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"Oh, by the way, you walked here, right? How about I give you a ride home after we’re done at the mall?"

Ning Ruoxi asked, suddenly remembering.

"In that case, I’ll have to take you up on that."

Ye Ling said with a slight smile.

"Hmph, you smooth-talker!"

Ning Ruoxi pouted, looking rather cute and playful.

"Ruoruo, what are you doing here?"

Just as Ye Ling and Ning Ruoxi were wandering through the mall, a voice called out from behind.

Ning Ruoxi turned to see the speaker and froze. "Yu Chenghao?"

"Long time no see, Ruoruo."

The young man, Yu Chenghao, stepped forward, flashing a smile he seemed to think was quite handsome.

Why describe it that way, you ask?

Mainly because Ye Ling was standing right there.

Yu Chenghao wasn’t bad-looking—you could even call him a little handsome. But compared to Ye Ling, there was just no contest. They were on completely different levels.

"Yu Chenghao, please don’t call me that. We’re not that close."

Ning Ruoxi said with a subtle frown.

’This Yu Chenghao is so clueless. Calling me so familiarly... What if Ye Ling gets the wrong idea?’

"This is my high school classmate, Yu Chenghao."

Ning Ruoxi said, turning to introduce him to Ye Ling.

For some unknown reason, she felt like a young wife having to account for a male friend to her husband.

Neither Ye Ling nor Ning Ruoxi noticed this subtle shift in her demeanor.

But Yu Chenghao did.

"And this is..."

Yu Chenghao’s gaze grew serious as he looked at Ye Ling. He was instantly hit with an unprecedented sense of danger.

For all three years of high school, Yu Chenghao had been pursuing Ning Ruoxi, but she had never paid him any mind.

Since they were classmates, Ning Ruoxi didn’t feel it was right to reject him bluntly. Instead, she simply ignored him, hoping he’d eventually get the hint.

But clearly, that was wishful thinking on her part.

Yu Chenghao could, of course, tell that she wasn’t interested in him, but he refused to give up. After all, no other men had appeared by Ning Ruoxi’s side all these years...

He thought he had a chance.

Except...

Today, this young man named Ye Ling had appeared!

’This guy is way too handsome!’

"This is my boyfriend, Ye Ling."

Before Ye Ling could say a word, Ning Ruoxi gave a small smile and proactively grabbed his arm. Then, she gently rested her head on his chest and whispered, "Please, please, just play along."

Ye Ling glanced from Yu Chenghao to Ning Ruoxi and got a pretty good idea of what was going on.

"You’re making an enemy for me, you know. I’ll expect a reward for this later."

Ye Ling whispered back, lowering his head slightly.

’A reward?’

’What kind of reward?’

The word sent Ning Ruoxi’s imagination running wild, and a blush crept onto her pretty face.

’This guy...’

’He’s so wicked!’

To Yu Chenghao, this intimate scene was nothing short of a couple whispering secrets to each other. His expression instantly soured.

"Ruoruo, what was that you said?" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Yu Chenghao’s face was grim, and his voice was heavy.

But Ye Ling simply wrapped his arm around Ning Ruoxi’s slender waist and narrowed his eyes. "Hey, buddy. Calling my girlfriend by her nickname right in front of me... you trying to disrespect me or something?"

The young man’s voice wasn’t loud, but it had a strange, carrying quality that cut through the crowd’s noise. More than a few people heard him and turned to look.

"What’s going on over there?"

"Looks like that guy is trying to hit on the cute guy’s girlfriend..."

"Ugh, what a shameless guy! She’s clearly taken, and he’s still trying to move in on her?"

"That guy has no morals. Besides, her boyfriend is so handsome—what makes this dude think he even has a chance?"

As whispers rippled through the crowd, Yu Chenghao’s expression grew even darker.

’"That guy?"’

’"The cute guy?"’

Yu Chenghao was filled with a sense of bitter indignation. ’So being handsome even gets you a different title?’

"Yu Chenghao, I already told you, this is my boyfriend. And please, stop calling me Ruoruo. It makes my boyfriend upset."

Ning Ruoxi looked up, her voice firm as she spoke.

’She realized she had to make things crystal clear today and get him to give up for good. Otherwise, Yu Chenghao would never stop pestering her.’

"Aww, what the young lady said was so perfect! ’It makes my boyfriend upset.’ Ten out of ten!"

"I don’t know why, but this is so sweet! And they’re both so good-looking, the guy and the girl."

The crowd started murmuring again. Someone even started filming a short video and immediately uploaded it to TikTok.

TikTok, a short-video platform, had become incredibly popular lately.

With modern life being so exhausting, people rarely had large blocks of free time, living instead off fragmented moments of leisure. TikTok capitalized on this perfectly, using its short-video format to let users share beautiful moments from their lives.

"I don’t believe it! That’s impossible! How could you get a boyfriend so fast? Ruoruo! You’re just saying this to make me give up, aren’t you? That’s it, right?"

Yu Chenghao looked completely unhinged. He couldn’t believe it. The goddess he had crushed on for so many years suddenly had a boyfriend!

He felt betrayed.

In truth, many people are like this these days. They nurse a silent crush on someone who isn’t interested. Then, when that person finds a partner, they feel betrayed and start trying to smear their name.

But what was the reality?

The person in question never asked for their affection; in fact, they couldn’t even be bothered to give them the time of day.

"If you keep harassing my girlfriend, don’t blame me for what happens next."

A frosty glint appeared in Ye Ling’s eyes.

’This guy really doesn’t know when to quit.’

"What’s a pretty boy like you yapping about?"

Yu Chenghao glared at Ye Ling.

His resentment for Ye Ling was palpable. He blamed him entirely for Ning Ruoxi’s "change of heart."

Teenagers in their late teens are prone to impulsiveness.

In a rush of blood to the head, Yu Chenghao swung his fist and lunged straight for Ye Ling.

"Yu Chenghao, what do you think you’re doing?!"

Ning Ruoxi hadn’t expected him to be so impulsive. She cried out in alarm, her voice sharp.

The crowd erupted into chaos. Clearly, no one had expected things to turn violent.

"Someone call security! He’s about to hit him, isn’t anyone going to stop it?"

"Where’s security? Someone protect that cute guy!"

Ye Ling, on the other hand, was perfectly calm. He merely glanced at his attacker.

"This kind of display... I believe the term for it is ’impotent rage.’"

As his words faded.

Ye Ling pulled Ning Ruoxi behind him. At that moment, Ning Ruoxi felt something that could be described in two words.

Peace of mind.