bai Shunyuan apprehensively yet proudly, accepting others’ envy with such hope.
Originally, this envy could have continued.
At least until those few interactions between Su Xiaomeng and him, that’s what she thought.
Su Xiaomeng... a peculiar girl who had a child at nineteen and married at twenty.
To admit that Bai Shunyuan didn’t fall for her, but instead for a married woman...
Such a thing, she couldn’t accept no matter what.
"...Then can I ask how many paper cranes you’re folding..."
Shanshan felt both angry and anxious inside, but she didn’t want to end everything between them here.
So even though her mind was filled with negative emotions, the girl, who normally looked cute and innocent, suppressed all her bad feelings and asked casually.
"Seems like it has nothing to do with you."
"...I’m your girlfriend after all..."
"Oh, I forgot until you mentioned it."
Bai Shunyuan paused for a moment, then looked up, his beautiful phoenix eyes holding a hint of mischievous smile as they met hers...
At this moment, Jiang Shanshan regretted it deeply, she shouldn’t have said that...
"You won’t be in the future."
With that, Bai Shunyuan even raised his hand, cheekily waving at her.
"You..."
Before Jiang Shanshan could speak, Bai Shunyuan’s raised hand stopped in front of her eyes, signaling her to stop.
His thin lips slowly parted, "Please don’t say things like I wronged you. We both took what we needed; what exactly was our relationship, you and I both know."
Such an understanding...
"Also, don’t call me cruel or a jerk or something like that."
Bai Shunyuan blinked his phoenix eyes, curling his lips, "That’s just how I am."
When Jiang Shanshan left, her legs were weak, her face was pale, and inside, she was... angry.
She seemed to have made some kind of decision, wanting someone to pay a price.
When a woman fails to capture a man’s heart, and when she realizes the reason the man doesn’t place his heart on her is because it’s wandered to another woman...
Some women, at this point, don’t first think they fell for a jerk, but rather that a vixen stole the heart that should have been theirs.
If pressed, why is her mind wired this way?
Probably because failing to keep a man’s heart feels humiliating and frustrating.
It’s like admitting she isn’t alluring enough.
And Jiang Shanshan was such a girl.
But Jiang Shanshan wasn’t just that type of girl; beneath her cute, innocent facade, she never stopped scheming.
The next afternoon, just before the second major class, she received a call and went to the school gate to pick up a package.
She didn’t expect the delivery to be so fast; she uploaded the photos for printing last night, and they arrived today.
She opened the package, leaving only a small box of photos, planning to look at them back in her dorm when she accidentally noticed a Mercedes parked outside the school gate.
Jiang Shanshan squinted; she had seen this car... not often, but every time it was there to pick up Su Xiaomeng.
Could it be such a coincidence?
Thinking like this, Jiang Shanshan then saw a man getting out of the car.
The man wore a black coat, low-key yet luxurious, lean against the car door, glanced at his watch, and his sharp eyes fixed in Jiang Shanshan’s direction...
Jiang Shanshan’s heart almost stopped for an instant, then it started pounding wildly again.
The so-called "no time like the present".
She walked over.
The car had the air conditioning running high, making Yin Shixiu feel a bit stuffy, so he came out to get some fresh air, not having stood there for long.