Read Novel Full Chapter 137 Part 2 – Love is Mutual (II)
Chapter 137 Part 2 – Love is Mutual (II)
From that point on, Zhu Yiqing began to compete with Xia Mian in everything.
Since academic performance would have to wait until midterms, she started with material comparisons: what they ate, wore, and used.
She’d somehow gotten info on Xia Mian’s family background from the counselor’s records and assumed that, since Xia Mian was an orphan raising her nephew while living with her aunt, Xia Mian couldn’t be well-off. So she made a point of showing off her own wealth in a “casual” way whenever she could.
Every time she used something—clothes, phone, makeup, even daily items—she’d “accidentally” mention the brand and the price.
But when Xia Mian brought out her own things, each one completely outclassed hers. Everyone assumed it was because Xia Mian’s aunt’s family was wealthy.
Then that girl started going on again, saying things like, “When it comes to family background, scholarly households are the most distinguished. See, most officials come from those kinds of families. In ancient times, merchants reeked of money and had no real status, and even now, while people may look up to wealthy businessmen, they’re still at the mercy of the government officials.”
Needless to say, she considered herself born into a “scholarly family” since both her parents were schoolteachers.
Usually, when she started saying stuff like that, Xia Mian didn’t bother arguing. People like her would always find a way to place themselves above others using some twisted logic. The best way to deal with it was to let the facts slap them in the face.
Thus, the final thing to compete over was boyfriends.
The beginning of campus life started with two weeks of military training. During this period, Ning Shaobai would stop by to see Xia Mian almost every day, either at lunch or after work.
To be precise, he was there to stake his claim.
Even without the hundreds of love letters Xia Mian received, Ning Shaobai was fully aware of her appeal, so he went the extra mile to ward off any potential “schoolboy” rivals.
As a result of his vigilance, after exhausting training every day, while her roommates were already thrilled just getting watermelon or ice cream, Xia Mian had it even better. Her dear boyfriend was here to wipe her sweat, fan her, and take her out for big dinners.
Seeing everyone fawning over Xia Mian and showering Ning Shaobai with praise, Zhu Yiqing, naturally, wasn’t having it. She couldn’t compete in other areas, but in this one, she was confident.
If there was one thing certain about Zhu Yiqing, it was that she was remarkably goal-oriented. Before long, she was already asking around to find out who the most handsome guys on campus were—determined to land a boyfriend both better-looking and more attentive than Ning Shaobai.
But her search didn’t go smoothly; even without boasting, there truly weren’t many men who could measure up to Ning Shaobai’s looks. For starters, even if someone matched his face, they couldn’t compare to his aura.
Thus, Zhu Yiqing failed right at step one. Once she realized that even the most handsome guys around weren’t even in the same league as Xia Mian’s handsome boyfriend, she pivoted with, “What really matters in a partner is a wise and intelligent soul. If someone’s just a pretty face with nothing inside, you’ll have no common ground—life will be unbearably dull.”
She assumed Ning Shaobai was about Xia Mian’s age but hadn’t gone to college, and that his education must be lacking.
So she set her sights on finding a highly educated boyfriend. Soon enough, she started hanging around the PhD student building.
Xia Mian deliberately didn’t say anything. She admitted she had a bit of a dark sense of humor—but really, since Zhu Yiqing was badmouthing her Dr. Ning, she might as well enjoy the girl’s one-man show.
And sure enough, when Zhu Yiqing triumphantly clung to her PhD boyfriend and started flaunting his credentials, Xia Mian just looked at the nearly thirty-year-old man and said coolly, “My boyfriend went abroad for school at sixteen, got his PhD at twenty-three, and is now one of the heads of the medical research lab at Yan University Hospital.”
She smiled and added, “Want me to show you his diploma?”
Then casually shrugged, “Actually, better if you check it yourself. Otherwise, you might say I faked it. It’s more convincing if you look it up yourself.”
Zhu Yiqing’s expression was priceless. Xia Mian, on the other hand, was absolutely delighted. Since this girl didn’t know when to stop, there was no need to be considerate.
Soon after, Zhu Yiqing dumped that “scholarly and intelligent” PhD boyfriend. After mulling it over, she figured wealth might be her only way to beat Xia Mian.
At first, she probably just wanted someone richer than Ning Shaobai. But as she kept searching, she realized “rich” was a vague concept without a clear standard.
And so Xia Mian and her roommates watched as the same girl who once boasted about her scholarly upbringing, strict family, and not even talking to boys in high school, transformed into a full-blown player juggling multiple guys.
She quickly learned how to use her looks and clever mind to develop a polished, highly efficient way of handling several admirers at once.
