Baihe Fan

Chapter 26: Ren Yue (Revised)

On the last day of the university entrance exams, it was drizzling.

The campus was filled with a humid and wet smell, with tiny raindrops falling through the overlapping green leaves, landing on the stone-brick ground, splashing like fireworks.

The bell for the end of the last exam rang softly, and people flowed out of the classrooms, making the teaching building instantly noisy.

Su Mi walked against the crowd in the corridor to the door of Xu Nanqiao’s classroom. After waiting for a moment, she saw Xu Nanqiao walk out.

As soon as they met, Su Mi linked arms with her, asking cheerfully, “How did it go, top student Xu?”

Xu Nanqiao was confident, “I did fine, but how about you? Did you perform well?”

Su Mi raised her eyebrows, mimicking Xu Nanqiao’s tone, “Of course, I did fine too. After all, I had such a good tutor.”

She smiled at Xu Nanqiao, “Do you have any plans later? Let me treat you to hot pot!”

For the past month, she hadn’t been able to eat at places more than 500 meters away from the school because of exam preparations.

Although the academy’s cafeteria offered a wide variety of dishes, even allowing extra money for special meals, there came a point when she got tired of it.

No matter how good school food was, it couldn’t compare to the food outside.

In high spirits, Su Mi pulled Xu Nanqiao along, complaining about the final question on the subsidiary subject exam as they walked.

She was talking animatedly and didn’t notice someone at the corner, bumping into them accidentally.

“Su Su!”

Xu Nanqiao quickly steadied her, preventing her from falling.

The girl in front wasn’t so lucky, falling to the ground with a soft cry of pain.

Su Mi, having regained her balance, quickly squatted down to help the girl up, “Are you okay, classmate?”

The girl with long black hair raised her head. Sitting in a duck position, she looked delicate, her small, pale face showing teary eyes.

When they recognized each other’s faces, both were momentarily stunned.

The girl who was knocked down was Ren Yue.

She was in this exam area too.

Su Mi remembered she had deleted Ren Yue’s contact.

She felt a bit guilty.

Blinking, she was about to help Ren Yue up nonchalantly when she saw Ren Yue sniffle, tears falling from her eyes unexpectedly.

Ren Yue’s crying was sudden and seemed emotionless.

She took out a delicate handkerchief from her side pocket, covering her eyes. It took a while for her to stop crying.

With red eyes, she looked at the two of them, “Sorry… it just hurt a bit, so I couldn’t help crying.”

Su Mi quickly apologized, “No, no, it’s my fault. I was talking and didn’t watch the road, knocking you down. I’m really sorry.”

Xu Nanqiao also expressed concern, “Does it hurt a lot? Do you need us to take you to the infirmary?”

Ren Yue wiped her tears and forced a weak smile, “It’s okay. Did I scare you?”

Xu Nanqiao smiled, “Did she scare you, Su Mi?”

Su Mi scratched her head, “Not really.”

Watching their interaction, Ren Yue’s eyes showed a clear envy. She sniffled and put away her handkerchief.

“You two have a great relationship,” she said with some envy.

Su Mi remembered that Ai Yiyi and the others had said Ren Yue transferred here recently for Lorlan Academy’s academic record.

She asked, “Ren Yue, you transferred here, right?”

Ren Yue: “Yes.”

Su Mi said, “It’s just a matter of time. You must have good friends back home too.”

Ren Yue forced a smile, her voice very soft, “Actually, I don’t.”

Su Mi: “…”

Although it’s not uncommon, hearing it said out loud…

She looked at Ren Yue, whose appearance and demeanor somewhat resembled Xu Nanqiao, but their temperaments were different.

Although both appeared quiet, Xu Nanqiao seemed more resilient and confident, thriving even in adverse conditions, optimistic and determined to carve out a future for herself despite her unhappy family.

Ren Yue, on the other hand, seemed more delicate and timid, like a clinging vine dependent on others.

