Chapter 56: Coming Clean Part 2

Qian Hao was such a confident pampered princess. Chu Ran had assumed that after her rejection, Qian Hao’s pride would take a hit—maybe not a full-blown fight, but at least she’d back off.

But Qian Hao acted like nothing had happened. If anything, she grew even clingier. If Chu Ran hadn’t been busy tending to Gu An’an, Qian Hao would’ve hounded her every day. Now, she was like a massive, oblivious third wheel, seriously cramping Chu Ran’s time with Gu An’an.

The two of them lagged behind because Qian Hao was dragging her feet, reluctant to speed up. Qian Feng grew impatient and strode ahead down the stairs. Seeing him go, Chu Ran deliberately slowed her pace.

There were some things she had to say—again.

Qian Hao, ever attentive to her, matched her slower steps. Her own budding crush had her mind swirling with romantic fantasies, her heart pounding like a herd of startled deer. When Chu Ran slowed but said nothing, Qian Hao spoke up first. “Chu Ran, aren’t you planning to go to the Capital City for school with your sister? My family has tons of houses there—two of them are right near Tsinghua University. If you like, we could live together… or each have our own place…”

“No need!” Chu Ran cut her off sharply.

She turned to face Qian Hao, her tone grave and unwavering.

“Qian Hao, I have someone I like. For real.”

“Don’t be nice to me anymore. No matter how nice you are, I won’t feel anything for you. These things can’t be forced. I hope you understand.”

“From now on, treat me like any ordinary classmate. We can keep the basic friendship, but if it crosses that line, even classmates won’t work.”

Qian Hao’s mouth fell slightly open. She couldn’t comprehend it. They’d just been chatting and laughing moments ago, and she’d even been daydreaming about being swept up in Chu Ran’s arms like a princess. How could Chu Ran turn around and say something so harsh—and so calmly?

She couldn’t accept it. Not one bit!

“Why?” she demanded immediately.

Chu Ran replied, “I have someone I like. I only like her—I’ll never like anyone else. Not in this lifetime.”

Qian Hao found her words brutally cold, even cruel. She couldn’t hold back and shouted, “Then tell me who it is!”

Chu Ran said simply, “Sorry. Who I like is my business.”

That only fueled Qian Hao’s anger. “Just say it! Why won’t you? Are you scared that if you do, it’ll be someone not as good as me?”

Chu Ran fixed her with a stare. “Shut up!”

Those two words snapped Qian Hao back to reality. She finally realized she had no leverage whatsoever in front of someone who didn’t like her.

She had a thousand things she wanted to say, a thousand questions burning inside—but facing Chu Ran’s cold, indifferent expression, her pride shattered into pieces. The haughty pampered princess crumbled in an instant.

Their eyes locked. Qian Hao desperately searched Chu Ran’s gaze for any flicker of something—anything—but it was utterly calm, painfully so. She couldn’t bear to face it for another second!

Suddenly, a wave of grievance crashed over her like a flood from a breached dam. “Why say this all of a sudden? Why now, when I wasn’t ready at all? I was so happy today—why did you have to ruin it? Couldn’t you just let me come happy and leave happy?”

Her voice grew more aggrieved with every word, trailing into a faint sob, yet she stubbornly lifted her chin, refusing to bow her head.

Chu Ran pressed her lips together. “Sorry.”

Qian Hao glared at her for a long moment, but Chu Ran just stayed silent. Overwhelmed by resentment, Qian Hao felt defeated by some nameless stranger—and utterly, completely so.

Her mind was a whirlwind, but she refused to admit defeat or slink away in shame.

Gritting her teeth, she declared, “I don’t care. If you don’t tell me who you like, I’m not leaving!”

Chu Ran had no patience for more arguing. She thrust the watermelon juice at her, but Qian Hao stubbornly refused to take it.

Chu Ran simply turned to head back upstairs.

Qian Hao grabbed her arm.

Staring at the back of Chu Ran’s head, she yelled, “You keep saying you like someone, but you won’t even say who?”

“So you’re just a coward who can’t own up to it?”

That youthful, tender heart—brave yet fragile—was pierced in an instant!

Chu Ran’s face darkened. She whipped around to meet Qian Hao’s eyes.

Qian Hao stood like a rose bristling with thorns, gazing back fearlessly.

Stubborn, unwilling to yield, her pride flaring fiercer after being trampled.

Chu Ran straightened slowly, her gaze sharpening bit by bit. Staring at Qian Hao, she said word by word, “Fine, I’ll tell you.”

Qian Hao’s heart leaped to her throat. “Who?”

“Gu An’an. The one I like is Gu An’an.”

Chu Ran’s voice was steady, solemn. Every word rang out clear as day, like an unchangeable fact.

She wasn’t sure why she chose this moment to say it. Maybe because she’d wanted to for so long, just waiting for the right chance.

Or perhaps Qian Hao’s sharp words had pierced her own pride, breaking her defenses.

In that instant of confession, something inside her settled once and for all. She felt herself growing up a little more—braver, more resolute.

