17: Chapter 17 You Are Not Him

"Lin Yaner? Why is she out here?!"

"Is she going to steal someone else's boyfriend?"

"Haven't you heard? She was dumped yesterday."

"What does her getting dumped have to do with anyone else? Don't you know it's rude to interrupt someone's confession?"

Xiao Ran's heart fluttered as he saw the approaching figure.

'No way? She recognized me even like this?'

Lu Yiyi looked towards Lin Yaner in the distance.

Big question marks filled her innocent eyes.

Lin Yaner had lost her usual youthful radiance.

Her hair was disheveled, her eyes swollen and red, her face pale, and her lips cracked, showing complete despondency.

Even her white dress... seemed to be the same one from yesterday, stained with dirt and the corpses of a few ants, looking utterly filthy.

She was truly a white swan fallen into an ugly duckling.

Lin Yaner rubbed her eyes.

That familiar figure, he looked exactly like her Xiao Ran, as if they were cast from the same mold!

She walked unsteadily, dragging her weary body, step by step towards him.

She regretted it!

She shouldn't have abandoned him!

Surely, Brother Xiao Ran had come back for her, right?

Xiao Ran frowned, a pang of pain in his heart seeing Lin Yaner in such a disheveled state.

If the pain of dumping Lu Yiyi was a level one, then Lin Yaner was at least a level five.

She could actually stir his heart!

Empress Yaner, terrifying as she was!

Damn it!

Don't come any closer!

As Lin Yaner approached, Xiao Ran suppressed the internal ache and softly asked, "Classmate, is there something you need from me?"

Lin Yaner remained silent, carefully scrutinizing Xiao Ran before her.

Beside them, Lu Yiyi tilted her head, a 'black person asking a question' expression on her face.

Her gaze darted between the two, as if asking, 'Are you two hiding some kind of demon love affair from me?'

Lin Yaner slowly raised her right hand.

Just as she was about to touch Xiao Ran's face, he quickly raised his arm to block her hand.

Their arms touched, and he felt a chilling coldness.

Xiao Ran's heart skipped a beat.

It's so hot, yet her hand is so cold!

Is she sick?

She can't keep going on like this!

He needed to find a way to cheer her up!

If it was depression, he would be guilty!

"Classmate, have you mistaken me for someone else?" Xiao Ran said softly.

Lin Yaner's body trembled.

The voice was wrong.

"There are so many people named Xiao Ran in the world, I must have been deluded, right?" Lin Yaner said mockingly.

It really wasn't him... He should be undergoing chemotherapy in some city, right?

Why would he come back to see her, the one who abandoned him?

"I'm sorry, I mistook you for someone else. I have a friend named Xiao Ran, and his build is so similar to yours!"

As her words fell,

Lin Yaner turned around, dispirited, and was about to leave.

"Wait!" Xiao Ran called out to her.

She turned back, a puzzled expression on her face.

"I see your condition doesn't seem very good. If you want to find someone, you should adjust your own state to the best. If he sees you like this someday, he might feel sad," Xiao Ran said softly.

Xiao Ran's words brought a glimmer of light to her dim eyes.

'Yes! Brother Xiao Ran definitely wouldn't want to see me so despondent!'

'He must be secretly protecting me from some corner!'

'If he saw me like this, he would be angry.'

'Right, I need to be well, I can't let him worry!'

"Thank you!"

"Mm, it's good that you understand!" Xiao Ran nodded at her.

"Yi Yi! I wish you happiness. If you truly love someone, you must hold onto him tightly, don't ever be like me." After Lin Yaner finished speaking, she turned and left without waiting for Lu Yiyi's reply.

Her steps became much lighter.

No longer the stumbling, weary gait from before... Xiao Ran watched Lin Yaner leave, then turned to the naive girl: "Yi Yi, there are too many people here. Let's find a secluded spot, I have something to tell you."

He was about to reap the harvest, and it was her turn to cry!

But he had to find a secluded spot,

to save her some face.'

He was truly too gentle!

She cried to death.

Lu Yiyi's pretty face flushed. A secluded spot?

What was Brother Xiao Ran going to do?

Could it be... he was going to do *that* kind of thing to me?

So... so shy... 'Wuwuwu.'

Lu Yiyi's face was flushed with shyness, her earlobes red, "Whatever you say."

Xiao Ran handed her the flowers and turned to walk into the small grove.

The latter, both shy and embarrassed, quickly followed.

"Is that it? They're not even going to kiss?"

"Let's go, let's go!"

"Looking forward to the next juicy gossip!"

...In the small grove.

There were quite a few mosquitoes and ants.

Lu Yiyi, holding the flowers, stood on her left foot, gently tapping the ground with the tip of her right foot.

"Brother Xiao Ran, what... what did you bring me here for?"

