Campus Ace Girl

When Chu Ci came in, he saw the medicine bottle in her hand.

He loosened his tie and slowly approached her; the thick wool carpet muffled his footsteps, so Zhao Mo Ran didn’t notice his presence until he sat on the bed beside her, and she suddenly realized.

Slowly, she turned her head, looking at him, with a hint of fear on her face.

She was still afraid of him.

Chu Ci’s expression was indifferent as he took the medicine bottle from her hand and glanced at it, then said very lightly: "Don’t want to have children?"

Zhao Mo Ran lowered her eyes: "It’s not that... I just... we aren’t married yet."

"We’ll be married soon, and even if you find out you’re pregnant, it’ll be during the marriage. What are you afraid of?" as he spoke, he suddenly grasped her chin: "Or are you still thinking of him, or perhaps simply don’t want to have my children?"

While he spoke, he stared directly at her, and Zhao Mo Ran had nowhere to escape, forced to meet his gaze.

Chu Ci threw the medicine bottle into the trash can, the sound loud like a boulder thrown into her heart.

He stood up, dropped the loosened tie to the side, and unbuttoned his shirt with a casual voice: "I’m going to shower, prepare yourself."

Zhao Mo Ran abruptly grabbed his sleeve, speaking almost humbly: "Don’t."

He turned his head, bent slightly, and lightly patted her cheek: "Don’t say ’don’t’ to me, understand? You are my wife."

After he finished, he walked straight into the bathroom.

Zhao Mo Ran closed her eyes slightly, fingers clenching the bedsheets tightly.

She had no way to refuse, not because he was about to be her husband, but because she was bought by him for three hundred million.

Out in public, Chu Ci possibly showed her some respect, but back in private spaces, there was no concealing of any malevolence, he demonstrated to her how a purchased, unloved woman is treated, seemingly finding joy in tormenting her... to her, though it wasn’t living each day like a year, it was truly hard.

Early in the morning, when she woke up, Chu Ci was already gone. She got up, freshened up then went downstairs to ask the servants: "Where’s sir?"

"Sir has already gone to the company," the servant replied warmly.

Zhao Mo Ran didn’t say anything further, sitting quietly at the dining table for breakfast. The servants knew they had a dispute last night, since the lady had cried heavily, clearly not spared from being bullied. They wondered why such a young, beautiful woman from a good family would marry him.

They cautiously took care of her, yet Zhao Mo Ran kept her distance from them, seeming quite detached, ultimately feeling unworthy of calling herself the mistress.

After finishing breakfast, she went upstairs, changed clothes, and came down with a bag, looking like she was going out. The servant quickly asked: "Where is the lady going?"

Zhao Mo Ran guessed that they would report to Chu Ci, so she said: "Going to the gallery."

The servant smiled: "Will you be back for lunch?"

She shook her head: "No, I’ll be back in the afternoon."

After speaking, she drove out. Zhao Mo Ran drove a white BMW, arranged by Chu Ci. Everything from head to toe was orchestrated by him, and she couldn’t refuse.

About an hour later, she arrived at the gallery. The owner was her senior from school, Zhao Mo Ran wasn’t working but had paintings on consignment here, not being well-known so each painting was only worth a few thousand.

She got out of the car and walked into the gallery. Her senior was already waiting and once she saw Zhao Mo Ran, she said: "Someone took a liking to your paintings and ordered seven or eight at once. I don’t have so many here, so I called you over to discuss with her."

Zhao Mo Ran sat down, nodding: "Okay, I have them saved on my phone; I’ll pick some for her later."

Her senior leaned closer and whispered: "I helped you set a high price, each around twelve, thirteen thousand."

Zhao Mo Ran smiled lightly: "Thank you, senior."

Her senior knew about the troubles at Zhao Mo Ran’s family and was glad she could help somehow, so she chatted: "By the way, was the company’s turnover issue resolved?"

"Yeah." Zhao Mo Ran took a sip of tea and said softly: "It’s resolved."

Her senior couldn’t help asking again, Zhao Mo Ran hesitated for a moment before saying: "I’m getting married... he’s nice, helped resolve it."

Her senior’s mouth widened; she couldn’t speak for a while. After a long time, she softly said: "What about you and Gu Fei?"

"We broke up." Zhao Mo Ran smiled bitterly: "Otherwise, what could be done? I can’t watch my family go to jail."

Her senior was speechless for a moment, feeling it was quite a pity.

Gu Fei was someone from their same art college with great potential, having been admitted to a renowned foreign academy at this crucial moment... her senior was also a girl and understood Zhao Mo Ran’s choice, sometimes love isn’t a lifesaver, is it?