Eventually, she started accepting gifts from all of them, feeling like she’d finally won because her “nemesis” Xia Mian could only receive gifts from one person while she could get expensive gifts from many.
So in her mind, she’d now outdone Xia Mian even in material things, and the only area left where she hadn’t “won” was the boyfriend. So whenever the opportunity arose, she’d be quick to belittle both Xia Mian and Ning Shaobai.
At this point, Xia Mian was pretty much immune. Aside from two roommates who bootlick Zhu Yiqing, the rest either kept their distance or treated her like a source of amusing gossip, like Ma Yingying and Huang Yanhong did.
As for Xia Mian, her strategy was simple: just ignore Zhu Yiqing. Why should she pay attention to such a girl?
…
As soon as the bell signaled the end of the afternoon class, Xia Mian hurried straight back to the dormitory. By the time her roommates came in, she had already finished her face mask and was in the middle of putting on her makeup. While brushing on foundation, she said casually, “I asked the counselor for leave—I’m heading home tonight.”
The others exchanged knowing smiles. Ma Yingying laughed teasingly. “It’s only six o’clock. Are you planning to date all the way till eleven? What are you two going to do?”
“Just holding hands and walking around could take a whole day, okay?” Xia Mian laughed. “Hurry up and get yourselves a boyfriend! Then you’ll understand my difficulty.”
As they were chatting and laughing, Zhu Yiqing entered, decked out in name brands, holding the latest Mohe smartphone in one hand and a gift box in the other.
“Uh-huh, I’m back in the dorm. Okay, thanks.”
“Sorry, I’m busy tonight.”
“Weekend doesn’t work either. Let me check my schedule, and I’ll reach out to you, okay?”
“Of course I will! I haven’t even properly thanked you for the gift—it’s really too generous, I feel so bad.”
Her tone sounded apologetic, but there wasn’t a trace of guilt on her face.
The rest of the room exchanged knowing glances but said nothing.
Once she hung up, one of her bootlickers, Xiao Ba, came forward with a smile, “Qingqing, someone gave you another gift?”
Zhu Yiqing answered with feigned nonchalance, “Gao Feng.”
“Ah, that Gao Feng whose parents are in real estate? Isn’t his family super rich?”
While opening the gift box, Zhu Yiqing replied with a lofty tone, “Their company’s just a small firm.”
“These are skincare products he brought back from overseas. I’ve heard they’re really good. If you want some, let me know. I have a friend who travels abroad often—they can bring some back for you.”
She noticed Xia Mian picking out clothes from her closet and asked directly, “Xia Mian, want a set? Since your Dr. Ning is already working, he should be able to buy it after saving up for two or three months.”
“He treats you so well. Surely he won’t be stingy, right?”
Xia Mian adjusted her outfit in the mirror without even turning around. “What kind of skincare products cost sixty or seventy thousand? I’m good with my two-thousand-yuan set.”
Someone in the room stifled a laugh. The brand of skincare Zhu Yiqing had just opened was indeed expensive for them, but it was only around 800 yuan per set.
Zhu Yiqing’s face flushed bright red as she forced a laugh. “Heh, you’re really funny. Dr. Ning’s salary is that high?”
“He’s a PhD from overseas and one of the lab heads,” Xia Mian replied. “And that’s just his salary. His bonuses are even better.”
“You didn’t know that?” she added, feigning surprise. “A scholarly family like yours should be more informed. Quick, go ask your parents. That way you won’t keep accusing me of lying, my lady.”
Zhu Yiqing was completely shut down.
Seeing Xia Mian sitting on a stool polishing her shoes, Zhu Yiqing turned to her own closet, picked out another outfit, and touched up her makeup.
Xiao Ba chimed in flatteringly, “Qingqing, your outfit is so pretty! Are you going on a date too?”
“Didn’t you just tell Gao Feng you didn’t have time?”
Zhu Yiqing replied, “Not Gao Feng. Another friend. His family’s really rich. It’s his birthday today. He’s throwing a party and insisted I come. He’s even coming to pick me up himself.”
She smiled and added, “This dress is from him, too. A new release from Brand C—costs several thousand yuan.”
“People always say girls should be raised in luxury. I finally get it now. Girls really need to meet more people and see more of the world to understand how big it is.”
“Some people celebrate birthdays with just a family cake. Others rent out entire hotels for parties.”
“I’ve learned a lot. Before, I used to think a hundred thousand was a lot. Now? A few million, even tens of millions, doesn’t feel like much. Start a project, let money make more money—it’s easy to earn it all back.”
The other girls were stunned. They had never heard anyone make being a flirt sound so classy!
“People always say life truly begins once you enter society, right? Just look at some of the senior girls we’ve heard about.”
