Bai Ran expressionlessly swallowed the pills dry. Her breathing finally began to level out.
Sister Ran had an episode because of me. She’s suffering so much, yet she forced herself to check on me before secretly taking her medicine…
From childhood until now, no one had ever treated her with such tenderness. Every word and action of Bai Ran’s was for her sake.
Xu Yinian felt as if her heart were being stuffed with cotton; her eyes and nose burned with an unbearable, aching warmth.
She couldn’t hold back any longer. She sat up and climbed down the ladder in the dark, stumbling toward the person who uttered a startled, “Why did you come down?”
She opened her arms and gently hugged Bai Ran’s thin frame, which was perpetually frail from illness.
“Sister Ran… I… I…”
Xu Yinian’s voice was lost in a faltering sob. She buried her face in Bai Ran’s clothes, nuzzling her like a small animal to express her feelings.
“Oh, Niannian…”
Bai Ran’s stiff body finally relaxed. She reached out and lightly patted Xu Yinian’s sobbing back, whispering softly.
How she wished time would stop forever at this moment.
Even if it was a dreamlike bubble constructed by base lies in the dark.
Even if it would shatter, one by one, when the sun rose.
Since both the Chinese Literature and Clinical Medicine departments had 8:00 AM classes on Monday, the two girls parted ways after breakfast.
Because of what happened the previous night, Xu Yinian was exceptionally clingy toward Bai Ran today.
It wasn’t until she was headed out that Xu Yinian noticed she had forgotten to turn off her phone screen. It had stayed on until the battery died completely.
Xu Yinian didn’t use her phone much anyway, so she didn’t mind.
Usually, the last lecture period on Monday afternoons was reserved for extracurricular activities and free time, meaning no classes for the whole school.
Today, however, there was a mandatory event: an introductory lecture for X University’s integrated experimental expansion program for the liberal arts departments.
The notice required all liberal arts students to attend.
Though it said “everyone,” since attendance wasn’t usually taken, only straight-laced students like Xu Yinian actually listened.
As usual, Xu Yinian arrived early to preview her textbook. As she sat there, she felt something unusual.
Many gossiping eyes were focused on her.
She didn’t look up, instead hunching her shoulders over her book. She knew this was the fallout from yesterday’s mixer.
Fortunately, Monday’s classes were important major courses. The professors arrived early and stayed at the front after class ended. No one was bold enough to approach her for gossip in front of a professor.
This undercurrent of tension lasted until the end of the first afternoon lecture.
The moment the professor left, the class monitor walked over to Xu Yinian’s desk and slammed a file folder down in front of her.
The other students hadn’t left yet. They stopped packing their bags and turned to see what was happening.
Xu Yinian stood up in a panic, feeling helpless. She remembered that the class monitor had once been among those trying to get close to her, only to be rebuffed when she claimed she “wasn’t close with her roommates.”
She looked at the folder uneasily and recognized the top sheet of paper.
It was the financial aid application she had filled out during military training.
At that time, she hadn’t found a part-time job yet. Seeing the class announcing financial aid opportunities, she decided to try.
She didn’t qualify for national-level aid, but this was a corporate-sponsored grant with more relaxed criteria.
She hadn’t known back then, but seeing the paper now, she remembered—this specific grant was established by the Shen Group, owned by Shen Ruoshuang’s family…
A sense of humiliation rose in Xu Yinian’s heart.
“You’re the only one in the entire class whose financial aid materials are incomplete. I told you before that you needed a death certificate. Do you have any idea how many trips I’ve had to make because of your one application?”
He made no effort to protect Xu Yinian’s privacy.
While he appeared to be strictly professional, he was actually taking a petty revenge for the way Xu Yinian had slighted him in public before.
As soon as he spoke, low whispers and gasps of surprise broke out around them.
Having her financial aid status and her father’s passing exposed so bluntly in front of everyone made Xu Yinian’s face burn with pain.
Her lips trembled. “…Didn’t we… confirm before… that medical records and hospital certificates… would work too?”
Xu Yinian knew her mother was fiercely independent and proud. Not only did she refuse help from relatives or the school, but she also never allowed Xu Yinian to apply for any financial aid.
Consequently, Xu Yinian was doing this behind her mother’s back. Her father’s death certificate was with her mother, and she couldn’t get it.
Because her father had once sought treatment in the Capital, her uncle still had some of the records for that rare disease. She could also go to the local hospital to get a certificate issued.
When she had asked the class monitor and the counselor previously, they had said medical records and certificates would suffice. Thus, Xu Yinian had asked her uncle for the documents and submitted them.
“I only said it might work. But now the audit has rejected the materials. What do you expect me to do?” The class monitor shamelessly deflected the blame.
“…Then… I just… won’t apply anymore.”
Xu Yinian had no choice. She didn’t want to trouble anyone else. Besides, she had a part-time job now and could manage for a while.
But hearing this only gave the class monitor more reason to attack. He sneered sarcastically, “I emphasized so many times to confirm you met the criteria before applying. It’s financial aid, yet you’re still trying to take advantage of the system.”
Xu Yinian’s face turned pale at his words. She bit her lip and lowered her head.
Whenever she got emotional, her stutter worsened. She couldn’t win an argument, and even explaining herself was a struggle. She usually just ended up suffering in silence.
All sorts of gazes were fixed on her. Xu Yinian couldn’t stay a second longer. She hastily packed her things and fled toward the lecture hall.
![The Villain Is The True Beauty [Quick Transmigration]](https://i0.wp.com/dobytranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/quick-tr.png?resize=151,215 "The Villain Is The True Beauty [Quick Transmigration]")
