Chapter 38: Wipe It Away Part 3

To her surprise, a string of messages and missed call notifications flooded the screen.

Every single one was from Sister Ran.

Only then did Xu Yinian remember that because she had been so unsure about the audition before leaving today, she had been too embarrassed to tell anyone—not even Sister Ran.

Knowing that Sister Ran often invited her to lunch, Xu Yinian had left a message earlier saying she was busy at noon and that Bai Ran should eat alone.

As she scrolled through the WeChat messages, Xu Yinian realized that Bai Ran had first asked what she was doing. Likely because Yinian hadn’t responded for so long, Bai Ran had started worrying about her safety, which resulted in the barrage of missed calls.

Though it was clearly a gesture of concern, Xu Yinian felt a strange sense of unease.

She scrolled up through their chat history. It was then she realized that whenever Bai Ran couldn’t do something with her, she would always explain exactly what she was doing.

Influenced by her roommate’s habits, Xu Yinian had also started reporting her own whereabouts. If she ever forgot, Bai Ran would naturally ask if something was up.

It really was just a habit they had formed…

Since she hadn’t said anything or replied today, it was no wonder Bai Ran had grown anxious.

Once she reasoned it out, the bit of unease vanished instantly. She hurriedly called back.

The call was answered almost instantly. Bai Ran’s urgent voice came through the speaker:

“Niannian, where are you right now?”

“Sister Ran, the Senior Sister took me out today to interview for a part-time job. I wasn’t sure if I’d get it, so I was too embarrassed to tell you… I’m sorry for making you worry.”

Xu Yinian hurried to comfort the anxious Bai Ran. Her soft, sweet apology was enough to melt anyone’s heart.

Beside her, Qin Jiashu’s footsteps faltered. Who is Sister Ran?

She hadn’t heard the name before, but the woman sounded very close to Xu Yinian. Although Yinian called her “Sister,” the tone held a hint of dependence and coquettishness. She couldn’t rule out the possibility that this was another love rival.

Back when she hadn’t been captivated by Xu Yinian, Qin Jiashu could never have imagined that the seemingly invisible, ordinary girl could be coveted by several people at once.

Fortunately, she liked a challenge.

“A Senior Sister? You haven’t mentioned her before, Niannian. And what kind of part-time job is it? You should have talked to me first. There are so many scams out there; I’m worried about you.”

In just a few short days, Xu Yinian had actually done something so significant without her knowing.

Bai Ran realized that Xu Yinian had completely slipped away from her silent, invisible control.

On her end of the line, Bai Ran’s eyes were incredibly dark and murky, yet her voice remained perfectly disguised.

The secretary standing before her kept their head bowed low, not daring to look at the Eldest Daughter. The secretary felt that she looked even more terrifying now than the day she had disposed of her own biological brother like trash, sending him to prison.

The President of the X University Student Club Federation and the Head of the Public Relations Department both stood silent before Bai Ran. they exchanged glances, but neither dared to speak.

Niannian… that seems to be the junior student, Xu Yinian, whom the PR Department offended, right?

The Student Club Federation’s “Hundred Clubs Recruitment” was fast approaching, but their long-secured sponsor, Xinyu Medical, had suddenly accused them of breaching the contract. Not only were they pulling their funding, but they were also threatening to sue.

When the Head of PR had first landed this sponsorship, he had been walking on air. Xinyu Medical was incredibly generous—it was the largest sponsorship they had ever received. Not only did it provide a maximum budget for the most luxurious recruitment fair in the school’s history, but it even left enough room for some “internal benefits” for the staff.

They had been dealing with a secretary from Xinyu, and since the funds had been released early, they hadn’t suspected a thing. They had already started spending the money on a massive scale.

It wasn’t until the formal notice of termination and the lawsuit arrived that they panicked, looking at the spent budget and the looming recruitment date.

The secretary had told them they would have two hours to negotiate, but only with the owner of Xinyu Medical herself.

When she arrived, they finally realized that Bai Ran—the same Bai Ran who had donated an entire laboratory building to the Medical Department—was the heiress of Xinyu Medical and a member of the capital’s famous Bai Family.

Despite facing a student from a lower year, neither of the leaders felt any relief. The pressure she radiated was too intense. Even though she smiled “gentle as jade,” she was a literal smiling tiger—utterly impenetrable.

When they read the withdrawal document handed over by the secretary, they realized that a member of the PR Department had publicly slandered a freshman on an anonymous forum.

Beyond the baseless insults, some kind of “bug” had occurred, exposing the real campus IDs behind the anonymous posts. Since the “Calling Out” section of the forum wasn’t protected by X University’s privacy policies, posters were held fully accountable for their words. Encountering such a bug was a known risk.

If the post hadn’t already sunk into obscurity, the poster would have been publicly exposed. By then, the entire Student Club Federation would have been dragged down with them.

What was even more fatal was that the exposed member was the incoming Head of the Public Relations Department, set to take over in October.

This was a violation of the contract. During the term of the sponsorship, the Student Club Federation and its management were prohibited from any scandals or moral failings that could negatively impact Xinyu Medical’s image.

“Miss Bai’s meaning is that she hopes your department will expel the member with moral issues. If you do, the cooperation can continue,” the secretary informed the two.

This left the current Head of PR speechless. The person behind the exposed ID was his secret girlfriend. After pursuing her, he had used his position to ensure she would be his successor. She was even currently applying for a scholarship for the new academic year. Without the position of Department Head, she likely wouldn’t get the scholarship either.

But clearly, if they didn’t expel her, they would face breach of contract and a lawsuit. The money was already spent; where would they find that much to pay back?

They looked toward Bai Ran, only to find that she hadn’t looked at them once in quite some time.

Her dark gaze was fixed on her phone. Right in front of them, she had made call after call, none of which were answered.

The secretary seemed used to this and didn’t dare look her way, merely telling the students to negotiate with them instead.

When the return call finally came through, they listened in silence. Only then did they realize that all of Bai Ran’s previous gloom had been caused by such a trivial matter.

And the object of her concern was the very person at the center of this storm: the junior student, Xu Yinian.

Bai Ran’s regard for Xu Yinian far exceeded their imagination.

Only then did they realize that she wasn’t actually afraid of Xinyu Medical’s reputation being tarnished. She was blatantly protecting her own.

In fact, the “bug” that exposed the ID was almost certainly Bai Ran’s own doing.

But the root of the problem was indeed the incoming Department Head’s reckless behavior. To dare to slander someone on the forum and leave such solid evidence… it was only natural she would be caught.

Bai Ran had orchestrated everything in the shadows. Even the post had been locked, preserving the evidence while protecting Xu Yinian, the center of the storm, from any further harm.