She was about to ask who Zhao Mo Ran was marrying when a voice sounded at the door: "Has Miss Zhao arrived?"

Zhao Mo Ran’s body stiffened for a moment, hearing it was Chu Yan’s voice, clear and clean.

Her senior heard it too, looked at Zhao Mo Ran in surprise, and then stood up: "Here you are, I was just thinking of calling you."

She introduced Zhao Mo Ran: "This is Miss Chu, who is interested in your paintings. Would you like to have a talk?"

She said warmly: "I’ll get you a drink."

Chu Yan saw Zhao Mo Ran and was a little surprised, but did not express much astonishment, "Sure, I’ll talk to her first."

Her senior glanced at Zhao Mo Ran before going to get water.

Chu Yan wore jeans today, with a loose brown sweater above, her hair casually tied up, which made her seem much younger. She smiled lightly as she sat down: "I didn’t expect it to be you."

Zhao Mo Ran spoke softly: "I didn’t expect it either."

Chu Yan said quite straightforwardly: "I like your paintings; they have a kind of peaceful and distant feel."

Zhao Mo Ran smiled: "Thank you."

Chu Yan didn’t mention anything else, just chatted with her. Though not in the same field, but Gu Anxi knew it well, mentioning Luo Lin, Zhao Mo Ran was surprised: "Luo Lin? You know Luo Lin?"

He’s a legendary figure in the art world.

Chu Yan looked at her strangely, "Is your family using 2G internet, Anxi is Luo Lin, haven’t we had dinner together last night?"

Zhao Mo Ran was dumbfounded for quite some time before mumbling: "She is Luo Lin? But... isn’t that wrong?"

Chu Yan knew what she meant, so expressed it for her: "Doesn’t she have the aura of an artist?"

Zhao Mo Ran was too shy to express it herself.

Chu Yan continued: "Besides an artist, she’s also a racer, a businesswoman, a hacker, a doctor... so many that I can’t count. So not having an artistic aura is normal."

Chu Yan felt the strongest vibe from Gu Anxi was Bo Xichen, sticking together every day would of course create a faint scent, like medicine.

What Chu Yan said made Zhao Mo Ran feel somewhat relieved, and after interacting, she found Chu Yan indeed a good girl, very open-minded and generous. Comparatively, Zhao Mo Ran felt she should not take matters with Chu Ci so seriously.

With Luo Lin as their topic, the two of them had something to discuss. When her senior returned, she unexpectedly found the atmosphere had turned quite harmonious, she couldn’t quite understand but being good in business, naturally recommended more of Zhao Mo Ran’s works. In the end, Zhao Mo Ran felt embarrassed and softly said: "Chu Yan knows Luo Lin."

Chu Yan laughed: "Don’t put her on that high a pedestal, after marrying and having kids, I’ve seen her paint maybe two or three paintings; just to please Bo’s dad, probably unable to move a brush on usual days."

Zhao Mo Ran couldn’t help but smile as she listened, feeling a bit envious...

Chu Yan propped her chin and casually said: "Reaching any heights is another matter, if you truly enjoy painting, just paint for your own happiness."

Her senior looked at Zhao Mo Ran, signaling her to say something polite, but Zhao Mo Ran merely spoke softly: "That’s right."

She seemed to immediately have clarity—

Chu Ci is Chu Ci, Chu Yan is Chu Yan. She likes Chu Yan... Being the wife of Chu Ci and selling paintings to Chu Yan are two different matters. With this clear understanding, she began to introduce her paintings to Chu Yan.

Chu Yan was preparing to decorate her new house and carefully selected seven or eight pieces, totaling around a hundred thousand, and paid in full.

Although it’s not much for Zhao Mo Ran, it was quite a sense of achievement. She accepted the check and thought about inviting Chu Yan to dinner, but Chu Yan smiled and said, "The company still has work, next time I’ll treat you, and I’ll call Anxi too."

Zhao Mo Ran was particularly happy, her voice slightly hoarse as she bid her goodbye.

After people left, her senior watched Chu Yan’s car drive away with her, then softly said, "She’s quite generous, with good taste. The paintings she chose are indeed your best works."

Zhao Mo Ran nodded, "She is friends with Luo Lin and comes from the Chu Family, her taste is naturally different."

The senior turned her head, "You, you and she seemed not to get along at first, right?"

Zhao Mo Ran was silent for a while before speaking softly, "She is Chu Ci’s sister."

Chu Ci?

Chu Ci’s sister?

The senior’s mouth fell open... It took her a while to utter, "You actually have such a fate together?"

Zhao Mo Ran smiled bitterly, "I didn’t expect it either, but Chu Yan is quite adorable, no wonder Chu Ci can’t forget her."