He must want to kiss, hug, and lift me up, right?

Or... as it says on Baidu... *blush*

Wuwuwu!

So embarrassing!

Lu Yiyi lowered her gaze and smiled, her eyes showing seven parts shyness, two parts anticipation, and one part unease.

Huh?

Where did the unease come from?

Take it back!

If Xiao Ran knew what she was thinking, he might give her an award for overthinking.

"Lu Yiyi."

"Ah, what is it, Brother Xiao Ran?"

"*Slap*."

Lu Yiyi reached out and slapped a blood-sucking mosquito on her calf.

"Let's sit down and talk first."

"Mm..."

Xiao Ran sat down on a stone bench.

Lu Yiyi snuggled close to him, her head resting gently on his shoulder.

A sense of happiness she had never felt before welled up inside her.

'I wish we could just sit here like this, quietly, forever.'

A strange silence fell for a minute or two.

No one spoke.

Xiao Ran looked at the girl who had just fallen in love, and suddenly felt a little reluctant.

So foolish... it shouldn't hurt too much, right?

After all, fools don't think too much.

The two of them had only been ambiguous while chatting, the main point being the confession process.

They hadn't officially started dating yet.

After all, she had only accepted the confession about ten minutes ago.

Forget it.

Better to cut the Gordian knot quickly.

When did he become so indecisive?

He had to put a stop to it!

He had to be a fun-loving person!

Xiao Ran made his decision and broke the silence first:

"Yi Yi, I have something I want to tell you."

Lu Yiyi had no idea of the seriousness of the situation, still immersed in her own little world.

"Brother, you say it, I'm listening." Lu Yiyi changed to calling him 'Brother'.

Her dangling feet swung back and forth, looking utterly silly.

"Let's break up!"

Lu Yiyi, leaning on his shoulder, nodded happily: "Mm."

Xiao Ran: "???"

No wonder she was so silly!

Her brain must be missing a wire.

"I said! Let's break up!"

Lu Yiyi: "???"

This time she heard clearly.

Her eyes widened, her face filled with disbelief!

"Brother, you... what did you say?" she asked, her voice unnatural.

"I said, let's break up." Xiao Ran emphasized again.

"Brother Xiao Ran, you're joking, right? We just got together! Don't scare me! Yi Yi is very timid!"

Lu Yiyi threw the flowers aside and desperately hugged his arm.

A few petals drifted down, landing on a few busy little ants as a cushion.

Xiao Ran felt the B-cup softness and said in a calm tone, "Lu Yiyi, you threw away the flowers I gave you?"

"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Lu Yiyi hurriedly released him, bent down to pick up the roses on the ground, and handed them to him like a treasure:

"Brother, look, the flowers aren't dirty. Don't be angry, Yi Yi was wrong."

Xiao Ran's mouth twitched... she completely threw him off.

He was just looking for an excuse, why was she so humble?

They hadn't even officially dated yet,

her feelings for him... shouldn't... be this strong, right?

Was this great wisdom disguised as foolishness?

"Brother... please forgive me... it's our first day of dating, it's bad luck to argue!"

Lu Yiyi leaned her head against him again, rubbing his shoulder intimately like a docile kitten.

Xiao Ran was confused.

Was she truly foolish, or a high-level hunter feigning stupidity?

Hah, who cares!

He was becoming indecisive again!

Xiao Ran's expression hardened, and he said in a serious tone, "Yi Yi, I'm not joking with you. You're a very good girl, but... actually, I already have a girlfriend."

"*Clang!*"

Something seemed to shatter in the air.

Lu Yiyi's face instantly turned ashen, completely devoid of color.

The flowers in her hand once again fell to the ground.

Taking the lives of 4 ants!

Lu Yiyi felt a sharp pain in her heart, like a needle piercing through it—a feeling she had never experienced before!

Her carefully constructed little world had collapsed!

The images saved deep in her mind were shattered!

Tears had already blurred her eyes.

"Wuwuwu~~"

"Brother Xiao Ran, aren't I your girlfriend? Stop joking! This joke isn't funny at all!"

Lu Yiyi didn't believe it.

She didn't believe it one bit!

Her love hadn't even truly begun, how could it just die like this?

She refused to accept such a fate!

"Actually, during the time I was confessing to you... because you kept refusing me. I found another girl, and she agreed very quickly... I'm sorry."

Xiao Ran's eyes were slightly moist, his face filled with guilt.

No!

This was impossible!

Lu Yiyi stumbled to her feet, tears streaming down her face, heartbroken as she questioned:

"Brother Xiao Ran! Why? If you wanted to be with me! You should have said so earlier! It's not like I wouldn't have agreed!

It was clearly me who wanted to come! Why did you hide it from me and confess to another girl?"