[Frenemies + Hiring Someone for an Online Romance + Secret Identity Exposed + He’s Totally in Love]
On the list of sworn enemies in the School of Economics and Management at Jing University, Lin Ruan and Gu Yan are number one.
He mocks her: “Your growth assumptions are so idealistic, they sound like wishful thinking.”
She fires back: “The biggest problem with your model is that it treats the Gu family’s resources as a public variable.”
Whenever they meet in the hallway, the air freezes.
Then Lin Ruan takes a high-paying side gig
A wealthy senior who was publicly rejected by Gu Yan commissions a complete virtual persona for a hefty sum:
A fake name, stolen photos, an overseas art student.
There’s only one task:
Make Gu Yan fall in love with this woman who doesn’t exist, then dump him.
When Lin Ruan sees the target’s name, she grins.
“Gu Yan? Deal. Let’s see how long that stubborn mouth can hold out.”
*
Lin Ruan expects to watch her nemesis lose his cool, but Gu Yan proves sharp, composed, and extremely guarded.
Every probing question is like a blade, forcing her to counter one move after another.
Meanwhile, Gu Yan falls for his online chat partner while losing control around Lin Ruan in person.
Worried that his morals are crumbling, he asks his friend late one night, “Am I falling for two people?”
His friend falls silent for three seconds. “Could it be you just haven’t done enough online dating?”
Lin Ruan frantically protects her secret identity even as he gradually sees through to who she really is.
Then the truth comes out, and the whole school is in an uproar.
Everyone waits to see Gu Yan lose it and Lin Ruan fall from her pedestal.
But that day, Gu Yan corners Lin Ruan at the end of the hallway, his voice hoarse.
“Lin Ruan, was it fun deceiving me?”
Lin Ruan: “Not bad. It was a pretty good experience.”
Gu Yan: “Then keep going!”