Qian Hao’s mouth gaped wide. She even wondered if she’d misheard.

Wearing an expression of blatant disbelief and confusion, she stammered, “Sh-she’s your sister, isn’t she?”

Chu Ran’s eyes showed no ripple. “Yeah. I like her.”

She offered no explanation, just repeated it with utter conviction.

After a pause, she added, “So don’t be nice to me anymore. I have someone I like. I won’t like you. It’s a waste.”

“And can’t you see Qian Feng likes you?”

Qian Hao’s shock, her disbelief, and the heartbreak that followed twisted into a sharp U-turn!

She gawked at Chu Ran, her voice pitching high with agitation. “So, you’re only rejecting me because Qian Feng likes me?”

Chu Ran stared at her in stunned disbelief.

That astonishment stabbed deep into Qian Hao. She latched onto another angle. “But Gu An’an is your sister! How can you like her?”

Chu Ran’s surprise faded into calm. “No matter who she is, I like her. Forever—just her.”

Qian Hao started to panic. Chu Ran’s calm certainty made her own doubts sound ridiculous.

“But she raised you! She’s your guardian, your family! How can you—how can you like her like that?”

She tried desperately to convince her—or maybe herself—hammering the point over and over.

But Chu Ran fell silent, saying nothing more.

She even seemed ready to walk away again.

Qian Hao felt utterly wretched!

How could Chu Ran say something like that and act so nonchalant, as if nothing had happened?

Qian Hao had been so good to her—helped avenge her parents’ murder, given her money when she was broke, pulled every string to help when her sister was sick. Qian Hao never went out in this sweltering heat, but for Chu Ran, she’d braved the old rundown apartment block just to see her.

Yet Chu Ran wouldn’t even pick out the seeds from a single piece of watermelon for her!

Suddenly, it hit her: Chu Ran had eaten lunch with her, made her watermelon juice, walked her downstairs—all to get rid of her faster, to drop this bombshell!

The realization ignited a rage like nothing she’d felt before. She lunged forward and slapped the juice cup from Chu Ran’s hand.

With a sharp crack, the cup shattered, splashing watermelon juice all over Chu Ran.

Chu Ran glanced at her, her expression still calm.

“Whatever I owe you, I’ll pay back.”

“Don’t be nice to me anymore.”

She turned to leave.

But Qian Hao seized her arm.

Her pride in tatters, fury consuming her mind and body, she gripped Chu Ran with crushing force.

“You’re lying to me!”

She bit her lip, her eyes rapidly reddening.

But her tone was fiercely stubborn, laced with a vicious edge.

“That day, I went to see Sister An’an,” Qian Hao declared. “I told her I like you. She didn’t oppose it at all. Just like me, she thinks we’re a perfect match—that only I am worthy of being your girlfriend!”

Chu Ran flung her hand away, her tone icy cold. “That’s because she doesn’t know that I like her!”

“You didn’t tell her?”

Qian Hao reacted at once, following up with another question. “You like her, but you didn’t tell her?”

Chu Ran’s gaze remained indifferent as she stared at Qian Hao. She hesitated for a moment but offered no explanation.

Qian Hao was exceptionally clever—brilliant, even. Even as she teetered on the edge of losing her composure, she seized the crux of the matter instantly. Realization dawned on her face, mingled with sarcasm. “I see,” she said to Chu Ran. “You think yourself that you shouldn’t like her, don’t you?”

“Gu An’an treats you like her own little sister, but you’ve gone and fallen for her!”

“She’s your sister. How could you like her? You shouldn’t like her at all!”

“And that day, when I told Sister An’an that I like you, she clearly rejected the very idea of feelings between girls. That’s why you kept quiet about it, right?”

For a fleeting instant, panic flickered across Chu Ran’s face, mingled with the raw embarrassment of having her secret laid bare. Her expression grew even chillier. She turned abruptly, her back to Qian Hao.

“This is my business,” she snapped. “It has nothing to do with you!”

Qian Hao circled around in front of her triumphantly, glaring with stubborn, willful defiance. “I’m making it my business!”

Chu Ran met her eyes coldly. “I will never like you. Don’t fool yourself. As for your bank card, I only kept it to stop your nonsense. I never intended to use it.”

She spoke swiftly and bluntly. Qian Hao’s face drained of color right before their eyes, paling in an instant!

“You’re lying!”

“Why would you say something like that?”

“You like Gu An’an but won’t tell her because you’re afraid of hurting her!”

“But you can say these cruel words to me without a second thought? You can bear to hurt me???”

“Am I really so unworthy of your affection?”

Chu Ran clamped her lips shut tight and said nothing.

Qian Hao waited for a response, but every passing second brought fresh torment—like claws raking at her heart and lungs. It was agony she simply could not endure!

“You bastard!”

She shoved Chu Ran’s shoulder.

Then, covering her face with her hands, she fled.

Chu Ran clutched the bank card that Qian Hao had pulled out partway through their argument. Her expression was profoundly complicated.