This fit Su Mi’s stereotypical impression of an Omega from the literature she had read—fragrant, soft, and delicate…

She recalled the scene at the parent-teacher meeting when she saw Ren Yue being scolded by her mother, Mrs. Zhang, in the hallway.

It’s said that a parent’s character can influence their child’s character, right?

Mrs. Zhang seemed to have a strong personality, even aggressive in front of Shen Han. She might be even stricter with the timid Ren Yue.

Thinking this way, Ren Yue’s personality seemed quite pitiful.

Having imagined all this, Su Mi felt much softer and looked at Ren Yue differently.

Xu Nanqiao, hearing Ren Yue’s words, also felt some sympathy.

She patted Ren Yue’s shoulder, “Su Mi and I are going to have hot pot. Want to join us?”

Ren Yue looked up, her eyes still glistening with tears, filled with surprise, “Really?”

Xu Nanqiao smiled, “Come on, friends are made by getting to know each other, right, Su Mi?”

Su Mi hesitated a bit but, seeing Xu Nanqiao’s expectant look, nodded, “Yes, come with us.”

After all, Shen Han hadn’t returned yet.

Even if she was highly influential, she wouldn’t find out about a hot pot meal across countries.

Moreover, Shen Han mentioned taking her to the Shen family banquet after the exams…

Ai Yiyi had said Ren Yue had attended before.

It was a good opportunity to ask her some questions and gather information.

However, Ren Yue seemed to notice Su Mi’s brief hesitation.

She blinked, then nervously bit her lip, “Maybe I shouldn’t go. I don’t want to trouble you.”

Ren Yue, looking pitiful, half-lowered her head, her expression making Su Mi’s heart soften.

She stepped forward and took Ren Yue’s hand, “Let’s go, we’re all girls, don’t worry about it.”

The three of them walked together towards the school gate.

After the delay, most of the students in the exam area had already left, and there weren’t many people in the school walkways.

With the occasional puddle on the stone-brick path after the rain, it wasn’t easy to walk side by side, and they had to step around the puddles, causing their linked arms to loosen.

But Ren Yue still clung closely to Su Mi as they walked.

They walked all the way to the school gate.

Before they even left the school, Su Mi’s eyes suddenly focused.

Reacting faster than her brain, she quickly moved closer to Xu Nanqiao’s side.

It looked like Shen Han’s car!

After a few previous encounters, Su Mi was quite familiar with Shen Han’s usual car—a low-profile, top-of-the-line business car.

But there were many wealthy families in the capital, and Su Mi had checked that this car wasn’t hard to buy, so it might belong to someone else…

Could it?

Su Mi instinctively straightened her posture, nervously glancing at Ren Yue beside her, who was innocently looking up and asking, “What’s wrong?”

Following her gaze, Ren Yue covered her mouth in surprise.

“Sister He.”

…

?

Su Mi quickly glanced ahead.

There was no surprise when she saw the familiar figure.

She wasn’t even afraid.

As expected, it was Shen Han…

Why did she always get caught when trying to sneak around?

Su Mi gritted her teeth, quickly shifting her mindset to one of resignation.

Since Shen Han had already seen them, it would be a waste not to ask Ren Yue some questions for information.

Catching what Ren Yue had just said, she lowered her head and curiously asked, “What did you call Shen Han?”

Since Ren Yue called her Sister He, Su Mi felt that calling Shen Han “sister” in front of her seemed unnecessary.

She gave up calling her “sister” and directly used “Shen Han.”

Ren Yue was a bit taken aback, then embarrassedly covered her mouth, softly saying, “It’s a nickname from when we used to play together.”

Su Mi’s eyes lit up.

As expected, Ai Yiyi was right—Ren Yue knew a lot about Shen Han’s past.

Too bad Shen Han suddenly decided to return early… Secretary Zhuang promised to inform her, but didn’t…

Su Mi grumbled silently, but she couldn’t stop walking towards the school gate.

Pretending not to see Shen Han was impossible, especially with her gaze becoming more apparent.

She dared not make eye contact with Shen Han and braced herself to continue questioning, “Were you close with Shen Han before? Was she very different then?”

