Volume One, Chapter 18: The Heroine Is the CEO’s Rival in the Romance Novel

“What are you trying to do?” Shen Tingyu was the first to demand, unable to tolerate this woman in the slightest.

“Student Shen, I came to tell you something about Jiang Ruoxue. She’s not the person you think she is. Don’t let her deceive you,” Chen Rui said, trying to grab Shen Tingyu’s hand.

Protecting his brother, Shen Tingzhu rushed over like a firecracker and shoved Chen Rui to the ground. “My brother already has Sister Ruoxue. Stay away from him!”

“Miss, could you please have some sense of propriety? As for who Sister Ruoxue really is, we know her far better than you do. We don’t need your judgment!” Shen Tingzhu stood with his hands on his hips, like a bodyguard, positioning himself between Shen Tingyu and Jiang Ruoxue.

Li Ning and the other three had just followed out of the restaurant and saw Chen Rui trying to pull Shen Tingyu, only to be pushed down by Shen Tingzhu as a warning.

From a distance, they witnessed Shen Tingyu coldly lowering his gaze toward Chen Rui sitting on the ground.

“I’ve known my girlfriend for over a decade. I know exactly what kind of person she is. When I was bullied as a child, she protected me. To my young eyes, she was a heroine who stood up for the weak and upheld justice. She’s intelligent, brave, and sincere.

“I know what kind of person my girlfriend is. You don’t need to tell me. And you’d better stay away from her. Don’t think I’m unaware of the mess your grandmother caused. Ruoxue and Uncle Jiang are decent people who don’t want to argue with you, but I’m not. I’m petty, and if you push me, I’ll make sure your family gets kicked out of Jiang City!”

Chen Rui wanted to say more, but meeting Shen Tingyu’s icy gaze, the words caught in her throat.

Li Ning and Ding Mengjia wanted to intervene but were stopped by Gao Tao and Wang Junhao. The two had already realized that the grudge between Chen Rui and Jiang Ruoxue ran deeper than they had imagined, and Shen Tingyu’s current demeanor was a clear sign he was on the verge of anger.

It was best for them not to get involved.

“Yù,” Jiang Ruoxue reached out and grabbed Shen Tingyu’s hand, giving him a reassuring look.

“Miss Chen, everyone has to pay for the things they’ve done. Some people can’t claim what’s never truly theirs just because they once had it. Just because you’re weak doesn’t mean you’re right. I’m the real victim here, aren’t I?

“Don’t put on that pitiful act. I haven’t wronged you! You know better than anyone what happened between our families before. If you have doubts, you can ask the police for the case files from back then.

“I’m petty, so you’d better stay away from my boyfriend. Otherwise, I might just expose the mess your grandmother made. I’m sure you don’t want your classmates to know. I don’t want to use that as a threat, but if you keep acting clueless, I can’t promise what I’ll do.”

Jiang Ruoxue’s voice was soft and gentle, but her words sent a chill down Chen Rui’s spine.

Chen Rui had long blamed the Jiang family for their family's hardships over the years, thinking they were stingy and petty. Perhaps she had deceived herself for too long; she had truly believed the Jiang family had wronged them and Li Yanhong.

Mentioning the police was like a bucket of cold water on her head, snapping her out of her self-deception. She feared what would happen if the story of her grandmother stealing a large amount of property and assaulting Jiang Ruoxue, when she was the Jiang family’s housekeeper over a decade ago, leaked to her school. What would others say about her?

Biting her lower lip, tears welled in her eyes. She stood up, wanting to plead with Jiang Ruoxue.

“Let’s go. We finally met; don’t waste any more time on people who have nothing to do with us,” Shen Tingyu said, holding Jiang Ruoxue’s hand with one and pulling his suitcase with the other.

“Sister Ruoxue, Brother, let’s go to Universal Studios, okay?” Shen Tingzhu pushed his suitcase, trailing behind them.

“Sister Ruoxue, please?” He knew well who was really in charge between his brother and Sister Ruoxue.

“All right.”

Chen Rui turned to head back to the restaurant, but as she looked over, she saw Li Ning and the others. She glanced at them, then at Jiang Ruoxue and the others who had already left.

Seeing their expressions, she immediately guessed they had witnessed the earlier scene.

“I have something to do, I’m leaving first,” Chen Rui said, finding an excuse and leaving without looking back, hailing a cab.

Li Ning and the others returned to the restaurant where the food had already arrived. After such an incident, the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

Gao Tao and Wang Junhao tried to start conversations, but the mood remained unsettled. After dinner, the six didn’t plan any further activities and simply parted ways to return to their respective schools.

When Zhao Ting and the other two returned to the dormitory, Chen Rui was sitting in her spot watching TV. Hearing the door open, she glanced over, rolled her eyes, then resumed eating snacks and watching TV.

To be honest, Zhao Ting couldn’t help but feel a little upset seeing her like that.

The atmosphere hadn’t been that awkward originally. Why did Chen Rui have to chase after him? They had all told her that Shen Tingyu already had a girlfriend. Why chase after him and make things more embarrassing?

Zhao Ting didn’t know how she would face Chen Kang’s roommate in the future.

The first meeting between the two dorms had ended in such an awkward way.

Thinking of how long Chen Rui had liked Shen Tingyu and how suddenly she found out he had a girlfriend, it was understandable she was a little emotional from heartbreak. Zhao Ting didn’t plan to say anything; after all, who was Chen Rui’s eye-roll for?

She owed her nothing.

Zhao Ting had originally wanted to comfort Chen Rui, but seeing her attitude, she gave up. She wasn’t the type to offer warmth to cold shoulders.

After changing into slippers and pajamas, Zhao Ting climbed into bed, pulled the curtain, and started messaging Chen Kang.

Li Ning and Ding Mengjia exchanged a glance but said nothing. After changing, they opened their laptops to binge-watch shows. They had seen Chen Rui’s big eye-roll clearly and shared Zhao Ting’s thoughts — they weren’t about to offer warmth to cold shoulders either.

In the following days, Chen Rui didn’t speak to Li Ning and the others but instead started hanging out with a girl who had previously been at odds with Zhao Ting.

That girl had once deliberately collided with Zhao Ting during an event, causing Zhao Ting to sprain her ankle.

Chen Rui’s new friendship with this girl was a clear signal she was breaking ties with Zhao Ting.

“Chen Rui, what are you doing? Don’t you know what He Lu did to Zhao Ting before?” Ding Mengjia couldn’t stand it anymore.

She truly couldn’t understand why Chen Rui had changed so much since they last ate together a month ago.