“There was this one senior from two years ago—super pretty, top of the class. She was dating a PhD student. But after graduation, she got assigned to a job in another province, and he dumped her. I heard she’s struggling now, living off a fixed salary and can’t even afford skincare products.”
As she spoke, she kept glancing at Xia Mian.
“There was another senior—grades were average, even failed a few classes—but she landed a rich boyfriend worth tens of millions. He pulled some strings and got her placed at Hua University Affiliated High School. She’s living the good life now.”
Xia Mian nearly rolled her eyes. Zhu Yiqing always liked making up these “rumors” to imply things about people, acting like she was just casually relaying gossip.
Xia Mian couldn’t be bothered anymore. She picked up her bag and said goodbye to her roommates, “I’m off. See you tomorrow.”
She hadn’t walked far when she heard Zhu Yiqing’s voice again, sweet and coquettish:
“You’re here to pick me up? Which gate?”
“South gate’s too far~ My feet hurt. Come to the north gate, okay? I’ll meet you there!”
Xia Mian: “…”
The south gate was clearly closer. Zhu Yiqing was only choosing the north gate to show off because she was leaving from there, too.
Sure enough, when Xia Mian reached the north gate, Zhu Yiqing was dramatically waving at a black sedan. “Young Master He, over here!”
Then she turned to Xia Mian, who had just walked up beside her, and said, “You’re going to Yan University Hospital, right? That’s pretty far, huh? If you take the bus, it’ll be over an hour.””
“Want me to ask Young Master He to give you a ride?”
Xia Mian rolled her eyes. “You know what they say: the more someone lacks something, the more they flaunt it. Are you proud having beauty on the outside and nothing inside?”
Seeing the car pulling up, Zhu Yiqing snapped at her, “I was just being nice! You’re just jealous of me!”
The car window rolled down, and a young man leaned out. “What’s going on?”
Xia Mian smiled. “Nothing much. Zhu Yiqing here thinks I’m jealous because she has someone to pick her up, and I have to drive myself.”
With that, she pulled out her car keys, unlocked the door, and got into her car.
Zhu Yiqing was stunned. She’d done her homework on expensive cars to impress rich guys and could tell at a glance the class of Xia Mian’s car. It was worth even more than the one that her date was driving!
Xia Mian fastened her seatbelt, rolled down the window, and gave Zhu Yiqing a sweet smile—the kind that stung. “Guess I’ll have to work hard and find myself a driver.”
Then she gave the young man a meaningful glance. “And you might want to start thinking about upgrading yours. Let’s both do our best!”
With that, she slid on her sunglasses, hit the gas, and left Zhu Yiqing coughing in the exhaust.
…
When Xia Mian drove up to the lab’s parking lot, humming a tune, there were still a good ten minutes left before the end of the workday.
Ning Shaobai was going over experimental data when a colleague chuckled, “Dr. Ning, your girlfriend’s here.”
Someone else gave him a thumbs-up. “Dr. Ning, your girlfriend drives too? That’s so cool.”
Ning Shaobai looked out the window and saw Xia Mian leaning casually against the car. Her long hair flowed over her shoulders, and she was dressed in a French-style fitted blouse and long skirt. A pair of sunglasses covered most of her face, leaving only her rosy lips and delicate chin visible.
She stood there quietly, her gaze fixed on the lab entrance, waiting patiently for the person she had come for.
A strange yet wonderful feeling rose in Ning Shaobai’s chest—an overwhelming, sweet sense of happiness.
He realized, with absolute clarity, that she had always been waiting for him, always caring for him;
Though it looked like he was the one who first reached out, the truth was, she had never stopped running toward him either.
Because love is mutual. It felt so comforting, so full of heart-fluttering joy.
Professor Guo patted his shoulder and laughed. “Alright, go clock out. Looks like your soul’s already floating out the window.”
Ning Shaobai couldn’t hold back his smile as he handed over the data sheets. “The numbers check out. Everyone, I’ll head out first.”
Professor Guo paused, then looked at his back with a smile. “Youth, eh?”
The moment Ning Shaobai walked out, Xia Mian took off her sunglasses and spread her arms wide with a dazzling smile. “Dr. Ning, I’m here to pick you up!”
Ning Shaobai wrapped his arms around her and gently patted her head. “Where to?”
Xia Mian tilted her head thoughtfully. “Dinner or a movie—you pick.”
Ning Shaobai considered it. “Let’s watch the movie first.”
Xia Mian blinked. “Okay, then let’s go eat!”
Ning Shaobai laughed in exasperation and lightly pinched the back of her neck. “You little rascal.”
Xia Mian looked up at him with a smile, her eyes sparkling like stars.
Ning Shaobai couldn’t help but smile too. “So—got that application to skip a grade ready yet?”
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