The senior agreed, "Yes, you see she’s about our age, but sometimes her expression is quite childlike, she must have been pampered growing up."

After saying this, she felt she might have misspoken, trying to make amends but Zhao Mo Ran didn’t mind, "Yes, and now she has Bai Xun to pamper her even more."

Afraid the senior didn’t know, she explained, "It’s that particularly popular one right now."

The senior’s mouth fell open, it took a long while before she said, "Bai Xun, her husband?"

Zhao Mo Ran nodded.

The senior suddenly sat down, wailing, "That’s my husband ah ah ah..."

Zhao Mo Ran was quite speechless for a moment, wondering how she could still be a fangirl.

She had dinner with the senior, listening to her rant tearfully about Bai Xun being a heartbreaker, feeling helpless yet amused, she found it all quite absurd on the way back.

Upon returning, the servant immediately greeted her, "Madam’s back?"

Ever since last night, they’ve started addressing her as madam instead of Miss Zhao. Zhao Mo Ran didn’t care, nodded, and was about to go upstairs when the servant suddenly said awkwardly, "Sir is also back, he’s upstairs."

Zhao Mo Ran’s body stiffened, then she checked the time, it was only four in the afternoon.

Chu Ci came back at four?

Her voice sour, "Alright, I got it."

She slowly went upstairs, while downstairs the servants whispered amongst themselves, "Sir rarely comes back during the day, what’s going on, it’s been two days in a row now."

Another older servant whispered, "Young couples can be like this when they’re newlyweds. Sir’s been single for over thirty years, and the madam is young and beautiful, with a great figure..."

The rest of the words grew softer and softer...

Zhao Mo Ran reached the top of the stairs and paused at the bedroom door, a faint voice came from inside, "Why not come in? Afraid I’ll eat you?"

"No." She walked in, placed her bag on the sofa, and took off her coat.

Chu Ci was leaning against the bed smoking, but when he saw her come in, he extinguished the cigarette, then patted his lap.

She pressed her lips together, slowly approached, and lay on the carpet by the bed, resting her head beside his leg.

Chu Ci gently stroked her hair absentmindedly, softly asking, "Where did you go?"

Zhao Mo Ran lowered her eyes, her voice hoarse, "I went to the gallery."

"You like painting? Then I’ll open one for you." Chu Ci said indifferently.

She shook her head, "No need, I don’t like managing things, I’d rather just paint at home."

Today, Chu Ci’s mood seemed pretty good, he even chatted with her a bit, "Did you sell paintings today?"

She instantly grew nervous, hesitating for a moment but still told the truth, "Sold eight, to a customer."

Chu Ci wasn’t too concerned, "That’s good."

He thought, it’s nice for her to have something to do at home. He didn’t like his wife being out in public, besides, having a skill was better when it came time to teach their child.

Zhao Mo Ran felt she needed to explain everything at once, otherwise, if he found out later, her days wouldn’t be good, so after weighing it, she began, "The one who bought the paintings is Yan Yan."

Chu Ci’s expression hardened, silently watching her.

"I didn’t know it was her, the senior told me someone bought them, so I went, didn’t think it would be Yan Yan." She spoke cautiously, afraid to touch his nerve.

Chu Ci frowned, "You sold them?"

She softly mm-hmm’d.

"How much?" Chu Ci’s voice turned cold.

Zhao Mo Ran was a bit startled, "A hundred thousand."

"I’ll give you two hundred thousand, return the money to her." Chu Ci left no room for refusal.

Zhao Mo Ran hurriedly said, "But I promised!"

Chu Ci was quite clear, "I don’t want her home hanging your paintings."

After speaking, he got up, took out his checkbook, and wrote her a check for two hundred thousand, additionally handing her a gold card, "This is my supplementary card, the password..."

He paused momentarily while speaking, then recited a string of numbers. Zhao Mo Ran softly said, "It’s Yan Yan’s birthday, right?"

He glanced at her, "You found out? Then change it yourself."

Zhao Mo Ran persistently said, "I only have a common customer relationship with her, I don’t have... ulterior motives."

"I know," he said overbearingly, "I just personally dislike it."

After saying that, he prepared to take a shower. Zhao Mo Ran knew he was going to... do something, so she urgently followed him, "She and I... are friends."

Chu Ci had already opened the door to enter, but turned back to look at her.

He smiled, "Friends?"

She was a bit nervous, lightly licking her lips, "Yes, she’s very understanding of art, I get along with her well."

She held onto him, daring to speak, "Didn’t you really... really want to see her? If I become friends with her, there won’t be any awkwardness."

Hearing this, Chu Ci lightly smiled, "You’re considering it for me."

He reached out, pinched her chin, and pressed the door shut...