Ren Yue looked at Su Mi, suddenly understanding and moving closer, “Are you afraid of Sister He?”

Su Mi: “Is there anyone who isn’t?”

Ren Yue laughed lightly, “I think she’s fine. Sister He used to be very gentle. Mainly after that incident…”

She seemed to leave it as a cliffhanger, not continuing.

Su Mi didn’t press, instead asking, “Why do you call her Sister He?”

Shen Han’s avatar was also an ink-painted crane.

Ren Yue hadn’t expected the topic change so quickly and hesitated, “Her parents had me call her that… oh, I mean her father and mother, but they…”

Before she could continue, a clear, cold female voice called out from ahead, “Su Mi.”

Su Mi: …

She closed her eyes briefly and then opened them, resigned.

Thankfully, Shen Han’s expression was normal, her ice-blue eyes looking at her calmly.

This gave Su Mi a bit of confidence.

She looked at Shen Han with puppy eyes, “Sister…”

Xu Nanqiao also greeted politely, “Hello, President Shen.”

Shen Han turned to Xu Nanqiao and, surprisingly, asked, “How did the exam go?”

Xu Nanqiao replied indifferently, “No problem for Capital University.”

Shen Han’s lips curved gently, her expression softening, “That’s good. Do you have any plans for later?”

Su Mi, who had been feeling apprehensive, perked up instantly.

The sun must have risen from the west; Shen Han was actually taking the initiative.

It seemed that all the messages she sent had worked!

She looked at Shen Han with bright eyes before turning to Xu Nanqiao.

Xu Nanqiao, confused by Su Mi’s intense gaze, said, “Su Mi said we were going for hot pot.”

“But we don’t have to go to that restaurant,” Su Mi quickly added, “I checked the reviews online, and they seem average. But Secretary Zhuang mentioned that the chefs at Nanyuan are skilled in various cuisines, including hot pot. How about we go there instead?”

Xu Nanqiao gave Su Mi a puzzled look. Su Mi leaned in, winking, and whispered, “We can also study after dinner…”

Recalling her agreement with Shen Han, Xu Nanqiao looked up at Shen Han.

Shen Han nodded, “That works.”

Su Mi secretly gave herself a thumbs-up.

So clever, Su Mi!

Shen Han sat in the back seat, and as soon as Su Mi knew the plan was set, she quickly pulled Xu Nanqiao to the left side of the car, making sure she sat right next to Shen Han, with only one seat between them.

Perfect.

Feeling pleased, Su Mi clapped her hands and headed to the right side of the car, but then she noticed Ren Yue standing quietly.

Ren Yue looked a bit pale and lonely, appearing very pitiful.

Su Mi’s heart softened again. She considered accompanying Ren Yue to eat hot pot, giving Shen Han and Xu Nanqiao some alone time.

However, eating with someone Shen Han didn’t want her to associate with would require a lot of courage…

Standing in front of Ren Yue, Su Mi felt torn.

But Ren Yue smiled first.

With dimples on both cheeks, she said, “My mother just texted me. You go ahead and eat; we can meet another time.”

Su Mi hesitated, “This…”

Ren Yue, with her hands behind her back and a calm expression, whispered to Su Mi, “There’s the graduation trip in a few days. It’s a tradition at Lorlan Academy. Will you go?”

Su Mi knew about this and nodded.

Ren Yue gently said, “Then we’ll meet again. As compensation, can I join your group?”

Just as Su Mi was about to agree, Shen Han’s cold voice came from the car.

“Isn’t it hot pot time?”

She raised an eyebrow, questioning.

Although her expression didn’t change much, Su Mi felt an intimidating pressure.

It felt like the words “keep chatting, and I’ll eat you” echoed in her ears.

Shaking her head to dispel the chills, Su Mi dared not continue talking to Ren Yue. She gestured an apology and quickly got into the front seat.

Once inside, Su Mi sensed the awkward atmosphere.

And it felt chilly, as if the air conditioning was too low…